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Coming February 2015!

A Weekend in the Country

Over the weekend we had our Leadership Retreat for the Young Adults and Singles Ministries. We all go to a huge cabin in the middle of nowhere Virginia and hang out, plan and pray for the upcoming year. I have loved going every year and this year was no different.
Just for reference, here is Hailey our first year (sporting her ear protection during the skeet shooting)

and last year

 Where did my baby go?!
Well this year, I had a very busy, excited and curious little girl to keep up with. Hailey loved being outside and just taking it all in.
She got to feed an apple to the horses

and relax on the hammock.

But, hands down, her favorite spot to be the entire weekend was on this dock. We fed lots of fish,

bringing leftover waffles to feed them

checked out a few spider webs (which if you know me was a big sacrifice!)

relaxed in the sun

and just had to get a little energy out by galloping (or running, hopping, skipping, jumping...).

She (and we) are blessed to be surrounded and serve alongside so many people that love her and us and want to spend time with her. There were lots of friends and extra sets of eyes to watch her and play with her. She had several friends who didn't mind fishing (constantly) and letting her go through their "worms" and lures to play, and she even got to touch a fish!

This girl wasn't scared at all! See that gloved hand...that was Ryan. Ha! He didn't really want to touch it after catching it but Hailey couldn't wait. And just for the record, that person behind her also touching the fish...not Mommy. It was Sarah. (I didn't want anyone to think I wasn't a sissy around fish)

Now don't get me wrong. Ryan and the leaders did a lot of meeting, planning and praying...but there was also plenty of time for fun! I know I've said it multiple times already in this post but we are so blessed to serve with friends!

Adventures with Mimi (and Poppi)- Part 2

Friday morning we got to do something I knew Hailey would LOVE! We went to Lazy Five Ranch! It's sort of a zoo I guess, but with more exotic animals: zebras, giraffes, emus, llamas, pot belly pigs...You get to go on a wagon ride and feed them and then there's a petting zoo with all kinds of other animals too. It's so fun and Hailey has been asking to go to the zoo after watching Curious George Goes to the Zoo so I knew she would love it!
When we first got there she was just amazed at all of the different animals. We walked thru part of the petting zoo before our wagon ride and she got to feed the goats. She asked to feed them animal crackers like we did in Tennessee but we had been given feed for them. She loved seeing and feeding them. There were big goats, baby goats and sheep too!

When it was time for our wagon ride, Hailey was amazed at how big the horses were! She was so excited to feed animals. The emus were right by the gate waiting for food, one even pecked Ryan's shoulder when he moved the food bucket away!

We fed buffalos,

giraffes,

and just enjoyed the ride,

but this little girl's favorite part was, hands down, seeing the rhino. She was so excited to see it after seeing one on George and hasn't stopped talking about him since. She really listened to what our wagon guide said about him too because she can tell you he likes to roll in the mud, sleep and eat watermelon (really he said watermelon rines, but when you're two you only hear watermelon)

After we passed him she kept wanting to go back!
After our wagon ride we went thru the rest of the petting zoo and saw a tortoise, kangaroos, lemurs and a bunch of birds. By that point Hailey was exhausted so we headed back to Mimi's house for lunch and a nap and then to celebrate her birthday that evening.
It was a busy day, but oh so fun! Thank you Mimi and Poppi!

Adventures with Mimi- Part 1

Last weekend we went to Charlotte to celebrate my dad's birthday and Ryan's mom's birthday. We stayed with Ryan's parents because we hadn't seen them in a while and Hailey was in heaven because she got to see Beau (their dog) everyday for 3 days.
We got there late Wednesday night, so Thursday morning we decided to hit the mall. We had a request to ride the merry-go-round and go to Bass Pro so of course we did.
Hailey decided she was going to get ready like Mommy, putting on my make-up and everything.

We had to stop at the bank on the way and someone got a special treat! (Well, actually two but she only got to eat one.)

At the mall we saw the fish in Bass Pro, looked around the lobby of the aquarium, played in the Disney Store and bookstore, ate lunch and rode the merry-go-round...twice! I only got pictures of the merry-go-round

 Can you tell she was thrilled! After that busy of a morning she was super tired and took a great nap. We went to my parents' house in the afternoon to celebrate my dad's birthday with some swimming and steak...but I was too busy running after Hailey to get any pictures...oh well
More adventures to come!

