Spaghetti Factory and Krispy Kreme

One Sunday afternoon we met Papa, Cece, and the Jackson Family at the Spaghetti Factory for dinner.

Scott and I were excited to share this experience with Bonnie Kay and Molly Margaret because Scott used to take me there quite a bit during our much younger dating days!!


The Girls loved relaxing on the fancy furniture while we waited for our table!




Aunt Shawn brought a bag of "tricks" to keep the Girls entertained while we waited on our dinner to arrive. Mommy always has a little bag of "tricks" as well, but somehow it's better from Aunt Shawn!


As always, Anna and Jill were perfect little ladies!


What a crew?!?!



After the Spaghetti Factory we decided to take a little stroll down Ponce to the original Krispy Kreme!

This was the Girls first time actually going to Krispy Kreme, however they ate it a lot while they were in my tummy!! When their Granby was so sick, just several weeks before they were born, she was just a few blocks from a Krispy Kreme. This made it oh so convenient to enjoy those fresh, hot, wonderful doughnuts at anytime of the day or night.....sometimes several times a day, but hey, I was eating for three!
In fact, I ate it so much when my Mom was sick, from both the memories, as well as from the sheer quantity that I ate I didn't know if I'd ever be able to put another one in my mouth.

I want Bonnie Kay and Molly Margaret to know their Granby and I try to keep her spirit alive (maybe too alive as some of you may know!), so I talk to the Girls about her lots, even if it is about something as simple as a doughnut! As we walked down Ponce I told the Girls how much their Granby loved hot doughnuts from Krispy Kreme! I told them that I had grown up eating them and I wanted them to do the same. It may sound crazy, but there were times growing up that I remember driving to Riverdale or Atlanta with my Mom, Dad and Sister just to get a Krispy Kreme doughnut and maybe a dozen or so for the road!


Bonnie Kay and Molly Margaret weren't too sure what was inside those doors, but they certainly were excited to find out.


Before we ordered, we stopped and watched the doughnuts as they were being made!


That red glow only means one thing......HOT doughnuts!
We ordered the Girls a plain, hot glazed doughnut, and in their Granby's honor their Daddy even ordered them a regular Coke to wash it down!


However, once Bonnie Kay and Molly Margaret saw Anna's doughnut with the chocolate and sprinkles, they wanted to trade!
Here's Bonnie Kay with her best negotiating face on......if you look in her hand you can see that it worked!


Molly Margaret was a little upset that Bonnie Kay got Anna's doughnut. Not to worry, we quickly got more with sprinkles for everyone!


The Jackson's are all smiles after their doughnuts!!


The Girls first official trip to Krispy Kreme was a success, so I'm certain it won't be their last!!!

The County Fair

You gotta love a good ol' fashioned County Fair!

We knew Bonnie Kay and Molly Margaret wouldn't be able to ride many rides, but we knew they would enjoy seeing all of the lights, hearing all of the sounds, and of course tasting some of that yummy fair food!

Our first stop was the livestock exhibit! I had to snap a photo of this cow, it was the highlight of Bonnie Kay and Molly Margaret's night!

McKinley made friends with this Goose!

After checking out all of the animals we went to watch the lumberjack competition. Andy and Becky's neighbor was competing in it, so we had to go and cheer him on!

I accidentally cut off Uncle Andy's head, but here's Aunt B, McKinley, and the Girls watching the lumberjacks do their thing! Actually, I think Aunt B wanted to see what it was like strolling little girls around for a change!

Next we headed to the midway for rides and games!

McKinley wanted the Girls to ride the dragon roller coaster, or crazy train as he called it, but we decided that the merry-go-round was a little more their speed! Maybe next year McKinley!

Bonnie Kay and Molly Margaret had to take a chance at the duck pond game!

We finished up our night with a little cotton candy and fresh squeezed lemonade!

When life hands you lemons......

For more fun fair photos and an explanation on McKinley and the crazy train visit his blog, http://mckinleysworld.blogspot.com/ Watching him ride that was one of the many highlights of our night!

Sesame Street Live

A couple of weeks ago Bonnie Kay and Molly Margaret got to go to their first big show! The Girls love Sesame Street, and I do too! We watch it together almost everyday!

Taking the Girls to see Sesame Street Live was kind of a last minute decision.

I had seen the commercial several weeks ago that it was coming to town, but I had completely forgotten about it. The Friday morning before we went I was getting Bonnie Kay and Molly Margaret ready to go run errands when the commercial came on again. Both of the Girls started pointing to the TV screaming "Melmo....Melmo, Mommy..... Melmo!!!" That would be Elmo if you're a little confused!

They were so excited, they knew something was up, this was not a commercial for the Sesame Street that they watch on TV. I tuned in to get the dates that it would be in town and low and behold it was that very weekend! I called Scott at work so he could hear Bonnie Kay and Molly Margaret's excitement and it was decided then and there that we must get tickets!

We went to the Sunday afternoon show. We weren't sure how the Girls would do with the lights, noise, giant characters, etc. but they loved every minute of it and sat through the entire show! They were so happy to see all of their friends from Sesame Street!

Here are two very excited little girls!

I love Bonnie Kay's expression....I guess that's what a bag of cotton candy will do to you!

Molly Margaret couldn't take her eyes off the stage!

