Snow!

The other week we got a little snow storm (that shut down the state for the week....) and one good morning to play out in it.  This was really the first time either one of our kids had seen enough snow to play in and definitely their first time playing in snow.  They had a blast!  Until, that is, they got too wet and cold and then it was very long whiny trek back to the house to get dry.  But they had fun and Levi still talks about "sledding" in the snow.  Since it was their first time out in the snow I brought out the big camera to capture their initial responses to it.  :)

Girl's Day Out

This past Saturday, my dear friend Lindsay and I left the husbands in charge of the little boys and headed out on a mini-roadtrip.  :)  We have been pining to go to a few stores down in the Charlotte area but needed a) whole day b) no distractions.  We FINALLY got both requirements filled and scheduled and headed out Saturday morning.

First stop - Pottery Barn Outlet, Gaffney SC (after stopping for some coffee!).  Still a bit expensive but we did find some items that we wanted at a discount. (YAY!)   Look at all those couches!  It was tempting....

We also hit up the Gap outlet there because, why not?  Then we headed back up the road to Gastonia, NC and stopped in at Mary Jo's Cloth Store.  This is a fabric lover's dream come true.  So much fabric and all kinds.  I got some fabric for a chair I plan to recover and Linds got a few pieces to make pillows.

Then on back to Charlotte to explore IKEA (sorry no picture - I got lazy).  It was crowded but we didn't have any time constraints so we wandered through the showroom and the marketplace and got a few decor items on the cheap.  After a nice sit down dinner we headed on home.  We had such a great day - relaxing and fun!  I think I'm recharged for another week....maybe..... ;)

Western Carolina

This past weekend we were invited by our friends, John & Kati (no relation to the TV show!), to their parent's vacation home in western North Carolina.  Along with John, Kati, their 2 children, and us, we were also joined by Matt & Karen and their 2 little ones.  The cabin was very pretty and just perfect to fit us all.  We mostly hung out and relaxed but we did get out and about a little bit.  On Saturday morning, we headed to Chimney Hill, NC.  We walked through a few shops and then we went gem mining.  We had so much fun!  The kids loved it as well as the adults.  It was definitely "fake" gem mining but it was still cool.  Here are a few pictures of our adventure out on Saturday.

Time with good friends

Saturday night Mike and I drove up to Durham to meet our friends Liz and Mike at their new apartment. My friend Amy had also driven down from MD to spend the weekend in NC with Liz. So we all piled into the car and headed into Chapel Hill for a yummy dinner at Lime & Basil (or fruit &; herb - according to Liz!). We found parking, ate dinner and walked around - all before the UNC basketball game ended! Franklin St. was a zoo after the game - glad we weren't there! We also stopped at a hole in the wall (but very cute) coffee shop on our way back to their apartment. It was so nice to catch up with college friends and enjoy an evening out. We have to do it again soon, girls!

Not to leave the boys out....