Tweetsie Railroad

We had talked about taking Em to Tweetsie Railroad for a while because choo-choo trains are one of her favorite things right now. It's in Blowing Rock, which is less than a two-hour drive from us. A couple of weeks ago, I heard a radio commercial that Dora the Explorer and her cousin Diego would be visiting Tweetsie Railroad the weekend of June 23, so the decision was made.

We went up Friday night and stayed in Boone, about 5 minutes away, so we could be at the park pretty early.  We arrived at the park around 9:30 Saturday morning, and except for making a stop to sit on the horsey, we headed straight for the tent where Dora was making her first appearance at 10:00 AM.

We got there early enough for Em to have Boots the Monkey painted on her face--when she saw him in the mirror afterwards, she was so excited.

There wasn't much to the show in our opinion, but it was perfect for Em--only about 15 minutes long, and plenty of singing and dancing.

We were sitting about mid-way under the tent on the bleachers, and Em decided that wasn't close enough--she climbed right down and went straight to the front so she could have an unobstructed view!

After the show, a line formed for pictures, so we waited the 15 minutes so Em could meet her favorite character.  I wasn't sure how she'd react because she's unpredictable with big costumes (remembering the Easter Bunny), but she was thrilled!  She gave both of them high fives, and then said she needed to give them big hugs!

Although she didn't want to leave the Dora tent, there was so much to do in the park that we were able to distract her pretty easily.  The chair lift was one of her favorite things (she loves to go up SO high!).

The chair lift took us up to Miner's Mountain, where there were lots of kids' rides, a place to pan for gold, a miniature train ride, and a petting zoo.

The rides were perfect, because they were for kids only, and Em really loved being able to ride all by herself like a big girl.

The animals were a big hit too!

The mini train ride was great--it took us through a cheese mine tunnel where they had cartoonish mice set up mining for cheese with lots of bright colors and music, which fascinated Emily.

There were several shows she enjoyed too--they all lasted about 15-20 minutes, which is perfect for her attention span.

She joined right in with the cloggers, and then wanted to take a picture with "the princesses" when they were done.

Same with the can-can dancers--she had to be right up front,

and needed her picture taken with them too!

There was a section like a county fair with more rides and games--Em and Daddy drove a car together.

She was steering and Mick was controlling the gas/brakes, but I think he gave up on the bumpers about halfway through and helped her steer.

There were a couple of rides where she got to go up high, and she liked those the most (helicopters and airplanes).

Had to try her hand at a couple of fair games, and with a little help from Daddy, she won a little blue alligator.

The ride on the big train was fun at the end of the day, but there were a couple of stops where cowboys got out and staged gunfights, and Em was not a fan.  She got pretty scared and kept telling us she wanted to go home.  The gunshots were enough for her to decide she didn't like the cowboys!

We stayed until about 5:00 that afternoon, so it was a full day.  We went back to the hotel and took a quick dip in the pool before heading out for dinner.

We had dinner and all went to bed pretty early--it was a long day, but so much fun!  We headed home before lunch on Sunday and still had a little weekend left when we got here.

Fun Weekend with Aunts, Uncle and Cousins

I've gotten a little out of order here, but the weekend of June 8, we had visits from some of our favorite people!  Aunt Julie came down from Boston and got here around 10:00 Friday morning.  I had taken Em to school that morning just to spare her from the airport ride, so Julie and I stopped by to pick her up.  She was so excited, and had been telling everyone that Aunt Julie was coming to pick her up.

Uncle Jason, Aunt Jenn, Cody and Chase got here a little after noon, so Cody and Emily went straight to the kitchen to fix lunch :).

They had a great time playing together!  The weather was great, so we spent the afternoon outside--even baby Chase enjoyed some outside time while Cody and Em entertained him with bubbles.

They had a great time in the bathtub together,

and drying off afterwards!

The next morning, they started the day with story time, courtesy of Aunt Julie.

Jason and Jenn were starting out a vacation week and heading to the mountains, so they left pretty early Saturday morning.  We knew it would be a quick trip, but it was still worth it.

Em said her good-byes and gave everybody kisses (and then asked for Cody and Chase the rest of the day!).

