A Day in Maggie Valley

Last week my mom came to pick up my sister from my house. My family lives in Florida so we don't get to spend very much time with them. Needless to say, when she comes she wants to make the most out of her time with the grandkids. She had wanted to go to Maggie Valley the last time she was here, but the weather was terrible and we never made it out past Ashville. So, since Daniel was off last Thursday we all loaded up and headed out to Maggie Valley. It was very overcast and sprinkling when we left home, but as we got closer to the mountains everything was sunny and dry.

After we drove through the busy part of town in the center of Maggie Valley we came to a little country store with a huge lookout tower. For 50 cents per person you could walk to the top of the tower to look through the binoculars and take some pictures. So, that's exactly what we did. Although the binoculars were not very good the view was great.

This picture was taken at the bottom of the tower.


These pictures were taken from the top of the tower.

After we were done taking some pictures and doing some shopping we were ready for lunch. We stopped at a Mexican Restaurant that had really nice views, but the food was not as good as El Titanic. LOL...

After reading the menu for himself, Isaac showed me what he wanted to eat.

And so did Logan.

My mom loves gem mining, so we got some directions to Old Pressley Sapphire Mine. When we got there it was closed though. I guess we got a flyer that did not have the updated hours of operation. Oh well - I wasn't too disappointed.

We had a great time in the mountains last week. It was nice just to be able to spend the day with my husband as a family. We don't get to do that very often anymore.

How Funny

I was a little down the other day about having to miss another Ladie's Trip this weekend and my husband made the statement, "If mama ain't happy, nobody's happy." I found this when I was browsing through some of the accessories for my blog. I thought it was kind of funny seeing as how Daniel just said it the other day.

Happy Birthday Haili

Our oldest daughter, Haili, turned eight years old this past Monday. So, Saturday she invited a couple of friends and her cousin over for an informal birthday celebration. It was a lot of fun!

Here is the whole gang enjoying their cake and ice cream. However, you can't see Alanna..... she's behind Cheyenne's head.


Shelby and Haili. Aren't they beautiful?


Nicole being silly like always.


Haili and Cheyenne wanted their picture taken together too.


The boys couldn't resist having their picture taken also.


Joseph's smile says it all!


Ethan got to savor some cake and ice cream too! Daddy was all to happy to feed him.


Get that camera out of my face - I'm trying to eat here!

Biking in Damascus

This past weekend we went biking on the Virginia Creeper Trail in Damascus, Virginia with our Sunday School class. This is our second year going, however, we didn't take Haili and Malachi with us this time. My brother and sister in law kept ALL of the kids for us. Thank you so much Jon and Susan! We had a great time.


Daniel and I stopping for a quick picture while we waited for the bikes to be loaded before going to the top of the mountain.


Bruce and Kristi on their bikes.


The handsomest man in the world!


This is one of the many bridges we went over on the trail.


Some of the people that went with us. My sister, Deandra, is the one on the right. She is going back home to Florida this weekend. Boo Hoo!


Jamie, Daniel, and Caleb


Angie and her son Logan.


A small waterfall in the creek running along the side of the trail.

Another waterfall. Isn't it pretty?

I love all of the rocks in the creek. It reminds me of the river in front of my grandma's house in New York.

We stopped to eat at The Creeper Trail Cafe. We had worked up quite an appetite; I was starving. I had a huge bacon cheeseburger and some fries. It was delicious, but I was still hungry, so I got a Rice Krispy Treat too.

This is a view of the creek from one of the bridges. I love the rock formations. The picture really doesn't do it justice - it was beautiful.

Drew and Caleb. Drew couldn't hold on any longer.

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It was a long day, but a fun one. I hope we get to go again next year, but we will take all of the kids with us. Daniel kept saying throughout the whole trail how much the kids would love to do it too. So, next year they will more than likely be joining in the fun.

A Day at Kings Mountain Battleground

My mom and my sister, Deandra, came in last Wednesday evening to visit for a few days. Since Daniel didn't have to work Thursday we decided to take the kids to the Kings Mountain Battleground. It was a really nice day and we wanted to spend it outdoors instead of inside. Besides my mom had never seen it before and we figured she would really enjoy visiting a "historical" place.


First, we stopped by The Living History Farm. It was really interesting to get to see how the people back then used to live. It was actually really neat - they had everything they needed right there on their property.


This was one of the homes they had there.



I think this is where they did some of their cooking.


Daniel posing for me in the outhouse.


The kids really liked the seeing the roosters that were roaming around.....even the big kids!


Like father....like son.


Another picture of that cute little house.


The most wonderful, loving husband a girl could ask for.


After we left the Living History Farm we hiked for one and a half miles around the Kings Mountain Battleground.


My mother and I starting to feel the burn coming uphill. Hey....at least it wasn't hot. It was actually a little cool and very windy.


The kids stopped for a quick pose up against one of the monuments......


while Mommy and Grammi stopped to catch their breath for a minute.

We had a great day and enjoyed just being together!

What A Week!

Things have definitely been busy around the Douglass house this week. With dentist appointments, doctor's appointments, revival with Dr. Larry Brown, Patch the Pirate, and the normal daily routine - I haven't had the chance to put on a new post. Amiss all of the stuff we had going on this week, our children still did half a million cute things that blessed my heart.



Today when I picked the kids up from my friend, Pam's, house Isaac came waltzing up the stairs dressed in Caleb's camouflage gear and Joseph's water gun. He looked so cute, so I had Nicole run to the truck and grab my camera to snap a picture.



G.I. Isaac



Ethan being silly while we were hanging out in the truck waiting on Daddy!

Another Great Day at Super Church

Today we had another great day at Super Church. Unfortunately Daniel had to be at work today, so he didn't get to be there. Although several of the children asked where you were Daniel. Nevertheless, they all had a great time.


Here, the girls on the right side of the picture are screaming "Praise ye the Lord!" while the boys are waiting for their turn to try to be louder than the girls with "Hallelujah!"


Some of the teenagers from Sigma are helping the fellas out.


Kristi and Cheyenne were working hard in the kitchen preparing lunch for all those hungry kids out there working up an appetite


This is the Kindergarten through Second graders. Pam, Amanda, Amy, Christy, and I have this particular age group in our class.


This is Christy's daughter, Kaleigh. She loves Brother Dandle! That is what she calls Daniel. I think it's so sweet.


Celine and Naomi couldn't wait for their turn to get a picture taken.