Pinnacle Peak

When my sisters were here earlier in February, they wanted to be active and get out and do something. So... I jumped online and found the closest mountains to Charlotte. We headed out to Crowder Mountain State Park to get some pictures taken. It was a beautiful, blue-sky day and the temperatures were in the 50s.
When we arrived at the park office to get maps and decide what hike we would be doing, I took some time to speak with one of the rangers and get his advice. Since we had the kids with us, he suggested the Fern trail. A small little trail that circled the picnic areas. I'm thinking... boring. So for "future hikes" I asked him about the tallest peak in the park. He described the hike to Pinnacle Peak as being strenuous, but he marked on the map that the hike didn't actually become strenuous until 2/3 of the way through. So I convinced the girls that we should give it a try. Shoot. If it became too difficult, we could always turn around! The total mileage for the hike was 1.7 miles and it was said to take 2 - 2.5 hours. And off we went...

Showing Kaiya how cool it is to wear a hat. It worked... Kaiya was soon begging to wear her hat after Aunt Bekah modeled it for her.

Apparently Ruthie didn't get the memo that we would be climbing the mountain and she wore slippers. She says they aren't slippers... you know the shoes I mean... Ugg-Like shoes that are open-backed, slip-ons. Like these:

It was interesting to say the least. As we climbed up, Ruthie had to work really hard at keeping the shoes on her feet. She had to curl her toes to keep them on. We joked that she would have to ice her toes when we got home later that evening. The first part of the hike was great. Just as the ranger said, it was an easy trail in the beginning. Then we hit the strenuous part. I don't have carriers for the kids so we were having to carry Kaleb the entire way. Kaiya was a champ and hiked about 1/3-1/2 of it by herself. And believe it or not - not a peep of whining the entire hike from her. I was so proud of her.

We kept pushing on... but you can see from the pictures, it was an uphill climb. We were determined to make it to the top. Because by the time you reach a certain point, you just have to keep going. While you have no idea how much further it is, you don't want to turn back and then find out you were just 100 feet away from the top. So we pushed through the pain. We were passed multiple times by men jogging up the mountain. WHAT? Crazy intense training.

As no reflection on the type of aunt Ruthie is, I have to mention that she did drop Kaiya on her head. So... as a result, Kaiya wasn't about to let Aunt Ruthie carry her again on this hike. Lucky Aunt Bekah was given the duty. In this picture below, I think Kaleb must be praying to God that she doesn't drop him either.

But it was so worth it in the end. We finally made it to the top and got some great pictures. We could actually see the Charlotte cityscape that was over 30 miles away.
Yes, folks... she made it to the top in her slippers...

It was great exercise... and I can't wait to go explore another hike close to us later this week. My friend Connie is flying out for a visit... so I plan to subject her to similar torture. Only... she won't be wearing slippers... And I found a hiking child backpack carrier thing for $5 at a yardsale on Saturday. So at least Kaleb will be strapped on my back. Cause seriously... I couldn't raise my arms above my shoulders for like a week after lugging him up that mountain.

And on a side note -- Is anyone else annoyed to see a Presidential Address on schedule tonight instead of American Idol? Seriously...

Free Subs!

Go get yourself a free sub from Quizno's. They are giving the first million people who register here a free sub. Nothing like free!

Special notes: Once you register, you will get the free sub coupon in your e-mail. It will expire 5 days after you print it. And it says you can forward a Free Sub to a friend before and after printing. Share the love. :)

Thanks again to Faithful Provisions for sharing these money saving tips!

IKEA

Yesterday was the grand opening for Charlotte's new IKEA store. We weren't brave enough to go yesterday, but ventured out this evening. When we walked into the store we saw a guy drawing charicatures for free. There was a decent line, but it only took him about 5 minutes per drawing so we decided to wait and get the kids done. They turned out adorable; I'm so glad we waited!

Mary Poppins:Jerry Rice:

Forgot to post this one earlier today -- this is Kaleb on the ride home from the crazy jumping place... Sweet boy.

Sports Connection

Today is my day off so it seemed like a good idea to do something fun with the kids. We met another mom from church at Sports Connection where they have 10 large inflatable jumping, climbing, bouncing things. Kaleb was a little nervous at first, but once he saw Kaiya in action, there was no stopping him. They are sound asleep right now. Totally wiped out from all the fun. The best $5 I've spent in awhile.

Would you rather...

Our pastor's wife did a "would you rather" post on her blog and I thought it made for a great post. So I'm gonna do it here occasionally too. My readers have been awfully quiet lately... :) My site meter tells me you are out there. So this is your chance to come out of the shadows!

