on the road again

As you've probably gathered if you've been reading lately, we've kept pretty busy this summer.

The boys had their first swimming lesson last night, and they did well and had a great time. Daddy A headed to Indiana for Presbyterian Youth Triennium yesterday afternoon, so our friend helped me out with lessons. She's helping out again tonight, and I really appreciate it. Tonight is lesson number two, and then tomorrow after storytime at the library P, C, and I will head to Grandmere's house in West Virginia for the rest of the week. We're all excited about seeing our relatives and visiting with friends.

Next week we'll continue swimming lessons, with Daddy A helping us out. He'll be in town for all of next week, before heading to Montreat for the first week of August.

I'm (still) working on finishing up C's stocking. I've done the basics, and have moved on to the backstitching. When I finish up the detail work, I'll just sew it together, which shouldn't take long at all. If all goes as planned, it'll be ready this Christmas. (Yes, this is how far ahead I have to plan these days if I want to make sure things get finished!) I did finish the basket I was working on for P's tricycle, and I'm knitting a pair of wool soakers for the boys now as well. In an ideal situation, I'll finish the second piece before I leave West Virginia so I can get some advice on putting the pieces together from the expert knitters there.

In light of our upcoming trip, blog updates will be few and far between for the next week or so, but I'll be back!

Tweetsie with a twist

As much as we love Tweetsie, we don't usually head there on Sundays, what with Daddy A being kind of busy on Sundays and all. However, Dora and Diego were there this past weekend, and since the boys and I got back from our vacation on Saturday, Sunday afternoon was our only option if we wanted to visit with our Spanish-speaking, exploring, baby jaguar loving friends.
In a bit of a shocking twist, we didn't visit the Deer Park. (It was raining on and off all afternoon. We were very fortunate to be inside or under a tent every time it started to pour. I didn't want to head to the top of the mountain and then be stranded up there in a storm.)

We headed straight for the Hacienda and caught the end of the show.

We waited in line for several minutes, and then Dora and Deigo returned to the stage for a meet and greet with their fans. We were near the front of the line, thanks to Daddy A's careful planning, and so once Dora and Diego showed up it wasn't long before the boys got to meet them. C was all about giving them hugs and talking to them, but he had to be turned toward the camera for the photo. Clearly he's still not focused on the photographer.

P was more than happy to wait in line for the Ferris Wheel, because he thinks being "up" is lots of fun.

Daddy A took some pictures of P on the Ferris Wheel with us. (We took Chelsea with us, and she kept an eye on C while the three of us rode.) P made a "silly face" in the first picture.

Then we had a reappearance of what I call his "cheese face". He says, "Cheese!" and then (he thinks) smiles for the camera.

It may not be a smile, but I do think it's cute.

Adios, for now!

fun in Fredericksburg

After our trip to Pennsylvania, the boys and I spent a few days at Grandma Paige and Poppa Fred's house. We had all kinds of fun, but here are a few highlights.

P and C spent some time in the pool.



P got thirsty, but he handled it himself. (Yes, I know you're not supposed to drink from the hose, but once in a while - especially when it makes a cute picture - I bend the rules a bit. I'm human. Also, I drank from the garden hose myself a few times as a kid, and I'm still okay.)


P thought that spraying with the hose was even more fun than drinking from it. Aunt Tiffany wasn't his only target, but she may have been his favorite target!

We rounded out our last night in Fredericksburg with a delicious dinner of steak, salad, and corn on the cob. C was under the impression he was supposed to eat the cob, rather than the corn. Well, either that or I didn't get the memo on the proper way to eat corn on the cob...


Our trip was full of summertime activities and treats!

Portrait Innovations rocks!

