They Say It's Your Birthday.....

It's my birthday too! I wanted to take a few minutes today just to say how VERY BLESSED I feel for each and every birthday that God gives me to celebrate. This year is a milestone...35! Whew...can that be right? It is so weird to think that I have been out of college for over a decade! And its been over 15 years since I graduated high school (Go Panthers!).

Today has been an incredible day already. I have had 3 people come by to visit, bring flowers and/or cards. I opened several cards from relatives that I got in the mail. Friends and family have called me just to wish me a happy day. My husband came home for lunch to babysit the kids so that my sister (AV) could treat me to lunch out! Bryan also gave me a cute card with a nice gift certificate to my favorite pedicure place. My kids have been pretty good today (behavior-wise) and they also gave me a card and a gift certificate (how did they know?). Later tonight, my hubby is taking me out to dinner...he even got a babysitter for the kids. How cool is that? All in all...a "wonderful-gut" birthday (as the Amish would say).

It's days like this that make me so very thankful for the life that God has given me. There are definitely those tough days and even rougher weeks when I feel like the road is long and all uphill, but for the most part, God has truly blessed me. I am most thankful for Him, the one who saved me. Not only did He give me this incredible gift, but He also wants to give me more. I'll end this post with a very grateful "thank you" to all my friends and family who have loved on me today (and all year long) and a promise from my Savior:

"Jesus said, 'I came that they might have life, and have it abundantly.'" John 10:10

To Market, To Market, To Buy A Fat...

...Tomato! Hee, hee. Nope, we didn't have bacon for dinner tonight folks...we had CORN. Fresh silver queen corn that we bought today at the Farmer's Market. Mema actually scraped it off the cob and made some really good creamed corn. Yum Yum. My parents wanted to visit with Bryan's mom and dad, so they picked us up and took us to the FM this morning. We had a good time strolling around and looking at all the fresh veggies and fruits. Kate fell in love with the sunflowers, so I bought a beautiful bouquet for only $9. My parents bought corn, okra, peaches and a watermelon. Woohoo! Fun Fun Fun at the Market today. Here are my pics!







And I'd like to give a shout out to the Durham DMV Office for their quick and efficient service today. I had to get my license renewed, and I was dreading it! To my surprise, I was in and out of there in NO TIME. That almost never occurs...way to go guys!

I would also like to say thanks to one of my best friends...Jenny Morrison. Thanks girl for taking me out for my birthday. I really had a great time and I wish we could do that more often. Love you!

Reunited And It Feels So Good...

After spending a week away at the beach, we have spent the last couple of days catching up with our neighbors & friends. Kate had a blast at the beach with her cousins, but she was very happy to reconnect with her pals from the 'hood! This is a picture of her and one of her favorite playmates, TJ. He is a great kid, and believe me, when they get together, they can PLAY. They love to pretend...it's really cute to hear their interactions, and they seem to get along great! He is also very good about remembering Kate when it comes to holidays or special days-he always has little gifts for her. One time he even baked her a cake! Thanks TJ for being such a great friend to our Kate.


We are also hosting out-of-town family this week...Mema and Pop came up from Albany, GA to see us for a few days! This is such a big treat for us all...we rarely get to see Bryan's folks. Kate has been so excited. She keeps hugging all over Mema and telling her how much she loves her. Aaron just grins and continues to destroy whatever he is destroying at the moment.

Ahh...but I digress. Mema and Pop did not come empty-handed, but as always, had treats for our kids. Kate was thrilled to receive her first guitar and Rocko (Pop's term of endearment for Aaron) received his first camo T-shirt. They also got bottles of Grab-A-Bubble. Believe me...we tried them out this afternoon, and they live up to their disclaimer of being able to "blow bubbles you can hold in your hands!" We had a hard time getting them out of our hair! We have had such a fun and eventful 2 days with Mema & Pop. We have: eaten out at Las Palmas, watched home videos of Kate, sung & danced together, blown bubbles, played Cornhole and Imaginiff, trekked it to Wallymart, grilled a turkey, and looked at a rainbow!

But I've Still Got Some Sand In My Shoes...

