Thursday, May 31, 2012

Memorial Day Weekend Part 1

We had a great Memorial Day Weekend with Matt having off school on Saturday and off work on Monday! We got to hang out with him the whole weekend! Libby got so used to it, she's been asking me everyday now, where is Daddy? And saying, "I wish he didn't have to go to work." Me too.

So Day 1 of the weekend (Friday) was basically yard-work day. He trimmed the hedges and trees and I followed along cleaning up. We both got a run in and by the end of the day, we were EXHAUSTED! It was above 90 degrees outside and that really zapped our energy. We ended up with about 6 black bags full of branches!

Saturday was a little more fun, but still ended up being a bit exhausting. We went hiking in Cades Cove! We hiked Abrams Falls and didn't know exactly what we were getting ourselves into with 2 kiddos. It is 5 miles round trip. I thought Libby would make it further than she did. :) She did make it off and on almost 2 miles on the way there. Then coming back we decided to pick up the pace, so she got to ride in our arms. We made it back in about half the time it took to get there. :) It actually wasn't too bad carrying her. She doesn't weigh more than 30 pounds and distributes her weight well. It was another hot day (in the 90's) and it was great to get outside and be in nature. A great way to get a workout! The falls were beautiful and I'm so glad we got to do it!

We also drove the loop in Cades Cove and were surprised it wasn't as busy as we thought it would be.

We got to see a bear, 2 deer and some wild turkey!
Would have gotten a better picture of the bear if some park ranger intern wasn't on an authority trip and commanding everyone to "stay behind the fence" even though the bear (which he didn't even see) was over 100 yards from the fence line. Oh well, I got to see the lump of him from the fence and this is the best pic we got after zooming in like a hundred times. :)



I did actually bring my camera on the hike and got some great shots! Here we are starting off. Ty got the best ride.

Libby, being adventurous said, "watch me climb on this rock, guys." 
 I can never get that hair to stay out of her face.

Hiking with Daddy.

Ty did great the whole time. He loved watching everything around him.


I had to stop and get a few nature shots. Here are a couple of dragonfly's that caught my eye along Abrams Creek.


Most of the hike was under a canopy and along the river, so it actually stayed pretty comfortable.


More smiling baby shots. Love my little man!





 Crazy man. I think the funniest part of the hike was when Matt hid behind a log and starting making growling noises as Libby was walking along. It really scared her and we were cracking up. :) It's good for her to learn to laugh at herself.

 Ty conked out about 10 minutes to the falls. He was so tired!

The water felt great and it was nice to refresh ouselves before heading back.

I would have dipped the kids in, but we had to start heading back, so a splash on the face was all we got. It felt wonderful, though!

Abrams Falls

More on the rest of the weekend to come.

Crab Cakes and Stuffed Mushrooms

I decided to get creative with my cooking the other day and am so glad I did! I combined Emeril's and Barefoot Contessa's crab cake recipes and these turned out great! With Emeril's sausage stuffed mushrooms on the side. Both were so delicious! I definitely will keep those recipes, if I can remember how I made the crab cakes.



Ty was a BIG fan!


I think this was the last picure I got of him pre-buzzcut.


I cut his hair, Wooops too short! Thankfully it gorws so fast, he'll be back to his man-do in no time. I was very sad to see all of it come off the top, though! Not that it was his first haircut. It was about his 20th. :)


I'm trying to get a picture or video of him standing and walking now, but he's always moving towards me too fast. I distracted him with his drink for this one. He's getting to be such a big boy! :(

Monday, May 21, 2012

Ballet Recital and Sheeba

Libby's First Ballet Recital

Libby was in ballet at the CCK co-op this year. She just made the age limit for Pre-ballet. She learned so much and had such a good time. It was a great expreience for her to learn to sit still in a group and listen to the teacher. Not to mention all the fun skills she learned in it and the chance to dance in a recital in front of a bunch of people! I was wondering if she'd get nervous, but she didn't and she performed great! I am so thankful she had this opportunity. Christen McCiuston was her teacher this semester and did such a great job with them! She was so patient and kind with such a young age group and did such fun things with them that Libby does at home now (like dance around the house like a butterfly!)
Since she was going to be on stage, I let her wear a little make-up. She loved it! I even put a little mascara on her. No eyelash curler needed for these long lashes! She was excited to wear some of "Mommy's makeup" and the result was a little scary. She looked like a little teenager and was absolutely gorgeous! So maybe I do have a little "Dance Moms" or "Toddlers in Tiarras" in me after all. Hmph, would never have thought it. :)
Here we are at home getting ready for the recital:
 Mascara and lip gloss and all.

And at church getting her costume on.

 I love this one of her tying her ballet shoes.

Now for a ton of pics from that night.



I wasn't able to get many of her during the actualy recital because they didn't want any flashes to cause the kids to tumble off the stage. :) But the videos should be enough.




Ty was enthralled by all the glittering ballerinas. This face is priceless. :)

Afterwards they gave all the ballerinas a rose. Libby loved being front and center stage.

 And posing for all my shots.


Here she is with Miss Christen.


Taking a bow. For all the things she did learn, I don't think she ever really got the whole curtsy thing down too well. :)


I had to get at least one pic with her, proud Mama that I am.


Wit hher frined Lucy.


And Hosanna. I didn't get any good shots of all three of them together.
She was fluffing Hosanna's tutu and I just happened to get a shot just at the right time to catch this:    Love it!




This one of Libby and Daddy came out great! I think it's a framer.






Sheeba

I snapped some shots of Sheeba the other day to send to the breeder we got her from. I thought I'd post some here so we can remember Sheeba at 6 months.






She's growing fast, but still cute as can be! I love her long, lean body with a cute bully face. Actually turning out to be quite a good looking American Bulldog!