Thirty, Flirty, and Thriving... Plus a Swim Meet!

Whelp. I've officially left my 20's in the dust, and celebrated my 30th birthday just yesterday. And what a celebration it was!! Oh wait...was it??? All you moms out there know what I'm talking about. It was just another day in the life of yours truly-- with Jon at work, poopy diapers to change, a house to clean, and kids to wrangle. 

I started the day off right at the gym (my favorite kid-free hour of the day!), and then decided to take us to a matinee of "Monsters University." I only spent 30 min. out in the hall with a fussy Leah, so I'd say it was worth it-- the kids LOVED it and at least it got us out of the house! 

Then Lucy, who was supposed to have had her swim meet the night before but because of thunderstorms it was cancelled, had it rescheduled to the night of my birthday. She joined the Pinehurst Parks and Rec. swim team back in May, and has loved every minute of it. 

 They have practice every Tuesday and Thursday night from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., which is kind of late for a 6 year old, but her swimming has really, really improved. This was their second meet, and at the first one she was supposed to swim freestyle first, but kind of panicked right before she was supposed to go. It was a scary thing to be first, plus never having done a race, and to have all those people watching! We talked her into doing backstroke a little later and she ended up placing first in her heat, and 5th overall (out of 5 teams).  

 This is her last night finishing second in breaststroke! Not bad!

 And finishing 3rd in butterfly. She tends to forget to use her arms, so if we can just get her to use arms AND legs she'll be a future Olympian! I don't think she really cares for "racing," but it's been such a good experience for us to help parent her through-- because she gets so caught up in trying to be PERFECT (her father's child for sure), so it's good to emphasize just doing her best. 

 Here's her fan club. Nice and sweaty too. The meet started at 5:30 p.m., and it was a nice 90 degree day with the usual TONS of humidity. So stinkin' hot!! Zach was really wishing he could jump in that pool.

 Leah was too. That's one sweaty baby!!  We were so proud of Lucy! I wanted to go out for dinner once she was done since it was my birthday and all, but between the heat, not napping well at the movie, and it being bedtime Leah was DONE. We picked up a delicious birthday dinner of Chick fil A on the way home and called it a night. 

At least earlier that afternoon I'd stopped and picked up some cupcakes since I was too lazy to bake me a cake. Right before the kids went to bed (sugar rush!), and during a severe thunderstorm warning, we pigged out on cupcakes in honor of ME. Mmmmm. Happy Birthday Sara!

Whitney, Weather, and the Weekend!

 We had a great week! It was Lucy's last week of school and she was soooo excited to be done and officially advance to first grade. They got to do fun things all week, like watch movies, have parties, celebrate "Circus Day," play games, have mom, Auntie Whitney, Zach, and Leah come to lunch one day, and get extra recess. Unfortunately, tropical storm Andrea rolled in around Tuesday night and it POURED and POURED from then on to the end of the week. I've never seen so much rain in my life!!

 

 Isn't she cute?? This is her on the morning of her last day. Coincidentally she picked out the same outfit she wore on her first day, 9 months ago. I thought they might end up cancelling school because there were flash flood warnings, but she got to say goodbye to her teachers and classmates after all. 

My sister Whitney flew in on Tuesday evening, so we got to have fun with her all week too. We got lunch at Chick fil A, went shopping at Kohl's, she got to see Zach do swim lessons and Lucy do swim team, I got a haircut, and she got to come do Body Pump with me. She is SO much fun to have around!

 Despite all the rain on Thursday and Friday, our plan was still to head to the beach on Saturday. We were literally checking the weather hour by hour for Myrtle Beach, and although there was still a chance of rain in the forecast, we risked it and the weather ended up being perfect! So nice to see some sunshine after 4 days of straight rain!

 Leah napped really well in the car so she was energized and ready to take on the beach. She LOVED playing in the water and eating sand. And she sure ate a LOT of sand. Look at that face!!

