Twins!

It's been a good week for Madison. First her birthday party and then her good friend, Ashlynne, who moved away a couple of years ago came to town with her family for a visit. They have really enjoyed their time together and always pick up right where they left off. They try to talk on the phone now and then and don't seem to have much to say but I overheard Madison say today to Ashlynne, "We sure seem to have a lot more to talk about in person than on the phone!" They were so excited to discover they owned the same outfit (unplanned). What you can't see is that they match right down to their sock and tennis shoes.







We took a trip to the Smoky Mountains a couple of weeks ago and the girls found this "secret spot" after a hike in the woods. They decided they really like hiking but don't really like the long winding drive that it takes to get into the mountains. Fortunately Katie, the "queen of car sickness" was sure to take her dramamine and had no problems. The views were absolutely gorgeous.



We also toured the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC, the largest residence in the US. As you can see it is HUGE. The house covers 4 acres or 175,000 square feet. That is equal to 88
average homes. It has 250 rooms, 65 fireplaces, an indoor pool and a bowling alley. This picture doesn't begin to do it justice. If you haven't been there you should really check it out at http://www.biltmore.com/visit_now.shtml
Another cool thing was that there was a nice, clean, shaded, and even free self serve DOG KENNEL for Abby to hang out in while we toured the place!



















Have you ever tried LETTERBOXING? My friend Jennifer mentioned it awhile back and we thought we'd give it a try while we were on our trip.You find clues on the internet and go
on a treasure hunt of sorts. You make or purchase your own stamp and notebook and when you find a letterbox it will contain a stamp and notebook also. You put your stamp in the letterbox notebook and the letterbox stamp in your notebook, kind of like a passport, so you have a record of all the letterboxes you have visited and the letterbox has a record of all the visitors it has had! We had a blast looking for the letterbox. Unfortunately, even though we are positive that we found the location, the letterbox had been removed. We will definitely letterbox again and maybe even hide our own sometime.

Here is Katie looking for the letterbox.