cousin love!

Quinn and Tyndale just adore their newest cousin Eva Lou! They will hold and snuggle her ANY chance they get...Brad and I too!

nighty night!

Just a peek at bedtime at our house. We love to end the day reading books together. Quinn has always loved the I Spy and Waldo series, and we pull them out occasionally. Tyndale is really into the "Cwiffowd the Wed Dawg" (as he calls it) books.

funny faces

Remember how we used to do this with grapes in our mouths to look like the joker? We laughed at this forever at dinner the other night! In this shot you can see how her big bottom teeth are coming right up behind her littles. And her bottom front baby teeth are really wiggly now! We might have a visit from the tooth fairy very soon!

Zoo 2 U

Quinn and Elise had such a great week at Zoo 2 U camp in Folsom, Louisiana. They had every kind of animal that you can imagine and the kids were involved with them all day, every day! Here are the girls standing in front of the snake cage...they later got to hold him.

 This baby goat (born just the week before) was making us laugh because he kept standing on the pigs and then jumping off.

 They took several camel rides!

 Not only was Zoo 2 U super fun, but staying with the Parnells was too! The picture above was a show they put on for us...I think it is safe to say that Justin Beiber's "Baby" was the big hit for the week. :) It was also fun for Quinn to play with Boss, the Parnell's adorable dog. Nicole and I had fun too and got to visit a lot. David even let us go out for sushi one night at our fave...Megumi! Quinn and I are so thankful that we got to have this opportunity and that we were able to visit with such wonderful friends!

kanuga!

We spent the week of the Fourth in Kanuga for our fourth year in a row. Here is a picture of our cottage. Lindy, Eric, Maylen and Gage were able to join us too!

The first night is always the "Nibble and Sip" social at the lake. After years of all the kids wearing their best clothes...we finally realized that they always get filthy in the lake during that party ..so we decided to let them wear bathing suits. All the other parents wished they had done the same!

 Here are Lindy and Eric with the twins in downtown Hendersonville. They were only supposed to stay through Wednesday, but they decided that they were having so much fun that they stayed the whole week! We were thrilled!! I mean...who wouldn't want to spend time with these sweet little faces??

 One of the main stops in Hendersonville was - of course- the German restaurant! Tyndale is making his classic "cheese!" face below. We all enjoyed the meal...even Maylen and Gage were gobbling up the spaetzle!

 32 ounces of pure deliciousness! After dinner we went shopping at the Fresh Market..guess which section Quinn liked best...??

 We did a ton of hiking. Below is Eagle Rock. Mark and Brad hiked there. One day Brad and Eric and I hiked up to Long Rocks and High Rocks...this was the time I went off the trail...saw a snake about a foot away..and was standing in an ant bed. Won't go off the trail again! Especially since my "protectors" jumped away from me when I screamed about the ants instead of helping me out...we got a good laugh about that. Our whole family did a 6 mile hike in Dupont and loved Bridal Veil Falls. Those pics are on Brad's phone..I will upload them and add them.

 The next night was Fourth of July, and Kanuga put on a great show! The fireworks across the lake were outstanding. Tyndale didn't like the loud noises at first, but by the end he was really enjoying the "boom booms!"

We hiked up to Triple Falls...even the babies! 

 And after that we cooled off (more like FROZE off) near Hooker Falls.

I promised myself that I would get in the lake this year and attempt a dam swim...and by the end of the week I had done three! So refreshing and fun..will definitely do this again. Lindy and I getting ready for a dam swim below...team stripes.

 T got a tool set in Dancing Bear Toy Store in Hendersonville, so this is what he looked like most of the week. I have a tradition of taking Kanuga clawtub bath pics of my kids every year...so I had to get one of Maylen and Gage too.

 The Carnival is another fun night event. And we continued our trend of winning at the raffle...Lindy won a Kanuga huggie...now if we could have just found a beer somewhere...

 ...wonder what made that blue tongue. And the yearly Kanuga bath pic! I added the ones from the past two years too..so fun!

2011

2010

 2009

 The Square Dance! Usually held outside, but due to threatening weather held inside this year. This is such a highlight for us.

 Isn't my partner beautiful?

 Porch time: rocking and wood carving.

We had such a wonderful week and can't wait to do it again next year!