Happy Memorial Day!

For once, our little family had almost no plans for the weekend.  And lucky for us, that no-plan weekend fell on a long weekend.  Awesome.

So we made a plan.  We made the short trip up to Chimney Rock and Lake Lure for the day.  I grew up going to our family's lakehouse, which, unfortunately, my grandmother sold after my grandfather got sick.  I have enjoyed nostalgic visits ever since then.  It occurred to me, though, that since my childhood summers, I haven't visited much during the hot season.  So imagine my surprise to find that the lake was absolutely slammed with tourists.  I've never actually been to the manmade beach on the lake, and I certainly wasn't about to start this weekend.  So we did a drive-by of the quaint town of Lake Lure, checked to see that the current owners of our old house were taking care of it, and spent most of our time in Chimney Rock and at Larkins on the Lake.

Chimney Rock is full of old, some trashy, some cute, souvenir shops and little boutiques.  The stores all center around the park entrance to Chimney Rock.  I have only been up there once I think, but you should go sometime.  It's a little pricey for a park, but it's kind of cool to ride an elevator up through a mountain.  And the view, of course, is priceless.

But on our particular visit, we got some different views.  For starters, I know that everyone in the South claims that THEY know who has the best BBQ.  Well, I happen to know for a fact where the best BBQ is.  Even if you only visit the lake for the day and don't peruse the shops at Chimney Rock, it is mandatory to drive a mile down the road to Chimney Rock to visit:

Here's the view up and down the little 2-lane road through Chimney Rock:

One of the weird souvenirs in a tacky little gift shop.  That very same cowgirl hat was probably in the store when I was Emma's age...maybe I shouldn't have put it on her head....

Holly Sharp, I mourned the disrespect some redneck litterer had for this little gem.  It was abandoned on the sidewalk.

At Larkins on the Lake, enjoying the outdoor seating section, where shorts and jeans are acceptable.

You may notice that Larkins on the Lake sounds familiar...it's the predecessor to Larkins on the River in Greenville.  When I was little, I remember being allowed, on very, very few occasions, to take the long boatride over to this spot with my grandfather.  I think it was some sort of bait and tackle shop.  Even though everything else has changed, this dock pretty much looks the same as it did back then, and I would love to take a boat ride out on the lake and come eat at Larkins.  Maybe when we have money to spare one day, we'll buy back the lakehouse.

Emma crashed on the way home since she missed her midafternoon nap.  There was waaaay too much going on in the exciting towns of Chimney Rock and Lake Lure to waste time napping.  Even without a nap and despite the 90 degree heat, she was a perfect little angel for our daycation.

What I've Been Up To

Watching Daddy play softball

Reading with Daddy

Celebrating with Chesley and Brandi

Playing with my itty bitty Peter Rabbit tea set

Hanging out with my dolls

Watching Mommy, Daddy, and Lola wage war on the chipmunks in our yard

Learning new tricks

Nothing's Easy

Sooo much in Emma's life has been hard.  And it continues to be.  We have recently gone through a weird bout of illnesses that are mostly inexplicable.  It all started with a hoarse voice, moved on to some difficulty breathing (scary revisit of 18 months ago), mixed in with 3 visits to the pediatrician in 9 days...let's see...there was a discussion between 3 pediatricians and Dr. Troup, a diagnosis of a throat virus (after which the hoarseness still didn't go away).  Throw in "playing" with Miralax dosages (this is not a game, people.  Not.  A game.), 2 weeks of steroids (which make children hyper, if you're wondering), doses of Mylicon to counteract the bloated belly caused by the steroids, Prevacid twice a day in case the throat stuff is reflux-related (and none of the doctors really think it is, but we're trying everything), and where does that get us?

A brand new cold that literally cropped overnight, in the blink of an eye.  Emma is now taking 6 different kinds of medicines/vitamins every day.  You'd think she'd get a break.  Rarely is anything easy with her.

Another thing that's really hard about Emma...try NOT loving her.  It's impossible.  Especially when she gets frustrated that Russell won't answer her when she calls, "DaDEE!  DaDEE!  DaDEE!" Then she pulls out the big guns: "WUSHUL!"  If you ever get the opportunity to hear your barely 2-year-old call your spouse by his or her first name, brace yourself...one of the funniest moments of your life.  I'm going to try to get it on video soon.

Most things that aren't easy about Emma are that way by no fault of her own.  There are a few things here and there, though, that she makes harder on herself.  She will learn the shortcuts soon, I have no doubt, but tonight, while she was on a steroid high, she decided that her beloved Minnie (thank you, Mandy, for one of her favorite toys!) needed to accompany her while she wheeled around the kitchen in her Bumbomobile.  Minnie also needed to be rocked and have her diaper changed just like a regular baby.  Oh, speaking of babies, Emma has started saying to us, "Hey, baby.  Hey, baby."  Because we say it to her.  So why wouldn't she say it back?  Makes sense to a 2-year-old.  Anyway, here are Emma and Minnie:

Too much technology

I had the best of intentions regarding a good blog post tonight.  And then work happened (plus, life with Emma is, as always, adventurous).  So then I got all wrapped in starting to get some work done and decided to make a quick blog post with maybe a picture or two just to hold me over.

At this very moment, there are 3 laptops and 2 iPads in our house.  Of course, the laptop I'm currently using is my work laptop, which holds no personal pictures.  So here's the best I can do - quick uploads from my iPhone.  If you count the phones, that's 7 pieces of high-tech communications technology.  All these resources, and not even a good blog post...but here are some pictures of what Emma's been up to lately.

If Emma's not wearing her sunglasses, she shades the sun like this:

Emma has also enjoyed breakfast with the boys...which explains why the picture is blurry.  (Picture taker, you know who you are.)

Today Emma got her twister straps.  I guess she really only needs one, but I think it's a PT sin to only put a piece of equipment on one leg and not the other.  Emma's whole right leg has the tendency to turn in, so it makes it hard for her to walk correctly since she doesn't really have feeling in the lower half of her leg anyway.  This is what they look like.  They've only been fitted, and she hasn't had any experience walking in them yet, so I'm excited to see how that goes in her upcoming therapy sessions!

Ready for Summer