weekend recap...(lots of pics)

my weekend started out with a quick trip home friday evening....we live on main street, downtown & the town parade runs right in front of our house....i have to beat it home or else i'm stuck until the parade is over....i made it in time! :0)

my sis & her son (that live 2 blocks away) came down and sat with us....it was sooooo hot (it's been in the high 90's for the last week and may even reach 100 degrees today!).....i think we all ate about 6 freezer pops each while watching the parade go by! ~lol~

saturday, we decided it was time to pick some cherries....we've been eating them here & there as we walk by, but corinn had been begging me to make "cherry salad" - her own creation that pretty much is just cut up cherries in a bowl :0)

we really had to hunt for some red ones - all of the really red ones were getting eaten by the bugs & birds

one of our cherry trees is on the side of our house - between our house & this really old brick building next door.....well, when we were picking cherries off that tree, we made another discovery!


right up against that brick building is a blackberry bush! these berries remind me so much of my grandma (my dad's mom)....as kids, she'd take us on long walks near her home in WVa to hunt for these berries.....they'd grow thick along all the back roads & we'd come home with our bellies & buckets full.....when i told the girls what they were & that we could eat them, corinn literally squealed & said, "now we can make fruit salad!"


which looks like this...

until me & my girls dig in....then it looks like this...

~lol~

last night after dark, we saw our landlords out back, picking away....they must have remembered the cherry trees & discovered that this year, they produced fruit! like i mentioned in another post, this is our 3rd summer living here & the first time we've seen actual cherries.....then this morning, we walk out to leave for our day and discover that over the weekend, the hot sun has ripened a bunch more! look how red now!


so we'll be out picking some more this evening (before the bugs & birds get em all) - this time, we're going to try & make a pie or cobbler! anyone know of a good recipe?

after cherry & blackberry picking on saturday, we headed to cole's 2nd birthday party.....cole is the son of my girls' daycare provider & is so darn cute! he LOVES gabby & she's always looking out for him.....he had an outside party with water play - which the girls were THRILLED about!


gabby eating one of the krabby patties that i made for the party...


then sunday, we went on our all-girl road trip to Mountain Lake Resort! it's where they filmed half of Dirty Dancing - my fav movie of all time!

my sis drove & my mom came along for the 2 1/2 hour drive....the girls & i rode in the back, which was a little cramped, but not bad


it's called Mountain Lake, cause it really is 7 miles up a mountain! once you reach the resort, you actually drive by the hotel, before realizing it.....then when you turn around and come back, you see the view that baby & her family first saw driving up


here's the same view as in the movie - when they drive up to the sidewalk & are greeted by max kellerman (the hotel manager) & billy (johnny's cousin) helps unload their bags


of course, a lot has changed - which is kind of disappointing.....you'd think it would have been really beneficial to the resort to keep certain areas & buildings looking just like in the movie.....the biggest bummer was the lake - it's actually going dry! :0( read more about that here


here's a pic of the girls on the boat dock....you can see the water that's left in the far distance - no where near the dock any more.....the dock is where baby & neil (the dork grandson of the hotel manager) were standing at night (with the gazebo in the background) when they see lisa (baby's sister) & robbie (the jerk waiter that got penny pregnant) come out of the woods


to the right of the dock, is where the famous water lift was filmed....in that shallow area


me, my sis kelly & the girls on the boat dock


here's the gazebo where several scenes were filmed....again, the water is no where near it any more - it used to come right up to it

near the gazebo, with the hotel in the back


the virginia cottage is where baby & her family (the housemans) stayed - it overlooks the lake


the girls sitting on the chain fence that was installed by the movie makers & then left (in the movie, johnny, baby & billy step over the chain when they're running to the kitchen to find penny)....you can see the virginia cottage & lake in the background....in between, is the lawn where the activities were held during the movie....now there's a pool, tennis court, etc. there


one of the staff members said this is where the dancers stayed in the movie, but we're not so sure....they might have been changed, but they don't look too much like the ones in the movie


one of the spots i was most looking forward to seeing was the stone steps & white bridge that baby walks/dances over many times in the movie.....unfortunately, that part was filmed at Lake Lure in North Carolina - where the other half of the movie was filmed.....kelly insists this is our next road trip (6 hr drive!)....i'm game, as long as we spend the night & no kids are allowed ;0)

since we couldn't recreate the dancing bridge scene on the actual bridge, we pretended here...


