We loaded up the car early last Friday morning, and headed to Charlotte to see my family for the holiday weekend!! And as a bonus: my nephew Gibson was turning ONE!
The first thing Anderson wanted to show his cousins upon our arrival was his new swingset & clubhouse!!! Built by none other than his awesome dad, Mike. Nate & Abby loved it!
Also at Anderson's request, we went on a bike ride in the neighborhood....
Taking a break & "hanging out" :) at the playground before heading back....
ALL of the kids were complaining that they were hot on the ride back to the house. Leave it to Nanny to start running through some random people's sprinklers!!! The kids were in shock at first, and then jumped right in. (Well, Anderson took his time joining them, but eventually did and everyone was happy & wet.)
Anderson & Abby had Aunt Bebe set up her sprinkler when we got home, but Nate opted to be dry and to help Uncle Mike & Poppy put the finishing touches on the clubhouse.
We had a yummy pizza dinner & then it was bathtime for these stinky cousins!!
Saturday morning, Miss Priss woke up asking for Gibson and wanted to give him a bottle. Now that he's one, he doesn't need help anymore! But snuggles will do :)
...And some playtime with Uncle Greg!
Then, it was time to head to Patterson Farms! We had been hearing about this strawberry patch for awhile from Poppy, and it was time to see it for ourselves. There was a *ton* of other stuff to do besides pick strawberries, and we had a gorgeous day to enjoy it all together.
Strawberry-picking was hilarious.......some people REALLY got into it (Poppy; Greg; Abby), while others (like Nate) were just so-so about it. And then there was Anderson.....I think he lasted maybe 5 minutes until he said he was hot and headed to a playground (& shade) with Nanny & Gibson. Ha!
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| Poppy could have stayed there all day! |
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| The strawberry gang |
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| Abby made a friend on the way back to the playground :) |
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| You know it's a special day when we have ice cream before 10 am! |
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| Gibson sampled EVERYONE's ice cream! But he liked my strawberry-flavored the best. |
Finally, it was time for the cow train ride. This is Anderson's favorite part of Patterson Farms, and he insisted on riding in his favorite cow car - Oreo. Nate got Flossie, Abby got Rosie, Greg got Mabel, I got Bessie, and Bec & Gibson got Buttermilk. We loved all the names!!!
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| #cowtrainselfie |
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| It was a fun ride, but a BUMPY one! |
Then, it was time for the petting zoo! (I told you this place had a ton of activities!!) My kids opted to feed the goats & other animals very slowly & methodically through the tubes.....
.....and (no, surprise here!) Anderson walked right up and made friends with the ducks! :)
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| Gorgeous peacock! |
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| Playground fun |
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| Spectators |
One of the kids' favorite games is "Elephant," and once we got home they all piled on Greg to play. Poor Greg!
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| Gibson didn't want to be left out! Love the one where Bec caught his little ankles before he face-planted ;) |
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| Pool time! |
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| Snuggles with my favorite one-year-old |
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| He approves of the new clubhouse :) |
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| Uncle Mike & his assistant, Poppy |
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| Nate & Abby raided Anderson's dress-up chest once he went to bed. Ha! |
Sunday morning, this little man woke up and turned ONE!!!!! We headed to a cute café for breakfast & to celebrate Gibson with fried donut holes :)
Bec & I ran a few last-minute errands that day, while Nanny supervised all the kiddos. I loved helping her set up the party and get everything ready. (It's so much more fun - and not stressful- when it's not your own kid! :) Bec did an awesome job with all the decorations....
They invited a LOT of people over for Gibson's party that afternoon. Who knew a one-year-old had so many friends!? The rain held off, the weather was cool, the food was yummy, and all the kiddos had so much fun in the backyard on the new clubhouse....
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| Anderson the ninja turtle |
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| One happy birthday boy! |
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| Abby made fast friends with Emerson, and they started playing hide-n-seek with some of the older kids, like Nate |
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| Bec with her sweet baby boy! |
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| Sister pic! (We missed you, Bones!) |
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| Group shot before the blessing |
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| Jessie, Nate, and Emerson |
After everyone grubbed on some delicious BBQ that Mike had made, it was finally time for cake! We all predicted that Gibson would dig right in because he's such a good eater. And, hello....it's sugar! :)
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| Not so sure of his hat! |
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| Don't touch the fire, Gibson! |
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| #lovinglife |
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| Sharing with Mommy :) |
But of course, the birthday boy made a total mess of himself and needed a bath. Not to mention, his bed. Being ONE is hard work!!
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| Nanny, the designated bather :) |
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| Now he's all smiles. The boy loves a bath! |
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| Party is over = Momma can relax! |
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| Nate started reading to them on his own before bedtime. Melt me! |
Monday was our last day in Charlotte, and we decided to go out with a bang! We rented a pontoon boot for Memorial Day, and hit up Lake Norman. The kids were excited but apprehensive, since it was 68 degrees and cloudy!!
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| Clearly, Gibson loved his life jacket !!! |
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| Nanny & Poppy with their favorite (sleepy) one-year-old |
The kids went tubing last summer at "Camp Nanny & Poppy," but Greg & I were not there. We were so excited to see them tube this time, and all the kids kept talking about how fun it would be. Well apparently.... Anderson is a big talker but that's it. He lasted 2.2 seconds on the tube with Abby!!
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| Bless his heart.....it was sooo hard not to laugh at him! |
Next was Nate & Abby's turn. They did pretty well but requested that Uncle Mike not go too fast. I seriously think we were going 3 mph!! :)
Anderson decided to try the tube one more time - I think there was a bribe involved - and he lasted about 5 seconds this time. Maybe next year!!
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| Bec had no sympathy. Ha! |
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| "I want to go tubing!" |
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| Fun times with my girl. She loved going fast! |
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| We tried to get Uncle Mike to throw him off! |
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| Success!!! Nate was checking on Daddy to make sure he was ok :) |
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| Dad & Lad time! Greg rolled off at the end and Nate thought it was hilarious :) |
After tubing, Mike found a good spot to anchor so we could play in the water and have lunch. And finally.....the sun came out!!!
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| I showed Nate how to wear his lifejacket upside-down like a "diaper" |
We had a blast on the boat and were sorry to give it up, especially since the weather had improved so much. But, we had to turn it back in around 1:30, and put two cranky boys down for a nap back at the house!
After naptime, Gibson finally got to open his presents. With help from his cousins, of course :)
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| New water table from N&P! |
We went out for dinner that night, to Bec's favorite Mexican restaurant.....
...and since she made us hurry up & leave (*to go home*) at 6 on the dot, I made a "to go" cup for my margarita!!!
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| Poppy sure loves his granddaughter :) |
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| Poppers with Poppy before bed |
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| Plus ice cream goodies, thanks to Poppy again |
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| Cuddling on the couch!? |
It was a great trip and I'm so glad we got to see Gibson on his first birthday! Not to mention all the fun with Anderson. It's so hard to not live closer!!! This girl was non-stop all weekend, and was plum worn out on the way home....
