the kiddos

just playing today and took a couple pics!

sweet baby claire :)

me and my bubs, wyatt :)

asheville, grove park, biltmore

every year, through matt's work, we attend the NC Seedsman's Convention. they have it somewhere different every year and this year it was held at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville. the funny part is that we didn't even take any pictures of the Grove Park Inn!! oops! while we were in asheville we found that we were only 10 minutes (if that) from the Biltmore House, which i've been wanting to go to for a few years now. so that is where were most of the time! (that and the spa treatments were all too expensive).

the barn on River Bend Farm, the working farm on the estate.

matt and the Kitchen Garden, where they get some
of the produce for the restaurants on the estate.

a view from the "deck" of the house, i mean castle, i mean mansion!!

matt on the porch/terrace, not sure what they call it,
it was just so nice to sit there in the wonderful breeze after
over 4 hours of walking around the house/mansion/CASTLE!
and to think that we didn't even see but maybe 1/3 of the mansion...er house??!!

me on the porch/terrace with the view behind me!

the biltmore "HOUSE" :)

baby Gwinn's shower

today was the big day for baby gwinn's baby shower! what a perfect and hot day! :) i co-hosted it with hilary and laura (2 of andrea's best buds, and 2 friends that are dear to me as well!). i feel like they did all the work and it turned out great! what a awesome turn out!

the abundant gift tables!!

the spread: we had hot dogs and all the works!

the grillers/muscles of the operation: russ and jon. :)

guests: my friend angel's little cuties, colton and connor.

more guests: stasha, her son and husband, michelle and carla.

co-hostess and game leader: laura! :)

co-hostess, hilary, showing a basket full of goodies!

the sweet mommy and daddy to be: andrea and jason. :)
(there's wyatt checking out the goods!)

the hostesses and one of the guests of honor:
hilary, laura, andrea and me!

Pollock Wedding Weekend: Reception

so, since we were in the wedding we have no pictures of it! that and picture taking may not have been allowed anyway? but we do have a couple pictures from the reception! (if anyone has pictures of wyatt, matt or ali please send them so we can add them to this post! thanks so much!!)

the sweet Mr. and Mrs. Pollock's first dance

father-daughter dance

claire (on auntie ree's lap) in a cute bib our friends the Rays gave her

super pretty wedding cake

feeding each other cake...nice or mischievous?

cleaning up the mischievousness!!

Pollock Wedding Weekend: Getting Ready!

The German Club Manor, where John and Ash had their reception, has a really nice women's restroom that has a great area for getting ready for weddings. we made good use of it for hair and make-up prep and then put our dresses on in the church's choir room.

the girls getting ready

myra helping ashley with final touches :)

ash and mom in the choir room minutes before the big moment!!
aren't they both so pretty!

Pollock Wedding Weekend: Bridesmaid Brunch

matt's mom, with the help of Grannie and Brenda (his grandma and aunt), put on a super yummy brunch for ashley and her bridesmaids. there were scones, mini muffins, mini cinnamon rolls, cran-orange bread, fruit salad, the best quiche ever, coffee and juice...i think that's everything! it was all so delicious and fueled us ladies for the big day! :)

the spread!

the family:
grannie, aunt brenda, judy (mom/ "nana"), claire, ali, ash, wyatt :)

the BRIDE and her bridesmaids:
dana, jessica, adrienne, ASH, cynthia, myra, ali, kelly
(and ring bearer: wyatt!)

Pollock Wedding Weekend: Arrive in Blacksburg

it has finally arrived, john and ashley's wedding weekend!! we are so excited! we drove to blacksburg this morning and the fun has just begun! it's so pretty up here. we had a yummy pizza dinner with the family. then once the kids were asleep it was off to do some wedding preparations!

wyatt's 1st professional haircut

wyatt has had many "homemade" haircuts, but we weren't feeling confident enough in our technique to give him the one he would have for his aunt "asheesh's" wedding! so i took him to Snip-Its. it's a place that only does kids haircuts. he was excited to go in, because there were toys, but not so happy when i tried to get him away from the toys and into the chair. i got him buckled in the chair, with little debating, and the hair stylist tried to get him interested in a little video. it worked, even if he did sit there with a grump-a-dump look on his face through the entire haircut! at least he barely moved! gooooo bubbie!! :) it turned out pretty cute too! now he looks good enough to be a ring bearer!

farmers market

the kids and i decided to surprise matt and show up at the farmers market today! it's his 3rd or 4th time selling. he had a nice little area and all the other sellers were really friendly and fun to talk to. he started out with potatoes, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes and blueberries. as you can see from the pic, the tomatoes and blueberries were the first to
sell out.

potatoes, squash and cucumbers from our "farm" :)

cary farmers market: our booth is on the left, on the other side of the green canopy.
our canopy is blue, but you can't see it in this photo. you can barely see our
table to the left and up a little from the table under the green canopy.

IN proof!

the kids and i just got back from indiana, and i am so bad about taking pictures that this is the only proof i have that we actually were there!!! we went up for my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary gathering and to visit family. it was a great trip that FLEW by! i can hardly believe that we are already home! it was so good to see everyone and let them meet claire. wyatt and claire also did really well on the road trip. it's usually between 11-12 hour drive and i think that it took us about 14 with the extra stops, not bad. i'd do it again! :)

proof that we were in IN:
claire sleeping in my cousin angie's arms,
in my grandma's kitchen! :)

2 peas in a pod

matt and wyatt intently watching and listing to a video of a tractor someone is trying to sell.

and a cute pic of claire!

after nap

after wyatt's nap (if claire is already up from her's or they decided to nap at different times!) she and i go in his room to get him out of the bed. i always lay claire on his bed so i can get him out and change his diaper. he wasn't quite ready to get out of the bed this afternoon, so he and claire were attacked by the "mommarazzi"!! i am only posting one of the many flashes they were exposed to!

claire's 1st food

claire had her first taste of food – baby rice cereal! she was so cute trying to eat it, kept pushing it out with her tongue! it was so runny, the way the box tells you to prepare it. definitley won't make it so runny tomorrow.

excitement about eating food

going for it!

that's all??

big "cheeser"

the classic "wyatt cheese"

sweet napper

claire was just too sweet snuggling with her "burpie" for me not to take a picture!

morning walks

i've finally decided we need to get into more of a routine again. so, for starters, we are trying to walk in the mornings! matt retrieved the roomie double stroller (so generously given to us) from the attic and today was our first day! i think the kids really enjoyed it, and so did i! it was right around claire's nap time, so she napped. wyatt brings a toy, juice and snack – all that and a nice ride outside, who wouldn't be happy with that! i don't think i heard two words out of him! we'll do it again tomorrow...and hopefully the day after that, and the day after that, and so on!

later today...

just thought i'd share some cute pictures of the kids playing!

wyatt with his puttet friend we've named "gilbert" the goat

claire was playing quietly, but wyatt can't take not being part of the action!

sweet baby claire!