A Sad Kind of Day

Today was a bit sad for us. Goosey's best little church friend is moving away on Wednesday. Her family has felt God's call on their lives to serve as missionaries in Abijan (Ivory Coast/West Africa). Our little friend is such a sweetie pie! She came over today and played dress-up, watched a movie, played outside, had a picnic and did some coloring. They had loads of fun.

Goosey had a HARD time saying goodbye. She refused to go with me to drop our friend off. She was stomping and being a bit nasty about it. I explained that I could not leave her alone and that she should say goodbye. There was a brief exchange of words and off our friend went.

We are going to miss them terribly. The girls were like little monkeys when they were around each other....playing with each other's hair, hugging, holding hands, etc. The parents are a great couple who are so faithful and will have some amazing things happen because they were obedient.

Our night ended on a funny note: Little Man had been playing with his drinking cup when it hit the floor. I told him to bring it to me and to leave the table. After he sauntered off, Goosey said, "He did that on purpose. He meant to hit the dog with his cup." I said, "How do you know that? It could have been an accident, right?" She said, "I KNOW because I am a trained expert, mom." =)

The State Capital of North Carolina is....Anybody? Anybody?

The answer to that question is Raleigh, my friends! Yes, Raleigh, North Carolina. The home to our Scary Aunt Jac (self-imposed name that was given when Goosey was a bit scared of meeting her for the first few times).

The Maclettes and I took to the road last week to visit our beloved Auntie. This was the first time that I had ventured to Raleigh since Jac had moved into her townhome. It is great! Plus, she has a stash of toys from the 80s that were a hit with the kids.

We did lots of fun things: library, parks, amusement play place, swimming, chilling, and tons of movie watching. I think that Beauty and the Beast was viewed at least 3 times. It was really a nice time to get away. And Daddy Mac was busy reading HP7 in peace and quiet.

There is one MAJOR note of interest that occurred while we were there. Little Man decided that the cats were too interesting to watch through the netting of his pack-n-play, so he promptly climbed out of it and was on the loose! Aunt Jac caught him in the big bed and asked him if he was suppose to be out of the crib. He covered up and said, "Noooooo". But being the good Auntie, she was going to put him in the crib and not rat him out. However, Little Man did not give her a chance....he bumped down the stairs and showed off his new talent. When I asked if Aunt Jac had gotten him out, he smiled, puffed his chest out and proclaimed, "No!"

Well, as of July 28, 2007, Little Man is now sleeping in a Big Boy bed. Daddy Mac broke down the crib and laid down the law: WHEN YOU GET IN BED, YOU STAY IN BED! (Only one time out so far!)

Big changes here...big changes.....

Where the heck has summer gone!

Huge revelation....only 4 weeks until school starts! Where has the summer slipped off to?

We just returned from our week in the Volunteer State with our Uncle, Aunt and sweet baby girl cousinent. Goosey exclaimed after we left that we should just move in with them and live as one big happy family. She had the best time tending to Baby Girl Cousinent. Little Man was enthralled with all the Spider Man stuff he accumulated throughout the visit.

Now we are settling in for the week. Laundry has started up and routine has begun again. We have visited the pool twice and both Maclettes sincerely believe that they can swim....in 12 inches of water. They love to splash around and have races. I, on the other hand, got a sunburn on my back and love to sit under the umbrellas.

Not much planned for the next week or so. Hopefully, we will be healthy and no cholera for us!

Bugs and Booms

It seems like the last few nights have been late ones for the Maclettes. They have both been able to stay up WAY past their bedtimes so that new and exciting adventures can be had.

Tuesday night was so nice. It was breezy and cool and perfect for catching some fireflies. Little Man was not so sure what was going on but was happy to be outside in the dark. Goosey Lou acted all bad until I gave her a firefly and she started squealing and trying to shake it out of her hand. Little Man just walked around clapping his jar and lid together hoping that something would materialize in it that would light up every now and then. He wasn't so successful.

The Fourth was celebrated as a craft day with our Auntie, followed by a big dinner. We decided to go to the fireworks and hope that no one got upset. I am glad to say that it was a pleasant experience. The weather was so nice that it felt like we were at the beach. Little Man was a bit apprehensive and kept grabbing Daddy Mac's arm to wrap around his head and cover his ears. He was passed from Daddy's lap, to my lap to Auntie's lap. All he could say was "BOOM!"

We got home and in bed by 11 PM. I am paying for it today!

How could I miss that it was a mountain?

Well, after another puke free day, myself, Daddy Mac and the Maclettes decided that we needed to go on an outing. We wanted to be somewhere close and outside since it was a low humidity day. We decided to hit the road to South Carolina and discover Kings Mountain National Military Park.

I am sure that history buffs can look up all the stuff on Kings Mountain but basically the Loyalist where on TOP of a mountain and the Patriots were in the valley surrounding the MOUNTAIN. The Patriots ascended the mountain and won a battle.

We decided to take the paved trail to the the battlefield. For some reason, the word 'battlefield' gave me visions of flat fields. Not so. Remember. The name of this place is Kings MOUNTAIN. We set out on the 1.5 mile loop sans strollers or backpacks. We found ourselves trucking UP some very STEEP inclines. Although paved, it was very steep.

Did I mention that the Maclettes were walking this with the adult MACs?

After a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth, we made the loop and saw two very impressive monuments. Goosey mentioned that she could not read some of the plaques because they were in the British language.

It is now time for some beddie-bye. Good night.