here's the sign that baby passes on the path that leads to those famous steps & on to the staff's quarters....here, the path is just a hiking trail, but the sign is still there


the dining room....it's now closed in (the houseman family had breakfast on the open porch in the movie), but looks very much the same otherwise


the stone tunnel out back that johnny speeds through after breaking the car window in the the rain (cause he locked his keys inside).....he was actually driving the wrong way on a one way street


here's the barn where all the dancers had their own party (where baby first finds out about dirty dancing - she carried a watermelon ~lol~)


the inside of the barn is totally restored & now set as a stage for the special performances they have coming up for their dirty dancing themed weekends


"nobody puts baby in the corner!" the ballroom scene was actually filmed on a set, but we were pretending in the hotel's ballroom ;0)


there were gorgeous rhododendrons all over the property! i didn't notice these in the movie (especially since it was filmed in september & they weren't in bloom)....but last night, we watched the movie again & i could see the bushes here & there in the background


we had a great lunch at applebee's before heading home


then, as we got closer to home, we passed grandpa (my dad) on the interstate! it was really cool, because my kids don't really get that truck driving is grandpa's job....corinn was asleep, but gabby got to pump her arm & have grandpa honk his horn - both gabby & grandpa were grinning ear to ear!

apparently, my sister was told wrong - they don't actually give out tours.....but we used a map they had made last year for the 20th anniversary, to point out the different filming locations.....it was hot & i wore the wrong type of shoes to do a lot of walking, but overall - it was a GREAT trip! i'm glad we went & it made me love the movie even more (if that's even possible! ~lol~)

the girls enjoyed it too! gabby was able to see the different spots and relate them to scenes in the movie.....i think corinn kinda got it, but she kept saying "i wonder where baby is" and "do you think we'll find baby?".....it was so cute.....i tried hard to explain to her that baby & johnny just came there to make the movie, then they went home to their real houses.....but even after we got home, she told curtis that we had gone on this trip to "find baby" ~lol~

LOVE it! :0)

weekend cakes...

i had another weekend where i had to pull an all-nighter thursday night....but then was completely finished with cakes by saturday afternoon....that left the rest of the weekend for fam time! :0)

a baseball field for zachary - he & his brother playing positions with some of the yankees players

a huge graduation cake for megan - serves 105

an Indiana Jones cake for MacKenzie

and some "krabby patties" & a SpongeBob Squarepants smash cake for little Cole (he's the son of my girls' daycare provider - the cutest lil thing ever!)

ok, he officially does everything!

so, as u may have already figured out, i have the absolute best hubby in the entire world! yeah, that's right - he'd win the next survivor series hands down! ;0)

he's that rough, manly man that will fix our cars, mow the grass, install a new light fixture, etc......and at the same time, the sweet sensitive father & husband that will bathe the children, serenade his wife, fix dinner, read a story to the kids, do the dishes, clean the toilet, etc.....the list literally goes on and on!

the only thing that curtis isn't able to help me out with is fixing the girls' hair....well, & baking (duh - leave that to the pros! ~lol~)

well, i got a whole 1 1/2 hours of sleep last night, er this morning (busted out 3 cakes while the rest of the fam slept).....so mama was running a bit slow this morning as we all got ready.....it's the first day of summer for the kids - school let out yesterday.....and curtis works the later shift today, so he didn't need to head out quite as early (he's usually on his way to work before the kids are all up)

i come out to the living room & see this....look at the concentration!


yep! the ponytail might not have been completely straight....or as tight as gabrielle & i would like it to be.....but dammit, my husband put up that pony tail! and i sure ain't going mess with it! ~grinning ear to ear~

THE NEXT SURVIVOR SERIES

ok, on a lighter note....danielle, i got this email today & sooo thought of u and ur post yesterday! ;0)

-----------

THE NEXT SURVIVOR SERIES

Six married men will be dropped on an island with one car and 3 kids each for six weeks.

Each kid will play two sports and either take music or dance classes.

