This past weekend we went camping at Lake Santeetlah. It was a much needed family camping trip. Jason has been so busy with school and work, that we all needed some time to relax and spend some quality time together.
Here is Brighton relaxing! She had a blast camping. She loves it, she has since she was very young. Her first campout was at a month old and has been loving camping for 4 years now. Wow time goes by so fast.
Here in Athens the leaves haven't really begun to change, but in the Mountains in North Carolina they have. We were so excited to see the sun and have the beauty of the autumn colors on this camping trip. Our camp site was free which is awesome in itself, but the best part was the view. The windows and doors to our tent over looked this beautiful forest and lake. When we woke up on Friday morning, the view was spectacular. When we set up the tent on Thursday night we couldn't see the lake, but we had a treat that next morning .
The girls love to have there own camping chairs, and playing in the fire pit. What is it about playing in the fire pit that is so fun? I am hoping that one day they will grow out of it. Although, it is pretty darn cute.
Our campsite, wasn't too far away from the Nantahala River, so we went to see it. Across the road from the river was part of the Appalachian Trail. We were so close to this famous trail, that we just had to take a little family picture.
Abbie absolutely loves rocks. But she was in heaven here. She had rocks and water, her two favorites. That and she had on the most adorable rain boots, which allowed her to wade into the freezing cold water with out getting wet, in trouble, or cold. If I would have to guess her favorite part of the trip, it would be this. Throwing rocks in the the Nantahala River. Gotta love the simple pleasures of life.
It rained off and on during our trip. Mostly just at night, which was nice, but it was a little rainy on saturday morning. Brighton was really excited to wear her raincoat, because it is pink her favorite color.
This is part of the view from our tent. It was so beautiful. I know that I keep saying that, but I loved it. There was no misquotes and the weather temperature was perfect. Cool enough for a camp fire at night, and perfect to sleep in. I love this picture of Abbie because it shows her finally getting hair. She has been without hair on the forehead area and near the ears and it is growing in. I am pretty excited about it.
We brought a little toy along with us. A two man duckie. Brighton was so excited. She got to go fishing with dad all by herself. She was in heaven. They look so dang cute on that little raft together. They didn't have any success in catching fish, but sure had a great time together. Had the weather been better on Saturday we would have liked to go out more and as a family. I guess we will have to wait till next time.
Friday morning we took a little trip to the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. This forest is amazing. It is located in the Smoky Mountains, and is has the biggest trees east of the Mississippi. We had a nice little 2 mile hike. I am always impressed at what a good hiker my little Brighton girl is. She hiked the whole thing, and found all sorts of treasures along the way. We stopped often and took little breaks, and I was grateful to have little kids on the trip who needed to rest as much as I did.
Jason and I have always wanted to find Salamanders. When we took our trip to the Smoky's in March they weren't out yet, but this day there were. Jason found a bunch. They were all over the place in the little river beds. The girls thought they were pretty net and wanted to hold them. You can see the tail of one that Brighton is holding. They were fast and slippery, so you had to hold on tight to keep them in your hand. Abbie didn't really want to hold them, she just liked to point to them and get really excited.
This stump became a little play ground for the girls. They would climb in and out of it. They loved to play peekaboo in it too. This is Abbie springing up from her hiding place.
On the trail Jason spotted a little snake and picked it up for the girls. Brighton was all for holding it. I was a little nervous about it, but it turned out just fine. She was so proud of herself for holding the snake that she told a couple of people that we past on the trail. She would describe the colors and how she held it and who caught it. It was adorable.
This is all the girls on the trip. We defiantly out numbered the guys. The Gleason's joined our camping trip and it was a blast to have them with us. From let to right: Joy, Brighton, Joceyln, Me and baby boy, and Abigial.
I was trying to get a picture of the awesome tent site with Abbie, and it turned out it was just me and the tent.
When we were unloading the car Abbie was my little helper. It was so dark on Thursday that she would follow me everywhere but fall down all the time. It was hard to see, so she was put in the trunk. She loved it there. She would stay there and lay down and play with the lights. She had a blast, and looked pretty cute too. The trip was very fun and we all weren't ready to leave. Sunday morning was the most beautiful day and it was hard to leave. We hope to get in one more camp out before this baby comes, and winter is here.
Our little "Nice Witch" and chick at the end of the night. Don't they look so tired? Abbie kept dragging her pumpkin on the ground and it was soaking wet. We forgot to dump the candy out when we got home and all the candy was wet the next morning.
Some houses were decorated really cute. This ghost seemed to scare Abbie, but made for a nice picture.
Abbie would take off through the bushes and grass last night. She was all over the place. She was to excited to take a picture, so we got one on the go.
Our pretty nice witch!
This was the last house that we went to. It was the scary house on the block. Can you see why? Even though it was rainy, it was fun to watch the girls enjoy getting there candy. We wish that we could have been with family this year to show grandparents the girls' cute costumes. We miss you all and especially around the Holidays.