While we were in Fredericksburg, Poppa Fred, Grandma Paige, and I took the boys to Portrait Innovations to have their pictures taken. I was hoping they'd turn out well, especially because we took the boys to a different picture place in March for pictures and I wasn't thrilled with the results. I realize there may have been other factors in our better experience this time - the boys are a bit older (but a few months can make a difference when you're young), and maybe they were in better moods. However, that said, the photographer was awesome and very quick with her camera. I also think Portrait Innovations has much better prices than the other place we went. I've been to Portrait Innovations more than once and always been pleased with my pictures. I don't want to be mean and bash on my blog, so I'm not going to name the place we went in March here, but I will reiterate that I think Portrait Innovatioins rocks! (And no, they didn't pay me to say that. I don't think they even know that I did say that, because I don't think they know my blog exists.) And now I'll close my review with some of their pictures from last Friday.

Dutch Wonderland!

During our trip to Pennsylvania, we spent a day and a half at Dutch Wonderland. Dutch Wonderland ("A Kingdom for Kids") was chock full of stuff to do. We had tons of fun riding rides, seeing shows, and admiring Duke the Dragon paraphernalia.

After a ride through the park on the train at the entrance, P wanted to give the "tiny trains" a go. Kids could travel on the track by using their arms to turn a crank. There was also the option for smaller riders to get a ride without all the work by having an adult push their train from behind with a wooden pole.
P was determined to turn his own train, for the most part. I love how this picture shows his determination and the effort he was putting into "driving" his train.

C was more than happy to hang out on his train and enjoy the ride.


Next we headed over to the Really Useful Ampitheater to see P's favorite little blue engine. Thomas and the engineers didn't disappoint. When P woke up on Tuesday, his first request for the day was to "go back an' see the Thomas show at the place again". We obliged, but P only took photos with Thomas on the first day.


We planned to spend part of Monday afternoon in Duke's Lagoon, but shortly after we changed clothes and started playing, a storm rolled in. When I looked at C's smile in these pictures, though, I was glad we were able to let the boys play in the water for at least a few minutes.


When we got back to the park on Tuesday, P was ready to go and full of requests.

He milked the cow,


rode the 'dozers (twice in a row),

and played the "watergum" game twice. He won both times, and was able to trade two smaller prizes for this amazing large blue whale. During this visit, P also created and perfected his "cheese" face. I'm pretty sure he thinks he's smiling in this photo.

P also rode a horse

and the "tiny trains" a few more times.

There were lots of other fun rides and activities, of course. This blog post was just an overview of the wonderfulness that was Dutch Wonderland. I definitely think the boys and I are up for another visit!

"Caboosies" and trains

If you've been reading along as I post, you already know that the boys and I went on vacation with Grandma Paige and Poppa Fred. Daddy A couldn't come, because Pastor Michael is on sabbatical this summer, leaving Daddy A on call at home. We missed him, but we had a blast!

Our vacay took us to Pennsylvania, where we stayed at the Red Caboose Motel. As the name suggests, old train cabooses have been refurbished into motel rooms. (Nope, the cabooses aren't all red, but yup, the one C, Grandma Paige, and Poppa Fred slept in was red. The one P and I slept in was burgundy.)
I didn't think the "caboosie" (as P named it) we stayed in was too bad, but I was a camp counselor for several summers. I probably wouldn't recommend it if you're used to the Ritz Carlton, but if you've got a kiddo that loves trains, I think this is a pretty neat way to go. Here's P in front of C's "caboosie."

One of P's favorite things about the sleeping arrangements were the bunk beds. The first night he chose to sleep "up toppy". (I did put a bedrail up there, but he didn't have any problems.)

The Red Caboose Motel had its own petting zoo. P especially enjoyed the chickens,
while C took a moment or two to watch
before heading for the familiar... sheep!
As in the past, C laughed like crazy every time the animals ate from his hand.

We also ate in two dining cars, but I didn't get any awesome pictures of that, so you'll have to take my word for it. One was the dining car at the motel, so it just sat there. It was almost exactly like eating in a tiny, narrow restaurant.

