Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Delaney's Focus

Delaney has loved horses since they were first introduced about two years ago. That would have made her TWO. The fascination has yet to fade. She loves to give Shadow hugs and kisses. She is finally old enough and has hung onto this horse thing long enough to start lessons. Every week, before lessons, we have to walk through the big barn and say hello to every horse that happens to be in their stall. After her lesson we have to stop by and say hello to Shadow and sneak her a couple treats.

I think she's doing amazingly well. She is up there learning the reins, 'steering' the horse, and just having a blast. She's already trotting and practicing her positions which help with balance.

I hope this love affair continues. You can tell by the smile on her face it's something she enjoys. We finish one lesson and she's immediately asking when her next lesson is. I would have her do it every day if I could, just to see that smile. (of course, the mom in me also wishes she could be this focused on other things too!)

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Slacker







I've been such a slacker. When I started this I figured NO problem, I could post everyday just like all those other people. Daily posts of all the drivel and whining that goes on in my life. But well, then life takes over and gets in the way and I don't have as much going on in my mind or in my life to talk about. Still don't - But i thought I should at least tell you.






Delaney had her first riding lesson. She did amazing. Unfortunately she has also had some serious attitude problems. So, we're not sure what to do. Last night - mad that she had to go to bed, she took her brand new glasses and twisted them in half. It comes to my mind now that i should have taken pictures.






Gabriel is doing well, almost done with school. He was playing tag - and had tunnel vision as only a game of tag can give you and ran into another boy who got in his path. I think the other kid is fine. Gabriel has a fat lip, come bleeding and a loose tooth out of the deal. It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the fact it's one of her permanent teeth. So, x-rays at the dentist and soft food for now untl it doesn't hurt so bad. Poor kid.






our life in a nutshell. i'd update you on the hubby and me but it seems we dont' so as much as we would like.






but then i'm reminded we did make it to the mountains a few weekends ago -maybe i'll add some of those pics for some scenery.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Saturday Morning Sludge

I always like to take a picture of my fish while I can actuall see them. It's that time of year where I drain the water out, catch the fish, haul off the winter sludge, then put the fish back in a much cleaner home. It's not a job for the faint of heart. Sludge, slime, smell and usually something pops out that gives me that short adrenaline rush. It's usually a bullfrog and I don't mind them, they just startle me when I'm in there looking for fish and something jumps out at me.
This year we had no bullfrogs, and I actually missed them. What I did find was this neat lizard. He was living up in the waterfall area - where I found him as I was moving rocks and digging out more sludge.

The kids thought he was cool, so we kept him around in a bucket so they could watch him and so I wouldn't step on him during my cleaning.
The pond is now clean, fish are happy. We also went and got some more fish - from 13 last year to 6 or was it 7 this year. That Grey Heron depleted my pond big time. So, we went to the pet store and spurged. YUP, almost $2.00 on 6 feeder fish. Luckest fish around yesterday.
And hey, can anyone identify this thing?

Friday, April 17, 2009

Mom's Idea of Fun

Randy and I have been trying to do more things this year. Instead of just saying "we should do this, or we should do that" we are actually following through and doing it. We've talked about hiking - and used to do some BK (before kids) and now that Delaney is almost 5, we thought we'd give it a try. Of course, most would start small and work their way up, not us. We started with a 5 mile hike marked "strenous". It was going to be a beautiful day, and although my throat was bothering me, I took some tylenol and we set out. 1.4 miles to the summit, piece of cake I thought. And well, that part wasn't bad. We made it to the top and enjoyed a picnic and the view - as you can see from the picture of the kids - it was a gorgeous view.

Once we started our trip down, the fun and games were over. We started counting how many steps there were - to keep Gabriel occupied and because we were glad we were going DOWN and not up them. My sore throat was thinking of coming back - but thankfully I had packed more tylenol in my bag. Gabriel and Delaney found walking sticks to help them out along the way also.
Here's my girl, for 5 miles, 4 hours and 1,109 stairs (remember I said we counted them) she held up like a trooper, and in true Delaney fashon on the short, FLAT connector trail, within site of our car, she fell and cut up her poor leg. She makes it through all five miles on rough trail, and that's how she hurts herself. That's my girl.




