New Class!

Nolan started his new class today, and it kinda made me sad! Not only because he is getting older/moving up, but because I LOVED his teachers in his last class and really felt like they put so much into the class.  He is ready, though, so that is a good thing!

He just moved one class down the hall, but all classes are still connected by glass doors and I am sure he will transition smoothly.  There are over 10 of his buddies going with him, so basically the only new thing will be the teachers!

He was super excited too!

Hope I can get a picture like this every year...

 

At the door to his new class.  He is now an "Owl," which is Granny's favorite animal!  Here is best wishes my sweet boy for another year of fun, growing, learning, and most importantly, being healthy and just being YOU!

Memorial Day (Part Two)

The second half of our weekend was just as busy as the first, but still lots of fun!  Paige's boyfriend manages a marina on Lake Norman, so we trekked down that direction for some boat time on the lake.  I was a bit nervous being out on such a busy lake on such a busy weekend, but Papa D took good care of us and drove us around safely :)

Nolan was mesmerized by the lift that takes the boats out of the water and stores them in the marina, and thankfully Troy let him ride with him one time.  He just thought he was too cool!

 

Pretty cool (and scary) to watch!

 

 

We had a smaller boat than expected, but we crammed all of our junk into it and drove to a small cove to get out and swim.  The water was FREEZING, but Nolan could not care less.  We basically had to drag him out when we were done.  We dropped anchor (finally after figuring out how to do it -ha) and ate some lunch and just hung out.  Our little area was great since it was out of the crazy inner channel with all the other maniacs.  We hung out for an hour or so and made our way back to the marina.

We took a quick detour to see Titi Paige's new apartment (and change our wet clothes) before heading back to Hickory.  We drove through some pretty crazy storms on the way back, but Nolan was a trooper and we made it home and just grilled out for dinner.  We all crashed early that night - we were pooped!

...and Monday it was back on the road and back to reality.  I am so glad we had such an adventurous weekend, although now I need a break from my break :)

Coloring with Papa and Nani before heading home...

Memorial Day 2017 (Part One)

Oh boy...I barely have enough time OR energy to detail all that we crammed in over Memorial Day this year!  I may have to paraphrase some :)

We took off Friday before to drive to Nani and Papa's.  We spent the rest of the evening hanging out (and I may or may not have taken a trip solo to Hobby Lobby...)  We knew we had a very busy weekend ahead so I think we all were trying to conserve our energy!

Saturday morning we took a trip to the park.  Nani and Papa (and Skye) played with Nolan while we did a quick circuit workout around the park.  It was hot already!  The rest of our day was reserved for a trip to Lazy 5 Ranch...which was AWESOME!  We hoped Nolan would nap on the ride down, but he just took a quick cat nap and was ready to go!

No fear and almost gave Nani a heart attack...until she climbed up there herself :)

"Driving" into the Ranch...

 

This place was THE coolest place I have ever been regarding animals.  It's just hundreds of acres where the animals roam free and you can either drive your car through and feed them out of buckets, or take a horse trailer ride (which is what we did).  The animals just follow you and eat right out of your bucket - and they obviously are very happy because there were babies everywhere!  There were baby pigs, baby antelope, baby water buffalo, baby emu's, baby goats, babies all over the place!  I was in heaven, and Nolan loved it once he got past the biggest cow on earth...

 

 

That's just its NOSE...

My adorable little park ranger...



The horse ride was so worth the money...I was in love with the horses, and we sat right up front near the guide so we got to learn all about the animals. I have never been that close to an ostrich, giraffe, OR Watoosie in my life (yeah, their horns are INSANE).

Nolan missed the memo about NOT feeding the birds directly out of your hand, and pretty much ended up with his entire hand inside this ostrich's mouth, but he recovered quickly!

The Watoosie...we couldn't feed them because DUH.  Their horns would have stabbed everyone in the trailer!

 

After the carriage ride was over we spent the rest of our time touring the petting zoo and playing on the playground.  We also packed a picnic lunch and ate it in the back of our cars...it was so nice to be able to bring your own food (although we did have to buy a funnel cake)!

 

 

Our little guy was such a trooper and took a quick snooze on the car ride back home (it was over an hour each way) and just did so good.  He always amazes us at how happy and easy going of a little guy he is.  Just makes me so excited to fill life with him!



