The Dever Dish

Wordless Wednesday: Go Heels!!!

2012-02-08T08:34:00.000-05:00

In honor of rivalry week and one of the best rivalries in college basketball history....

Hoping the Heels pull out the big WIN tonight!!!

As we were getting ready this morning, Emerson said, "Mommy, I can't wear that shirt, it's not the Tar Heels!" I responded, "Yes it is, see the sparkly Tar Heel wording." To which she said, "But Mommy it's Duke's colors!!" She's got a very good point!!

GO HEELS!!!

Holiday Festivities | School Treats

2012-02-07T19:57:00.000-05:00

School Treats

December 18, 2011

Between our trip to Target and our Jingle Jolly party, we took some time out of the day to make this year's school treats. Thanks to Pinterest (my obsession), I was able to find two adorable, easy treats for the kids at school.

Reindeer Food

We started our crafts by making Reindeer Food so the kids could all sprinkle it on their lawns Christmas Eve for the reindeer to eat. We included very stale Cheerios from our pantry, store bought oats, red and green sprinkles and cookie sprinkles of all sorts. Emerson did a great job making these bags almost all-by-herself. I printed off an adorable free printable from The TomKat Studio (one of my faves), to serve as the gift tag and adorned with ribbon. How cute!! We hope all the kids sprinkled their lawns, sidewalks, or decks for their special reindeer visitors on Christmas Eve.

Peppermint Play Dough

Our second crafty treat of the day, wasn't a treat at all. We decided, instead of making an edible treat, we would make something the kids could play with and keep for months to come. So we settled on Peppermint Play Dough. It was a toss-up between gingerbread or peppermint, but ultimately the peppermint won out when I found the adorable candy cane cookie cutters at Michael's! We used the recipe from a post on Pinterest via the Idea Room (again, love it!!). You may remember our play dough making for preschool last year. I always think it's going to be so messy and take forever, but it's really pretty simple. I'm not sure I will ever buy PlayDoh again, except maybe for convenience. And, now I know you can any essential oil to it and make it whatever flavor you want. YUMMY!! Another great school treat idea!!

Had to buy these for the containers!!

Peppermint Play Dough Recipe

(via the Idea Room)

1 cup flour
1/4 cup salt
2 tablespoons cream of tartar
1 Tablespoon Peppermint Oil Extract

* I used Peppermint extract and used a lot more than a tablespoon
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup water

1. Mix flour, salt, & cream of tartar in a medium cooking pot.
2. Add water, peppermint extract and oil.
3. Stir over medium heat 3 to 5 minutes stirring constantly.
4. When mixture forms a ball in pot, remove.
5. Knead until smooth.
6. Play and explore with this fragrant, brightly colored dough as you would any play dough.
7. Put in a plastic bag and refrigerate to store.

Holiday Festivities | Leading up to Christmas (Part three)

2012-02-04T20:52:00.000-05:00

December 18th, 2011

Santa's Sack

You all may remember last year, we started a tradition in the Dever household of participating in the Santa's Sack program for the NC Children's Hospital. We decided, along with the Herman Family, that it was more important to give to those in need, than to exchange presents between our families. So, Sunday morning (12/18), we headed to Target to pick out the gifts for the children at the hospital. Emerson gets so excited about picking out the presents and this year we told her she could help deliver them. She did a great job picking out a few presents for both male and female and for different age ranges. I'm glad she gets so excited about doing nice things for others, and I can only hope this will be a tradition we carry-on for a very long time!!

She took a minute out of shopping to show us the Lalaloopsy Doll she wanted for Christmas.

3rd Annual Jingle Jolly Party

The evening of Sunday, December 18th we headed to the 3rd Annual Jingle Jolly party hosted by the Bryant family. Haegan is a good friend of all the girls, but this is the first year she has gone to a new school so the girls were so excited to spend some time together. As always, Kerry (Haegan's mom) out did herself with yummy treats and a special visit from Santa Claus. Although it was quite chilly, we still had a great time with good friends, caroling, visiting with Santa, and getting in the holiday spirit.

Quite a threesome, these girls!!

Santa made an early appearance and let every child sit on his lap. Santa is such a patient man!!

Emerson's visit with Santa!!

Haegan was really thinking about what she wanted!

Ready for some caroling....

Everyone in the "sled" and ready to drive around the neighborhood to sing some carols!!

Wordless Wednesday: This Year's Costume

2012-02-01T06:30:00.000-05:00

.....we've begun the countdown to this year's recital!!

First step is the theme of the show and the costumes!

This year's theme is "Turn Off The TV And Dance!"

Emerson's class will be dancing to the muppets (both a ballet and tap dance) and this is her costume...obviously the catalog picture!!

Holiday Festivities | Leading up to Christmas (Part two)

2012-01-31T17:04:00.000-05:00

Friday, December 16th

After the school Christmas Pageant, we headed to Mimi's for dinner with Aunt Sissy, Uncle Perfect, Grammy and Papa. Mimi hosted all of us for a great chili dinner. The real work began when I got home, though. I had a small holiday card fiasco and didn't get my cards until the day I was to leave town for Richmond (12/12). So, needless-to-say, I didn't get to my cards until I got home from my work trip. I took that Friday night and knocked them out. Hogan decided he wanted to help (or hinder) the process!!

Saturday, December 17th
A Cookie Party

Emerson's friend, classmate, and swim-mate, Melania, hosted a cookie party on the 17th at her house. It was such a great idea and certainly got the girls in the holiday spirit. Rebecca, Melania's mom, had it very organized and had a spot ready for the girls to cookie cut their cookies and then decorate them. We had a great time and came home with several delicious cookies....which didn't last long in the Dever household.

Tar Heel Game

It's hard to believe Emerson is 41/2 and this past December was the first time she actually stepped foot in the Deam Dome to watch a home Carolina game. Thanks to the Herman family, we were able to take in a game over the holiday break and Emerson had her first experience at a basketball game in the Smith Center. Of course, she loved cheering on "her Heels" and watching Ramses, the cheerleaders and even Santa Claus. Here are some pictures of our outing. Thanks for the tickets Hermans!!

Tar Heel Basketball and Chick-Fil-A.....nothing better!!

Melts my heart!!

Fingers crossed we can add another very soon!!

Holiday Festivities | School Christmas Pageant

2012-01-30T21:16:00.000-05:00

Parkwood School's Annual Christmas Pageant

December 16, 2011

The Christmas pageant at Parkwood got a slight makeover this year. In November, Emerson came home with a small slip of paper with the sentences she was going to say in this year's performance. We were to practice every night, but by the next day Emerson had it memorized. "Let us find the newborn child. They went to find the newborn baby lying in a manager." I tested her on occasion, but she had it down pat, I think it's etched in her brain (and mine) for a long time. The teachers decided to perform more of a Christmas pageant this year, instead of the usual singing production. Well, they did a FANTASTIC job. It was so refreshing to see something new and the kids were adorable. There's nothing more heartwarming than three, four and five-year-olds singing Christmas carols. I think they all learned something this year, too, the real reason we actually celebrate the holiday. I can't believe this was Emerson's last year performing in the annual production, but I am so glad she got a chance to be in this version.

