Monday, June 30, 2014

75th Elvis Themed Birthday Party

This weekend we were honored to attend my cousin Jay's 75th birthday party.
His 4 kids, planned it for months and they had all the details down!

Jay is a big Elvis fan and even enjoys dressing up as him, so they made it a Blue Hawaiian theme.
It was also a surprise party all held at their neighborhood clubhouse.
Of course, kids were invited, so Shelby was in tow.
 A tiki hut for the bar complete with adult beverages and kid friendly ones too.
 I got to see and hang out with my cousin Cindy, who has been so kind to give us so many hand me downs for Shelby.
(she is also jay's youngest daughter)
 To say Jay was surprised would be an understatement!!
I'm not sure where he thought he was headed but he was shocked when he walked in and saw everyone.
 There was a ton of family, many whom traveled in for the big day.
 No doubt, no detail was left out...
 My cousin Marty.
(jay's son)
 I got to meet cousin's I had never even met before.
 They hired a DJ to play some tunes and everyone got their dance on.
 It was a great time indeed.
Shelby even left with a rug burn on her head after falling down with this beach ball.
LOL!
 Finally, Jay and his immediate family.
A professional photographer was there and got the entire group, but I have yet to see that picture.
Happy 75th Birthday Jay!!!!!!!!!!!

Potty Time!

We had a jam packed weekend and there's a lot to tell, I'll be recapping as the week progresses.
For today though, I want to hear from you guys about potting training.
 
Shelby is almost 19-months and her doctor said now is a good time to start 'awareness'.
We bought a Minnie Mouse potty over the weekend and after the 4th of July I plan to really hit the ground running.
She's been showing interest by letting the teachers at school know when she's dirty and she has even started taking her own diaper off.
So, since I'm totally clueless, tell me how you got started and what your best methods were/are.
Thanks!!!

Friday, June 27, 2014

Friday Five

I haven't done a Friday Five in a long time so I thought it was due.
This will be short and sweet, but an update on what's been going on.
 
#1. Nearly 7-months after I had dental implant surgery, my teeth are FINALLY DONE!
$6,000 later.
UGH!
They were 2 teeth towards the back that were fractured and couldn't be saved.
I walked around for 7-months with those 2 teeth missing while the posts for the implants healed.
Couldn't be happier to finally have it all complete.
We joke that I could have had a boob job for what 2 teeth cost, but I don't need boobs.
HAA!
#2. GO TEAM USA!!!
I'm not a die hard soccer fan, but I have jumped on the bandwagon in cheering on Team USA in the World Cup.
Who ever thought a loss would be good?
Let's just hope we can win Tuesday afternoon!!
Shelby will be sporting her patriotic colors ALL next week in anticipation for the 4th of July.
(which happens to be my favorite holiday)
#3. Speaking of Shelbs, she is 18-months old now!
That's a year and 1/2!!
I took her to her 18-month well check yesterday and she's 28-pounds and 33-inches!
We are starting to introduce potty training this weekend!
We'll see how this rolls!
 Let's hope she enjoys it as much as she does feeding Buddy.
It's the first thing she does when we get home.
She runs to the cabinet, grabs his food bucket and dishes him out some din-din.
#4. I'm super excited about our weekend full of parties and fun!
We have a surprise 75th birthday party for my cousin tomorrow afternoon, then tomorrow night we've been invited to Sarah's wine tasting party on her patio!
From what it sounds, it's going to be FANCY!
#5. I'm also getting excited to travel back to Hot Springs, Arkansas where all my extended family lives, come the weekend after the 4th.
It will be Shelby's first visit and everyone will finally get to meet her.
I'm also looking forward to hitting Lake Quachita on that Saturday!
Hands down, one of the prettiest lakes in the USA.
(Aside from Lake Tahoe)
That's all I have for today!
TGIF!!
Have a GREAT weekend!!

Monday, June 23, 2014

Kickoff to Summer: Camping in Brevard, NC

The official start to Summer was this past weekend and we celebrated with a trip camping in the Western North Carolina mountain town of Brevard!
 
With temps expected to be in the upper 90's we were glad to get out of Charlotte and into a cooler climate.
We booked just a few weeks ago, so availability was limited.
We ended up at Ash Grove Campground.
A private campground run by two gay guys, believe it or not!
They were super friendly and helpful.
While the campground was pretty and secluded, it was just not an ideal place for people with small children.
It was VERY steep.
We barely got our trailer to our site because the hill was so steep and it had just rained.
It took us 2 tries to get up the hill.
The bathhouse was also down a VERY steep embankment.
Overall, there was just no place for Shelby to roll her toys around, except for the small area between our campsite and the one next to us.
That's where my friend Tamera camped with her 3 children and cousin Sidney.
Tamera and I worked at Fox Charlotte together for many years.
Sid was a great help with the 7-year old twins, Ava and Madeline and 4-year old Landon.
Shelby loved having other kids around.
They camped in a tent right across from us.
5 people deep, but it worked!
The twins tried to give Shelby a lesson in blowing bubbles.
She still hasn't mastered it yet though.
She was drenched in soap.
Good ole' fashion family fun!
Shelby and Landon went and met the campground dogs.
Two weenies and a basset hound.
Mr. Mark, one of the owners, gave them a lesson in nature.
Identifying different types of plants.
Then, back up the steep hill to our sites.
This shows you just how steep it was.
This was the first camping trip for the Gallagher kids and they seemed to enjoy it a lot!
Especially when it came to smores'.
Finding big sticks.
Sitting around the campfire.
And, enjoying sparklers.
Shelby stuck to her 7pm bedtime, especially since she only got about a 30-minute nap each day so she didn't get to enjoy all the nighttime fun.
All in time...
Our days were filled with a lot of visiting the area's waterfalls that they're so known for.
Our main stop was Dupont State Forest.
I've been here several times in my 12-years I've lived in the region.
We enjoyed a picnic at Hooker Falls before going for a swim.
Brad braved the chilly mountain water with Shelby and I took pictures from shore.
Shelby LOVED IT!
It was pretty crowded.
Look at the numbnutts jumping off the falls in the background of this picture.
So dangerous.
Afterwards, we headed up the trail to Triple Falls.
1/2 mile straight the heck up!
Not too fun with a stroller.
Shelby actually fell asleep.
Brad joked that he looked like a total redneck with his shirt off.
Oh, well.
Mountain living.
HAA!
Triple Falls never disappoints.
We trekked down to the base.
Shelby was wanting to jump in.
No fear at all, she actually threw a fit because she couldn't get in.
And, our one family photo from the trip.
After the trip down the mountain, we headed into Downtown Brevard for a little ice cream and shopping.
Then, the next day we visited Looking Glass Falls in Pisgah National Forest.
A great way to end our trip.
Shelby was beat as we were too.
Another successful trip to the Blue Ridge in the books!
Now, where to next???