You can blame the weather...

So I know I have not been updating as much as usual and I have been hard to reach by phone, e-mail , or mail but this fall weather keep me outdoors and away from the computer. Don't worry, as soon as the "cold as shit" weather hits, I'll be blogging everyday. Seriously this weather is unbelievable. Grace has the bug too, she will carry her shoes to me and then point at the front door. I see myself having to bundle her up a lot this winter. Same old, same old around here. Nothing incredibly funny or adventursome to speak of. So I will just do what I do best and post some really cute pictures of Grace and her muppet hair!
Oh one funny thing...Neal and Grace did some investigative "stalking" of the news van for an apartment fire. And you wonder why I worry when the two of them are together without me.

We are headed to Pumpkin Lane tomorrow for the weekend so I will be out of touch with the cyber world. I think it is going to be cool enough to have a fire and the hot tub will feel especially nice with the cool weather. I know the leaves will already be starting to change. This time of year makes me love Pumpkin Lane that much more. Love you all!

Edislow...

So we returned safely from Edisto or as we like to call it, Edislow. It was the most amazing vacation Neal and I have ever had. We arrived on Sunday after only a 3 1/2 hour drive. The house was great and my parents were anxiously awaiting our arrival. We took Grace on the beach and the minute her feet hit the sand she made a B line right for the ocean. I swear she would've swam across the Atlantic if we would have let her. I have never seen a child take to water the way she does. She must have run at least 6 miles back and forth on the beach.

My parents had their dog Scout with them and we threw the frisbee for hours into the ocean for him. Him and Grace must pull from the same energy source. They amaze me at how long they can go and go!We did lots of other great things at the beach too. We took Grace's bike trailer with us and took lot of bike rides. On one ride my Mom had a close encounter with a golf cart and the lagoon. Good stuff... We also did some shopping and we got Grace another Edisto T-shirt since she has outgrown her one from last year. Neal flew his kites and Grace stared in amazement. What do mean we're going inside?!

And boy did we eat good, seafood, seafood and more seafood. Boiled shrimp, caught that day, before dinner every night, flounder also caught that day and my mom's famous shrimp and grits. Mmmm.........

Hap and Courtney came down for dinner one night so it was good to see them again. They are right in the middle of their weeding stuff since it is only 2 months away. They really are wonderful together and I can't wait for the big day!

We had a huge storm Tuesday afternoon with some serious wind and lightning over the ocean that you just wouldn't believe but after that blew through their was the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen at the beach.

I could post pictures all day since we took about 300 so you can see them all at the other website (see sidebar for Neal, Amy and Grace pictures link). I will have them there by tonight.

Neal and Dad took the sea kayaks one morning and had a great time while Mom and I took their wallets and went shopping. As it should be...In the evenings we would sit on the screen porch to watch the sun set while the dolphins played in the surf. The whole trip was one I will never forget. You know I have been to the beach hundreds of times but to have a child and see them play on the beach made it feel like it was my first trip too. Magical....

Wassup Doc?

So Grace likes raw carrots. I was cutting them for dinner the other night and she kept reaching up like she wanted one, so I gave her one thinking she would not like it. But to my suprise she knawed on it for an hour. Why the sunglasses you ask? I think she is going for the California lifestyle look. You know, healthy food and sunglasses. One problem, I don't think that belly would pass in California!

The weather has been so nice it is frisbee golf weather again. I really have missed getting beat badly by Neal. In fact he got a hole in one while my frisbee came dangerously close to some power lines. Grace enjoyed being outside and kept looking at me as if to say, "Even if you can't play frisbee golf, I still love you". Aww!!!


So we are heading to Edisto for a week on Sunday. My parents rented a beach house for two weeks for their 30th wedding anniversary. They invited the kids down for the first week on the condition we had to get the hell out at the end of the week so they could have the second week all to themselves. Fair enough. This will be Grace's second trip to the beach but last year she was only 8 weeks old so really just did a alot sleeping. This will be the first year she can run on the beach and play in the water. I am SO excited! Of course last year Hurricane Ophelia decided she wanted to meet the Stevenson family. So we can tell Grace she survived a catergory 1 hurricane at only 8 weeks old. She really is an old soul.