Mick was on call and ended up having to work most of Saturday, so Julie and Em and I headed to uptown Charlotte for the Taste of Charlotte festival.  It was the perfect day for it--we were in the shade of the buildings most of the time and there was a nice breeze outside, so we made lunch out of tasting a bunch of different foods.  Em had pizza,

and then decided she'd relax for the rest of the sampling.  We've definitely gotten our money's worth out of this stroller!

Em read The Very Hungry Caterpillar to Aunt Julie when we got home.  She won't pass up an opportunity to sit in somebody's lap for a story.

Saturday night, we went to dinner and then out to Blakeney for the live music. Em wasted no time kicking off her shoes and dancing (notice her fingers in the air).

This time, we took a cooler and some chairs so we were comfortable while she danced--she liked coming over every few minutes for kisses and hugs.

She's such a silly little thing,

and loves getting out with all the little girls to twirl around!

It was a nice night for all of us.

Aunt Julie's flight was before lunch on Sunday, so we headed to the airport pretty early.  It was a fun weekend that went by way too quickly.

Father's Day, Girls' Day, and Other Fun Stuff

For Father's Day, Em and I gave Mick and espresso machine and an early tee time at his favorite golf course.  She asked where he was a little later in the day, and I told her he was having a Daddy Day.  When the two of us went to the grocery store and stopped by the Starbucks in the store, the lady behind the counter (who knows Mick) asked where he was.  Em promptly replied "he's having a Daddy Day!"  It was sweet.

We decided to spend our afternoon making brownies and watching Lady and the Tramp, which has turned into her favorite book and movie!  I joined the Disney Movie Club to start building our collection with some of the classics, and she loves the old ones, like Dumbo and Winnie the Pooh.  They're shorter than I remember (only about an hour long each), which is perfect for her.

A little while after we ate brownies, I saw her put something in her mouth, and I asked her what it was.  She told me, "a crumb."  I said "where did you get it?" and she replied "on my shirt!"  She's already learning that trick to save for later, I guess :).

Em's progress with the potty is slow--she'll want to use it nonstop one day, and want nothing to do with it the next.  I caught this sweet little moment the other day--she set up this scene completely on her own.  She was on her potty with a book, and got up to pull her chair over, put Gymbo in it, and put the book in his lap to read.  It was adorable.

One of Em's favorite sayings is "I can help too!" and she uses it frequently.  Mick was fixing one of the pull out cabinets in the kitchen the other day, and she scooted right in with him to help.

Play-doh is still a favorite too.  Here are some sunglasses she liked trying on,

and we made blue noses that she liked too.

She's started using "because" quite a bit, and understands the concept of "why."  She'll ask some "why" questions, and can answer them sometimes too.  What's funny is when she misuses it--we'll tell her not to do something dangerous, and she'll say "because, I be very careful."  Or when she falls down, sometimes she'll say "because, I'm fine!" as she gives us her most pitiful little face.

Once in a while when she gets upset now, she'll tell us she needs to "take a break."  The other night before her bath, she needed to take a break, and had already gotten undressed for bathtime.  I asked where she wanted to go for her break, and she said "Mommy and Daddy's bed."  So we all three crawled into bed and snuggled for a few minutes.  Pretty soon, she was feeling good again :)

Finally Catching Up - Vacation, Part 2

This seems like forever ago now, but I want to catch up from where I left off.

We left Amelia Island after the condo was destroyed, and we headed to Brunswick, to Mick's parents' house.  It was only about an hour away, so it was nice to not have to drive a long way.  Since it was Memorial Day, everyone was out of work, so Em was excited to see Grandma and Papa, Grandma Lala, and her cousin Landon!

We went to the beach at Jekyll Island, and of course it started raining as we stepped onto the sand.  Luckily, they have a nice big covered pavilion where we sat through the storm.  Em and Landon shared some goldfish!

The sky was looking pretty angry, so we sat for a while.

We actually didn't mind the time to just relax together.

And Em enjoyed playing with the umbrella!

