April Mountain Days

We took advantage of Granfather Mountain's dollar days for Avery residents and visited twice during the month of April. We picniced, hiked to the bridge and visited the bears, eagles and cougars. We took the pack for Ivey the first weekend and she surprised us by hiking the entire trail. It was short, but strenuous and she did awesome. She absolutely loves the mountains and hiking and we couldn't be happier!

Easter

Rainy, cold weather caused us to move our Easter picnic celebration from Saturday to Sunday. Ivey and I dyed Easter eggs - a first for her and me! She decorated all of the eggs with stickers and was very proud of all of them. She seemed genuinely surprised on Sunday morning when she learned that the Easter Bunny had filled her and Julia's Easter baskets.

Princess Tea Party

Ivey was invited to a princess tea party to raise money for her dance center. The older dancers became Disney princesses for the afternoon. Ivey met Snow White, Cinderella, Ariel, Belle & Jasmin. She also made a bracelet and colored with Ariel. She had so much fun!



Julia's Dedication

We had Julia dedicated in March right after she turned 9 months old. She was able to wear the same dress Ivey wore for her dedication. Gramma, Grandad, Gammie and Grampa were all there to help us celebrate (despite the very rainy weather). Ivey was with us at the front of the church during the dedication and then she sat through the rest of the service. We were very proud (and relieved) that they were both so well behaved!

High Five Sister!

 

Ivey was pretty fond of our temporary furniture



                                                 

Pulling out all of the clean washcloths is one of my favorite activities

Showing off some skills for Gammie



More Winter Fun

With a snowfall in Charlotte several weeks after Ivey chickened out on the big sledding hill at Beech Mountain, she wasn't thrilled of the idea of sledding on our driveway. But after a few times watching me do it, she was ready to try it with me and then eventually went on her own. She was having so much fun she didn't want to let me go again!

Gotta love the hair!

Park City, Utah

Joe and I were able to get away on a ski trip in early February. We went to Park City, Utah and skiied at all three resorts in Park City and went snowmobiling. They received at least 3 feet of snow the weekend we arrived and another few feet during our stay. My parents kept the girls and received some snow of their own in Charlotte, so much that they were housebound for a few days. Ivey was finally able to make her very first snowman after several failed attempts with previous snow falls. She had a ball with her Gramma & Grandad!