New River Gorge National Park

Dave really wanted to go white water rafting as part of his 6th grade summer vacation, so we landed on the New River Gorge National Park area, specifically Fayetteville, West Virginia.  I had no idea just how beautiful and scenic this area is! Highly recommend checking it out if you're looking for an adventurous getaway. 

Our first stop was driving up miles and miles of winding roads to get to Hawks Nest State Park. We had a little time before our Airbnb opened up, so we walked around this area for a bit. It was absolutely gorgeous.

Checked into our house for the next several days. Of course the kids were interested in the hot tub right away.

The rest of our party arrived shortly after us-my mom, uncle, aunt and Grandpa Dave! 

Bright and early the next morning we were up to go white water rafting. It was kind of a dreary morning, but it worked out great for us. The guy getting us ready convinced us to go in "duckies" instead of the big raft. I was extremely not on board with this plan, but we ended up loving it. It was Dave and I in one and Ike and Josh in the other.

We stopped for lunch, then got back on the river (we went on the Upper New River portion). At one point we were catching up with another group so the kids got to jump in and swim a little. The water was so warm!

Since it was the 4th of July weekend, there was lots of stuff going on at Fayetteville. Grandpa loves live music so we went to the town park (it was walkable from our house) several times while we were visiting. 

We woke up to a beautiful morning, so we drove over the famous bridge to the visitor center and some great views!

Aunt Kathy really wanted to see Diamond Point, so we took part of the Endless Wall Trail up to it. It was a bit more strenuous then we thought but we made it!

 

Kids jumping around in the creek. 

After the hike we took the winding road down to the original bridge and got to see the new bridge from down below. 

I guess we just weren't tired enough because the four of us went on yet another hiking adventure that afternoon! This one was a bit of a bust. I think it will be cool once it's all up and running, but I had read online that Needleseye recreation area was great for kids. There was very little trail marking so we got off the path quite a bit, and it was extremely muddy while we were there!

Mom and Aunt Kathy prepared a water war for when we got back that the kids absolutely loved. Video of the kids playing on the raft and the water fight. 

Then it was time for fireworks, which we watched from the backyard. 

Our last full day was spent driving to the Grandview section of the national park. It was so beautiful there, and no one in sight!

On our way back we stopped in the town of Thurmond, which was abandoned (5 people live there now) after the coal/train business left the area. 

Quick stop at Dunlop Creek Falls. There were waterfalls all over the place. 

That evening, Grandpa, Uncle Denny and Aunt Kathy all took off. We stayed one more night before heading to Washington D.C. the next day!

King's Kaleidoscope Concert, Holiday World, and Dave's Camp

We were all super excited to get to see on of our favorite band's when they came to Indy again! King's Kaleidoscope is so fantastic live and we had a blast!

Kids were especially glad that I got an upgrade so they'd have a place to sit (and stand on to be able to see better!).

Ike had his last soccer game at the beginning of June (we always seem to miss the actual last game of the season, this year was the same!). He got to try out goalie at his last game and really enjoyed it!

Dave left for camp on the 12th. Can't believe he goes to Jr High Camp now! This year his friend Jericho and Caleb went with him. They had tons of fun of course.

While Dave and Caleb were at camp, I snagged Zac and we headed south to hang out with my family and go to Holiday World. 

This dog, I can't even. Buster is too cute. 

They both rode their first upside down rollercoaster! 

My dad had free tickets from work, so a bunch of us went-Tony and I mostly split off to take Ike and Zac on the crazy rides. 

But we met up for a couple of rides!

Grandpa Charlie and Ike with their flamingo swim trunks. 

When we got home I got to watch a teeny baby, Miss Regina. 

Then before our trip to West Virginia and D.C. we (Josh) pressure washed our deck so it would be ready to paint when we got home.  In the process we met another frog friend!

And the kids earned their free pizza from doing some reading. These pizzas always taste the best!

 

AJR Concert and Beginning of Summer

Over Memorial Day weekend (also my birthday weekend!) we went to see AJR in Noblesville. They put on an awesome show and we all had a great time. It was also a perfect introduction into people watching for the kids! Lots of dos and donts for concert going were learned :)

Josh's parents kept the boys the night of my birthday, so Josh made me this fancy bruschetta platter and we watched a movie.

On Memorial Day we all headed to Josh's Aunt Veronica's for a pool party and food.

Other happenings during the beginning of June:

We met our deck frog. Turns out there are two, well there were two, haven't seen the other one in a while!

Dave and Ike kept themselves busy with projects, reading, lots of wiffle ball and kickball with friends, and music lessons.

 

Quick Trip to Nashville, TN

Josh and I took a trip to Nashville at the end of May. We were supposed to go to a concert (Haim) but it got canceled after we were already there so we just made the most of it and went around listening to live music!

Besides the music, we love to eat in Nashville. This post is basically just about the food :)

We got dressed up for dinner at Black Rabbit. The food was good, but could've been great with a few adjustments. 

Two of the nights we were in town we went to this rooftop concert venue to listen to cover bands. It was so beautiful and provided a cool view of the city at night. 

Best meal for sure was at HUSK. We've eaten at the one in Charleston, SC before and loved everything there too!

We really enjoyed going to 2nd street to listen to music during the day-since it was a weekend it was crazy crowded on Broadway so that was a good alternative to avoid all the crowds. I won't be going back on a weekend though...definitely prefer a little more relaxed version of the city!