Almost Heaven… West Virginia!
Both sides of my family were born and raised in West Virginia, and I always enjoy getting to spend time there whenever we can. Since we would be next door, so to speak, in Virginia for the Shenk Family Reunion, we decided to spend a week camping and relaxing in Charleston afterwards. It was a beautiful time of year to see the Mountain State and we were lucky enough to spend a lot of time with one of my favorite people, my cousin Jimi Lynn.
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| Our peaceful lovely campsite at Kanawha State Forest |
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| Visiting with Jimi Lynn and her animals. |
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| Savannah the donkey thought I had more carrots. I did not. |
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| But James did! |
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| The boys hanging out on the farm. |
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| I love her. I call her my Ba-donkey-donk. 😆 |
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| Silly boy. He spent most of his time playing in the creek. |
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| West Virginia loves us back! |
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| Ellie and Chris just hanging out and making funny faces at each other. Love them so much. |
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| We drove into Sissonville and surprised my Aunt Ruth. She’s so sweet! |
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| Shenanigans in downtown Charleston. We had very delicious pizza at Pies & Pints that I’m still thinking of fondly… |
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| A handful of monsters and a face full of road rash from a mountain biking accident. Still so cute! |
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| Enjoying delicious coffee and some adorable sibling fun. |
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| Three feisty girls. Love this picture. |
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| Definitely my favorite by far. Hilarious. Way to stay calm and hold the baby, Jimi. |
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| With views like this by the campsite, we spent a lot of time just enjoying nature there. |
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| James even captured a moment where Chris and I were both sitting at the same time! |
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| James and I enjoyed one of our favorite outdoor activities–creek-walking. |
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| Ellie got in on the fun, relaxing time as well. |
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| Truly a beautiful place. |
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| Feeling all the love from WV. |
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| Finding happiness in a swing at a local playground. |
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| Big brothers are the best. |
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| James and Chris went off on a mountain biking adventure together. |
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| Ellie and I explored the backroads and found charming old barns and gorgeous vistas. |
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| Of course our Eleanor had to stop in and say hello to Eleanor, WV. |
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| My two sweethearts getting ready for bed in our little trailer. |
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| Ellie hit the 9-month mark in West Virginia. Getting so big! |
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| Family hike through the state forest on our last day of vacation. |
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| Disappearing into the lush green woods. |
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| Ellie loved being in the backpack– just like James used to. |
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| And she fell asleep in it– just like James used to. |
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| She hit 9 months and thought she should take over driving us home. |
West Virginia is absolutely beautiful and the people are friendly and welcoming. We can’t wait to go back and spend more time amongst the wonderful Mountaineers.