Family and Flowers

My brother came into town last week, just in time for Lakin's birthday. We don't get to see him too much, he's lived in Austin, TX since Rylan was about 1 yr old and since last fall he's been in Colombia....

He came bearing Colombian gifts. Like this hat Lakin is wearing.

And Annika's new favorite doll.

He headed out west on Sunday, but before he left we spent a day in the mountains with my dad and my brother's friend Lili.

Rylan has been wanting to get out and take a wildflower hike but the month of April slipped away from us. We hiked up Porter's Creek Trail to the old Smoky Mountain Hiking Club Cabin and hoped to find some flowers along the way.


We found Thyme Leaved Bluets, which Rylan identified without his guide, along the water's edge. Then my dad took them off the trail to find something special.


A Pink Lady's Slipper


Lakin was dragging a little. But the bridges and little cemetery and a reminder that we were actually making it to a destination and not just walking along helped him to keep going.

Cohen was completely attached to his uncle. With Uncle Justin this and Uncle Justin that almost the entire trip.


We made it to the cabin and hung around exploring for awhile before turning back.

Stopped to play in the water a bit. Cale fell in, like usual.

We saw a few more flowers- Meadow Parsnip, Robin's Plantain, Little Brown Jugs to name a few...