Banner Elk | Day at Tweetsie

On the first day of our vacation, we went tubing down the New River. I didn't take my camera, but have so many memories in my mind. My FIL was a mess during our tubing adventure. At one point, Uncle Mike thought it would be a good idea to get out of his tube to walk but he didn't anticipate the bottom being so sharp and slippery. My FIL continued to paddle us away from him, laughing the entire way. Eventually, Mike belly crawled to us while my FIL single-handedly stopped all 9 of our tubes (we were tethered together) by holding on to the ground. It was a fun day.

Our second day (and last fully sunny day) we went to Tweetsie. We had a blast and this day was full of so many special memories for me.

We started the day off by riding Tweetsie herself. The boys also had a good long talk with the sheriff and even got to touch his gun! You can bet Carter focused on his shoes and when he plans to take them off.

Then came the rides... There were smaller rides that Landon was too big for. Last fall, Carter wouldn't ride them by himself but he didn't even think twice about jumping on them this time! I rode many dizzying rides with Landon like the tilt-a-whirl.

Landon and Carter both rode the scrambler with me. Carter could barely see over the bar! It is down in the books as one of my most favorite moments as a mother. We laughed and laughed and laughed. I looked down at them as we were going round and round and all squished on each other and thought, "This is it. Right here. This." I wanted to bottle that moment up and keep it always.

And my brave little Landon. Christopher and Uncle Mike were in line for the Free Fall ride. Big kid ride that takes you up and drops you straight down, like an elevator falling. And it does it five times. I wouldn't dare set foot on that ride. Landon was just tall enough to ride and decided he wanted to. I was all panic on the inside thinking that I wasn't doing my job as a mother by protecting my baby. But I knew that I had to let him do this if that's what he wanted. So I faked a smile, said a prayer, and watched my baby go up, up, up. And the face he made as it fell was HILARIOUS. I have never seen anything more funny in my life. After it finished its drops, he had the biggest smile on his face. He got off and I asked how it was. He said,"I'm not sure if this makes sense... I didn't like but I did!" Perfect sense, honey. And he rode it again. My 7 year old is such a big boy.

My FILwas so exhausted by the emus trying to eat his watch in the petting zoo that he fell asleep sitting up. The kids had fun on the playground and eating yummies.

Banner Elk | The Tooth Fairy Vacations Too

This little guy lost tooth #2 (on the bottom) while we were on vacation. Good thing the tooth fairy was able to find him and that she travels with gold dollar coins!

Banner Elk | The Neighbors

These two would run up to the fence every time we stepped outside. They were sweethearts. And as you can see in the second picture, Hershey (I named her) liked to smile for the camera. Clown.

Banner Elk | The Cabin

Instead of going to the beach this year with Christopher's family, we all escaped the heat in the NC mountains. We spent the week in a perfect mountain cabin in Banner Elk, NC. We spent loads of time in the sun room at the back of the cabin with a mountain view and on the front porch where we could say hello to the neighbor's horses every morning and take in the view from the top of the mountain. There was a small pond on the property as well.

Tweet Love

My sister-in-law, Beth, and I threw a beautiful, pinterest-worthy bridal shower for my other sister-in-law, Ashley. She is getting married the beginning of August in Tennessee.  We wanted a country chic theme filled with lace, mason jars, wildflowers, and burlap.

Our menu consisted of fruit, mini chocolate chess pies, maple candy, veggie squares, nuts, deviled eggs, ham biscuits, cheese & crackers, and an olive & pickle tray.  We had sweet tea, water, and lemonade in mason jars with cucumber slices, lemon slices, and mint sprigs to add.

Milk jugs held wildflowers gathered off the farm. And we decorated with birds and chalkboards wherever we could.

It was a lovely day celebrating a new and beautiful love.

Grandpa Bagley and his Grandsons

Sneaky Ninjas

Watch out for those sneaky back-yard ninjas!

Four

This one is four today.

 

This kid is a riot. He loves to play dress-up, look at books (especially ones with flaps), and could watch Nick Jr all day.

He used to be so shy and not talk to strangers, now he carries on conversations and asks so many questions of people that we run into (this conversation usually involves that person taking off their shoes; he's a little obsessed!). And usually there are many laughs because this one is witty.

He used to be afraid of everything and now he is off riding rides at Tweetsie all by himself.

He's very lovable, snuggly, and touchy-feely. He can get his feelings hurt in a heartbeat because he is so extremely sensitive. He will look you directly in the eyes and say something that knocks you off your feet like, "Mommy, you look just like an angel."

Oh, my Carter Bear. I love you to the moon and back.

End of First Grade

The first grade classes at Landon's school put on Suessical the Musical for their end-of-year performance. My little guy had a speaking part. He was very nervous and practiced and practiced.

So you know what I think? 

Well, I think that there must... 

be someone on top of that small speck of dust.

He said it perfectly, spoke clearly, and enunciated well. He even paused after "must" like he was supposed to. I told him afterwards that he did awesome and asked if he was nervous. He told me that he was at first, but he prayed and asked God to be with him and then he wasn't nervous anymore!  <3 div="">

After the performance, we went to his classroom for an ice cream social. I got some photos of his best buddies and his awesome teacher, Ms. Goggins.

A few days later, I dropped by school again for the Young Leader's Club presentation. Every other Friday before school, Landon participated in this club where they studied the habits of effective kids (based on the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People). His K teacher, Ms. Bailey, led this group.

The 7 Habits Tree

Start With You

Habit 1:  Be Proactive (you're in charge)

Habit 2:  Begin With the End in Mind (have a plan)

Habit 3:  Put First Things First (work first, then play)

Then Play Well With Others

Habit 4:  Think Win-Win (everyone can win)

Habit 5:  Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood (listen before you talk)

Habit 6:  Synergize (together is better)

And Remember to Take Care of Yourself

Habit 7:  Sharpen the Saw (balance feels best)

Craig's Fiesta!

We had a fiesta to celebrate my Uncle Craig's birthday. Ole!

(He's a pilot; now how hilarious is that tee?)

Wolf

Landon ranked up in Cub Scouts and is now a proud Wolf! The ranking ceremony was on his birthday and my little guy stood on stage while the entire pack sang to him. Between that, ranking up to Wolf, and being able to carry the flag block out of the ceremony, he was on Cloud 9!

Sorry for the blurry pic!

Landon's Birthday Sleepover

Hi there, friends!

There's been a lot going on with the Bagley Circus lately, so let's rewind back to the end of May and catch up...

In addition to Landon's 'stache bash for his birthday, I also let him have a sleepover the following weekend where he invited 5 little boys over.  He had a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle themed party. The boys were dropped off at 5 on Memorial Day weekend's Sunday night. They played tag and kickball in the yard before eating pizza and making ice cream sundaes. After opening gifts, they played dress-up and a few quiet games inside before getting on their jammies and settling down in their sleeping bags on the living room floor to watch a TMNT movie. I had to call one little boy's mom at 11 to pick him up, but the rest made it through the night and fell asleep shortly after the movie around 11.

The next morning, we had donuts and fruit for breakfast and played outside some more before their parents picked them up at 10.

I think the night was very special for Landon and I see more sleepovers in our future!