Would you rather have a day of rain or snow?

I don't know if it comes from being raised on the Oregon Coast, but I'm partial to rain. I love the sound it makes falling on the house and the splashing sound cars make as they drive past. When we lived in Florida last year, I loved how you could count on that 3 p.m. thunderstorm every day. I have a precious memory of taking Kaiya outside during one of these rainstorms and splashing in the driveway and street. It was such a downpour, the drops were huge and there was a mini-river gushing down the street. Kaiya, Tony and I splashed each other, kicked water in the air, danced and got drenched. Our neighbors probably thought we were crazy, but I'm convinced Kaiya thought we were the coolest parents ever. And really... these were our neighbors.

So... let them call us weird. :)

I can't argue, snow is beautiful - at first. Then it just gets cold and messy. So for me... I'd take a rainy day over a snowy day. How about you?

My Prince Charming

Had a fun conversation with Kaiya last night that makes a perfect Valentine's Day post. I was working on some hair bows and she was standing on her stool next to me watching. All of a sudden, she put her arm around my shoulder and leaned over in front of my face. She used her other hand and turned my face towards hers. She cocked her next to the side and attempted to give me an open mouth, make-out kiss. When I realized what she was doing, I gently stopped her (so I didn't hurt her feelings for rejecting her kiss). But she wasn't deterred and she tried again. I giggled and asked her who she has seen kiss that way.

"Cinderella and da Prince!" she replied. (Like - duh mama.)

Me: Oh... well, Kaiya, that's because they are married. Only married people kiss that way.

Kaiya: You married Mama?

Me: Yep. Who do you think I should kiss like that?

Kaiya: Your Prince Charming!

Me: And who is my Prince Charming?

Kaiya: Daddy!!!

***********
She's right! Tony is certainly my Prince Charming! I admire so many things about him. He is consistent, confident, our protector, my logical/rational thinker who balances out my emotional thinking. He is a dreamer and has great vision. He is an awesome chiropractor - being used by God to change people's lives. Happy Valentine's Day!

Deal with it

Recent conversation in the car:

Kaiya: I'm hungry!

Me: You're hungry?

Kaiya: Yes, how you going to deal wit dat, mama?

Wordless Wednesday - Kaleb's first big boo-boo

Hide and Seek

Saturday night we played a family game of hide and seek. This is the first time we've hid with Kaiya and so it was good learning for her. She learned some strategy tonight. The girls challenged the boys to a game and we learned pretty quickly that the boys were at a slight disadvantage because of Kaleb. :) So Tony and I then just took turns hiding with Kaiya.

Kaiya and I were pretty awesome and Tony was a big cheater. Kaiya and I were hiding in the shower behind the curtain and I could hear Tony coming upstairs, trying to coax Kaiya to reveal our location. I'm holding her and whispering to her not to answer any of Daddy's questions. We hear, "Kaiya! Do you want a snack?" I feel her shake her head no. "Kaiya! Do you want some stickers?" More head shaking. He comes into our bedroom and is much closer to us and says, "Kaiya! I have stickers here, do you want some?" She screams, "No Daddy! I hiding!" Drat!

Then, during our last round, Tony and Kaiya were hiding and I went off to find them. I'm searching everywhere and thinking that they have come up with a pretty good spot. After searching upstairs, I came downstairs and say, "Daddy's a cheater!" I hear laughter coming from the family room (which was supposed to be our counting location). And a big "gotcha!" They totally went back there after I left to find them. They were quite proud of the trick they played on Mama. Saturday night fun!

Imaginon

We have a fantastic children's library here in Charlotte. It's called Imaginon and the Children's Theatre is also housed at the same location. There is a lot of neat programs at this library and fun interactive things for the kids to do. We take a trip uptown once a month or so. And the great thing is that whatever we check out there can be returned at any library. My mom works at a library so I wanted to be sure to take her when she came for the weekend visit. Here are a couple pictures we took that weekend.

She likes boys...

You know the game... if someone squeezes just above the knee and you laugh... it means you like boys. During a tickle war the other night Tony stopped and got really serious and asked Kaiya if she liked boys. She said no right away. He explained to her what he was going to do and that if she laughed it would mean that she did like boys. She surprised us when in preparation for the tickle, she covered her mouth and eyes thinking that she could cover up a giggle. He hadn't started squeezing yet, but she was bracing for it.

She finally caved in and let one escape, but she was pretty insistent that she still didn't like boys.

I will not eat it Sam I Am --- unless Kaiya is feeding it to me...