We left Brunswick on Tuesday morning and headed home.  We of course still had Gracie and Bella with us, which makes it a little more difficult to just check into a hotel.  We readjusted when we got home on Tuesday, and decided we'd try to make the best of what vacation we had left.  At one point, Mick was talking about going back to work, but I was determined not to!  We couldn't find a place in Hilton Head or Charleston with such short notice, so we booked an oceanfront resort in Myrtle Beach.  It's a short drive, familiar area, and we knew the weather would be nice.  I arranged for the pet sitter to take care of Gracie and Bella, and we headed out on Wednesday.

We got to the Dunes Village Resort and checked in on Wednesday afternoon and wasted no time getting on the beach. 

Em is fearless, and very adventurous.  She wanted to go straight to the water, and wasn't thrilled to get out.

She liked the splashing and jumping the waves.

And more splashing :).

We came across someone's sand castle kingdom and had to remind Em that it wasn't hers to knock over.  I'm not sure why she likes knocking things over so much, but she thinks it's hilarious.

One reason we chose this place was the indoor water park they advertised--Em loved the pool too.  There was a lazy river and a basketball goal and some other water toys.  It was a great alternative to being outside, even though the weather was perfect and we didn't spend much time there.

We headed to the beach again on Thursday, and Em finally got to build her sand castle!  Again, she really liked building it, but LOVED knocking it down,

so the building turned more into digging than anything.

We dug a hole that she was so proud of, and she sat in it to dig some more, play with her little boat, and only took a break when we lured her under the umbrella with peanut butter and crackers!

Our hotel reservation included tickets to Ripley's Aquarium, so we headed there on Friday, where Em couldn't get enough of the fishies!  There was a mermaid exhibit where she met a mermaid and saw one swim with stingrays, and a dinosaur exhibit that intimidated her at first.  She was fine after she realized they were only pretend (and continued to remind us of the pretend dinosaurs for the rest of the day!).

By far though, her favorite things were the hungry sharks!  There was a long walk-through tunnel that she loved, and kept making her "hungry shark" face.

When we saw this shark across the lobby, Mick grabbed Em and practically sprinted over to catch him.  Her new thing is wanting to give high fives, so she gave the shark a high five and was ready to go eat lunch!

When we were done at the aquarium, we decided to get ice cream.  Em thinks there's no need for any flavor besides chocolate (can't say I disagree there), and she thoroughly enjoyed it.

When we got back to the hotel, we spent some time in the pool, and gave Em her first try with her floaty.  She was very brave in it, and was excited to wear it (partially because Dora and Boots always wear life jackets "so we can be safe" when they're in the water).  She knew she was being safe and liked that.

There was also a playground and a mini golf course at our hotel, and Em followed Daddy's lead.  She was a few over par on every hole, but got so excited when she finally got the ball in.

I'll be honest--I'm only putting this picture here because it reminds me of one of myself when I was little--the scrunched up face, the curls, and as much as Em looks like her Daddy, I like a reminder once in a while that she's my girl too :).

We left about mid-morning on Saturday, and got home in time to relax some, get unpacked and get laundry done before heading back to the daily routine on Monday!  It wasn't exactly the vacation we had planned, but it was certainly an adventure, and one we won't forget.

Talky, Talky!

I finally got around to replacing our laptop, so we'll be transferring files and I'll have my pictures back to start catching up, but I wanted to jot a few things down before I forget how many new things she's saying these days!

• When you ask Em a question she doesn't know, she'll think for a minute and say "I not know."  Of course, it's not correct...but that's my favorite thing she says right now :).
• She's getting great at using pronouns now!  She no longer refers to everyone by name all the time, and she refers to herself as me/I.  I'll ask her "who's is that?" and she'll say "me's!"  When I laugh at her, she'll correct herself and say "no Mommy, it's mine!"
• She's still talking about our vacation, and will tell people details about what she did or saw.  Her memory just amazes me, and she makes connections with things on her own all the time.  She knows exactly when we're almost home in the afternoons, and when we're close to school in the mornings by the places we pass on the road.
• We were driving one morning and she dropped her purple monkey (she sleeps with him at school, and sometimes he comes home with us too), so she asked me to get it for her.  I told her I'd get him when we got to school, but I couldn't reach him while I was driving.  She replied "Mommy, drive faster!"
• She's somehow learned superheroes--I guess because of all the boys in her class, but she'll occasionally mention Superman or Spiderman, and I asked her one day if she was Super-Emily, but she shook her head and said "no, I just Emily."  Now she'll say that if we ask her if she's beautiful, or silly, or almost any other adjective.
• She tripped and fell one morning walking to the car, and when I asked if she was okay, she said "Mommy, I tough!"
• Mick will sometimes say "I love you, little girl."  So Em has now started saying "I love you, big boy."  It's so funny :).
• She distinctly knows the difference in boys and girls (not necessarily the anatomical differences yet), but she knows who's a boy and who's a girl--in her class, in her cartoons, among her toys.