Big Boy Room!

Well, it's official.  All of my baby stuff is gone, and Nolan is in his "big boy" room and I just have to say that I had to get rid of it all in one weekend and I am just a little bit  traumatized by it all!  Not really, but I could be - all my baby Nolan stuff is no more!

It was way past due for us to get him out of his crib, so we used this past weekend to completely flip his room - it was a very overzealous task, but I was determined!  I started painting the trim (plus the lighter accent wall) on Friday night while the boys watched movies.  We wanted everything for him to be a surprise, so he got to sleep with us that nigh, which I am pretty sure was the highlight of his weekend!

The next morning I got back to work, and my mom came and picked Nolan up to keep him for the night so both of us could work on the room.  We ended up getting everything done by about 6:00, and were super exhausted!  I had just finished the accent wall when Anthony got the bed together, so we called it a night and went out to dinner - a win win for all of us!

We were back at it Sunday morning and just managed to get all the little things done before we had to grab Nolan from mom's house.  We wanted to get him early enough before nap time to let his excitement wear down :)  Needless to say, he was THRILLED and SO surprised!  It was so worth the hard work and this is why I love surprises :)

I wish I could get a video to upload, but this is mid-"jump"!  He was just in shock when he opened his door...luckily, Anthony has a video on his phone :)

 

His bed is SO tall...

 

Dinosaur sheets (and bedside lamp)...

 

SO excited and determined to crawl up there himself :)

 

Not long after he got up there, he had to bring all of his animals in to check it out...

 

The accent wall...it was pretty darn easy to do, thank goodness!

Out and About

I have so many random pictures of Nolan that don't really fall into one particular category, but I don't want to forget his cuteness and/or crazy antics.

 

Pinball game with Daddy...when the machine works!

Food truck night with the Paratore's...his adorable date for the evening :)

He's becoming my turtle-saving partner...this one found a new home on the golf course...

Pretty sure he was glad to be out of the bag from my car and into the water!

 

Pre-dinner smooches...

Story time with Ollie...before cleaning up his mess :)

 

Mother's Day 2017

Happy Mother’s Day!

This Mother’s Day weekend was pretty low key, by some standards.  That was just perfect for me since I came down with a cold on Wednesday, and was feeling (and sounding) pretty bad for the rest of the week!  I made it through work and made it to Friday, which is exactly what I had planned.

Nolan’s school invited all us “mom’s” to a Mother’s Day Tea, and there was NO way I was going to miss it!  I left work early and made it there in time for the 3:00 party.  It was so cute, and I was just so touched by all the work his teachers (and the kids) did for us!  Ms. Ashley read “Love you Forever,” which of course made all of us cry, but it was so sweet!  Afterwards they handed us our gifts, which were fill-in-the-blank type cards that the kids answered questions for.  It was so adorable, and apparently, I am 5 years old J  We spent the rest of the time eating some treats, and then Nolan and I headed to the grocery store before going home and collapsing.

 

 

 

Saturday started pretty early, because I couldn’t sleep and we had a big task planned.  My goal was to take Nolan mattress shopping, without him figuring out that it was HIS mattress we were getting.  He picked the one he wanted by a “jump test,” and we were on our way!  We really didn’t do much for the rest of the day except watch movies and hang out, since the weather was yucky and Nolan and I both had colds.

But the skies cleared for Sunday, and perfect timing!  We were up bright and early to make it to the 9:00 church service, but not before my favorite breakfast at Bojangle’s (Anthony’s lucky – no need to make breakfast in bed!)  Nolan hopped into his Sunday school class while we attended a very eventful service.  I thought I was going to have to do CPR on an elderly lady that collapsed, but thank goodness the gentleman that got to her first was an EMT, so I didn’t have to do anything.  I pretty much couldn’t concentrate the rest of the service, but at least it turns out she was okay and was monitored by the ambulance when they arrived.

 

My boys...my best reason to be the BEST mom I can be every day...

 

Thank goodness he never get tired of giving me kisses :)

 

The rest of our Sunday was spent getting food ready for our Mother’s Day dinner with Ollie and G.  I was SOOO happy with my gift from Anthony and Nolan – a new grill!  I have said that was what I wanted for Mother’s Day since about January, and I am thrilled!  We cooked a delicious meal and spent the rest of the evening outside on the porch.  I am so blessed for this family and to be able to cook for them was just icing on the cake.

