a fun night

Emmy's friend Avery came over to play tonight while her parents went out for a family birthday dinner and we had a great time!  Bryce didn't like the fact that he had to eat at the table with us and not with the girls!

 

 

We decided to go for a wagon ride for a little fun!

 

Bryce enjoyed riding his bike along side us.  He looked like such a big boy!  He thinks he needs a new "big boy" bike. 

 

We had such a fun night!

 

We had pumpkin cookies when we got back.  I couldn't get everyone to look at me. 

 

I just love having sweet friends to make fun memories with!

guess what day it is......

It's been a long time since I've posted about regular happenings around here.  It seems like I've only taken my camera out for big events so tonight I wanted to remedy that.  Emmy is forever taking her shoes and socks off in the car.  She enjoys putting her socks on her hand and then saying "hello" over and over again like it's a puppet.  This has prompted Bryce to ask me a million times if we can make our own real sock puppets.  Well tonight was the night! 

 

 

Emmy started to make her own puppet, but she went about being the girly girl that she is and loved on her baby and put on her play "lipstick".

 

Yep, this is why I've been sticking to posed pictures with a purpose, ha!

 

And alas, it was time to bathe these kids for the first time since we've been home!  Don't judge! 

 

It's hump day, woot woot!!

anniversary trip to charleston

Jason and I celebrated 10 years of marriage on August 2.  With a honeymoon to the Atlantis in the Bahamas and a 5 year anniversary/babymoon (not sure that term existed when we went) trip to Bermuda, we knew we wanted something just as exciting for our 10 year celebration.  We had originally wanted to go to San Fransisco and Napa, but we didn't really want to go that far and leave the kids for as long as that trip would be.  And lets face it, now that we're on one salary, it wouldn't have been that feasible.  So we settled on Charleston and it could not have been more perfect!!

 

We knew we didn't want to go to Charleston in August because it would be too hot.  We chose October because we were hoping it would be cooler and Jason is back on his every other Friday off schedule and it was easier to plan around that.  Having spent an entire week leading up to the trip with cold, rainy weather, it was the perfect time to go south.  We could not have asked for better weather.  The mornings and evenings were cool and the days were warm, but not hot or humid. 

 

We wanted to stay in a bed and breakfast type place rather than a hotel.  We had gotten many suggestions from friends, but the choice was overwhelming.  We did a search for bed and breakfasts in Charleston and pulled up google earth to make our decision.  We tried to get something that was central to shopping, dining, and the water.  We were so pleased with our choice, The Meeting Street Inn.  It was the perfect location.  When we checked in, we were delighted when they said our room was "the big one in the front".  Those three windows were our room with our own balcony overlooking the courtyard where we had breakfast and wine and cheese each day.

 

 

We arrived Friday afternoon around 3:30.  After checking in, unloading our bags, and parking the car, we went for a walk to check out the area before heading back to the hotel for our afternoon wine and cheese reception.  After that we got ready for dinner and headed to Husk in hopes of getting a table after so many friends had recommended it.  We only ended up waiting about 15 minutes and we sat on a fun porch swing while we waited.  Jason and I love food and we love to eat, but we apparently aren't all that adventurous when trying new foods.  I would have to say, Husk was a little out of our league.  We couldn't pronounce half the items on the menu and there weren't many things that interested us.  Jason ended up getting duck, which he enjoyed and I got a salad.  We got dessert too, but I still was not overly impressed.  The atmosphere, however, was wonderful.  We sat outside on the upstairs balcony.  We headed back to the hotel after dinner and went to bed early because we were tired from such a long travel day. 

 

On Saturday morning, we got up and went to the Farmer's Market at Marion Square.  Then we headed down King Street and stopped at Cupcake for a couple of treats.  We walked some more and then stopped at Kitchen 208 for some drinks and I enjoyed my pumpkin cupcake. 

 

Next we headed down to Waterfront Park.  We were lucky enough to snag a seat on the covered swing on the pier.  After our swing and walk on the pier, we walked through the park and then sat on a park bench and just relaxed and enjoyed the view of the water while we waited for our lunch reservation at Fleet Landing.  Our lunch was delicious and we were lucky enough to sit outside overlooking the water. 

