Mountain Getaway

I love Fall and everything that comes along with it. Changing leaves? More like eye candy. Pumpkin spice everything? Never met a pumpkin-spiced food I haven't loved. Cooler temperatures and shorter days? Sounds like an excuse to binge watch Gilmore Girls on Netflix. Seriously, I absolutely adore Fall. A few weekends ago we were fortunate enough to head to the mountains and take in some of the gorgeous views of North Carolina with some fantastic friends.

We kept it low-key on Friday evening but ramped up the fun Saturday and Sunday with hiking, the outlet mall, and multiple trips to the grocery store (there were 12 people total-we couldn't help but forget a few things here and there!). The kiddos had a great time running around our incredible hideaway "cabin" (it slept all of us comfortably which blows my idea of a cabin right out of the water!) and through the woods on our hikes. There were lots of laughs and good food to be had and I'm pretty sure we all left with our hearts a little fuller as well. All in all it was a fabulous weekend and we can't wait to do it again soon!!

You mean your husband doesn't do push-ups while baby wearing??

Baby girl taking in the views.

So many beautiful leaves!

She was NOT a fan of the horses!

Got To Be NC!

Every year for as long as I can remember I have gone to the Carolina Renaissance Festival in the Fall. When David and I got married he joined in and it became one of our favorite traditions (recaps can be found here and here) and last year we added Amelia Grace to the adventure! Following our big move this summer we knew we would have to replace this year's Renaissance Festival visit with something a little different-the North Carolina State Fair! Many moons ago (okay, like 8 years ago) David and I started going together when we were in college. Little did we know that we would be returning with our sweet girl down the road! 

My two sisters heard we were going and decided to join us for the adventure. Mandy and her husband, Tyler, provided the trip with the awesome camera that took the following pictures. Abby and her boyfriend, Mark, brought his kids who provided lots of entertainment. It's definitely more fun to go with kids who appreciate the fair with a child-like wonder that is often lost on adults. 

Rides were ridden, food was eaten, and lots of fun was had! Here are a few pictures from the day. . .

We all paid for our adventures dearly as we are all fighting a nasty cold but it was worth it. Hopefully the next time we go we will all stay healthy!

Fourth of July Fun

Our family has always loved cookouts. I mean who wouldn't love an excuse to drink, eat grilled yumminess, and play fun yard games?! We congregated at my parent's house for this shindig and managed to capture a few (okay, okay, A LOT) of pictures of our fun!

Our first family photo in a while since Daisy has been hanging out with my parents. 

4/5 of the Wardlets with their compadres and Amelia Grace! Oh, and Trout too;-) 

Gigi and Pop Pop with the littlest princess. 

Gigi's impressive creation! 

Pop Pop's impressive creation!

We had a great time hanging out and catching up while also celebrating this great nation. An incredibly large thanks to all the servicemen and women who made this relaxing weekend possible!

Florida Fun

We are blessed to have so many family members who love our little girl SO much and this past weekend we were able to take her to Florida and spend time with them! We got to introduce her to David's wonderful Grandpa and GrandBobbie, uncle, aunt, and cousins while also taking her to visit his sweet grandma at the rehab facility she has been in since suddenly completely losing her sight a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, David has most of the good pictures on his phone so I'll just share the few that I have of our girl loving the time she had on the beach!

What better way to kick off a road trip than with Chick-fil-A? It was an all outdoor Chick-fil-A too! 

 Sitting in the same high chair that Grandpa grew up using!

 A beautiful morning on Jax Beach.

Enjoying the tide pools.  

What's that thing flying over there? 

Pondering the world of babyhood.  

 David and his mini-me. 

Hey, ma, how come we're this close and not at the beach?!? 

She loves her daddy!

 When some random guy at the beach offers to take a family photo, you let him!

Enjoying her very first balloon. I'm pretty sure she would have been over the moon if it had been a red balloon ;-)

Beachin' It

One of the wonderful (because there are SO many!) perks about living in Raleigh is the close proximity to the beach. We are close enough now that a day trip isn't out of the question, and for this beach-loving Carolina girl that is a major win. Another perk about living in Raleigh is that with David's new job he works four days a week and has Fridays off. Another win! What do you do when you have this many wins? You schedule a beach trip and introduce your baby girl to the sand and salt water!

We originally planned on heading to Wrightsville Beach early Friday morning and coming back that same day, but with her still taking two naps a day we decided to stay overnight. Our trip was made even better when we discovered David had racked up enough points that we earned a free night AND they upgraded us to a suite with a separate room! We were so thankful for everything aligning so perfectly and allowing us a precious mini-vacation with our little family:-)

We hit the road on 1-40 East early Friday morning and after a quick pit stop for beer and Jersey Mike's (beach necessities) we headed for the coast. I have about 3 million pictures of the same thing because I was so excited to see Amelia Grace's reaction, so I'll spare y'all the craziness and just showcase a few of the cutest (because they were all pretty stinkin' cute)

What is this stuff? 

 This is fun!

