Baby Shower of the Decade... Wouldn't Miss It for the World!

I used my frequent flier miles to score a free trip to NC to celebrate the baby shower of the decade with my girls. It was just a quick there-and-back trip because I didn't have much time to steal away, but it was so worth it...especially because my sweet preggers friend, Robyn, didn't know I was coming! The look on her face when I walked into Ann's house on Friday night was priceless!

Ann and Tina. Cheesin'. 

We haven't seen each other since August. This was GREAT.

The gang. I love these girls! Robyn, on the right, is our
little mommy!

Ra Ra and me.

Next morning. Having coffee on Ann's back porch with Reece the dog.

At the shower. This little girl, a guest's four-month-old,
was passed around and loved on.

This lovely cake was to die for. How sweet is this?

Kristi and her daughter Skylar came to the shower. :)

Guests coming in and getting settled. Ann and the grandmas-to-be
hosted a full lunch at an Italian restaurant. Those yankees really know
how to throw a shower, don't they? ;)

Sweet table decorations to go with the theme of "Guess
Who's Feathering Her Nest?"

The lunch menu.

Robyn's three best friends (seated), her mom (standing), her aunt (not pictured),
and her grandmother (not pictured) all came from New York to be here.

Blurry picture, but you can still feel the love! 

Miss Ann...looking so pretty! 

Our little Evie is getting so grown up.

Playing shower games. 

Eve helped open all her Aunt Robyn's gifts. :)

Robyn received so many great and sweet baby gifts to help her feather the nest!

Cake! Wow, this cake was so delicious. If you're in the Fuquay-Varina area,
you owe it to yourself to visit Stick Boy Bakery.

Do I miss these girls? You'll never know how much!
It was really great to see them! 

Greasy Spoon

Not that we've been looking for a spot like this, but every now and then you sorta want hot, thin coffee (I seriously didn't think you could FIND coffee like this in the Land of Starbucks), white toast, greasy fried eggs, and hash browns. Oh yeah. 

This place is called Li'l John and the line is out the door on weekend mornings. It's literally just around the corner from our house. That may not be a good thing...

The dive was jumping this morning. We waited about a half an hour for a table.

Classic. Heavy brown crockery mugs.

This is the type of coffee you have to really doctor
up with cream and sugar (in my opinion).
C'mon, y'all know I'm a coffee snob.

These plates were sorta cute. This place has
been here since 1967.

The look on Merrit's face says, "I ate it allllllll." 

Bucket of jams and jellies. Sorta cute.

The pancakes here are ridiculously huge. Syrup, anyone?

If you like reading restaurant reviews for fun (oh, is that just me?), check out the reviews at UrbanSpoon.com for Li'l John.

Why Do They Call It Poo Poo Point? And... Can Our Kids Get to the Top?

When Erin was here a couple of weeks ago, she and I hiked to the top of Poo Poo Point. Since then, I've learned how this mountain got its funny name. Here's the scoop:  

According to one of the hiking guide books written by the late hiking and environmental advocate Harvey Manning, the name "Poo Poo Point" came courtesy of the logging industry about a century ago. Loggers used whistles to communicate from the logging tower operator to the workers down the hill. According to the Issaquah Historical Society, the whistle would be a signal that two logs were tied to a cable, ready to be towed. The whistle made a sound like "poo poo," hence the name Poo Poo Point. Today, Poo Poo Point is a popular launching location for paragliders. If you aren't feeling like that much of a daredevil, it's a great photo op for views of Lake Sammamish, the Cascades, Olympics and Seattle. (source)

Rated as a moderate level trail and a little over 7.5 miles roundtrip, we wondered how our kids would do with this hike. They. Rocked. It. Mike and I were totally impressed. There was a tiny bit of whining here and there and some pleas to "Carry me, Daddy!" but, we rested frequently and pushed through and they both did it! 

Merrit, who's joined the Cub Scouts, should be able to get a badge for this. And Ollie? He just had fun saying "Poo Poo Point" all day! 

One of many brief stops to have a drink of water and catch our breath.

The men blazing the way.

The trail is very nicely maintained and goes through
a lot of different areas: very steep rock steps, lazy soft
paths (like this one), narrow switch backs, wide meadow
walks, and leaf-strewn expanses.

About a half-mile from the true top, there's a nice overlook that looks
out toward Mt. Ranier (I think). We couldn't see the mountain today;
too overcast.

Another reason they might call it Poo Poo Point.
(Are we bad parents that we took this picture of our
kid emerging from the woods and
then laughed about it?!?)

At the very top, we roamed around the chilly, windswept meadow,
took pictures, ate protein bars, and enjoyed the view, which looks out
toward Lake Sammamish and Bellevue beyond.

