Between Here and There

After our time in the NC mountains, we headed east to Durham.  Our stay in Durham was quite short, but we enjoyed staying with an old friend outside of town.  Staying at 'Mr. Andrew's' was great fun for the kids, who enjoyed swimming several times. the kids on the castle side of Mr. Andrew's house we also were able to visit Kevin and his family outside of Chapel Hill

After our second night in GSMNP, it was time to head to Dillsboro, NC, where we were going to meet up with Katie’s family.  We all stayed in Hannah’s parents spacious home, which is just outside of town.  It was great to be together, and the time passed very quickly.  There were 12 adults and 12 kids, but it seemed that the children had us outnumbered.  For the most part, the cousins played well together and had a great time.   The weather was warm and humid, but the evenings and mornings were very pleasant.  We were able to do a lot outdoors, with excursions to the river among the highlights. Kyle took a lot of pictures; we’ve uploaded a sampling of them here. Jack and Phillip at bat Timo and Jim cousins posing w/ a bull elk in the background Dad/Grandpa and Hannah model the custom made t-shirts Wes and Daniel picked up where they left off at Christmas nail polish session on the front steps ...

Our summer trip began with an early morning and a long day, but we made it to Nashville in time for dinner with our friends, the Packers.  (Kyle and the Wrangler were roommates at TU).   In spite of less than ideal weather, we had a good visit with the Wrangler and Amy and their young sons, Everett and Holden, who is a very content young man.  (He was in a good mood the whole time we were there.)  As you can see, the Packers' tree fort was a big hit w/ our kids. On the Packer's recommendation, we stopped at Burgess Falls State Park.  After passing a smaller waterfall, we made it to the larger falls, which were very impressive and had a lot of water from recent rains.  It was a very pleasant hike along the river, and we were glad we stopped.   The Wrangler, despite what you may have heard from unreliable sources, is quite good w/ children. After stopping in Knoxville for groceries and a picnic lunch, we made it to Great Smoky Mo...