This was Emerson's expression the entire production. When the crowd laughed, so did Emerson!

First up was the two-year-old class performing the annual three-to-four songs they sing each year. You may remember Emerson's very loud performance when she was two!!

(By the way, if you are new to the blog, this is definitely one video to check out...

I just re-watched it and was rolling on the floor laughing...click link above!!)

Ready for their turn at the microphone.

Some of the many speakers during the play.

All the children performing

Emerson was a "Wise Woman" and couldn't wait to wear her crown!!

Saying her lines....she did a GREAT job!!

Another funny part of the production!

Daniel and Julianne as "Joseph and Mary"!

A little surprise visit by Santa during one of the songs!

Julianne, Aurora, Kayla and Emerson enjoying some refreshments after the show.

Emerson and Aurora...posing for a picture.

Miss Brenda and Emerson

Disclaimer: This video is a bit longer than some of my followers would probably like but I did manage to edit it down from 30 minutes of footage to 11 1/2 minutes. Pretty good! But since it is a large video, it will need to buffer a bit before it will play all the way through. Enjoy!!

School Christmas Pageant, 2011 from Brooke Dever on Vimeo.

Holiday Festivities, 2011 | Leading up to Christmas (Part One)

2012-01-29T20:13:00.001-05:00

Finally getting our month of December on the blog. I decided to do short, little snip-its of the events leading up to Christmas....Enjoy!!

Saturday, December 3

Always one of our favorite things to do, we headed to Scott's Tree Lot (we've been loyal for about 10 years now) to pick out our tree the morning of December 3rd. Scott's always has the most beautiful trees, so it's never hard to find the perfect one. Danny and I noticed that the tree crop was really nice this year. Emerson is always a big help and loves to run around pointing our trees to her dad, then he makes sure they are tall or short enough to fit in our living room. We never get away without a "ride" on the sleigh and a candy cane treat!!

The winning tree!!

Tuesday, December 13th

We were lucky enough to get a holiday performance from Emerson's dance class again this year. Unfortunately I was out-of-town for work this year and not able to attend the performance. Danny did a great job getting the brief show on film and thanks to Aurora's mom for getting some great shots of the girls before and during the performance. You can tell the girls have improved since last year and really love dance class!!

L to R, top to bottom: Emerson, Morgan, Aurora and Lauren.....all ready for the show!!

Video

This is the first video I've made using iMovie (yay!!). Since it's HD, you may have to let it buffer a few minutes, so it doesn't stop every two seconds!!

Holiday Dance Performance 2011 from Brooke Dever on Vimeo.

Thursday, December 15

Our friends, the Gwaltneys, were nice enough to invite Danny and Emerson to CHCC for dinner with Santa. Danny took the camera along and got a few shots. I hate I missed the event, but so glad it gave Danny something to do with Emerson to kill some time and take-up another mommy-less evening. At this point we still hadn't seen Santa, so Emerson was so excited to see him at dinner. According to Emerson, this was the "real" Santa and not just one of his helpers!! Thanks again for the invite, Gwaltneys....I think Danny and Emerson had a great time!

Cookie decorating skills!

Caroline and Santa

Emerson and Santa

Thanksgiving Adventures | Part Three

2012-01-25T21:43:00.001-05:00

I've taken a hiatus from blogging...not sure why??? January hasn't been really busy, but I just haven't felt like blogging much lately. I do know that I need to get my December posts up before January ends, so I guess I better get to it. I'll start with the end of our Thanksgiving adventures (that I never finished)...

Sunday, November 28th

Sunday was a somewhat lazy day in the house, no golf and no shopping. I was pretty happy that I got a few good shots of the sunrise that morning. Once Emerson got up, we headed to the beach (in her pajamas) to make sure her sunflower was still in tact. Then Danny, Emerson, Mimi, and I headed back out for another walk/run 5K of our own. My plan after the 5K was to get get a picture of the family on the beach for our Christmas card. You may remember last year's card was also taken on the beach. So after lunch, we all took showers and put on some nicer clothing and headed to my favorite pier for a mini (600+ pictures) photography session!! (I'll do a separate post on that later!) Since Emerson did such a great job at our shoot, we went back to the house, changed and then headed to the playground. She always loves the playground at the beach and we have to go each time we are down. The day ended with an impromptu dance party. I'm not sure who had more fun, Emerson or Edward? I'm also not sure who wore the other one out more!! The two of them danced and danced and danced....and had so much fun! It was a great ending to our trip on the Dever's last night there.

Beautiful sunrise!!

Nothing better than pajamas on the beach!!

Some, well-deserved, playground time!!

Dance party!!

Birdie getting in on the dancing action!!

Monday, November 29th

Monday morning I woke up early and decided to take some pictures of the sunrise. I hadn't really gotten any great shots of the early morning, and since I was wide awake, I thought I would take full advantage of the quiet house and peaceful morning!!

It was packing day, and somehow the guys managed to play golf. Danny packed all of his stuff before leaving for golf, but I still had to pack mine and Emerson's. My mom was nice enough to take Emerson to grab lunch and then go to the park for a picnic. Once they got back, they headed to the beach while I finished up packing. While they were out there, they noticed a pelican that Alice and Edward had mentioned the night before. It appeared to be injured. When I went out to check on them I saw the pelican, too. I decided to call the wildlife rescue to find out if someone could come help him out. After several phone calls trying to find the right person, I finally got through to someone who could help. While we waited for the rescue attempt to take place, we ended up with a swarm of angry seagulls around us that really wanted Emerson's snack. They eventually came out and tried to help the pelican, but it flew away. Our excitement was short-lived, we just hope the pelican was okay. When we got back to our towel on the beach, the pelicans were everywhere and wanted more treats. Mimi and Emerson had a great time feeding the seagulls, which I am sure they were not supposed to be doing. Oh well, at least the seagulls were fat and happy by the end.

Rescuing the Pelican!!

Feeding the seagulls...

As always, we had a wonderful time at the beach. The weather was perfect, the time with family was even better. I hope the tradition continues and we can celebrate many more holidays at the beach!!

Wordless Wednesday: FaceTime with Daddy

2012-01-18T18:48:00.000-05:00

....gotta love technology!!

Wordless Wednesday: A Morning of Puzzles

2012-01-11T19:50:00.001-05:00

....this past Sunday was a very lazy morning in the Dever household. Emerson took the time to put together three new puzzles she received for Christmas from Mommy and Daddy.

