Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge with Mom!

We had the absolute pleasure of having my AWESOME mom and sis Monica come out for almost a week a few weeks ago. We had such a great time - it just flew by so fast! We rented a beautiful cabin up in the smokey mountains outside of Pigeon Forge, which is a mini Las Vegas in the middle of East Tennessee. Go figure. We went hiking, went to Dollywood (a hill-billy Disneyland of sorts), shopped, hung out and relaxed. It was so much fun. Here are some pictures from the trip...

{click to enlarge pictures}

showing off the goodies from Nona

Rashauna grabbed this crazy looking moth/butterfly and stuck it on her nose!

ps: there are lots more pics of Robbie because Miss Mariah wasn't in the picture taking mood {and usually never is...}

Charleston, South Carolina

We had such an awesome time this past weekend in Charleston, SC. It's so fun living on the other side of the country and being able to explore new areas and cities. We absolutely loved Charleston and would like to go back soon - we didn't even get to do everything!! We went to the beach several times, which is by far the kids most favorite thing to do. Mariah loves searching and collecting seashells and could do so for hours and hours on end... And Robbie just loves to dig and throw the sand all over the place - and could do THAT for hours on end. So the beach is the perfect place for us.

We also went on a horse drawn carriage ride through historic downtown and learned a lot about the history of the city. I can't believe I didn't get any pictures of the amazing houses, or should I say, mansions that were there. Next time... but they were gorgeous!!

Then we went on a harbor cruise and learned a lot more about Charleston. The first fire of the civil war occured in Charleston... I think Trent and Taraleigh need to come out for an American History tour!! Hey - it's a tax write off!! =)

All in all, it was a great family trip. Josh's mom, sister and hubby all came to hang out with us too and we were able to go out to eat with them the night before we left. Yummm... talk about some delish food choices!!

Now I want to see some comments because this is pretty good on the whole posting thing!!! =)

the beach was covered in seashells... mariah was in heaven!
robbie - playing in the sand...

mariah and her signature pose haha...

robbie resting on the harbor cruise

some beautiful details from the beach

me and riah searching for treasures

the davidson fam

mariah and her daddy... she's such a daddy's girl!

robbie on the carriage ride - trying on mommy's glasses

sweetie pie riah

stinker butt robbie - splashing in puddles over and over again AFTER mom said no!!!

my sexy man

the waves. they always amaze me

riah and i running in the water

Hot Springs Trading Post

A few pictures from our visit to the museum and trading post in Hot Springs near Joshua Tree National Park...

Aren't my kids so stinkin cute??? Sometimes I just look at them and wonder how I got so lucky. They are awesome. Of course they have their moments, we all do, but they are great kids. So completely different from eachother and such wonderful friends. They love eachother so much and are so sweet with eachother.

It was great weather today at the trading post. It's crazy the many differenet terrains there are in the sate of California. I love it here. We went from mountains and snow to catus and desert in a matter of hours. Next we'll be at the beach and then back up to the snow. What other state can offer all that?