Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had thanksgivng "horse farm" style today!  It was great!  It was a wonderful time of family, friends and food!  We had the traditional turkey with stuffing, but, we also had BBQ'd ribs :)

The best part of the day was spending it with my beautiful niece, Lexi

The hardest part of the day was keeping Ramsey and Bradey out of the horses' pens until after they ate!

Hope you and yours had a wonderful day also!

Fall Photo Fun

The girls and I went out and about last week looking for some great urban backdrops for their fall pics.  We found a great old hardware store on an old time mainstreet and here's just a sample of the fun shots I got.

On the way home, we stopped at the trail in our neighborhood to play in the leaves.

Sassy Sailors

We took a little family vacation out on the open seas and had a great time! 

We had a great view from our dining room table and the food wasn't too bad either :)

We ate sushi every day...

We played all day...

We danced all night...well Ramsey did anyhow.  Here she is dancing with our waiters Herie and Arafin.  We have had waiters that we have loved in the past, but, these two took the top prize.  Not only did they cut the girls' steaks and lobster tails for them but automatically brought Michael and I's after dinner coffees and the girls' hot chocolate after us only ordering them the first night.

Bradey got a blue purse...

Ramsey got a red purse...

Michael wasn't the only animal in our room at night. 

We had a great time.  So sorry to be back where no one fixes all of our meals, washes all of the dishes, makes the beds every morning and turns them down with chocolates every evening :(

Bareback Babes!

We spent some time in Florida last week before and after our cruise (pics of that to come).  Ramsey and Bradey spent the night with Mamaw and Papaw and when Michael and I caught up with them the next day we found them both riding bareback.  They are regular little cowgirls and loved spending the day with Mamaw and Papaw and the animals (one of their favorites being Goaty Goat) while Mommy and Daddy spent a little "alone" time together at the local mall :)

Bradey eventually kicked off her shoes and was riding bareback...barefoot.

Go Panthers!

We took the girls to their very first NFL football game yesterday.  Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the Carolina Panthers did not win :(.  However, we still had a great time.  Both Ramsey and Bradey made signs and were cheering loudly right along with the rest of the crowd.

(sorry, blogger is downloading pictures grainy today...it does that every once in a while)

Favorite 5K so far!

The Greek Festival 5K that Michael and I ran in this past Saturday (August 29) was by far my favorite event yet! The run winded it's way through beautiful tree lined streets in the Dilworth area. Many residents came out to cheer the runners on. And, unlike the previous run that we did...there were minimal hills this time! Not a fan of the hills!

The runners were met by a beer trailer at the finish line! You can't beat a beer at 8:15 AM after running 5K...in the front yard of a church no less! We're currently in search of a new church - we might just have to check that one out :)

The girls ran a one mile "fun run" also. They both did really well. They're not able to run the full mile yet, but, we're working on it!

Our next run is the Hog Jog! The 5K is followed by blues, booze and bbq! Can't wait!

Beach Trip - June

Bradey in front, Ramsey in back

Ramsey

Ramsey


Bradey

Beach Trip - July

We spent some time at the beach in July. While there, we went to the Dixie Stampede. Ramsey and Bradey have both been before, however, the last time Ramsey was only 3 and Bradey was a baby and slept the whole time, so, this was a real treat for them. We did not have reservations, however, we were fortunate to get front row seats....for the North - which was VERY hard on Michael :) Every time we were supposed to cheer on our North cavalry, Michael would boo them. The Dixie Stampede is a "fun-filled action-packed dinner and show extravaganza! It's the only place that brings together stunning performers, amazing horse feats, fantastic stunt riders, magic and audience participation with a delicious four-course dinner!". You eat every course of the four-course dinner with your fingers, no flatware to be found - the girls really loved that part of it!

Also, on this trip the girls got skimboards. I guess they felt like they had graduated from their body boards and were ready to try skimboarding. Unfortunately though, they found out that it is a lot harder than body boarding. Michael even gave it a spin...but I didn't get my camera out in time!

PantherFest 5K

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Yesterday, Saturday, August 8th, Ramsey and Bradey joined Michael and I at a run for the first time. They cheered us at the start and finish line of the 5K and then Michael and I cheered them on as they raced to the finish of the kids run. It was such a great time, sharing the experience together as a family. The girls loved it even though they had to wake up at 5:30 AM on a Saturday morning. They want me to sign them up for the kids run at the 5K that Michael and I are registered for on August 29th. Eventually, we will work towards the girls running the 5K with us and eventually I'm sure that they will be running it in a better time than us, well,at least me anyway :)

The Easter Bonnet Parade

Our neighborhood held it's annual Easter Bonnet Parade/Egg Hunt this past Sunday. The girls decorated hats, cowboy hats of course :) The Easter Bunny leads the parade, with music and all, to the site of the egg hunt. It was a beautiful, sunny day in North Carolina, so, lots of people were there.

Both girls found a lot of eggs that were all full of goodies (like we need more goodies...we're still working on candy from last Easter!). The heat was a little too much for the chocolate though :)

After the egg hunt, the girls had a nice visit with the Easter Bunny. Did you know that the Easter Bunny wore sunglasses? Well, she does in NC!

They won, they won!

Ramsey's first softball game was tonight and they won! That's her playing the infield with the pink helmet on. She's playing the "pitcher" position (it's coaches pitch) and the league requires that she wear head gear. She saw a lot of action and did a great job! Of course, at this level, most balls end up grounders up the middle infield. The coach is having them always throw to first base at the moment and Ramsey did a great job of connecting with the first basewoman :).

Ramsey was also first in the batting lineup. Her first time up she got a double, her second time a single and I don't really remember after that other than she didn't strike out.

Great job Ramsey! We're very proud of you!

Basketball Season 08/09

Before I started posting softball pics, I thought that I had better mention the basketball season that Ramsey and Bradey just finished up. They played on the same team in a Upward League. It was the first year of basketball for both of them. They decided to play versus cheer this year. You can see them above in green uniforms. Ramsey is far right and Bradey is in the middle back. They both enjoyed themselves very much and they had a wonderful young lady for their coach as well as great teammates.

Ramsey shooting a foul shot. Ramsey usually scored at least two baskets per game (which was a really good average for this league :).

This is the last game of the season and Bradey was the only player who had not scored a basket. You can see her under the basket with everyone around her just watching. They gave her 3 opportunities to make a basket without being blocked...unfortunately, she didn't make any of them, but, she had a great attitude about it!