 Zach had so much fun playing in the sand and water, and has gotten so much braver in the water-- which is a good but also a kind of scary thing! He loves the waves but gets faces full of salt water a little too often. Yesterday morning he woke up and came into my room and told me, "I had so much fun at the beach yesterday. Can we go again today?"

 The water was actually quite warm, and the little side pools felt as warm as bath water. Leah loved it!

 After we got cleaned up from the beach we headed over to the Tanger Outlets and did some power shopping. I needed to exchange some shoes at the Addidas outlet, and Whtiney got some sweet deals at Ann Taylor. Then we got dinner at the "Steak and Shake." Kids eat free!! Woohoo!!

 Here she is! Baby Leah loved Auntie Whitney! She loved all the extra attention, and the fact that Whitney popped her cereal puffs whenever she wanted.

 Mmmmm, nothing better than a greasy burger and huge milkshake after a long day of playing in the sun! 

 Happy First-Weekend-of-Summer from Myrtle Beach!

 I love that this little piece of paradise is only 2 hours away from boring ol' Pinehurst.

Before Whitney left yesterday to head up to Richmond, she made a delicious cake with some peaches she picked up at a roadside stand on Saturday. I'd gotten Zach a piece which he left on the floor, and while I was doing dishes Leah got very, very quiet. When I found her she was stuffing two-fisted handfuls of cake into her mouth! She couldn't shovel it in fast enough before she got caught. She was very proud of herself! So, because of Whitney, and despite the Weather, we had a fantastic Weekend!

The Piano Man

 Jonathan and I have wanted to buy a piano now for a couple of years. It's just one of those things that every home needs. Lucy's getting old enough now to want to start piano lessons, and the time just felt right, so I started looking on Craigslist for some good deals. Luckily with all the military in the area there were tons of listings, but obviously the biggest problem was once we'd found one, how would we get it home??

 I contacted a guy with a listing in Raleigh that said he'd deliver this piano for free to Fayetteville, to see if he'd mind coming to Pinehurst instead, and when he agreed it was pretty much a done deal. He was a super nice guy who collects older pianos and fixes them up, and this one came from a seminary college up in Chapel Hill. Pretty cool history, right?

This sucker is built like a battleship, and kinda dinged up (a couple of the keys are chipped and stick) which is fine by me since it's only going to be played my wild children, but more importantly it has a great tone. We got the piano for a song (ha, ha)-- for $250, so if we have to end up selling it in 2 years, so be it. We're happy!

They were SO excited when the piano man came and delivered it. Zach loves to play "Haunted House" (pounding on the lowest keys) and Lucy and Leah love to listen to mommy and daddy play. 

Baby Leah Update

 Baby Leah is quickly growing up and becoming more and more the life of the party. My sister-in-law Sarah recently came down to Pinehurst and before she could even sit back and relax, I made her take some 6 month photos of Leah. They turned out AMAZING. We went to a nearby field around sundown and thankfully, Babykins cooperated. I love them! 

At her 6 month check-up:

Height: 27 in. (83 percentile)

Weight: 17 lbs. 5 oz. (68 percentile)

She is a little chunkster!

Her hair is still auburn in the sun and starting to grow in thicker, and her eyes go back and forth between blue and green. They can't decide!

Her little strong-willed personality is becoming more and more apparent-- and she is still a very needy baby. She loves to be held and cuddled, talked to, stuck right in the thick of the action, HATES the car, and has recently discovered Ritz crackers and popsicles. Mmmm! She does this funny thing where she cocks her head sideways to look at people. It's very cute. I also noticed that when I lay her on our bed to change her diaper, and the ceiling fan is on going around and around, she starts to follow it with her eyes and ends up shaking her head back and forth really fast. It's hilarious! 

 I just got this printed for our house, to put up next to Zach and Lucy above the stairs. I guess that means we're keeping her! Couldn't you just get lost in those eyes?? We are SO excited to go visit grandmas and grandpas this summer!