The other dining car was on a moving train that departed from (and returned to) Strasburg Railroad. It was relatively unremarkable, except that P had to use the bathroom and somehow my watch came unclasped and fell into the toilet. Yes, the toilet on the train. No, I didn't reach down into the nasty black hole of blue liquid and other, ahem, stuff. I just bid my watch a tearful (okay, not really tearful - it was a watch, albeit a watch I really liked) farewell.

It was a great time, despite the loss of my watch. =)

a post with no cute pictures of or stories about the boys

As my post title warns, this post is about some fun Daddy A and I had while our children were in the care of some wonderful babysitters. There are no pictures of or stories about our adorable children in this post. If that's what you're here for, come back soon, because vacation pictures are on the way! In the meantime, if you care to hear about our adventures, read on.

About a week and a half ago, Daddy A and I had the privilege of going to the Saint Andrews Society dinner in Blowing Rock with some good friends of ours from church. They invited us to come up in the afternoon for a bit of hiking, and then we headed out to dinner that evening. We had a blast!

I did say "hiking" in the previous paragraph. However, I quickly found out that what we were actually doing was going rock climbing. This is our friend Scott. I discovered during our adventures that he's actually part mountain goat.

He grew up in Blowing Rock, so I suppose it's possible that his expertise at jumping about on large piles of rock comes partly from practice, but I'm sticking with my mountain goat theory.

Here we are by this awesome waterfall. I'd call it our "money shot," but the picture doesn't really do the waterfall justice. Instead I'll call it our "we hiked up to this waterfall and here's our touristy picture to prove it" shot.

And here's Scott and Amy's "we hiked up to this waterfall and here's our touristy picture to prove it" shot. Except they're not tourists, since they grew up in Blowing Rock. But I guess, since they were with us, they decided to take a touristy picture, too. Or maybe we asked them to take one... the details aren't that important. Here's the photo:


We went back to Scott's parents' house to shower and get ready for dinner. I'd say we cleaned up pretty well...


We laughed, enjoyed food and fellowship, and sang Scottish tunes. We met new people, we ate delicious desserts, and chatted with our friends outside of our church building. We came home relaxed and refreshed... and then I left with the boys the next day for vacation with Grandma Paige and Poppa Fred. Pictures will be posted soon!

A Plethora of Posts

I'm fairly certain that my recent troubles with photo uploading are the result of problems with my router. Last night, we all headed up to church so I could use the internet connection there. Daddy A and the boys played on the playground and in the nursery while I did some photo editing and uploading (just one of the reasons he's my hero...). Then we came home and I was able to add some narrative to my posts and upload them - some last night, and some today during naptime. So, to make up for my long absence from blogland (which I know you were all lamenting), I now provide you with several posts about our recent adventures. Enjoy!

Fun on the Fourth

We headed to the Red, White, and Bluegrass Festival in town for much of the weekend. One of our favorite places, Bouncin' Kids, had set up four inflatables and P had a blast jumping around and going through the "popsicle (obstacle) course". C was content to climb up the steps and slide down the ramp that was the entrance to one of the structures.

He spent lots of time just hanging out and watching his "bubba," wondering why on earth P would want to "Dump!" over and over in the heat.



Both boys enjoyed cotton candy and snow cones, too. At the start of the fireworks the boys were a bit scared, but within seconds were enjoying the show. P used his "glow gummy" (a glow necklace) to "shoot" the fireworks into the sky and gave a running commentary on the show. ("There's a green one. This one's purple.") After each firework, he would say, "Wow!"

I was surprised that P's second favorite thing to do at the festival was visit the "train." Great Smoky Mountain Railroad had a booth with brochures and pictures set up, and P would visit every half hour or so to "look at the train." I know the boy loves trains, but this beat out festival snacks! He's still carrying around an informational booklet and reading his "train book" during all of his down time.

We were all pretty tired by the time we drove home. (P switched to his "Tweetsie train Book" on the way, just for variety in reading material, I guess.)


The boys didn't get into bed until after 11:00pm! Thankfully, they both slept in. P has trouble with that, but he did manage to sleep until almost 8:00am (which is very late for him), and C slept until 9:45am!!!

