North Carolina Part 2

Read about Part 1 over here.

Yeah, we finally made it. We were so thankful to see them at the airport! Not to mention the entire cooler and snacks that my dad & Becky had for us. Shout out to my dad for picking out the Sofia sippy cup-- Emma about lost it. 

Their house is super cool. It is literally up on a mountain. I had been to this neighborhood about ten years ago, but I guess I forgot about the windy roads. Holy Dramamine. 

Yeah no clue but Emma found that flag somewhere and she loved marching around the room while we sang Yankee Doodle. 

They have a wrap around deck (sort of?) that looks off into some really beautiful scenery. This doesn't really do it justice: 

Sunday night we just kind of settled in because Monday we had our big horseback riding adventure. I could not wait! 

I think it has been 10 years since I have been on a horse but it was so much fun. Nathan got the slow one (we called him Glue) and mine was named Bernadette. 

Our trail ride was 2.5 hours but we stopped to look at some waterfalls. They were so pretty but I didn't have my camera. 

It was also Becky's birthday so we grilled out, ate cake, and stood on pieces of furniture to get the balloons Emma kept letting go of. 

After dinner my dad took us on his fancy 4 wheeler thing and it was scary but very cool. 

They have a fire route in case the mountain ever catches on fire, so we went down that way. It was super creepy and reminded me of a scary movie. 

My dad drove so fast I swear we almost died. Or tipped over. At least Becky had my baby. 

The next morning we woke up and it was so foggy. Or we were up in the clouds I'm not sure. 

It was so strange. When we first walked in it smelled like wood! I thought they must have been cleaning but then it occurred to be-- DUH their entire house is wood! It smelled so good and fresh! 

Emma could see the ears of corn in the fridge and would cry for it every time we opened it. So funny. Note the one balloon. The other was up in the ceiling. :-)

Also note the supplies to make our strong Blackberry Margs. 

Tuesday we did some laundry and went to the place people go white water rafting. Maybe next time we will go but it was fun to people watch. 

We ate dinner at that place below. The kids all play in the water but it was so cold! Look at Emma's face, LOL. 

Also, a moment of silence for Emma's adorable southern bow. It got dirt on it and when I cleaned it, a string got caught and it fell apart. I'm devastated. 

Not pictured were the ducks we got to feed! We took turns taking Emma to feed the ducks during dinner. When Becky got back with Emma she said Emma ate the popcorn they were feeding the ducks. Can't say I'm surprised. Guess she broke my rule of no popcorn until 3. 

Tuesday night we did one last scary ride on the death mobile. We went to another mountain (?) to get a picture of their house. 

Can you see it? Top left-ish dark brown. 

The other neighborhood we went to had paved roads. I think that is the next step in my dad's neighborhood. I don't know but I pretend I do. 

And just like that we headed home. Emma was exhausted. Can you tell? Shocker: We were delayed in Newark. 

E did so well on the plane rides! I cannot say enough good things about it. We brought her car seat and she fell right asleep. Boom. 

Beck to reality. Naptime is over! Hope everyone is having a good day! xox

North Carolina Part 1

Not one of these photos were taken in North Carolina. Ha! 

We showed up to the airport and our plane was nowhere to be seen. Two hours later and at least $25 at the little cafe, we finally made it to Newark. And missed our connection. Awesome sauce. 

Where we stayed for 24 hours because there were no flights to North Carolina. None. The lady had all these crazy suggestions-- 2 more flights and she could get us to Chatanooga! Tonight! 

Emma made lots of friends in the Newark airport while we talked with the gate lady. They put us up in a hotel, gave us some food money, and we were on our merry way. Well not before having to deal with the bag situation but we got them and it only took an eternity to carry 2 carry ons, my bag, 2 suitcases, a car seat. Oh and a toddler. 

We got to the hotel at 4. By 4:03, I was totally bored wondering what in God's name we were going to do until bedtime. 

And somehow we ended up in the best city in the world. 

There really is no place I would rather be. We were so giddy when we walked up the stairs. You could just feel it-- the hot dog stands, the people. . . nothing better. I sent my dad the picture of MSG and his reply was "Best city in the world". 

We really just wanted to say Emma had been to NYC. We didn't care where we went so we just wandered around and of course ended up here: 

She was on my back and dozing in and out which was pretty funny. We walked towards Time's Square first, then got some food right by Bryant Park, wandered around there for a while and peeked at the Empire State Building. 

Everyone on the train and at dinner was so nice to us! We had extra room at our table and people asked if they could sit there so we chatted them up for a while. New Yorkers are so outgoing. 

