Thanksgiving 2009

Thanksgiving proved to be a busy holiday this year. We ate lunch with my family on Thanksgiving day and then drove to the mountains to have dinner with Wes' family. We spent the weekend with them and did a lot of eating and a lot of shopping!

Rachel made a "Native American" hat at school. She wore it while she ate her lunch.

Rachel played and played with this kitchen set in the mountains.

We always make it to Mass General Store to see Santa! This year Rachel chose to sit beside him instead of on his lap.

It was cold in the mountains, in fact it snowed Thanksgiving night. We had a great time seeing everyone and appreciated all the cooking everyone did. Everything was delicious!

PS. Rachel learned how to crawl out of her pack-n-play and crib over the Thanksgiving weekend!

Carolina Panter's Topcats Replaced!

Wes has been doing this with Rachel since she was 6 months old!

She has just started saying, "Go Panther's!" I'm pretty sure this cutie could knock a few

Topcat Cheerleaders for a loop!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from Winnie the Pooh!

After trick-or-treating, we went to our friends , the Martin's, for dinner and a play date.

Weekend Packed with FUN!

This weekend Wes' family came to visit us! We had a fun-filled weekend. We went to the Lazy 5 Ranch on Saturday (despite the morning showers), we celebrated Pop's birthday, and we went to the Carolina Balloon Festival on Sunday. Whew! We did a lot but it was fun!

Lazy 5 Ranch

Rachel woke up her daddy Saturday morning, ready to go to the Zoo.

It was raining but we were still having fun.

Daddy and Rachel check out the camel.

Wes gets kissed by a giraffe.

Rachel was daddy's girl today!!

Rachel was brave enough to feed the animals.

Pumpkin Time!

Happy Birthday Pops!

Rachel entertains us at dinner by singing, "You are my Sunshine."

Carolina Balloon Festival

We had fun at the Balloon Festival....however we got there around 9:00am and the balloons didn't launch until 4:30pm. We had a lot of time to kill but Rachel (and family) did great and we had a good time. We're only sorry that Wes' family left after lunch and didn't see a single balloon, maybe next time.

Rachel was pretty fascinated by this inflatable army man. She followed him around and tried to walk like him!

They had a Kids Zone at the festival. Rachel and her cousin, Alyssa, jumped and jumped!

We had plenty of time to kill before the balloons launched so we walked around quiet a bit. Rachel did GREAT!!

Yeah! The balloons are finally getting ready!

Ahh! How pretty!

Daddy, Rachel, balloons, and homemade potato chips....priceless.

It was cool seeing the balloons up close! Once they were full of air they wasted no time taking off. Now, I'm ready to ride in one....I think!

Raptor Center

We took Rachel and my mom, to the Carolina Raptor Center today. We saw different kinds of hawks, owls, falcons, and vultures. We also saw the most beautiful bald eagles. What a great place to spend the morning with the people I love. Check out our pictures with the Great Horned Owl!

Time with Wes' Family

A few weekends ago we went to see Wes' family. We had a nice visit and we were glad we got to see everyone. Here are a few pictures from our trip.

Rachel and Pops reading her new book that Nana gave her.

Rachel eating Oreos for dessert at her Daddy's favorite Mexican restaurant in town, the Ranch!

We heard the sounds of a train coming, so we ran as fast as we could to the tracks to show Rachel the train. This was the first time she had seen a train, especially this close. We saw the train several times, it went passed us, then backed up, then went passed us again! She was scared at first but daddy kept her calm.

Daddy and Rachel playing in an old Red Caboose.

Daddy found a flag in the caboose. He opened the window so that Rachel could fly it. She loved this! What can I say.... she's an All-American Girl!

This was the second time we saw the train pass us, it's backing up in the video. Rachel calls the train, "Thomas", wonder where that came from? :) Ryan she's a cousin after you're own heart!

Alyssa is a great cousin/babysitter. She always keeps Rachel fully entertained. Rachel has so much fun hanging out with Alyssa. "Alyssa, Thanks for being a great cousin to Rachel, she loves you so much!"

Making Muffins

On Wednesday morning, Rachel helped me make banana muffins for breakfast. She watched me pour the mix in a bowl, break the egg, and add the milk. She helped me stir the batter and then wanted to help me put the batter in the muffin pan. What a big helper she was. She loves to cook in the kitchen! She also loves to eat her muffins, yum, yum!