I really cannot explain why I keep publishing marathon posts...however, here's a partial update of the past month! (Paul is white water rafting in WV with Justin this weekend and has the other camera card, so when he returns, I will finish up. These pictures are from my camera, but I know he has some really good shots, too!)
April 28--You ever have that feeling when you're compelled to stop by someone's house and end up helping without ever intending? Lauren and I have not been seeing much of Shelly, Josh, and Logan due to the fact that Logan is in sports 6 days a week (karate and baseball). We try to catch up over the weekends. However, this was a Wednesday and I just HAD to stop! Shelly was working overtime, so we took Logan home with us to play! Here are Lauren and Paul in our (newly concreted) driveway...
Buster, Lauren, and Logan hanging out in the Workman's backyard...
Logan REALLY wanted to ride his bike on the driveway but settled for Lauren's...
And since I'm such a slacker lately, here is the (partially) finished driveway! I still have "Project: Driveway" to post, but again, pictures on Paul's camera!
May 1--Paul left Lauren and me to have a "redneck" weekend in near Fayetteville, NC, offroading and rock climbing with his Jeep...so when Paul is gone, Lauren and I shop! I found her this little kitchen at Once Upon a Child and picked it up fairly cheap. The pots, pans, and food cost me more than the kitchen!
This picture cracks me up! Lauren has had an infatuation with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and LOVES the character Clarabelle. When Lauren talks on the phone, she always has a conversation with Clarabelle! Plus, she was multi-tasking and putting Baby to bed.
Rocking Baby!
May 2--Shelly found this dress for Lauren and HAD to buy it. Doesn't it look great?
May 4--For those of you who don't know, Paul quit Ace Hardware and moved to Conover Hardware. This was his first day of work. It has only been about 3 weeks, but the change is dramatic! Paul is MUCH happier, more calm, and less quick to get angry. He's doing a variety of jobs, still working on Stihl equipment, but ONLY Stihl equipment. He's had quite a few customers get upset with him for leaving Ace, but a few have followed Paul to Conover. It's awesome because we are all about 4 miles of each other at any given time. It's peaceful knowing Paul is closer to home.
Suzy and I had gone to Gaffney shopping a few weeks ago and found Lauren sandals with butterflies like she had had last summer...didn't buy them and were sad because we couldn't find her size when we got back to Hickory. Suzy found the sandals and picked them up for Lauren who was ecstatic! She yelled, "Yea, Mommy! New shoes!!" (She pulls at my heartstrings with her love of shoes! Just like Mommy!!)
She wasn't about to let them go and held on for dear life!
May 8--Paul and I wanted to make Strawberry Freezer Jam. Our usual berry place tilled under all of their strawberry plants, so we had to find a new place. The berries were pretty good, not as juicy as we usually get, but we had a BLAST picking berries! This was Lauren's first time. She did really well for her first time!
Look, Mommy! A really big, red strawberry!
I do myself, Mommy.
We found ladybugs on the strawberry plants. Lauren LOVES ladybugs (notice her shirt which is actually her PJ shirt...Paul refused to change Lauren), but she wasn't keen on them crawling on her. However, when she realized I was letting them crawl on me, it was okay for her, too.
Daddy showing Lauren how to find the best berries (under the plants).
Lauren helping me to find the best berry!
We did it!
Lauren had dumped her (full) bucket of berries to be able to keep picking...we made her pick up her mess.
We ended up making 74 jars of jam! Yikes!
May 9--When we arrived at the new berry place, we didn't know that they also had a green house! We had not been successful finding the plants for my front garden anywhere else. So, we picked up some petunias. Lauren wanted to help me plant. She took my favorite gloves.
May 14--Paul usually gets Lauren around in the mornings. He was particularly happy this morning, so I took advantage to get pictures. You can see where Lauren gets her blue eyes!
When we got outside, I wanted a few shots of her pretty pig tails before she destroyed my handiwork. (That's her new favorite game, for the past 2-3 weeks--pulling out her ponies and barrettes to allow her hair to cover her eyes.) It kills me that Lauren must always have something in her hands when I take pictures! This morning it was Cinderella...she's becoming a little girl, excited about princesses and suddenly Barbie!
Oh, above is our new retaining wall. Paul, Lauren, and I had worked really hard the previous weekend on jam and planting in and around the driveway. Paul chopped back our holly bushes behind the house and we planted some hens and chickens from Grandma Wade's house under them.
Funny story, though--the retaining wall isn't finished. We have had some tremendous rains lately (quantity and ferocious) which has allowed some of the soil behind the wall to wash right in front of the basement door...the whole reason we concreted was to avoid mud pits in front of the door. It's made for some additional work. We need to finish it up!
