Leslie getting ready to relax in the delivery bed!
Jay and Leslie together for one more pregnant photo.
I always have to get in the one shot of myself. Here I look a little confused...like why am I sitting in a hospital for so long when I am not even the patient? Well, I was so anxious to see what the sex of my new family member was going to be! I just knew it was going to be a little boy, but just like Smap always says, I am always wrong!
Lindsay, Suzie, and Leslie...the three BFF's. At one time the three were all part of the Gypsy Hands belly dancing troup together. Suzie is the owner of the World Grotto downtown. Smap and I love paying her visits when we are at the Market Square Mall. She usually lets us in free which is really cool too!
Kate, Jay and Barbara patiently waiting for Leslie to be hooked up to the Pitocin (the inducing drug).Thursday, my sister-in-law's water broke. She did not go into active labor until @ 1 the next day because her baby just didn't want to come out. Leslie and Jay wanted the baby to be born at the Birthing Center, but due to having to induce they were moved to St. Mary's where Lindsay was able to be the birthing nurse. Jay (Smap's middle brother) conveniently married Leslie, who is one of Lindsay's best friends. Lindsay and Tim are two of Smap and my best friends as well, so we always have a great time hanging out together.
I got to the hospital around noon on Friday. I blew off the bike shop to sit in the hospital with most of the local Apking natives. I was really hoping the baby would be born while I was there, but that was not the case. Leslie didn't deliver the precious baby girl (Anna Finley(sp?) Apking) until 7pm that night. Smap and I had made plans several months ago to camp, so I had to leave.
I am going to see the baby today, so I will have some good shots of her and proud parents later.
CAMPING at TSALI! FUN times with the Grants and the Greens. Smap, Ippon and I drove over for a weekend of fun in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina. We haven't been there to camp since we got married (we drove over the following weekend to camp with Chuck and Peg after we got married).
We arrived at the campground around dark on Friday. Smap and I quickly made camp with Chuck and Peg, then began to relax. Saturday morning Smap, Chuck, Nicole and I got up and did some mountain biking. Smap and I rode both the Mouse and Thompson loops. They were okay....not technical at all....very quick riding basically. It was something different though, so we enjoyed it. After we got done riding, we at a quick lunch and headed to the Nantahala river with Chuck and Jeff (Nic's husband). This was a "learning experience" on the river for Jeff...his first time in a boat I think. Jeff learned the hard way about staying away from down trees (strainers) on the river. Thankfully he was okay and still wants to get back in a boat. Smap and I paddled on where I took out at Surfing Rapid....the rapid use to be a lot better....boaters use to line up to surf the wave. Saturday, there were dudes in duckies lined up to surf. It just wasn't the same. The river has changed so much in the last ten years since I first started paddling here. I got out at this rapid because the car with dog inside was waiting for me here. Plus, the water was so cold, my hands just wouldn't take it any longer. I picked Smap up at the bottom of the river and he too was ready to get out due to frozen hands syndrome.
An old Dagger canoe transformed into a planter down at the Nanty...
Smap is heading down to the last hole just below the "NOC" as some dude called it on Friday. We totally made fun of the term for the rest of the weekend... Below are my two boys in the water. Ippon loves the cold water of the Nanty and he LOVES being in the water with his dad.
Smap and I discovered there is now a bar/pub over the old Relia's restaurant across from the river. For several years they closed the restaurant, but it is open again along with the pub upstairs. The bar has a lot of old sketches and notes from William Neeley. William Neeley was a great artist, outdoor enthusiast, and writer. He use to map out all the rivers he would paddle and he would cleverly draw and illustrate different holes, rapids, etc for people to read and learn about the rivers being paddled. I luckily was able to meet William Neeley and his wife Holly at an Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake in 2000. Dagger had flown the two of them out to sit in our booth to autograph books and meet our dealers. I ended up drinking several beers on a daily basis with the duo and Teri Lee. Unfortunately we got word the following summer that William took his life. It was a very sad day and such a sad loss.
Anywho, Smap and I got back to camp and Smap cooked everyone's steak and corn. It was a delicious meal. After dinner I just couldn't keep my eyes open, so I "fell asleep". My fellow campers had a little fun with me as I slept....
On Sunday, we packed up and said goodbye to Jeff and Nicole. Smap, Chuck, Peg and I headed over to Fontana Resort with our dogs to play the Frisbee golf course there. It was tough. Chuck lost a frisbee on the second hole. Lost of trees and green made it extremely difficult to even see where it landed down the hill from the tee off. It is by far the toughest course I have played/seen (I am not really a big player).
Smap and I finally made it home and I got a shot of what he looks like when he "falls asleep". I wanted to put something on him like he did me, but it wouldn't have been as funny as the shots of me he took....the one I am showing of myself is the only one I can really show.
Cheers!
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