 

I am sure they were happy I told them to look directly into the sun for a pic :)

Now I know the blessing of a big yard - he can ride around with a basket on his head and still [for the most part] not run over anything!

He even gave G a ride!

 

Girls' Trip to New Bern (Days 3 and 4)

Everyone was a bit slow moving Saturday morning, so everyone took their time getting ready.  I was hoping to take a long walk, but the country road we were on made me think I was going to get hit by a car, so I just did a little workout in the drive way.  Not to mention there was a HUGE copperhead dead in the road the next house down, so no thank you!

Our plan Saturday was to head back into New Bern with the rest of the girls.  We had pretty much covered all of the places on Friday, so I was just along for the ride.  We had a super long lunch at a good place - I am talking 2.5 hours long, so I was really just ready for a nap after that!

It really reminded me of Savannah...

 

Apparently, black bears are the "mascot" for New Bern, so there were statues everywhere.



We shopped some more and then headed to the grocery store on the way back to the farm for dinner for the night.  We ended up with a hodgepodge of apps and finger foods, which was just fine with me.  I consumed more cheese on that night than I have in the past month, I think - ha!  The evening was spent hanging out on the carport, playing a cups game, and looking up old people from high school.  I felt like I needed my year book with me to remember who the heck all those people were!

We stayed up late and told lots of stories and had a great time.  I didn't get the wake up memo and slept until almost 9:00 the next morning, which is UNHEARD of for me!  I honestly can't remember the last time I slept in that late, but I also can't remember the last time I stayed up until 2:00 a.m., so there's that :)

Everyone was up and at 'em by the time I got up, so I was excited that we would get home early.  Anthony and Nolan had been at Nani Papa's for the weekend, and I was so excited to see my boys!  Getting home before them also meant I had time for the grocery store (and a small nap) before they got home - win win!

Girls' Trip to New Bern (Days 1 and 2)

I took the plunge and finally went on a Girls' Weekend this year!  It was my first time going, and my FIRST time being away from Nolan for more than 2 nights, which is ridiculous, I know, but I just can't quit the little guy (and the big guy too)!

Anyway - we left Thursday night and headed to Topsail Island just for the night.  It was a quick car ride and totally unnatural to not be on a schedule!  Woohoo!  We ate dinner at a cute place right on the water.  Our hotel was walking distance from the beach, and it was really nice even though we didn't go down that night.  I forgot how much I like the beach - I guess when you never go, you miss it :)

We traipsed down the pier in our dinner clothes, and looked totally out of place, but it was fun anyway!  The weather was great, and we spent a little time talking (or I did), to the people fishing before heading to the Trailer Bar.  Yes, a double-wide trailer turned into a bar :)  I suppose only in North Carolina!

Since the three of us were still on our normal "work day" clocks, we were up really early.  I headed down to the beach for a nice walk before it got too hot.  It was just beautiful, and I was the only one out there for the majority of the time.  I wanted to walk to the pier, but it was a LOT further than I thought, and I was losing beach because the tide was quickly coming in!  I called it quits after about an hour, but could have stayed out there all day!

TONS of jellyfish everywhere...glad I wasn't swimming!

Once we were showered we headed into New Bern to kill some time before the rest of the group arrived.  New Bern is so cute - I had never been there before but was glad we went!  It's full of little shops, restaurants and bars.  There are also a lot of bed and breakfasts' - may have to go back there one day with Anthony!

We walked around for a few hours and had lunch until the rest of the girls were at the "Farm" in Kinston where we were staying.  My friend Robin has a family house there, and it had plenty of room for all us girls (8 or 9 of us by Saturday night!)  The highlight of our Friday night was reservations to a pretty popular place "Chef and the Farmer."  I didn't really have high expectations, but the place has it's own tv show, so I was intrigued!  We had a great time, but the food was just okay - I guess living in Atlanta has slightly skewed my foodie interpretations of "awesome." :)  It takes a lot to impress me these days!

My favorite part of the night was our ride home - all of us in Robin's car, blasting old school rap from our high school days.  Talk about hilarious (and ridiculous) all rolled up into one!