Smoky Mountains of North Carolina

 We got a super cheap bed and breakfast deal in Waynesville, NC for two nights and traveled up there after Corey's graduation. It was so refreshing to see mountains! I think I took about a million pictures, as you will see below. We spent most our time eating awesome food, seeing the sites in the Smoky Mountain National Park, and touring the small shops in Waynesville.We were all in desperate need of a vacation and we left with "our buckets full"!

 Smoky, huh?!?

 Lake Junaluska (2 miles of property owned by the Methodists)

Here in N.C. everybody loves Jesus.

Old fashioned "play" guns from the Mast General Store.

Shooting at the butterfly and ducks.

Some of you might remember that about 4 years ago Corey had a fixation with light-weight backpacking and always talked about how he would go on a backpacking excursion on the Appalachian Trail someday. 

I'm sure he didn't image it quite like this, but we took a little "hike" along the Appalachian Trail and tried to "fulfill" our Dad's dream. :)

We touched the upper right corner of Tennesse, so now I can mark that state off my list. :)

Our adorable bed and breakfast

 Goodbye Mountains...until next time.

Master's Degree: DONE!

On Thursday, May 9th Corey received his Master's Degree in Nursing from University of North Carolina-Greensboro. It was an exciting day! It was fun to watch the kids be so happy for their Dad, and of course I was beaming. Corey isn't done with the anesthesia portion of his schooling until August, but he is done with his classes, papers, tests, presentations,etc. We were asked not to clap when the names were read, but Corey was one of the first people to get his degree (since his name is Anderson) and of course I made a bunch of noise for him! WOO HOO!!!

 On the way to graduation

 Raleigh School of Nurse Anesthesia Class of 2013

We were so lucky to have Corey's brother, Casey, there to support him.

...Then, we ate at Olive Garden and had endless salad, bread sticks, soup, and those yummy Ande's mints!

Jack's Ear Drama

This could be a LONG post, but I will try to keep it simple. At Jack's 2 year check-up I let the doctor know that he wasn't talking much. The doctor wasn't worried, but my Mommy instincts kicked in and I got him tested. Sure enough he had a speech delay, and started receiving speech therapy twice a week. They also did a few hearing tests and Jack never passed them, we ended up finding out he had fluid in his ears and he wasn't hearing properly. He should hear the human voice at 20 decibels, but he wasn't hearing it until 50 decibels. As a result, Jack had surgery on April 16th to have his adenoids removed and tubes placed in his ears. I thought this would be an immediate solution, but about 2 weeks later Jack got very sick. Come to find out his incision on his right ear had bled too much and scabbed over his tube. With the help of antibiotics and ear drops, we have a healthy Jack-Jack and he is starting to speak better everyday. YEAH! I hope the ear drama is over....

 Jack is "smiling", but it looks like growling.

Spring-time in Raleigh

We've had a cold and rainy Spring, but we had a few nice days with a bunch of pollen and some beautiful blossoms!

 Check out the pollen that gathered on our vehicles. 

 Picnic indoors.

A day trip to Jordan Lake State Park

Mi Casa es su Casa!

The other day I got an email from a sweet lady that attends our church, she said it was official, they would be moving and we would be able to rent their home.

At the end of the email she wrote, "Now I can say, Mi casa es su casa"!

We are excited about this opportunity! We will be moving into their home on August 1st and the kids are so excited to have their own rooms, a play room upstairs (in the finished attic), and Mom is just happy about the backyard! We have never lived in a space larger than 1100 square feet, since Corey and I have been married almost 8 years. We are so excited to have space!

Crawfish Party!

Corey's friend from Mississippi invited us out to Clayton, NC 

for a traditional, southern crawfish party. I know NOTHING about crawfish, and I certainly knew nothing about a crawfish party prior to attending the gathering. I was frightened when I realized that our hosts had purchased huge boxes of LIVE crawfish and would be boiling them at the party. The whole idea behind spending that much time and energy on a food item is beyond me. Especially since, you only eat a small pinch of the fish. However, it was a memory that we wont soon forget. 

The crawfish are alive, yikes!

 



These ones are cooked, and flavored just right!

 



This guy was trying to scare the kids with the live crawfish. :)

 



This was our amazing cook!

 



These guys spent hours around the crawfish just talking and eating.

 



Jack and Adelynn perfected their "corn-hole" skills.

 



I met and fell in love with these triplets, I couldn't get enough of them! I went home feeling so sad that I don't get to watch my twin nieces grow up, because they are so far away. : (

 



I didn't have the patience to eat much crawfish,

 but the potatoes and corn were great!

 

 



Growing up...

 

  My babies are getting so big! These pictures were taken about a year apart, and in the same place.