We set out about 6:00 one Sunday morning to spend the day as a family in the mountains of NC. We love, love, love the mountains and have been in the spring and fall, but have never been in the winter so we wanted to check it out. We made sure to pack all of our provisions - snacks, lunch, extra clothes for two active boys, and plenty of hats, gloves, and jackets and got on the road.
Sun about to rise...
RA is obsessed with watching our elevation increase as we travel to the mountains...
Pink sky as we approach the north GA mountains...
Ellis was back asleep within 20 minutes of being in the car. He's his mama's child when it comes to sleep.
This kid was awake and happy the WHOLE DRIVE...
Ellis hiding behind his pillow when his brother was being loud...
And back to sleep he goes...
RF asked 10 times within the first hour if we were there yet. Nope. Not yet, buddy --- for the eighth time. He was the first to see mountains (in north GA) and yelled, "I SEE MOUNTAINS" - he was so excited and then really bummed that they weren't the mountains we were traveling to for the day. He spent the trip looking out the window and saw an airplane at one point. RA asked him where he thought it was headed and RF said, "Well, that's easy - to the airport." Such a literal kid.
We arrived in Cherokee, NC about 9:30 and headed over to the entrance of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to stop at the visitors center to walk around and take a bathroom break before heading into the park.
Learning how to churn butter...
Looking out the big windows to see the open fields where the elk roam...
Unfortunately, the roads in the mountains were already iced over, so we could only go about 3 miles into the park. We were able to wander down one trail before deciding to head over to Bryson City and wander at the Deep Creek (our FAVORITE) entrance to the park.
Explorers!
Just wandering...
He loves the mountains...and the snow!
Happy brothers!
Ellis slipped and fell and thought it was hilarious!
A little fallen tree hopping to get down by the river...
Icicles around the edges of the river bank...
RA pulled off a few icicles so that the boys could see them close up...
Icicle still on the branch...
RF holding a tornado icicle...
Really pretty how they formed...
Ellis holding an icicle...
My people...
Selfie by the river...
Daddy and E wandering back to the car...
Mama and RF heading back to the car, too...
21 degrees at 10:24AM. BRRRRRRRR.....
Huge icicles on the side of the mountain road...
They looked like teeth...
Wild turkeys! RF said, "I thought Thanksgiving was over!" Ha - goober kid!
ELK! This one managed to get himself caught on a rope of some sort...
Fighting. RF said, "They must be brothers!"
We packed a picnic lunch and ate before hopping out to enjoy a few more hours wandering in the woods.
We sat in the car for our picnic since it was 21 degrees outside...too cold to sit at the picnic tables.
RF kept telling us that this was "the best day ever!"
The boys heading up to see one of the waterfalls at Deep Creek...
He just wanders and wanders. He loves the quiet and calmness of the mountains...
Waterfall!
Frozen waterfall!
Taking it all in...
Needle ice coming up from the ground...
Somebody had to hold mama's hand as we went down the trail because he wanted to RUN down the steep incline of the mountain...he gives me gray hair.
Hanging and smiling with mama!
"I wanna hold your hand, mama."
More amazing icicles on the trails...
Another waterfall - partly frozen...
Daddy and his boys...
Daddy and E rock climbing...
"I love waterfalls, mama!"
He started singing "Go Tell It On The Mountain" as we were wandering down the mountain from our hike to some of the waterfalls. It was so cute.
Ellis got tired, so daddy was on carrying-patrol...
I wandered ahead a bit and was able to get a cute photo of the boys walking together behind me...
25 degrees at noon. FREEZING.
RA got a cute photo of me and the boys walking and talking...
We stopped by the post office to mail our postcard (tradition), grabbed RA an RC cola, and got on the road back to GA. The boys were ZONKED within 10 minutes of us getting in the car and slept all the way until we stopped north of ATL for gas and dinner. They did really well on the trip and RA and I both commented on how much easier trips like this are getting now that the boys are getting a little older (and are both potty-trained - PRAISE!).
Writing out our postcard at the Bryson City post office...
Massive acorn that Ellis found on the hike. Unfortunately, it has already fallen prey to a little beagle girl who thought it would be a good chew toy...
Stopping for an RC cola...
OUT!
OUT, TOO!
Time for supper at Cracker Barrel...
A little coloring time while waiting on his chicken and dumplings...
Tuesday evening we received notification that the wintery weather coming into GA was a bit too concerning to have school on Wednesday, so both my school and the boys school cancelled classes for Wednesday. We get to sleep in and snuggle/be lazy all day? This mama will take it!
We woke up Wednesday morning to SNOW! The boys wanted breakfast first (#priorities) and then decided they wanted to go out to wander in the snow. RA and RF stayed out longer than E and I did - it was SO COLD - 19 degrees when we woke up with a wind chill of 5 degrees. SHIVER.
All bundled up ready to go explore the snow covered back yard with the dogs...
SNOW!
Beagles LOVED IT!
Boys did, too!
Snow covered wood pile...
Gracie prancing across the driveway...
View down the street...
Such a pretty sight...
Snow covered pansies...
Snow covered school bus bird house...
Someone took a nose-dive into the snow and got himself covered in it...
Such a pretty view of the back yard...
Snow covered bird feeder...
RA and RF throwing snowballs at each other...
Daisy watching the boys outside...
Poking her little head out - she wasn't 100% sure she wanted to go back out there...
Snowy back yard at sunrise...
We came inside to warm up and RA built us a nice, warm fire before everyone went back outside for a little more snow time.
Much warmer inside!
He was bound and determined to ride his John Deere in the snow, but the tires don't have the best traction so he kept getting stuck. He tried pushing it a few times and was ticked off when he couldn't get it to go consistently.
Upset about his John Deere not driving easily...
Snow covered stump at the fire pit...
Snow covered plants along the back of the yard...
"Just follow my tracks, mama. That way you'll know where I am."
Front of the house later in the day...
Snowy boots at the back door...
They had had quite enough and situated themselves in the warm bed for the rest of the day...
RF said his toes were frozen, so I pulled out a little space heater for him to use to warm up a bit...
A little game of "Where's the Beagle Hiding?"
Snow days call for freshly baked chocolate chip cookies...
The boys had lunch and took a nap mid-day while I lounged and worked on some curriculum writing and blog posts.
After naps, the snow was starting to melt and the boys wanted to snuggle and watch a movie, so we did that until dinner time. We received notification that school was also cancelled on Thursday due to ice overnight. We were so excited to have another day hanging at home!
Thursday we slept in and then lounged around the house all morning. The boys played while I cleaned out the refrigerator and freezer. RF was a scientist working in his lab and Ellis was his assistant (and at one point his test subject...). We were able to see RA at lunchtime (a rarity during the work week), before the boys went down for a nap. We are planning to venture out to the post office and to the grocery store this afternoon. Mama is going a little stir crazy. ;-)