Our vegetable the other night was asparagus. Kaleb is stubborn about this vegetable for some reason... but I'm relentless. Some night he gets his veggies first and then gets the rest of his meal. He either eats it or doesn't eat. :) And he usually puts up a fuss and then decides to go ahead and eat the green stuff. This night, however, he would have none of it. He sat in his chair while we all ate and just whined and cried. I tried feeding him with my fork. When that didn't work I cut the asparagus on my plate and tried letting him take it off my plate. Nope. Then at one point he quiets down and begins thinking about eating some. He is putting some in his mouth and then makes eye contact with me, sees me looking at him and make the most sour, disgusted face and starts gagging. Yeah -- totally faking it.

We had all finished eating so I moved closer to Kaleb to "encourage" him to eat his asparagus. Kaiya came over with her fork and said she would help Kaleb eat his 'spargus. What followed was nothing short of amazing. That little stinker ate nearly every bit of asparagus on his tray with Kaiya feeding him. And he looked like he enjoyed it too.

Newsletter video

http://www.facebook.com/v/45607974813

Tony here---Some of you wanted more info on the Gardasil newsletter. Here is a compilation of news reports on the vaccine. Sometimes I wonder how much damage will have to occur before some parents wake up about this vaccine. I am not for about any vaccine but there are certain vaccines that really get to me and this is one of them. I would not in any shape or form allow my daughter (or son) to get this. This video is long (17 minutes) but you only need to watch 2 minutes to realize what's going on.

Big Dreams

This morning Kaiya told me a little about her future. She said that when she is big like Cinderella she is going to have a blue dress to twirl in and sharp shoes (aka high heels). Love it.

Kaiya's First Haircut

Pre-Haircut

Ahhhh!

Every now and then when Kaiya heard my scissors make a cutting sound, she would jerk her head around. We'd all say -- Look straight - keep watching Ariel, and she would say, "I just trying watch Mama cutting my hair!"

She was such a good girl and played right along with us pretending that she was at the beauty parlor. We promised that if she sat still and was good, she could have her toenails painted.
No after shots, I've been too busy! But it's cute, and still a little curly. Although not quite what it used to be. I had to save a few ringlets for her baby book.

MSG Free Taco Seasoning

A few years ago, when we decided to eliminate foods that contained MSG from our diets, one of the most difficult things to find a reasonable substitute for was taco seasoning. You can find packets without MSG in them, but they can cost nearly $2-3 per packet. Now with a little tweaking of a Rachael Ray recipe, I have a wonderful taco seasoning, free of toxins. Our kids handle spicy foods fairly well, so I may not be a good judge of how kids will do with it, but I believe it is close to the heat level of a store bought taco seasoning mix.

Enough to season 2 lbs of meat:

3 T Chili Powder
1 T Cumin
1 T Coriander
1 t. sea salt (this is also a personal thing - add more or less as you like)

Add to browned meat with a little bit of water and simmer. I've also been able to sneak extra veggies into my taco meat by grating a zuchinni, carrot, onion (actually grate this and you get all the juice and flavor and very small bits of onion so no one freaks out), and a clove of garlic and then adding that to the meat and seasoning. Add 1/2 cup of broth (either chicken or beef) or water and simmer until veggies are cooked down and liquid is minimal.

Anyway... if you can get anywhere that sells spices in bulk you can make this a very cost effective seasoning mix.

They Got Me Good

On Friday I went to the airport to pick up Ruthie. This visit was planned a couple weeks ago and I was so excited to have her! She called me and told me that her flight was a little delayed and to come 20 minutes later than what I had been planning. So before leaving the office I got online to check her flight status and make sure that it wasn't more delayed. Weird. It said she was getting in a few minutes earlier than the flight time was originally scheduled for. Oh well! As I'm leaving, Tony says to put Kaiya's car seat in his car so that he can take her to the park later in the day. Okay! I switch out the car seat and off I go! I'm expecting that I will hear from Ruthie while I'm driving. Surely she has landed by now. I get to the airport and pull into the cell lot. No text message, no phone call. I called Tony to have him check the flight status. He begins logging on and tells me that the computer froze. Our brand new Mac computer froze... and he'll have to call me back. So I wait some more. Then I finally wait for Ruthie. She has landed and is making her way to the exit. I pull up and glance up at the doors and I see BOTH of my sisters coming out the exit. I think at this point I squealed, jumped out of my car and yelled, "What are you doing here?" I vaguely remember other travellers looking at me to see what the ruckus was about. Those sneaky girls... We had a fun all weekend - climbed a mountain with both children, cut Kaiya's hair, and cheered like champions for the Cardinals last night. One of us - who will remain nameless nearly peed her pants when Arizona came back with that touchdown. It was fun. Pictures to come...