Brown?


Happy 1 1/2 Birthday little man, we love you!!
Warning: This video is EXTREMLY long (about 8 min) it's probably something only a Grandma would love, but feel free to surf through it :)
If you don't want to watch the whole thing (but I think it is darn cute, Tiff did a great job) you should definately fast forward to the last minute. It is funny - one of his favorite things to do is put a blanket over his head and run around. Cracks me up every time.
It's a lot like Discovery Gateway, except they have this wonderful little place for kids 6 and under. It was GREAT! Kyler could explore all he wanted and didn't have to worry about being run over by a big kid. He started at the playdoh table. He'd never played with playdoh before so it was very interesting. The ladies at the table (employee's) had so much fun showing him all kinds of neat things he could do. He loved it.
It was fun watching Kyler learn new things. He's growing so fast, and he catches on to things like lightening.
He was in love with this shopping cart. Once he discovered it, he took it with him every where he went.
They had this barn with "animals" sticking out of them, you could push the button under the animal and it would make it's sound. Kyler was terrified of it. He'd get brave and pet it, but the minute the button was pushed....run away!
At lunch time we went to a place called Rock Bottom for lunch, it was fun to walk the streets of downtown Charlotte, even if it was a bit rainy. Then we went back to the museum and watched a short kids film called Fly Me to the Moon on their IMAX dome theatre. It was pretty cool, the dome really made it feel like you were moving, the thing was HUGE! Kyler was scared, mostly because of the loud sounds, but he held on to me tight for 10 minutes, and then zonked! So he even got nap while we were there. It was perfect. 



Everything on the bed is white. Sheets, blanket, comforter, pillow cases....it's kinda fun. Excuse the box as a side table. I sleep on that side, and I had this terrible cough for a while, so I needed the humidifier close. 
Again notice: White towels, white bath mat, white shower curtain
This is the outside of the building. It's really pretty right now with all the tree's in bloom. We really like the complex, the people are really nice, but it's not home that's for sure.
Our first weekend free we went to a place called Crowders Mountain. They call it a mountain because the ground goes up a little, so it must be a mountain. Anyway, it was a beautiful day. We took some hiking trails, then found a nice spot by a little stream to have lunch. Kyler loved putting his toes in, and throwing rocks. It was a great day.


Kyler has had this thing with sticks. Because there are so many trees there are sticks EVERYWHERE! He loves it. Everytime we go to the playground he gathers sticks. It's not uncommon for him to have three of four in a hand at once. He'll pick up one he wants, take a few steps, then he'll spot another one that looks interesting. So he'll try and pick it up, but realise he has to many in his hands already, so he takes inventory, decides which one needs to go, then picks up the one he wants, takes a few steps and the whole thing starts all over again. Silly boy, he could do that all day.

Then I used Italian sausage instead of ground beef. I bought it in the round tube, and only used half. I browned it in a frying pan, then added it to the sauce. In the same frying pan I added a bit on olive oil and sauteed some mushroom and onions. This way Brian could just have the pasta and sauce, while I could still enjoy the veggies. It turned out really yummy!
Same easy spaghetti, totally different taste!

The first day we were there it was almost 70 degrees, so we all headed out to the back yard. Kyler and Morgan played golf, and Ethan taught Kyler all about dirt and rocks.
And then the rain started....We stayed in all the next day, but that didn't keep the kids from having a great time.
We set off for our new home in North Carolina on Saturday, it was still raining, and rained clear till Sunday. Kyler did pretty well on this 3 1/2 hour drive, in this pic he has his hands over his ears and is pressing and releasing to hear the change in sound. He was getting a kick out of it. I thought it was pretty cute.
To put it in the words of our apartment manager "we haven't seen this much snow sense I was a little kid". A whole whopping 3 inches. The whole city closes down. Schools were closed for 2 days....yes 2 DAYS! Brian didn't have to go into work on Monday, and our furniture still wasn't delivered. One more day trying to survive in a place that wasn't ours.