Wordless Wednesday: New Year's Eve, 2011

2012-01-04T20:12:00.000-05:00

....what a fun night and the only decent shots we got from the evening!!!

Thanksgiving Adventures | Part Two

2011-12-31T09:41:00.000-05:00

...the Thanksgiving adventures continue!!!

Friday, November 25th

I bet it won't shock most of you to know that the boys played golf again on Friday. After her fun filled afternoon the day before, Emerson was ready to hit the beach early. We headed out around 10:00 am and literally didn't come in until the sun went down, only to eat lunch and use the bathroom. It was another beautiful day with mild temps, perfect for digging, playing in the water, ribbon twirling, searching for seashells, helping with another sand castle, playing with Alice, dancing, practicing her splits, being silly and even indulging in a well-deserved adult beverage for Alice and me. We relaxed on the beach blanket and walked the beach...you name it, we did it that day!!

The neighbors built another amazing sandcastle

Another beautiful sunset!!

Saturday, November 27th

(these are all pictures from Danny's Iphone, sorry for the quality!)

Since the boys had gotten two rounds of golf in, and the girls had gotten no shopping in....Saturday was our day for shopping. Emerson, unfortunately, still isn't at the age where she can hang for an all-day shopping trip. I'm pretty sure she was more excited about staying with her Daddy for another fun-filled day on the beach. After seeing the neighbors build two awesome sandcastles, Emerson really wanted one of her own, glad it was Daddy's day to watch. She also had a kite that needed flying. Who better to fly a kite with than Daddy!!!

As I was shopping, I got a text with the following pictures....

I just knew the neighbor, engineers had begun to make more sand designs. But oh no, upon further texting, I found out that Birdie, Emerson and Danny had created this. I was shocked, no way had my husband been this creative! They also had some fun adding "jewel" to Emerson's sunflower and flying her kite.

The neighbors did create this cute little sea turtle!!

Thanksgiving Adventures | Part One

2011-12-30T20:18:00.000-05:00

Warning: the next couple of posts on this blog will be filled with pictures and very few words. Some of you will love that!! I took so many pictures at the beach and since lighting is always great, it was hard to narrow them down!!

Every year, for as long as I can remember, we've either gone to the beach the week of Thanksgiving or Christmas to spend time with Mimi's side of the family (Sissy, Uncle Perfect, Alice, and Thurman). This started while my grandparents were still alive and we've continued the tradition. This year we spent our week during Thanksgiving, these blog posts will chronicle (in pictures) our adventures!!

Tuesday, November 22nd

We headed to the beach on Tuesday afternoon. Emerson was packed in the back like a sardine. Not sure why we always take so much stuff with us to the beach. Good thing we left late in the day, because my parents were there early and had to change houses. The house we originally rented was really dirty, so the rental company moved them to a new house (not without a few headaches). So glad we missed out on the unloading and reloading of the cars, not sure our four-year-old would have survived that!

Wednesday, November 23rd

The boys (Birdie, Uncle Perfect, Thurman, and Danny) played golf on Wednesday and the girls worked out, grocery shopped, Sissy and I did some work, and Emerson, Mimi, and I got pedicures. This was Emerson's first pedicure/manicure. She opted for sparkly polish on her toes and cotton candy pink on her fingers. I think we have a future diva on our hands. She loved it!!

Thanksgiving Day

Thursday, November 24th

Thanksgiving was spent first Turkey Trotting and then relaxing on the beach.

A quick golf lesson from Birdie before the family Turkey Trot! You can see the excitement in both their eyes in the picture where Emerson makes her putt.

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is a tradition and we watched an hour or two before heading out for our 5K.

Checking email and the Tar Heel sports pages. This table transformed daily between computer desk and eating table. At one point there were at least five laptops on the table. But hey, if you have to work...the beach is the place to do it!!

The puzzle from hell....I think it was 750 pieces and was of Times Square in New York City. Whew...we finally finished it!!

Danny getting pumped-up for the run...he might have been the only "pumped-up" for it!!

Beautiful, beautiful morning at the beach....we couldn't have asked for better weather.

Emerson and Uncle Perfect sharing a minute together.

Emerson then convinced Birdie to go on the beach with her. That run just keeps getting pushed back further and further!

AHHH.... a finished puzzle. For some of the puzzle participants,

those bottles in the background were necessary!

Ready for the run...Finally. Uncle Perfect found his means of transportation for the run.

Emerson decided she was going to run, so he said he was taking her spot.

(Hermans, I swear he was only in this for a few seconds, long enough to snap a picture!!

Thanks for letting us use it!!)

It will come as no surprise to you that my competitive and now very fast husband won the 5K....hands down. He was nice enough to come back and finish the 5K with me. After the 5K we headed to the park so Emerson (and others) could get in some playground time!!

Yuck...I debated putting this picture in but we needed proof that we all ran/walked the 5K, although not everyone did all 3 miles.

The winner with his biggest (or should I say, smallest) supporter!!

A quick lunch on the porch and then we were headed to the beach for an entire afternoon of play!

Using her new shovel to dig, dig, dig!

We talked Emerson into putting her feet in the FREEZING water. She wasn't so sure about the water coming in as fast as it did, and would run away from it. Eventually she got the hang of it.

Sparkly toes!!

We took a small tumble in the water pool...and came up with these faces. But we quickly went in and changed into something much more comfortable to frolic on the beach.

....and they frolicking continues!!

Another tumble that phased her for about a second, and then she was back to playing!

Helping the neighbors build their enormous and very impressive sand castle.

Birdie and Emerson on the hunt for seashells to make her name "sparkle".

I love, love, love how these black and whites turned out, you all know I am a sucker for a silhouette!

The name, all "sparkled" up!!

Dolphins!!

Emerson wrote her own name in the sand!!

It was tough pulling Emerson off the beach, but we all finally got in and took showers for our big Thanksgiving dinner. We had a beautiful sunset that night, really every night!!

Danny's fried turkey....it tasted so much better than it looked. Note for next year: don't put the dressing on the outside of the turkey, only on the inside. That was my brilliant idea...sorry Danny!

Proof that tryptophan does exist!! Three very full and sleepy men!!

Whew!!! If you are still reading, you are a true follower of the Dever Dish.

Lots of pictures...and we're only half way done!!

The Radio City Rockettes

2011-12-30T14:07:00.001-05:00

Back in October, my mom suggested we take Emerson to see the Radio City Rockettes. I was hesitant at first, not knowing if she would sit through an almost two hour show. But then I remembered how much I loved seeing the show in NYC when I was younger and I knew I wanted Emerson to have the same experience, albeit not in NYC and at a much younger age. So we ended up booking tickets for Mimi, Birdie, Grammy, Papa, Danny, Emerson and me to attend.

