Madison loves experiencing new things and one of her most enjoyable moments was this ‘train’ ride at the Cranberry Festival in beautiful Shady Valley, Tenn. This picture was taken by one of our favorite cousins Shelia who also has her very own site at www.sheliacampbell.net that we enjoying reading. It was raining extremely hard during our visit, but Madison had a great time anyway.
Ever since Maya became a member of our family (Amy & Gene’s family), she has visited here rather often and she and Houdini became immediate friends. She has lots more energy than he does, so at times I’m sure he wishes that she would just go back home for a while. They get along really well, and Maya took over Houdini’s spot on the kitchen rug today, but he didn’t seem to mind. He knows that in a few days it will be all his until her next visit. The cats however have a different opinion about her visits… it takes about a week for Tigger to come out from hiding, but Pooh usually stays in hiding during the whole visit. Maybe some day they will be as accepting as Houdini.
On the way to Blowing Rock, NC we stopped to snap a few pictures and this one at Jullian Price Lake is really great. Madison loved looking at the water, but she couldn’t understand why there were no boats. She kept asking where all the boats were because whenever she visits South Holston Lake there are always boats everywhere. There were a few fishermen along the banks enjoying the beautiful weather, and it was a great day for a visit to our neighboring state of North Carolina.
I’ve let you see the fun that Madison, Tami, Maya and Amy had at Blowing Rock, NC, and now it is time that you see some of the fun that Rick and I had. As you can see, Amy looks as if she can’t believe that her mom is actually swinging and getting her feet off the ground, and Madison is probably just wondering what GranGran is doing. We really did have a great time even if all that walking and swinging did make Rick’s back hurt and I had pain in places that I had forgotten even existed.
As I promised earlier, here are some more pictures showing the fun everyone had on our trip to Blowing Rock, NC on Rick’s birthday. As you can see, Madison was having a great time. She loved sitting with the flowers and pumpkins, walking Maya and of course swinging with her mom and Aunt Amy. Of course any time she sees Amy she loves it because she is just the best spoiler in the world. If you don’t believe me, just ask Madison and Olivia.
Today was Rick’s birthday (49th) and my gift to him was a trip to Blowing Rock, NC. The trip worked out perfectly for a number of reasons … Tami didn’t have to work, so she and Madison joined us and also Amy met us with her dog Maya, whom we will be keeping for several days while Amy goes to Texas and jumps out of airplanes.
Madison certainly enjoyed the day as is sooo very plain in these pictures. She loved the chocolate sucker as well as trying on hats in one of the gift shops, and of course the pumpkins and flowers were a big hit also.
There are plenty of other pictures that I will be sharing later…so you will just have to visit here again to get to see them.
Last Sunday Rick, Olivia and I took a trip to Hungry Mother State Park and had a picnic with a few family members from my dad’s side of the family. We always have several get togethers during the spring and summer months with them, but since the weather is beginning to get just a tad cool, this will be the last one for this year. As usual, I grabbed the camera and got a few pictures. I thought this one turned out to be rather different. At first glance it looks as if it is a picture hanging on the wall of the shelter, but it actually is a window looking out through the trees and to the lake. We had a really good visit and look forward to next spring to begin the picnics once again.
