Budding Artists

My friend, Ashley, and her little girl, Sterling, came over yesterday for an afternoon of painting. Emery and Sterling are only a few weeks apart and play really well together. Ashley brought Sterling's easel so each budding artist could have her own work space. I went to Michael's and purchased each girl a canvas, fancy brushes and smocks. They loved painting and created masterpieces. Emery's is now hanging in her room. I think it's gorgeous!
Emery, Sterling and Ashley hard at work

Emery quickly ditched her brushes in favor of her hands

I ironed these little applique birds onto each smock. I thought they were super cute.

Please notice that Sterling is pristine and Emery looks like Swamp Thing

The finished works of art and the artists. Poor Emery received her easel for her birthday back in June and had been eager to try the paints that came with it. I limited her to the chalk and dry erase board because I knew the paints would be super messy and I wanted to do it outdoors. Since the weather is finally cooling down, I figured we would go for it. What a fun afternoon!

Things to do on a Rainy Day

We've had a rainy week here in Greenville. We need the rain, so I'm not complaining, but it's hard coming up with fun ideas for Emery when we're cooped up all day. Thankfully, Casey bravely invited us over to her house to make and decorate cookies with her and Davis. Casey had gone to Hobby Lobby and loaded up on all sorts of fall themed decorating items: pumpkin, acorn and leaf stencils, orange, yellow and green sprinkles, etc. We just used a simple box mix for sugar cookies, but they tasted great. Emery and I had so much fun. Thanks, Casey! I hope your kitchen is okay. I will host a Christmas cookie decorating session.

Davis and Casey in their cute aprons

Melt my heart!

They did a pretty good job of mixing without sampling

Hard at work with their decorating

Enjoying the finished product with some "choc moo!"

Hollywild

Sunday afternoon Ben, Emery and I headed 40 minutes up the road to Hollywild, which is an animal sanctuary for retired/non-working Hollywood animals as well as any wild animals in need of a home. We had beautiful weather and really enjoyed seeing these animals up close and personal. My favorites were the big cats: lions, tigers, cougars and panthers. They remind me so much of Atticus, only larger. Emery loved the baby goats, which I have to admit were pretty cute. For more information about this non-profit park, go to www.hollywild.com.

Emery with her bag of food in search of hungry animals

A sweet pony named Spirit. Emery loved petting the pony but she did not want to go for a ride. I was surprised. I figured she'd be all about that, but she got pretty nervous when we put her in the saddle and said "off!"

The adorable goats were more than happy to eat as long as Emery was willing to feed them.

Boarding the safari bus

A super rare white buffalo. This big guy was in high demand, but turned out to be completely untrainable. Hence, he was turned over to Hollywild.

Rhett the cow was born with broken back legs and left for dead. Hollywild found out about him, got him in some casts and taught him how to walk. He is so cute!

Tank is the only working rhino in the country. But maybe not for long. If you want to know why Land Rovers are so expensive, it's because Tank destroyed SEVEN of them filming a 30 second commercial. Oops.

Emery thought it was so funny that this giant tortoise was eating lettuce.

Apple Picking at Sky Top Orchard

What a great introduction to fall! This morning Emery and I joined our friends Casey, Davis, Marge and Parker at Sky Top Orchard in North Carolina for a day of apple picking, playground fun, hayrides, pumpkins, picnics and animals. We had a wonderful visit and the chilly mountain air of the Hendersonville area really got us into the autumn spirit.

Emery sampling a Golden Delicious. Sky Top has 22 varieties of apples as well as peaches, pears, pumpkins and grapes.

Emery could only handle her bucket with a few apples. Beyond that it was "too hebbie" and Mommy carried it. But doesn't she look cute at the onset of our journey?

Sky Top has a great play area with playhouses, swings, slides, forts, bars, ladders, etc. Emery was in heaven.

Whee!

Emery asked some random girl who was with her first grade class on a field trip to push her on the swings.

Ready for her career at Stanco! Emery drives the forklift.

Davis, Parker and Emery on the hayride. They were fascinated by the tractor pulling us.

Emery using her new pumpkin as a soccer ball.

Sleepy girl leaving the orchard. Can't wait to bake some pies with all of our apples!

Thornblade Member-Member Golf Tournament

Ben and our good friend, Reggie, participated in our club's annual member-member golf tournament this past weekend. The festivities kicked off Thursday evening and lasted all day and night Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Although a huge time commitment, the tournament is a lot of fun, even for the wives. Our reward for being stuck at home with the kids all weekend is a great party every evening. Bonus: Ben and Reggie won their flight and made the playoffs, which means they each earned a little money. Woohoo! Oh, and a really nice silver platter.

Casey and I foolishly decided to follow Reggie and Ben on Sunday with Emery and Davis in tow. Bad idea, but we wanted the kids to see their daddies playing so well. Above: Ben listening as the official explains the rules of the playoff. Below: Casey attempting the keep the kids quiet as the guys tee off.

Although messy, this was a quiet activity, so we let them have at it. Emery and Davis killed time at each hole by filling our golf cart with leaves and sand.

Reggie and Ben with their awards at the final dinner.

Nice!

Their scores

Casey and I really deserve the platters for basically being single mothers for four days.

Glad you had fun, Ben, because I don't see another golf tournament in your future for a very long time!

Sesame Street Live! Elmo Makes Music

We had so much fun at the Barney show at the Bi-Lo Center back in May that I decided to take Emery to see her other favorite character, Elmo, make music with his friends. Naturally Harper and her mom joined us. We enjoyed a delicious dinner at Moe's beforehand and then made our way downtown for the 7 PM Friday show.
Harper and Emery in matching polka dots making their way into the Bi-Lo Center.

Cutie pies

Although Emery loves Elmo, she was just as excited to see Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Abby, Zoe, Grover, Bert and Ernie.

Emery always looks like she's up to something. It's a trait she's inherited from her daddy. Unfortunately, it's not just a look.....she actually usually is up to something.

My parents joined us. After seeing how much Emery enjoyed Barney, Mom and Dad decided they didn't want to miss seeing firsthand Emery's reaction to Elmo. Dad took the picture. From left to right: Mom, me (with baby boy in my belly), Emery, Harper and Diana.

The Sesame Street characters. We had great floor seats. The characters wandered around right through our row! Emery and Harper were beside themselves.

Rosita is a great dancer.

The girls were enthralled during the entire show.

Emery and Harper started a dance party during intermission. Check out Emery's moves.

It's a Boy!

September 6th was the big day! Ben, Emery and I learned that a baby boy will be joining our family in February. Emery handled the news quite well, considering she really wanted a sister. Ben is elated to have a son and I am thrilled that the baby looked perfectly healthy. We THINK we have a first name selected, but the jury is still out on a middle name. I'll post as soon as we're 100% certain what we'll call this little guy.

Emery wanted to see the "Baby Kelsey" in her belly and the technician was very sweet to indulge her.

The moment we saw the wee wee! Ben is ecstatic. Emery, not so much.

Baby!

Showing off his goods....

My little thinker. Getting ready for Notre Dame!