After our Raleigh Christmas Parade adventures on November 19th, we headed home for a few hours of rest before our big night out at the DPAC. Emerson was so excited!!! We watched the "Behind the Scenes" special on WRAL in preparation for the show. Emerson was also excited because one of her dance teachers, Miss Summer is a Rockette and would be performing in the show. What young dancer doesn't dream of being a Rockette?? I'm sure the words were muttered from my mouth at one point or another, although my 5' 3" frame would never allow for it. What a great role model for all the dancers at Emerson's studio to have in Ms. Summer. Emerson couldn't wait to see her teacher on stage.

Upon arrival to the DPAC, we were greeted with snow falling from the sky. To a four-year-old kid (and even her Mommy), this fake snow was quite cool. Emerson thought it was real at first, but then figured it out when it was only concentrated in one area. That didn't stop her from frolicking and trying to catch a few snowflakes in her mouth.

We headed inside, waited for the lower level doors to open and we were off. We found our seats and waited for the show to begin. We scanned the playbill for Miss Summer's picture. And then....the lights dimmed! Showtime!!! I must admit, I was in awe just like Emerson was, although I wasn't as chatty. Emerson couldn't contain all the excitement. "Where's Miss Summer?", "Is this the last dance?", "Mommy, is there another dance?", "When are they going to kick?"....and so on, and so on!! It was so cute. I am so glad we took the time to take Emerson to the show. She really enjoyed it and hopefully if they come back next year, we will take the show in again. Maybe one day we will even make it to NYC to see the Rockettes at Radio City. Since I couldn't take pictures or video of the show, but wanted Emerson to one day remember what she saw, I've included a few here from different Internet sources. Enjoy!!

Miss Summer

(not only is she a great dancer but her brother is UNC quarterback Bryn Renner,

so we love her even more!!)

(Source: Indyweek)

(Source: News and Observer)

The Show

Sleigh Ride
All the Rockettes dressed up as reindeer and pulling Santa's sleigh.

(Source: Chicago Tribune)

(Source: Broadway.com)

(Source: YouTube - NYReel)

Parade of the Wooden Soldier
One of the most synonymous dances with the Rockettes; these wooden soldiers parade around with perfect precision. But once the canon gets them, it is truly amazing what they do. Watch the video below:

(Source: Naples News)

(Source: Broadway.com)

(Source: New York Times)

(Source: YouTube - NYReel)

Christmas in New York
The Rockettes take us on a tour of NYC with a NYC Doubledecker bus and some very cool video board scenes of New York.

(Source: DO512)

(Source: Roberta on the Arts)

(Source: The Single Nester)

(Source: YouTube - NYReel)

Santa Claus is Coming to Town
...and he multiplies by the minute!!

(Source: Roberta on the Arts)

(Source: YouTube - NYReel)

Let Christmas Shine

One of the last numbers the Rockettes perform, in their very sparkly outfits with lots of high kicks! Emerson got a Rockette Barbie for Christmas with this outfit on!!

(Source: Broadway.com)

(Source: The Single Nester)

(Source: YouTube - NYReel)

The Raleigh Christmas Parade

2011-12-28T19:35:00.000-05:00

In November (11/19), Emerson had the opportunity to participate in the Raleigh Christmas Parade with her dance school. As one of the younger students she was able to sit on the Christmas float, while the older girls danced (and walked) behind the float. Emerson was very excited about riding on the float with her friends. We had to be there very early on that Saturday morning, and the drop-off point was about a 1 1/2 miles from where we decided to watch the parade. Danny and I decided I would drop-off and walk to the spot, while he parked the car and scoped out our viewing spot towards the end of the parade route. I waited for Kerry, Haegan's mom, to arrive and then left Emerson so I could begin my jaunt to our viewing spot. Emerson was so excited and could hardly sit still.

Ready for the parade to begin.

Emerson and Jordan...all smiles!!

Emerson and Haegan...two-peas-in-a-pod.

As I walked to our spot, I snagged this picture of the crowd on just one of the two streets the parade went down. There were almost 80,000 people in attendance for the parade and it's known as the largest parade between Atlanta and Washington, DC.

Waiting for the parade to start!!

And away we go....the police motorcycle and mounted horse escort started it all!!

The Broughton High School Marching Band began and ended the parade. They will be in Pasadena this week for the Rose Bowl Parade. Way to represent NC!!

Our favorite news team, the WRAL gang.

So cute....love these golden retrievers!

How funny is this giant grocery cart?

Check out this ride...

The first inflatable balloon...

The Grand Marshal of the parade....NC's own, Scotty McCreery. He passed Emerson's float before the parade began and now she is in love. We officially have our first crush in the Dever house. (I might have a slight crush, too!! If I ever have a son, I want him to be as well-mannered as Scotty.)

Mini ponies all dolled up for the holiday!

Emerson and the Stage Door group were #100 out of #129 entries in the parade, so needless to say, we sat there for a long time before we got a glimpse of Emerson. Finally they emerged, but sadly, after all that, I only got two pictures of Emerson. She was tucked away behind the tree and I didn't see her until she was right on us. Oh well...at least she was smiling. Danny followed the float to the end and brought Emerson back to sit with us and enjoy the rest of the parade!

**Side note: Those gorgeous red sweatshirts all the Stage Door gang have on, were the works of me and my company!!**

Another inflatable....

The Nutcracker, one of my favorite holiday traditions!

Check out the (real) dog, relaxed and ready to ride on the back of this motorcycle.

No texting allowed at the parade!!! A parade participant came over to see what was so important that my mom was texting and not watching the parade.

The Sudo-Rockettes

A giant toilet on the float....pretty clever!

Emerson loved watching the parade!

The man everyone was waiting for....

I must say, albeit cold, the Raleigh Christmas Parade was so much fun!! They do a wonderful job putting on a very entertaining parade that appeals to all ages. I am so glad Emerson got to be a part of it. We will certainly go again next year. What a great way to spend a Saturday morning and really get everyone in the holiday spirit!! Until next year...

(Not Quite) Wordless Wednesday: A Bike and a Bat

2011-12-28T18:29:00.000-05:00

No one had to go to school or work on Monday in the Dever household, so we used the day to clean-up a bit and test out some of the new toys Emerson received for Christmas. The bike was given to her by Santa and she couldn't be more thrilled. The t-ball set was given to her by Grammy and Papa and Emerson thinks this might be her new sport!! Hogan even got in on the action playing with some of his old retrieving balls! It was a beautiful day that lent itself to some much needed Dever family quality time!!

Loving her new bike!!!

Hogan enjoying a game (or two or three) of fetch!!

Play Ball....Emerson's new t-ball set!!

Daddy even got in on the action!!

Merry Christmas, Y'all!!!

2011-12-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS, Y'ALL!!

From our home (or blog) to yours,

wishing you warm hearts and lasting memories

this holiday season and always!!

