A Visit to the Fire Station

My friend Alex is a master planner and organizer. So it shouldn't have surprised me when we set up a play date for Collins and Bennett that she asked me, "Do you guys want to go visit a fire station?" I didn't know you could even do something like that! We said definitely, and she set it up for us to visit Fire Station #16 one Friday morning. 

These nice firefighters took one hour out of their day to give us a tour of the truck and station and to answer all our burning questions (and I had a lot). I had no idea that each station houses just one truck, how the firefighters are first responders so they are sent out before EMS to check out problems, how heavy their equipment is, and how loud that alarm sounds when they get a call (they did a test call so we could hear it and it scared Addie to death). 

The kids got to sit in the truck, shoot the water hose, and even see the engine inside one of the trucks. Addie didn't like it when they lifted the front of the truck. She said, "Tell them to put it down!". :)

I was so impressed with these guys and how they made time to teach our kids about the important work they do every day along with some fire safety tips. Now every time we pass a fire station, the girls make a comment. I think their morning at the fire station made a real impression!

Reunion!

Our good friend, Sarah, moved to Baltimore last year and came back to town to visit a few weeks ago. So we arranged a little college reunion at Pullen Park so we could catch up and let all of our kids play together. And Rach even surprised us and drove in for the occasion!

The kids braved the extreme heat and went right to playing. Collins and Emma chased each all over that park!

We were pretty sure the littles were headed overboard, but luckily they were just feeling the water. 

I promise little Hank could not be cuter (or hotter in this pic)...

We almost had a train malfunction (and a massive meltdown by the kids), but luckily that engine finally turned over and off we went. Mazen and Nora had fun taking it all in...

I think the carousel is Addie's favorite...

We caught them holding hands...

It's pretty wonderful that we all have been friends for so long, but watching our kids play together felt extra special. And Andrea's baby was not far away in this photo- she was actually born this week! So excited to have Evelyn Rose join the group! 

Completely melted and hungry, we set off for Amedeo's. We had a great dinner that lasted till almost 9 p.m. and shockingly included no meltdowns. So glad we all got together! We agreed this get together needed to happen every summer from now on. 

Hickory Time

Loved getting to spend a few days in Hickory over summer break, especially since Al and I worked it out to go at the same time. I love any minute the girls get to spend with their grandparents in my hometown. It is always special to me. 

Dad is a big YMCA guy now working out almost daily and wanted to take us to their pool. The girls were quite impressed!

One rainy afternoon, Al had the idea to go to the pottery store uptown and paint something unique. The girls all got into this idea (sorry Dad) and were feeling pretty creative. Addie picked out a ballet slipper to paint (that has now turned into a chapstick holder) and Collins painted a pretty butterfly (that is now her "candy dish"). Al made a really pretty ombre coffee mug for Mom, and I painted a small vase for flowers in the kitchen. Nana was the supervisor on all projects. :)

We have been hearing all good kinds of things about Baba and Mom's garden so we were eager to check it out. But first, the girls needed to play with Charlie. They are fascinated by this cat.

I was blown away by their garden. Because our garden is only 6' x 8', it's hard for me to wrap my brain around theirs being 20' x 40'. It is a lot of work! But you should see their yield...

They literally sent us home with a trash bag full of veggies. Crazy!

As always, loved our time in Hickory!

Tweetsie Love

We have started what I hope will become a summer tradition: a visit to Tweetsie! Last year, we took the girls for the first time and when Mom suggested going again this summer when Alli and I planned a visit to Hickory- we were all over that idea! I'm pretty sure Al was just as excited about it as Collins was. :)

This trip was extra fun because it was all girls and we pretty much had the park to ourselves. As we were driving up the mountain, it was drizzling and dreary which had us worried. But once we got there, the rain stopped and we soon realized that a cloudy Tuesday at Tweetise meant the place was empty! We could not believe it...we went up to each ride and were the only ones on the ride! How fun is that? We went all over that park and waited in line ONCE. It was awesome. We rode most rides twice. I will take cloudy weather for no lines any day!

Collins let us in on a little secret: last year, she really wanted this rhinestone cowgirl hat but never asked for it. She asked for it this year, and I could not say no. How cute does she look in it?

Both girls were like, "what is jail"?

Scary...Addie's first time behind the wheel!

