Last Week of May

The past few days have been spent relaxing and catching up with my family for the most part.  The week has been pretty uneventful yet busy at the same time.  Time seems to go by so much faster when we have people to meet up with during the week, and when we are able to get outside.

Monday we didn't do much, just met up with my dad for lunch and then spent some time walking around his yard.  This little guy was waiting for us in the driveway when we arrived.

Tuesday we met up with my mom for lunch and spent some time looking at the remainder of our wedding photos that we finally received.  Our home computer wasn't working that day so she brought her work laptop so I could check them out.  I was so impressed, and I guess it was worth the 7 month wait. ;)

That evening we had a cookout at my dad's house. 

Kerriann had a great time running around his yard as usual.

Maybe a little too much fun...

We were really lucky that most days this week the weather held out for us, even though we were predicted to get some of the same storms that were devastating the central US. 

On Wednesday I took Kerriann to a park in Flatwoods.  We took a walk around the loop first, and then I let her play at the playground.  It was a little bit too big for her, but she had a ball playing in the sand. 

This huge Elmo hat from the Dollar Store was the only hat I could locate for a toddler in all of Braxton County.  A smaller hat is definitely on my list for tomorrow when we go shopping.  Her hair is still so thin that I worry about her scalp burning now that we're having sunny 80-degree days.  By the way, if anyone with connections to the Flatwoods outlet mall is reading this, can we PLEASE get a Carter's or something baby related in this county?  It is sad that people have to drive an HOUR to get clothes anywhere decent, or at least half an hour to Wal-Mart of all places.  Ugh.  Anyways.

She was concentrating so hard on playing in the sand at the bottom of this slide.  Notice the string of drool in the second picture-haha.

After we were both completely covered in dirty wet sand, I decided it was time to head home for a bath.  Once she was nice and clean I tried to lay her down for a nap, with no success.  She was full of energy the rest of the evening.  At one point I was working on something and turned around and she was gone.  I heard something rustling in the laundry room and found her in there snuggled up on some blankets.  She's so funny!

She also spent some time playing with my mom's plants that evening.

(Ignore the red on her poor little arms, it's just eczema, although I'm currently accepting any suggestions you have for treatment... lotion just isn't doing the trick this year!)

Yesterday we had lunch with my mom and one of her co-workers at a great Italian restaurant.  Kerriann was so cute and pretty well behaved for the most part!  

After we were done we went to visit my dad and take advantage of his yard again.  It was great to spend the afternoon with him outside.

And those are my recaps of this week so far!

Remember This Weekend

I'll start off with saying HAPPY FRIDAY because I know so many people have been anxiously awaiting this holiday weekend.  But as people start their celebrations today I hope that they will remember the reason behind the Memorial Day Weekend holiday.  It is to memorialize and remember all the men and women who have died in service.  As I was starting to write this post, I was curious about the history of Memorial Day.  Everything I see on the television and radio in regards to Memorial Day is related to grilling, drinking, heading to the beach, etc.  So many people see it as just a "kick off to summer" weekend, although I knew that wasn't the case.  So I did some Googling and found information from this site that I wanted to share.  

"To help re-educate and remind Americans of the true meaning of Memorial Day, the "National Moment of Remembrance" resolution was passed on Dec 2000 which asks that at 3 p.m. local time, for all Americans "To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to 'Taps." 

I know that on Monday I am going to take the time to remember the brave men and women who have given their lives for me, and I hope that you will join me in doing the same.  I will also take the time to thank the soldiers who continue to serve, risking their lives for me and my family and friends.  Please don't forget to take the time out of your weekend to thank any service members that you see.  I know they would really appreciate it. 

So thank you to my wonderful husband, Kevin, my brother in law, Sean, and all of the other soldiers that I have met over the past few years for making so many sacrifices and for devoting your careers to keeping us safe.

I'm so proud and thankful to have met you all!

Weekend Recap

So I know I just said that I wasn't really going to be blogging this week, but I have zero plans for the rest of the week so as of now I'm probably going to have more time that I did over the weekend.  Just excuse the poor quality, but I do want to remember everything that we did on the trip even if it is just through poor quality cell phone pics!