Stone Mountain was an awesome place to hike and we had a great time. Now that we made it through this one, all those other trails will be a piece of cake. (And as a side note, this hike truly did me in - instead of listening to my body and the sore throat - I just loaded up on tylenol and kept going - on Monday with a temp of 102, I was literally down and out!)

Friday, March 27, 2009

LET'S PLAY SOME HOCKEY

We had the opportunity to go to a Hurricanes Hockey game last weekend, so after Gabriel's double header soccer games - we packed up and headed out. Thanks to one of B & G's subcontractors we had REALLY good seats - seats we never could have afforded if it was up to us, and we enjoyed them. It was fun to watch Gabriel take everything in and trying to figure it all out.
Here is Cam Ward - Goalie - he did an awesome job and we won - 4-1 that night. We left a little early because between G coughing (allergies) and Delaney saying she didn't feel good- we figured it would be a good idea to hit the road, and it was a 2 1/2 hour drive home. Thankfully the kids fell asleep for the most part of it- if only Delaney hadn't woken up for the last 30 minutes and whined every minute "when are we going to be home" it wouldn't have been so bad!


Here are the monsters, I mean my kids- ready for the game to start.



Me and the monsters before the game.....we had such a good time



There's dad with the kids......


Thursday, March 12, 2009

what a difference a few days can make

These pictures were from Saturday - Delaney's first ever soccer game. She sooooo wasn't into it. Looking back I'm trying to justify her lack of enthusiasm by the fact that later that night she was running a fever and on Monday we found out she had Strep throat. We are hoping she is more enthusiastic this weekend. Oh wait, mom and dad are actually hoping it's rained out. She has a double header plus Gabriel has a game plus I have to take Kavik to the vets. If I end up at a field with Kavik in cleats, please understand.
Here they both are - ready to kick off the soccer season. I didn't get to see Gabriel's game - rushed from her game to his and saw the last two minutes of it and he wasn't playing. AH well, I'd say better luck this week, but again, I am praying for rain - (did i mention i want to go to the new IKEA store?)

Hard to believe this was Monday,March 2. Lots of snow - no power. It was a chilly few hours at home - thankfully I remembered i could warm up water on the gas grill and have instant coffee- and we have a griddle so scrambled eggs could be on the menu.



THe kids out enjoying a spring snowfall in the south. The first time since we've moved here we've had such a late snow - by Friday it was sunny, 70 and a memory.
Mind you it is now the following friday, and it's back to the 30's for us and rain......love this spring weather....


Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Spring into Soccer

I say spring but it surely didn't feel like spring. I had to wake Delaney up this Saturday morning since her practice was at 9 am, doesn't it figure that this was the day she'd pick to sleep in? So, we woke her up, poured breakfast down her throat and BUNDLED her up - as it was only 22 degrees outside. Yes, soccer practice and it was only 22 degress outside. I think she said many times on the way that she didn't want to play soccer anymore, and well, can you blame her? This is a shot of her out on the field, and boy does it say to me "I really don't want to be here right now!"

This was the first time i had ever brought hot cocoa rather than gaterade to a practice. Lucky us, Gabriel's practice was right after Delaney's - so we had three hours of being outside - but hey, it warmed up to a balmy 38 by lunchtime!

Gabriel's new soccer cleats - stylin in green this year


Delaney's feet- she looks so cute in her black and pink cleats...

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

If I win the lotto


these are two houses we saw across the lake while on our hike. I thought it was providence when editing that this second house has a "for sale" sign in front of it. I know, Dream on, But i can dream. I think if i win the powerball I can pay for my grandma's healthcare and buy this house yes? actually, i think i want a house in the country - with a horse barn and lots of room to roam. I could probably get a whole lot more land/house if it didn't sit on the shore of Lake Norman. but...it's nice to dream and maybe I'll get this for our weekend get a way house.....
Sounds like a good dream doesn't it????/


Saturday, February 14, 2009

Hair today, Gone today

Well, after it took almost half an hour to un-snarle her hair this morning - i asked Delaney again if she wanted her hair cut - she said yes.....so I'm doing it in reverse mode- this is her hair short with the new red coloring ( I did mine and she wanted her's done to!)
Here she is with her hair color in! she really wanted to have it done just like Mom.....