We hope everyone had a happy 4th of July!

Dance Camp... and (finally) a video!

Since The Little Gym has closed, and P still likes to dance, we decided to give Princess Prince and Princess Dance Camp with Ms. Debbie a try. (There were two princes in the class, and most of the activities and dances accommodated the boys quite well. Ms. Debbie and Ms. Melody did sometimes still refer to the camp as "Princess Camp," though, as did the flyers, posters, and registration forms. Fortunately, the three year old princes were oblivious.)

The camp was four days a week for three weeks, and the last day was a "Tea Party." The dancers showed us their new moves and wore costumes. P went as Buzz Lightyear, rather than a traditional Disney Prince. He wore the top half of these underoos with white pants.

Upon entering the studio, I helped P put on his "tappers" (tap shoes). Ms. Debbie passed out the fish crafts everyone had made on "Ariel day," and P decided his wasn't finished after all. While the princesses made their necklaces to wear during the dance, the princes opted out of that activity. (Jack was asleep in his Daddy's lap, and despite the manly looking wooden beads in the "boy necklace" bags, P declared that he "not like this".) P stretched out on the floor and got to work scraping the black coating off of the rainbow colored paper cut into the shape of a fish.

The class lined up for the first dance. To P's left is his new friend Maggie, in her pink princess dress. Ms. Debbie's at the front.

After I took the photo from the back, Ms. Debbie told us we could move up front. Instead of trying to capture P's moves in the mirror, I switched angles.

It was slow going at first. P stood in his spot while all most of his classmates danced around him. (A couple of students didn't even want to stand on an "X".) At least he was willing to stand up front... but it wasn't until the "You Can Fly!" dance that I can honestly say that P did any dancing.

I'm sure he danced at that point because he was comfortable and ready to dance. There is no way that P kept asking for a cupcake (because the tea party refreshments were already displayed on a table in the studio) and that I told him in a very stern voice that if he wanted a cupcake when it was time for cupcakes then he had better start dancing. I'm always a very patient mother. I'm completely comfortable with my child doing things and reaching milestones in his own time, and we certainly never use food as a reward in our family. (We really do try not to do that, but never is a very broad term, and I'm human.)

Whatever the reason, P did dance during "You Can Fly!" and the remainder of the "recital" portion of the tea party.

This is a really poor quality picture, but it is the only one I got of the two "princes," P and Jack. As you can see, Jack's still pretty sleepy.

The last "performance" gave each student a chance to show his or her "prince walk" or "princess walk." I didn't tape the entire dance, but here's the section when P does his "prince walk"... complete with sword!

At long last, it was time for P's favorite part of the tea party... the refreshments!

P and I had a great time together, and he's planning to take dance in the fall.

more about the baby goat

Daddy A took last Thursday off, and the four of us went to Tweetsie. (Yes, again. What can I say? We love the place!)

Once again, we watched the "dancin' girls," rode the "big train" and the mouse train, rode some rides, and did other Tweetsiesque things. Once again, we went to the Deer Park. And, once again, I wasn't prepared with my camera. Remember this post? I had a similar conversation with myself before we left on Thursday's trip, but this time I said, "Mama E, that roaming baby goat was a fluke. It won't happen again." Um, yeah. Not a fluke. I don't know what I was thinking. It makes sense that if a baby goat likes people and likes freedom and can get out of a fenced in area, she would. Which she did, again. And once again, I provide you, dearest family and friends, with some cell phone pictures (taken mostly by Daddy A this time), of the baby goat. This time, C slept through the Deer Park, and our friend Anna was with us. To aid in your enjoyment of the photos, I will provide P's running commentary about the baby goat.

"The bebe goat is back! She's a girl. She's nice. She licks." (Licks, as opposed to bites, in case you wanted clarification,)


"I feedin' her. She's eatin' her food."