 

We had hoped to do a boat tour and visit Fort Sumter, but it was closed due to the government shutdown so we decided not to even go out on the water.  Instead, we drove over to Mt. Pleasant and then over to Sullivan's Island to check out the homes and beach.  It was nice putting my toes in the water in October!

 

We decided to skip dinner that night since we were so full from lunch and just had wine and cheese at the hotel and then we went out for dessert.  Some friends of ours had told us to go to Kaminsky's for dessert.  This was such a great recommendation.  There were so many fun drinks and desserts to choose from that we were a little overwhelmed.  We started off with dessert martinis while we decided on dessert.  I ended up getting the Toll House pie with ice cream and Jason got smores cheesecake.  We finished dessert with a few more yummy drinks and then did a little shopping before heading back to the hotel.  I had fun consulting Pinterest while packing for this trip since most vacations these days consist of bathing suits and t-shirts for the beach!

 

Sunday morning we had reservations for a carriage ride.  It was a cool quiet morning, perfect for a ride through the city.  We had breakfast at our hotel before, but were a little hungry afterwards so we headed to a gourmet doughnut shop, Glazed, Jason had seen the day before.  Jason was in heaven!  We shopped some on King Street where I found these two shirts at Willy Jay's and then we had lunch at King Street Grille.  We got an eggroll sampler and they were the best things I've ever eaten (macaroni and cheese, loaded baked potato, southwestern, philly cheese steak).  We were so full from lunch so we headed back to the hotel to relax.  Later we took our leftover cupcakes and doughnuts down to the water and enjoyed a snack in the park and watched as a Carnival cruise ship departed. 

 

We headed back to the hotel to get ready for our afternoon wine and cheese and then our dinner reservation at 82 Queen.  We had lots of people recommend 82 Queen and we're so glad we went.  We enjoyed dinner and drinks on the garden patio.  I got a porkchop with baked beans and fried macaroni and cheese.  It was SO good.  Jason had She Crab soup and fried oysters.  After dinner we headed to Kilwins for ice cream and then shopped Market Street one last time before heading back to the hotel.

 

On Monday morning we had breakfast at Hominy Grill on the way out of town.  I was excited to finally get some shrimp and grits, but I wished I hadn't waited until the last day to get them because they were just ok.  They weren't bad, but I expected more for such a popular Charleston dish.  Jason's "Big Nasty Biscuit" was delicious!

 

We had a wonderful trip!  I did the best I could to photo document our trip with my phone since I didn't bring a camera (oops). If you've never been to Charleston, I would highly recommend it.  Our stay was the perfect length of time, it was the perfect time of year, and our experience was just fabulous.  It was the perfect celebration for 10 years of wedded bliss!  We're so thankful to our parents who took such great care of the kids while we were gone.  It was nice to be able to relax and not worry about the kids while we were away. 

5 on friday

I'm finally back for a fun 5 on Friday.  I've been so busy with life and just haven't had time to get caught up on emails, pictures, blog posts, etc.  We've had lots of cold, rainy weather this week so we've been at home with more down time so I was able to get caught up.  Such a great feeling!! 

 

 

 ONE

 

Like I said, it's been rainy here.  I can't help but want a new pair of boots.  I have a pair of cheap rain boots, but I'd really like a pair of Hunter rain boots.  Of course, I have no idea what color I would choose or how I would ever justify spending the money on them, but how could your gloomy, rainy day not be bright and sunny with these beauties?!?

 

TWO

 

While I'm on boots, I'd really like a pair of grey boots this year.  I wear the heck out of my brown boots, but I really think a grey pair would add so much more variety to my wardrobe.  These aren't the particular pair I would want, just a starting off point! 

 

THREE

 

I'm not a coffee drinker, but I love me some hot chocolate.  I'm too lazy to go to Starbucks very often because it's not worth it to me to get both kids out of the car and go in, and we don't have a drive through Starbucks close enough to justify going!  So, the next best thing are these packets from the store.  Once winter rolls around, I have to go in to Starbucks for the peppermint hot chocolate because the packets of that just aren't the same.

 

FOUR

 

We're headed to Charleston today for our 10 year anniversary trip and I'm so excited.  I'm going to miss the kiddos, but I'm really looking forward to some time with Jason.  I've been compiling recommendations for months, but that's about it.  I got concerned and I'm worried we're going to need reservations to restaurants.  I kind of wanted to wait and see the places and make a decision, but we'll see what happens.