Our 2011 Holiday Card

Salem's 5th Birthday

2011-12-24T14:02:00.000-05:00

Back in November (yes, I'm sooo behind in blogging), Emerson was invited to Salem's 5th birthday party. Salem is a friend from Emerson's old preschool that we still keep in contact with. Laura, Salem's mom, also made Emerson's birthday cake (which I've yet to blog about, ugh!!). The party was a Polar Bear theme and the kids had a great time decorating polar bear tails and masks, playing polar bear relay games, and of course, eating polar bear cake!! It was a great afternoon for a party and Emerson had a wonderful time!

Sweet Grace decorating her polar bear tail.

Emerson and Salem coloring their polar bear masks.

The Polar Bear Cake

(Laura is soooo talented!!!)

The kids with their masks.

Relay games including some with bath puffs for snowballs!!

The Polar Bear Crawl

Wordless Wednesday: Gift wrapping station

2011-12-21T16:30:00.001-05:00

....I'm in full-on elf-mode!!!

School Pictures | Fall, 2011

2011-12-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

This past October, Emerson's daycare took their bi-annual school pictures. We're lucky we have the opportunity to get both spring and fall photos at school. I remember the days when Emerson did nothing but cry and look petrified in her pictures. Now she's a champion smiler! I'm not quite sure I can get over how big she is getting and that these are her last fall pictures before starting kindergarten next fall. I'm not even going to think about it...I get so sad. She is certainly not a baby, not a toddler and almost not even a pre-schooler anymore. Where has the time gone? They really do grow-up SOOO fast. (TEAR! SNIFFLE!)

FALL 2011

Emerson (4 years and 3 months old)

Wordless Wednesday: O Christmas Trees, O Christmas Trees!!

2011-12-14T06:30:00.002-05:00

Our 2011 Christmas Trees

Living Room Tree

Emerson's Tree

(located in her bedroom)

Our Christmas Card Tree

(located in our Dining Room)

Fall Kickball

2011-12-13T07:00:00.002-05:00

In early November (11/6), the Seagroves family hosted another kickball tournament. You may remember the weather was sweltering during the previous Fourth of July weekend tournament. We lucked out this time around and had beautiful weather making outdoor play more enjoyable. After the tournament, we gathered back at the Seagroves' house for some food and socializing. It was another great tournament with friends!!

The Team Breakdown

...and the team photos, respectively!!

I strategically placed myself down the first base line, making it easier to get some great kicking shots and running to first base shots.

Caroline and Cole, showing a little sibling love!!

Jen and Cole waiting for their turn to kick.

I can't get enough of this cutie!!!

Some shots of Danny and Emerson; waiting, kicking, and running. Emerson loves to run the bases for her Daddy!!

Some action shot from the day...

Emerson and Caroline B. became disinterested in the game and decided drawing in the dirt was much more intriguing.

Caroline's little sister, Charlotte, was all smiles for the camera.

More pics of Cole; He should be in a magazine. I'm sure his dad will love this collage; Cole and a Carolina football...nothing better!!

Two Words: Double Trouble!!

Thanks again to the Seagroves for hosting. Hopefully this will become seasonal event in the spring, summer and fall!!!

Wordless Wednesday: An Advent Calendar

2011-12-07T20:43:00.000-05:00

...from Aunt Sissy!!

Emerson received this classic chocolate surprise Advent Calendar from Aunt Sissy at the beach a few weeks ago. I remember having these every year for Christmas as a child!

Wordless Wednesday: He's BA-ACK.....

2011-11-30T06:30:00.001-05:00

Riddle, our elf, will make his first appearance tomorrow morning in the Dever household. I don't believe in starting his daily visits until the first day of December. Like last year, I will document all the fun places he hides each morning and post them toward the end of December.

Halloween, 2011

2011-11-28T07:10:00.001-05:00

We were so happy to have the Hermans back this year to trick-or-treat with us. Last year we ventured to Chancellor's Ridge neighborhood to Trick-or-Treat with the Giovanellos (while the Hermans spent Halloween in Missouri with family). We were eager to go back to the neighborhood and add the Herman clan. As a parent, I've learned plans don't always go as expected. Unfortunately the night started out quite dreary with a cold rain. Bryce wasn't really happy about his puppy dog costume and the rain wasn't adding any cheer to the situation. Amy decided to stay home with Bryce, while Dale and the girls joined Danny and me for some trick-or-treating....we were all bummed Amy and Bryce couldn't join us. Her absence also left me with full responsibility of pictures for the evening. Night pictures are always a challenge, but I did my best to capture the girl's excitement that night. Emerson and Ivie certainly got what trick-or-treating was all about and Macie, while understanding, just tried to keep up with bigger girls.

The loot we left on our doorstep for any trick-or-treaters that visited our house.

Emerson got first dibs!!

Little Red Riding Hood and the Not-So-Big, Not-So-Bad, Wolf!!

Little Red Riding Hood

(A big thanks goes out to Emerson's classmate Melania (and her mom, Rebecca) for allowing us to borrow Melania's costume from last year. It fit perfectly and solved our costume debate that went on for weeks. And it meant I didn't have to purchase a costume, Sweet!!)

The ONLY good picture of the four of them...and saying "good" would be a stretch.

The game plan was to follow each other to Chancellor's Ridge, park on the road and start our route around one of the larger neighborhood circles. When we got there, it was still drizzling, so we rallied and I drove the Herman's van, while the guys walked with the girls holding umbrellas (not that the girls stayed under the umbrellas). We decided at least the van could follow and the girls could hop back in between houses (yeah, right!). There was no stopping our little trick-or-treaters, their excitement was too much and rain was the last thing on their minds. Luckily about ten minutes in, the rain subsided and we ended up with a beautiful (and just a tad wet) night!

Let the fun begin....TRICK-OR-TREAT!!!

We had a little sibling rivalry between Macie, Emerson and Ivie (Emerson's basically family) for ringing the door bells first. We had to step-in and create an every-other-house rule so each girl had a turn.

Mac-Mac in her Blueberry Muffin costume!!

Danny's turn at the wheel of the van....checking Facebook!

Ivie in her Raspberry Tart costume with her new candy necklace that she seems very eager to open!!

We never could get in touch with the Giovanellos but we finally met up with Aurora and Melania for a few mintues. They were headed out as we were headed home. Oh well, maybe next year!

Emerson loves flashlights and was intent on carrying the one Danny brought.

Amazingly enough, the girls weren't afraid of this scary character waiting at the bottom of a staircase.

After coming in for the night we had to make our yearly trip to Jasper and Janice's house for a quick trick-or-treat.

One last attempt at a picture of all the girls in their costumes.

Family shot!!

I'm sure Hogan had a stressful night with all the trick-or-treaters we had, but he was happy to see us when we returned home!

