If you're counting, all 14 are there :-) Happy New Year! Jerry and I had a wonderful Christmas with both our families! It was so great to get out of town and enjoy the mountains! Roan Mountain, TN to be exact! As I mentioned in a previous post, Roan has always been very special to me and my family. And this year, we were finally complete with Jerry's presence! My sister Angie also blogged about the trip.
Check it out!
Top o the Roan to ya!
We truly had a blessed time of rest, relaxation, food and fun! Jerry and I were on the road by 10:30am Saturday morning before Christmas. It is a good 4 hour drive and it went really well. Even if we did get a little sleepy....
Once we got there, we unloaded the van and got all settled in. Jerry went with the men and kids while the ladies went grocery shopping. Not a bad deal if you ask me. We spent an inordinate amount of time and money at the local Ingles (you're welcome) and probably gave the poor cashier a heart attack when we rolled up with 3 FULL carts of food. Thankfully, we had planned ahead and had them all separated to make it simple. But that is where the planning stopped. We unwittingly only brought one vehicle. To make it clear, there were 4 of us riding. 3 CARTS full of food was somehow all crammed into the back of Amy's SUV (save for a lapful of eggs and bread) and off we went.
That night we all sort of got settled in and later Jerry and I were coerced into hanging at Brad and Amy's cabin. Little did we know that my sister Angie had big plans for us that night! We came back to our room and were greeted with this!
My whole family knew how special it was for me to have Jerry there with us this year. He's never been there and I haven't ever had a 'someone' to share my Roan Mountain Christmas with. It was such a sweet gesture and I'll never forget it! Thanks!!!
Each day was full of rest and even some adventure! Dean and Angie brought the Wii and we hooked it up to the projector! It was a lot of fun to see it on the 'big screen'. If you know my dad, then you'll recognize his Mii immediately.
We took a hike up to the top of Roan Mountain where it was incredibly windy and COLD! It was icy the whole way up, but I am glad we went. It was a clear day and the view was amazing! On the way back down, Roan found some snow and wanted to bring it back to the cabin. Of course Grandpa said no so he threw it at me! I have to admit, it was staged so I could get a picture...
Nice Roan....nice
On the way back we were looking for deer. After a few treacherous stops on the road and a far a way spotting, we saw 12 deer right in the field by the cabins! I am sure they were wondering why all the humans were standing there in silence for so long...but they didn't revolt so we made it out unscathed.
Vicious Attack Deer....about to strikeChristmas eve is also Jerry's Birthday! I wanted to make sure that we didn't skim over it so we had a birthday brunch for him in our cabin! I made quiche and orange-cranberry crescent rolls and Angie made a yummy banana bread! The bread doubled for his cake which (of course) we filled with 37 candles! And for the record, he blew them all out in the first try :-) He also learned how to knit - a definite must!
mmm...quiche
Make a wish!
We finished his scarf - Which I started 2 years ago at Roan Mtn....
On Christmas day, we had a great time opening presents and hanging out. We showered Dean in scavenger-y goodness (to be saved for a later post) and the kids all enjoyed their presents. I absolutely LOVE what I got though, a handmade quilt from my mom!!! It matches our bedroom perfectly. I can't wait to display it!
My perfect Quilt!
Jerry got a great Northface cycling jacket from Dean and I threw in some self-adhesive mustaches for fun. He immediately put one on and was instantaneously transformed into a porn-star.
bow-chicka-bow-wow
Thursday we took the fun "creek-walk" over to the Doe river. We stopped at the conference center to observe the stuffed bear that had been caught earlier that year. This Black bear was over 7 feet tall, 610 lbs and caught 70 miles from where we were. However, it is likely that it had wandered through the park at some point. Only the second largest bear to have been caught in the area, the bear was killed by a hunter who was only 10 feet away. He shot the bear under the right eye as the bear was charging him! Scary!!!
Don't feed the bears...Scary bear stories aside, we had a lovely walk and the light was just beautiful/ We took LOTS of pictures..No shortage of cameras in this family!!
wrong way Canyon!
Alyssa's ok with it!
Kai was having a great time on the swingset and showed us how he can go
realllllly high and then jump off in mid-air! This was always one of my favorite things to do on the playground so I made Kai keep doing it til I could get a good picture :-)
Ta-Da!We were all relaxing after our big walk and Jerry decided to play a bit on the Ukulele. Alyson was so enamored with "that wittle guitaw" that she couldn't stay way. He was singing Christmas songs for quite a while for his little audience of one...adorable.
Look out Janis...We spent another day shopping and driving around Beech Mountain, the Mast General Store in Valle Crucis and back through Banner Elk. Definitely the best Christmas ever!!
See you in 2 years Roan Mountain!
The theme we have been going for is a hacienda style with a very welcoming feel. We like lived in, but organized. To me, the obvious first choice would be something like this
Some things to keep in mind; We have all white appliances but we have lots of black in the room as well, we love color but with a bit more of an earthy tone than primary colors, we are on a budget! We want a classic timeless style that isn't too modern, but not totally old fashioned either.
