Summertime Fun 2012

Summer has been just beautiful here in upstate NY.  We've been spending so much time outdoors the last thing I felt like doing was updating the blog.  I have jumped on it for some of the fun events like the Adirondacks, the zoo trip and our NC trip, but our everyday summer fun has taken precedence over posting photos... 

The past few days I've found time to sort through the summer fun and finally get some photos posted.  Once again this blog is overloaded with photos...4 months worth.  Hopefully I will keep on top of it this fall and have shorter blogs.

Enjoy!

Here are the tulips I planted last fall.  They bloomed, and died while I was in Florida but Brian took this picture so I could enjoy them.  Hopefully they come back next year and I'll be home to see them.

For Memorial Day we had friends from Brian's troop over for a BBQ.  Sabrina had fun playing with her friends.

For the 4th of July we went over to Rudy & Jens.  They live in Sackets Harbor and are just 2 blocks from the battlefield where we watched Fireworks.  Sabrina had a blast playing with Rudy's 2 girls and their boxer Sadie.

I can't wait to own our own house someday with a yard & dog...Sadie kept the girls occupied all day long!

Sabrina really enjoyed the cupcakes.

 Here's Brian & Rudy walking to the fireworks...

We had a little chipmunk visit.  They are so cute and pretty friendly.  We threw him some bread and he just sat & stuffed his cheeks.

He ran into our neighbors backyard so Sabrina continued to give him so bread through a little hole in the fence.

Then tried to see if he was eating it.

 We took Sabrina to the Jefferson County fair.  As soon as we walked up the big cat show was taking place.  It was hard to see such beautiful felines in captivity.

Sabrina liked the big kitties

It's a pretty small county... so it was a pretty small fair.  But Sabrina enjoyed the few kid rides they had.

I rode the flying bumble bees with her.

Brian took her on her first roller coaster ride.

She was really excited at first

But after her first trip around she kept telling him she was all done.

We had a playdate at our house one beautiful summer morning.  The kids had a blast!

For Brian's birthday this year I decided to take him to Kingston Canada via the ferry for sushi.  The 1.5 hour trip turned into a 3 hour trip (just to get to dinner) since the ferry was just pulling away as we drove up to it.  It was still nice to get away and on the water again, but next time I think I will plan dinner closer to the house.

Here we are crossing the border on the ferry.

I love the windmills on Wolfe Island.  Natural Energy.

The next day we headed back over to Rudy & Jens to celebrate the beautiful weekend and Brian & Rudy's Birthdays.  The girls had fun splashing in pool.

They also played dress-up and put on a rock concert for us.

 And finally they got to eat cake!

We met with my Mom's group for fun times at the splash pad here on base.  After learning to play in the sprinkler at home Sabrina had no fear of the water at the splash pad.

 We ended our summer with a trip to the Watertown Fire Station with my mom's group.  The kids got to meet real firemen, hold a fire hose, climb through a firetruck, see where the firefighters eat & sleep, and got a fire helmet to keep.

Here's Sabrina & Hunter waiting to go inside

We'll it's been a great summer.  I'm looking forward to the changing of the season and all the fall colors.  I hope all of you have had a wonderful summer as well.

Bests~ Melissa

North Carolina Summer 2012

We had a great time visiting with my mom & dad this past August.  Their home in Black Mountain is nestled in the Swannanoa Valley which is lush with vegetation.  Last summer they added a wrap around porch to the front of the house and it is where we spent the most of our time while at home.  We watched humming birds, butterflies, squirrels, and many other beautiful feathered friends enjoy snacks in the bird feeders and flowers just off the porch.  The bird feeders had to be brought in each night because two weeks before we arrived their neighborhood bear decided to climb the trees that they hang in and have himself a snack. The first night we arrived the feeders were already put away...but the bear decided to visit anyway.  I was scared to go outside and let Sabrina play on the property for the next few days!

Luckily he kept it moving and finally headed back up the property and up the mountain.

One of the first days visiting we took Sabrina to the WNC Nature Center.  It was a quaint place that had a nice assortment of animals to view.

The wolves were really beautiful

It was nice to see a bear in an enclosed setting

Sabrina enjoyed brushing the goats

We headed to the Fun Center  in Asheville one day to let Sabrina burn off some energy.  They had a great indoor playground area, a mini bowling alley, 2 large bounce houses and lots of other fun things for kids.

Sabrina really enjoyed the mini merry-go-round

Back at the house we enjoyed  some outside time... of course I was scouting for bears the whole time.

The Sourwood festival was the first weekend we were there. Sabrina enjoyed the choo choo train ride.

After the festival we drove up the mountain to a local eatery called the Straightaway.  We had hoped to meet my dad there for lunch after his bike ride through the mountain but the ride took a bit longer than expected so we just met him at home later. 

It was the middle of the day and no bands were playing so I let Sabrina dance on the stage...
What a ham!

Three Generations...My mom, me, & Sabrina

Sabrina really enjoyed playing with the country bears...they even shared their bench with her.

More out door fun! I started to not be so nervous outside after a few days of no bear sightings

The butterfly bush in the backyard always had beautiful butterflies on it...here are a few.

Mornings were a nice time to sit on the porch, enjoy the sounds of nature and paint

One afternoon Sabrina had a blue lollipop.  I decided to give her a mirror to check out her tongue.  She thought that was pretty neat.

She got lots of love from Grandma

Played getty-up with her horse "trigger"

Finally, Brian arrived!

Our last day we had beautiful warm weather and played in the front yard for a bit.

After a trip to Chick-fil-A, we headed to Montreat to play in the creek 

It was a great trip.  I miss sitting on the front porch and enjoying the nature.  Thanks mom & dad for having us.  We love you!