We arrived in the mountains on Saturday in the early evening and were greeted by vibrant leaves and crisp fall temperatures. Fall in the mountains is simply my favorite!
A little less than a month ago, we booked a house for our family, my parents, sister, brother-in-law and their baby to get away for a week with the hope that we’d be able to replicate the mountain trip we took up to Banner Elk with Chase when he was a baby. We had visions of cuddling up with our new baby niece (or nephew — at the time we didn’t know!) and Leslie and Ross seemed so excited to make the trip work, even though we all told them we had absolutely no expectations of them making the trip if it didn’t feel like something they wanted to do after their little one arrived.
Needless to say, we are missing Leslie, Ross and Callie a ton this year. A few of you have checked in to ask about Callie and she is still not home yet which is incredibly hard, but Leslie and Ross are unbelievable parents and so loving to their little girl. Though she’s not home, Callie is doing so, so well. (Believe me, no one would be on this trip at all if that weren’t the case and if we didn’t have Leslie and Ross’ complete support and strong encouragement to do so.) Callie is such a beautiful, strong and feisty little one! Also, I know I’m not sharing a ton about Callie right now but please do no interpret lack of information and lack of sharing in any way other than my desire to protect my sister and my niece’s privacy. I am really hoping to be able to be back in Florida soon after Callie comes home (once Leslie and Ross are ready for a visitor, of course) and hope to be able to share some wonderful updates with you soon!
Though our mountain crew is a bit smaller than anyone in our family hoped for this year, we’ve been in constant communication with my sister and missing them like crazy! And you better believe we’re already dreaming of a big family vacation with all of us next year!
Banner Elk Vacation
Ryan, Chase, Ryder, Sadie and I arrived in the mountains on the cusp of one of the coldest days of the year so far. We spent Saturday and Sunday bundled up in winter coats, beanies and scarves! My parents’ arrival apparently brought a little bit of Florida warmth our way and ever since they arrived, we’ve been loving the sunny weather and temperatures in the 40s and upper 50s.
We’ve spent most of our time at the cabin we rented and we’ve loved hanging out by a roaring fire and exploring the area around our temporary home.
(Cardigan: BP Stitch Curve Hem via Nordstrom / Stripe Tie Top: Socialite via Nordstrom / Sneakers: Report via Zappos)
This time of year it’s hard not to want to spend every moment outside and we’ve definitely enjoyed our fair share of fresh mountain air.
On Monday afternoon, we spent hours fishing at a local trout farm only to catch one trout but it just felt so nice to be outside and watch Chase have a blast as he tried fishing for the first time.
He helped Ryan reel in our only catch which was definitely a highlight but he was also thoroughly entertained by the worms we used for bait.
Oh and as you may have noticed in the above photo, Ryan cut his hair! For those who may have missed it, he began growing out his hair after we found out I was pregnant with Ryder and kept it going throughout my pregnancy with the intent to cut it after Ryder was born. (It was sort of a “lucky charm” for us in a weird way.) Well, once Ryder was born, he made an appointment to get his hair cut and everyone at the place talked him out of it, saying he was on the cusp of “great long hair.” He kept it going for another couple of months but eventually said it had to go so now he’s rockin’ the short hair again, though it is a bit longer on the top!
Yesterday morning, we made our way to Grandfather Mountain and spent the late morning and early afternoon crossing the swinging bridge (so spooky!) and exploring the local nature center.
We visited Grandfather Mountain on our first family mountain trip back in 2015 and the swinging bridge was no less intimidating this time around! It’s suspended a mile above ground and is quite spooky to cross! I walked as quickly as possible over the bridge without looking down but managed to sneak a peek over the edge on the way back. Eek!
We made it back to our cabin in the late afternoon yesterday and spent the rest of the evening out and about around the Eagles Nest Great Camp community where our cabin is located. It’s outfitted with some really neat amenities, including archery, rocking chairs that overlook the mountains and hiking trails.
Our plans for the day include visiting a local farm and making s’mores this evening!
I hope you guys are having a great week and thanks so much for stopping by the blog today!
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