Back from the mountains

Last week Steve, Olivia, Riley, and I were in western North Carolina at our family cabin in the woods. We love spending time there because it’s so peaceful and relaxing. Warm days, cool nights, waking up with the birds, having the peepers & bullfrogs singing us to sleep.  Two summers ago this was where I first felt Olivia moving inside my belly. Last summer we’d put Livi on a blanket with some toys and she was happy. This summer I realized that the very circumstances that are peaceful and relaxing for Steve and me are quite boring for a toddler, especially when you don’t count the stuff she’s not supposed to get into. We brought some toys along, but it’s only a matter of time before a “busy” kid like Olivia wants more. A laundry basket and lettuce keeper are only new and fascinating for so long.

It rained during some of the afternoons which, coupled with the cool breeze coming in the windows, makes for a great nap. At home there’s always something else to do during naptime, but on vacation it’s the only thing to do. Entertaining a toddler wears me out.

[Speaking of Livi, add peas to the list of veggies she eats. Baby peas, in butter sauce with a cherry on top.  But she wouldn’t touch sweet potato fries at Three Little pigs, so we’re still kinda at two veggies (corn being the other). Gotta keep up that sweetness!]

On the mornings when we were hanging out at the cabin we’d walk down to the pond and throw sticks for Riley to swim out and fetch.  Then we'd all walk the long way back up to the house, hoping to have tuckered out both of the girls. We finally realized the dog leash was more useful tied around Olivia’s waist because, given the opportunity, she’d run right into the water or down the side of the hill. Riley is a much better listener now that we have the remote trainer. Now it’s so fun to watch her run full-tilt through the meadow and swim in the pond without having to worry about her running away like before.

A couple of mornings we drove into Asheville to check out some things we’d never done… the farmer’s market (ripe peaches!), the chocolate lounge (liquid truffle OMG), the artisans at Grove Park Inn and the Downtown Market, and the brewery on Lexington which I had never even noticed because of its location directly across from the bead store.  Asheville is one of those places (like San Fran) where I could visit again and again and it never seems the same.  I look forward to our traditions (pork with apple-nut stuffing and plum sauce at Weaverville Milling Company – and this time we had a sitter!), but it seems we’ve barely scratched Asheville’s surface so I always look forward to going back. That doesn’t even count the regional things we’re saving until Livi is a little older, like whitewater rafting.