This past weekend was wonderful and busy.  Friday I spent most of the afternoon outside with Cora. The weather has cooled off ever so slightly which makes it bearable to go outside.

Cora loves our cat and even walked across the porch in her pursuit of her.

Friday evening we took her to the local park. We have not taken her their since she was tiny. Of course she loved it.

We love to watch her enjoying new things.

Sweet baby.

Saturday morning we went for a family run.  I love family runs…and Justin never ceases to amaze me!  He ran 4 miles without stopping and he has not run in about a month.  Before we left I snapped some pictures of Cora in a shirt I bought her for her birthday.  I am in love with Target baby clothes.

Saturday evening we spent with friends.

They are newlyweds and she has decorated so beautifully…I had to take some pictures.

Sunday was our nephew Cooper’s 3rd birthday.  I still cannot believe he is such a big boy!  It was a pool party and the theme was Thomas the Train. His Pa painted him this beautiful painting.

Cooper was kind enough to join Cora in the baby pool for a little while.  She loves spending time with her big cousin.

His cake was beautiful…

I wish I had more pictures of his big day but spent most of my time chasing after Cora as she seemed determined to plunge head first into the pool.

I love weekends…if only they were longer!

Yesterday I drove to Atlanta to meet my friend Ashley for a day of thrifting.  We met in high school and have remained friends ever since.  She is teaching with her husband in Hong Kong but happens to be home for 6 months.  I am savoring our time together as I will not see her for another year when she goes back.

It was so fun driving around our old stomping grounds…reminiscing and going into thrift store after thrift store.  Ashley is always so helpful with Cora…pushing her in the cart, taking her in and out of her car seat.  I could not have enjoyed a day of shopping were it not for her!

I definitely found a few treasures.  I love GAP jeans on Cora.  They are cute, they are durable,  and fit her round little body well.  I found the exact pair I was debating buying last year at the GAP and they were $1.60.  I also found polka-dot corduroys and these little leather shoes.

We walked next door to an awesome 2nd hand store called Revive and I found this pea coat for Cora.  Isn’t it adorable?  I would wear it they had it in my size.

I had to grab this brand new J. Crew shirt for my mom.  It is a perfect style and color for her.

I found myself this $.89 pillow sham from Value Village.  It is the exact color of our bedroom walls.  I love the pink, brown and green combo.

An entire day spent laughing and talking with one of my best friends, much needed pants and shoes for Cora…$14.00 later… I would say that’s a pretty good day.  Oh, and a baby who didn’t make a peep until the ride home even though she only took one 20 minute nap…she is such a little trooper.

A certain little miss is an avid music lover.  It calms her, it keeps her happy…so Pandora plays all day long in our home. But when Pandora is not with us mommy becomes a human juke box.  Songs swirl around in my head…I belt them out as necessary.  The best song for keeping her awake in the car is “The Itsy Bitsy Spider.”  I sing it over and over again…one hand on the steering wheel and one hand acting out the song.  I sing the ABC’s…in order to get her to eat her peas. I sing “If You’re Happy and You Know It.” when she is fussy.  Did you know there is a beautiful rendition of “Baa Baa Black Sheep” by a woman named Sophie Barker?  And that Jewel has a song called “Lullaby”?  I am becoming quite the expert on children’s music.

What amazes me is the calming and soothing effect music has on Cora.  I played piano for years and loved it. (despite my laziness with practicing)  I grew up exposed to a lot of music.. classical, folk, christian, bag pipes, blue grass and all sorts of bizarreness played in our home.  Now I do the same thing…sometimes pop…sometimes rap… sometimes Latin music…sometimes classical…sometimes Bhangra.   I almost always have music playing. It never  crossed my mind that soon my house and ears would be bombarded with lullabies.  But thanks to Pandora I find myself singing along and actually enjoying many of the songs!

Anyhow, it’s really cool because the station plays your mainstream children’s songs but also has folk music, Latin music and even African music.  The latter really gets baby grooving.  She starts bouncing her little behind up and down…so cute.  If you don’t already have a Pandora account you should get one.  They play such a variety…we definitely enjoy it!

This past weekend we headed to Birmingham to spend some time with Justin’s cousin (or 2nd cousin, or 3rd cousin????) and his wife Betty.  We always have so much fun spending time with them.  They are a very sweet, kind and generous couple.  Not only did they allow Cora to play with and drool on their soon-to-be-born little boy’s toys but they had her sleeping in his pack-and-play, using his towels and bath toys…it was as easy as being at home.

