Locks of Love

Before:



After:



On Tuesday, Claire gave 10 inches of her hair to Locks of Love. She loves her new haircut, and so do I! Today, we celebrated with a "girl's day," complete with a new pedicure, crafts, and a trip to Chocolate World. We also stopped by a sunflower field for some beautiful (and fun) pictures.

Life after Vacation

It's hard to transition back to our normal routine after vacation. I came home feeling overwhelmed with all that I need to get done this month, and Claire came home feeling like there's not enough for her to do. This was a conversation we had about it this morning...

Claire: I don't know what to do.

Allie: We were just away for a whole week and hardly had any toys, but you didn't say that once while we were away. Now that we're home and you have a room full of toys, you don't know what to do??

Claire: I just don't know what to do.

Allie: Well, I have too much to do, maybe I could share some of what I have to do with you.

Claire: Maybe it's because you are too busy, and Stacy and Jimmy aren't here.

Allie: Good point.

Stone Harbor

We had a wonderful day on the beach today. The weather was perfect - not too hot, like it has been - and a good cloud cover to give us a nice break from the sun. The ocean water was nice and refreshing, too.

Claire has FINALLY taken to the water!!! After 5 years of totally avoiding it, she completely changed her mind about the ocean - IT'S SO FUN!!!







There was an almost constant stream of dolphins today. Stacy and Jimmy were almost swimming with a family of them - babies and all. We were all enjoying watching them, whether they were just passing through, playing, jumping out of the water, or splashing with their tails.



A trench was dug in the sand leading from the ocean to a large hole. As the tide came in, it was fun to watch the water come up the trench and fill the hole. It was also fun to jump into the hole and dance around a bit.





This is the tell-tale sign of a good, fun day at the beach...

Messy Mommy

Claire was working on a craft project this morning using black tempera paint. As soon as the words, "Be careful not to get your pretty outfit dirty," left my mouth, I had black paint on my white shirt. Claire, however, managed to stay perfectly clean - even without a smock.

This is why I love Shout spray.

Knoebels

Yesterday was a great day to spend with good friends at Knoebels! The weather was perfect after a brief morning rain cooled things off. Thank you Jim, Judy, Lacy, and Abbie for a wonderful day!!

Claire's Favorite Ride...the Kiddie Whip



Avoiding the Paparazzi



Friends



Claire, Mimi, and Mommy with Giant Winnie-the-Pooh book



Enjoying the Ride



My personal favorite...we take our ice cream VERY seriously

Rainy Day Crafts

Who needs cartoons on a rainy day when you can make paper bag puppets?

Let's Talk About the Weather

Claire's comment of the day was, "IT IS STINKIN' HOT!"

Wherever you are and whatever you do, we hope you stay cool today.

Orange Juice Explosion

Claire has a day bed in her room. The headboard and foot board double as balance beams, at least Claire likes to think that they do. It has always made me nervous, but as a parent there are just some things you decide not to battle over. This is one of them for me. Well, this afternoon during her quiet time, Claire was practicing the "balance beam," and I heard a loud crash come from her room. When I walked in, she was sitting on the floor at the foot of her bed crying, but her face was wet with more than just tears. She was crying out, "My cup broke, and I don't have any more orange juice!" After checking for broken bones (more important to me at the moment than any broken cup), and finding Claire in perfect health, I asked her what she meant by her broken cup. Apparently, the force of her fall somehow ruptured a cup of orange juice I had given her for quiet time (it was well-equipped with a lid and a straw to be less messy). I realized then that her face was wet with orange juice. The cup was in two halves, each one on opposite sides of the room. Every bit of orange juice that was inside the cup had been sprayed all over her room. I have a feeling we will be finding sticky things for quite some time. We decided to lay off the balance beam for a while. I'm just thankful that the only thing Claire broke was her cup.

Bird Watching

Yesterday and today we've had a Baltimore Oriole visiting our backyard bird feeders.

Baltimore Oriole on the suet, Goldfinches on the Thistle feeder:

On the wreath (no, it's not a fake bird decoration):

Sharing with the Goldfinches:

Colorful birds: One of the many reasons we love Spring!

Is Laughter the Best Medicine?

Claire came down with a fever tonight. She didn't seem to have any other symptoms, but when I asked her if she just wanted to rest and watch a movie, she said that she couldn't watch anything too funny, because if she laughs too much, she might throw up. Later, she said, "I tested it out, and I didn't throw up." Phew! Laughter is good medicine...usually.

Caught Up in a Good Book

Whether on our own or together, Claire and I love reading. Claire is only just beginning to read on her own - mostly easy readers. It has been an exciting process to watch so far. What I love seeing is when a moment of free time arises, she will at times choose a book over a toy. That is what I caught her doing on these two occasions...

Just a few of our current favorite books to read together:

Betsy-Tacy, by Maud Hart Lovelace

Uncle Elephant, by Arnold Lobel (as pictured above)

In Grandma's Attic, by Arleta Richardson (we've read book 2 also, and hope to read more)

My Father's Dragon, by Ruth Stiles Gannett

Poppleton, by Cynthia Rylant (all of the Poppleton books are great!)

A few of Claire's favorite audiobooks:

Hello Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, by Betty MacDonald

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Farm, by Betty MacDonald

Three Tales of My Father's Dragon, by Ruth Stiles Gannett

Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner, by A. A. Milne, narrated by Peter Dennis (No matter what age you are, if you have a chance to listen to these stories, you are in for a treat! Peter Dennis's voices will have you laughing yourself silly!!)

Happy Reading!!

Attack of the Ants!!

Apparently we aren't the only ones welcoming Spring. Claire and I were sitting on the couch this afternoon when I thought I saw something moving across the carpet. I looked closer to see, and I saw an ant, and behind it, another crawling out of the carpet, and behind it, another. Suddenly, I noticed there were ants all over the carpet. I squished the ones I saw at first, but after a while I new I would need a faster method. So, I grabbed the vacuum cleaner. After sucking up a good many, I was told that they would probably survive the vacuum, and are probably crawling around in there. Ugh. I looked online to see if I could find a natural way of killing the ants both inside and outside (they just keep appearing out of the carpet) the vacuum. I found various methods of "all natural" ant control, including the following:

The Finger Method
1. Place finger over ant.
2. Push finger firmly on ant.
3. Twist and roll finger so the carcass will stick to said finger.
4. Repeat if necessary.
5. Wash hands as squashed ants stink.


Really??? Well, I'm off to battle the ants!

The Priorities of Life

The Two Most Important Things in Life (According to Claire):

Number One - Knowing God.

Number Two - Getting to a bathroom when you need one.

OBX III

Today's Agenda: North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island!

OBX II

Today's weather was on the cool and windy side. We took a drive down to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse since it wasn't going to be a good beach day. The tour of the actual lighthouse was closed (Claire wouldn't have gone up that high anyway), so we enjoyed the view from below...

On our way back, we stopped at a giant Adirondak chair for some silly pictures...

The Blog is Back: Outer Banks!!

We're having a great time in North Carolina! It was warm enough today to eat lunch on the balcony!! Here are a few pictures of the day...