On Saturday we drove to Morgantown to move Christiane into her new apartment.  She is officially done with dorm living!  The weather was beautiful that day, perfect for unloading the car (and taking a few pictures on the front porch...I stole these from my mom because I couldn't get mine to load on her computer...it was extremely sunny so excuse the shadowed faces!). 

Her apartment is a little older than the one I had when I was living downtown, but the location is so perfect for game days that it makes up for it!  You can see the stadium from her porch.  I can't wait to visit and attend games with her this year.  Her roommates are two of her best friends from childhood, Alana (pictured above) and Mariah.

Sunday was such a busy day for us.  We started our morning by meeting my dad for breakfast at the diner in Gassaway.  I think that is the last time I am going to eat there.  The lady who is there every Sunday is so sweet, but the quality and sanitation just doesn't seem up to normal restaurant standards.  My dad finding a hair in his hash browns finalized my decision.

Anyways... after breakfast and a shower, Kerriann and I headed to Charleston to meet my friends Kaycee and Kelly for brunch at First Watch.  I love that restaurant and the delicious brunch there made up for the gross breakfast earlier in the morning.  Kerriann was a fan and shared my breakfast skillet... she even ate the avocado and tomato pieces which is pretty exciting considering I haven't been able to get her to eat any vegetables lately (besides potatoes).  After breakfast we walked down to the waterfront (can't remember the name for it though) and sat for a few minutes. 

Kelly and Kaycee are both so great with Kerriann!  And Kelly is actually newly engaged (you might remember her catching the bouquet at our wedding...see maybe the superstitions really are true!), so I can't wait for her to join me in mommy land eventually.  I can already see us planning some really cute play dates! ;)

Our time by the water didn't last long because Kerriann wanted to explore.  By that time it was getting late so we had to get going in order to make it back in time for our next activity of the day.

Shannon had an end of the season tennis BBQ at Holly Gray Park so we met him, my mom and dad out there.  It was our first HOT day of the year... 85 and sunny.  Luckily Kerriann and I both survived the afternoon without getting sunburn thanks to a little shade one of the coaches brought.  Kerriann had a great time socializing with some of the other moms and playing with the child sized tennis racquet that someone let her borrow.  She also enjoyed picking flowers.  She has loved doing that since my dad taught her how a few weeks ago.

It was a great but busy weekend!  I'm glad we enjoyed the weather because Gassaway is predicted to have rain for the next TEN DAYS!  Wish us luck that we can stay dry!

Blogging Break

For the next week or so I'm going to be taking a little blogging break.  Kerriann and I are with my parents in WV and the internet is SO SLOW.  It's just frustrating to try to deal with.  Kevin is in Colorado while we are here and he has my camera so I also won't be getting nearly as many photos as I usually do.  I do have our back-up point and shoot with me just in case something exciting happens, but it feels nice to not feel "obligated" to always be clicking away.  I'm still taking at least one daily for my project, but don't expect anything too impressive.  It is going to be a nice week being "semi off the grid."

Hope everyone has a nice week!  If I get anything cute on my phone I'll try to upload it if I can!

Wordless Wednesday

*Taken by Christiane on her phone at My Gym yesterday

Weekend of Company

This past weekend was a very busy one in our household.  Christiane was already staying with us, and on Friday my dad and brother, Shannon, came into town to join us for a couple of days.  On Friday evening, we all shared a delicious dinner at The Tidewater Grille.  This is one of our favorite restaurants in Havre de Grace so we were excited to take them.  It's right on the Chesapeake Bay and the seafood is great.  It was a little too chilly to sit outside by the water, but we still had a decent view from inside.  As we were walking to the restaurant, Christiane spotted this mural and wanted a picture beside it.

My cousin, Brandon, who is living in DC joined us late Friday night so that he could participate and in a "guys morning" golf trip on Saturday.  Despite the dreary weather I think all four guys had a great time golfing together.