Matt was able to get us tickets to the Birmingham zoo and so all 5 (well really 6) of us went.

Cora really enjoyed looking at the animals…especially the monkeys and the kangaroos.  The Gorillas were also intriguing but so were the other children at the zoo…

You see Mr Gorilla in the background?

We were all too hot, sweaty and tired to see the zebras…maybe next time…when Levi is born and old enough to enjoy it.

Thanks for having us Matt and Betty!  We had a blast!

We are back!  We survived and enjoyed an entire week in the backwoods of Virginia.  No cell coverage or internet service for miles…no phones, no TV…nothing.  I must admit, it was lovely.  Apparently the world does keep turning without email, blogs, and facebook!

We left early Friday morning.  Cora was riding facing forward for the first time and she loved it!  It was a 10 hour trip and she did not cry one time.  At one point the air conditioning decided to quit working.  I was worried Cora would melt in the heat but our baby is a trooper.  What could be more fun then wind blowing in your face?

We arrived at Bear Creek Lake State Park around 5.  The rest of the family was already there.  A swarm of cousins ran to greet us.

The cabins were lovely…big, clean and well maintained.  They all had huge wrap around porches with rocking chairs.  Much time was spent sitting on these chairs…rocking back and forth and catching up.

The kids spent a lot of time scaling the rails or playing on them.  They were finally caught by Aileen about 12 feet in the air…on the wrong side of the rail.  I snapped this picture of them right before she found them.  They were not pleased to have to pose for this picture.

We went to the beach the second day we were there.  Cora loved the water.

We had a fire for marshmellows and smores.  These two pyros especially enjoyed it.

I kept seeing them burning stuff…What better use for a grill then to melt plastic soldiers?

Now for many, many pictures.  I took hundreds..these are the favorites.

Dad reading his bible.

Babies.

Children.

Family.

Friends. (Our very dear Ashley came all the way from Canada to see all 25 of us!)

And finally.  Two of the funniest pictures from the trip.  Will and Cora…they are two peas in a pod.  She steals all his toys and he beats her up.  Look at the grin of satisfaction as he pulls her over!

More on Virginia still to come.

The other day I was standing in my kitchen and I noticed something I often overlook.  It is a vintage recipe box that I inherited when our cottage was sold.  It’s something I love because it reminds me of childhood.  It was always sitting in the cottage but I do not know that it was used very often.  It goes unnoticed at my house…it’s a bookend to hold up Rachel Ray and Martha Stewart cookbooks.

I decided to take a peek  and see what might be hidden inside.  There are dozens of recipes that my grandmother had hand written or typed with a typewriter.  The Grandma who met me once but died when I was a week old.  The Grandma I am told I resemble…and apparently have her same bossy and determined nature.   The Grandma who was busy taking her grandchildren to the theater, buying them fancy dresses…the grandmother that grew up in New York and married a Canadian.  The grandmother I wish I could have known.

Here she is with my dad’s three older siblings.

I learned a little something about my Grandma through looking at these recipes.  She must have like to cook…and I am assuming she was good at it?  There were recipes for scones, apricot chicken, cheese drop biscuits, pies, cakes, Sangria…and all sorts of other delicious sounding food!  I am determined to try some of her recipes.  Isn’t it strange how you can just stumble across something or overlook it but inside there is such treasure to be found?

In about a week we are leaving for a trip to Virginia.  I cannot wait!  A whole week with my little family…no computers, no work schedule…no routine.  Just what we need right now!

My cousin Jo just arrived home from a three week vacation with her family of seven.  It got me thinking about all the trips Justin and I have been on since being married.   For our honeymoon we went to New York. The highlights  of that trip were eating delicious food and aimlessly walking…all. day. long.

Of course I cannot forget our helicopter ride!  Seeing Manhattan from the sky was pretty impressive.

In the fall of 2007, We flew to Ottawa for my cousin’s wedding.  I am so glad Justin was able to see this beautiful city that I love.

The summer of 2008 we were able to go to the cottage that my great uncle built.  For 19 years I spent my summers there.  Chaffey’s Lock is very dear to my heart.  I was a gift being able to share with Justin the place that holds most of my childhood memories.

