while the parents were away, the children played

As I mentioned, it was really hard for me to say goodbye to Connor and Kylene when I dropped then off with Theresa before Byron and I left for California. But when I heard what a great time they were having, I rested much easier.

They spent a lot of time outside playing with the new tractor,

feeding Princess,

playing with the Reese,

digging in the sandbox

and playing in the sprinkler!

they also had a fun time at the mall,

learning how to text,

riding the carousel,

and taking a ride on the ice cream truck.

They got to go over to the Parsons a few times to swim with Kylie, Logan, Baylee, and Hunter.

At the Zoo, Aunt Tracey spoiled the kids with rides on the train,

grain to feed the animals,

a comfy stroller and huge, cool zoo cups filled with cherry slushy. Connor still talks about those slushies!

They got to go bowling with their Uncle Jarom, and be loved on by their Uncle Logan and Aunt Codi.

When we were driving back home after picking up the kids, I looked back and noticed that Connor was silently crying in the back and wiping tears away. I thought he was happy to be back together, but it came out that he was really sad to leave Mimi and Papa's. Who wouldn't be?

When we pulled into our driveway, Connor asked if he could put his pajamas on. It was well past their bedtime and I was pleased that Connor was ready to head in the direction. I said, "Sure! That would be great buddy!" He then asked if he could then come down and watch a movie before he went to bed. When I told him no, it was time to go to bed, he began to cry and said, "That's what we do at Mimi and Papa's!" Ah yes, it really is living the high life at Mimi and Papa's. Thanks so much for showing the kids such a wonderful time!

happy fourth

we had such a great fourth of july weekend! we kicked off the day on Saturday going to Burlington City Park. Byron had been several times when he was a little boy living in Burlington, NC and had great memories being there. There were a rides for the kids and we all got a thrill from it all.

the cars,

the boats,

the airplanes,

(this is the only ride Kylene begged to get off)

the train,

the carosel.

after our thrill on the rides the kids each were treated to a snow cone (Kylene's first!)

that night we went to our ward's fourth of july picnic and had a great time.

the kids (Connor) were THRILLED to participate in the water balloon toss.

the next night we had some friends and Byron's parents over for dinner and the Byron's parents stayed the night and spent Monday with us. we hit up the Museum of Life and Science and our favorite local Chinese establishment, Stir King, for lunch. we sure were sad to see Mimi and Pap go but hope we can get together for another great weekend soon!

Happy Fourth!

we have a garden

i do not appear to have much of a green thumb but...Byron sure does and he finds such satisfaction in working outside and growing things, a garden is right up his alley.

i bought him a book about square foot gardening for Valentine's Day (romantic, no?) and he, with a few little helpers, built two square foot gardens. we bought some delicious veggies and herbs today and all four of us were excited to plant them!

(a future post on why Connor is down a tooth. cute grin though.) :)

ta da!

self portrait to document that i was also a part of this family event.

the mastermind behind it all. way to go Byron it looks awesome!

it's a miralce

not only that we own a home, but that i'm making a blog post! it's been too long people. :)

here's a few pictures of our new home to wet your appetite for more to come as we continue to put the house together.

below is a picture of our family room from the dining area.

here's our dining area. Byron figured out how to install what we think is a very cool light fixture from Ikea.

nicest appliances in the nicest kitchen i've ever lived in. the oven has a convection setting that i'm in love with.

so much space to store things! i have a whole cupboard that is completely empty and i'm guarding it with my life.

and this ends the tour of our family room, dining room and kitchen. still downstairs is my workroom which probably won't be pictured for a while as it's a work in progress and the half bath. i'll get some pics of the rooms upstairs soon.

dogwood festival

okay, so i tried to do something different with my layout and it's all crazy, not what i was going for, but hey it works.
a few weekends ago we went to the Dogwood Festival in Mebane. for those Carmel, IN natives it reminded me a lot of Carmelfest. Connor got to pick out a few activities to do and Kylene and I rode the carousel together. She wasn't quite sure what to make of the whole thing, but i had a good time. :) we got good carnival food (Connor enjoyed every drop of a snow cone and then put down a hot dog and popcorn. great day or what?) we perused the different vendors and listened to a band warm-up. the kids danced around until the band kicked it into full gear and Connor and Kylene froze and put their hands over their ears. :) they had gotten the flavor and we moved on. that morning i ran in a 5K with my great friend Jami as part of the festival. we ran it in 30 min and 20 seconds and were totally proud of ourselves. :) the more our little family gets to know the little town of Mebane, the happier we are that we get to call it home.