my 3 month hiatus, pt. 2

Visiting Jaime Michelle
Asheville, NC
Sept. 4-7

For those of you who don't know, the Felton line-up goes like this:

Jeff (35), Dan (32), Jaime (29), Tim (26), Nick (23)

Jaime is smack dab in the middle of all the bros! Talk about middle child complex. If you ask her about it now, Jaime says she is really grateful for each of her brothers and adores them! But I am sure there were many times growing up when she didn't feel that way.

Tim especially must have been trying for her. Tim is 3 years younger than Jaime, and he remembers following her around everywhere. Jaime used to make Tim walk 10 feet behind her at all times. Tim's mother, Maggie, told me that Jaime was quiet and timid, and Tim "demanded attention." He asked a million questions and talked a lot. (Does this surprise anyone?) Just recently, Maggie described the following exchange from Tim's childhood:

Tim (distraught and crying): Mom, Jaime hates me!

Maggie (consoling): She doesn't hate you, she just wants some time to herself right now.

Jaime (screaming from her room): No, I really hate him!

Since Jeff moved from Philadelphia, PA to Noblesville, IN, last summer, Jaime is now the farthest away sibling. Because of this, Tim and I don't get to see her as much as we would like. That's why we were determined to visit her in Asheville, NC this summer.

We reserved Labor Day weekend to maximize time with Jaime. When we got there, we went dowtown to watch some drum circling, and grab some dinner. We spent the next day at the river that runs along Route 9 and played in the waterfalls, made dinner at home and watched a movie. Sunday we went to a sweet festival downtown, and just hung out at home and talked. It was a GREAT weekend!

Jaime showed us this sweet hole in the middle of the river at Rte. 9! I tried to convince Jaime's dog, Buddy, to get in.

Tim poses for his calendar "Hunks in Waterfalls" coming out in 2010

This is Jaime's roomate's dog, Sythia, and me. We went for a run together and became BFFs.

I always look forward to spending time the Felton siblings. In addition to the fact that they are all great people, I think I am extra fascinated by my in-laws because I never had siblings growing up. I am grateful to have 3 stepsisters, but my dad and stepmom got married when I was in college, so we didn't really grow up together. I am intrigued by Tim's relationships with his brothers and sister, and I love hearing them all tell stories about growing up together. I wonder if they are ever weirded out by how much I like to talk about them...

Well, that's all about our trip to Asheville.

lovecare.