Birthday field trips

We took Sadie to the Natural Science Center in Greensboro for her birthday field trip. This has become a fun tradition at our house and who doesn't love field trips. After the "amals", her favorite part of the day, we headed to "Donald's" for lunch. Savanna has brainwashed her little sister but we love to hear her say the restaurant's name so off we went for chicken nuggets, french fries, and milk. Then, we headed to Donna's pool for some "wim" time. Sadie bug is fearless! She will walk off the steps and sink then laugh about it. After our hearts start beating again we can laugh too. She is going to be a fish like Savanna has transformed into. What is a trip to Greensboro without a stop at Feeney's yogurt bar. Sadie enjoyed strawberry frozen yogurt with blueberries and strawberries on top. Needless to say, everyone was tired at the end of the day so we headed home for early bedtimes. Both girls went to sleep without any argument.

"Dadie Birtday"

Our baby is 2!! And, for the record, not much of a baby anymore! Independence is quite the dominant trait at our house and while I love that we are teaching that to our children it is difficult to take as a parent. It is amazing to see the Bug in action. She can play with other children but she is not afraid to go off and play by herself. That is exactly what she did at her party. You could tell that she was excited to celebrate! We finally got her to say that she was 2 and not 1. That took some work. Our animal theme was a hit with the kids and Noah's cake was admired by all the adults. We want our children to feel as special as they are on their big days so we put a good bit of time, energy, and creativity into their parties without getting too elaborate or expensive. You will NOT see us on the MTV series My Sweet 16! They will appreciate that one day. We even made a lion shirt for the birthday girl. She came out looking like she was reincarnated from the 80s but cute none the less.  At the end of the night I heard her singing, "Dadie birtday, Dadie birtday!" We are so blessed to share our sweet girl with such good family and friends.

Fancy Day

Savanna was so excited about her friend Ella's Fancy Nancy party that she got dressed as soon as she woke up. She came into our room and asked if she looked fancy. I told her that she did look cute but fancy was not an outfit of leggings and t-shirts. She thanked me for saying she was cute and we found another "fancy" dress. We continued our morning with a woodworking project at Lowe's. It is a fun and free program that Savanna and Noah enjoy doing together. We are realizing that quality one on one time is important! Then we headed to Greensboro for Ella's party. Savanna had a great time! She came home with lots of jewelry, even an edible necklace.

Asheville Adventures

We spent the weekend in Asheville with the girls. We got there shortly after lunchtime on Friday so Uncle Forrest took us to 12 Bones, famous for their ribs. It is also on the Our State list of 100 restaurants in 100 counties......another one checked off our list! We walked around downtown, played in the Splasheville fountain, and hung out with Forrest and Phoebe before heading to the hotel. Savanna was worn out! Saturday was a wash out but we managed to have our share of fun. That fun included lots of splashing in puddles and swimming in the outdoor hotel pool. Mommy and daddy eventually gave in to the "wim" requests in the 70 degree heat. That pool was cold!! The girls got their 30 minutes of water time and we froze ourselves. The things we do for our children! Sunday came and before heading home we had brunch with Forrest then took a drive north on the Blue Ridge Parkway to Craggy Gardens for some scenic views and light hiking. These girls are troopers! Don't think there wasn't some complaining and carrying of small children along the way but we made it and were so glad that we did.

Mountain Animals

Part of our trip included a visit to the Western North Carolina Nature Center. We could use our zoo membership for free admission and the girls love animals so it was the perfect choice for our excursion. The rain held off long enough for us to see what there was to see. Some of the favorites included the river otters, black bear, fox, and the butterfly house. Savanna was mesmerized by the butterflies crawling on her but Sadie was not OK with it any closer than her hand. I think it is a lovely butterfly bowtie she is wearing. We also met Artie the owl. How fascinating to learn about and see so closely this magnificent bird! An interesting fact about him is that his wings are shaped in a way that he doesn't make a sound when he swoops down to capture his prey. What a beautiful creature!