I know there are a hundred other things I should mention, but that's a quick snapshot.  She's so very entertaining all the time!

Technical Difficulties

I haven't updated anything lately because our laptop quit working--apparently the motherboard is the problem.  Luckily, we will be able to retrieve our files (primarily pictures and videos), but we'll be looking for a replacement.

So I haven't posted anything new since I don't have the pictures to post right now...coming soon!

Couple of Clips

It was tough to get a great video at the beach because the waves and the wind were so loud, but I thought these were sweet.  This one is Em and Daddy in the pool at the hotel. 

We had dinner at the cafe by the pool one night, and Em provided the entertainment while we waited for our food.

High Expectations

We probably should give up on vacations--I think our problem is that we don't go on vacation very often, so we end up with very high expectations, and something usually goes wrong.  Well, this time, the wrong was Tropical Storm Beryl.

It was about a 6 hour car ride, and Em was a perfect traveler.  At one point, we did resort to Dora on the iPad and a Chick-fil-a snack :).

As I posted earlier, we arrived in Fernandina Beach Saturday afternoon and headed straight for the beach.  The weather was perfect and we had a great time.  Em said we had beach toes, so I had to get a picture :).

Sunday morning, we got dressed for the beach and stayed out for a couple of hours, but around 10:00 AM, it started to get dark and cloudy and a little rain started.  We stayed out on the deck for a little while, just watching the ocean. 

Em enjoyed blowing bubbles for everyone, especially Bella.  She loved that we had Gracie and Bella with us.

 She liked being outside and feeling the wind in her hair.

We spent some of Sunday in town--we had lunch at Jack & Diane's and Em did some window shopping.  We had ice cream sundaes and Em played at a little outdoor playground until it started raining on us.

By Sunday afternoon, it was getting so windy we could barely go to the beach because the sand was blowing so hard.  We went down long enough to take the dogs out, and were all ready to get back inside after only a few minutes.

We watched the storm get closer as it got later--the wind picked up and the waves started looking pretty fierce.

We went to bed that night with strong wind and rain, and Em woke us up around midnight crying because it had gotten really loud.  She got in the bed with us, and we all just stuck close together for about the next five hours.  At one point, it sounded like a herd of horses was galloping across the roof of the house, and we knew something was seriously wrong.  Mick put a chair in front of the french doors at the deck because we thought they were going to blow in, and the roof started leaking everywhere.  The bed was soaked pretty soon, and we found a dry spot to sit in the living room to wait it out.  Em managed to go back to sleep in my lap, and Gracie and Bella were surprisingly unaffected.

By about 5:00 AM, we could tell it was weakening some, and we were anxious for daylight to come--it was just a little scarier in the dark.  The power had gone off a few times, and we couldn't get online or watch TV for updates.  I had a weak signal on my phone, but enough to get on facebook and try to get an update.  Julie called me around 5:00 AM and gave us a weather update when she saw my post--we were glad to know Beryl was beginning to move away from us.

Em slept a little longer after I put her on a blanket on the couch, and we went out to find the entire roof had completely blown off the house, and half of the deck was gone.  It was truly a disaster area.  We knew we couldn't stay in the house for the week, so I got in touch with the owner and told her we were leaving.  We quickly packed everything up and left around 10:00 AM Monday morning.

First stop was Mick's parents' house, which was thankfully only about an hour away.