Over the long Labor Day weekend, our family took a trip to the mountains to have some quality time together. We had a wonderful trip! Like all of our mountain getaways, this one was just what we needed to rest (well, as much as we could rest with two little ones!), relax, laugh, play, and just enjoy each other's company. We left Friday night after Steven arrived home from work and headed back Monday evening.
On Saturday, we went to Tweetsie Railroad. Our friend who kindly gave us tickets to the park
back in April did so again this time around. The only difference was that this time we were able to visit our friend in the Tweetsie Train Shop where he works on all the train parts doing fixes, renovations, and anything else that needs to be done. We were able to see, very closely, all the big machines that are used for fixing or making train parts. It really was fascinating and
very much over my head. Isaac enjoyed looking around the shop, and Steven liked learning more about trains from the mechanic perspective. We also were able to get into one of the trains that wasn't running at the time - the Yukon Queen. This is a train that was used in Alaska during World War 2! Steven and Isaac got to see the train's boiler up close, which they both thought was pretty cool! In addition to touring the Yukon Queen, we were able to go inside an old rail car from the early 1800's. It's one that Tweetsie has acquired and is currently restoring. We felt as though we'd stepped back in time while we were in that one! One very interesting thing we learned was that the Tweetsie mechanic team has restored all the trains that are used at Walt Disney World. Disney contracted out Tweetsie to do all that work on their trains! And our friend was one of the main people doing that restoration work - pretty neat! We were so glad to be able to see some "behind the scenes" while we were there.
The rest of our time at Tweetsie was just great. Isaac had a blast on the rides and watching the shows, and Elise enjoyed being carried around in the sling.
Here is Isaac, with his new Tweetsie lunchbox (which came with our lunch), getting ready for the chair lift:
Elise and me, waiting in the chair lift line:
Isaac at the rides. He's now an old pro at these and, boy,
does he love them! Here he is riding the planes:
And here he is riding the boat ride:
Elise took a nice little nap in the sling:
But she woke up in time for the petting zoo!
While at the petting zoo, we had a neat experience with one of the little goats who had escaped from the pen. He came right up to Steven! Within a matter of a few seconds, Steven was surrounded by kids who were excited to pet the goat. When we first got to the petting zoo, Isaac was a little shy about feeding the goats. But
not after
this:
Here are the children completely surrounding Steven and his goat friend:
Once the kids left, Steven and Isaac got to have some individual time with the goat. I think Isaac thought it was his very own goat. He seemed so confident around this little guy!
See how he's now able to feed the other goats with no fear?!
After all that adventure, here's some sweet Daddy/daughter lovin':
Elise loves her Daddy's shoulders!
Isaac on the horse outside the Tweetsie Gift Shop:
Isaac and Elise on the horse:
Here's the Tweetsie Train Shop where our friend works:
We love Tweetsie! We were so thankful to be able to go once again. Isaac asks at least every other day if we can go back to Tweetsie. We remind him that it's a long drive to get there so we'll have to wait a while before going back. In the meantime, though, he
loves to play with his wooden train set.
On Sunday, we just had a laid back day, eating at a local pizza place and playing in the creek. Here are some pictures of our time at the creek:
That night, the kids took a bath together and had a blast playing and splashing around. Here is a
way too cute picture we snapped of Elise right after her bath:
On Monday, we ventured out to the town of Blowing Rock and spent some time in the park. We also visited our
favorite little candle store to chat with the owner and purchase our favorite scented candle, Banana Nut Bread. (It's absolutely perfect for fall... or really we burn it year round at our house!) While we were at the park, Isaac enjoyed playing on the playsets and swinging. Elise also loved swinging! Here we are on those famous swings:
After the kids took a nap, we packed up and headed back to Charlotte. Of course we couldn't
not stop by Cookout in Boone on our way out. :)
Here's a picture of all four of us: (check out that little baby girl's face!!)
Another absolutely incredible family trip!
This week, we've fallen in love with a product called Boogie Wipes. I'd received a few samples in the mail a while back and had been waiting for an opportunity to use them (or, rather, hoping not to have to use them but keeping them in my purse just in case.) Well, after using one of them, Isaac and I were both sold. They are like very soft baby wipes, but they are scented and also have saline in them, which helps with runny noses. Isaac loves them so much that he carries his around and wipes his own nose. We have tried all three scents: Fresh scent, Grape scent, and Menthol scent (my personal favorite). They are awesome! They make the wiping noses thing a whole lot easier both for Mommas and little ones!
