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! 

Life...

I must take a break from party preparations to give the latest on Savanna. Most of you all know that she is a 14 year old in a 4 year old body but tonight's take on life sounded just like a "teenager". We were trying to decide what to wear to church tomorrow and I was going to let Sadie decide which matching outfits to wear. This seemed only fair since it is her birthday and Savanna makes most of the decisions in this department. They have so many and church is a great place to get cute and fancy! Sadie decided on a dress with poofy sleeves. That did not make Savanna happy! After the tears and tantrum we had almost moved on to brushing teeth when she says, "why is everything bad in my life?" I tell you the drama!!!! Bless her and her terrible life!

Big Sister Day

Last Saturday was Big Sister Day at our house. Savanna asked on Father's Day why there wasn't a big sister day so we decided to put one together. The day began with Sadie and mommy bringing Savanna breakfast in bed. That is the treat that prompted the whole discussion. Savanna wanted breakfast in bed! After breakfast we played and napped then opened a little gift from all of us. We let the big sister at our house choose the evening's activities. It was off to play Putt Putt and then to dinner. Savanna did well with her putting while Sadie hit it once then picked it up and laid it by the hole to hit it in. Clever, don't you think? I will give you a minute to guess where we ended up for dinner..........yep, you guessed it McDonald's, the one by Target with the play area. Sadie even cheered when we pulled up. In the car she repeated "eat donald's." I asked Savanna in the car what she was going to have and she said "what I always eat." She has Samuels in her for sure. We like the familiar! We all ate and played then headed home for ice cream cake. One of the first comments from Savanna was "when is little sister day?" I guess we will have to plan one of those.

Rain boots

Savanna has had several pair of rain boots in her short lifetime. Well, fortunately, Sadie can wear her first pair and she has a new pair for splashing in the rain. A few weeks ago we had a steady rain but the only puddles we could find were at the end of the driveway. Don't tell anyone that I let my children play in the road! They had a blast!

blue ridge mountains

We only had a few days to regroup and do LOTS of laundry before heading to the mountains with more of our family. It was a beautiful weekend! There were several adventures and some relaxation but best of all....more quality FAMILY TIME! We picnicked on the parkway a couple of times, shopped for pottery, hiked at Stone Mountain Park, played at a local playground, watched the hummingbirds, and played on the tire swing at the house. The girls love to be surrounded by our extended family. As I have said before, Forrest brings out the adventurous side of Savanna. Well, can you believe they slid down a waterfall together? She went with him 3 times and had a blast! The scary part was getting across the rocks to the actual waterfall.

Beach bums

We were fortunate to spend 10 days at the beach, first with friends and then with family. What a big step for Savanna this summer as last year she would not get close to the ocean. This year we couldn't get her out! She also wins the prize for the best tan in the family. She is the only one of us that didn't get any form of red or pink on our trip. This picture captures Sadie's first day on the beach. As you can see she is NOT happy about this situation. Can you believe that by the end of the week she was going into the waves by herself? This is after one wave took her under. I tell you this girl is a daredevil! It was so much fun for everyone to watch Savanna enjoy her time with Lily and John. She proclaimed that she "only wanted to go to the beach with Lily." Then she hit the jackpot by having a blast with John for a week. Sadie just followed along with the big kids looking back at me saying "mon mommy" (come on mommy). I will remember this trip forever!

She did it!

There are no pictures to accompany this post as I think everyone would agree that would be gross because SADIE WENT POTTY tonight! I have been sitting her on the little potty at night since just after moving because she watched Savanna and talked about it. There is no more interest than that but hey it is worth a try to start the process lightly. It worked for Savanna. Well tonight as we were getting ready for bed they were both going potty and all of a sudden we heard the sound. Yes, it was preceded by a little gas but then we heard it trickle. We were both congratulating Sadie so she sat back down. I think she likes the praise! We'll see how long before this happens again but we will be proud of this first step for now.

Meal Prep

As you know a good bit of our plans revolve around food and the past few weeks have been no different, just with a little twist. Savanna has really been into helping out so one night she created and cooked a homemade pizza for us. I chopped the veggies but she put it all together and it was DELICIOUS! Then we decided to head to the park for a picnic. This is not so much out of the ordinary but made for a cute shot of daddy and the girls. Fun times!!! The bowl was my breakfast in bed one morning. Yes, you see correctly, goldfish and a granola bar. Since our mother and father's day traditions Savanna has been excited about breakfast in bed. She can let herself in the locked pantry so she puts in a bowl whatever she can reach. It is quite amusing to see what she is going to put together! Now she gets up and fixes her own cereal in the morning. I think she likes the quiet time and I certainly enjoy a little extra sleep! Savanna definitely enjoys her independence!

GROWL! ROAR!

We had been waiting for a cooler day to visit the zoo. Sadie hadn't been to see the African animals so it was time for a visit. She loves animals! Savanna wanted to see the polar bear and Sadie requested the giraffes. Our friends Carole and Mackenzie came with us to picnic and see the animals. The girls seemed to enjoy the animals but preferred climbing on the rocks and hanging on the rails. The chimpanzees made the biggest impression because there was one who would charge the glass, and he did while Savanna and Sadie were standing there. Needless to say it freaked them out so we moved on to the carousel and an ice cream snack. To end the day we made our way to the alligators, polar bear, and the seals/sea lions. These are our favorites in the North American exhibits. We stayed until closing as we usually do and all of the girls napped at some point on the way home.

Better than Bubblegum

We spent our July 3 on the lawn at Williams High School waiting for the fireworks to begin. Our picnic included chicken wings, pasta salad, watermelon, and rice krispie treats with stars. Our goal was to ride some rides before we picnicked but time just ran away from us so it was just food and fireworks for us. Noah and Savanna had fun playing football and frisbee as long as they could see it then everyone enjoyed the fireworks. Sadie watched with my hands covering her ears but she was prepared for the loud noise. She almost seemed mesmerized as they went off. Savanna on the other hand discussed the entire fireworks display. Some of our favorite quotations from her..... "These fireworks are better than bubblegum." and "That looks like a dead tree." (in reference to one of the fireworks) Hope you all enjoyed your 4th of July celebrations!