Mimi and Birdie came over after our outing to see Emerson in her costume, give her a small gift, and watch her go through her candy.

The LOOT!!!!

MY CANDY....I'm not sharing (as she lays on top of it)!!!

Just like her Mommy, she separates the M&M's into colors and then eats them!!

We hope you all had a fabulous Halloween. Every year brings a new adventure but one thing is constant, the smile on Emerson's face while she trick-or-treats with good friends!! Until next year...

Halloween Treats and a Parade

2011-11-25T21:01:00.001-05:00

It's alright to post Halloween pictures the day after Thanksgiving, right? Sure!! Seriously, where did November go? I thought it was supposed to be a slow month, but work has completely blown up and blogging has, well, not blown up! To my (few) followers, sorry for the lack of blogging lately...life has been crazy and blogging hasn't been the first priority. Anyway, I'm hoping to finish up the last few October posts and then start posting about November. As busy as we were, I don't have many pictures from November, go figure! Onward to "the post at hand"....

Halloween Treats

Thanks to my obsession with Pinterest, I was able to find super cute (and super easy) Halloween treats for Emerson's classmates. With October being as crazy as it was, I needed a very quick and easy treat to produce. I decided on Milano Ghost cookies (I did get some heat from my neighbor about not using Nutter Butters, but he didn't complain when I brought him over a plateful)!! I tried out the recipe at our tailgate and knew they were a hit when I came home with an empty plate. All 48 cookies were gone (thanks, in huge part, to Caroline Gwaltney who ate about 15 cookies that day). Since they were a hit at tailgate, they would certainly be a hit with preschoolers! Score...a super easy, super cute and super tasty treat for Halloween!!

Halloween Parade

The morning of Halloween, Emerson's school hosted their annual Halloween Parade. Now, when I say parade, I really mean the kids (in their costumes) marching out to the blacktop of the playground, running around in a circle and posing for some pictures. But, they think it's a parade and they have a blast. It's also a great photo opp for all the parents to get some pictures of their child with all their classmates. Even though it takes all of 10 minutes (shorter than it takes me to change Emerson back into school clothes), it's worth seeing the smiles on all the kids faces!!!

Emerson was so excited to wear her costume to school.

Emerson and her classmates awaiting the parade...

One last picture for Miss Brenda!!

Oh yes, we forgot who Emerson's mom was.....a lot more pictures for you all to enjoy. Sorry they were too cute not to add to the post!! She loved her costume!

All the silly girls in Emerson's class!!

Emerson and Reagan....screaming, "We Love Miss Brenda!!" It was an attempt to get them to smile by Sean Giovanello...and it worked!!

Emerson's classmates (and then some)...we had a few extra kids from the three-year-old class.

Reagan and her sister, Madison...they are too cute and look exactly alike!!

Emerson and Aurora....two peas in a pod and like sisters, with their love-hate relationship!

Wordless Wednesday: The Feather Castle...

2011-11-23T12:40:00.000-05:00

...made by Emerson!!!

Annual Topsail Island Beach Trip 2011

Halloween Dance Performance

2011-11-17T19:00:00.001-05:00

The week before Halloween, Emerson's dance class celebrated by wearing their costumes to class and performing for parents the last five minutes of class. (It was the perfect opportunity for us to do a test run on the costume. And, as you'll see from the video, I learned I needed to pin her cape the night of Halloween so it wouldn't choke her.) Emerson was the only student to show up for her class, so she and her teacher joined the other class that's held at the same time for a joint class. Although, when it came time for the performance, Emerson was on her own to dance her first solo (with her teacher, Chasta, dancing on the side of the room). She did pretty good to dance a solo in front of "bigger" girls and their moms (that she didn't know)!! Sorry for the shaky start to the video, I was both videographer and photographer during this performance....pictures and video below! Enjoy!!!

Halloween Dance Performance

A Pumpkin Carving Party

2011-11-16T19:02:00.001-05:00

Yes, I realize we're halfway through November and I am still getting around to October posts. So much for "catching up" in October, it was more like "keeping up". November is usually a slow month for us, but it is proving to be pretty busy, hence me being super behind in posting. Anyway, I digress...

On October 23rd, we attended a pumpkin carving party hosted by the Kidd Family. Caroline and Emerson used to be in the same daycare, but the Kidds recently moved to Mebane. We still get to see them at Carolina games and Alison and I eat lunch together once-in-awhile. It was great to spend the afternoon catching up and carving pumpkins!! What a cute idea for a party, I might have to steal this one!! Alison and I share the same passion in party planning! Here are some pictures from the party...

A little bit of play and catching up for the girls before carving their pumpkins!

Now the real fun begins....we all picked a pumpkin and began carving!

Daddy had to take over, he was much better at carving than I was.

EWWW!! The not-so-fun part of carving a pumpkin.

You'll notice the kids slowly start to disappear, and the Dads are left to carve the pumpkins...they all did a great job!!

Marshmallow Pumpkin Pop!!

Way to go, Danny...our adorable pumpkin, that we later accessorized and named, Jill-O-Lantern!

Another cute pumpkin...

The Herman girls' (well, Dale's) pumpkins!!

The kids ended the party with some good old-fashioned sidewalk chalk art!!

Thanks to the Kidds for hosting us in their lovely new home. We had a great time!!

Wordless Wednesday: Soccer Gals!!

2011-11-16T07:25:00.000-05:00

Emerson, Aurora, Reagan, and Julianne

The last game of the season!!!

Emersonisms: Three in one night

2011-11-15T21:16:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago, on a Friday evening (10/21), we had to run over to Carrboro and pick up my volunteer packet for the Get Heeled 5K. Emerson was in rare form that night, so I thought I would jot down a few of the stories...

Car Seat Dancing
Danny and Emerson picked me up at home, when I got in the car, one of Emerson's favorite songs was playing and she was full-on car seat dancing. We started the song over so I could get her "cool moves" on video. We then listened to the song at least 6 more times!!! Enjoy the video below...

Wedding

A little back story: There is a running joke between the Hermans and the Devers about our wedding days. Dale Herman, who was a good family friend when Danny and I got married, was invited to our wedding. Unfortunately, the same day, he had another wedding he was part of and had to decline his invite to our wedding. My parents were invited to Dale and Amy's wedding, but since (at the time) Dale was closer to my dad than me, I was not invited. Dale always jokes about how beautiful our wedding day was and how it was the best wedding he had ever been to...he wasn't there! He also jokes about how he got us the greatest gift...he didn't get us a present! And, we do the same with him about his wedding day...even though we weren't in attendance due to the lack of an invite!! :)

Anyway, that night, we took the route through campus to get to Carrboro. (Since I'm not working on campus anymore, I always try to drive through it any chance I get!) We passed a wedding party getting their pictures taken at the Old Well, which immediately got Emerson's attention. She loves weddings and thought the bride looked beautiful. As we came up to the Carolina Inn the conversation went like this:

Emerson: Look, Mommy and Daddy, that's where you got married!!! (we've pointed this out to her before and attended several events with her there, so she is familiar with the Inn)

Me: Yep, that's where Daddy and I got married...isn't it beautiful!

