Saturday Morning Snuggles

I love the way our days start on Saturdays.

Grand Slam!

I enjoyed listening to the broadcast of Chris Davis' grand slam for the Orioles Friday night almost as much as I enjoyed listening to Graham re-enact it with his Davis bobblehead afterward. 

Keeping It Cool

Right around the time that I was reaching my limit at work, Erica and the kids met me for lunch near campus. It was a nice opportunity to hit refresh on my day. Here's Graham and I working to "Keep It Cool."

Grocery Shopping At Home

One of my "to do" items for today was cleaning out the fridge and freezer, so I decided to make it fun for G too. We played grocery store with the recyclables for at least 30 minutes today. Among the deals was a $45 gallon of milk and a $20 container of honey mustard. : )

Energy Shortage

Work has been exhausting me lately. I was running on fumes Thursday night. It's times like these that I have to work hard to match the kids' energy.

Nevertheless, I put my phone aside when I arrived home, gave myself a pep talk as I changed clothes, and offered the kids what I had left. That meant feeding Aubrey at dinner and lots of draining superhero play with Graham on the back porch afterward - running in circles, "riding" an umbrella, and taking turns "driving" in the chairs. 

At one point I told Graham I'd like to play piano - a break for me! - assuming he'd jump at the chance for iPad time while I practiced. He didn't want to stop playing, so I skipped my routine.

As we prepared to say our prayers later that night, I asked Graham what he was thankful for. He offered his usual canned response.  

"Anything else?" I asked, hoping that he would consider the question seriously each night. 

"I'm thankful for the chance I got to play with you on the porch and in my room," he replied.

At bedtime, we played with his superhero characters before calling it a night. I don't get it right often enough. On this particular evening, I was grateful that I did.

Daddy Date Night

I wanted Graham to look at the camera. He couldn't take his eye off of his cookie. Good for him.

G and I enjoyed a guys date night on Tuesday with a visit to Red Robin for dinner and games followed by dessert (and the playground) at McDonald's.

G won a bouncy ball at one of the Red Robin games (Daddy approves!) and laughed hysterically while plowing through everything in sight on the Fast & Furious racing game. He prides himself on being "a crazy driver."

Quality time.

Gonna Be a Bright, Sunshiny Day

How can you be sad after seeing this precious smile?

Justice League Love

Graham has become very fond of superheroes. In fact, he can't get enough of them. We checked out four Justice League books today. Based on early returns, Graham is loving them. I've caught him reading them several times already: in the car, in the floor at home, in his room. And it's a joy to watch. 

When Life Hands You Lemons...

I signed Graham up for soccer at the YMCA today. As I was filling out his form, he kept asking where his coach and all the players were. 

I soon realized that his three-year-old mind equated registering with the start of the season. He was ready to play, and the fact that he couldn't do so immediately prompted disappointment that quickly devolved into a meltdown. 

To cheer him up, we stopped at the Hope Valley Farms Y playground. Problem solved. If only it were always so easy to erase sadness. 

Mommy-Son Date Night Recap

Tuesdays are fun for our family, as we recently restarted date nights. We began date nights after Aubrey was born as a way to get Graham out of the house and give him some one-on-one time. One person takes him out for a fun night, and the other gets to stay home and have some quality time with Aubrey. 

This past Tuesday, I took Graham to Chapel Hill. In what has become somewhat of a tradition, we rode the Chapel Hill bus system around UNC's campus, then hit Taco Tuesday (great deals on tacos), then finished up with half price cupcakes at Sugarland. This week's date night was highlighted by our run-in with two UNC basketball players, Marcus Paige and Brice Johnson, who apparently like Taco Tuesday as much as we do. : )

Be Kind To Your Sister

We're trying to teach Graham the importance of being kind to his sister. Let's just say it's a needed lesson lately. Here he is holding Aubrey right before they tipped over and fell in a heap.

Visiting Spider Man

We stopped by the outlets on Wednesday after our trip to Tweetsie Railroad. Graham discovered a Spider Man ride that, as you can see in the picture below, delighted him.

Friday turned out to be a rainy day in the mountains. Not to worry, Graham had a plan for us: Go back and see Spider Man again.

After two dollars worth of rides, including the one he insisted that I take, Graham wasn't ready to say goodbye. He wiped down Spider Man's car with a burp cloth we used to dry off the ride. 

It was good, clean fun.

Valle Crucis

Thursday ranked as my favorite day from our trip to the mountains. It was the type of day where nothing seemed out of place, not even having a member of your favorite Bluegrass band wander by at the park and take a photo with your son, who shares his first name. 

Graham Sharp of the Steep Canyon Rangers was one of the people who came to mind when we chose Graham's first name. Moonlight Graham was the other. You can probably match each  association with the appropriate parent pretty easily.

Our paths crossed at the gorgeous Valle Crucis Community Park, where we used the playground equipment and miniature houses, played whiffle ball, and tossed our new toy glider. (To clarify, Graham Sharp only took the photo with us. He didn't participate in the other activities.) 

Our Graham also made the joyful discovery of another wooden bear. He called this one Leega. (For context, see our previous post about Leeva.)

I enjoyed the serenity of the park, and the pleasure of observing other families at various stages of life at play, while rocking Aubrey to sleep during Erica and Graham's Cheerwine run to Mast General Store.

Speaking of which, our motivation for visiting Valle Crucis was to see the original Mast General Store. I love the place, which we've visited in Asheville and Boone. Both locations are wonderful; however, the original store possesses a unique charm. The ice cream shop in the parking lot added a delicious touch. 

Graham was proud of himself for navigating the rocks alongside a nearby creek. I was simply relieved that he didn't fall in, especially since it would have happened on my watch. I have my own history of falling into water - a pond in my case. This was one instance where I was happy that the saying "Like father, like son" didn't apply.

Living the Good Life

Our idea of a great vacation morning is coffee on the balcony overlooking the mountains. Graham's appears to be similar, but it involves an iPad instead of coffee. #hightechkid

Leeva The Wooden Bear

There's a wooden bear outside the Inn that's carved with a welcome sign. Graham has really taken to it this week. He's greeted the bear each morning and given him a name (Leeva). We've even made up a song about him.

"Leeva the wooden bear, the wooden bear, the wooden bear.

Leeva the wooden bear ... Out there!"

This afternoon, Erica and I weighed the merits of kidnapping Leeva at the end of the week. We'll probably have to rely on photos and memories instead.

Terrific Tweetsie

We spent most of the last day and a half at Tweetsie Railroad, a small kid-friendly amusement park between Boone and Blowing Rock. We took advantage of their "Enter after 3 pm, Next Day is Free" deal to extend our enjoyment. 

Graham had a blast. It was a true joy to watch him as he did his signature arm flap (a sign of excitement) and flashed lots of smiles. 

We also got to join in the fun as we accompanied him on some of the rides. 

Graham loved the steam engine ride on the last surviving ET&WNC train (as did his daddy), but because of some loud noises during the ride's dramatic reenactment, he preferred the fair-type rides. Especially the "spinny" ones. 

Aubrey only got to ride the train and the chair lift, but I'm sure before long she'll be just as excited as Graham to go to Tweetsie. 

Tweetsie in a word: terrific.