Fall Fun!

Fall is one of my favorite times of year, especially here in the South when the days become cooler and we get to head out on alll kinds of fun, family outings. This year we decided to visit a different apple farm from the one we went to last year, Nivens Apple Farm. We had a great afternoon of gold mining, talking to the farm animals, hunting for pumpkins, hay rides and of course mommy' favorite apples, Pink Lady! We had so many good photos I had a tough time deciding what to "cut."

Mommy & Parker acting goofy

Our family of three (+ 1/4)

The only way we could get him to smile was to get him to stick out his tongue- he is all boy!

He was so determined to catch these geese. He didn't seem to notice that the faster he ran, and the louder he called after them the faster they ran away from him!

Our handsome boy- why do they grow so fast?!

I think this one looks just right...

Getting tall!

He wanted to push the huge cart all by himself!

Love his expression

Check out the major air!

Here I come

Very serious when it comes to his John Deere!

Gold Mining at Nivens

Safety Day

Our local Lowes is a treasure trove of fun, free activities for kids. I am so amazed at what amazing community stewards they are! On this day we headed out for their Annual Safety Day. Parker got to ride in fire trucks, ambulances and even build his very own wooden firetruck with siren. We all had a blast and love that Parker is now old enough to enjoy some of these fun activities. Can't wait for next year!

Look Mommy & Daddy

Getting into trouble...his face is priceless, like "WHAT?"

His very own fire hat!

Charleston

In October we took a long-weekend trip to Charleston to celebrate our 6th anniversary. Nana and Papa kept Parker so we could enjoy some much needed alone time. We figured with another on the way this might one of your last times for a trip in a while! We had such a nice time being on our schedule for a change and took full advantage of the freedom. There isn't one square inch of the beautiful city of Charleston that we didn't explore. We spent time visiting the battery, wandering down quaint cobblestone streets and of course managed to eat some of the best food imaginable. One of the days we visited funky Folly Beach, which transported us instantly back to our care-free days living on the peninsula in Newport Beach. We did some shopping in the surf shops, ate at world-famous Taco Boy, went for a long walk on the beach (see our future beach house below) and enjoyed some cocktails (mocktails for me) as we just relaxed and got lost in the beauty of the ocean. It was such a great weekend and we can't wait to do it again soon.

These homes are amazing. This particular home must have had over 1000 different gourds and pumpkins in their gorgeous fall display!

Patrick showing off the cannon balls on the Battery

Starting to show

Patrick with the Cooper River Bridge in the background

This is quintessential Charleston- I would love to live her someday

Patrick really wanted to find out what this "club" was all about!

It was just a little windy- otherwise beautiful, sunny weather

Our view from the Marriott- thank you Will and Michael

Exploring the battery

Happy Cows!

I'm so happy Parker has such a sweet spot- after all our great friends the Bordessa's have an organic dairy in Northern CA and one of Parker's first trips was to their dairy so it comes as no surprise. Now that Parker is getting a little older we are having fun getting out and exploring some of the fun things to do around here. Back in the fall, a local dairy (where we get Parker's milk) hosted an anniversary party/customer appreciation weekend. It was so much fun to see the cows up close, go on a tractor tour of their property and learn all about the farm and how different their operation is compared to commercial dairies! The Dairy is called Happy Cow and they explained that the reason they have named it this is because they plan their grazing fields so there is always something fresh and green in season for the cows to munch. Apparently this is a relatively new "method" of farming and helps create happier cows and happier cows give more milk- who knew??

Parker had a blast and we took home yummy milk, homemade ice cream, butter and some other local items from their store. I can't wait to take the Bordessa's for a visit next time they are out our way- I know they would love a visit to the Happy Cow Dairy!

Can't I get any closer mommy?

Hello there Happy Cow!

So behind...so many updates!

I have been VERY remiss in updating our blog...however, I have a good excuse. We are pregnant with Baby #2!! We are now in week 18 and I am finally feeling better and slowly have some energy returning as a result. Baby #2 is due St. Patrick's Day and we are so excited to find out the sex in two weeks!

Parker is super cute about the "baby" growing inside Mommy's belly. He has nicknamed the baby Dozer...demonstrating his recent obsession with Bulldozers and tractors. Its hard to tell how much he really gets what a baby means but he often lifts up my shirt to kiss my ever-growing belly. He even talks to the baby every once in a while- too cute.

I promise to try to be better about updating the blog so check back often...I have 4 months worth of events and pictures to get caught up on.

Hot Air Balloons!

Every year over Memorial Weekend Simpsonville hosts Freedom Weekend Aloft- a hot air balloon festival with games, activities, concerts and of course lots and lots of balloons! We've never had the chance to actually attend the festival but each year we have been treated to incredible sites as the balloons fly over head- this year the excitement jumped up a notch when we discovered that the balloons were going to land in front of our house. At first Parker wasn't quite sure what to think but then really thought they were cool! What a cool experience and one we will always remember!

Columbia Zoo- June 2011

Parker has uncovered a new found love of zoo animals so we have taken quite a few trips to the Greenville Zoo as of late. The Greenville zoo is nice...but coming from a girl who grew up less than an hour from the World-famous San Diego Zoo and then lived in Omaha which has another amazing zoo the Greenville Zoo is sort of lacking. Let's put it this way- Don't blink or you might miss it. Never the less, we have become members so that we can take Parker whenever he wants and the best time is we can get in a shopping trip to Costco, go to zoo and make it back in time for nap on Saturdays!

One perk of becoming a member is free admission to other zoos around the country so on our way back from Hilton Head we decided to make a stop at the Columbia, SC zoo which was amazing. Parker had a blast and it was a nice change of pace for Patrick and I who finally had something different to look at for a change!

Look at these monkeys!

Checking it all out

It was a HOT day...most days are in Columbia!

Slow and steady wins the race

Wow- there are lots of elephants!

Hilton Head Island- June 2011

In June we took a part business/part pleasure mini-vacation to beautiful Hilton Head Island. I had a conference to attend for work and figured it would be a great excuse to take Parker on his first official trip to the beach. It was tough getting into a suit each day while Daddy and Parker "suited" up in a different type of suit to hit the waves. We did manage to find some time to enjoy relaxing as a family and Parker LOVED chasing the waves and birds. I see many family vacations here in our future and hope we can have good friends from the other "coast" join us one year for some fun in the sun!

My Little "Ham"- One of my favorite shots ever!

We tried and tried and this was the best family shot we could get.

I just love this shot- the innocence and wonder and he visits with his new "friend."

The beautiful light house on Hilton Head Island

Checking out the water and all of the boats

This is fun Mama!

Beach fun!

I could get used to this view- whydid we ever leave the beach again?

Hanging on the balcony

The boys enjoying the sunset

So much fun!

We didn't even have time to change him into his bathing suit- he just ran right in and there was no getting him out- oh to be young again!

I love my little man!