I can't believe that it's been over a week since I've posted on my blog. My apologies for those who were anxiously awaiting my daily rantings (ha ha), but there was no wireless connection at "Chillin' The Most". We really only left the house once during the week, so there weren't any stops to coffee shops or ice cream parlors that offered this perk to blog obsessed customers. That said, I am going to try and post a few pictures from our beach trip while my son is napping this afternoon. The above photo is a collection of shells that Bryan and I "combed" from the beach on our date night (yes, my mom and sister showed some mercy and offered to watch our kids for a few hours). I added some crystalization via Photoshop and added that snazzy title. I do love playing around on Photoshop...wish I knew how to use it more effectively on my pics.

Here are some pics from the trip. Hope to post more about it later. Brief summary: we had fun, it was SORT of relaxing (we still had a very very active toddler with us), B,Kate&I got sick with a stomach virus, but it only rained 2 out of the 7 days! All in all...I would say a successful family vacation.

For Father's Day this year, we all chipped in and got Dad a fancy new Ipod! He will need this when he goes on his Amish pilgrimage via the Ridgecrest Seniors Tour Bus this fall. Have fun, Dad!

It Takes Two To Make A Thing Go Right

Well...after Bryan saw Aaron's new cut (see crooked bangs pictured left), we marched it right back to the Hair Cuttery for a second appointment. After discussing our options (gosh, that sounds like Aaron is having surgery or something), we decided to buzz him. Wow...it's short, but in the end, Bryan and I liked it better than before. So, here's to Aaron's hair...may he be cool all summer!


He really enjoyed getting his hair cut with the clippers...it tickled him when she tried to cut the back.


Bryan took him home, gave him a bath...and here is the finished look. I spiked his bangs (what's left of them) just for fun.

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes...

...and in your clothes and hair! For all my out-of-town readers (that means you Marian), you are probably wondering if I've been sniffing the laundry detergent again. Not to fear...I am completely sane (okay, that may be stretching it). When I woke up this morning and looked outside, I saw what appeared to be fog. By the time I got in my car to drive to the car dealership, it looked even hazier. When I stepped out into the air, I instantly smelled SMOKE. I went to my fav local news website and found out that we are under attack. Seems a wind shift has blown smoke from an eastern NC wildfire into our area. The wildfire started on June 1st from a lightning strike and has burned about 40,000 acres. Please pray that fire personnel will be able to contain this fire...it's only 40% contained right now.

On a different note, I took the kids to get hair cuts today. Hmm...always a harrowing experience. Kate did great and really only got about 2 inches cut off...nothing major. Aaron is always harder because he squirms and he fights the hair lady when she tries to cut certain areas. I guess that is why we always end up with a bad hair cut for Aaron. You'd think I'd be used to these by now, but I'm hoping we will finally find someone that can do his hair correctly. I asked AGAIN to please leave the bangs long and not cut straight across...like those old fashioned bowl cuts...I had a traumatic bowl cut once (thanks Mom for taking me to that Claudia woman) and so I'm not a fan of that style. Well this is what we got:

It might not be a bowl cut...but I'm just not sure why one side of his bangs looks to be cut at one angle and then the other half is a different length and angle. I can't wait to see what Bryan says when he comes home tonight. Oh well, at least hair grows AND the hair cut didn't affect Aaron's smile. I love him...bad haircut and all.

Splish Splash!

Just a quick post this morning...it's off to a busy day of washing and drying clothes! Kate has been trying really hard to help me keep the house picked up. She has made her bed every day over track out. I'm hoping this is a new phase for her!

On Sunday, Bryan got out our pool so that the kids (& parents) could get some relief from the 100+ temps outside. Kate actually opted to stay inside and play with one of the neighborhood kids, but Aaron and Bryan really enjoyed themselves in the pool! Last week at Andrea's pool, Aaron got a kick out of being "dropped" into the water while sitting in his hippo float. I had to do it over and over and over again. Well, Bryan got his chance for some bicep/tricep exercises Sunday! Aaron would say, "Ready, Set, Go!" and Bryan would drop him into the pool for a big splash. Once Bryan's muscles gave out, we chased Aaron around the small pool with the hippo float. Aaron LOVED it!

