Wore slap out!

So our busy day in Chattanooga was a success!

On our way...

The day took a sudden dive...

That is a gray hair on my compact... I found it while applying my makeup in the car... that's about the 6th one in 2 months! I saw 3 or 4 more, but just couldn't convince Brandon to pull over and pull them out for me!
I'm only 28!!! Too young for gray hair!!!

We arrived in Chattanooga and took part in the Great Strides Walk for Cystic Fibrosis.


Nearing the end of the walk!

There was a GREAT park at the walk site so the girls enjoyed a little play time while Brandon walked the 1/2 mile back to the car for our picnic stuff... Yes, it really was a 1/2 mile to the car... I wore my pedometer. :)

Obviously this photo was taken BEFORE Brandon left to walk back to the car. :)

We had planned to have lunch in Coolidge Park, but since the girls were enjoying the playground so much we ate there instead.

Walking a 3k and playing hard works up an appetite!

Riley diggin' into the grapes!

We loaded up in the car to head to downtown Chattanooga... we drove around a while to give Riley time for a short nap...

After arriving downtown we headed straight for Ben & Jerry's!

Then it was across the street to let the girls play in the water at the Tennessee Aquarium.



From the aquarium we headed over to Ross' Landing

That is Brandon standing down there... Just to give you an idea of how high that water is shooting!

We found another fun playground...



Chandler and I both tried this contraption... You stand in it and it spins... It spins so much that I almost threw up! Brandon wouldn't even try it!


From there it was over to the Walnut Street Bridge (aka the walking bridge)...

Once across the bridge we took a ride on the carousel at Coolidge Park...

How appropriate that Riley is riding on a PIG!

Chandler on her horsey...

Chandler tired.

After the ride we put our blanket down for a rest.
Each of us chose to "rest" in our own way...

Chan tackled Brandon

Riley took a "rest" from riding in her seat and decided to see what the view looks like from Chandler's spot.

I CRASHED!

Then is was BACK across the bridge to meet Jonathan and Amy for dinner.

I was pretty tired by this point... doesn't it show on my face :)

Sticky Fingers for dinner....
When I asked Amy if they liked Sticky Fingers. Jonathan's reply, "I usually wash my hands."
That Jonathan, he's a funny guy!

Jonathan, Chandler and Amy

Riley, Brandon, and Me

Off to the Chattanooga Lookouts game!

We had good seats...

First row... DANGER! Watch for foul balls!!

After Riley took a quick nap she spent the rest of the time bouncing from lap to lap.

Me & Amy

The Lookouts won...
It was LATE when we got home. Chandler fell asleep in the car, but Riley fought it and managed to make it home before crashing in her bed.

It was a good day. Long, but good.

My pedometer read 23,043 steps.
I've used up enough steps to deserve a whole entire day in bed! :)

Train 'em early...

Chandler mops. Riley does dishes. :)

I know, I know...

Brandon brought it to my attention that I haven't posted in a week.... SORRY!

I'm working on hair bow orders, softball season has started, my house is a WRECK, and Riley is teething so I'm constantly wiping her nose (GROSS!).

Here's a brief update:
Max is BACK! Our neighbor found him late Friday night, but we didn't find out about it until Monday. We were going to make a trip to the pound to see if he was there when we heard a familiar little bark... Chandler and I ran outside and there he was! Just hopping around the yard trying to eat bugs! He gave Chandler a little bump and Riley a face lick.... he was happy to be back and my girls were OVERJOYED!

Brandon has his garden started... it has been an "indoor garden" for a while now. The plants are officially in the ground outside and we are now praying for a good crop. :)
This year's garden will include our "normal" items: Cucumbers, tomatoes and cantaloupe.
Along with some new items: broccoli, squash, banana peppers and bell peppers.
I'll keep you updated on the progress.

The 1st softball game of the official season started last night. Westmore won... despite the fact that we had 4 of our regular players out.

After the game we walked 2 miles... Chandler rode her bike. She rode her bike for TWO MILES! I was so proud of her... she has come a LONG way since our first bike riding attempt last summer. :)
BONUS: She slept like a ROCK last night!

Tomorrow is a FULL day!
CF walk in the morning
Picnic and fun in Coolidge Park
Dinner somewhere in downtown Chattanooga
Chattanooga Lookouts game at 7:00.

A sad, sad day....

Little Max is missing... I saw him following a guy down the street earlier today and no one has seen him since.

I'm am just sick about it. I haven't told Chandler yet. She will be heartbroken.

He's not even my dog, but on my way to Blockbuster tonight I drove really slowly down my street with my window down calling for him... At Blockbuster I prayed that I would overhear someone talking about this adorable little doggy that just wandered up into their yard today... On the way home, I drove with my window down calling Max and just hoping I would see his silly little face and floppy ears running towards my car.

No such luck. :(

Just Pickin'

That title is just for my good friend, Tricia Jackson!

Today was gearing up to be such a beautiful day so I decided to take the girls to the local strawberry field to pick some berries.

We went last summer and Chandler really enjoyed it. However, we found out that she does not like the taste of strawberries. :)

I know, the hat doesn't match!! That's the only one we could find!

Riley refused to wear a hat. :) I would like to think that she was regretting her decision once we got out there in the blazing sun.
Yes, they are wearing sun screen! :)

Hard at work.

Got it!

Me.
See the rows and rows and rows of green plants? All strawberry plants! :)

The fruits of our labor... actually this is only about 3/4 of it. We picked more after Chandler took the picture. It's hard to tell, but it was actually quite a large bucket... maybe 5 gallons? We picked a little over 1/2 of a bucket.

The girls had a great time. We picked a ton of berries and it only cost us $6.00!

If you live in Cleveland or come to visit this summer (hint hint) we would love to take you out and show you how much fun it can be to pick your own strawberries!

Poor Cinderella!

She actually ASKED me if she could help mop the kitchen...

I think she regretted it once we got started!

"All I get for this is a lousy nickel?!?!"

Looking for a way to send your kids to Grandma's house this summer?

Try Fed-Ex!

Big Kid Bike Take 2!!

We tried the "big kid bike" last summer. She wasn't quite ready. Going from a tricycle to a bike with training wheels was harder than we thought it would be!!

She's still working on how to peddle FORWARDS not BACKWARDS! Last summer, anytime she pushed back, and the brakes came on, she would get SO MAD! We finally told her that we were putting the bike away until she could do it without 100 meltdowns a day! :)

A few weeks ago she asked if we could get the bike out and try again.

I went to the shed and had to dig it out from the back... we've managed to accumulate a TON of stuff since last summer! How does that happen??

I reminded her that it would take practice to learn to ride it and she needed to remember that getting mad wasn't going to help her learn how to ride any faster.

Her response? "Mom, I already know that."

She is doing 100 times better this summer. What a difference a year makes!
I'm also very glad that we live on a dead end... It provides a great practice area!

By the way... I took a really great video on my digital camera and I was excited about posting it, but there's no sound AND I could get the picture to rotate! UGH!

What Chandler Loves...

Chandler wakes up every morning and her first question is usually, "Can I go play with Max?" My answer is usually, "No. You don't even have clothes on yet!" :)

I took these photos last week. I'm amazed at the progress she has made... she used to be terrified of dogs. We still don't know if her level of comfort around Max will carry over when she is around other dogs... specifically, bigger dogs!

Every time she comes in from playing with Max she tells me, "Mom, Max is my best friend."

Who couldn't love that face?

"Just checking your ears."

"Mom, Max lets me rub his tummy!!"