She is still a really tough cookie to get to giggle. Lucy is about the only who can consistently get her to laugh, and that's after mommy and daddy and Zachy have tried everything. She loves to wrestle with Jon and has somehow learned to growl. She does this deep, low-pitched growl when she gets frustrated. I guess she got that from her Grandpa. We are so thankful for this beautiful, healthy, silly little Baby Leah! 

Hotlanta!

We just returned from the best Memorial weekend vacay EVER. We ventured down to the deep South to the ATL to spend 3 days and 3 nights checking out the best the city had to offer! It was kind of a spur of the moment trip-- as for weeks we'd been scouting out Charleston, SC as our next vacation destination. But being the procrastinators we are, we left booking the hotel to the last minute and when push came to shove we simply could not find a hotel affordable enough to do it! Jon suggested Atlanta since it's bigger and would have more hotel options, so thanks to Priceline we found a place for a steal right smack downtown and quickly changed gears!

 We started the day at the Georgia Aquarium, which apparently is the largest in the world. There was tons to do and see, and tons of people to share the experience with. The place was packed! Lucy and Zach wanted to pet the stingrays first, so our adventure began there. 

 There were lots of colorful fish to see, as well as sharks, alligators, penguins, dolphins, eels, and other creepy crawlies from the deep blue sea. They were in great moods (the kids, that is)-- happy to be on vacation, and happy to see so many cool fish.

 Hidden upstairs away from the main floor there was a neat frog exhibit that we had fun finding all the camouflaged frogs and toads in since we had the place to ourselves. Right after we checked out a cute 3D movie next door.

 Ooooooh, the jelly fish... These guys creep me out!!

 There was a really neat Shark Tunnel you could walk through, and they had several whale sharks which were HUGE!! They'd cruise right over your head almost so close you could touch them! There was a free dolphin show (kind of Sea World-esque) with music and actors which Zach unfortunately fell asleep during. It lasted until 2:30 p.m. so we were STARVING after the show and ready for lunch, and as we were walking out, Zach (who was sleeping on Jon) popped up and groggily asked, "What's next on the list, guys?"  What a goof.

 Since Coke World is right across from the aquarium we had to snap a pic even though we didn't pay to get in. I'm the only Coke-fan in the family who could even come close to drinking my way through the $16 admission fee. 

 Taking a break after a yummy lunch at Baja Fresh in downtown Atlanta. Lucy was such a trooper walking wherever we needed to go! I know we did a couple of miles that morning and afternoon alone. Poor Jon was tasked with carrying Zach around since somehow he made it out of Pinehurst with his only truly crappy pair of flip flops that naturally he has the most trouble walking in.

 Lucy checking out Olympic Park in the heart of Atlanta. It was a beautiful day with great weather!

After a well-deserved break at the hotel so Leah could get a nice long, uninterrupted nap, we headed back out to eat at FLIP Burger Boutique, a restaurant owned by Richard Blais (Top Chef winner). I'm a big fan of his from his various stints on reality TV where he showcases crazy creative eats, so I was super excited to check out this place!

 The famous Krispy Kreme liquid nitrogen milkshake. This sucker holds the coveted distinction of having 5 stars on Yelp. Tastes just like the real thing, and since it's made with liquid nitrogen table-side (they bring it in a tea kettle and pour it in smoking), it freezes instantly and is super creamy! We also tried the Nutella and Toasted Marshmallow, which was also very good.

 I had such a hard time deciding which burger to try because they all sounded so good! I finally went with the Turkey which had white cheddar, guacamole, pomegranate ketchup, and sprouts. Jon was adventurous and got the Bison Burger which had some super spicy chili on top and he dubbed it a "gut bomb."

 The sides were honestly the best part of the meal. We tried the sampler so we got the vodka battered onion rings with horseradish dipping sauce (AMAZING), hand-cut fries with smoky mayo, and sweet potato tater tots with blue cheese dip. Mmmmm. Worth a trip back just for those! Overall we scored Richard an A on the milkshakes and sides, and B for the burgers we tried. Definitely recommended if you're ever in Hotlanta!  

