weekend trip to Ohio!

Last weekend we took a quick trip to Ohio to celebrate (Adam's) Grandma Dips' 80th birthday. It was a surprise party and we actually surprised her - who would have thought that was possible with an 80 year old lady? We left on Friday morning and spent 9 hours in the car. Wow. Caleigh kept saying, "Yaya ride in the car all day" and "Yaya watch Elmo's world in the car all day." Yes that is true. Caleigh did watch Elmo's world in the car all day long on the way up there. Adam's parents rented a van and rode with us which was super helpful with the kids. The ride up to Ohio was pretty bad - we stopped 5 times in the first 3.5 hours - none of which was for the kids! Andrew (who usually sleeps about 3 hours worth of naps during the day) slept only 30 minutes out of the entire 9 hours on the way up there but otherwise he was actually pretty happy - I would pump when it was time to feed him and Gammy would give him his bottle in his car seat - pretty efficient! Caleigh was going berserk by the time 5 o'clock rolled around (after 8.5 hours in the car) - I can't blame her because I was too - she was banging her head from side to side in her car seat and just screaming/moaning/crying. The poor thing who didn't sleep at all fell asleep when we were getting off the exit for our hotel. I decided that the song, "Ironic" could have been written about this trip. When we got to Ohio we were greeted with this...

Over 13 inches of snow! Yikes. It was FREEZING up there - I kept telling Adam I was so glad it wasn't that cold in Charlotte. After letting Caleigh sleep for about 20 minutes while we unloaded the car we got right back in the car and headed over to an Ohio favorite - Marion's Pizza to surprise Grandma Dips. She really was so surprised and started crying when she saw us (absolutely precious and the highlight of the trip). This was her first time in seeing Andrew. This is the only picture I got of her (taken at her house)...

After the kids finally went to sleep that night (after 8 pm) - we got up and hit the road bright and early Saturday morning to see the rest of the family. We headed about 20 minutes south to see Adam's Grandpa Dyer and Grandma Mabel (his grandparents were divorced and Grandma Mabel I guess is actually his step-grandma). The kids actually did so great on this trip - we asked so much of them - riding forever in the car, sleeping in unfamiliar places, staying up late, sitting in people's laps' that they had never met... This was the first time Grandpa Dyer and Grandma Mabel met either of the kids (though their house was a shrine of pictures to them - so sweet!). Caleigh was bribed with peanut M&Ms for this picture - and Andrew is just trying to make a quick getaway...

I love how Mabel looks so smitten with Caleigh. Adam and his brother... Bampa and Grandpa Dyer... 4 generations of Dyer men! And all the girls... Later on Saturday at Grandma Dips' Caleigh played in the snow briefly. with Bampa... A sweet video that we took with Caleigh (I didn't know it was being filmed!) - you can hear Grandma Dips giving some commentary - On Sunday morning we woke up bright and early and did the 9 hours again - the kids did so so good on the way back - they both slept - Andrew for about 30 min in AM and 30 min in afternoon and Caleigh for about 1 hr and 15 min in the afternoon. We were exhausted after a long weekend at a hectic pace but it was so fun to see the extended family and to spend time with the Dyers'. We really appreciated all of their help! It really was so much better than I thought it was going to be and the kids really did do well.

cheerios

Mom - there is something on my lip.

And something keeps piling up under my chin... Our sweet boy loves his Cheerios!

watercolor!

After seeing on a friend's blog that they tried watercolors with their 2 year old (that's you Katie Carrington!) I decided we would give it a go with Caleigh.

She did really well with it! She loves painting and for the most part figured out the dip it in water, dip it in colors, then paint rhythm but sometimes she just put the brush in the water and then the color and then right back in the water again. I found it much less stressful than actual paint so that was a bonus. Fun fun fun.

super bowl pics (finally)

I have been meaning to post these pictures for quite some time since the super bowl was several weeks ago. Every year we choose a team to cheer for in the super bowl and we make decals to add to our clothing to support our team. This year we cheered for the Saints (and they won!). Yay! Adam (as usual) is too cool for this tradition but Caleigh, Andrew, and I happily wore our emblems of pride.

Love this family pic... Beautiful BIG boy... Oh - there's the camera...

snow!!!

This weekend we got our second snow of the season! During the first snow both of our kids were sick with ear infections and fevers so we didn't brave the outdoors. But we were all healthy for this fun and fluffy snow which started on Friday night and snowed into Saturday morning. I was working on Friday night when it started but thankfully it didn't stick to the roads until the wee morning hours. While Andrew was taking his morning nap on Saturday we wandered out onto our porch to see the snow.

And Adam walked Bailey who was super hyper when she saw the snow. After Andrew woke up and we ate a quick lunch we bundled everyone up to go outside. By the time we got outside the snow in the sun was already melting! Andrew attempted to make his first snow angel - but wasn't a big fan. He was much happier when he was being held. Caleigh LOVED the snow. We were surprised because she is such a girly girl - she hates to be dirty, cold, wet, etc and snow is most of those things - wet, cold... But shockingly she actually loved it. This snow was perfect - about 3 inches of very fluffy, dry, perfect snow for playing and perfect snow for not sticking to the roads. After this pose Caleigh freaked out because there was snow on her face and when she tried to wipe it with her other hand she got more snow on her face. Gosh - love these big blue eyes... Sweet face... Leave me alone Mom, I'm trying to play. Thank you, Lord for a beautiful and fun snow - what a great way to enjoy God's creation!

cheering for carolina

On Wednesday we cheered for Carolina by dressing up and supporting our team!

Crawl this way, Andrew! Wow, Caleigh - you are heavy! Cutest cheerleaders I have ever seen. Mom - quit with this camera stuff... Playing with the doorstop = endless entertainment.

finally... pictures from the country

I have finally stalked enough blogs to track down several pictures from our trip to the country in January. We had such a fun time at the Jacksons' country house celebrating all things southern, including, but not limited to: the Hunts, camo, guns, sewing, all things fried/fattening (shown here at Lone Star - a fabulous all you can eat buffet of southern heaven)...

Carrie and I bonded over our love of bad childhood movies (yes, Melissa, I stole that line directly from your blog)... We went on a fun hayride in the freezing cold (to help acclimate Melissa into what the cold Prague days would feel like)... In a hilarious dichotomy, the guys spent their time doing manly things like chopping down trees (and finding them infested with giant bugs, prompting the quote: "That's your problem right thar.") and then cutting them up with a hilariously small chainsaw... and shooting pumpkins ("Take it!") While the women perfected their suzy homemaker sides with a sewing lesson from Carrie Dirks. I did learn important things like what the heck a bobbin is and I actually sewed for the first time in my life. Although as I think Mary can also say, neither of us have sewed since. We spent some great time in fellowship with each other and especially enjoyed a giant bonfire that the guys slaved over. Thanks for a fun weekend!