Banner Elk, NC

A few days after our New Year's Eve party we left for the mountains of North Carolina. If you haven't been, I urge to plan a vacation there. Of course for me, I LOVED when we went in the fall to see the leaves change colors. It is beautiful. But honestly, any time you go during the year, it is breathtakingly gorgeous and there are always fun things to do. This time we went to Banner Elk, NC. It is a GREAT area. Lots to do. 

The fun thing about coming here, is it was the first time I saw my sister in 2 and half years. And I finally got to meet that husband of hers! We had a lot of fun. Of course, we had to have Christmas together. 

Rachael and James brought crackers from Ireland with them. In Ireland it's a tradition for each person to pull an end. Whoever gets the bigger half wins the prizes inside. They include the red crowns, a little joke and a fun fact, and a little prize (we got all kinds of crazy stuff...a tool kit, nail clippers, a noisemaker, a watch, etc) I LOVED them and I think it is such a fun tradition! I have asked Rachael to send me a box next Christmas!

Me, all the sisters, and the brother in law!

We spent the rest of the day exploring Banner Elk. We found a little bit of snow to play in! 

The little park we went to was beautiful. A beautiful lake, a nice path to walk down and even some waterfalls! It was a fun day!

I took a million pictures of the ducks. I just thought they were so pretty!!

More beautiful pictures of our trip to come...