 

FIVE

 

Milk Duds are my most FAVORITE candy on the planet.  I bought some of the Halloween snack size candies the other day thinking I wouldn't eat as many since they are individually packaged.  WRONG.  I bought them on Monday and they were gone by Wednesday.  And I wonder why I can't get down to my pre-pregnancy weight.  Eating in Charleston isn't going to help that much either!

 

Happy Friday Y'all.

pumpkin patch fun

My MOPS group had an outing to the pumpkin patch yesterday and we were so excited to go.  Naturally we dressed in our pumpkin attire for the occasion. 

 

 

We went to a local vegetable farm.  This was the first time I've ever been here and I've lived here almost all my life.  Always fun to find new things. 

 

Picking a pumpkin is such a hard decision.  We ended up getting a green one off the vine.  We already have plenty of orange and white pumpkins so I thought it would be fun to add some other color to the mix.

 

Bryce's friend, Addison, from school is also in our MOPS group.  He was glad to see a familiar face the first day we went to MOPS because he wasn't sure how he was going to like it.

 

After we picked pumpkins, they provided apples for snack and then we fed the leftovers to the farm animals.

 

Emmy had her eye set on the bounce houses when we got there.  No one ever mentioned them and no one was jumping in them so I asked if we could jump and they said yes.  I think everyone had the same thought, but didn't want to ask.  Bryce and Addison were delighted to see that they were twins once they took their jackets off. 

 

Making "snow" angels in the corn kernels.

 

This is way better than a sand box.

 

We had such a fun morning.  The kids enjoyed playing and I really enjoyed getting to know some new moms.  The fall weather arrived finally arrived and it was quite chilly without the sunshine.  But at least it felt like fall for our fun activity!

it rained

We've had beautiful warm weather lately, but it's been super dry.  We were excited to see rain in the forecast today.  Bryce asked me this morning if he and Emmy could jump in puddles this afternoon when it stopped raining.  Your wish is my command, buddy!  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

 

 

The photos are sub par iPhone quality, but you can clearly see Emmy now knows why Bryce loves jumping in puddles so much.

Emmy at 20 months

Emmy turned 20 months old yesterday!

 

 

I'm pretty sure she's the happiest kid.

 

Updates this month:

 

We're switching to size 4 diapers. 

She loves any and all food.

She loves Bryce and gets upset when he gets out of the car at school.

She loves her cousins Chase and Taylor.  She asks for them when she wakes up.

She is getting better at communicating her wants and needs.  She can't string together any words, but her vocabulary is growing.

She loves to run, jump, swing, ride bikes, climb, etc.  I can't wait to get her into gymnastics. 

She continues to be a great sleeper and napper. 

She is so loving and sweet and much more cuddly than Bryce ever was.

 

Bryce at 20 months.

 

on the farm and to the fair

I took to the kids with me to visit a good friend and former co-worker on Wednesday.  The kids always anticipate the golf cart ride around her property, but today they even got to sit on the tractor!

 

 

Love these two!

 

When we left Donna's, we went home and picked up Jason and headed to the state fair.  Bryce really wanted to get food for the animals.  We ended up buying a cup of dry food and a bag of carrots.  Neither kid would feed the animals.  Figures!! 

 

Bryce and Emmy were very excited to meet up with Chase, Taylor, Kelly and MeMa and PaPa. 

 

Bryce looks forward to the ducks on the slide.  This is the first year we've actually seen them go down the slide!

 

Riding the tea cups.  Jason had to be the adult for this ride.  I can ride a roller coaster any day of the week, but put me on something that spins and I'm done!

 

The boys enjoyed riding a few rides.

 

Bryce even convinced Jason to go up on the helicopter ride with him.  That spun a little too much even for Jason!

 

Emmy slept through the ferris wheel ride at 8 months old last year.

 

My sweet babies. 

 

Bryce had apparently eyed a toy early on that he wanted and told MeMa and PaPa about it.  They gave him some money for it and he was excited to find it on the way out.  Emmy was thrilled that she got something too (even though you can't tell in the picture)! 

 

She was down right giddy over this inflatable Dora.  She held on to it the entire ride home and didn't even fall asleep on the almost 30 minute ride home at 8:30 at night. 

 

She insisted on taking it to bed with her.  We took it out once she got to sleep.

 

Such a great night with my family.