Here is a view from our cabin showing just how the Great Smokies got their name. They are gorgeous!! Here are some more pictures of our cabin:
The view from the hot tub.
The back "wall" was pure windows showing off the view from above.
The kitchen where many delicious meals were made.
The porch where I loved to sit in the morning and read my scriptures and take in the morning fog.
The back of the cabin.
The Scottish Festival:
A real live yak. I personally have never come into contact with a yak before. They seem to only be in Carter's books for "Y is for Yak."
The manly axe throw. Justin actually got his axe to stay on his first throw, what a man!!
Double Trouble: Carter HATES to wear his shoes! In fact his right big toe is a never-ending bloody mess because he refuses to wear shoes and scraps it up every day. So here Milly is helping Carter get ready for the big hike by taking his shoes off for him.
The water was really cold but still intriguing to the boys who wanted to put their feet in.
Evan was the bravest of the boys, I believe he got completely soaked in the waterfall.
The soul mates showing off how tough and good looking they are.
The Boys
On Sunday we went for a drive to hit the tallest point in the park. It was freezing and I was the only one prepared. What can I say scouting was always a part of my family's life even though I wasn't officially involved.
The Squirrels, I mean Girls.
Action shot of how these boys are 24-7 when they are with each other. 
This was our second hike we took in Cade's Cove to another waterfall. Carter loved hiking and was doing a fantastic job. I think he went for at least a mile. I was pretty proud of him and wished my family could see him. Hiking is a big deal in my family and it is almost a rite of passage when you start hiking on your own.
For the rest of it, he got to ride in his comfy backpack. Thanks Mom and Dad!
Again, Craziness! Matt and I were both wishing my brothers could have been here for this one. This is right up their alley! 
Freezing!
The best action shot I could get. Carter was a little nervous.
They had some kiddie rides there as well, so we took advantage. And of course Carter always loves a good Choo Choo train.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
No Longer a Binky Baby...
So this last Monday we were at Walmart doing the dreaded grocery shopping and while back in the dairy section, Carter messing around took his binky out and threw it. It landed in a grated area where we could see it but not get to it. Previous to this, I had been getting my fill of little old ladies telling me that my son was too old for a binky (one of these actually made him cry last weekend) and people dropping "hints" to me on "this is how I got my child off of his binky." I really did appreciate everyone's great and creative ideas and I even asked for a few of them, but I was just fed up. So I saw this imprisonment of Carter's binky as divine intervention. I think Heavenly Father knew Matt and I didn't have the guts to take it away. So back to the story. After seeing our predicament with the binky I knew we needed to act fast. I told Carter to wave and say goodbye to his binky. His eyes welled up with tears and you could see in his little face that his heart was broken. In between sobs he said goodbye to his binky and waved as well. In the past, I had poorly attempted to limit the binky but after not receiving a lot of support from Matt all of my attempts were thwarted. Thus, I knew I needed to get Matt on board so I called him right away. I explained the situation and told him what I wanted to do. Matt got emotional (yes he cried) and said that he couldn't do that to his boy. This comes from a guy who has a major oral fixation problem himself. But he finally agreed when I told him that Carter really understood that this was it, there was no more binky. Matt was afraid we might traumatize him so we agreed to give Carter a choice. I asked Carter if he wanted a Carter's Bink (that is Carter's name for it to differentiate it from a Baby's binky, yes we tried the shame tactic) or a Big Boy Bike. He chose the bike and stopped crying. Matt wanted to be there with us when we picked out the bike and I thought that it was good to wait to make sure Carter was serious about this. So everytime he asked for his Carter's Bink I gave him the choice and again everytime he would stop whining and say in a big boy voice that he wanted a Big Boy Bike. He went about two days, a nap and a night without his binky and he stayed true the whole time to his bike so last night we went to Target and got his Big Boy Bike. Our little boy is growing up...now on to potty training.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
The Evolution of "Mine"
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Grandma, Grandpa, Buddies, and Puddles...
