Labor Day in the Mountains and a Weekend with Ashby

Labor Day:
I seem to get further and further between posts. I get busy - but even more so, I get lazy. We had a great Labor Day weekend at the cabin in North Carolina. Bill and I went up when I finished work on Thursday. It is a 2 1/2 hour drive to Balsam, so we got there late afternoon. That gave us time to get the cabin opened and then to go grocery shopping.

On Friday morning, we took a long ride up on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I absolutely love it up there! Lisa, David and Ashby came up on Friday afternoon. We cooked steaks out on the charcoal grill and relaxed. Saturday was also a lazy day - late breakfast, reading, lounging around, taking walks (well, Ashby wanted to take one walk after another, but I wasn't the one taking her!) Ashby loved the mountains. It was cool and beautiful. She wanted to be outside all the time. I liked being out on the front porch, too. Late in the afternoon, we went into Waynesville. They have a nice historic downtown area that is always fun to walk around. It turned out they were having a block party that evening, so we stayed around, had some of the best pizza, and then enjoyed the party. There was a live band and dancing. Ashby loved that! They also had the usual food goodies, like kettle corn, and a cute play area for children. Ashby used the sidewalk chalk to draw some pictures in the street. Mostly, though, she just watched all the other children.

Sunday, we went to the Waynesville Ward. They have a very tiny ward, but we always really enjoy visiting there. The rest of the day was just lazy. We cooked out again - pork chops, this time. Monday was pretty much a repeat. We went out to lunch at a nice place downtown. Bill and I had to leave later, as I couldn't get off work Tuesday. David, Lisa, and Ashby stayed over an extra night and came back Tuesday. David commented that it was such a relaxing vacation and was so fun. I have to agree. I am the kind who loves a vacation to be relaxing rather than hectic.

Weekend with Ashby:
This weekend, we had Ashby with us. David and Lisa wanted to go to the temple and had to go to Birmingham, AL, since the Atlanta Temple is still closed. They went over Friday evening and then attended a session on Saturday. It turned into a kind of "date weekend" instead of date night. Ashby stayed with us and was so good. Our ward had a talent show that evening, so she went with us and loved all the excitement. After the first act - a mom and her kids did a routine to a really peppy song - Ashby was signing and saying "more, more, more." It was so cute. The most interesting part for her was when the bishopric lip-synced a couple of Beach Boys songs. Since Grandpa is in the bishopric, he was up there being rather silly. She loved it! She kept pointing and saying "Gampa!"

Saturday he took her to the playground at the park and she had a ball. The rest of the time, she played here. She loves her books, her Elmo doll, her cars, her crayons, and everything else! She sings all the time. She helped draw a welcome home message on the driveway for mommy and daddy. She also helped Grandpa water the flowers and was one of the flowers that got watered! After her bath, we cuddled in the big chair and watched one of her music videos.

By then, I think she was missing her parents, so when Lisa and David got back in the early evening, she went wild! It was great for them to get a little away time together. And, we totally loved having her with us.

I love this job!!!