Trip To Tennessee

Last weekend Hailey and I traveled to Tennessee for my grandmother's 80th birthday and a family reunion. Unfortunately, Ryan wasn't able to go with us this time but we still had a blast with family.
Hailey and I traveled to Charlotte Wednesday night and spent the night there so that we were ready to wake up early and ride with my mom to Tennessee. It is so much easier making a long drive with Hailey if there is someone else to drive so I can entertain. Hailey did awesome on all of the car rides this trip! The best she's ever done...I was so thankful!
Here is Queen Hailey enjoying her snack of grapes in the car.

As soon as we got to my grandmother's house we were given a bushel of green beans to string and break. We grew up doing this every summer so I don't really mind it, but it was interesting to do with a 2 year old wanting to explore. Luckily, my cousin Chole was there and really helped with Hailey a lot. Hailey even got to help a little!

We broke beans pretty much all afternoon and night and then guess what we did the next morning?...break more beans! Hailey even helped fill the jars to can them!

We are going to enjoy those beans all winter long!
It was unusually chilly and rainy the whole time we were there. I threw in  jacket and pair of leggings for Hailey at the last minute and was so glad I did. She ended up wearing them a few times! Like when she woke up and was begging to go to the "farm" and see the horses. (Now, if you couldn't tell from the previous pictures my grandmother and extended family live in the country...like don't need to lock your doors, more cows than people, everyone has a garden country. And we love to visit...I knew Hailey would be so excited to see the animals so I was a bit disappointed that the weather wasn't exactly cooperating. But we made the best of it.)
So when there was a break in the rain we went to my aunt and uncle's house to see the horses and whatever other animals we could find. Hailey was hilarious wherever we went because she would get SO excited when she saw a cow...which was all.the.time. She would scream "LOOK COW! MOOOO!". When we got to their house Chloe took out one of the horses for us to pet. His name was Bad News.

Hailey LOVED him. She kept trying to feed him grass. She was even more excited when BJ came out and let her sit on him. I'm pretty sure this was the highlight of her trip. She keeps saying, "I ride Bad News Mommy. Go back ride again."

 Then we went in the house and saw the kitties and puppies and fed them too. The real treat was when Gretta offered to let us feed the goats! Hailey was SO excited and kept making her goat noise. Gretta even let Hailey "drive" the car up the driveway to get to the goat pen.

All was perfect until a goat nipped at Hailey's finger. Then she was done. But it lasted for a good long while. It was a precious sight too...little girls feeding goats and dogs animal crackers, sometimes sneaking one for themselves ;)

(Again, please ignore the outfit...it was a lot chillier than I anticipated...)

That afternoon after naps, I had two little helpers while I made chicken and dumplins for dinner. They were delicious!

My dad, sister and her family arrived the next morning so Hailey was excited to have more play mates.Then we went to the reunion and I didn't get a chance to take one picture.  I was too busy chasing a little girl who was excited to be outside and see wide open spaces. ;)
After it was over we took the kids to feed the fish in my cousins pond, in his front yard...I told you we were in the country. Hailey loved seeing the giant fish and telling them to "come eat fishy ". All was great...until it started raining...like pouring. So we had to high-tail-it back to Granny's house. It wasn't that far, we were just a little wet when we arrived. Someone tried to catch the raindrops on her tongue as we were running. Crazy girl.

The next morning, Sunday, we packed up while Trey occupied the kids

and headed back to Charlotte. We rode back with my dad (because my mom was staying a few extra days). Hailey was super excited when Das let us stop at Bass Pro for a stretch break. She loved playing on the boats, seeing the fish and the other fun toys.

We got back to Charlotte Sunday afternoon and I wasn't planning on coming back to Raleigh until Monday. I just didn't want Hailey to be in the car that much. But as soon as we got to Charlotte Hailey started asking to "Go home and see Daddy". So that night, around bedtime, we drove back to Raleigh. Of course Hailey stayed awake the whole way and was so thrilled to see Ryan when we arrived. It was so cute. He took her out of her car seat and she just layed her head on his shoulder and hugged him for a solid 5 minutes. She missed him. Love!

I was so excited that we got to visit family in Tennessee this summer and that Hailey got to experience country life for a few days. Looking forward to the next trip!