Mountain Time

With swim season all finished up, we hopped in the van and headed north to visit Gran and Pop at their mountain cabin.  The mountain air is so much cooler than our standard Georgia July temps so a break away was refreshing.  We managed to squeeze in a bit of ATVing tho there had recently been  a mudslide so going on our typical trails was a bit of a challenge....the girls, sans Chapman, all gave driving the ATVs a try.  Of course, we were holding on as they steered but they did a great job keeping us on the road vs over the cliffs!  The boys are pros so they often take off together for a little ride of their own.....I don't even want to know the details of their excursions due to the amount of worry that would overcome me, lol. We ventured to Gatlinburg midweek and enjoyed the alpine sleds down the mountainside.  I believe I speak for all when I say it is a good visit to get away from the hustle and bustle of our daily grind.  We love being with Gran and Pop and all of their mountainside friends.  People come and go all day at their cabin - most riding a buggy or an ATV.  They are always helping a neighbor or a neighbor is helping them.  Our day in Waynesville never disappoints....Mass General Store for the win every time!  Loads of candy and occasionally we get a good deal on shoes or the like while shopping.  By far my favorite moment was when we went to eat ice cream one evening after watching the sunset over the mountainside.  It was a bit late but we hopped in two cars and began the journey.  Halfway down, Gran is FaceTiming us yet she has no idea how she has managed to do this.....we really had no idea where we were going, we just knew we wanted ice cream.  We ended up at this little shop, we all got our cones, enjoyed them and, as we were leaving, we decided to take a picture of the moment.  The shop had this ice cream cone hat and Pop decided to have a little fun with Gran....the pic speaks for itself as there was a lot of laughter at her expense! The NC mountains are always a fun treat to beat the heat and make fun memories that I hope my children will treasure for a lifetime.