She was sitting with me when Oscar made his debut and she looked at me and said "Grouch"! It was too sweet and kind of shocked me all at the same time. The only character I've ever really heard them speak of is of course Elmo! At times they will jabber about Bert & Ernie and "Birdie" (Big Bird).

When we watch Sesame Street at home they love it when Prairie Dawn sings and plays her piano, it usually gets them dancing! So they were excited to see her live too!

Here are the Girls sporting their very first official Concert T!! It's quickly become one of their top picks for sleepwear!

Blue Ridge Mountains

After a busy Summer we were finally able and very excited to get away for a few days.

We had a great time at Uncle Jon and Aunt Shawn's cabin in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains!

We were definitely too early to enjoy the beautiful Fall leaves, but the view from the deck is still gorgeous no matter what time of year!

Ooohhh that fresh mountain air!

Bonnie Kay and Molly Margaret loved playing and enjoying the view from the deck as well!

Such big girls on the swing!

It was also great to relax on the swing with Mommy and Daddy!

It's so amazing to us how much the Girls have changed in just a little over a year. This photo was taken on the swing at the cabin on Scott's very first Father's Day.

We promised Bonnie Kay and Molly Margaret that we would let them play at the park if they good while Mommy shopped in a few of the local stores. And as always, they were complete angels, so it was a fair trade!!

One day we took a little drive up to the Ocoee River to the site where the whitewater events of the 1996 Summer Olympics were held.

Bonnie Kay and Molly Margaret loved walking along the trail and seeing the rocks and the water.

They were also fond of the yellow daisies that were blooming.

Here's our little wildflowers!

Ooohhh Weeee, Doesn't Molly Margaret look pretty?!?!

Here's Bonnie Kay doing "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not."

"He Loves Me!" She was ready for a big kiss after that!

That was a long walk Daddy. It's time for a break!

Bonnie Kay thought this rock would make a great place to rest!

But, Molly Margaret still had lots of ground to cover!

Bonnie Kay, Molly Margaret and I had to have our picture made here, in this very spot! Scott, the Girls and I came here for a picnic with Aunt Davina, Uncle Danny and Addie on my very first Mother's Day when the girls were very small!

Here we are now.....

and this was us then!

Both of the Girls had fun on all of our outings and adventures, but also found the cabin to be just as exciting!

Since Bonnie Kay was guarding the basket of toys, Molly Margaret decided to play with the coaster set instead! She didn't need any stinking toys!

Molly Margaret actually played with these coasters the entire time we were there and became very attached to them! Scott and I thought we might have to get Aunt Shawn and Uncle Jon a new set for the cabin and bring this set home with us. Just goes to show that you can give kids the world, but it's often the simplest things that make them the most happy!!

The Girls were even able to find a quiet place to catch up on their reading!

It just so happens that this place was under the end table in the living room, and their reading material happened to be the latest Bass Pro Shops Catalog, but hey they loved it and they were happy!!

While we were away we got to visit with Aunt Jenn, Uncle Nick and Ava!

Bonnie Kay and Molly Margaret loved being "Down on the Farm" at Ava's 3rd birthday party at Jaemor Farm!

The drive from Blue Ridge over to Jaemor Farm was a little longer than we had anticipated, but once we arrived we soon realized that it was well worth it!

After being confined to the car our little Farmers were excited and ready to roam!

Here's the birthday Farmer blowing out her candles!

After a yummy lunch, delicious cake and ice cream, and a box of wet wipes later it was time for the hay ride!

Everyone climbed aboard this huge trailer and off we went through the fields!

The tractor took us on a nice long ride through the corn fields, peach and apple orchards - I have never seen so many different types of apples and of course the pumpkin patches! The Girls were certain that the pumpkins were big orange balls growing on the vines and they kept pointing and saying "ball Mommy ball!"!

When the hay ride was complete the Girls were excited to see that some of those orange "balls" had made their way back to the barn!

After this some of Ava's farmer friends went on a pony ride. We attempted this with Bonnie Kay and Molly Margaret, but they didn't want any part of it! When we tried to put them on the pony they both kept saying "no cow, no!"

Right now most anything bigger than a dog is called a cow! In fact, they are a little obsessed with cows, anytime were driving and pass a pasture they are sure to let us know if there are any cows to be seen!

Anyways, I'm not sure why they were a little afraid of the pony, they have both ridden before, but today was not they day!

By this time, Bonnie Kay and Molly Margaret were exhausted so while Ava was opening her gifts we decided it was time to hit the trail!

Thanks Morrow family for a fun time "Down on the Farm"! We had a bushel of fun and plan to go back to Jaemor Farm sometime soon!

Not long after getting in the car, getting cooled off and something cold to drink both of the girls were sound asleep and we had a nice peaceful drive back to Blue Ridge enjoying some nice hot boiled peanuts (a mountain trip must!)

Before we got back to our home away from home we stopped and got a loaf of bread to feed the ducks in the pond at the cabin.

Bonnie Kay was a little unsure of the ducks at first....

but she soon warmed right up to them and started quacking away!

Molly Margaret acted like an old pro, she knew just what to do to make her new duck friends happy!

Yummy, this bread is great....no wonder the ducks like it so much! I guess it's good that we brought a fresh loaf of bread for the ducks, since the Girls decided to snack on it as well!

Thanks Jackson family for a wonderful vacation and for once again letting us enjoy your beautiful cabin!!