Tweetsie

Tweetsie Railroad

Boone, North Carolina

Panning for gold with Papa

The Rides

The Show

The Mouse Train

Feeding the Animals

My good ole Dad loves to have the family up for a grand time at the beloved Tweetsie Railroad.  I have been going to Tweetsie since I was a kid nearly every year until about the age of 12.  I had not been back until the summer before Reagan turned two.  Reagan luckily has fallen into my childhood footsteps and has attended Tweetsie every year making this her third time.  However, this year she was incredibly thrilled because her baby sister was old enough to go with her.  It was so neat to look back at the photos of when Reagan was Madison's age and reminiscing about her likes/dislikes.  


Madison who is completely opposite of Reagan in almost every way but her looks, loved the rides!  The faster and higher the better she took to them.  Reagan was not such a fan, but is getting better.  The one thing they both had in common were the shows.  Both my girls have always loved watching live shows.  They will sit for hours in amazement.  The girls also loved the mouse train at the top of the mountain.  The train goes through a tunnel and then plays a little song while the train stops in a black lit glow around the mice characters in a cheese factory.  It's cute for the kids.


The weather was perfect for us as well.  We had a cloudy day that brought relief from the hot sun.  After riding the rides and watching a show we went to see the animals.  The kids love to feed the animals.  Reagan likes the Llamas for an unknown reason.  Madison liked the goats the most.  The baby goats could squeeze through the fence and so you were able to pet them really easily.  This was a great experience for the girls.  


We wrapped up our day with a ride on the actual Tweetsie Railroad.  This has never been a highlight for Reagan but more of a way to cool down and take a nap.  Madison, also did not enjoy the train.  She hates to be constrained down for a long period of time and so it was all I could do to not let her jump out for thirty minutes.  Reagan did much better this year with the Cowboy and Indians.  She did not get scared and actually followed the story line much to my surprise.  She asked a lot of questions about why the Indians were so mean.  Andy and I thought this was humorous seeing how she is 50% Native American herself with her Dad being full-blooded.  We had to give her a history lesson on that one, ;).  


After, Tweetsie we headed to Makato's, a japaneese steak house, yummy!  Then up to the lot where my Dad and brother are building a mountain house that looks right out at Sugar mountain.  So far they have the well in place, a driveway, the lot cleared, and a house plan.  Dad has been doing a lot of work clearing the land and landscaping the front side.  It looks great!  It is going to be such a great vacation spot for us one day!

My favorite photo from the day.

Wordless Wednesday: Favorite Wedding Picture

Leigh Ellen's Bridal Shower

Leigh Ellen came to Cary in September this year.  Everyone was unsure how it would work out adding a new colleague to the mix.  As soon as we met, I knew she was going to be a good friend.  LE is definitely the easiest person to work with but more importantly a great friend!  Dealing with teenagers for eight hours everyday can take its toll on anyone.  I am so lucky to have another person to share the highs and lows with throughout the year.


LE became engaged this year on a trip out to Las Vegas.  It was so exciting to see her so giddy and to get involved with all her wedding planning.  LE lived on Etsy and wedding websites during all our breaks.  I would laugh because as I asked her about little girls clothing she would be showing me bridesmaid dresses.  Internet shopping quickly became one of our mutual interests.


On April 9th, we celebrated her engagement with a wedding shower.  LE's best friend Katie is a super wedding planner.  She currently teaches elementary school, but she will eventually be a full-time planner.  She is amazing!!!

Katie, the perfect planner

The parents

Games

Lauren and Ring Bearer: Fisher

Mother's Day 2011

Mother's Day this year was a pretty normal day.  I enjoyed the girls while playing outside in gorgeous weather.  They brighten my life everyday.  I can't believe how big they are getting.  Madison is starting to really keep up with Reagan.  At the same time, Reagan is becoming more patient and slowing down so that Madison can play with her.  

Long, Long time

When I first started this blog, I thought this would be a great way to document my families life without the time consuming task of scrapbooking.  However, starting in March every year I coach tennis at Smith Middle school.  I love coaching the boys and enjoy seeing them grow and become better players and sports.  However, my blogging diminished to a little to none very quickly.  The tennis season lasted two months through April.  Then at the end of April, one of my students accidentally smashed my right index finger in a gate.  This left me to doing a lot of things single handedly and typing was out unless absolutely necessary.

It is now June and I am free from school and my finger has almost healed.  I still can't feel the tip yet but I have enough feeling to type.  :)

So here goes to a summer of catching up!  I hope you enjoy reading as much as I have had living our craziest and busy life.

Reagan's First Manicure

I took Reagan with me today to the mall to get her first pedicure.  She was so excited because she is such a girly girl.  We talked about what colors she would pick and of course the answer was, "PINK"!!!  As we headed over in the car, I continued to talk about how she had to sit really still for a long time while her nails were painted and then even after to let them dry.  Reagan, only made it though having a manicure because she couldn't sit any longer.  I wanted to get her toes done but after repainting her nails three times due to smudges, I decided to relieve the manicurist from my three year old.  

Her picked out outfit and bunny to keep her happy.
 

The toes that never got painted.

After Reagan's nails finally dried, we went to see the Easter Bunny but she was too scared to sit on his lap so we headed up the escalator for some ice cream.  Reagan choose Dippin' Dots which are frozen dots of ice cream.  The texture is very different and the flavor is very overwhelming.  I personally don't like them and I think Reagan shares my dislike as she didn't even finish her bowl.

Dippin' Dots

Sister Play

I love when the girls play together.  Reagan has been waiting what seems like forever for Madison to get big enough to play with her.  Tonight, after baths they came downstairs and pulled out their baby dolls and just played together.  It was super fun to see them so happy and enjoying sister time!

Madison cautiously watching Reagan as she enters her play space.

It's always fun to use real diapers and wipes on their baby dolls.

Madison most enjoys feeding her baby. 

All done Mom, I fed and strolled my baby!  Time for night, night.