After some more chit chat about my dress and other details...
Emerson: Where did Miss Amy get married?

Me: Actually, we just passed where they got married. It was a building near the Old Well.

Emerson: Oh, did you guys go?

Danny and I both looked at each and smirked!!
Me: (with a giggle) NO, we weren't invited!

Emerson: How were you not invited, you are Amy's best friend.

Probably more of an inside joke for the Hermans and Devers to enjoy but I didn't want to forget it! Now maybe Emerson can join in on the wedding day banter!!

Tomato Soup
Even though we haven't had horribly cold weather yet, one of our staple winter meals of grilled cheese and tomato soup has already made a few appearances this fall. Emerson claims she loves tomato soup, but never eats as much as I think she will. After picking up the packet, we headed to dinner where I ordered Tomato Bisque. Emerson sitting next to me, asked for a bite of my soup....and then another one, and then another one, and then sure enough, half the bowl was gone!

Emerson: Mommy, this restaurant's tomato soup is SOOO much better than yours.

Thanks, Emerson! I'm pretty sure the fresh pureed tomatoes with heavy cream and organic spices is much better than my Campbell's Tomato Soup out of the can, made with skim milk. Who knew my four-year-old's palette would be so mature. I guess this isn't going to cut-it in our house anymore!!

Hill Ridge Farms, 2011

2011-11-10T07:00:00.001-05:00

Back in the middle of October, we had one of our busiest weekends yet. Danny had been out of town all week and got home on a Thursday night around midnight. We got up bright-and-early on Friday for Fast Break, then headed to the State Fair that afternoon with the Herman Clan, had a UNC football game on Saturday, and two soccer games (one Saturday, one Sunday). But we still managed to get in our annual Herman/Dever trip to Hill Ridge Farms on that Sunday (10/16). Last year, we opted for Hill Ridge Farms instead of Ganyard Farms and we weren't disappointed. There are so many things to do at Hill Ridge and the activities seem to be more age appropriate as the girls have gotten older. Being this is our second year in a row, I see this becoming our annual pumpkin patchin' outing with the Hermans, replacing the Ganyard trip we had done for several previous years.

The Maze

Miss Hollywood made her way through the kiddie maze and looked fabulous doing it!!!

Emerson + Hollywood sunglasses = Diva!

The Jump Pillow
You know the song by Bare Naked Ladies, "If I Had a Million Dollars"? Well, if I had a million dollars, I would have a jump pillow in my backyard. This was a new feature this year and the girls LOVED it. If the adults had a turn on it, I am sure we would have loved it, too! The Jump Pillow is a cross between a trampoline and a bounce house. Wonder if the Hermans would go halfsies with us and we could install it in the side yard between our houses (ha!)!!

Goofing off with Daddy!!

My two favorite people goofing off and just having fun. Danny wasn't home much in October, so it was nice for them to spend some time together.

Goofing off with Dale...

....a rare picture of him with the camera, a rare picture of Danny and me, and a picture Dale snapped of me in my normal pose on outings like this, behind the camera!!

Our Budding Photographer

Emerson loves to take pictures now and every chance she gets, she has me put the camera around her neck to snap a photo. Daddy was the subject during this outing.

Trying to get all three girls to look at us at the same time is almost impossible. But here are a few of the girls posing "in" the Hill Ridge Farms school bus and even one with Bryce in the driver's seat (with an assist from Amy)!

The Giant Slide

This might be the most popular attraction at Hill Ridge Farms (although the Jump Pillow will give it a run for its money). The slide was a big hit with all the girls last year, but Emerson was still a bit scared to go down by herself and opted for a ride down with Danny. But this year, she had no fear and rode down like a pro, leaving Danny to ride down by himself (and make a more-than-cheesy exit from the tunnel!).

The Yearly Growth Picture
...at least this proves she's grown a bit since last year.

The Train Ride

If you haven't been to Hill Ridge, you will quickly learn it has a little bit of everything, including a train. The girls waited patiently for their turn on the train and quickly grabbed the front seat in our "train car" when it was time to board. The train goes twice around a huge field. My favorite part last year were the hay bale art, so I snapped a few shots of this year's creations, along with a few other train trip shots!!

Duck Races

We headed back to the Duck Races this year. The girls had a great time racing their ducks down the water trough. Danny and Dale might be the two most competitive people I know, and decided to race the ducks themselves. I had walked over to get a spot in line for the pony rides but Amy was there, and got a few pictures of the Daddy Races (I only heard it ALL the way over at the Pony Rides)!!

Pony Rides

Emerson was the only girl who wanted to ride the ponies. She looks like a natural up there, her Auntie Di would be very proud!!! I haven't told Emerson that I used to take riding lessons when I was younger, for fear that she will start asking for that to be her next after-school activity.

The Hay Barn
We made a quick stop in the Hay Barn so the girls could ~~play~~ pose on a hay bale. They are all little hams and mine surely knows how to strick a pose!

The Hayride and Pumpkin Patchin'

We always leave the hayride and pumpkin pickin' until the very end. It's much easier to just head to the cars once we have our pumpkins. We hopped on the hayride and headed to the fields to figuratively and literally "pick" our pumpkins. The girls scoured the fields for the perfect pumpkins and once found, it was time to hayride back to our cars. The Devers were on a tight time table, as we had a soccer game that afternoon, but we made sure to save enough time for our traditional stop at Sonic (Amy's favorite) with the Hermans on the way home.

Love both of these pictures!!

Another very successful trip to Hill Ridge is in the books, and finally on the blog. We hope everyone got out and enjoyed this wonderful Fall we've had and did some pumpkin patchin' of your own!!

Wordless Wednesday: We're obsessed...

2011-11-09T06:30:00.001-05:00

....with Pirate's Booty!!!

I must say, Emerson and I have become addicted; we buy the box of twenty snack bags at Target EVERY week. Good thing it's only 65 calories for the entire single-serve bag!!! We've only tried the Aged White Cheddar, but when I find the others, I'm sure they will quickly become favorites, too!!

Wordless Wednesday: A Picture from Heba

2011-11-02T20:25:00.000-04:00

My good friend, Heba Salama, took this picture of Emerson and I while we volunteered for the Get Heeled 5K, hence the pink!!! We were anxiously waiting for Danny to pass by as a participant in the race.

Thanks for the great picture, Heba!!!

Check out her amazing photography at www.hebasalama.com!!!

Happy Halloween, Y'all!!!

2011-10-31T14:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween, Y'all !!!

