Yard Work

Back before we rented our house, moved in with my parents, and then bought another. Before we talked about selling our house but decided we would not be able to due to the market. Before I even finished grad school, we did a little work to the front of our house. My dad came and helped and you wont be able to tell by the pictures, but it gave the front of the house a much needed face lift.

Dad should be happy I got a picture of him working and Cephas watching

Cara needed a snack after waking up from her nap

Riding in the wheel barrow was the highlight for Cara.

 

Through this experience I gained a big appreciation for landscapers!

Big Beach Post

This year we took a beach vacation with the whole family. Cara had a great time and so did Mommy and Daddy. It was such a nice time to get away and enjoy some family time.

The whole family. We got some better pictures on Terre's camera

Believe it or not, this was the best one, and I took about 25 of this pose

Daisy Dukes!!!

On the ferry to the aquarium

I mean really, what a cutie!!

Petting a shark 

Again, cutie patootie

Another photo shoot. This pic and the next were taken before my camera adjusted to the heat and had codensation on the lens

This beautiful smocked dress was lent to us by our friend Margaret, who lives in Louisville. She had a whole bag full of smocked goodies, made by her mother. We are in love with them all!

What a wonderful time we had, relaxing and enjoying each other.

Cousin Sleepover

Although Ethan has been living here for almost 2 years now, we didn't have our first cousin sleepover at our house until June. Here are a few pictures of Ethan and Cara getting ready to watch a movie.

Camping

Ok, I know, I have taken a looooooong break from blogging, but I'm ready to play MAJOR catch up over the next few weeks.
The next set of pictures on my camera was from when we went camping back in June.

Cara helping Daddy build a fire. He did much better with the fire this time than the last time we went camping.

Mommy and Cara waiting for breakfast.

Daddy's favorite part of camping, the scenic views.

 

We found a nice place to go swimming but too bad we forgot our swim suits!

This was one of of the only pictures from this waterfall where Cara is not naked. Can't post the others!

Cara got tired of walking on the way back.

 

Sleeping in the tent... she kept saying, "I want to sleep in my bed."

Cara helping Daddy cook breakfast. She was happy we were going home :)

Camping was rough for a while. Cara didn't sleep well, which meant we didn't either. I am not a big fan of camping but Cephas loves it, so we went for his birthday. Overall though we had a nice time and created some good memories. 

 

 

Charlotte Fair

I never knew Charlotte had a fair... maybe this was the first year? They had it set up at Metrolina Expo, which is pretty close to our house, so we decided to bring Cara. It was Cephas' idea but I think he didn't realize how expensive the fair can be.

Riding the horsie... or actually minature pony. They all looked pregnant to me and I kept asking the guy who was running the ride if this one was pregnant or that one was pregnant and he kept saying no. He eventually told me they were all males. I don't know if that was true or if he was getting annoyed with me thinking they were pregnant.

This is her excited face

The petting zoo was free but she kept getting scared to touch the animals.

The last ride of the night... the ferris wheel. This was my first time on one and I thought it was a bit scary.

Ethan's Birthday

The next set of pictures on my camera are from Ethan's birthday:

We went to our regular steak-n-shake birthday lunch

Then on to Baxter's Bunch Playhouse-an indoor jumping place

They both had a lot of fun

And after nap that day we went back for a second round

My recommendation though is to have 2 adults at all times. Terre didn't come for the second time and it was much harder to keep up with them both without her there to help.

Owen was too young to jump this time... but next year he will have just as much fun!

Easter

We all had a great time, as you will soon see...

Ethan hunting for eggs

Cara searching for some

Cara's dress was made in Ghana while we were there in December

Cara found some in the bushes

Cephas and Owen hung out and just watched.

2 years old!

Again, not so good about getting a post up in a timely manner. Here are some pics from Cara's birthday, back in February.

I used the red and turquoise tablecloth as inspiration. I bought matching wrapping paper. I made red velvet cupcakes and dyed the cream cheese icing blue. I wore a blue shirt and Cephas wore a red shirt. I would have coordinated her dress to match as well, but I made it as a practice dress and then never got around to making another one.

Tissue paper flowers also coordinated

Cara's big present was a kitchen and she loved it!

Here she is with her cupcake. Cephas was taking pictures at this point in time and he could use some lessons in composition.

These are able all the pictures I have from her party. Terre and Owen came but Ethan and Tim stayed at home because Ethan had been sick. Pop and Nana were there too. Terre took some more pictures from me, but this is all that are on my camera.

The celebrations continued on her actual birthday, which was a Tuesday. We went out to lunch at Steak and Shake (which is a tradition we have started as you will see in the next few posts)

This is how we turned a double stroller into a triple stroller!