Reynolda Gardens

In our new house, we live right next to Reynolda Gardens, which was previously part of the estate of R.J. Reynolds at the beginning of the twentieth century. The gardens and over 100 acres of land have been preserved and are used frequently by everyone in the community. Because we have an impending snow storm hovering over us in the next couple of days, I decided to take the kids out to the gardens to play while it was still 60 degrees outside.

What a great find! The gardens don't have many flowers now in the winter, but you can tell it will be beautiful in the spring. Everyone had such a great time running around and exploring the grounds.

Of course, I tried to use the opportunity of the nice setting to take a family photo. The first attempt was no good since I positioned them all facing into the sun ... oops!

The second attempt was better.

Of course we tried getting into things we weren't supposed to be getting into.

But by the end of the trip, we were tired and needed a rest (which is the point, right?).

I'm so glad we found this place and we will be sure to go all the time now. I'm thinking picnics in the spring and lots of fun times on Saturday afternoons. It was a great place to explore and we just scratched the surface.

We are supposed to get a "winter storm" this weekend, so I'm a bit worried. I don't really know what constitutes a "winter storm" in North Carolina. In Florida, it meant that it was rainy and below 60 degrees. I have the feeling that it means something different here. On the positive side, the kids will likely see their first snow. I'll definitely have pictures to post if that happens!