July 4th

Fourth of July was quite the adventure for our little peanut. We travelled west to visit Matt & Rachel (and soon-to-be little Gregory) for the weekend. Somehow, we made it out to Rutherfordton in under 4 hours. The most amazing (and wonderful) part was that not only did Riley sleep the entire way, but she also did not cry one bit when put in her carseat. Those who have not yet witnessed her screams of rage should know that a carseat is apparently a peanut's worst nemesis. Still, we all survived the trip.

Matt & Rachel were wonderfully gracious hosts. Their home was beautiful and their hospitality amazing (as always)! We enjoyed a cookout shared with Matt, Rachel and Matt's parents on Friday. We caught glimpses of the local county fireworks display from the front porch. Matt even dared to set off his own display in spite of the risk of burning down his farm. It was a good thing he thought enough to have a bucket of water nearby to douse the few flames that we did manage to catch.

Saturday found us enjoying the color and culture of Asheville! The art galleries alone were amazing. Not to mention all the cute little niche shops and super nice people. I'm still working on getting Ian to move out there. Maybe one day...

We ate at the Laughing Seed, an all vegetarian restaurant after we discovered that everything closed by 2pm only to reopen for dinner at 5pm. We should have planned better. Who knew that 3pm is an odd time for lunch. It was delicious anyway and we walked away completely stuffed.

Riley was awesome the entire day. When she wasn't sleeping, she was taking in all the sights and sounds around her. It was like her little head was on a swivel. All the bright colors in the art galleries had her mesmerized. It was awesome to see her so enraptured. By the end of the day, she was completely worn out!

We were sad to see Sunday come so quickly. It was a sleepy, gray day. I suppose that was better than having to be in the car on a bright sunny day. We were glad to be able to visit and share Fourth of July with great friends and only wish we could do it more often!

P.S. Riley is already counting down the days until she gets to meet her future husband little Gregory David Tice!