Semi-Wordless Wednesday- Our Future...

Our Future...

This is why your vote matters...

Because their future is in our hands...

More Punkmans

Sprout finding the perfect punkman...Sprite claiming hers...

Trying to capture the perfect picture of the munchkins in the pumpkins in not easy...

Smile guys...

One more time...No tongues this time...
Perfect!

State Fair

The Hubs and I finally made it to the NC State Fair on Saturday. For some reason though, it wasn't as fun as we remembered it. It seemed that there were far less interesting exhibits, unless of course you consider seeing the world's smallest woman in a cage interesting, and far more fried food!

Deep fried Mac & Cheese anyone? How about deep fried PB&J for the little ones??

I managed to stick to my diet though...

I had vegetables- deep fried of course!!! :)

There was the usual assortment of farm animals...

There were even the furry variety. The Hubs and I stood and watched the cow show for a few minutes and then marveled at how we just spent 5 minutes staring at cow asses. How romantic!

So we tried to enjoy the fair like a couple of teenagers and decided to tempt fate with a few carnival rides. We spent $20 on tickets at $1 a piece and stood in line for the roller coaster. When we reached the front of the line and saw that the ride was 5 tickets each- that would equate to $5 each if I am doing my math right- our excitement wained. We tried, we really tried to enjoy it but all we could really muster was a laugh, mostly about how ridiculous it was that we just wasted $10 on a 30 second ride. It was much more fun as a kid when we didn't realize or care what a waste it was and could enjoy the fair in all of our carefreeness.

The Hubs and I did manage to come up with a retirement plan though. As we were watching people get in an out of the roller coaster cars, we did some figuring. 4 people fit in one car which leaves every 30 seconds. Thats $40 every 30 seconds or $4800 an hour. Figure a minimum of 12 hours a day and you're talking $57,600. The average fair runs for 2 weeks which comes to a whopping grand total of $806,400 for ONE FAIR!!!! Granted, I imagine the insurance is costly and you have to figure the cost of the equipment and manpower but still...

So, we decided that we are going to travel the world as carnies, charging $5 a person for a 30 second ride and live the good life. We don't even have to shower if we don't want to, brushing our teeth is optional and we can avoid talking to people all day long and resort to grumbling!

Ok, ok, truth be told, this is the real reason I come to the NC State Fair...

Pottery, pottery and more pottery!

Despite our best attempt, we couldn't find much to enjoy about the fair (other than the pottery) but we did enjoy a little alone time holding hands, so I guess it was worth it after all!

Fair Tickets: $14

Fried Food: $12

Ride Tickets: $20

Exhibits: $5

A little alone time with the Hubs walking hand in hand: Priceless

There are some things that money can't buy...

For everything else, there's Mastercard! :)

Wordless Wednesday- Civic Duty

Blowin Off Steam

Don't mess with this Mama...

especially on a bad day...

I'm a good shot!

"Punkman" Patch

This is Sprout and his friend Olivia. They are the best of friends and my friend Katie and I try to get them together at least once a week for a playdate. This particular play date was to a local "punkman" patch. Sprout still calls pumpkins "punkmans" and I can't help but giggle everytime he says it!

Here are the two little bugs on the hayride...

Here they are posing in the cornmaze...

They each stuffed their own giant scarecrow...

And no trip to the "punkman" patch is complete without pictures of Sprout among the pumpkins. This has been a tradition since he was born and one I look forward to each year.

The next day I took Sprout and Olivia to the movies to see none other than...

"Hollywood Chihuaha"

They walked into the theatre hand in hand and I couldn't help but smile because they make such a cute little couple...

Wordless Wednesday-"Punkmans"

Sleeping Angel Photo Contest

The lovely ladies over at 5 Minutes for Mom have teamed up with Home & Bedroom Furniture for a fabulous giveaway. You can win either the Lily Rose Bedroom Set or the Summer Breeze Bedroom Set for your child by participating in their Sleeping Angel photo contest .

Here is my entry...


I just LOVE this picture- it is one of my all time favorites. This is the day we brought Sprite home from the hospital. Sprout was such a proud big brother and you can practically see the halo over his head in this picture! ;) Sprite was sleeping so peacefully but this may be the first and only picture I have of her sleeping peacefully during her first year-so I cherish this picture of my sleeping angel!

Sprite is growing up fast and is ready for a big girl bed so we would love to win the Summer Breeze set in Vanilla Cream to replace her mismatched, hand-me-down furniture.

