Our Day at the Park

This past Saturday Drew had a "home show" type thing to go to in the morning so the kids and I packed a picnic lunch and headed over to the Tot Lot. We had a great time and the weather was just PERFECT!!! There was just enough clouds and just enough sun. Evie took right to the slides and made a new friend along the way (as usual). MF, Ward, and myself headed over to the swings and had quite a big time. This was Ward's first time on the swings and he just loved it! Here's the pictorial and video diary:

Yes, she climbed up there by herself and conquered that slide with no problem.
I didn't time this one right. They were both smiling right before took it. I think MF would swing all day everyday if she could.

Gotta love that hat! As soon as I started pushing him, he was smiling and laughing. Give him about 12 more months and he'll be on the slides with Evie, just you wait and see!

The wind was blowing so please excuse the interference. Oh, and our batteries died at the end of each of these videos.

Mary Fran is saying "I'm shaking my hair!" She was also requesting to go higher and higher and bragged on how brave she was.

I hope these swinging ones don't make you sick. Sorry if they do! Here's the Wardster for your viewing pleasure! :)

Life with Children

We've had a lot of fun conversations in the Petrey household lately. For a fun way to start off the weekend here's a sampling:

Evie: "Mommy, I ate a booger!"
Me: "Oh, really? Next time, Eves, just put it in the trash can or a tissue instead of eating it."
E: "OK, it was right here (as she points to her upper lip) and it just dropped in!"
M: (stifling hysterics) "Well, can't help that can you?"

Mary Fran: (out of breath) "I'm finished going poo poo."
Me: "Good job, Mary Fran!"
MF: (standing up) "Mommy, it looks like the letter G!"
Now that's one way to teach letter recognition!

As you can see, we're quite open with our bodily functions around here!

The Flowers are Bloomin'!

Our garden is doing extremely well. We are already harvesting somethings which just amazes me. I guess all the rain the past 2-3 weeks ended up doing good and not drowning everything. It's so exciting seeing all this stuff grow! I thought I'd share some pictures for your enjoyment...

Last night Drew thinned out the collards (with Evie's help). At that point, Ward, MF, and I were upstairs cleaning Wardy's bottom when I see Evie come past the door and head to the bathroom. This big girl just marched right upstairs, put the collards in the sink, and washed them off. No one told her to but she knew that's what needed to be done. I'm not proud, promise. :)
A nice banana pepper which Drew picked three of on Sunday evening. He said they were pretty spicy when he tasted them. I'm not much on spicy things and am trying to figure out a way to use them without overwhelming the food. Any suggestions?
Let me tell you about those cucumbers...they're doing amazingly well. Drew built that trellis for them to climb up (he's so handy!) and they are taking to it like a fish to water. Our beans are of the bush variety and as opposed to the pole. You can see them in the right and middle rows. The collards are in the back right corner (this is before they were thinned).

Go, zucchini, go!

Squash blossom. You know, I never knew this was how squash and zucchini grew. I guess that's what happens when you grow up in suburbia. I think I'm getting more out of this than the kids!

Please excuse the end of this cutting out but our battery died. What Evie says is, "I like the taste of the broccoli" and surprisingly, they do taste somewhat like broccoli!

Splash Pad and More

Saturday morning the guys were supposed to play golf but Drew hurt his upper back last weekend and was told "no golf." The kids and I planned to meet up with mom and go to the Splash Pad at the YMCA so we went on. We had a great time and really enjoyed having a cool place to go!

This was, of course, Evie's thing to do...run around. She was fearless, as usual!

MF enjoyed it all as well but was a little more timid. She ended up running through this by the time we left.

This was one of the favorites, especially for MF. I imagine it was because it was her size.

Wardy boy checking it all out and getting wet in the process.

Mom brought a great picnic lunch that we enjoyed. As you can see, Ward was tired but perked up after some food.

After naps and baths, we headed over to Uncle Grayson's new house. It is a great house and we quite enjoyed the pizza. Afterwards, we headed out to the front porch swing and had a great time singing. Check out the video at the end of the pictures!

Daddy and his girls

Isn't it a beautiful house? Great job, Grayson!

Mary Fran had her PJ's on and decided to do a little fashion designing of her own. What do you think, is she ready for Paris?

These videos are in reverse order, so please excuse. This first one is Dad teaching the kiddos his fraternity songs that he taught me as a young 'un. Notice Ward's face, he loved the swing and even harmonized some...no kiddin'!

We had a wonderful Father's Day as well complete with brunch at O'Charlie's (always yummy) with Grayson and Jessica. Thanks for a great weekend, Dad!

After brunch, we headed back home for a picnic at Price Park on the Parkway with the Petrey clan (say that 5 times fast!). We are so thankful for all the fathers in our lives. We love you, PaPa, Big Win, and Paw Paw!

