Our weekend getaway to Grover/Kings Mountain

For Christmas, I had given Nick a weekend getaway in Grover, NC. Where you ask? You would have no reason to know it. Grover is a very small town toward the western part of the state, right near the SC border near Kings Mountain/Shelby/Gastonia. Nick and I have always enjoyed visiting small towns that we have never been to before, so Grover seemed like a good fit. Also, I had been hearing about a well known bed and breakfast in the area. Bed and breakfast inns are another favorite of ours! Who doesn't love waking up to a huge, 4 course breakfast?!

We headed out January 25th weekend. Camille stayed back with Mimi, MawMaw, and PawPaw. We were ready to have a mountain adventure, we just weren't ready for the very cold temperatures! Brrr!

As we headed to Grover, we made a stop at a recommended vineyard: Baker Buffalo Creek. It was technically in Lawndale, which certainly felt like the middle of nowhere. We had a great time tasting some of the local wines and hearing the story of the vineyard. The vineyard has some amazing views and lots of history, so there was a lot to hear about! Some of their barns have even been part of the Hillshire Farms commercials. They say their property gets scouted a lot for tv shows and commercials!

The bed and breakfast is one of the only things worth mentioning in Grover :) No offense to Grover of course, but its teeny tiny! The Inn of the Patriots was a great place though! The owners, Marti & Stormy, both worked in the White House as Chefs, as well as Camp David. Therefore, they have a ton of presidential history and knowledge. Nick and I enjoyed hearing Marti's crazy stories and impersonations of the presidents. Not only were the rooms spacious and relaxing, the breakfast was AMAZING! The food kept coming each morning and it was mouth watering!! They also did a great job catering to our wheat free needs.

Since we did so much eating at breakfast, we knew we had to do a lot of hiking to make up for it. We started at Kings Mountain. Did I mention how cold it was outside?! That was motivation to hike faster. Kings Mountain was full of history and we enjoyed getting to know a little more about the area.

Since there isn't much in the way of Grover and Kings Mountain, we also headed toward Gastonia for some more exploring. We found a great cafe in town.... Sprouts..... very delish! We also discovered Crowder State Park! What a view!! We didn't know what to expect when we started our hike, but were thrilled with the end result- we could see the entire town down below. (and yes, Nick did enjoy climbing some trees- can you spot him?)

Apologies on my mismatched clothing- I'm telling you- I was not prepared for the cold!

After all of our hiking, we wanted to have a nice dinner out. We were pointed to the nearby town of Shelby to a place called Ni Fin Bistro. It was soooo good. It was such a quaint restaurant with huge windows looking out onto the downtown streets of Shelby. The food was amazing!

So all in all it was a wonderful weekend getaway, though we were certainly happy to get home to our little monkey!

Christmas 2013

I'm determined to catch up on my blog posts one of these days! Until then, I'll post as I remember/have time for.

Our Christmas was absolutely wonderful! We got to celebrate with each of our families, as well as have some time to relax as a family of 3.

The DesVergers gathering in Sanford was oddly warm so we spent most of the time outside! I also loved that our families decided to give collectively to a charity this year instead of doing the secret santa gifts. We all have so much "stuff" that it was nice to make a donation to MD Anderson. Here is a sweet pic of 4 generations of DesVergers!

The Cox family Christmas was at the lake this year. Here is Camille showing off her new ballerina outfit and doll from her MawMaw and PawPaw. 

The McNeill Christmas got everyone under one roof for the weekend :) We even all got to go to church together, though we discovered the family has grown so much that we can't fit on one pew anymore.

Back to Raleighwood..... We were very fortunate to get to light the advent wreath for the Christmas Eve service at our church this year. It was so special to get to participate in the service from the other side :)

Our Christmas Day was so nice. We had a great time just relaxing in our pj's all day. Camille got her first guitar and has loved being able to play music with her Daddy. 

Looking back, 2013 was such a wonderful year, though it did have a lot of tough times, but it reminds how how special and supportive our family and friends are! Hoping 2014 brings lots of joy and continued blessings.

'Tis the Season

What a busy holiday season we had! Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, Nick, Camille, and I sure did have our plates full- literally and figuratively!

We had some wonderful family gatherings filled with lots of good food..... not to mention Camille always loves the extra cousin time!

Camille started a new school.... her old school that we loved closed, but God opened a door for us with the Child Development Center at our church, Edenton Street. Camille is in the Bears class with Mrs. Freeman and Mrs. Linda and is having a good time making new friends and going on her first of many field trips.

We also got to attend to attend some NCSU home football games as a family. Usually its just me and Nick, but it's always fun when Camille joins us. She sure knows how to make a miserable game/season FUN!

