a photo frenzy from our dollywood weekend~

so we never actually ventured out to dollywood but if we had i can only imagine what it would have been like. there is a good reason they refer to pigeon forge as the myrtle beach of the mountains. i found it to be an overwhelming mass of commercialism and tourist attractions. that being said once we found our quaint little cabin we were perfectly content to stay put and soak up our friends. there was a lot of swinging on the front porch, walking of trails, playing of games, blowing of bubbles, drinking of libations, reminiscing about old times spent together in mooresville and plenty of laughter.

kate amazed both pete and i with her care taking abilities and her nuturing nature. she didn't want to be anywhere that the babies were not. as we fixed dinner she bopped back and forth between andrew and camryn keeping them both enthralled. she told those babies over and over how much she loved them and was more then willing to stay home with the men "to help with the children" when the moms hit the pavement. trey wasn't quite sure what to think of the two little ones. he is going through one of those many stages in life and prefers the comfort of peter, kate and i to most anyone else. i know, who could blame him right? anyway, it was sweet to watch him warm up to the babies over the week. first just watching from afar. then getting a little closer to check out the new toys on the scene and then before we knew it he was playing peek-a-boo with camryn and wanting desperately to hold them both.

kate had a coming of age moment as she was able to share an afternoon of shopping with the adult women. she was in all her glory. several times i looked back and found her hand in hand with melissa and/or melissa. an incredibly reaffirming moment to see a such special bond being passed on and shared.

as we left i felt a great sigh of relief. not to be leaving these two families that we've grown to love dearly over the years but because my children genuinely love them and feel like that are at home with them. that is such an incredibly gift that will be fostered for years and years to come.

needless to say with all the cuteness surrounding us the camera got a good work out. if you can bare it there will be more.