We went to the Children's museum at the beginning of the month. They had a new tree house exhibit where you could try on a whole bunch of different bird costumes. Below Carter is an owl (one of his favorite animals he pretends to be thanks to Little Bear, see the last video at the bottom of the post). Speaking of Little Bear, it may not be the most educational show as far as letters and numbers but it has been fantastic for his imagination. He loves to pretend he is his little animal friends from the show, not to mention his trips to the moon.
Easter Weekend
Easter weekend was a big one for us because Matt turned 30, Grandma and Grandpa Nielsen came into town, I taught the Easter Relief Society lesson and it was Easter.
We had to take Grandma and Grandpa to the zoo.
I love this picture of Grandpa and Carter checking out Carter's most fascinating animal at the zoo, the snake. It is quite a love/ hate relationship. It terrifies him but he can't look away.
You can't tell in this picture, but Carter's hands looked like a sea monster's (after insisting on dunking and pulling out the eggs with his fingers), which Carter thought was awesome since a monster is probably his favorite imaginary thing he likes to be, especially when it involves scaring girls.
Carter and Oliver did a great job in helping this older gentleman blow out his candles. :)
Skippy Jon Jones is a favorite story at our house, especially when Matt reads it with his great Antonio Banderas accent. Below is some video of it, though it is hard to hear his voice in some places. Thanks Lexi and Emi for giving it to us!
Paling Around
Carter has really enjoyed the bike trailer this year. Last year between the wearing of the helmet and having the helmet always fall in his face he wasn't a huge fan. But since none of that is a problem this year, he loves speeding down the road behind his daddy.
This is Siddharth, the boy I watch, and Carter swinging on the tire swing at their house. The boys love doing this and the two of them fit nicely. Siddharth and his sister Tanvi always try to make things work so that Carter can be included in most activities.
I have talked a lot to family and some friends about their dog Caesar so I thought I would post a picture here. He is a Golden Doodle (Golden Retriever and Poodle mix). He is a big dog but is sweet as a teddy bear. He and Carter are great buddies and love to watch for the garbage man together on Thursday mornings.
Carter is definitely hitting that independent and wants to help with everything stage. In fact, the other day Carter was complaining about it being his turn to clean the toilet bowl as I was scrubbing it. But two Saturdays ago, we had some yard work to do and Carter was right there with Matt helping every step of the way.
He loves the watering part!!
It's Raining, It's Pouring...
Last week we had a ton of rain, but Carter and I were very itchy to get out of the house. So we did and we had a ball. By the way, this is the back alley way from our house.
I only wish I had a better camera and more skill because some of these pictures could have been awesome!
We found this umbrella at the Goodwill for a $1.50, SCORE!!
There's nothing better than the joy of a child!
In the second video below, it isn't too obvious but Carter loves to label puddles: "Baby Puddles" and "Daddy Puddles."
Temple Day
I had the honor of escorting a sister from our ward through the DC temple this last Saturday. It was a remarkable day. Matt and Carter came down with us, Matt dropped Carter off at my cousin Adrienne's house and joined us at the temple. I am so excited for this wonderful sister who had so much faith and dedication to make it to this day. And of course the DC temple and it's grounds were looking as beautiful as ever.
Spring Time!!
Last fall, Matt planted a bunch of bulbs and it has been so exciting to watch them come up and look so beautiful. Matt goes out there every day and looks at them. He loves to garden. But with that said, we have really struggled with our flower beds and vegetable garden in the past. Some areas are successes and other areas we really fail. But this is the first time, where each plant looks beautiful and survived. I guess we are making progress, lets just hope it lasts.
The picture above was from our side flower bed and this is the bed right in front of our drive strip.
An owl, a duck, a dog, a snake oh my....
And that was our month of April, phew!
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Finally, Carter's 2 yr-old Pictures!!
So, a few weeks ago we decided that maybe we should finally get Carter in for his 2 yr-old pictures since he has been 2 since Dec. 18th.
We were so happy when he did so well during the photo shoot. We told him if he smiled big then we would send the pictures to Grandma (so Grandmas here they come). He seemed pretty happy about that. But what really got him was this wooden train that they had at their studio. All they had to do was tell him there was a train involved and he was putty in their hands.
We got a kick out of some of these "grown-up" poses that he did.
The picture above shows his "Oops I just got caught doing something naughty" face.