So what are you waiting for- deadline to enter is October 13th!
Good Luck!

Feline Friends

The hubs and I had been talking about getting a kitty for the kids to help with the transition and to make this new place feel more like a permanent home. We are big believers in adopting pets. As a kid I always picked the saddest, sickest looking animals at the shelter to bring home and nurse back to health and they were always the best pets. Aspen was rescued from the side of the road where his sister had been hit and killed by a car. He has been and is the BEST dog anyone could ever ask for. So, we decided to visit one of the kill shelters in the area in search of a kitten, certainly not a hard task as there are soooo many cats/kittens surrendered or abandoned. We wanted a kitten so they could grow up with the kids and get used to being carried around. What we found though were 2 kittens, littermates who were dropped off in the drop box at the shelter in the middle of the night and in desperate need of a home. How could we pick just one, separate him/her from the only love he/she has ever known and leave the other behind??? We couldn't!!

Meet the New Kids on the Block

This is "Sawyer."

Sawyer is the more outgoing and curious one of the two. His little motor starts revving as soon as you touch him and he follows you everywhere, running between your legs the entire way. He is a little lovebug and loves to be held and cuddled.

This is "Sophie."

Sophie is the mellow, more relaxed one of the two. She is a little more easy going than her brother. She is a sweetheart and loves a good belly rub. And once her motor starts it is deep and loud.

Four Wheelin Fun

Sprout is really enjoying his four wheeler and has gotten the hang of it pretty quickly. He's comfortable riding around and steers really well. He's only hit my kayak once and the air conditioner unit three times- kidding, kidding, he hasn't hit anything yet other than the dog. Kidding, really, I'm kidding!

He struggles a bit with squeezing the brakes. His hands just aren't quite big enough yet but he has mastered the emergency shut off so don't worry too much.

Best of all, he's got the sheer determination and just enough fearlessness to hit the gas and go.

********************************************************************

Sprout, it seems, is not the only one who enjoys riding the 4 wheeler...

The hubs managed to capture this picture...

We like to call this one...

"Fury on Four Wheels"

Fluffy or Fat- you decide

We bought an old rickety 4 wheeler for my husband Sprout and because safety is our number one concern, ah hem, we told Sprout that he couldn't ride it without his helmet. Eager to jump on, he slid the helmet on and promptly asked, "does this make my head look fat?"

I quickly replied, "No honey, it makes it look fluffy!" Kidding, kidding! What I really said is, "No, it looks like you have a helmet on your head." In sincere disbelief he walked into the bathroom to look in the mirror and quickly returned to say,"Your kidding, it does make my head look fat!"

You be the judge- Fat or Fluffy?

My Tiger Cub

Sprout has joined Cub Scouts and is the cutest little Tiger Cub I have ever seen.

Wouldn't you agree?

He is part of the Occoneechee Council which represents 12 counties in North Carolina.

Right now we are working on earning the Bobcat Trail badge. In order to earn this badge he has to complete these eight tracks:

1. LEARN AND SAY THE CUB SCOUT PROMISE
2. SAY THE LAW OF THE PACK. TELL WHAT IT MEANS.
3. TELL WHAT "WEBELOS" MEANS.
4. SHOW THE CUB SCOUT SIGN. TELL WHAT IT MEANS.
5. SHOW THE CUB SCOUT HANDSHAKE. TELL WHAT IT MEANS.
6. SAY THE CUB SCOUT MOTTO. The MOTTO is: "DO YOUR BEST. " (I like this Motto)
7. GIVE THE CUB SCOUT SALUTE. TELL WHAT IT MEANS.
8. With your parent or guardian, complete the exercises in the parent's guide, "How to Protect Your Children from Child Abuse".

He is well on his way to earning his Bobcat Trail badge and really enjoys particpating in cub scouts. I, on the other hand, have a lot to learn about being a cub scout Momma but luckily I have my sister-in-law Amy to call on whenever I have a question like "How do I fold this hankerchief thing?" or "Where does this little gold thing go?" or"Are these badge thingies iron on or do they expect me to sew because if they expect me to sew you can expect a uniform and a few badges on your door step in a few days-ok?-thanks!" The hankerchief thing is a neckerchief by the way and the gold thing is called a "slide". Luckily, Amy was able to explain how to fold it so the Tiger shows across his back and then slide the tails through the little gold thing. Yeah- and the badges are sew on but luckily for Amy I found a dry cleaner close by!


Go Tigers!