The Hoppy's are here!

I was so excited when my parents arrived in Black Mountain! They came straight to Pegg's house for dinner with Aaron, Pegg, and I.   They were pretty excited to be there, as you can see!  

Are those HAPPY HOPPY'S or what?!

Two days later, after running around town all day getting last minute wedding details dialed in, Aaron and I called my mom and dad to see what they were up to and my mom was just about to cook dinner at the cabin they had rented for the week!  We may or may not have invited ourselves over for dinner!  But, my mom swears she loved having us there!  It was a win win for everyone!  :)  

The boys played a little game of mini-pool after dinner...

.... and how adorable is this bag!?  

Don't worry, be Hoppy!

Pegg found them at Cracker Barrel and bought it.  She probably asked me 5 times before I took it over to my parents if I thought they were too corny!  haha.  I loved them, and so did my mom!

The night before the wedding, Aaron and I headed back over to my parents cabin, charmingly named "The Mountain Getaway" for a Hoppy (dad's side) / McCallister (mom's side) family reunion!  This was such a special night for me, because my dad's sister and her husband and all of my mom's side of the family were there!  Every summer, we would fly to Alabama for 2 months and stay at my Mimmy and Granddady's (mom's parents), but we never went back after they both passed away when I was in middle school.  I had never even met my cousin Shelby (2nd from the right) until this night, and she's 16!  Amazingly, it felt like no time had passed at all, and we all jumped right back into being family!  It was A.W.E.S.O.M.E and we all swore never to let that much time go between visits again! 

***Photo credit to my sister's camera timer.  (Thanks Amy!) 

I'm blessed with an incredibly supportive, funny, loving, encouraging, and super fun to be with family!

Thank you to Barb, Jeff, my sister, mom, dad, aunt Judie, Shelby, Jenn, Kirk and Will for coming all the way from Colordao, New York, California, Mississippi, Alabama, and Virginia for my special day!

Love you guys!

Black Mountain charm

If I had to compare Aaron's hometown to a TV show, it would be Dawson's Creek, hands down! It's quaint, charming, slow paced, a lil country, everyone knows everyone, there are beautiful mountains, flowing rivers, and green everywhere you look, and community is key.  It's the kind of place you go to and never wanna leave! 

There's an art, music and flower fair behind the big church downtown on the weekends...

...where families and friends gather to buy and sell handmade goods and hang together!

A little girl had bought these gorgeous flowers from a lady who grows them in her garden!  aaahhh

There was even a cute little redhead running a booth while his mom was socializing, no doubt.

   

There are charming coffee shops with cute little girls in tutu's showing off their yoga posses while customers gawk over how precious they are!

... and a cute little cupcake shop that makes flavors like "Fred Velvet"! And don't think you can get away with asking for a "Red Velvet" cupcake!  No siree!  You'll have to embarrass yourself by saying the silly name before they serve you!  Ask Sarah!  It's true!

There are awesome mom's who get up early to make omelets and delicious home made muffins for their son and his soon to be wife!  ahem- Pegg! Mother in law extraordinaire! :)

There's local art sold all around...

... and a family owned pizza parlor that's been around since Aaron was a kid!  Doesn't help that their pizzas are AMAZING and only $7.00!  We may or may not have eaten here 3 times while we were in Black Mountain!  How I lost 8 pounds while I was home in the US is beside me.

There are old historic homes, turned Inns, like the Red Rocker, where Aaron and I stayed our first night as husband and wife!

There are even cute little baby black bears that hobble across dirt roads and climb up trees, only to hold on tight and peak their head around to see if you're still there!

It's the type of place I've always wanted to be a part of, and now that I'm married to Aaron, I'd like to think I am! :)  Speaking of family, have I mentioned that Aaron's mom, dad, BOTH grandmothers, 4 aunts, and 2 uncles all live within about a 3 mile radius of each other... and his sister, cousins, and other two aunts are only a couple hours drive! I love it!  

This day, we decided to spend the day with Carol, helping her get the yard and house ready for the wedding!  We painted our little hearts out!  One of my favorite memories of the day was painting the front steps of the house with Aaron's dad!  It was a fun bonding time!

A fresh coat of paint can make all the difference!

We spent an afternoon with Aaron's grandma, Mammy, aunt Sherry Beth and his dad at 

Mammy's pool!

 It was the perfect break from the summer heat!

What town do you know that has a rocking chair in front of their chamber of commerce?!

I'm telling you... It's awesome! :)