Let's hope we survive the four hour drive. Thankfully Becca is letting us borrow her portable DVD player so I get to listen to Elmo all the way down. Great....

Busy girl...

We realized recently that Grace liked to run and dive onto the dogs beds in the bedroom so we decided to get her her very own dog bed. One that isn't covered in dog hair and drool. Luckily Target had the girliest dog beds on the market. We lay it in the middle of the living room floor and she will run and dive onto it Olympic swimmer style. This is by far the best $30.00 dollars we have spent to date.

Grace loves to play in the front yard these days. She can't get enough. She likes to roll my yoga ball through the yard. I am glad somebody is using it. The neighbor's got a puppy and Grace likes to terroize it through the bushes.

Also I took these pictures the other day while she was napping. I think she was so worn out from our trip to Coumbia for Hap and Courtney's wedding shower. All that beer climbing will wear a sister out.

Little Bunny Foo Foo...

hopping through the forest
scooping up the field mice and bopping them on the head
Down came the good fairy and said
Little Bunny Foo Foo
I don't want to see you
Scooping up the field mice and bopping them on the head.

Grace's new favorite stuffed animal...appropriately named Little Bunny Foo Foo.

Ahhhhhhhhhhh vacation....

Well we are home from the labor day weekend, which we spent on Pumpkin Lane. It was the best to date. We did so much and Grace was a joy. I think my favorite outting was taking Grace on a hike to a waterfall. it is only 5 minutes from the house. We used her backpack and she was thrilled! She just talked and talked all the way up the trail, turning her head to try and see everything. She would greet other hikers with smiles and laughs as we passed them on the trail. Our little ray of sunshine just brightens everyone's day. We stopped along the way for Grace to have a splash in the creek. I swear to you that child is obsessed with water in any form. Whether it be from the faucet, puddle, creek or waterfall she wants to be in it. I love that about her. She definitely comes by that honest.


Also during the trip we drove up to Hendersonville, which was only about 40 minutes. Our friends Nolan and Tavia live there and she is 7 months pregnant. She has had a difficult pregnancy to say the least. She had a close call with a 22 inch blood clot in her leg that broke off and went into her lungs. She is now at home but on complete bed rest and wheelchair use if she is out of the bed. As if that isn't enough to endure they found out on an ultrasound that the baby has a heart condition with tranversed arteries to the heart. There will have to be immediate open heart surgery after delivery. The success rate is high for this type of procedure and they will be delivering in Jacksonville, FL with one of the best pediatric cardiologist in the country. They just really want her to carry to term because the surgery would be riskier on a premature infant. Please keep her and the family in your thoughts and prayers as they will need them in the coming months. I am so impressed with Tavia's attitude, she still has a smile on her face and her heart is full of hope. After leaving there Grace almost immediately fell asleep and as I looked at her I was reminded how lucky we are to have had a wonderful pregnancy and a healthy baby. There really is no greater miracle on this earth than that. We also got to see my parents. Grace is the funniest thing with their dog Scout, she just rolls in the grass with him and laughs and laughs. She loves animals (now she needs a trip to the farm)!
Neal and I also did at lot of yard work and hung Grace's new swing the yard. She adores it!
I just had to share this next picture. It is one of my favorites of Grace and Neal. Notice the hair on both of them. Too cute.
And look at all the teeth Grace has now. She is cutting three more now. Let's put it this way, she bit me on the shoulder the other day and it drew blood. Apparently there was some macaroni and cheese stuck to me from after her lunch and she was attempting to eat it but got my shoulder instead.
So we're home but the next coming couple of months are going to be slammed packed with Hap's wedding stuff. I already have gotten 6 shower invitations not including the bachelorette party and wedding. Good lord...calgon take me away..............