Collins's favorite ride was the Tilt-a-Whirl, and I could see why. They all screamed themselves silly; unfortunately my pregnant self was not allowed to be whirled! (Later on, when I asked a ride operator if I could ride what I thought was a tame ride he told me my ride options as a pregnant person were the merry-go-round or a bench!). 

There is a reason Addie looks uncomfortable in this picture- it's because she was terrified! I was like, "oh let's go on the easy going ferris wheel". Well, it got started and kept getting faster and faster. It was a little shocking and your stomach would jump every time that wheel spun around. Addie had a death grip on me the entire time, and I was trying really hard to ignore the nasea creeping up on me. We got off and I asked the ride operator if it was supposed to be like that, and told me proudly it was the "fastest ferris wheel on the East Coast"! No joke...

Also found out the chair lift is from the 70's which made us slightly nervous...

The mouse train with the tacky neon cave light show was a crowd favorite...

Think these girls took on the scrambler three times they loved it so much...

It's such a cute park nestled within the NC mountains...

Alli and Nat were quite brave to try this one...they probably never will again!

We saved the big train ride for last...

Once again, had the train car to ourselves and consequently, cowboy Rusty to ourselves. Collins and Addie were not big fans...

But Rusty put on quite the show, and we had fun with him... 

 

By the end of our visit, we decided that Addie needed her own pink cowboy hat too. It was only right. 

We had a fabulous trip to the Wild, Wild West and will go ahead and plan to see the Tilt-a-Whirl, the crazy mouse train, and cowboy Rusty next summer. :)

A New Half for Addie

We officially have a sassy and sweet 2 1/2 year-old on our hands! We celebrated Addie's half birthday with dinner at Gonza's Tacos (yum) and ice cream at Howling Cow ice cream (double yum). Both girls have decided that mint chocolate chip is their favorite ice cream flavor (Addie calls it "chocolate chip"), and Collins advised her younger sister that NC State was where she needed to get the good stuff. Addie, of course, did not disagree!

Look how long her hair has gotten...so very pretty. She looks and acts so big to me all of a sudden.

The girls found these cool wolf statues and had to take a ride...

Our girls take their official growth measurements seriously...Addie had grown about an inch since turning two which she proud of...still not quite as tall as Collins was at this age.

Addie at 2 1/2:

1) Irresistible and adorable
2) Maddening with frequent temper tantrums
3) In love with her babies
4) In love with Collins and wanting to do whatever her big sister does and trying to keep up with her in every way
5) Silly girl who makes funny voices and cracks herself up
6) Sweet and sassy
7) Wants to do everything "by myself!"

Crafting at VBS

Is it unfair to label crafts at VBS as grueling? When you are one of the ones heading it, I don't think so! Luckily, I was part of great team of girls in charge of crafting this year. When Kiki and Kim agreed to the post and then asked me to join in, I couldn't say no. I just like those girls too much. My inclination to work with them was right on because we worked well together and had a lot of fun planning/complaining/laughing along the way. But the craft center is no joke! It's a lot of work ahead of Bible School and it is non-stop chaos once the week begins. I was so glad I got to help and teach this year, but I was also really glad when it was over.

Here is our little Beetle (this year's theme was Cave Quest) showing off her first day's craft- a cave lantern. Collins had a great class this year, and she had fun. But we still had some of the anxiety issues we had last year this year which I was hoping would not be the case. I think it was hard for her to have me there, but not be with her throughout the day. She did have a lot of fun before and after Bible School drawing pictures in the craft room and running the halls with the other "craft kids" and Reeves (who we brought along with us every day). 

These bat ears were a cute last-minute add-on when we figured out our craft would not take long enough, but Collins said she didn't really care for them b/c they weren't "fancy enough". 

Three cute girls making cave slime. I'll try to forget how that experiment almost blew up in our faces!

Mimi came to town to help watch Addie while Collins and I went to Bible School every day. Addie very much enjoyed "Camp Mimi" where she had plenty of chances to do the "Hokey Pokey". Donna was also a huge help that week with "Camp Gigi'. :)

We planned some fun afternoon activities including Ridge Road pool...

And going to see "Finding Dory"...

 It was Addie's first real movie (besides an IMAX documentary), and she was A LOT wiggly but managed to make it through the whole thing. It was an adorable movie, and she was a big fan of Dory. 

Our big finale to the day was taking Mimi to Amedeo's for the first time...Addie put on quite a show!

Come Friday afternoon, we were all exhausted but happy with how the week turned out. But please, no more crafting for awhile! :)