West Virginia- Thursday and Friday- June.- NOW UPDATED WITH VIDEOS!

You do it once, it's new. Do it twice, it's a tradition. And thus, the 2nd annual Cooper vacation to West Virginia took place this weekend.

Mama told me to pack my things, and don't forget where I put them.

I just hope this will be enough hair barrettes to hold my hair in place.

Henry sang a song to keep us in the packing mood. If you don't understand all the words, it is about the floor and the walls changing colors and ends in our favorite way- on pancake night.

We got to the cabin first on Thursday night. So while we waited, we had a dance party. Those are some moves.

We hung out on Friday. We went to visit GG Grandpa's sister, Aunt Margie and Uncle Dean, who live in an awesome log house on the New River Gorge just a few miles from the bridge. It literally sits on the the side of the mountain and has a deck that overlooks the gorge. I wish we had taken a picture of it, but the weather didn't really cooperate and we were all too busy enjoying brownies, hot buttered rums, and chasing their poor cat all over the house.

Mama decided to go running at the Civil War battlefield. It was a wet, cold day, but it was only drizzling, so mama thought it would be a good idea. She made it about 3 miles around the trails before she hit a wet patch of leaves and fell down a hill and twisted her ankle. Luckily, it wasn't as bad as the last time she twisted an ankle on vacation. She hobbled back out on to the road and walked home, only to scare some visitors who saw her come out bleeding profusely from a scraped knee. Papa says she's not allowed to exercise on vacation anymore. Mama's bummed because trail running is the only kind of running she even enjoys and she doesn't even have the coordination for that. Henry some how got it into his head that mama was hit by a bear who was running through the woods. Mama didn't correct him.

Sadie and I had matching jammies. I wasn't very happy because she was trying to put my shoe on.

We also didn't get pictures of our Friday night supper. We went to Taste of Bridge Day, where local fancy restaurants set up booths and sell tiny portions of their best stuff for a couple bucks a pop. We tried seafood gumbo, pork tacos, and some really great smoky chipotle shrimp with bacon cheddar mashed potatoes. Someone must have felt bad for the family standing outside with the three crazy kids because they gave Uncle Adam $20 worth of food tickets. So we all ran back inside to get coffee and toffee bread pudding for desert. It was the best. While the grownups stuffed their faces, we kids ran around the deck, which was fairly empty because of the crummy weather. Henry caught a click spot and wiped out. She started screaming that he peed his pants (he didn't), so mama took him into the bathroom. While they were in the stall, he decided to have a practical conversation with mama that went like this:

Henry: When are you going to die?
Mama: Not for a very long time.
Henry: But WHEN are you going to die?
Mama: Not until you're very old.
Henry: But WHEN?
Mama: In fifty years.
Henry: But who will live with June and I when you die?
Mama: You'll be old enough to live on your own by then. And you'll probably have your own family.
Henry: Do I get to pick them?
Mama: Pick who?
Henry: All the kids that are going to live with me.

When mama and Henry came out of the stall, the other woman in the bathroom was having a good laugh.