There is no fast food.

Each man must take care of his 3 kids, keep his assigned house clean, correct ALL homework & complete science projects, cook, do laundry & pay a list of 'pretend' bills with not enough money. In addition, each man will have to budget in money for groceries each week.

Each man must remember the birthdays of all their friends and relatives, and send cards out on time - no emails!

Each man must also take each child to a doctor's appointment, a dentist appointment and a haircut appointment.

He must make one unscheduled and inconvenient visit per child to the emergency room/urgent care.

He must also make cookies or cupcakes for a social function - only being given one day's notice.

Each man will be responsible for decorating his own assigned house, planting flowers outside & keeping it presentable at all times.

The men will only have access to television when the kids are asleep and all chores are done.

The men must shave their legs, wear makeup daily, adorn himself with jewelry, wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes, keep fingernails polished and eyebrows groomed.

During one of the six weeks, the men will have to endure severe abdominal cramps, back aches, & have extreme, unexplained mood swings....but never once complain or slow down from other duties.

They must attend weekly school meetings, church, and find time at least once to spend the afternoon at the park or a similar setting.

They will need to read a book to the kids each night and in the morning, feed them, dress them, brush their teeth and comb their hair by 7:00 am.

A test will be given at the end of the six weeks, and each father will be required to know all of the following information: each child's birthday, height, weight, shoe size, clothes size and doctor's name. Also the child's weight at birth, length, time of birth, and length of labor, each child's favorite color, middle name, favorite snack, favorite song, favorite drink, favorite toy, biggest fear and what they want to be when they grow up.

The kids vote them off the island based on performance. The last man wins only if.....he still has enough energy to be intimate with his spouse at a moment's notice!

If someone does win, he can play the game over and over and over again for the next 18-25 years eventually earning the right to be called....Mother!

Teacher lets students vote out autistic classmate

hate to be a downer this morning, but i've seen posts about this article on 2 other blogs now & practically bawled both times i read it.....my heart aches thinking about how this little boy must have felt - and how this might effect him & his relationships with others for the rest of his life!

read the article here

Dirty Dancing, filmed at Mountain Lake Resort

ok, so Dirty Dancing is like my favorite movie of all time! i've loved this movie for as long as i can remember (ok, it came out in '87 when i was 8 - so to me, it's been around forever! ~lol~).....it has also become one of gabby's favorites.....we watch it together (and mommy fast forwards through the lovey dovey scene) & then recreate the dances in our living room ;0)

it was filmed at Mountain Lake Resort which is only a 2 1/2 hour drive from me......i've always wanted to check this place out, but never really got around to planning a trip

well evidentially, my sis was recently talking to some co-workers about the lake & got the idea that she and i should go together to visit the place soon....i mention that i'd want to take gabby along, but that i'm all for it.....looking at our calendars, it looked as tho it would be late July before we could fit it in.....then she calls me today and asks about this Sunday! it turns out that all my cakes are due either friday or early saturday & curtis is working all weekend.....my mom wants to go too, and my sis' mother-in-law has offered to watch jaden (along with my nephew)....so now not only gabby, but corinn is coming too!

my sis called the resort and it turns out that one of the staff will give you an unscheduled tour any time....they'll even point out the different spots that are in the movie, etc.....we're going to leave early sunday morning & take the tour.....maybe eat in the same dining hall as in the movie! an all-girl road trip!

i'm so excited!!!

lunch on the last day of school...

well, corinn & i tried to have lunch with gabby yesterday....i called first thing in the AM to find out what time lunch would be (since they're on early dismissal this week, i knew the time would be different)....one of the office ladies said 12:15pm for gabby's class.....we show up at noon, only to find out that we've missed all lunches....it was field day (oh how i remember field day - so much fun!) & that meant another lunch time change - and apparently, the office staff wasn't aware???

of course - that's just how my week has gone!