Camille got to attend a Christmas Tea with the President of Meredith College and other older alums. She also got to see the Holiday Musical performance put on by the Music Department, though she feel asleep half way through!

Camille got to ride her first real horse..... not a pony..... a big horse! It was at her buddy Bryton's birthday party. While it was chilly outside, the kids had a blast!

Camille got to learn all about kidney stones and their effects :( She even got to visit Mommy in the hospital during her kidney stone drama. She loved that I had a TV in my room and kept asking me all about my IV and if it hurt when it was in my arm. Though we had a rough 2-3 weeks dealing with that, I'm glad its all behind us!!!

Camille and Mommy had lots of special bonding time in December since her school and Mommy's work had a holiday shutdown. We did lots of park visits, baking, movie watching and shopping :) So much fun!! And that was all before Christmas!

Happy 4th Birthday Camille!

I may be a month behind in posting Camille's birthday pictures, but better late than never!

Camille had quite the busy week for ringing in her 4th birthday. We had her party a week before her actual birthday to work with my crazy travel schedule. This year we chose to have Camille's party at White Deer Park Nature Center. It is a simple, yet nice building at our local park. In November, you never know what the weather will be like, so we needed to have an indoor option in addition to the fun playground that the park offers. Camille wanted a Bubble Guppies themed party as that is one of her favorite shows these days. I have to admit, I had fun trying to coordinate the food to our theme. Here are a few pics of the setup and the birthday girl in action. 

Our birthday girl sure enjoyed the extra attention for her special day. The fun wasn't over after the party though. While Mommy was away she got to go to the block party at our church with Daddy. The birthday princess even got her face painted with a special crown. 

On her actual birthday, since Mommy had been traveling so much, we had a special Mommy/Daughter Day. Nick and I had gotten Camille a mani/pedi for her birthday gift. She was overly excited to get her first official pampering. Don't let her fool you though, she knew exactly what to do and didn't have an issue telling the lady exactly how she wanted her nails done. 

After her nail treat, we decided to treat our bellies to one of Camille's favorite desserts... icecream. We went to one of the froyo places and Camille was shocked that I actually let her pick out everything herself, no judgement or comments :) She kept saying "Mommy, you never let me put anything I want on it. This is a special day." Ha. She even wanted me to take a picture of her icecream since she was so proud of her creation. Yes, that is marshmallows, m&ms, sprinkles, whipped cream, and oreos. She wanted more toppings than icecream. Go figure. 

I can't believe how fast the past 4 years have gone. My baby is 4! It's crazy! And we even remembered her 4th birthday questionnaire.

What is your favorite color? Pink and purple

What is your favorite toy? Cinderella baby doll

What is your favorite fruit? Strawberries

What is your favorite tv show? Bubble Guppies

What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Peanut butter & jelly

What is your favorite outfit? Cinderella & Hello Kitty pajamas

What is your favorite game? I Spy

What is your favorite snack? peanuts

What is your favorite animal? Elephant

What is your favorite song? Sunny Side by The Gravy Boys

What is your favorite book? A Mother for Choco

Who is your best friend? Maddie & Mary

What is your favorite thing to do outside? Swing at the park

What is your favorite drink? Milk

What is your favorite holiday? Easter

What do you like to take to bed with you at night? PT Bear

What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Pancakes

What do you want to be when you grow up? A singer & a teacher

What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy? Playing puzzles

What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy? Playing puzzles

Halloween 2013

The Cox family had a wonderful, yet busy Halloween! 

We started out the holiday with a festival at Camille's school. The kids had so much fun "truck or treating" and showing off their costumes to their friends and teachers. 

Instead of the annual Halloween costume parade at her school, they decided to change it to "What I Want to Be When I Grow Up." Camille always tells us that she wants to be either a teacher (like her Mimi) or a singer. She liked the singer outfit better, so here is our little singer showing off her skills. 

Here is the class all dressed up as what they want to be when they grow up, though as you can see a lot just wanted to wear their Halloween costumes :)

On Halloween, we kept up with the tradition of Trick or Treating the Trails at White Deer Park. Camille and Madelyn (opps, I mean Tink and Doc) had a blast filling their bags with candy. 

 

And here is our little Tinkerbell showing off a bit more.

We managed to make it to a few houses in the neighborhood before Camille decided she rather hand out candy at our house. She loved running to the door every time the bell rang and she especially liked getting to pick the candy to put in each child's basket. 

Camille is already planning out what she wants to dress up as next year...... though I'm sure her mind will change one hundred times between now and then!