After their golf outing we all met up at Silk's Restaurant right here in Bulle Rock.  It also has great food and we love the convenience of it being right down the street, we could walk to it if we wanted!

After lunch I took Christiane and Shannon to the Bulle Rock Resident's Club to play tennis.  It was misting the entire time, and they were setting up for a wedding so we didn't stay long, but they were still able to get a good 45 minutes in.

After tennis we spent the rest of the evening at home eating spaghetti and watching a movie, the perfect end to a busy day!  We all woke up early Sunday morning to say good bye to my dad and Shannon.

In the afternoon Kevin's friend, Jon, and his girlfriend, Kim, stopped by to see our condo.  After that we all went to Baltimore and had a late lunch at James Joyce, an Irish pub in Baltimore.  The weather was perfect for eating on the patio.  We all had a great time (with the exception of Kerriann, she was in a mood!).  Thanks again Jon and Kim for stopping by to see us!

I love having company, so I'm hoping that this won't be the last time we have a weekend full of visitors!

Federal Hill

After we explored the Visionary Art Museum, we decided to check out some more of Federal Hill.  First we had lunch at Regi's American Bistro, then we took a walk to Federal Hill Park to get a great view of Baltimore's Inner Harbor.

It was really neat to see the city from that perspective for the first time.

The park seemed really clean and Kerriann loved walking the loop around the top of the hill (she just did not enjoy stopping to pose for pictures).

We had fun watching this little guy and his friends eat peanuts.

And I had some fun taking way too many photos of this flag.

Eventually Kerriann signaled that she couldn't take anymore, so we decided to call it a day and head back to our car.  We all had a great time in Federal Hill and I can't wait to go back to Baltimore and explore another neighborhood!

American Visionary Art Museum

Last Thursday Christiane, Kerriann and I spent our day doing a little sight-seeing in Baltimore.  We chose Federal Hill as our neighborhood of choice since I haven't ever really had the chance to spend much time there, and Christiane was really curious about the American Visionary Art Museum.  After hearing good reviews from a few of my friends who live in the area, we decided to check it out.

It was definitely worth the visit.  It was unlike any museum either of us had ever been to, and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone looking for something a little bit out of the ordinary.  Not really appropriate for children (who can read) but it was fine for Kerriann to ride around in her stroller.  She was definitely the only child there but was very well behaved so no one seemed to mind!

Photos were not allowed in the museum (which is too bad, because there was so much I'd like to share!), but there were a few "props" outside that you could take photos of, like this old bus decorated with pieces of glass and buttons.

There was also a garden in the back of the museum with some random sculptures if that is even the right word for them.  This is one of those places that you really just need to see for yourself because there is no good way to describe it!

Goodnight Moon

Goodnight Moon continues to be one of Kerriann's favorite books, but then again, what kid doesn't love Goodnight Moon?

We read it at least once daily, if not more.

Usually it's the book she chooses for either Kevin or me to read to her before bed.

We have a paper back version and since our trip home, a hard back version as well (thanks Aunt Autumn!).  Kerriann knows a lot of the lines already just by looking at the pictures.  She loves saying "goodnight everybody" and "goodnight mush."  Even though I have the book memorized at this point, I'll keep reading it to her as long as she asks me to!

Futon Snuggles

On Tuesday Kerriann, Christiane (my sister), and I drove from West Virginia back to our condo in Maryland.  When we arrived I could tell that Kerriann was excited to be back in our own house.

Right now we have our futon in her room since we only have two bedrooms.  Usually when guests come she will sleep in her pack 'n play in our room and the guests get her room.  Lately she has been really into snuggling on the futon with a blanket, pillow and book (and usually Elmo, too).  She never falls asleep, but it's cute to watch and listen to her snuggle in and say "go night-night."

Sometimes she doesn't want us to be in the room with her as she looks at books, and other times she wants us to read to her.  Both are so cute.  I think she is probably ready for a "big girl" bed, but I'M not ready yet, so she'll stay in her crib a little bit longer.