Trip Down South - Girls' Night Out (Part 2)

Dinner at American Girl!!!

 ♥ My beautiful niece and I ♥

You can either bring your own favorite doll and/or stuffed animal OR you can choose an American Girl doll to join you for dinner! Hook-on highchairs are provided for all.

Playing a pre-dinner game while waiting for the first course!

Appetizer - Blueberry muffins with fruit and yogurt dip!

Entree: Salmon, green beans, and roasted potatoes 

Dessert: Chocolate fondue with brownies and marshmallows

She was truly amazed to realize that, yes, she should make 3 selections and they were all for her :)

I am pretty sure these sweet girls had a fantastic evening... at least until the car ride home.

 Two girls who are allergic to dairy + dairy + a long drive = a recipe for disaster. 

I know we had a fantastic day!!!

And thank you for taking many of these great pics for me :)

Trip Down South - Girls' Night Out (Part 1)

My incredibly sweet friend and her daughter were willing to add hours to their travel time so that we could hang out for the day! We enjoyed a couple hours of  relaxation and great conversation, and then headed out for the evening. We swung by school to pick up my niece, and then off to a mall I had never heard of for a bit of shopping and window browsing before dinner.

To say it was all quite surreal and way out of my norm (being a mother to 5 boys) would be an understatement. I don't know who had bigger stars in her eyes, my niece or I!

Charis was in love from the moment we stepped into the store!

They even had a Scavenger Hunt, which she excitedly raced around to complete and won a poster! 

A token for the carousel!

It was fun to see her so happy... and so girly. Every time she passed by me, a unique pose was presented for me to catch on film!

With magazine in hand, she slowly trailed behind. I had to keep a close eye on her! Really all she wanted to do was sit and flip through it, bookmarking pages to show her mom!

Big, Big Brothers

They snuggle sleepy little boys,

And they prepare and eat bagels with hungry munchkins!

Snow Day... Again

My amateur attempts to capture the beauty of falling snow!

End of March Blizzard

Hard to believe that yesterday the grass was finally showing in most areas, with the slightest hint of green.

You can see the snow drifted partially up the door blocking our exit. 

The two lumps are the boys. I asked them to come over to the door to demonstrate the depth of the snow (it would have reached Aidan's knees and Luke's thighs)... not sure they understood what I was asking.

A drift on our back deck.

Our plow guy finally arrived the next evening

This should give you a much better idea of just how much snow we had.

A Beautiful Day for a Walk

I can't remember ever thinking that 40 degrees was warm when I lived in Kentucky. But following a winter with day after day of temperatures in the teens and twenties, 40 feels down right toasty... even the 30's are not too bad.

  

Can you spot our surprise guest? 

We don't see one of these very often, but this one seemed quite curious and kept a close eye on us for a while.

Gorgeous view

Feathered friends

I guess Asher wasn't tired this particular day, because he wanted to walk almost the entire way.

♥ My little tree hugger ♥

Playing peekaboo on the way home.

To Nap or Not

It is indeed the question around here!

Honestly, he needs a nap. But in a never ending cycle, he is exhausted and wakes up late which means a late nap if any. And if he naps late, he has a hard time falling asleep. So, more often than not, I skip an official nap only to find him sound asleep elsewhere.

 One of his favorite spots is curling up in the seat beside a big brother to watch Minecraft.

The boy LOVES minecraft; and while he still does not speak in full sentences, he can say, "TNT, chests, ice, bow n' arrow, meat....

His other favorite spot is the stroller. I am convinced he will ask for a walk, knowing he is tired and can take a nap... sneaky boy.

Yep, he is a funny, smart little man alright!

Last night, he was quietly lying in his bed. He pops up all of the sudden to put his hands on me with a big grin... cold hands. He was delighted! Can't say I didn't deserve it ;)

EXERCISE!

Walking in deep snow is exercise, especially for a little boy!

It takes determination,

balance,

and strong muscles!

The snow was deep enough to form a perfect-sized seat... can't say I blame him for taking a breather!

Silly boy tends to leave his tongue hanging out when he is outdoors in the snow... the better to eat it with!

More Fun in the Snow!

There is a plow guy that eventually shows up in his pickup truck after a big snow storm.

As he clears the parking area and driveway, all of the now is pushed into these huge mounds which provide endless possibilities for the boys:

. a new road for the tractors and trucks

. an elevated point which is the perfect height for free falling into the fresh (not packed) snow

The largest mound near the barn, approximately 6-7 ft. high and 15 ft long, was turned into a "ski slope" for sleds. The "Buttermilk" was the longest hill with a gentle incline. The "Expressway" was short and steep... you get the idea :)

Can You Spot the Birds?

There is one in this tree.

And no, Aidan is not the 2nd bird... look more carefully!

One Board...

with TWO feet securely strapped to it.

  

Drew is definitely the snowboarder in our family. 

Sean goes back and forth between skiing and snowboarding. 

Even I gave it the old college try for a day... never made it off the bunny slope, but neither did I give up.

Sean and Drew with a couple of their buddies from school.

Eagle Watch - Sheffield Mills

Patrick and I (and Aidan... sort of ) are members of NSBS. It is a fantastic place to learn about birds; and oh, the photography is amazing! So we went to this with high expectations. We imagined we would see Bald Eagles landing and taking off, fighting over the dead chickens; ample opportunities for fantastic pictures. In reality, the eagles did soar over the field... occasionally. And I'll admit, one adult and one juvenile did grab a side of chicken to go. But mostly they just rested in the top of the branches of the old, huge hardwoods about as far from the humans as possible... pretty disappointing.

Bald Eagle - an rare flyby

Who knows?

Eating snow... not much else to do.

 Thankfully, the Red-tailed Hawk was showing off!

See all of the black spots in the trees - quite a congregation of "sleepy" Bald Eagles.

This doesn't even begin to show just how many birders/photographers were camped out on the edge of this field with their GEAR.

"I'm not sharing!"

"Keep your distance!" ~~~~~~~~~~~ "I'm gonna get you!"

"Got you!!!"

 I think these two stole the show ;)