Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Daffodil Forest

Early spring in Winterville would be wasted without a short drive down Old Tar Road to the daffodil forest. Filled with thousands of blooming daffodils, it is a must see!!
(Thought I would try my hand at travel guide writing, now I will let the pictures do the rest of the talking!)







Monday, February 28, 2011

Oatmeal Picasso

Amelia inherited her daddy's artistic talent. You have to love a girl who isn't afraid to get messy!



Saturday, February 5, 2011

Ashley...Take a trip to Charleston vicariously.


In an attempt to escape the cool winter temps, we drove south to Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah Georgia. The effort was futile, however, as we only had one day of sun. We still had a blast seeing the sights while we dodged the rain puddles and froze our tushies off.

After arriving in Charleston, the first stop was the USS Yorktown, a WWII aircraft carrier.
We enjoyed weaving through the underbelly of this massive ship, that is until Amelia decided she wanted to help daddy take pictures with his new digital camera he got for Christmas. In her excitement she knocked it right out of his hands and it fell through the metal catwalk and down into the depths of the ship. Amelia seemed very pleased with herself. She has no idea how much backed allowance she owes us! Although a few smiles and a little sweet babbling should do the trick for Paul to erase this off her record. Luckily we had another camera to use.


We also had the chance to climb inside this submarine. I am pretty sure I would go crazy soon after submerging. It was very cramped. Paul also came to the conclusion that he would not be hired by the Navy. He is much to tall.

Our next stop was Fort Sumter. We had chilly ferry ride over to the man-made island where the fort stands. On the ride we were able to see a pod of dolphins swimming along. I tell you, dolphins are not easy to photograph.




After a frigid first day, we were happy to wake up to clear skies and warm air the next morning. We took advantage of the warmth and spent the day walking around downtown Charleston.
We visited the history museum and the aquarium (p.s.-- unless you've never seen an aquarium before, it's not worth the admission fee).




Like most of our winter excursions, we really wish we could see Charleston in the spring or summer, but we loved the city nonetheless.

Our next stop was Savannah, Georgia. This is definitely a city to visit in the spring, but it still had a Southern charm that cant be beat.



From cobblestone streets on the river front, to quirky art galleries, to moss-covered trees in manicured squares, Savannah did not disappoint. It didn't hurt to sit down to a meal at Paula Deen's famous Lady and Son's restaurant. I think we ate a weeks worth of calories, but the food was delicious. For you westerners, let me tell you that there is such a thing as delicious grits.
Well we came away from our trip south with an appreciation for architecture, soul food, and dolphins. Hopefully some day we can go back when the air is thick and the flowers are blooming.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

6 Months Old Already??





Vacation Rewind

I am a bit slow in posting our big trip to Utah. It was hard for Paul to let this little one go, but I pealed her away, and said I would take good care of her.

This was Amelia's first airplane ride, and she did great! Only problem was that everyone wanted to touch her when they said hello. This resulted in us both catching an awful cold that lasted most of the trip. Despite our illness we had a lot of fun traveling around to see family and friends. We made stops in Salt Lake, American Fork, Provo, Price, Wellington, Green River, La Verkin, and St. George. Phew! That is a lot of traveling for a 5 month old!

One of the best parts of our visit was getting to see the California cousins for a few days. Those boys are awesome! They are growing up so fast and Paul was very disappointed he wasn't there to have adventures with them. It warmed my heart to have my 4-year-old nephew run and jump in my arms and say, "Bel! I missed you so much!" as he hugged me tight and rubbed my back.


This year's Christmas country was Ukraine, so grandma and grandpa Thayn saved their celebration until New Years Eve when we were all around to celebrate with them. It was a holy supper complete with borsch and braided bread.




We finished the evening off with some old fashioned egg decorating. Despite some hot wax splashes and large flames Laird extinguished with his bare hands, it was a great night!



Amelia got to meet some of my favorite people for the very first time:

My best friend Ashley Butler

My sister Kim Wright

Her cousin Peyton

And her Great-Grandma Helen Mathis

Four Generations!

We had a grand time, and were sad to leave everyone, but all good things must come to an end. We can't wait to bring Paul with us next time!

Friday, January 14, 2011

Sweet Peas

e

Little Millie enjoying her first peas. The facial expressions are priceless. Needless to say, she is more of a chocolate and ice cream kind of girl. At least we had the opportunity to use a our baby food grinder, Grandpa Thayn will be proud.