Grandfather Mountain

We were staying pretty close to Grandfather Mountain so we spent a few hours exploring that area. The views were gorgeous and the kids loved climbing around on the rocks at the top of the mountain. They have a "mile high" swinging bridge you can cross. (The elevation is a mile.) Elsa was really nervous about crossing but quickly got over her fear. Simon was scared too and wanted to be carried across. But as soon as he was across, he wouldn't let anyone help him climb the rocks. They have a nature center on the mountain with a few live animals (including bears) so we checked those out, had lunch, and then did a short nature walk.

Mountain Getaway

Since our beach plans didn't work out, we were glad to find a great house to rent last minute that was just outside of Boone. We stayed two nights and the weather was gorgeous and the house had great views and space for the kids to run and play (and lots of things for Simon to break). Wildflowers were blooming all over the sides of the mountains. We enjoyed relaxing around the house (well, not so much relaxing for me and Ben until Simon was in bed each night), having a fire and s'mores, and exploring the area.

There were two little nooks like this that the girls immediately took over and set up their own little hideout.

Looking at bugs.

These two. Simon loves to torture Oliver.

The girls put on a glow stick show one night.

Old Salem

We had planned to go to the beach for the weekend when Ben's parents were here. Unfortunately, a tropical storm had the same plans so we decided to head to the mountains instead. It turned out to be a great alternative. We stopped in Old Salem on our way to Boone and walked around a bit. We also stopped at the vintage Shell Gas Station in Winston-Salem.

Sufjan!

I bought tickets for the Sufjan Stevens concert months ahead of time and was excited to hear him perform his new album, "Carrie and Lowell," which I love. It worked out well that Ben's parents were in town so they could babysit (and save us a bunch of money on a sitter since the venue was in Durham). We skipped the opening band and walked around the American Tobacco Campus to enjoy the beautiful weather. The concert was amazing, one of the best I've been to in recent years. He performed the entire album and it was hauntingly beautiful. The auditorium got so quiet at times. It was fascinating to watch his band members rotate around to different instruments too. He played some old favorites at the end which was fun. I had only seen him perform once before and it was his crazy Christmas show at a small venue in D.C. so this performance was quite different. I'm really glad we saw this tour. 

(Sufjan is at the piano in this shot. There were cool old home videos playing on the screens while he was performing "Carrie and Lowell.")

preschool mother's day tea

Oliver's preschool had a cute Mother's Day Tea for the moms. The kids sang a song and then we ate muffins with our kids. Oliver was super shy and refused to take a picture with me. (Mother's Day teas with the girls were very different.) I loved spending a little one-on-one time with him and he liked the special attention.