Here it is - all the hair - we are measuring to make sure we get the 10 inches of hair that locks of love needs...... we cut off 12 inches.....
I can't believe we actually cut her hair off!!!!!! I had to do it before I chickend out...

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Gabriel's 7 year Pictures

I don't remember if i've shared any of these pictures with you. At various times during the year, I decide that my family hasn't been tortured enough with all the picture taking at home, so I haul them off to my favorite "Portrait Innovations" and my favorite photographer there, Emily. She's been taking pictures for us since before Delaney was born. It all depends on the bribery. The time before this - i hit on the PERFECT bribe. Monkey Joe's. Its a big building filled with inflatable slides, etc and the kids love it. So, they behave and smile, they go to Monkey Joe's. I've learned that being a parent is a fine line between what you have learned, and how you can bribe your kids. This is a picture I like of Gabriel- he's getting to be such a big kid (sob). I can hardly believe he's seven.
Then again, don't even get me started on Delaney - she's four. She'll be going to school this year. If only I could win th powerball so I could have a bigger house and afford a Nanny, then i might think about more, but since i don't see that happening, i guess i'll just sob some more when she goes off to school this year. Here they are together - acting like they like each other, at least for this moment. Actually, they aren't too bad. I just hope they continue to get along as they get older. And speaking of getting older, we're off to Cici's pizza night for Gabriel's school. As soon as we get his reading and spelling done that is.


Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Then and Now

When I went back through some of my pictures from last year - I came across these- from a hike at Lake Norman State Park on February 3, 2007. Amazing that almost exactly a year later, we're back at the park with nice weather doing another hike. I did remember this hike and picture and looked for that same tree, but couldn't find it, so we settled on this new one we found. Thankfully there was a tree with a couple forks in it, i put my small backpack in and then put my camera on top to take the picture. At least i didn't trip running from the camera to the tree to get in before the timer went off.

We won't go into detail about what I think of myself in this years picture. I'll just focus on the kids. Boy can you tell Gabriel has filled out! From my skinny mini kid last year to skipping pant sizes this year! And Delaney - she's looking less the toddler and more the little girl. I can't believe we'll be signing her up for Kindergarten this spring.
So, I hope you enjoy the comparison - well, except for me, don't go there.
Note to self - baggy sweatshirt and hiding partially behind husband is MUCH more flattering.....

Sunday, February 8, 2009

From Snowflakes to NO flakes

It's hard to believe when its this warm today, that just thee days ago it snowed and the high was only 30. BRRRRR. and now? no coats, could have worn short sleeves and we're going on a hike. This is what i like about winters in North Carolina.
Here are the kids and Dad. And yes, i'm always there with my camera

Gabriel and Delaney had fun on the trampoline after swim lessons on Saturday. What can we say be we need a few more days of weather like this.


Wednesday, February 4, 2009

On a night when they predicted it would barely give us a flurry

Well, they predicted that we would be lucky to see even a flurry. So imagine my surprise when Randy called and said " have you looked outside" and YEA it was SNOWING. As you can see from Kavik, they were the BIG FAT flakes that were coming down. So, as quick as you could possibly be when trying to suit up two kids in some sort of fashion to keep them warm, we headd outside (and after i grabbed my camera). The kids loved it and soon meet up with the girls next door for a snowball/tag game.
I just love this picture, one running one way, on running the other - and you can just tell they are having so much fun! I took as many pictures as i could until it got too dark and my camera just couldn't tell what is was supposed to focus on anymore.


