Fashion Friday is back

I know, it's been a while. But we're coming back this week with a bang.

It's all about florals this season ladies. They are fresh, fun, and a great way to say "hey, I'm a girl, even though I may not have the long locks of my fellow toddler divas." Florals can also hide any imperfections you may be battling with your figure. Harper, for instance, has problems with saddle bags. Not in this lovely floral sun dress she doesn't. She says "look at me, I'm a little chunky below the waist, but for all you know, I'm Cindy Crawford under here."


Everyone enjoy your summer florals.

A much needed mini vacay

I can literally remember posting about this a year ago, almost to the word. This past year went by in the blink of an eye. Crazy how that keeps happening.

This past weekend was our annual Bachelor Bay party at my friend Whitley's parents house. They live on the Albemarle sound, one of the most beautiful places in NC. They host what is basically a 3 day party for upwards of 40 people, plus, in the past 2 years, their kids. I can remember the first year we went, back in 2007. Adam and I were engaged, no kids, no responsibilities except to keep up with everyone else who was there. We ate and drank like we would never see it again, and didn't crawl into bed before 2 or 3 either night. The past 2 years however, have been very different. We still had a blast the entire time, but with Harper accompanying us, and knowing we still had to get up at 7:30 and be at our best, bed times and alcohol consumptions were not so impressive.

Get ready for a ridiculous amount of pictures and a mediocre video. I couldn't manage to narrow them down any more than this so just enjoy.

All the guys

...and the girls

An aerial shot of how we spent our days

Looking good, right down to her aqua socks.

Little Holden and Harper chatt'n' it up

Harper slept in the closet because the entire back side of the house was windows. This provided her with a little bit of darkness. When she woke up from her nap, she didn't make a sound, Adam just heard a soft KNOCK KNOCK on the door.

The 3 little ones with their personalized Bachelor Bay t-shirts.

Harper about to take to the open highway, but not before getting the perfect song on the radio.

...found a suitable passenger

EYES ON THE ROAD...FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!

going where ever the wind may take them.

After the babies were all in bed.

Last night we were there...so pretty.

As we were packing up to come home, Harper put her hat and deflated swimmies on and was running around the house. Needless to say, she didn't want to leave either.

Home again, home again.

Harper absolutely loved being in the water. It was shallow enough that she could walk around and visit, or swim or just wander off into the open sea. I actually was able to sit and relax most of the time and watch her spread her wings, water wings that is, ha ha.

"I pink I can...I pink I can"

Last month my mom and I walked the Raleigh "Race for the Cure". Emilee was there also with a group from the hospital, so we were able to meet up and walk together. I have a bad habit of not pulling out, and some times not even bringing my camera when I know Emilee will be there with hers. Now naturally her pictures are WAY better than mine would be, however, due to her insanely busy schedule, I am at her mercy as to when I get them. I will say that they are always worth the wait and a late blog post or two isn't the end of the world.
My mom and I have done the walk together every year for the past 10 years or so, but this year we were proud to introduce our little Harper to the tradition. It was, in perfect NC style, 110 degrees that day so Harper was a little on the irritable side at the beginning. Once we got going, and she got a little breeze on her, she passed out and just enjoyed the ride. She was a much happier girl by the end of the race and gave us some great "smile for the camera" shots.

Congratulations to my mom and Missy, who are both survivors of this massively spreading disease. This year marks my mom's 10th year in remission!!

"Water...I'll come to you."

Well, Adam finally had his second day off this summer. That's right, the SECOND. At least since summer school started back in May. If he has the day off of school he has to work, and vise versa. Since these special days are such a rare occurrence, we don't waste 'em. We were invited down to Kure Beach by our friends Jim and MaryJane, our hockey friends. They are in the process of purchasing an AMAZING beach front house, and decided to stay there to allow them time for a personal inspection. It passed with flying colors.
We went down Friday night after work and came back Sunday morning. We spent just the right amount of time out on the beach (not too long), went to the Fort Fisher aquarium with Harper, then, even coerced their kids to babysit while we had some adult time. It was the best 36 hours we've spent in a long time.
Harper is definitely a girl after her mom and dad. She enjoyed the beach a lot more from the balcony. She didn't like the dry sand, the wet sand, or that eerie water that attacks without personal consent. There were times of enjoyment during dads distractions and nap time, but the overall conclusion was....Harper is a lake girl. Nice, clean, friendly lakes, with boats, and docks, and water that you come to instead of it coming to you.
Along with finding one of Harper's dislikes, we happened upon one of her likes no...loves. We went to the aquarium on a whim, questioning whether Harper would have any interest at all, and she absolutely loved it. She was attempting this adventure with a bad nights sleep, teething, and barely a 30 minute nap, there was question in the air on the sanity of our decision. She was immediately cured of her funk the second we walked in and she saw a water fountain, the fish in the next room were just icing on the cake. She plastered herself to every window she could reach, face on the glass, even knocked over a couple of kids chasing a sea bass.

The Barones don't do anything small. Jim drove down in his truck, towing his flatbed which was carrying his jeep, his new Camaro golf cart, and their new scooter.

Adam getting a handle on the scooter.

We all had the best time on our adult night out. We bar hopped to some really interesting places (hiding the fact that we were all in our 30's with kids at home). This bar was a hole in the wall. You walk in the front door, to the back of the bar where they have a walk in refrigerator, and pick your beer of choice. You then proceed to seat yourself on one of the many lawn, rocking, upholstered, or dining chairs they have as furniture. It looked like a bad garage sale but was the coolest place.

Bye Bye ocean. You are so much prettier from here.

I'm debuting in a wagon...lovely.

Story of our lives...stuck in Raleigh on a holiday weekend. That's the price you pay for working real estate. Of course, this price seemed a lot cheaper back when it was raking in the bucks, now with this market I feel like it's stealing our souls.
Blah Blah Blah, enough with the pore pitiful me, we actually had an outstanding weekend. We are very lucky to have fantastic friends that also seem to be stuck in Raleigh every 4th of July. Last year we spent the holiday with Lauren, Bryan, and their new addition, Katie. Harper was almost 4 months old, but little ol' Katie was just at the tail end of a week, so we celebrated our independence at their house.
This year, though the basic recipe was the same, we added a few more ingredients. First thing Saturday morning we packed up the wagon and brought it over to Lauren's house, decorated it, and stuck the girls in it like it was their inauguration. We then marched through the neighborhood in style and ended the morning a the pool with a popsicle in hand. Lauren, and I spent the afternoon in the pool with the girls, then we all went out to Brier Creek for the holiday festivities. Sunday night we went back over to Lauren and Bryan's for some of Bryan's famous grilled pizza and a surprisingly extravagant fireworks display in her neighborhood.
I guess as long as we have friends that are willing to stay in town with us, holiday weekends can still be salvaged.

Praising her people.

That' right...we did it. I say we have a good 4 or 5 years before they start to hate us for dressing them alike.

One year ago...

Last weekend...