Lake Burton

Our friends' parents have a beautiful lakehouse on Lake Burton. We've been meaning to go up for awhile, so stopped by for couple of days on our way back from Asheville. Esther loved playing on the dock, 'fishing', and riding on the boat.

what a great face - you know she's having funAndrew let E 'drive' the boat - Ashley, Andrew's wife, is in the background

Hiding out under Papa's hat - it was bright
Looking for fish under the dock

'Fishing' - no hook on the line, but she loved it
Ben celebrated his 30th birthday and proved he wasn't old by jumping off the boat house...twice!
Seado - right before the boat started smoking and we had to be towed back to dock

After 5 days of fun on the road, Esther finally tuckered out...

Dobbins/Pomraning Family Reunion

We headed up to Asheville last week for a family reunion of my Mom's family. My one uncle and his family live in Seattle, so it has been a while since all of the family has been together at one time. I'm sure it was especially meaningful for my grandparents to have all the kids together with them. I met cousins that I have never met (both in their 20s) and saw another who I haven't seen since I was a child. It was wonderful!
Esther enjoyed meeting her extended family, dancing (below) to entertain, and taking her new great-uncle on a walk (Jimmie was so enchanted by her). We ate amazing food, told funny stories, and enjoyed the fellowship that only family can bring.

E showing Uncle Jimmie the hummingbird

Jimmie, Mom, Granny Jane, cousin Cory

Cousin Shawna, Aunt Chris, Uncle Mark

Cousin Rachel - lives in Kansas and bought Esther the sweetest antique 'Wizard of Oz' book
Me listening to old stories of my mother's childhood - priceless!

While in Asheville, we stayed at a local KOA campground. We had a really nice spot right on the creek (intro picture). We've always loved the Asheville area and the peace that the mountains bring.

Esther enjoyed swimming with Ben on Father's Day - she looks so proud of her abilities. Ben said he looks like a one-eyed gorilla - I love my hairy ape and the amazing Papa he is to E!

Going on a pretend 'horsey ride' with Grammi - "what do you see?"

Ben and Dad solving the world's problems

E and I forgetting the world's problems, relaxing in the hammock - creekside

Smores!

Sparkler with Papa. I think she is still too young to enjoy them...and almost gave Ben a heart attack waving it around in her face :)

We all really enjoyed our trip! I feel very blessed that our family was able to get together and our relationships have grown and been renewed. I leave you with a video that captures the fun Esther had and how much she 'loves camping'!

Almost-summer play

I really don't feel like we had much of a Spring, other than all the rain. It went from cold to hot pretty quickly. Summer will be here very soon and I don't mind one bit. I love hot weather, so really am not bothered by it too much. I do struggle to find activities for Esther and I to do that want involve sunburn or overly flushed cheeks (that E seems to get w/in 5 minutes of being outside). Today was a lazy day, so we worked in some of our plants and did water play. Ben keeps fussing that I should stop planting more seeds (in pots) because he doesn't want to have to move them. I keep reminding him that we will still want plants after the move and they are easier to move in pots than in the ground. Today, we planted a few milkweed seeds (monarch caterpillar host plants) and some wildflower mix. I also worked on staking our tomatoes. I am so excited for these heirlooms that I picked up at the Garden. We've got 4 different varieties and they are looking great.

Our first tomato is coming along nicely!

And the water play - one of Esther's favorite things to do. I like that it is warm, so she can do it outside. She never fails to make a huge mess. She brings out the majority of her cooking paraphernalia and lots of water and goes to 'work'. Occupies a good 30 minutes or so. I love watching her play and her imagination.

where have we been?

...Well, not really sure why I haven't posted in a while. Not that we've been overly busy, just enjoying the day-by-day. We've been packing a box here and there, though still no luck on finding a house in Decatur. I've had a few interviews - should know something by next week! Esther is finishing up her last couple weeks of school (sniff, sniff - we love where she's at and know no place will compare). Lots of rain has kept us indoors, but there is still fun to be had. Here is a little video of Esther playing Ben's drum and singing/yelling some nursery rhymes. She's been really good about playing by herself and coming up with fun things to do on her own. It is really nice! A bit sad as we see our little girl growing up and wondering where the time is going. We're holding on tight for this wild ride that is ahead of us and enjoying every minute!

Going house shopping this weekend. Wish us look!