Time spent with friends is time well spent

Friday I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon with a dear friend from high school. We spent the day at the pool and the kids played while me & Brandi took some time to catch up on life. We've stayed connected through the years & her family even lived right down the road from us here in Shelby for a few years. I kept her oldest two girls and felt like they were my own. Everyone always thought I had 4 kids when I had them in tow.

They live in Charlotte now, so we don't get a chance to see each other as often. The two little girls took to each other right away and had a wonderful time giggling and playing. They only knew each other in utero... hee, hee! It's so crazy to see how much the older girls have grown. Here's a few pictures from our day.

Kensley fix

I'm obsessed with taking pictures of my kids. They can thank me later and I can thank myself for making the memories now. I want to capture as much of them as I can, especially while they are little. Today, I felt the need to share some recent pictures of Kensley. She LOVES to pose for the camera and when she's not grinning that silly smile, she's just precious!

A day in the mount-uns

Yes, that's how my kids say mountains. They are country. Just like their mama. We went to my parents this past weekend. On Saturday we spent the day at Julian Price Park in Blowing Rock... it's on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We used to frequent this place when I was young. I have many, many fond memories of this park.... picnics, playing in the creek, hikes, games, relaxing... you name it. My kids love to visit this park too. They've been several times over the past few years with Mimi & PawPaw. When the boys were smaller they always said they wanted to go "throw yocks in the keek" (translation... throw rocks in the creek). Saturday we got to spend most of the day here as a family. It hasn't changed a bit... but I don't remember the water being so cold. Guess that's a sign that I'm getting older.

We grilled hotdogs for lunch, all the boys took a hike on the trail, played in the creek, raced boats, threw rocks and relaxed. Such a fun day! I'm glad my kids can experience some of the memories I had growing up.