Let's Go Racin'!

Two weekends ago, my parents took the boys back to North Carolina with them for their first "away from us, away from our house" adventure. Mama and Papa have been to our house numerous times to watch the boys when Ashley and I have gone away but this was the first time the boys left our house with them. 

 It was also the boys' first experience riding in a sedan...isn't that crazy? I've always had a SUV and Ashley has always had a truck so the boys have never ridden at a lower level. They had a great trip with their Papa and GinGin and Ashley and I really enjoyed our time kid-free! Friday afternoon was my first time at our house by myself for an extended period of time and I loved it! I napped, read part of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (read it if you haven't), made brownies, piddled in the garden with the chickens, etc. It was heavenly. That night we went out to supper with our friends Buffy and Leighton. 

Then Saturday we went to Charlotte to see the NASCAR All-Star race. You may be surprised but this was actually MY idea--I enjoy watching racing but the idea of sitting through a full race doesn't rank high on my list of ways I want to spend my free time. The All-Star race is a great way to experience NASCAR--4 races of 20 laps each. We invited Ashley's cousins Martin (and his wife Kristin) and Thomas (and his daughter Madeline) to go with us. We found great parking for free that was fairly close and tailgated for a while. 

 Although we don't get to see much of Martin and Kristin, I always love being around them. Kristin told me all about their recent trip to Italy, which reminded me of my own travels there 10+ years ago, pre-kids, pre-Ashley, pre-SC. They had an amazing time.

 Thomas is one of Ashley's favorite people and is easy to hang out with. And his daughter Madeline is in the HESA program at USC (the same program where I earned my M.Ed). 

 Everyone enjoying themselves...we grilled hotdogs for supper. 

 Walking in to the track. 

 The infield--I took this picture mostly to show Levi and Mason the CAT truck. We bought them Matcbox-sized racecars as souvenirs-- the M&M's car and the Mountain Dew car. 

 Ashley picked out great seats for us--right at the start/finish, under the boxes. If we go again, we'll try to get a few rows lower because we had to stoop down when standing to see the cars on the back stretch. 

 Let's get racin' y'all!

 Driver introductions--this stage was pulled by three semi-trucks--pretty cool to see it all come together. 

We spent the night in Charlotte, and on Sunday visited the Trader Joe's, ate at Hickory Tavern at the Metropolitan shopping area--good food! and checked out West Elm (very cool home decor store) before meeting my parents at Sonic. The boys were happy to see us and we were happy to see them--but I could definitely get used to having them go on their adventures with grandparents--so nice to have time to myself and with Ashley!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to my mama and all my mama friends and family members! What a special group to be a part of, those of us who choose to tackle life with kids. Although some days are (really) hard, I wouldn't trade my life now for any alternative. Levi and Mason have challenged me to become a stronger person and have taught me so much about our endless capacity for love. I remember being flooded with that emotion when Mason was born--astounded that I could love another child equally as much as Levi. And here I go again, with number 3 on the way!

We celebrated Mother's Day with Ashley's family--first with Parker's dedication at their church and then lunch at Carey's. Ashley tried to get a few pictures of me and boys. As always, it's hard to get them to both look at the camera at the same time. 

And add to that, Levi thought it was funny to play with my dress!

We did get a couple, showing how handsome these little guys are. 

And our family as a whole. 

Hang in there, moms! We're doing good work, even if we don't always see the fruits of our labor!

Water (and sand) boys!

I'm sure the majority of kids love playing in water. Our boys certainly do. Ashley filled up their big plastic pool on our back porch and that provided great entertainment after supper last week (it's shaded in the evenings). 

Playing in the plastic pool was practice for our trip to Litchfield Beach this past weekend. Parents of one of Ashley's good friends let us use their condo, which was perfect. Right on the beach and there was a pool, too. The boys loved it and we had a great time. The sand was a big hit (the ocean was too cold but the boys didn't even seem to want to get in...fine by me!). 

 Brothers digging. They both were happy to wear sunglasses and hats--another thing that made me happy. After having melanoma a few years ago, I'm probably more paranoid about sun exposure in kids. 

 Ashley was a great dad and helped them build all sorts of sand castles. 

 On Friday and Saturday, we had the routine of waking up, getting down to the beach by 9. Playing there until 10, having a snack at the pool, playing at the pool and then heading up to the condo to get cleaned up and go out for lunch. Going out for meals with the boys is rarely on my list of my favorite things but we did find one restaurant that was perfect for our family, the Fish House in Litchfield. Just like the sign says, it wasn't fancy but the food was delicious, reasonably priced (our meal, tip included, was $28), and the kids ate really well. 

 A highlight of the restaurant was the pirate ship playground.

 And the big fish on the wall!

 I loved this old truck they had parked out in the lot (and yes, you can definitely tell I'm pregnant now). 

 Mason continues to fight naps but he did fall asleep in the raft we bought for the pool. He slept here for over an hour! He has taken naps the past 2 days at home...blessings!

 After supper each evening we went down the beach to play some more (followed by more pool time). 

 Sunday morning was fairly overcast but it made for great beach time!

 Levi loved filling his bucket with water and pouring it on the sand castle. 

 Mason liked this BIG hole that Ashley dug. We really had a wonderful time. I've been less than enthusiastic about past beach trips because I dislike all the sand...but having a pool on site definitely helped with that. And just knowing that the boys were having so much fun made it worth it. Vacationing with kids isn't so much a vacation for the parents but we made memories and found some time to relax, too. 

 We drove through Sumter on the way home and passed by the Shaw Air Force Base air show--here are the Thunderbirds flying by! Seeing this was so cool! Made me proud to be an American and thankful for all of the folks who serve in the military. 

 We came home to a garden full of goodness. I'll blog more about those happenings on the Okra Hill Farm blog. Catch me there!

 But check out the carrot!

 Levi loved it! He doesn't usually eat carrots but munches these straight from the garden. 

 And in other news around the farm, we got goats tonight! Two Dwarf Nigerians to be exact, Ziggy (black and white) and Waylon (the browner one). They come from our neighbor who didn't feel like she had enough time for them. We can promise them lots of attention and places to roam. 

 Ashley's parents brought over their old dog pen and set up the goat compound. The boys are already fascinated!

 The goats' compound is located behind Windy's barn (our cat). We can see them from our dining room window. I'll post more pictures of them on my farm blog, including ones of them getting to higher places. And so our family grows again!