Lake Sammamish.

Clif bars for all!

We are getting some really nice fall color now.
What a view! Our kids were both pretty proud of
themselves and we kept building them up, "You did it!
You hiked all the way to the top! You're so strong!"

The town of Issaquah is directly below. On nice days, this spot where we're
sitting (on the green Astroturf) is a take-off point for paragliders. Too
cold and windy for that today, but that would totally be something cool
to see... Next time...

Preschool Field Trip to Remlinger Farms Pumpkin Patch

It's Friday, November 2nd. The day of the rain-or-shine preschool field trip to Remlinger Farms. And...it's raining. Drat. Double drat. 

No matter, we'll dress warmly and head out in it. As they say in England: "There is no bad weather, only inadequate clothing."

We're here! Ollie is super excited! 

Waiting to head into the farm, we take a quick spin through the country store.

Ollie, posing on a tractor with apple trees in the background.

The farm had a petting zoo and some other interesting
animals in cages. Not sure what this bird is. Anyone?

Ollie has a lifelong love of school buses. This was a photo op he was NOT going
to miss out on! :)

Ah, the petting zoo. I was a little put off by the signs that say, "May Bite."
I mean, I guess it's always a risk and maybe that's just legalese to cover their
butts, but still.... made me nervous. This little burro looks a little sketchy,
don't you think?

Ollie petting a (biter?) goat.

Ollie with the burro again. We saw chickens, sheep, turkeys, and pigs too.

Ollie climbing around on the (cold, wet) old-fashioned fire engine.

...And riding on the (cold, wet) mini steam engine.

...Look, a (cold, wet) scarecrow.

By noon, I was so ready to leave. We had ridden the school bus from the
preschool to the farm and THANKFULLY our friend Stacey, who'd driven
her van, offered to give us a ride home if we wanted to cut the (cold, wet)
preschool pumpkin patch field trip short. Yes! Yes, we do! 

But first, let's pick out a pumpkin. After all, it's why we came!

A Week's Worth of Halloween Celebrations

The week kicked off with the arrival of our kids' storm trooper Halloween costumes. If you know me well, you know that I was, inside, secretly disappointed that they didn't want homemade Halloween costumes because I truly love the creative challenge, hands-on work, and cute results of a homemade costume! But, no, this is what they had their hearts set on this year:

Our Trick or Troopers.

Friday night, the week before Halloween, the elementary
school hosted a Harvest Dance. The kids were invited to
wear their costumes. Here's Ollie with his friends, Sammy (left)
and Graham (middle).

The dance was great. I was kinda blown away. I shot a couple of videos actually and texted them to my friend Dawn. She and I went to more than a few middle school dances. And I was like, "I don't remember our dances being anywhere THIS cool." And she was like, "Nope. No way." Check it out:

Mike was in NC for the weekend, so it was just the kids and I here at the house. After the dance Friday night, we just huddled up for a cozy, rainy weekend at home. We did set about carving up some pumpkins on Sunday afternoon while a big pot of chili simmered on the stove. Happy...

Ollie pretty much scooped out his pumpkin and then
I took over for him. You know, sharp knives and all that...

Another reason I love Halloween: Carving jack-o-lanterns with my fellas.

Merrit was into it this year. He drew out his design first
and then set about carving it up. I trusted him with his
own steak knife this year. He did great!

The pumpkin Ollie and I made.

Merrit's pumpkin on the top step.
Very elaborate teeth and eyelashes!

On Tuesday, the preschoolers wore their costumes to school, had a parade
through the hallways, and ate cupcakes in class. 

Ollie with his friend and classmate Margaret.

On Wednesday, Halloween day, we were invited to Sucker Punch
to trick-or-treat through the office. In the lounge, there was a
cauldron of smoking punch, crackers and cheese, desserts,
cupcakes for the kids, and wine for the grown ups. Great party!

More sugar! Just what the kids need! :)

All the Sucker Punch kids pose in their costumes for a pic.

The boys in full attire.

Posing with ninja warrior friends, Brennan and Gabe.

Lock, Stock, and 40 Smoking Candles

It's Mike's fortieth birthday and we (his family and I) have a super awesome birthday surprise planned for him. We went sorta low-key here at home since he'll be in...drum roll please...NORTH CAROLINA for his birthday on Sunday! Yep, it's true. Durenda, Rocky, and I went in on a plane ticket for him and surprised him with the trip details over Skype last week. His bags are packed, he's ready to go, but first... a little cake and ice cream with the kids...

The boys helping count out FORTY candles. 

Mike flies out first thing tomorrow for his birthday weekend with family. Bon voyage!