The Devers hope you and yours have
a happy and safe Halloween.

Halloween 2007

(3 months old)

Halloween 2008

(1 year, 3 months old)

Halloween 2009
(2 years, 3 months old)

Halloween 2010
(3 years, 3 months old)

Halloween 2011
(4 years, 3 months old)

Fast Break, 2011

2011-10-29T17:29:00.000-04:00

For the past four years, Danny and I have had the pleasure of volunteering for Roy Williams' Fast Break Against Cancer. On October 14 (before our fair trip), Danny and I woke up bright and early and headed to the Smith Center for the event. Over the past seven years, the event has raised more than $1.2 million and this year brought in another $210,000. Stuart Scott was the guest of honor, and graced us all with his poignant, heartfelt and inspiring story of his battle with cancer. The silent and live auctions were full of great items; the most attractive being tickets to this year's UNC vs. Michigan State game being played on the USS Carl Vinson in San Diego. Coach Williams' was so generous to give the three highest bidders each a pair of tickets. It was another great event and I'm proud to be a part of it. Hopefully one day all the hard work and funds raised will lead to a cure for this horrible disease.

Don't you just love those post-it cubes....created by yours truly and the NewClients team!!!

Woody Durham, The Voice of the Tar Heels, was honored at a dinner the night before this event. For 40 years Woody has called both the Men's Basketball and Football games. He recently retired, but reprieved his emcee role again this year.

Vince Carter was in attendance that morning. He recently donated a very generous gift to the Basketball Family Fund of $2.5 million. It's nice to see former players doing the right thing, giving back and being great role models. Plus, he's just the cutest thing and his smile just melts your heart!!

Wordless Wednesday: Our Jill-O-Latern...

2011-10-26T12:00:00.001-04:00

...and other Halloween decorations!!!

I Heart Faces | Let Them Be Little

2011-10-25T19:26:00.001-04:00

This week's I Heart Faces challenge is all about the little ones. I came across this picture and it was perfect. I loved this age and said many times, "Can I just give her a shot, so she can stay this size forever." This was Emerson's first ballet class (you can read the original post here). And while I was so excited for her to start classes, she was a bit scared and timid at first. Okay, maybe more than "a bit"....there were some tears, but that's only because I couldn't go in the room with her. She held stuffed animal, given to her by the teacher, as tight as she could. But what a brave girl she turned out to be, she made it through the entire class and is now in her second year of dance. I will never forget this age, though, and that first dance class!!

Hope on over to this week's challenge to see what others are saying about their little ones!!

NC State Fair, 2011

2011-10-22T07:00:00.003-04:00

Last Friday, we headed back for our annual trip to the NC State Fair with the Herman clan. We were excited because Nina and Papa (Amy's parents) were in town and they got to take in all the goodness of the fair with us. It was a beautiful fall day; we couldn't have asked for better weather. As always, we had a blast!!! Emerson is definitely a fair-ride rider. She loves anything that moves and goes fast and wants to ride it 100 times. We didn't experiment with any new foods and I still didn't find the fried cookie dough I was looking for last year, so I opted for no fried food. We walked around, checked out the livestock, checked out the fair-goers (almost as fun to watch as the livestock), rode a ton of rides, had some snacks and just enjoyed the day. We did talk the Hermans into letting us keep Ivie an hour-or-so later, while they went to pick up Bryce from school. Emerson had a blast riding the rides with Ivie and going up "oh so high" on the Ferris Wheel. It was another successful trip to the fair....I wish we could make it back this weekend!! Oh well, until next year.....

Ready for a day at the fair!

Emerson loved the Bungee Bounce!!!

Last year's favorite ride was the Dragon Wagon, so we had to ride that a few times.

The swings with the Herman girls (and guy)!!

....told you we rode it a few times!

Merry-Go-Round

Back to the Bungee Bounce....pretty sure this will be the new favorite "ride". Emerson had so much fun that I had to get it on video. Thanks to Danny's Iphone for making it so convenient

Emerson and the Bungee Bounce!!

Ivie had a great time on the Bungee Bounce, too!!

A kiddie boat ride!

A "Magical" Clown

A new Disney-like feature...this crazy robot, blaring music was strolling around the fair.

Watching the ponies in their competition.

Besties!! Love the hand holding!

Loving the Hot Air Balloon ride...and killing time while Danny waited in line for us.

The Ferris Wheel....they had talked about it all afternoon and it didn't disappoint.
They also didn't mind the 10 stops it took to get to the top.

The view from the top of the Ferris Wheel.

The Silver Streak, some of you may remember our first experience with one of these rides during our outing in Florida. Emerson saw this and immediately HAD to ride it.

The Worm Roller Coaster - not the official name but I can't remember what it was.

Another fun ride that both girls loved!!!

Waiting in line for the Hamster Dance....aren't they just the cutest!!

We let the girls try their hand at this ride. We saw it last year, but thought they may be too young. And to be honest, they were probably still too young (at least to make the float roll properly), but they had a great time and that's all that matters!

On our way out, Danny got duped into getting this guy to guess the girls' birthdays. He had to be within two months for them to get a prize. Emerson was first and he guessed October. WRONG! So Emerson got to pick out a prize...go figure it was the loudest one they had! Next up Ivie (her birthday is in April) and he guessed February. So she didn't win and got a consolation prize of Mardis Gras beads. Danny felt bad, so for another $3.00 he had the guy guess his weight. (No way was he guessing my age or weight, Danny took one for the team!) He was way off (in Danny's favor), so Danny was stoked to spend that extra $3.00. Ivie picked out a Carolina Blue-ish tiger, lucky for her parents and Bryce, it was a silent toy!!

We couldn't leave without some ice cream...both girls had huge cups of ice cream on our way out.

Another great trip....I already want to go back. Next year can't get here fast enough.
I love FALL!!!

Wiggly What?

2011-10-21T21:09:00.001-04:00

Emerson had her six-month check-up with her dentist last Monday (10/10). She was very excited to see Dr. John. As I'm sitting watching the hygienist clean her teeth, she says, "Oh, you've got two wiggly front teeth!!" What??? Say that again, please!! She confirmed and showed me two wiggly front teeth. There is no way I have a child old enough to have two wiggly teeth. Although, they are far from being wiggly enough to fall out yet, the hygienist did say that they are on their way and it will just depend on Emerson. If she finds them and messes with them a lot, then they will fall out faster, but if she never messes with them, they will stay in for much longer. I don't think she's found them yet and therefore isn't playing with them. In all other tooth news, we got an A++ for cleaning and a perfect report from Dr. John. Let's just hope those teeth stay in a bit longer....I'm not sure I am ready for a snaggle-tooth kid in all my pictures or a visit from the Tooth Fairy quite yet!!!

(sorry for the horrible pictures, they were taken with my phone)