Hey, mom, can we bring some home with us? 

Dad, let me help you with those. 

I think I like this place, Dad

After a few hours our little princess started reaching her limit so we headed back to the hotel for naps. She was a champ and took a great nap which allowed us to rest as well. Then we headed out for supper where we gorged ourselves on seafood. Amelia Grace took her first few bites of shrimp and decided she liked it so much she needed more. She ended up ending FIVE pieces of shrimp herself. And this was after she ate her full regular meal. We then picked up frozen custard (because what's a beach trip without a little frozen treat??) before heading back to the hotel and putting her to bed.

Mmm this is yummy 

 Sometimes eating is exhausting. . .

The next morning we hit the beach again for a nice stroll before hitting I-40 again. It was a fantastic trip and we can't wait to bring our baby girl back again!

Lovin' on my daddy

Memorial Day Memories

Memorial Day weekend has always been one of my favorite times of the year. My  love may have started young when we would spend three solid days at the pool followed by evening cookouts. Or maybe it was as I got older and I began to head south to Charleston for the weekend with my bestie, Kelley, and her parents. Maybe my true love of it came when I became a teacher and it meant one last day off before the true craziness of the end of the year began?! Or, perhaps it was when I truly recognized the sacrifices that were made for me to enjoy those days in the sun and the start of a long, hot summer of rest and rejuvenation. Who knows where my love began, but that's where my heart is now.

This weekend was like most of the past filled with time spent at the pool and gorging ourselves on lots of yummy food and a few too many "pool beers". What is is about drinks at the pool that just seem to go down quicker?! ;-) It was a little different this year as we adjusted our days to a little princess we know, but it was different in the best way possible.

We kicked off the weekend with a quick visit to the pool just the three of us. . .

 

Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle John came up on Saturday! 

Pop Pop, Gigi, Auntie Abby, and Mark joined us on Sunday!

 

 

I think it's safe to say our little Yankee Doodle had a fabulous first Memorial Day weekend!

Baby's First Swim

When we started house hunting four years ago I knew I wanted to live in a neighborhood with a pool. I grew up at the pool. From early morning swim practices to lazy afternoons floating around-the pool was the place to be. One of the things we will miss most about leaving is the stellar pool and the friendships that have grown there. We knew we had to introduce baby girl to it all before we set off!

All smiles with Daddy

Ooooo it's so cold

Wheeeeee!

Who is that flat-haired baby? We don't know her ;-)

It was a great first introduction and she only tried to drink the pool water a handful of times. We were able to go back the next day and she seemed to love it just as much. Hooray for having a water baby!

Mother's Day Love

This was not my first Mother's Day, but this Mother's Day was the first one I had a little love to hold in my arms, and boy did she make it special! 

This past weekend Amelia Grace decided after weeks of propping herself up and rocking back and forth that she would finally crawl a few "steps"! It was so exciting to see her do it after trying to piece together the process for so long. She still seems to prefer to roll about, but she's getting used to doing it more and more!

She (i.e. David) also surprised me with the sweetest journal with her little hand and foot print. So, now, instead of years of cards piling up I will have one place for all of them AND I get to see her grow and change throughout the years. LOVE IT! She also decided to gift me with the fancy hair cut and color I so desperately need. That baby girl knows the way to her mama's heart ;-)

We started the day at church and ended it relaxing on Lake Wylie with a stellar nap and some shopping in between. All-in-all it was a fabulous day!

Weekend Visits

This past weekend we ventured up the road to Raleigh to visit with some friends and introduce Amelia Grace to one of our favorite cities. 

This being our first time taking her with us longer than an hour away we planned to follow thru with the regular bedtime routine and then pop her in the car so she could sleep on the way there. Well, she was so excited NOT to be getting in her crib she did her little "dance party" routine (picture arms and legs going crazy as fast as she can make them go) for the first 15 minutes we were in the car. She eventually settled down and dozed on and off. She was a trooper and settled in pretty well once we got there-whoooooo!

Friday morning we wandered around town in betweens naps and showed her some of our favorite places. That evening we regrouped with our friends for a fabulous supper at a local Mexican restaurant. 

Saturday included more wandering and the opportunity for our fabulous hosts, Steve and Caroline, to babysit a bit. Hopefully she didn't scare them off of wanting their own kiddos;-)

That afternoon we hit up the Blues and Cue Festival in downtown Raleigh where we enjoyed delicious local brews, fantastic BBQ, and awesome Blues. Aside from the cuckoo amount of people when we first got there, it was a lot of fun. And Amelia Grace is definitely a Carolina girl who loved her first taste of Blues music and BBQ. 

Sunday morning found us back at our old church, Vintage. They have since moved locations, but other than that it was like we had never left! 

While we didn't get to visit as many people as we would have liked there will be plenty of time for that later. Until then we will remember this stellar weekend and look forward to the next!

The fam minus Daisy. 

Kisses from Auntie Caroline. 

David was rocking it. 

 You have a baby. In a bar.

AG loves Bark Boxes just as much as the dogs do!