 After dinner we headed back to the hotel and enjoyed a lovely southern sunset on the way.

 Sunday morning the kids were up again bright and early, so after showering and eating breakfast we let Leah nap and Jon got to share a spiritual message with the kids in honor of the Sabbath. Our kids think staying in a hotel is a huge treat. 

 Once Leah woke up we headed back out to the Martin Luther King Jr. Historical Center, which gave us an unanticipated tour of the ghetto through a pretty sketchy stretch of Atlanta (don't care to walk through there again; lots of homeless peeps), but was well worth the journey in the end.

 There was a really nice museum detailing the country's violent struggle for Civil Rights, along with a really powerful movie about Martin Luther King Jr. I don't think I really fully appreciated what a visionary and inspiring man he was. It just really hit me how much hatred there was in the South for a very, very long time. Dr. King was born at the right time and in the right place, and his life really spread a message of love. He tried to show blacks and whites that nonviolence was the solution-- and was probably one of the best speakers/writers of the century. 

 He and his wife's tomb is located just down the street from his birth home as well as next to the church where he was pastor.

 Ebenezer Baptist Church-- the church he attended as a child and subsequently became pastor alongside his father later in life, which gave him extra time to read and write.

 Inside the church. Many of his messages about love and faith were spoken from that pulpit. It was very moving to stand there-- and needless to say he was a very inspiring man. I think Lucy even appreciated the experience.

 After our MLK moment, we decided to cap off our black history tour with lunch at Gladys Knight's. This restaurant is revered as an Atlanta institution, and is critically acclaimed to have the best chicken and waffles in the country. 

If you can tell (the picture is kind of dark), we weren't the only ones who had heard of its repuation. This is Zach standing across the street, looking at a line of at least 50 people trying to get in. We put our name on the waiting list and hung out for 90 minutes until it was our turn (we'd been warned there is a constant 2 hour wait). We just figured it was a once in a lifetime chance to have some real Southern soul food. Thank heavens for iPhones to entertain little children!

 Here it is! Dubbed "The Midnight Train to Georgia." Admittedly, it was a fantastic waffle, and while I've never been a big fan of fried chicken, it was some seriously good fried chicken. It was fried and seasoned perfectly and super moist, but even better was the fun atmosphere we got to eat in. The mac and cheese was delicious too!

Lucy can now add to her list of experiences (along with a tantrum in the Oval Office, and falling asleep on an Amish woman's shoulder while on a buggy ride), eating chicken and waffles at Gladys Knight's. With our bellies full, we were all pretty hot and tired from miles of walking (again, props to Lucy who walked the entire time), so we took a little siesta back at the hotel. 

That evening we were ready for another adventure and a snack, so we headed to the Atlanta Food Truck Park to check out some local street food.

It was a great kitchy little place with lots of covered picnic tables, music, atmosphere, and tons of food trucks. Jon and I split a chicken tikka masala wrap, the kids ate BBQ hotdogs, and we split some really tasty cupcakes for dessert. It was a great cap to an already pretty cool day.

Before we made it back to the hotel we quickly swung by Margaret Mitchell's house to see where the famous "Gone With the Wind" novel was penned. Because Sherman basically burned Atlanta to the ground on his infamous march, there aren't many Antebellum homes left.

We woke up early Monday morning to pack up, check out, and head back home, but not before a nice leisurely breakfast at the Flying Biscuit, which is a fun, off-the-beaten-path kind of place with hippy-dippy natural and organic food.

 Here's my goat cheese and mushroom omelet with creamy dreamy grits, and one fantastic flying biscuit with homemade jam. It was a very southern breakfast and tasted great. We had a blast checking out Atlanta, and can now happily check it off the ol' Bucket List of Places-to-See-Before-We-Move. I'm grateful to my kids who are such good sports, and especially my husband who is my favorite travel buddy.

One last picture before I sign off: Just about every gas station you stop at here in the South has a Boiled Peanut station. They are disgusting, FYI. But you know, shout out to life in the deep South!