Tweetsie Railroad

We finally got to take our first family "amusement park" trip with the boys, and we decided to go to Tweetsie Railroad in Blowing Rock, NC. As I'm sure you all know by now, Kaden and Noah absolutely adore trains, so we thought this would be a fun and memorable trip to take them on. We only went to the park for one day, but we spent the ENTIRE day there and the boys got their fair share of train rides and fun.

Tweetsie is designed to be like an old Western town. When you enter the park, you are on Main Street where they have some shops and restaurants. This is also where you board the train. We got to the park right after it opened, so we hopped on board the first train ride of the day! Luckily, the weather started off beautifully, so we got to enjoy Tweetsie primarily while the sun was shining.

After that first train ride, we headed up the hill to the Country Fair which is where they have the arcade and lots of rides for the little kids (cars, ferris wheel, carousel). The boys were mostly interested in the arcade, but I was able to get Kaden to ride the little vintage cars with me one time.

We had the option of riding the chair lift up to Miner's Mountain, but decided instead to take the bus - something about two wiggly little boys and high heights just didn't sit right with me :) Up on Miner's Mountain we got to ride some more rides, visit the petting zoo, and go to the mountain overlook (which was very high but VERY worth it)! There was also a playground where the boys played for a little bit before we moved on to other things.

We rode the train THREE times and had a blast each time! During the train ride there was also a "show" going on with cowboys and Indians. The train would get taken over, or we would get caught up in the middle of a shoot-out. I was afraid the boys might get scared, but they loved each and every minute of it, and we have not been able to get Kaden out of his cowboy boots since we've been home!

Even though it was a short trip, we had a great time making memories that the boys are still talking about (a month and a half later)! Kaden asks us almost every day when we are going back to Tweetsie, and I know that it will definitely be soon. I totally recommend Tweetsie as a vacation destination for anyone with kids.

Easter Festivities

Easter is my absolute favorite holiday EVER! It is just such an emotional week where you go from sadness and despair at the crucifixion to absolute JOY on Easter Sunday when Christ is risen from the grave! I love it, and I love celebrating it :)

Our Easter celebrating started pretty early on April 12th at preschool. Every year, the kids get to dress up for the school Easter parade. The little guys put on their dads' dress shirts and ties, and the girls get to put on their fancy dress up clothes. They are absolutely precious, and I just adore this tradition!

The following week (during spring break), the boys and I dyed Easter eggs here at the house. It was a rainy day outside, and i figured it was the perfect activity! Both boys did a great job of not making a big mess, and they loved getting to decorate the eggs with Toy Story stickers once they dried. I thought they turned out really nicely :)

The next day, Saturday, was the Easter egg hunt at church. We got to do the Bunny Hop, sing some songs, and do some really neat crafts. After that, we went out to the playground where the boys racked up the eggs! They both filled up their buckets and had a lot of fun. After that, we ate lunch and then went home to relax for a little while before heading over to mimi-mama and grandaddy's house for some more Easter fun!

On Saturday afternoon, we made the short trip to my mom's house to do some more Easter activities. The boys got to dye eggs again with A.J. (because, apparently, I did not let them dye enough eggs!), and we got to make Resurrection Cookies which is something I hope to do every year and something I recommend all of you do with your kids. It's an activity I found to be very meaningful, and Kaden still talks about it now. After all that fun, we headed up to get ready for the Easter Bunny to come and for Easter Sunday!

Easter Sunday was a fabulous day! The boys woke up nice and early to see the goodies that were left for them by the Easter Bunny. We, of course, let them have some candy as an appetizer, but I did make breakfast before we got ready to go to church. Easter service was amazing, as it always is, and afterward we got some family pictures in front of the cross at church. After our busy morning, we got to enjoy lunch at my Grandaddy John's house where we ate ourselves silly and enjoyed another Easter egg hunt in his yard. My boys were pretty much experts by this point and were happy to find that these eggs for filled with candy and money :) Later that afternoon we headed home and lounged around the house in our food-induced comas for the rest of the evening.

I hope that you all had a wonderful, blessed Easter holiday!