Thursday, July 1, 2010

4th of July in the Mountains!

This sign says it all, doesn't it? We are heading to the mountains of North Carolina for the 4th of July weekend. My sister and her husband retired and live in the mountains of North Carolina. My parents have a home there as well, that they live in during the spring, summer and fall. We live about a 2 hour drive from them and we go up every chance we get. Not only is it about 20 degrees cooler up there in the summer, but it is God's country and is sooooo beautiful there. We love it!!!
We will be spending the 4th of July with my family in the mountains. This is a view of my Mom's porch. We all love this porch swing. My girls have lots of memories of good times sitting in this porch swing when they were growing up. They love to sit here and read. You can hear the water in the creek when you sit on the porch. It is so peaceful! There is a mountain behind the house with cows grazing on it and the mountain in front of the house has Christmas trees growing on it. That is where we cut our Christmas tree each year.
Here is another view of the porch. My Mom loves flowers and she has them everywhere. She loves to decorate for the 4th . Her little sign, God Bless America, lights up at night. Mom even has a fountain that sits among these flowers, but it isn't on in this picture.
This is my parent's house that they live in during their time in the mountains. It is the home that my father lived in as a child. (Remember he is 89 years old, so this house is old too!) It is where my Grandparents lived when they were living. We used to visit them here and I have so many wonderful memories of times spent with my Grandparents, my aunts, uncles and cousins. This house used to be heated by a wood stove. My grandmother cooked on the wood stove in the kitchen. There was not a bathroom when I was a child and we had to use an outhouse. We took our baths in a metal tub in front of the wood stove. (There is a bathroom now, thank goodness!)

Doesn't this look delicious? This was our 4th of July meal last year. We will have the same type of cookout this year. Hamburgers and hot dogs, with all the trimmings and lots of yummy desserts.
Here is a picture of some of the family that was there at my sister's last year for our 4th of July cookout. There is my sweet Dad in the bottom left of the picture.
This is a view of my sister's beautiful farmhouse! I just love her porch. She has a porch swing and lots of rocking chairs. We love to sit out on her porch too and rock away the evenings. So peaceful!!!
I love the houses all decorated for the 4th!!!
My Mom and Dad's house and my sister's house are next to each other, but there is a field between them. My brother-in-law has a big garden and my Dad has blueberry bushes and apple trees. I love it when we go up in the summer, because we get to eat lots of good food from the garden.

There is also a street festival that goes on this weekend downtown, so we will enjoy going to that. Lots of great music, street dancing, crafts, food, etc. It is called Christmas in July and it promotes the Christmas tree industry that is so big in this part of our state. A huge portion of the Christmas trees that are sold, come from North Carolina.

I will take pictures and do another post of our trip this weekend, but I thought you all would enjoy seeing pictures that I took last year, so you could see where we were going to be. Now you can see why we love to go up so much. It is so pretty up there and so nice to have the cool mountain breezes!

I hope all of you have a wonderful 4th of July being with family and friends and celebrating the freedom that we are so proud to have! Thanks to all of you who have family members who have fought or who are presently fighting to give us that freedom. Praying for travel mercies for all those traveling and may you have a great holiday weekend filled with lots of rest, relaxation and wonderful memories.

Love & blessings,
Melinda

28 comments:

  1. Melinda, you have a wonderful, wonderful time in the mountains! I love the sign-yes it does say it all! I love both your parents and your sisters home-how gorgeous! Have a fantastic time and swing on the porch swing for me! Happy 4th to you and your family!

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  2. Love the pictures of the porches. My grandparents used to drive a camper to Maggie Valley and stay every year at the Hillbilly Campground from spring to mid-fall. We loved it up there. Now you've got me itching to drive to the mountains for a weekend! Happy Independence Day!

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  3. I love that sign. I need to get one and put it in my apartment in CT. I love coming home to PA. for the summers. We live in a small town that is very countryish. There are a lot of Amish that live around us too and that is always nice to see. A colleague of mine at the university where I teach is from Boone, NC and her family lives in the mountains too. Is that close to you?

