Birthday Fun

Jeff completely surprised me by taking me to Niagara Falls for my birthday. I STILL can't believe he managed to arrange all of details (including packing everything for all of us, arranging a babysitter & taking things for Ryleigh over there days ahead of time, etc.) & still "keep me in the dark" until we were almost there! It was pretty funny because I thought we were going some place fairly nearby (I had a couple of guesses that were completely wrong). I tried not to say too much, but I was rather perplexed when we crossed the New York line & even more so when we kept driving & driving. It was starting to get towards late afternoon & I kept thinking "If we don't there soon, we won't have much time before we have to turn around & go home." Finally, I saw a sign that declared Niagara Falls to be about 76 miles away. I jokingly said, "I know - we're going to Niagara Falls!" Jeff immediately said, "Yep!" But I was just sure that he was just saying that to throw me off, so I didn't believe him. Then, we started talking about Niagara Falls & Jeff mentioned that he would enjoy going back again "someday" (wink, wink). After awhile, I got to thinking about the fact that this conversation reminded me of the time he took me to Sight & Sound & tried to make me think we were going somewhere else. So... I started getting suspicious. Not long afterward, he finally confessed that we were indeed going to Niagara Falls. I really was shocked, because it was the LAST thing I expected for my birthday! Anyhow... we had a blast & it was a lot of fun!

Yep.

Yes, you saw right. Ryleigh's shirt is announcing the fact that she's going to have a new baby brother or sister in March. We're very excited & have really had fun seeing all of your responses to the last post!

Picnic at Mt. Pisgah Altar

For quite some time, Jeff & I have been wanting to visit this spot not too far from where we live, so we decided to take a picnic supper there. It was a gorgeous day to go & the view was incredible! Ryleigh thought it was great fun & enjoyed running off some her extra energy.

Budding Artist?

Ryleigh's new favorite thing to do is to color with crayons or write with pens. Very dangerous times around our house!! We have to keep up a constant vigil to make sure she doesn't write on things that she shouldn't be writing on. In fact, I've decided that she can only use crayons under strict supervision! So... today she was bored & I was working in the kitchen, so I decided to let her draw. I had some of this butcher paper leftover from last Christmas' creative gift wrapping attempts, so I taped a big piece to the floor & let her go for it. She loved it, even though I had to remind her several times that she was to draw ONLY on the paper!

Mommy's Helper

Ryleigh is all into "helping" these days. One thing she really enjoys doing is taking her used diaper to the trash for me (it gives her an excuse to take a long look at the contents of the trash can - she knows better than to pull stuff out). After watching me sweep the porch, yesterday, she thought she'd try her hand at it.