Yesterday, Andrea came over and watched the kids for me so that I could get my hair cut. She arrived with a Michael's bag in hand! Kate loves crafts, and AV had a special surprise for her. While I was away, AV and Kate made some very cute flip-flops for themselves and Kate's cousins. They will love sporting these together at the beach. Of course, when my son woke up from his nap, he showed his affinity towards these special shoes. I couldn't help but get a pic of his tiny little foot in AV's flip-flops. How cute!!! Thanks AV for being a super cool aunt!

Dancing Under The Sea

Last night was Kate's second dance recital with Carolina Dance Center. This year, her tap/jazz class performed a tap dance to the song "Joy to the World (Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog)". The program was called "A Mermaid's Tale", basically an adapted version of the Disney movie, "The Little Mermaid". Kate danced very well, and of course, added her own personal flair to the dance. At the end, when they all came out to take their bows, Kate was too busy dancing to the music to notice. It was so funny. Bryan and I just looked at each other and shook our heads. Gotta love her.

Are you at all surprised that I took pictures? We were not allowed to take any pictures during the actual show, but we were able to get pics onstage afterwards. Kate wanted pictures with her favorite characters, and with her dance teachers. Of course, we made her get pictures with her adoring fans (me, B, and Kelsey).




Top row: Bryan/Me/Kelsey (Duh!)
Middle: Teacher,Missy Blackburn/T.A., Erin Watson/Ariel, Annette Jochum
Bottom: King Triton, Matt Shaw/Scuttle, Kalee Calhoun/Sebastian, Regan Kucera

Here Comes Trouble

I had just finished publishing my post for today, when Aaron comes running into the room, yelling, "my eye, my eye". I turned around to find a little boy with red marker on his face and around his eye. Sigh...sometimes I wonder about this kid's intelligence. I love him, though, and he definitely provides plenty of photo ops for his mommy!!

Hot Fun In The...Spring?

Anyone who loves Oldies music remembers Sly & The Family Stone's hit, Hot Fun in the Summertime. Well, in Raleigh, North Carolina, we are having a HEAT WAVE with our temps soaring into the upper 90's. Today, we may even break a record! And the sad thing is, it's still springtime...remember, it doesn't change over to summer until the 20th!

So, what is our neighborhood doing to keep cool on these 99/100 degree days? Take a look:

You'll notice that a certain adult is actually hogging the Slip 'N Slide while the kids are being forced to the sidelines! (chuckle, chuckle) But seriously, the kids had a blast yesterday and kept cool at the same time. Aaron was too cute! He really wasn't afraid of the water, but he would keep saying, "Waters COLD, Daddy". And he LOVED hammering in the stakes. Kate, on the other hand, still isn't a huge fan of getting sprayed in the face, but she did manage to get wet by going up and down the middle of the slide.






Here are a few more pics:




On a slide, I mean side, note...we were eating lunch yesterday when Kate made a neat observation. She told me her chicken nuggets looked like an ant. She then proceeded to name its body parts, "head, thorax and abdomen". Well, I guess she is remembering a few things from school! Yeah, education!

Jeremiah was a Bullfrog...

I didn't have a ton of luck getting pictures today at the pool. I'll post a few of the kids and AV.
Aaron actually did much better this time-he wanted to ride around in his hippo float for about 30 minutes. He wanted to wear his sister's sunglasses--Bryan said he looks like Elton John. Kate really enjoyed swimming in the water--she swam the entire 2 hours we were there. I made her get out once to have a snack and rest--that lasted all of about 5 minutes. She really loves the pool! It's a good thing we will have our own pool at the house we rented in Emerald Isle, NC. Here's a link to the beach house: Chillin' The Most

The title of this blog (you may be wondering) is the title of the song that Kate is dancing to for the Carolina Dance Center's recital, Under the Sea. This afternoon, I hiked it over to South Raleigh so that Kate could attend her dress rehearsal. Kate's tap/jazz class was assigned the role of Fish...they are very cute costumes. Here's a pic of her with friends, Meredith Morrison and Kate Hock.