After Kay and Charlie picked Lauren up from school, they played for a bit. Kay, Lauren, and I met up with Josh, Shelly, and Logan to watch Logan play ball. He hit a ball and got to first, then moved to 2nd base! His teammate got out and ended the inning, but we were so proud of Logan's accomplishment!
We went to Utterly Delicious to celebrate...and Grandma lost a front tooth! (She has falsies, but I about got sick on my stomach because I forgot and thought the ice cream cracked her tooth! Nothing a little super glue couldn't fix...I really which I had a picture. It was hysterical!)
May 15--Kay and Charlie arrived on the 14th (which is why I tried dolling up Lauren's hair) so that Paul and Charlie could attend the NRA convention in Charlotte. The guys went to Paul's dad's cousin's home in Charlotte then spent the day at the convention. We girls did our own thing which was to celebrate Newtonfest which was put on by Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet. (Dale Earnhardt was an alum of NCCS!) They had pig races, a petting zoo, pony rides, inflatbles, balloon artists, belly dancing, food, vendors, etc. We spent about 2 1/2 hours playing. Notice Logan--we met up with Logan and Shelly and had a wonderful time with Grandma Wade.
Kay helping Lauren feed the goats. I love this animal's hair! It's so funky!
Kay really enjoys (spoiling) Lauren. After feeding carrots to the animals, Lauren wanted feed.
What event with Logan would be complete without Lauren manhandling him?! She loves her Lovey!
Logan petting a goat!
Lauren is a fool for ponies and when she saw an opportunity to ride, she took it! So did Logan...look at these kids!
'I was concerned that Lauren may fall off if I didn't go around with her. She has awesome balance and coordination (even though she can be such a klutz!) but I'd rather be safe than sorry!
After we woke up from naps, Paul and Charlie returned from Charlotte. Picture time!
May 16--At Suzy's insistence, I bought season passes for Tweetsie Railroad. It's been an icon in Blowing Rock, NC for years and is part of growing up in our area. Paul and I had been waiting to go until Lauren was old enough to enjoy.
Lauren pitched a fit upon arriving and didn't want to take pictures.
We jumped on Tweetsie, a coal and steam powered engine, first thing to combat the blues. It worked! We had a blast riding it and enjoyed the cowboys and Indians acting!
When we got off of Tweetsie, Lauren spotted PONIES bolted to the cement. We climbed on for picture opportunities! There is a picture of me on a horse, very unflattering, but it's on Paul's camera.
Here is a picture of the engineer wiping Tweetsie down before a ride.
Paul got on a horse with Lauren, too...hahaha!!!!!!
Grandma Wade and Lauren in a covered wagon, watching Tweetsie take passengers around!
There was an awesome little kids area. Lauren LOVED it...boat rides, plane rides, a magic show, another little show, a petting zoo...it was PERFECT!
However, to get there, you had to either ride a lift or take the bus.
Snuggles, snuggles, snuggles!
There was also the Mouse Train...however, Lauren couldn't wait and Grandma spent $1 to let Lauren ride rides while we waiting! Can you say SPOILED ROTTEN?!
Lauren was so funny in the petting zoo. She would say, in a soft tone of voice, "Ahh...it's a baby goat, Mommy! Hi, baby! Come eat!" It was so sweet! She adores animals, especially the babies.
This little guy got out of the fence. He didn't mind Lauren going up to him to feed and pet him. He didn't start, run, or cower...he just enjoyed the love and the food!
We went back to ride rides...
Lauren's first ferris wheel ride...it went a little too quickly for me, so I offered to take pictures. Lauren LOVED it!
We rode the tilt-a-whirl next...Paul guilted me onto it...and after about 4 revolutions, we had to have the operator stop so that I could depart...I did NOT feel very well...the sad thing is that this was one of my favorite rides...I guess I"m destined for the carosel, train, and cars!
May 18--Happy 8th Anniversary, Mommy and Daddy!! Lauren posed for another round of pictures.
What a goober!
I spent my anniversary cleaning the driveway, scraping the mud out of the door's path, hosing it away, and brooming clumps to the end of the driveway. It was a lot of work, but it's cut down the amount of dirt on my floors significantly. Lauren and I had fun walking barefoot in the mud. She likes to water the plants when the hose is out and must always "wash my hands" for the most insignificant speck of dirt.
May 20--Harris came to visit with us for a few hours...again, the photographs are on Paul's camera...an update later...
May 21--When we were in the mountains, I found this outfit for Lauren and loved it! I dressed her up in the morning and made her pose...I have no idea why she puffed up her chest like this!
Too cute!
Look, Mommy! It's a butterfly!
I have so many more stories to go along with pictures on Paul's camera. I'll do an update when he returns from WV. Not sure what the summer holds so far, but I am certainly in need of a vacation!