Sweatin' in Columbia

This past weekend, we went down to Cola town (Columbia, SC) to spend some time with dad and celebrate Father's Day. We had a great time but truly experienced the heat and humidity of the Capitol City. Yes, 100 degrees was broken on Friday and Saturday. I think Drew truly understands why our summers up here are such a relief to me! :)

On Friday, Dad and Brenda treated us to EdVenture which is a wonderful hands-on museum type of place. They have all sorts of things to do but are right now featuring a "Blooming Butterflies" exhibit. It was incredible as we stepped into this outdoor room (with a net covering, of course) with beautiful flowers, a small waterfall, and butterflies everywhere!
I have to admit that I don't know all the names of these butterflies but I'm sure my trusty brother-in-law, Dustin, will comment on them, so check in the "comments" section to see what they are.

Brenda's granddaughter, Mary, and her son, Riley, came along with us and it was so good to see them. Riley is about 6 months younger than Mary Fran but is about the same size. All the kids really had a good time together.

Who can resist that face?

Dustin, need your help here...

Mary Fran was mesmerized by the waterfall. She kept saying, "I want to swim in it, please." I could understand that sentiment.

One more posed pic with PaPa before heading inside and being greeted by...

Eddie! Yes, he is that big...two stories. Quite impressive he is.

A little bit different perspective.

Once upstairs the thought was to go inside Eddie (yes, you read that right) to see all of the body functions. However, there were some summer program groups that were also there and it was quite crowded inside so we thought we'd save that for another time.

Oh, there were so many different areas that we just could spend days in there. Our first stop upstairs was the "motion area." Drew threw a 44 mph ball that was indeed a strike. I stepped up there to have a turn after the kiddies were done and threw 21 mph. The little 6 year old boy that went after me threw 26. :)

Downstairs there was a great farm area and Eves got to pick peaches and get the "eggs" from the "hens." What fun!

Ward the Fireman!

Riley was right at home in the firetruck. He had so much fun and did not want to move on.

The building area was the last we visited. Ward didn't build so much as he taste-tested. Yes, I know, germs but sometimes there's only so much you can do.

Drew and Evie had fun moving the bigger blocks in the bulldozer. Yes, they were both in hog heaven! We then were treated to lunch at Groucho's (always a treat!), took naps, and had moments like this...

There is much more to come so stay tuned in the coming days!

Chatterbox

Ward has said his first word!!!! YEAH!!! Of course, it's "da da." He's been saying it for about a week now but we weren't sure if he got the "connection" and assumed he was just jabbering. Well, this morning I brought him into our bed to nurse and after finishing, he turned over, started patting on Drew and said "Da Da" over and over. Drew heard that, turned over, and Ward gave him the biggest grin. It was the sweetest thing! I'll try to get it on video soon but he doesn't do it on command yet. You know, they say boys aren't as verbal but I think he might be the exception to the rule. I mean he is only 8 1/2 months old! Seems like he might need to get his voice out there with two very vocal sisters. :)

Toads, Slugs, and Yellow Jackets

We had a full Saturday...full of interesting animals and lots of work. Drew set to work in the yard today mulching with pine straw, mowing the yard, and building trellises in the garden for the beans and cucumbers. Here are a few snapshots...

Had to include this one from earlier in the week. I think they might weigh the same now. :) Doesn't his face look better?!?
While moving the locust logs lining our front flower bed I spotted this little fella hopping around. We had quite a bit of fun watching him.

Evie thought she might hold him but then reconsidered.

"Kiss me and I will turn into a handsome prince!"

Big boy sitting in the grass. He tried eating some, too. Not too appetizing.

Nice slug. Want to pick him up? ;)

You may not be able to make out too well but we found this and weren't sure what it was. Upon further investigation, we realized it was the beginning of a yellow jacket's nest. We even saw some larvae in there. How neat! Don't worry, though, we got completely rid of it. We had a full and very productive afternoon and topped it all off by eating up at the senior Petrey's and pickin' some music. Could there be anything better?

Cascading

This afternoon Drew had a wonderful idea...go hiking off the Blue Ridge Parkway to a place called the Cascades. I had never been and we were all super excited. So, after naps and a snack we packed up and headed out!

Getting ready to head out on the trail! (Ward was strapped to me!)
The first "little waterfall" we came to. The sounds of the waterfall were amazing to hear as we walked.

Taking a little break to watch the top of the falls before being greeted by...

...this.

Wild irises on the trail and...

...these beauties which we didn't know the name of. (MaMaw, Big Win, any thoughts?)

Downriver shot

Had to get a shot of these steps from the bottom of the waterfall to the top. Evie tackled these with no problems. Go ahead, Eves!

The trail back was different from the trail to the falls. On our way back Drew saw this little guy. We had a great time watching this fellow burrow into the sand when we got a little too close.

Evie reminds me so much of myself. She would stop and watch the water every so often and go off on the little trails to get closer to the water (after asking, of course). Oh, how history repeats itself!

On the way back Drew spotted this incredible overlook so we had to stop and get a family shot. Could we live anywhere more beautiful?

We couldn't let this beautiful day go by without a shot of the Mountain Laurel. Mountain Laurel is indigenous to the High Country but only blooms every other year...and this is the year! I absolutely love these flowers, especially how the buds are such an odd shape before blooming. Anyone want to visit? :)