Winter Break - Part 2

If you think we were only busy during the first week of Winter Break, think again!  That was just the beginning of the fun.


After spending about 6 days in Wisconsin we drove all night  and got home Friday morning about 11 in the morning.  We unpacked, napped, reloaded and began anxiously awaiting our friends arrival later that night.

I will say, moving our family from Florida to North Carolina has been the best decision we have ever made, however, the one HUGE thing that we miss are our friends and family.  We have an amazing circle of friends still in Orlando and when you find "your people", it's really hard to replace them; not to mention, it's just plain hard to make new friends sometimes!

We hadn't seen our friends Lynn and Jay (Everett's Godfather), and their daughter Sloane since the day we moved and we couldn't wait to catch up.

During their stay the weather was a little spotty, so we decided to hit the ground running, or hiking, to make sure we had as much outdoor time we could get.

We took them to our favorite hiking spot, Crowders Mountain, to log some miles and take in some of the beautiful views the mountain has to offer.

The original plan, however was not to make the trek all the way to the top, but after trying out a new trail we ended up doing it anyway.  And, as always, it was breathtaking.

Day two found us at one of our other favorite spots, The US National Whitewater Center.  Although the pools are drained and you have to use your imagination to understand the immense awe of this place, it was still pretty impressive.

It was a bit muddy and rainy, but we still had a great time and even found a few new ropes courses that we hadn't seen before.  There are always hidden gems in the woods that the kids love when we stumble upon them.

One new addition to the Whitewater Center this winter is the ice skating rink and Lights trail (open at night).  The rink is quite a bit larger than I anticipated and although wet, the boys had a great time.  

There is even an Airstream positioned int he middle of the rink where you can purchase hot chocolate and take a quick break.

The rest of our time together was spent enjoying each other's company by the bonfire, at many different playgrounds, playing a few games of basketball, drinking many glasses of wine and trying some new eateries; some hits and some misses.

             

We are so thankful that we got to catch up with our friends and can't wait to see them in Florida soon!

After The Tullers left we had about a day and a half to continue to catch up on laundry (the never ending task) and then we had one more visitor on tap.  My dad!

We were planning on having my dad and his wife for the weekend to celebrate Christmas and kick off Everett's basketball season, but she had to head to Florida so we just had a visit from him.  

Besides Everett's first basketball game on Saturday morning we had a wide open slate.  After hearing about a new winery, Veronet Vinyards and Winery, that had opened up about 20 minutes from us in Kings Mountain, NC, we decided to head there for some wine and snacks around midday.

I knew the pictures I had seen on Instagram were cute, but in person this place is a show stopper.  I was very impressed and can't wait to come back again!

Before deciding on a bottle to buy, we opted for two different flights to do a mini wine tasting.  We voted on our favorites and decided on a red and a white to drink and take home.

The Cabernet Sauvignon was the red winner and the Viognier was the winner for the white selection.

The winery was very kid friendly and even offered our kiddos a juice box and a package of Teddy Grahams upon arrival, complimentary.

We also brought many snacks and games (UNO, LCR) that would keep them busy as well.

 

The kids also sipped on some hot chocolate and tried a few new items on the cheeseboard.

The outdoor setting is gorgeous with an amazing view of Kings and Crowders Mountains.  There are yard games that you can borrow to play outside and plenty of room for the kids to run around after sitting inside for a while.

Veronet Vinyards and Winery, which is part of the Ridgeline Craft Beverage Trail, is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and is a quick 40 minute drive from Charlotte.  If you are local or in the area visiting, I highly recommend this new spot!

We ended our winter break watching football, relaxing and eating Tony's Ice Cream. 

The best ending to a wonderfully busy break!