"Come here, goat! Come on!" This was then followed alternately by, "She's followin' me!" (cried joyfully), and "She's not comin'!" (cried in despair). For the most part, though, the baby goat did follow P all over the Deer Park area. I thought it was precious, but I may be just the tiniest bit biased.

"She's likin' me!" (Yes, I wrote "liking," not "licking.")

"Bouncin' at Cowboy Camp"

P finished up dance camp a couple of weeks ago. (More on that in an upcoming post.) During dance camp, he made a new friend, Maggie. Maggie is three days younger than P, and her daddy is a pastor, too. The week after dance camp was Vacation Bible School at Maggie's church. (Ours was the week of June 14th.) (According to P,) Maggie invited P to come. (I have yet to hear Maggie say anything, but this is the way P says it happened.) P decided he'd like to go, so we gave it a go. The VBS was "Saddle Ridge Ranch," and P took to calling it "Cowboy Camp." The last night was "Family Night," and there were hot dogs, s'mores, and inflatables. We discovered that P is now quite fond of crazy about "bouncin' an' the slides." I took some pictures of him zooming down the inflatable slide, and this one came out the best.


P really enjoyed "Cowboy Camp," and since C was able to go to the nursery program at the church, Daddy A and I were able to spend some time together as a couple... more than we've been able to in quite a while, honestly. I appreciated the time to reconnect with my husband. Thanks Dayna, Noel, and FBC Valdese!

another trip to Tweetsie and fun with a goat

While Daddy A was on a mission trip the last week of June, the boys and I took (another) trip to Tweetsie Railroad. We took our friend Happy with us. Happy is the adopted daughter of our church's missionary, and they'll be returning to Malawi at the end of this month. But I digress.

Back to Tweetsie: As I packed up the strollers and diaper bags for the trip, I decided not to take the camera. "Mama E," I said to myself, "Y'all take plenty of trips to Tweetsie. This will be your sixth or seventh visit this season. How many pictures of one place in two months' time do you need? Make it easier on yourself. You'll have three small children to keep up with - how many pictures will you be able to take, anyway? Leave the camera at home - you'll have enough to keep up with as it is." And then I replied (I'm talking to myself, remember?), "You're right, Mama E. I won't need the camera. I probably wouldn't use it if I had it with me."

And off to Tweetsie we went. At the very top of Miner's Mountain, Tweetsie has a Deer Park. This is essentially a petting zoo. You can buy feed for the animals, and there are llamas, miniature horses, emus, pigs, goats, rabbits, and, of course, deer. There's a paved walkway between some wooden fences, and the whole area is fenced in (by taller, stronger fences), too. Generally, I find the Deer Park relatively unremarkable. Sure, the animals are cute, but when aren't they? I could typically take it or leave it. But on this particular day (remember, my camera was back at home resting comfortably in its perch atop my computer desk), a baby goat walked squeezed right through the small wooden fence and out onto the paved walkway. Apparently the larger fence is the only one that matters, because the employees said that was fine. They ask you not to pick up the animals, but you can feed and pet to your heart's content. This particular baby goat was incredibly adorable, and rather small, except for a large belly. As I mentioned above, she had to squeeze through the fence, but she didn't have a hard time. Apparently she took quite well to the "feed the animals to your heart's content" rule, and had eaten to her heart's content.

The kids loved the goats, so I snapped a few photos with my cell phone. Excuse the quality (or lack thereof) of the pictures, and enjoy!

You can't tell from this angle, but C laughed and laughed while he was petting the goat. He may be the biggest animal lover in our family, but it's hard to say yet.


P was all set to feed her, but the goat wasn't interested. I guess she was finally full. Happy is beside him, petting the goat.

P and Happy both got down for a closer look.

Isn't this baby goat adorable? (If anyone's wondering what to get me for my upcoming birthday, feel free to look at this post for inspiration...)

Eventually, we did say goodbye to the baby goat (for the day), and headed off to ride some rides, get our faces painted, and stop in at the fudge shop. We all considered the day a success!