All together again

After a birthday weekend in Utah for Spencer, and a trip down south for the girls and I, we're now home again and back to the usual grind. Spencer had a great time, despite BYU's blowout loss to TCU (note to coaches: should have thrown to Pitta more!!).

Since Spencer failed to take any pictures, these will have to do!

Thankfully his weekend was not defined by such a poor showing by the football team. He golfed, ate at all his fave restaurants, and stayed out late with his friends. Spencer flew in late Monday afternoon, and the girls and I timed our drive from North Carolina perfectly, arriving at the airport just in time to pick him up (and that includes with my GPS routing me smack dab through the city, hitting all sorts of traffic)! What a weekend! As envious as I was of Spencer's getaway, it was so great to spend some much needed time with my sister and finally get out of the rut that I've been in.

It was definitely an exhausting weekend (being a single parent is a LOT of work), but we still had a ton of fun! Madi loved playing with her cousins and I loved watching them play together. It was refreshing having my sister's company and advice on things. She and Curteis are great parents! Even though Madi is not an easily adaptable child, it was nice being in a new environment, and being reminded of the things I need to be stricter with Madi on.

We had an action packed weekend! Friday was spent at the North Carolina State Fair. It really was an awesome fair with tons of fun, FREE activities for the kids (hopefully we'll be able to go again next year). It would have been the perfect day if Madi haven't missed a nap the day before and gotten rotten sleep that night. An overly tired two year old is NOT my kind of fun. At least she was happy for the first half...

This tractor was a hit!

We got to see all sorts of animals. . .

This hen layed an egg just seconds before we walked up!

Of course the kids got a little crazy, including sticking their hands out to hungry animals (sorry so blurry, I got a little freaked out)!

So then we implemented the buddy system!

There really was so much to see and do (not to mention eat)! But one of my favorite activities was put on by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture.

Each kid got a bucket. . .

Then headed off to "pick" fake fruits and vegetables

After their bucket was full, they took it off to be weighed and measured.

Then they were given money for their produce.

The kids then walked into a tent to use their money to "buy" a bag of goodies (including a pencil, fliers, and most importantly- a yummy apple straight from the fields)! Then they sat down for coloring.

Ani and Madi enjoying their delicious apples.

Aside from being exhausted, it really was a fabulous day!

After short naps and an early bedtime we woke up Saturday morning and headed off to Marbles Kids Museum. I was excited to meet up with my good friend Doreen and her boys (unfortunately Matt had to stay home and study). I never got a picture of us together (probably due to the fact that we were chasing our kids around most of the time), but luckily Tisha was able to follow Madi around so Doreen and I could hang out for a little bit!

I did get a picture of Madi and Hunter though. Not the cutest of Madi, but at least I got Hunter to smile!

Marbles is such a cool place and I really wish we could have stayed there all day! But alas, a tired kid is never any fun. So instead we tried to squeeze everything into just two hours!

I didn't get a ton of pictures (since I wasn't with Madi most of the time), so here's just a few of their activities.

They had such an amazing garden that you could eat from. Here's Curteis showing us the garden.

Assuring me that it really was edible!

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing and enjoying each others company. Elle got lots of attention this weekend!

Good thing Adley and Ani are getting a new baby brother in just 4 months. They're gonna be such big helpers for their mom!

These guys sat here and said "cheese" for probably a minute straight while waiting for Tisha and I to snap some pictures. Funny though- I didn't really get a good one even from a whole minute of them "cheezin' it!"

Thanks Calhouns for the awesome weekend! Can't wait to see you guys again soon!