Pillow Fight!

This weekend we went to Vancouver to spend some time with Janae and Kiera, and of course, Heather, Jeff, Andrea and Chris. While we were there I caught this moment on camera. Kiera is 10 months old and has figured out how to bother her sister Janae who will be 4 years old later this month. This brought back so many similar memories of when Heather and Andrea were that age.

Cute Kids

On Friday night, while in Vancouver, we went out to dinner with Heather, Jeff, Janae, Kiera, Andrea, Chris, Tami, Dan, Evan and Siena. Afterward, we went back to Heather and Jeff's house. When Kiera went to bed we put in a movie to help the older kids stay quiet. I thought they all looked so cute I couldn't help but take a picture.

On Saturday, we went to the Clark County Fair. Janae and I went on the Tea Cup ride and had lots of fun.

Janae and Heather went on the Roller Coaster. Janae loved it. She even got brave enough to put her hands in the air!

Kiera - Learning to Walk

Kiera is right on the verge of walking. She has great balance but needs to build up her confidence a little more. She does really well pushing the stroller around. I'm sure she'll be walking on her own very soon.

North Carolina

Two weeks ago we went to North Carolina. Steve served his mission there a few years back (ha ha!) and has wanted to go visit for a long time. We had a great time and met a lot of nice people. North Carolina looks like Oregon, green with lots of trees but unlike Oregon it is hot and muggy.

Steve showed me most of the areas he served in and he even found a few of the apartments and houses he lived in while there. He has a great memory when it comes to people and places which I already knew but I was impressed that he could find these places after so many years away.

While we were traveling around we managed to visit South Carolina and Tennessee also. You will notice that we even drove through Bat Cave, North Carolina.

Outer Banks, North Carolina

We spent some time on the Outer Banks. This was our first time on the Atlantic Ocean. It was a beautiful day. It was windy but very hot. The water was about 82 degrees. We enjoyed the fact that you could wade in the surf and not have numb feet and legs when you were done.

Grandfather Mountain and the Swinging Bridge

We took an exciting walk up to the Mile High Swinging Bridge on Grandfather Mountain. The bridge is the highest swinging footbridge in America. The bridge really does swing when you walk on it but, thank goodness, it's made of steel and not wood. The bridge is suspended more than a mile above sea level. When you get to the other side you realize you are standing on the edge of a cliff. I was surprised that there were not any railings or fences. I'm not afraid of heights but I found myself watching everybody's kids to make sure they didn't get too close to the edge (just like an over protective grandma). It was really beautiful and you could see for miles and miles. Steve spent part of his time taking pictures of other families with their cameras. He wanted them to have pictures of their whole family together. Everyone was very appreciative.

The Biltmore House, Asheville, North Carolina

We spent several hours touring the Biltmore House and Gardens. This place is amazing. It took over 4 years to build the house, they finished in 1895 making it the largest home in America to date. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside but it was very impressive. Some of my favorite interesting facts are: the house sits on 8,000 acres of land; the library contains more than 23,000 books; there are 43 bathrooms - most houses in 1895 didn't have even one; electric lights throughout the house; one of the bedrooms displays two Renoir paintings, Child with an Orange and The Young Algerian Girl; there is a bowling alley, swimming pool and gymnasium in the basement; they have an early form of walk-in refrigerators, a laundry room with a belt-driven barrel washer and an inside drying room; etc. Mr. Vanderbilt and his architect were very forward thinking.

There are several gardens and they are all beautiful. The conservatory is open to the public and you can buy hundreds of varieties of plants. I could have spent all day there looking at each and every type of flower and plant.

We learned a lot and really enjoyed our time there.