All Aboard!

Over the Easter weekend, we had a fun getaway to the mountains with Grandpa, Grammy, and the Houstons. Our travels have been pretty limited this past year, and my dad saw the long weekend as a great opportunity to enjoy some time away with family. He planned the trip and picked out the most perfect house with some amazing views of the Blue Ridge mountains. On Friday, we left Kernersville mid-morning and arrived in Blowing Rock around lunchtime. We had lunch at Mellow Mushroom, and then we bundled up as we explored the downtown and let the kids run out their energy at the park. The temperatures at the beginning of the weekend were in the low 30s! Luckily it warmed up into the 60s by the time we left on Monday, but that first day was pretty chilly. Eli enjoyed staying tucked in Daddy's jacket!

On Saturday, we woke up to a peaceful, colorful sunrise. (Okay, so "peaceful" is an exaggeration when you have 4 kids under 8. And I didn't exactly see the sunrise on this morning. Boomer, Eli, and I were in the basement, and since our room didn't have any windows, we slept until almost 8AM!) After rousing from our slumber, we joined the rest of the family upstairs for coffee and beautiful morning views. (Photo cred: Megan!) Our crew then set out for a hike, or "nature walk" as Emmy called it. We drove to the Moses Cone Memorial Park, where we parked at the Manor and then walked the 2-mile trail down to Bass Lake. Emmy tired out a little early, and Boomer was a trooper singing, dancing, and carrying her for the rest of the walk. It seems we need to build up her endurance for hikes! We returned home for some rest and hot tub time, which Emmy loved. It turns out she is more of a hot-tub-girl than a hiking-girl. She got a kick out of the bubbles and the jets. We ended the day with dinner at Woodlands Barbecue and then back to the house for some March Madness basketball. It was the perfect Saturday in the mountains!

March Madness side note: I ended up winning the Bakewell Bracket challenge! I present to you the winning bracket!

On Easter morning, the kids were so excited that the Easter Bunny found us all the way at "our mountain house." The night before, Mom, Megan, and I prepared their Easter baskets and scattered eggs all around the living room and in the loft. Mom and Meg have a lot more experience at playing the Easter Bunny, and we decided to hide the baskets up in the loft in case any curious eyes peeked out of their doors in the middle of the night. We think this year could be the last year for Zander believing. Megan said he "just wanted to know what the Easter Bunny looked like." To which her response was "Well...5 foot 4, brown hair..."  Mom and I got a good laugh out of that as we were stuffing their baskets :)  Eli didn't participate in the Easter egg hunt, but he liked moving the eggs and other objects all around the house. 

After our Easter festivities, we headed to Tweetsie Railroad. It was the first time that the Kennedys had been, and it was such a fun day. We arrived shortly after the park opened around 9AM. The kids rode a few of the rides on the lower level, and we took photos in the jail and on the stationary ponies. Our boarding time for the train was 10:10AM, so it was soon time to load up. All the kiddos were entertained by the cowboys and the scenery as we rode along the loop around Tweetsie. After our train ride, we took the chair lift to the top of Miner's Mountain for more rides, the petting zoo, and lunch. With full bellies, we went down the chair lift for more of the carnival rides and for a magic show in the saloon. Emmy's favorite thing of the whole day was the carousel...which we rode 4 times! Surprisingly Eli hung in there all day without a nap. He especially liked when he was out of his stroller and free to walk around. He was also pretty brave in petting the goats and other animals in Deer Park. Seeing how much fun the kids had makes me even more excited for our trip to Disney later this year! Rides PLUS princesses - Emmy will be in heaven!

On Monday, we returned home after enjoying a few more moments on the deck. We hope it isn't too long until we are back in the NC mountains. A big "thank you!" to Grandpa and Grammy for treating us to this special getaway!

Next up for the Kennedys: dance! Stay tuned for updates from Emmy's first dance class next week!