Backlog picture dump

Here are all the pics/activities that I never blogged about.

• Azure's gymnastics

Azure did an 8 wk gymnastic session starting in Jan and ending in March. I think she enjoyed it for the most part though, she says she didn't. To be honest, I didn't like it myself. However she really loved soccer so I think I'll be putting her back in come Fall. She did really like her gymnastics coach, Coach Jennifer.

• St. Patrick's Day

We met up with the Shepherds and Rindlisbachers downtown to watch the St. Patrick's Day parade. We tried to meet up with the Coopers and Garners too but, didn't end up running into them until afterwards at Forsyth. We're not much into parades. But, this parade is a BIG deal here and we had yet to go in previous years. So, we went.

 

 A Clydesdale for Grandma Jensen

Then we came home and Charlie made us corned beef for dinner.

• More green smoothie pics and silly faces

I had to post all of these, they're too good not to. They are so cute it kills me!

•  Cherokee, NC

Cherokee was so beautiful as Spring was in full bloom. A little colder than what we were used to down here in the lowcountry. The local Bishop was so kind to let Charlie stay in an extra A-frame cabin he had up there for 5 wks. We stayed with him the last week of his rotation at the Cherokee Indian Hospital on the Rez. Life on the Rez is pretty crazy. Just ask Charlie.

Picnic lunch on the deck

One of Azure's favorite things to do is "play fight" or "play rough" with Daddy. Sometimes Vince joins in and other times he just screams because he's frightened by all the yelling going on. This is fast becoming our nightly ritual before bed.

My favorite day was when we hiked Clingman's Dome on the border of North Carolina and Tennessee. The air was crisp and cool, perfect for an uphill climb. Wholesome recreational activities with these 3 rank pretty high on my "most favoritest things ever" list. It makes my heart happy. Azure was talking to random people on the trail and ran ahead until she out did herself and realized she'd expended all her energy. Hard to believe that's possible. Then she begged to be carried the rest of the way. Luckily for her, the way back was down hill.

The Great Smoky Mountains are gorgeous! The drive into the National Park was breathtaking. We oohhed and aahhed quite a bit. After our hike we drove into Tennessee for dinner. The Tennessee side was much greener than the NC side. We drove through Gaitlinburg but, ended up stopping in Pigeon Forge to eat. Pigeon Forge is home to the famous Dollywood which unfortunately we didn't go to. Charlie is a big fan of Dolly Parton. I, on the other hand, not so much. He has been known to belt out "Jolene" in the shower and at other random times.

"a real smile" aka a laugh, says Charlie

We felt like we were in Yellowstone for a bit when we saw a bunch of people stopping in the middle of the 2 lane highway through the Park to look at a bear. The mob mentality. It reminded us of when we were dating and went to Yellowstone in August 2005 and people stopped traffic to take pictures of buffalo milk that squirted out from a nursing calf on the asphalt. Interesting.