Grass Sledding, Ice Cream and Hair SOS.... not a random post at all

I set today aside to give the bathrooms a good deep clean and to scrub the kitchen floor. It's almost 9pm and I assure you neither of those chores are done but we did have a pretty fun day which included not an ounce of cleaning solution!

Thomas is now dead to us... we're back on the Toy Story band wagon in case you're keeping tabs

The kids and I headed up north, picked my mom up and headed to Davidson. If you've never been to Davidson, you MUST go! It's the CUTEST little town with whimsical shops, precious parks and a beautiful college. The kids loved the playground then we strolled to the HUGE sandbox! Daniel is on the long term planning committee for our neighborhood and I've already begged him to bring one of these up at the next meeting! The concept is that there is a fenced in area, a gigantic sandbox, shade, picnic tables and lots of fun sand and riding toys for the kids to share so you don't have to bring your own. Parker and Avery had a blast!

PCC we NEED one of these!

I felt like the WORST mother EVER when I didn't take my kids out in the snow the other day but I made up for it today with grass sledding which is much warmer and less messy. Score one for mom... or really nana because it was her idea.

LOVE those little faces! 

After the park, we headed to Birkdale for some TCBY....followed by Kilwins because who can resist the caramel apples when you see the chocolatier taking them out of the vat of hot, delicious smelling caramel?!

Double fisting ice cream. A girl after my own heart!

Woody needed some ice cream too!

Afterward binging on ice cream, fudge and caramel apples, we went back to my parent's house to play. Avery felt the weight of all the junk food and clearly needed to burn it off. Burn baby burn! 

If only exercising were actually as easy as sitting on the handle bars while someone else does the work!

Parker crashed in the car and transferred to bed easily so here's hoping he sleeps all night! Miss. A was also pretty tuckered out so this mama is hoping for a good LOOONNG night's sleep! 

So here's the advice part. My mom made it quite clear.... multiple times.... that Avery's hair made her look like an orangutan (in love of course). The problem is that she doesn't have much hair and it's REALLY fine. To add insult to injury, last night Parker poured an entire bottle (no lie) of head and shoulders on her head when they were in the shower and this morning it was dry, crinkled and brittle. WHAT DO I DO WITH THIS CHILD'S HAIR?! Seriously. I need help. What do I do to make it grow, thicken up and uncrinkle?

No, it wasn't windy. Her hair really looks that way after her latest shampoo job. HELP!

 Side note: When Avery screamed because her eye balls were getting a dandruff treatment, I jumped in the shower fully clothed and held her up to the faucet and water boarded her. Poor thing may never shower again. Mommy is sorry for torturing you. Please don't be the stinky kid.

Spontaneous Train Ride, Sand Box Fun and a Sleepover

Today was one of those days where you have no agenda and then you find yourself gone all day on an adventure. Love those days! The kiddies and I got up, showered, put on presentable attire and headed to the post office. An exciting life we live... I know :)  While on the way there I got a call that my parents were going downtown (Charlotte) to hug my sister and have lunch.... so I invited myself and the kids to join. My sister moved to NYC (tear) and is in Charlotte working on a project for the Democratic National Convention. While I'm not a fan of the DNC shutting down the roads and making traffic a total nightmare (or the candidate causing this mess for that matter), the city looks AMAZING! So thanks for the millions of dollars, Mr. Obama!

 

My sister is doing a great job! Everything looks SO cool and I'm really proud of her! I sure wish she'd fall back in love with Charlotte and never go back to NYC! Charlotte really is a BEAUTIFUL, clean, fun city! I wish we had planned this outing in advance because I just love all of the wonderful photo opportunities downtown. If you've never been to Charlotte, is a GREAT place to go! We parked at my sister's old apartment complex and road the train into the heart of the city. Parker thought is was awesome and was totally content to just do that all day.

Parker and I on the train.

Avery didn't share Parker's enthusiasm for the train!

In awe!

 

Avery fell asleep in the stroller after a yummy lunch at 7th street Market

 We ate lunch and then walked to the space where my sister is working on a production for a big client (I can't say who... so secretive!) It was really neat to go inside and see the fruits of her labor. On the way back to our car, Parker suggested that he go to nana's house to swim with ducks. Nana is a sucker for Parker and agreed so my parents took Parker back to their house for the night. Miss. Avery and I visited a few stores then headed home.

Starbucks was our 1st stop!

My mom sent me this picture of Parker fulfilling his goal of swimming with ducks

Meanwhile. Avery, the sand monster, and I played in our backyard.

She's become SO strong! I took this video of her climbing the swing set. Please excuse my high pitched "mommy voice." I find talking on camera to be so awkward for some reason!