Kid's Museum

I grew up in Rutherfordton, NC and one of the coolest things they've added since I moved away is the kid's museum. David and Misty took us there for the day and the kids had a blast.

Below is the bubble room where the kids made all kinds of fun bubbles.
There was a stage where they could dress up and put on a play. Sarah made a cute butterfly.

The kids had fun pretending they were running a cafe.

Anna is shopping at the miniature grocery store where everything is made of plastic.

Deborah, Makayla and Abigail are goofing off at the checkout counter.

Makayla is manning a camera in the TV Studio.

The kids learned how they add all kinds of creative backgrounds to video by using a green backdrop.

Joshua and Caleb had fun pretending to be dentists.

The little boys thought the mock fire station was great fun.

Uncle David and Aunt Misty

My brother David got married since the last time we saw him five years ago and one of the highlights of our trip has been getting to know his wife Misty and their three kids Makayla, Brittany and Maris.

They had us over for a cookout. The kids liked the way Uncle David kept the flames under control with his squirt gun. He had a few squirts for them too.

Misty is helping Maris hold Sarah.

Grandpa's Horses

My Dad loves horses. He and my Mom go out on the trail with their covered wagon at least twice a year. He took the kids for several rides behind Duke and Dan as he got them in shape for the summer.

Sarah is a natural, she sat up on Duke (or was it Dan?) like she'd been doing it all her life.

Abigail

Deborah's on with David and Quentin is following.

Sliding Rock

After the Cradle of Forestry, we went to my favorite spot in the Pisgah National Forest, Sliding Rock. God created the best water slide ever there. When I was a kid we would just pull up along the side of the road and go sliding. Now they've got lifeguards and a huge parking lot. Thankfully though, we went while school was still in session (homeschooling is great) and the line was short. The water was fresh mountain water and almost as cold as our Alaska lake. It really took your breath away when you landed in the pool at the bottom.

Below Abigail is anticipating the cold water.

Deborah is going down backwards.

Quentin is getting ready for the big splash.

Paul took Caleb down for a ride Caleb won't soon forget. He felt like they were under water forever as Paul slipped around on the slippery rocks getting his footing in the pool at the bottom.

The little kids played in the shallow water on the left.

Sarah (almost) always has a beautiful smile on her face and just enjoys doing whatever we're doing.

Grandma Rogers and Sarah.

Cradle of Forestry

We arrived in North Carolina at my parents home. They took us up to the Pisgah National Forest. The mountains were gorgeous and we went to the Cradle of Forestry. We learned all about the first forest management school as we hiked through the museum.

They had a great scavenger hunt that the kids (and Paul) enjoyed.