so anyway, i figured i'd just double up and somehow get both kids' lunches in today.....i took a 2 hour lunch break and ran to grab corinn before heading to the school (since she was almost as disappointed as gabby when we missed it yesterday).....success - we made it & all went as planned! corinn got a lunch and ate as we both sat with jaden during his time.....then, immediately following, i got a lunch to eat and we both sat with gabby's class next.....actually, corinn helped eat my lunch too - don't let her skinny self fool ya, she's an eater! ;0)


today was the very last day of school - gabby chose sunday attire for this special day - church dress AND shoes! ;0)


back to yesterday.....since our lunch trip was a bust....we headed to good 'ole BK after getting gabby out of school....she played while corinn & i ate, then corinn joined her....after the thunderstorms we've been having, the play equipment was soaked (i think we've gotten like 1 3/4" of rain in the last 2 days!)....but my girls, plus the other 5 kids there, thought this made it that much more fun! ~lol~

wet booty!

corinn & i made a trip over to nana & grandpa's earlier in the day yesterday, to play....and of course to check out the garden (one of corinn's fav things to do is to see if there's anything ripe & ready to eat - so far, only asparagus - which she LOVES...but straight out of the garden only!) the plants are growing & she was so excited that she could start recognizing what was what....she would literally scream, "yay, broccoli! yay, cabbage!" ~lol~


we're still super excited about our cherries - the rain has really helped them ripen up


but all the really red ones are at the top of the tree - don't eat all our cherries mr. cardinal! :0)


play doah on the porch until time for dinner


90 degree weather & thunderstorms are in the forecast for us all week! i guess it's time to turn on the AC - i like warm weather, but i can't take the humidity that comes when it's rainy AND hot.....i hope it's lovely where u r!

day off...

today, corinn & i are hanging out....her daycare provider has doctor's appointments for her own 2 kids - so took the day off....we'll b doing some cleaning, playing, reading and just hanging out....well, and mama might squeeze some baking in during nap time ;0) we're also going to have lunch with gabby at school (corinn is super psyched about that - and i'll have lunch with jaden tomorrow on my lunch break from work)....tomorrow is their last day of school this year! can u believe it?! i can't!

so, i'll b back in blog land tomorrow - i hope everyone has a great hump day! :0)

Pre-K Graduation (and mama has lost her mind!)

ok, well i guess i've officially lost my mind....after the insane weekend we just had & everything else that's been going on lately, i somehow completely forgot about gabby's pre-k graduation last night! *gasp*

well, actually....the announcement came home over a month ago & i hadn't seen any reminders since....my fault for failing to put it on the calendar right then and there (cause otherwise, i know i'll forget it!).....and then yesterday, the starter in curtis' car went out.....he was off work from his full-time job, but planning to work his 2nd job.....he had "the guys" come pick him up in the morning & then drop him off at my office in the afternoon.....he took my van, and made a trip to pick up a new starter, ran home to pick up the kids from their daycares, then back to my work to pick me up when i got off at 6pm.....if it hadn't been for all this chaos, it probably would have dawned on me at some point during the day

but instead, when i get in the car with curtis & the kids, the first thing gabby says is "don't forget, tomorrow is the program!"......i literally gasp & say, "no, TONIGHT is the program!".....i grabbed her backpack from her feet & ripped out her folder.....sure enough - they sent home a reminder - the same day as the program! oh well, i'm still not blaming them - silly mommy is a doofus!

so we hauled butt back home (20 minutes away).....gabby was supposed to b in her classroom, ready to line up 15 minutes ago & i know the graduation is starting RIGHT NOW.....i call the school - no answer.....i ask gabby if she'll b terribly upset if we miss some of the program.....her sweet response - "no, i don't really like singing in front of people anyway." OH, BE STILL MY HEART! i think she might have been just trying to make me feel better....and it kinda worked - i shed a few tears quietly, feeling like i've failed my daughter - how could i forget something like this?!.....my cell rings - it's her assistant teacher, of course wondering where we're at....i give her the run down & say we're on our way.....tell her i'll slip gabby in as soon as we get there

curtis drops gabby & i at the door & we run in.....she scoots in quietly & takes her place....i grab a program and realize she's already missed the singing *sob*.....they are giving out perfect & good attendance awards - gabby gets good attendance (she missed one day cause of that darn strep).....then they start awarding the diplomas...

