Ultimate Vaca

This winter we were trying to determine WHEN we would like to go on vacation, and WHERE we would like to go on vacation this year. It was a bit of a difficult situation. Do we go pre or post baby? And if we go pre-baby should we go big (as in fly somewhere and rent a car...while we still can fit in an economy size) or stick closer to home. And then of course there is the question, beach or mountains?

Come on who would not want to spend a week here?

We ultimately decided on the mountains (shocker...not really we will likely always choose mountains over beach), pre-baby, close to home. And then the search began. I knew exactly what I wanted, it just took me a while to find the right house, but I did! We rented a little house on a lake, in the mountains of North Carolina. Glorious! I wanted something with a big flat yard that was RIGHT ON the lake. Oh yea, and it couldn't cost a million bucks a week. =) But I'm so glad I snatched this gem up while I had the chance.

trip to the trout farm HC caught a 4 lb. trout and Annelise caught a 3.5 lb. trout

We learned while living in Europe that there is a HUGE difference between a trip, and a vacation. Like if you are living in the states and travel to Europe on "vacation", it is not a vacation, it is a trip. So while we were living over there we went on lots of trips, and a few real vacations (like our all-inclusive Turkish Resort...ahhh).

sweet hike up to the falls

Our time in NC was a real vacation. We were in the middle of NO WHERE. I mean, literally, no where. And it was gorgeous, the views of the mountains and the lake were awesome. We played outside with balls and horseshoes. We laid around in the hammock. We took rides in the canoe and pontoon boat. We did a huge 1,000 piece puzzle. I taught HC backgammon. Dave went fishing everyday, and yumm-o those fish tasted awesome! We hiked up to a waterfall one day, and one day we took the girls to a trout farm and let them catch some HUGE trout. It was so quiet and restful, and I loved just being with my family, we have a LOT of fun together. I could envision us going back again and again to this place, which was a fun feeling.

the girls ready to go out for an early morning canoe ride

We ended the trip by heading to Knoxvegas for Dave's nephew's high school graduation...yea Josh! And then back to the ATL.