Hillridge Farms

This past weekend my mom (a.k.a. Nana) came to visit. Even though she lives 800 miles away we still get to see her every 2-3 months. I am very grateful for that! A local farm I had been wanting to visit was having Teacher Appreciation Weekend while she was here. Since she is a teacher she got in free plus two guests! So we decided to take advantage of that deal. The weather for the day was overcast/rainy and cooler than the days we have had lately. We decided to chance it in hopes that it would not rain while we were there.

I was surprised at how much stuff there was for Riley to do there. We had a really good time and the weather held up for us too. I can't wait to go back next year!

They had goats, chickens and rabbits

Instead of a sand box, a corn box

An 80-ft slide, that Riley wanted to go on over and over

Hay maze & tot maze

A teepee to play & hide in

Bounce houses...in the words of Riley: jump, jump, jump

A hay ride that took you to the...

PUMPKIN PATCH

We each got to pick out a pumpkin to take home

So true

Train ride around the farm

A play fort

Tunnel to crawl through

16 Months Old

Dear Riley-

You keep getting bigger and smarter by the day. You never cease to amaze me or your daddy. Just this week you started repeating things we ask you to say. Not all of them come out understandable but some do and we are proud of you for trying! You make friends everywhere you go. At the grocery store you say "hi" and "bye" to everyone and they can't help but stop and say it back. There are two little girls in 3rd & 4th grade who live in our neighborhood who come by the house and ask if you will come out to play. The first time they came, I thought they had the wrong house. They chase you around the cul.da.sac and you love it! You have become a climber lately and can climb on the couches and the desk chair. It makes very nervous, because then you stand up and want to jump. Speaking of jumping, you love to do it. Mostly on our bed. I have such a fun time watching you as you bounce between pillows and blankets. Everything you do, you do with a smile and with joy only a child could have. I thank God everyday that you are mine and that I get to keep you!

Love you bunches,

Mommy

Daycation

On Friday Thomas took the day off and we took a day-cation to Wilmington & Carolina Beach.

We wanted to take Riley to the beach when it wasn't miserably hot and crowded since we are not big beach people ourselves. We picked the perfect day! The forecast was for rain all day but we did not see a drop. It was cool enough that we didn't sweat but warm enough to go in the water. It took a few minutes for Riley to take in the new environment but once she did she was "all in"! She laughed every time the waves crashed the shore, even when they knocked her down. She loved transferring sand from one pile to the next and knocking down any castle that we attempted. This was a much better experience than our trip in March.

After we washed all the sand off (which reminded me why I don't like the beach!) we headed to downtown Wilmington. It is a fun place to walk around with its funky shops and scenic waterfront pier. The pier is pretty long and areas of it were people-free so we let Riley get out and run around. Another reason I like downtown is because many scenes from one of my favorite shows to watch in college (Dawson's Creek) were filmed downtown. While walking along the pier we saw that across the water they were filming scenes for the show One Tree Hill. And...

of course we had to check it out! We are always on the hunt for film-making magic!

We were able to stand near by and watch the action. Thankfully we weren't the only celebrity stalking weirdos who drove across the bridge to watch. Thomas got a few good shots of the actors thanks to the zoom on our camera. We only stayed a few minutes and probably would of been asked to leave if we stayed much longer since Riley did not get the concept of "we're shooting, be quiet" (oh and because she was throwing rocks at the Range Rover they used in     a shot). 

 Afterwards we got dinner and headed back to Cary. The weekends are always so busy for us so we rarely get a whole day to spend as a family so it was extra special for us to be able to do this. We plan to do this a couple more times this year since Thomas has some vacation time to use. Yea!