after all are awarded, they show a slide - pics of all the pre-schoolers throughout the year.....gabrielle enjoyed telling us everyone's name as their pic flashed on the screen

afterwards, there's a potluck meal - of course i didn't bring our assigned sandwiches - bad, bad mommy! i'm hesitant to stay because we didn't contribute anything, but gabby is really looking forward to it & i've already totally let her down once.....what am i going to do, make her leave now?.....plus, i see there's TONS of food.....so we go - she sits/eats with her best friend, courtney (who by the way, was awarded that cool pin for being 1 of 2 students in each grade awarded the American Citizenship Award - go courtney!)....

and all is right with the world again.....she got an awesome gift bag from her teachers - it had a kitty coloring book, a tinker bell notebook, play doah, a princess jump rope, and more....the best thing in it was the little yearbook that her teachers made.....it was a binder that had pics of gabby throughout the year, as well as some of her artwork & projects.....wow, these teachers! i can't believe how much time (and probably their own money) they put into these bags!

we took a pic with Mrs. Hinkle (left) & Mrs. Sawyer (assistant teacher) and headed home....

on the way home, gabrielle sings us the songs that she missed singing at the graduation.....we all cheer for her in the car.....i cheered as loud as i possibly could! ;0)

as i was helping gabby get ready for bed, i told her how sorry i was that we missed the first part of the program & that i hope she can forgive me.....she says, "it's ok, we'll do it again next year, right?"

~lol~ i guess she's right....kindergarten graduation is right around the corner!

completely random...

some pics my sister caught at the actual recital...

gabby giving a curtsy to Mary Poppins as the penguins exit

the bird lady feeding corinn her worm

this was part of a birthday project in jaden's class.....each student gets a book made by their class for their birthday.....all of their classmates write them a note about what they wish for them on their birthday & draw a picture for them.....here's what jaden wrote/drew for his classmate, jessica.....how sweet it was to see a "girly" pic that jaden drew - i don't think we'd ever see a drawing like this come from jaden otherwise! ~lol~


here he is digging this past weekend.....he LOVES to get out the shovel and dig little holes.....there's one area of our backyard that we allow him to do this.....he usually finds some earthworms as a special treat for his aquatic turtle, socks.....and he'll put the mounds back into the holes when he's finished....

my lovelies...

my sexy hubby beefing up in the back yard....

and that tree he's doing pull-up in?.....one of our 3 cherry trees! LOVE this!!! i'm not sure why (i have a totally black thumb and am clueless when it comes to trees/plants), but this is the first summer we've seen cherries??? this is our 3rd summer here too - regardless, i was literally giddy last night when i saw they are turning red!

gabby couldn't wait for an all-red one :0)

missing my step-sons

after the wonderful weekend we had - filled with tons of family time....i'm really missing my step-sons! it's been over a month since we've heard from them & it's getting harder & harder to 'hold out' for a phone call.....after my post about 'the ex' possibly moving down here, we found out that as we guessed, she wasn't/didn't move down here at all (and probably never actually planned to).....that they are living & going to school in MD - but we don't know where in MD exactly.....she disconnected her cell phone or had her number changed.....we've been mailing the child support checks to her mother, who i assume is getting them to her.....but we literally have not heard a word from them! :0( i hate that not only are they missing out on all the fun that our family has here, but that we're missing out on them! i want to know what's going on with them, what they're up to, what sports they're playing, how they're doing in school, if they're dating, etc., etc.....and i want them to b a part of our life here! i HATE this situation & really wish i had the answer.....i wish i knew what to tell jaden, gabrielle & corinn when they ask us when curtis & corey are coming to see us again! i teared up last time they asked me & i'm starting to wonder how long i should avoid the conversation that i know i'll eventually have to have with them.....i've turned this situation over to God & pray that a resolution will be evident soon - all we can do is pray & wait, i guess

weekend recap...

it was good that last weekend was pretty chill & relaxing, cause we sure had the opposite this weekend! it just FLEW by!

after finishing all the cakes i had for the weekend by early afternoon on saturday...

