They FINALLY did it!

We finally got mom and dad on the Creeper Trail for a bike ride.  Since moving to the new house it is only a mile into town.  Hunter and Chloe wanted to go and so mom and dad joined us!  Just look at them go!

If you are looking for Lucas he was comfortably riding on the trailer bike behind me!  This was one fun afternoon!

Trike-A-Thon number 7, I think...

 And he is off!  Unlike his older brother whom is very careful and mindful of those around him when riding a bike, Lucas puts the pedal to the medal and hauls tail around the parking lot.  He did manage to steer clear of wrecks and those smaller than him.

 We love our friends!  Alice and Maddie get ready to start the trike a thon.

 Pausing for conversation with a fellow classmate.

One fine day!

My. Handsome.Boys.

Enough said.

I tell them on a daily basis how lucky they are to have each other.  How wonderful it is to have a best friend living in your house; a personal playmate for life.  Sometimes Hunter gets a little irritated that Lucas copies and mimics his every move.  I told Hunter that Lucas thinks he is the most awesome person on the planet and would follow him to the moon if he asked.  Hunter thought that was pretty cool.  They are brothers and they do argue every once in awhile but for the most part they are smitten with each other.  They sleep together, nap together, play together and seek each other out when separated.  They are respectful and caring to one another.  I hope this relationship continues forever.  We are proud parents and blessed with two great kids.

Our Training Waters

 Here a few snapshots of where we train.  Thanks to Brian who must always have a camera to catch a pose.  I never think about it for the two of us but it is nice to look back and see.  Thanks Brian for this crazy fun afternoon.

 Beautiful afternoon for a swim.

Not the most flattering attire for the sport but it does keep you warm in the water, parts protected from fish and other gross stuff in the lake and makes you fast!

First trip camping!

I really don't think I can put into words how much fun this trip was for our family.  It was the end of the summer, right before the temperatures were starting to get really cold at night.  As you can see in the first picture the water was still warm enough to play and swim in.  David and I got a few swims in as well but we opted to wear our nice warm tri suits!

 Lucas and I Kayaking and I am embarrassed to say that I don't know the name of the water.  We were camping at Kerr Scott Damn and I think this is a section of the Yadkin river.

 Uncle Larry and Hunter fishing.  Hunter has the same kind of patience as his dad.  He could sit and fish all day long, even if he never catches a thing.  I think this is one of his best qualities and quite unusual for a five year old.  They did catch some fish and I need to find that picture.  Uncle Larry took it and I need to save those pictures for the blog.  I will post it when I find it!  After the first evening of fishing I asked Hunter if he caught anything and his response was, "we didn't catch anything but we had a few tight pulls."  That seemed to be good enough for him!

 Our sleeping quarters.  I used to tent camp with Nana and Uncle Larry as a child and I think I like the pop up tent camping much better.  The kids were so exhausted from playing all day they went right to bed and didn't get up to at least 8!  Yahhooo!

 Taking a hike around the lake.  Lucas spent his time looking for dinosaur bones and muscadine grapes.  There were wild grape vines growing up the trees throughout the trail.  The kids loved finding them and learning that you could eat them.

 Sweet Chloe helping Lucas in the water.  She likes to swim as much as Hunter likes to fish.  She wanted to swim all day and Hunter wanted to fish all day!

 Our campsite and kitchen for the weekend.  Nana is a great cook in the kitchen indoors and out!  Hunter loves to help me at home and he loved learning how to cook outside.  She made and amazing pork tenderloin in the dutch oven with biscuits.  It was delicious!!!  We also had an amazing breakfast complete with eggs, bacon and cinnamon rolls.  Yummy!

 A complete picture of our campsite.

 More fishing!

 Mommy and Lucas enjoying the water!

This camping trip was a huge success!  We played hard and took advantage of every minute.  David and I had a chance to break in our wet suits.  David was able to mountain bike with good friends and I was able to enjoy a long trail run through the woods.  We all enjoyed the company, the campfires, the stories, the camper…I could go on and on.  We can't wait to go back and do it again!

First Day of Kindergarten and First day of Assembly

Here is the cute man on his first day of Assembly at Sullins Academy!

First Day Of KINDERGARTEN!!  Way to go big guy!

Let's hear it for the holiday season

     Once you have kids the fall season and then the following holiday season is never the same.  Maybe I should be a little more specific, when you have kids that are old enough to be in school, elementary or preschool it is party after party after party.  It is hard to get your own holiday decorations up, plan for family gatherings, cook, and present shop with all the busy activities at school!  I think these days they have parties just to celebrate having parties.  I really don't remember having that much fun in school.  The boys had a blast and David and I always enjoy their activities and watching them grow and play with their friends.
     The fall was also the final hard training stretch for David and I.  We competed in the Beach to Battleship 70.3 in Wilmington, NC.  It was a blistering cold morning.  I believe Wilmington set a record low and it was a mere 36 degrees when we jumped into the water.  We improved upon first 70.3 finish from Raleigh and I hope I have a few pictures to prove we actually ran the race.  I realize when it comes to the kids, I take tons of pictures, but when it comes to David and myself I forget to capture the moment.  Hopefully, the kids will want to look back and see their Iron Parents!!
     I have lots to blog about and plenty of pictures to share. After the half iron man we sailed right through Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  Nationwide we have seen record low temps and Abingdon, VA was not excluded.  We experienced our first 'polar vortex' and with it blustering (-)teen degree weather.  We had pipes to burst and spent a lot of time being thankful for our nice warm home.  I don't think we have had more than usual amounts of snow, just really, really cold days and nights.  Due to the weather Lucas only went to school 3 days in January.  Now we are finally getting some warm sunshine and everyone is anxious to get back outdoors.
  Enjoy the pictures and I will do my best to narrate our crazy busy lives over the last 4 months.  I am always surprised at how fast the time flies by!