The Mountains!

I took the girls up to the mountains last week so we could spend time with my parents. It was the first time I had taken a "big trip" by myself as a mom. I hadn't ever done it with just Isabella either. I timed my departure so that Bailey would nap the whole time (she did), and Isabella was great, thanks to some new electronic toys we got for her (the downside of that being that I had to listen to an annoyingly electronic version of Row, row your boat sang in an annoyingly electronic cat voice. Oh AND, that particular toy had a microphone, which Isabella LOVED. Oh well, all of that was better than listening to whining). On the way back, I had to break out the DVD player (Dinosaur Train...), making the return trip equally good. We had a great time! The weather was BEAUTIFUL!!! Such a relief from the awful heat we'd been having. Our favorite part was the time we spent at Banner Elk park. The playground there is really fun, there is a walking path, and a nice stream for wading. We went there twice in one day - once to blow off some energy from being in the car, and then we returned at night for a concert in the park. Lots of fun! Unfortunately, I hardly got any sleep those two nights. Isabella has a cold/cough so the first night I literally woke up once every hour, and when she finally calmed down for a couple of hours, Bailey woke up at 5 to nurse. The next night, Isabella slept better but Bailey kept getting out of her swaddle and waking up. But the trip was worth it. We had a great time and we can't wait to go back!