we threw my dad a surprise 50th birthday party that evening! he had NO CLUE & was totally surprised (awesome job mom!)! then, he couldn't figure out why we surprising him! ~lol~ he just stood in the doorway, looking at everyone, trying to figure out why we were all there....i finally yelled "happy birthday old man!" and he started laughing....his actual bday isn't until tomorrow, so i guess he just wasn't thinking about it! ~lol~ we had a GREAT turnout (we counted around 50 or 60) and it was fun.....curtis & a friend of the family spent all morning BBQ'ing 90 chicken halves & we had everyone bring a side dish.....of course i made a special cake for him....my sister made a kick-ass slide show to music with pics of dad and the family throughout the years....my brother joe, came home from VCU just for the party.....it was great! the best part was that the whole party was also a surprise to the grandkids....we knew they'd spill the beans, so none of them knew about it until that day! they were super excited to yell "SURPRISE"!

curtis, the kids (including my sis' kids), and my brother joe

mom got dad a banjo & lessons!
jaden will LOVE enjoying this with grandpa - jaden recently has become very interested in banjos, fiddles & blue grass music! :0) and coincidentally, my brother cj just ordered himself a banjo too - without even knowing about mom's gift for dad....i guess there will be some picking and grinning going on before too long! ;0)

and of course we had to go over to nana & grandpa's house after the party for some swinging & go-kart riding before dark! ;0)

btw - i'm soooo jealous of their garden! it's just getting started, but isn't it beautiful?!

then on sunday, we attended my sister's church because my niece, deandra, was performing....her & some of the local WRE (weekday religious education) students provided the special music & did a GREAT job! it literally makes my heart flutter & fill with joy hearing kids sing praise to our Lord!


they had a meal afterwards & started some games outside.....the kids played on the playground & curtis was recruited for a game of kickball...

i thought he might ping this kid to tag him out - he refrained and just chased him down ;0)

i had to fix the girls' hair at the church & we drove straight to the recital from there.....of course, this means no nap time...

corinn about to fall asleep on the way to the recital

but the girls still did wonderfully! actually, perfect! no mess-ups, and lots of smiles!!! i'm so excited about getting the dvd that we ordered - corinn ended up in the front when they were circling mary poppins this time, so we could see her whole routine! my sis did take some pics (they said we could this year if we didn't use the flash) - i'll post the good ones once she sends them to me

right before show time - handing them off to go back stage....they stayed back stage the entire 3 hours of the recital (yes, it lasted 3 hours! not 2, like they told us it would ~lol~)....the older girls took care of helping the younger ones with costume changes

me & my girls after the recital

cute pic of daddy & his girls heading to the car....they were asleep before we were 5 miles down the road

weekend cakes...

first up was a cupcake cake for jaden's class - they had an "unbirthday party" on friday to celebrate all the summer birthdays.....these are actual drawings that jaden has done - i just recreated them in icing.....i let him pick out what drawings to include on thursday (he obviously couldn't decide on just one)....then i decorated the cupcakes that night, after he was in bed.....he was SOOO excited when he woke up friday morning! then, when we took them into his class that morning, he had to show EVERYONE! we made sure to take enough for his class & ALL his teachers & helpers

that's him on the left, then a sea monster, a dragon & a robot sweeper ;0)

a graduation cake for a co-worker's son

a simple cake (using gum paste flowers leftover from this wedding cake) for my aunt to donate to her local ruritan auction/bake sale

a 50th birthday cake for "the cake sisters" mom (the cake sisters are regulars - they get at least one cake a month from me & book their dates years in advance)
this is the 3rd time i've done this cake design

and a 50th birthday cake for my dad! his fav cake is carrot cake with cream cheese icing....but he's an ice cream fiend!!! so i made him this....

no ice cream was used in the making of this cake ;0)
it's all carrot cake & cream cheese icing
(the cherries, bananas & spoon are fondant, and the sauces are chocolate...the cherry stems are the only thing not edible)

thanks for looking! ♥

little dancers - part 3

and lastly....corinn's pre-ballet 1 class, dancing to Feed the Birds (corinn was really wanting to stay on the very tip of her toes after seeing the older girl's pointe performance right before her class comes out - she kind of forgot about flapping her wings.....last night when she watched the video, she said "oh! i pointed, but what about my wings?!" ~lol~ she's so funny!)

little dancers - part 2

gabby's pre-tap class, dancing to The Penguin Dance (i missed the very beginning when they come out - the end is super cute!)