I can let the pictures do the talking. :-)

After we found her souvenir shirt we headed back to Grand Central. Emma was zonked but did awesome and made some old lady friends on the ride back. 

We were up bright and early and so ready to get to North Carolina! E did great in the hotel. Slept on the bed and didn't even move all night. I checked to make sure she was breathing at least a dozen times, ha. 

We got pretty antsy because our flight wasn't until 1, but they had a pool so DUH. 

Emma loved the shuttle! She cried anytime we walked by it and we didn't get on. I think she liked it because it was a car and she didn't have to be in her car seat? 

Okay I promise the next post will actually have pictures from North Carolina. 

Click here to read Part 2. 

Happy Tuesday, folks! 

Friday Funnies

Fa realz. Thank goodness it is Friday, indeed. The gymnastics place is offering unlimited classes throughout the summer so we just show up whenever we feel like it. 

E is really starting to follow the instructors and the other children at gymnastics. It is crazy to me but she does all the stretches and dances by herself (when we first started I had to move her arms/legs for her). 

Anyway. I always find the most hilarious pictures when I'm deliriously tired putting Emma to bed every night.

I can't decide which one is my favorite. Probably the birth control blanket. And just like clockwork Emma is awake! TGIF! xoxo

Crickets

Sorry for the crickets here lately. Life has been slightly chaotic. Mostly because our live in nanny moved out, ha.

Emma is teething (I think) and wants to be held by only me every single second of every single day. As much as I want to get things done, I soak up all those snuggles with her.

Back to photos. We decided to go to SAMs the day before 4th of July. It surprisingly wasn't that crowded. I love SAMs. Caralyn reminded me I said it multiple times while we were there. :-)

Several people came up to us and asked about Emma top hat. I'm calling it a toddler top hat. Also, I'm 99% sure they thought we were lesbians who adopted Emma. 

C got Emma that suit (Little Mermaid) so obviously we ended up at the splash pad. Don't ask about the mentos. Something E swiped at Target and we had to go back and buy them. 

The Crocs are the best! I totally recommend them if you have young children. No lie, we will probably be getting more in another color. We just hose them off every few days and good as new. 

After we unloaded our SAMs haul (Did I mention I love SAMs? Just checking) we hit up our little bakery down the street. There's a little boutique near it but we didn't find anything. 

On the 4th we made yummy salad and did the slip n slide. I got the bright idea to put Dawn dish soap on it. Brilliant. 

Saw this cutie on my walk/jog on Sunday morning. We got up semi early to get all of our crap together to get Miss Caralyn to the airport. 

Before we dropped C off we went to our old stomping grounds. I miss living there a lot! It was nice being able to walk everywhere, but of course having all this space (in our house) is worth it. 

Emma loved the fountain and Nathan even put her feet in, LOL. 

Monday we were dragging. Poor Nathan only got a 1 day weekend, laundry never got done, no food, womp womp. 

Our motto around here these days is stay busy or go crazy, so we got the heck out of town. Kidding, we went to the mall. I knew it wasn't just me when I saw E had her feet up in the stroller. I feel ya, girl. 

On the way home, E was super quiet. I was sure she was tired, nope. Homie found a pen. So cute to see her staring right at me. 

While we were unloading the car, grandpa & grandma wanted to FaceTime so we hung around outside for a bit and showed off E's colored legs. Win win. 

We found those headphones for Emma because *surprise* we are going to North Carolina to see my dad next weekend. Ahhh. 

Found that giraffe at Homegoods. Don't worry it's going back. Wish I could make it work because you know we are giraffe obsessed. 

With it being so hot we turn on the car an eternity before we actually get in. I thought Emma looked so cute running through the grass-- Sound of Music? 

I don't remember where we were headed. Target? Bananas, cake pop, milk-- the essentials. Oh and some gift supplies, cards. . . somehow it was well over $100. 

Emma has been saying "Dis?" a lot! Mostly when she has a crayon/marker/pen asking if she can color there. Ex: Pointing to the wall and saying "Dis?" and me yelling "NOOOO!". 

Here (below) she was saying "Dis?" like "Can I eat this?". Yes sweet thing, eat it up! 

It has taken Emma a long time to enjoy milk but she finally really likes it. I'm so thankful! We go through a lot of it-- especially if I put it in a big girl cup with a straw. 

This was one random morning when she ran to Caralyn's room and knocked on the door, ha. Poor thing was pretty disappointed. 

Waiting for our friends at the splash pad! We got there early and it was 115 bajillion degrees. 

You'd think the splash pad would tired my kid out but nope, we were off to the playground. She is such a big girl and did the stairs all by herself. 

Boom done. So tired. I have some funnies planned for tomorrow so that means I'll never get around to it! xox