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  4. This sounds and looks like so much fun! I love to go to the mountains ... it is so peaceful. Your parents and sister's house looks so welcoming with all the 4th of July decorations. You have made me hungry looking at the food!
    have a wonderful weekend!
    Hugs,
    Donna

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  5. Have a great time with the family! That is so neat that everyone gets together for the holiday weekend! Enjoy! :)

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  6. We're headed up to the NC mountains too this weekend! We live in Greensboro and will be visiting our good friends in Burnsville - about 45 minutes north of Asheville. Where exactly will you be? Have a fabulous time!
    -- Teresa

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  7. This sounds like lots of fun! Have a wonderful weekend!

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  8. This looks so much like the homes I pass right near Lake Lure. I LOVE the mountains. I have always said *You are closer to God in the mountains, than anywhere else on earth.* Have a wonderful time!

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  9. I wish I could be there!! What a beautiful place and I, too, LOVE all of the decor for the 4th! Have a magnificent weekend and enjoy your family:)
    ~Mary

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  10. You are really decked out and ready to celebrate!

    Yes, the meal looks yummmmy. I'm having a recipe exchange and would love you to join in. Spread the word to your readers if you want. More recipes will make more fun!

    http://seasonsofmymind.blogspot.com/2010/06/around-world-recipe-exchange.html

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  11. Have a wonderful 4th of July with your family! I love your parent's house and front porch. It reminds me quite a bit of my dear maternal grandmother's house in Pennsylvania. She also cooked on a wood stove and had an outhouse and chamber pots! It's hard to imagine that in this day and age.

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  12. Have a wonderful time. Thanks for sharing all of your great pictures and wonderful memories!

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  13. That looks like a perfect way to spend the holiday weekend ~ beautiful surroundings and the company of your family. Your parents and your sister both have done such a nice job of decorating their homes for the 4th. I enjoyed hearing the history of your parents home. What special memories have been created there.

    Have a wonderful time.

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  14. Gorgeous. Have a great 4th. xoxo

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  15. Oh wow, your sisters farmhouse is drop dead gorgeous!!!!
    Have a very safe and Happy Fourth of July!
    Hugs,
    Anne

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  16. THese are great pics. What a beautiful place to be for the 4th. Hope you and your family have a wonderful time. I love your sisters house. What a great porch. Your Mom and Dads house is soooooo sweet. I know there are some priceless memories from that place. What a treasure!!!!

    Tell all hello for me.

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  17. Happy 4th sweet friend.

    Love how patriotic your family is. Beautiful homes...love the porches and the swings. I hope this year was just as special as last year.

    Hugs,
    Kat

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  18. Sounds lovely and your dad is too cute!

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  19. What wonderful houses! Were you anywhere near me in Asheville?

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  20. I love the old farmhouses and the porches. It looks like as soon as you get there you feel relaxed and comfortable, perfect for a getaway for the weekend.

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  21. Your mom and sister both have super cool porches...there is nothing better than an cool porch to hang out on!

    Blessings,
    Linda

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  22. THe NC mountains are one of my very favorite places to be!! What town are you all near? It looks wonderful!

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  23. Hi! We live in the Piedmont of NC and it has been so hot. I belive the NC mountains have also been very hot for the last few days. Loved seeing your family homes--they are wonderful. I would love to come and sit on your parents porch.
    Love,
    Marie

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  24. Sounds and looks like you had a great time. I love the old home your dad grew up in. How fun to have that still in the family.

    The porch looks so cute. I wish I had a porch where I live. I would sit out there for hours and watch the world go by.

    Hugs,
    Joanne

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  25. What beautiful homes with wonderful history! So glad that you were able to spend some good ole' family time in them. Take care~

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  26. Sign me up for a visit; these houses and location look idyllic with the big porches. How neat that your parents' house has such a long family history.

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  27. i love both of those houses! what an awesome place to live!

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