Here are the happy kids. It finally snowed enough that they could go out and play, AND it was enough that the wimps down here closed school for the day. It was also COLD enough that the snow was/is still here right now. And well, I enjoyed the impromptu day off thanks to school being closed. (of course, no built in snow days down here, so they'll have to make it up somewhere)
So, may we say, let it snow let it snow let it snow.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Sigh, No Snow, at least at my house


So, we were all geared up for some snow - some good go out and have some fun in it snow. What we woke up to was barely what we could even call snow. It barely covered the ground - not even good for a snowball. So, we got up - looked out the window first (no sense in taking a shower if we could just go back to bed) and grumbled, then got into our going to work mode. I will tell you now, I should have stayed home. News said roads were okay, but schools still closed (gotta love it). I headed to work, which is 45 minutes away and to the east. Very important to know I work EAST of where I live. Most of my travel is via back roads. First one was okay, within 1/8 of a mile on the second there was a truck flipped over in a field. I could see the fireman by the side of the road, and i could tell he had his hand out - just couldn't see what the hand was doing. (it was dark out) by the time i could see he was saying stop, let's just say the layer of ice on the road prevented me from doing so. I drove the rest of the way hoping I stayed on the road. I will say another animal prayer now - for the poor squirrel that i thought was a leaf blowing into the road, but know I am happy I didnt know it was a squirrel - cuz i would have hit the brakes or swerved, and well, remember the icy road? Poor squirrel. By the time i made it to work, i was truly regretting the drive. the 485 interstate loop was snow covered and treacherous. NO nice roads for me. Most of the snow hit EAST of charlotte, where my jobsite is. Raleigh got even more. Thankfully, this is the south, and while the snow remained on the ground at my jobsite for days, on the trip home, once I got on I-85, there was not a flake to be seen. It had already melted away. At home, my kids were excited to find just a small patch of snow/ice mix left behind in a shady spot.


We'll hope for more snow next time.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Wishing for a Snow Day

I'll admit, I don't necessarily NEED to see snow tomorrow. I saw plenty of it on our Christmas trip to NY. The four hours of driving in white out conditions is still fresh in my mind. SO, while I don't need to see it,I sure wouldn't mind. Since moving to the south, I've come to be one of the people that actually HOPES it snows. Snow of 1 in in Buffalo isn't even really considered accumulation. Snow of an inch here? It's a valid reason to close schools, government and businesses, and send everyone in a rush to the store days in advance to stock up on Milk and bread. (i'm never sure why, since the snow is usually gone in a day and shouldn't you already have that stuff in your house?) So I'm hoping for snow tomorrow. My three day weekend could turn into 4 and I'm not against that at all. To help me with my snow thoughts, I've grabbed some pictures from about this time last year. It was our first, and ONLY snow, and I think it was gone by the afternoon - although tomorrow, if it does snow, should stick around a little while longer since it's only supposed to get to a high of 32. Our first born, Kavik, doesn't care that there is snow on the ground, he just wants you to throw his purple ball (yes, he knows his are purple, we color coded back in the days when Gabriel wanted to imitate his older brother. Gabriel was Yellow, later on Delaney was Pink and Kavik is purple. And yes, this included carrying it around in his mouth - drinking out of the pool, and attempting to lift his leg.)
There are my monsters, all dressed to play in the snow.


Just a cool picture of some cold trees on our street. It's just one of those pictures I really like.

Friday, January 2, 2009

A Small Country Town

The road to Perry is a long one, at least when you are traveling from North Carolina. We were headed to Mom's and the countryside always amazes me - fields, farms, just very picturesque to me. This is route 39 coming in to Perry. Just in ths picture there are two farms. While Perry does have a bookstore now, and a Subway, and let's remember the chinese restaurant, it's still very small town. (please note it had NONE of these during my childhood there and McDonalds is still in the next town over, and there is no Burger King, or Pizza Hut unless you travel to Geneseo)

I love this picture because you can see some o the patchwork fields in the distance - the hills and valley are just wonderful. While I am glad I live in the south, I don't mind visiting during the snowy winters.....it can be beautiful....