We both agree, that was the best vacation we have had.

In the fall of 2008 we went to Philadelphia for a wedding.  One of the best parts of the trip was driving through beautiful Harper’s Ferry.

In 2009 we flew out to Las Vegas.  Justin had a business trip and I was able to tag along.  I was pregnant and sick with a sinus infection.  I threw up before leaving for the airport…Not much to say about Vegas.  We did get to see the beautiful Red Rocks.  They helped cleanse my mind from all the filth of The Strip.

Another trip while pregnant was a wedding in Baltimore.  We had so much fun.  Too bad the trip was only a couple days…we could have done a lot more exploring!  Unfortunately I cannot find any pictures from that trip.

Of course more recently we went to Houston, TX.  Baby got to come along on that trip.  It was fun but again, not much time to explore.

Thinking about all these trips makes me even more excited to explore Virginia.  I have driven through many times but have never been able to soak in the beauty.  We’ll be staying in a cabin near a lake.  I am counting down the days!

We are back from our trip to Canada.   I loved being able to spend time with Tim, Aileen and their three children.  Cora and I were spoiled.

I arrived Monday.  Tuesday my sister-in-law and I went to the best grocery store in the world.  I guess it’s kinda like Canadian Target.  I bought myself a bathing suit (yes, I actually made myself try some on…I still haven’t quite recovered from the shock.  Anyone else notice everything went downhill and sideways after having a baby?), a shirt, some pjs and 2 shirts for Cora.  I also picked up some yummy Canadian treats for Justin. Thursday was another shopping trip.  Not too successful as Cora decided she was going to cry the entire time.  She did not want mommy to find new clothes.  She always sabotages my shopping trips.  I did manage to find a cute dress for $17.  It hides some of the parts that I mentioned earlier being upside down and sideways:)

I was also able to go to Aileen’s soccer game.  She  scored three of the five goals!  I saw Abby perform in her dance recital.  She did and awesome job!  Nick and I played a board game…and somehow we tied.  Michaelah was endless entertainment.  Always had some funny comment to make such as “Auntie Grace, your shirt is pretty but not that pretty.  It’s just red.”

I frequented Tim Hortons getting my fix of coffee and donuts.  I went running without Cora…and ended up lost.  Thankfully Aileen was able to direct me home. I saw two of my dearest friends from childhood.  If only I had pictures of them with Cora.

There were a couple of things I have noticed while being there.  It’s strange how my homeland is no longer familiar to me:

People have the most beautiful gardens.  There are very few overgrown and weed-eaten gardens.  A strange observation but one that really sticks out to me. Here is a picture of Aileen’s garden.  It’s beautiful.

Portion sizes are smaller here.  A small coffee is a small coffee…maybe smaller than a kids size in the US.

I miss Tim Hortons.

Women here landscape, mow yards, do road work, etc.  I love it.

Men don’t hold open doors.  Neither do women.  In the South everyone holds open the door for a woman with a stroller.

The clothes are amazing.  Too bad Cora never let me get a chance to shop. (I have prayed for self control…maybe that is God’s unique way of answering my prayer)

I miss Tim Hortons.

People are not as friendly.  I have to remind myself that not everyone wants to say “hi” to me as I run by.  A Southern habit I have picked up and one that I love.

I miss Tim Hortons.

Stuff is way overpriced.  For a box of diapers it’s almost $40.00!  Give me American prices any day.

I am in Canada visiting my brother.  It’s so good to be here.  Cora is half Canadian so it’s good for her to be here as well.

My first stop was Tim Horton’s.  I have an addiction to Vanilla Dip donuts…it started as a child and continues to this day.  Those are the only donuts I’ll eat.  I am also hoping to get some ketchup chips while here…or maybe dill pickle.  I know, disgusting…but not if you’re Canadian! I also plan on doing some shopping.  Not anything big…but I want to buy something to commemorate Cora’s first trip here.

I am hoping to post once this week with some pictures of my brother and sister-in-laws beautiful children.  I just need to find the time to write.

Til next time!

I’m a little obsessed…

with bringing the outside in.  The flowers keep on blooming and I keep on snipping, sticking in water and admiring.  I just realized last night that the roses have bloomed!  Sorry little rose bush…you are about to be left with only a few buds because this crazy woman is coming to snip you bald.