We just got back from a trip to North Carolina to visit my brother and his family who just moved there. I fell in love with North Carolina because of all the trees, the mountains, the fall foilage, the clean sign-free streets and the architecture of the homes there. We had a wonderful time. We stayed in a cabin in the mountains, had a picnic in the mountains, visited Blowing Rock and took pictures on scenic overlooks, visited Mystery Hill Manor, had a late night Monopoly marathon, went to Gem Mountain and mined for jewels, and had a feast at John's house and a surprise celebration for my birthday. The kids put on a skit and a puppet show and it was hilarious. Caleb was tired and in rare form and if we had taken video, I know we would have won America's Funniest Home Videos. He was the alligator in the puppet show, when something went awry behind the curtain and in anger the alligator comes flying through the curtain. He storms off in a pout. Meanwhile, Claire is singing "I Will Survive" on her kareoke machine and Caleb goes into the puppet tent. All we saw is a toy gun coming through the curtain shooting the audience while Claire performed. We were all in stitches. It was hilarious. Does anyone know a child therapist I can contact? Below are some pics and below that are slide shows of our time in NC.

Now we're back home in ugly ole' flat Texas and I am going to need to start my book on Contentment all over again! :)

Beautiful North Carolina!

Best Buddies
John's new home in Cary, NC.
This is the view of my brother's house from the woods right behind it. Amazing!
Adorable Jill
Brad, Leslie, John, Kate and Claire at Blowing Rock

We stayed in a cabin in Boone, NC one night

On Blowing Rock
Daddy and Caleb

My surprise birthday party. The kids decorated the basement, sang a song, put on a puppet show performance making fun of how old I am, and we played games.

Luke and Caleb on the way to the airport for us to go home. :(