A visit to Biltmore Village

Jeff, Bennett and I took Caleb to see the Dickinsville decorations in Biltmore. We saw everything from brass players and live bands to jugglers and plate spinners. We even saw a horse-drawn carriage and knew we had to splurge since the rides were $5.00!

Emily and Eric surprised us and got back to Asheville right before it was our time for the carriage tour. We scrambled up and rode cozily through the streets for a short ride!

The air was chilly, but Caleb loved it all!

The first week of December...

We celebrate yearly with my sister's family "Christmas Adam". This is typically December 23rd - the night before Christmas "Eve" (hint: Adam came before Eve). For 2008 we moved the date to early in December to reduce stress at a time of frequent activites and other parties! Emily, Eric and Caleb arrive for the festivities...

Jeff and Jean Ledford (my sister Joan's mother-in-law) find a quiet corner (ha!)

Feasting in the kitchen are Kathy, Julie, Bennett, Joan and my Dad...

but shortly Joan and I relax in the livingroom watching Eli.Trent bids farewell to the Freeman's while holding on to his nephews - Caleb's ready for bed!What a fun night! We shared many goodies from meatballs and fruit to ham and cheese and a chocolate truffle cheesecake...

Remembering Thanksgiving

We continued our annual tradition of visiting the Rogers family in Clover, SC... Jeff's brothers and sisters and their spouses all get in for this occasion! Here, Pete and Olivia (Jeff's parents) stand ready to serve! and we sure did have enough... Nancy (Jeff's sister) gets to sit first in the diningroom! We join her shortly...

Caleb gets to meet Berleigh, Ren and Linda's dog - of course he met her last year, but I'm sure he doesn't remember! Ren and Linda and Berleigh are from Connecticut. My mom and dad visit from Asheville, NC for the afternoon. Nana loves to hold Caleb. Bryson Rogers can be seen in the background... since there are 5 people in the David Rogers family, I didn't get them all in one shot. It's a seek and match up challenge!

Jennifer and Jessica belong with David and Gwen and Bryson Rogers.

Elizabeth, Abbey and Jackson Hartley can be seen in this photo - sorry it's not very clear!

Jan, the Hartley's German foreign exchange student, and Abbey fix their plates.

Jeff and Alan Hartley are found conversing in the livingroom - obviously they have finished eating!

Emily, Eric and I get in the picture with Mom and Dad before they return to the mountains. Emily celebrates her 26th birthday on the 28th of November...

Happy Birthday!David and Gwen Rogers also celebrate their 27th anniversary on the 28th! Congratulations!
Bennett celebrates his 23rd birthday a tad early, but since we're all together...

Elizabeth Hartley and Nathaniel are in this picture! (The 5 Hartley's are spread out over several pictures too!)
Nathaniel entertains Caleb a moment -
then Caleb welcomes the beginning of the Christmas Season!

On the first day of winter...

I'm way behind on posting, but I thought I'd put a couple of pictures on to show Caleb's latest focus! He loves Christmas time! I think he likes snowmen!

Capturing Caleb's personality on video

Caleb was still on Daylight Savings Time when he visited - so we were up at 6:30 or earlier every morning! This clip was taken Sunday morning, after breakfast...

Later that same day, Caleb had been through all of his outfits and Jeff resorted to putting a pair of boxers on him secured by a plastic tie! Caleb didn't care - and proceeded to push brown bear around in the basket!

And finally, after laundering some clothes and donning denims, here's a shot of BIG FOOT!

Visiting the Nature Center

Caleb got to spend 4 days with us while Emily and Eric went to Pigeon Forge with Amanda and Trent. Our first afternoon we went to the Nature Center and saw black bears, a bob cat, grey wolves, a cougar, and white-tailed deer.

After strolling through most of the park, we came upon a petting corral. This was the best shot I got of Caleb walking past the goat. I found it difficult to get him to pose with an animal without worrying he might pat the sheep too hard - or that the goat might sample Caleb's clothes! So - this proves he was there!

As we were leaving the park, this striking peacock showed us his feathers!

Caleb promises to be a drummer!

Caleb is surrounded by drummers - at home and church! Here he plays in Bennett's djembe bag! A most unusual back pack, don't you think?

Later, we found him trying his hand on the djembe...

And one last video of Caleb playing in the leaves... they're just about all down now!

October's gone!

Had a lovely Sunday hike in Brevard during late October. Visited Triple Falls, a favorite spot of ours...

and even got a video of the waterfall itself. How neat is that!

We also visited another waterfall that was new to us... Connestee. It was beautiful and was actually a double waterfall - two streams meeting in a corner. The hike down to it was challenging, but thankfully there were old fences and posts to hold on to while descending.

Then, surprising us on October 28 was Asheville's first snowfall for the season. Our cat Gracie gives her opinion of it all.

Eric's birthday party!

Emily planned Eric a surprise party on October 9th! We really surprised him with an outdoor grill he had been admiring for 3 months. Emily found a Barbie-sized grill on-line and wrapped it up - said to add water! Ha!

Caleb enjoyed trying on Eric's muffler...

Emily had tacos and chicken tortilla soup - and I decorated a cake with a cactus.

How many candles did we have to light??? Eric blew them ALL out!

Now Caleb gets to try on the sombrero and dance to the music!

Apples and Pumpkins

Caleb came to visit October 5-7 while Emily and Eric went camping. On Sunday, Jeff and I took him to the Hickory Nut Farm to get apples and see the chicks, piglets, and horses!

I love the way his hands are folded while watching the chicks.Caleb found the apple he wanted and took a bite while sitting on a tractor. (After the photo op, we made applesauce out of the apples!)

And for a live action shot, just click!

On Monday Mom and I visited a pumpkin patch at a local church. He's found one just his size...

While Caleb loved all the pumpkins, he enjoyed playing in the straw even more!

Caleb spends the night.

Caleb spent the night with us while Emily and Eric visited Chimney Rock and Lake Lure. We had a great time and he loved playing peek-a-boo with Bennett under the music stand.

A couple of stills of the same game...

Hiding under the glider is a great game too!

More musical talent ahead! This next video shows his love for Jeff's musical birthday card and his unwillingness to part with it. He has enjoyed this for 2 months now. Loves to dance to the music!