Lupe, Jay and Haha

Avery is very excited about seeing Luke, Heather and Jay next weekend at Lake Lure. She is so excited, in fact, that she has diligently been practicing saying all of thier names. Jay definitley got the best end of this deal! See you next weekend, Jay, Haha and Lupe!

High Hampton Inn

It's been awhile since my last blog update, but I have lots of great reasons: our internet broke, my computer broke, and we went on vacation. Since I'm blogging now, you guessed it, things are back in order. So, on to the details of our most recent vacation!

Two weekend ago, we met Meme and Pa up at the High Hampton Inn in Cashiers, NC. I've been going there with my parents on and off over the last ten years, and this was my fourth visit. The last time I went, Greg and I were engaged, and he and I talked about what a great place it would be to take our then future kids. The High Hampton Inn is nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of NC, and is a complete throwback to outdoor pursuits before there was a little distraction called technology. As such, there are all kinds of great activities offered on the property, and no phones or TVs. I know I always welcome the disconnect!

On our way up to the Inn, Avery was so excited about swimming in the lake that she practiced putting on her swimsuit all by herself. As you can tell by the above photo, she usually needs a little help getting the top and the bottom in just the right places.

Ah, relaxation! And temps about 15 degrees cooler than at home in Hotlanta!

Avery sure seemed to enjoy life at the High Hampton.

Between playing and swimming, Avery took a few minutes our of her day to go "wee" with Violet.

Here she is riding high on Daddy's shoulders. Can you tell it's just about nap time?

Here we are returning from a walk to see the Inn's donkeys.

Avery could not get enough of the playground at the inn. She played tetherball...

...and went on the tire swing with Pa and Daddy while I was not watching. I definitley would not have allowed this activity. Tire swinging is not Mommy sanctioned! What was wrong with the baby swings just a few yards away????

Even though the playground was a lot of fun, Avery hit the jackpot at the lake. There was a kiddie area about a foot deep that was perfect for her water-wing debut! She had a blast playing in the water and loved the new freedom her water-wings allowed. We definitely have a water baby on our hands!

We sure hope to visit the High Hampton Inn again soon, and certainly recommend a visit to anyone in the Atlanta or Western NC area!

c

Breckenridge, CO

Last weekend, we journeyed west to Breckenridge, CO to attend the Holstein family reunion - a gathering of relatives on Greg's mother's side of the family. His mom, Sondra, was the eldest of the seven children of Everett and Joan Holstein. Though she has passed, her six siblings and many of their offspring attended the reunion that Greg planned. Breckenridge was a great venue for the gathering - it sure is beautiful during the summer and much cooler than Hotlanta!

Avery was fairly shy around the boisterous group of relatives, but warmed up to anyone that would let her play "ball" on the pool table or play stairs with her. Here she is modeling her Aunt Sara's hat.

And here she is letting Aunt Sara hold her. I think these two are going to end up looking a lot alike.

Avery also took to her cousin, Brynn. Who wouldn't? Brynn is a fun, ambitious college girl who was all smiles all weekend.

We took a few minutes from window shopping to dip Avery's toes in the Blue River which runs through downtown Breck. Avery thought that this was the best!

We got to spend lots of time outdoors in the temps averaging 75 in the afternoon. We took lots of walks and scouted for wildlife. I spotted a fox, but Greg tried to convince me it was a dog. It was a fox - as confimed by neighbors and some others in our group that saw it too. Geez - you'd like Mr. Wildlife would know a fox when he saw one!

We had a great time at the reunion, and I know Avery and I really enjoyed meeting Greg's extended family. We hope in Greg's case it's not another 20 years before we see everyone again!

Family Photos

Greg indulged me with my "one family photo session per year" in mid-July, so at the recommendation of my friend Angela, I booked a photo session with local photographer Chris Walters. We really enjoyed working with him and love the images he captured of our family. We don't have digital copies of our photos yet, but you can view the online gallery here. Enjoy!

http://chriswphotography.smugmug.com/Portraits/Bayer-Family/13126182_NdevQ#951948106_BbfLF