In-N-Out

INs

Anna has been coming up with new things every day to keep herself entertained. Here are a few things she's been doing while we're just hangin out at home.

Couch Potato


I guess you're not a couch potato if you're sitting in a box, eating a graham cracker, and coloring at the same time while you're watching Curious George.

Downward Facing Dog
Anna is in this position quite frequently lately. I don't know where she learned Yoga. She thinks it is so funny, especially when Mommy does it too. Sometimes she flips herself all the way over and is thrilled about doing a somersault.

our little artist

Anna loves to doodle. She usually always has a pencil or marker in her hand. She doesn't bother sitting to draw anymore. She sprawls out on the ground and really gets into her work.

Take a Seat She still loves a good seat. She and her friend Milo decided they preferred the bench to eat their hot dogs.

OUTs

We have been doing our best to get around town and out of town as much as possible to discover this great new place we're living. Dave doesn't get around town much, basically just to and from the hospital, but when he does get a day off, we try to get out.

Blowing RockA few weeks ago we headed to the North Carolina "mountains" and we loved it. There are cute towns kind of like Jackson Hole or Park City and then of course gorgeous scenery. The mountains aren't like the ones we're used to, but we sure can't wait to go back in the Fall to see the colors change in these lush hills.

Our first stop was Blowing Rock. There is an old legend about an Indian brave who jumped from the rock and after his lover cried to the Gods, her man blew back to her on this rock. Ever since then there is a strange wind here and it pushes everything up, or something like that. When it snows, it supposedly snows upside down.

It was rather foggy. Actually that's an understatement. I have never seen so much fog. I felt like it was the end of the earth because you couldn't see anything in front of you but white. I bet the view is great on a clear day!

Grandfather Mountain and Mile High Bridge

Next we went to the beautiful Grandfather Mountain. Anna loved the wildlife habitats there and we got some good bear sightings in. The whole area has spectacular views. We couldn't visit Grandfather mountain without going on the famous Mile High Swinging Bridge

Here I am going across the scary suspension bridge clinging to Anna for dear life. I'm not afraid of contained hights, just afraid of my baby falling from them. I sang the Barney song to her so she would hug me the whole way across.

Then Dave took her across and he wasn't quite as paranoid as I was.

With a little freedom, Anna let loose and starting running across the bridge. I about had a heart attack. Yes, the bridge is secure, but it's called MILE HIGH bridge. And it swings with the wind and motion from all the people going across. Dave went up to check out the view from the end of the trail and I stayed with Anna so she wouldn't jump off the mountain. All she wanted to do was run across the bridge. I bet that was a funny sight - Anna running away from me across this scary bridge, while I'm chasing her, but trying to be gentle so she doesn't fall. And getting chuckles as well as disapprovals from our bypassers. I don't what I thought would happen. Somehow she would jump over the railing, or impossibly slide through the side rails or something. I don't know. I just didn't like it. And I was relieved to finally get Anna off that bridge. I bet it's a pretty view when you're not worrying about a 19 month old!

On the drive home we drove on Forrest Gump Curve. Recognize it?

The Butterfly Farm
A few Saturdays ago, it was just us girls as usual and I was in the mood to do something more than Target or grocery shopping. I read about this cool Butterfly Farm. It's the place where people order them from if you want to release butterflies at your wedding or barmitzvah. I thought it sounded like fun so I promised Anna some butterflies and we loaded up and hit the road. After the 45 minute drive where the last 10 minutes consisted of driving down a dusty country road, we pulled up to a house. with a small screened greenhouse in the field in front of it. This was the Butterfly Farm? I'm not sure what I expected, but it was not this. And just my luck, they're only open to the public for an hour. That hour was 3 hours before we got there. But I promised Anna some butterflies, so we made the most of it and got out and Anna chased around the 2 butterflies that were outside of the greenhouse. She had fun. I felt a little betrayed. To make the trip worthwhile, we stopped at a Farmer's Market on the way home and got some tomatoes and a peach milkshake.

Charlotte

Dave had last weekend off, finally! And so we drove down to Charlotte on Saturday. We stopped by this humungo outlet mall and I knew we had to get out of there fast or else I would find something to buy. I will definitely head back there when we actually are in need of things though. We made our way to Charlotte which is a very fun city. We went to this big science museum, Discovery Place.

Anna liked the bears and kept giving them her best growls.

We saw a dinosaur puppet show (it was so ridiculous) and then Anna lifted a 4-wheeler.

But her very favorite was throwing balls into this bowl. This made her day. And ours.

After all that, we went to The Cheesecake Factory and indulged with some scrumptious dinner and dessert. It was a great day!

Gymboree

This really isn't too far "out". It's actually just down the street. On Monday Gymboree hosted an RSA (Resident Spouse Association) playgroup. Anna had a blast. They give residents discounts, but I still think it's expensive. Has anyone done it before? Do you think it's worth it? Anna really loved it, so I'm trying to decide...

And that is a glimpse of what we've been up to lately. Things are starting to settle. Realizing that we're here, for real, and that we're really never going back to Hollywood Ave again. It's fun. We're making new friends and figuring out our way of life here.