Got To Be NC Festival

Now that Finn is big enough to interact, we’re always on the lookout for fun things to do together as a family. Matt heard about the Got to Be NC Festival on Friday night and immediately emailed me to see if I’d be up for going the next day. Of course! It was like a mini version of the N.C. State fair, specifically for smaller children and it was so much fun! It was not nearly as crowded and overwhelming as the fair, and much more child-friendly. Kenna went almost completely silent when we first walked into the fairgrounds and she saw all the fun rides!

(I had to laugh when we pulled up and Finn had managed to completely conk out in the 2 minutes between when we parked the car and when we got the stroller out. He’s just so darn cute!)

 We started off gently with a little strawberry ride, which of course, she was thrilled about because of her current love of Strawberry Shortcake (the tv show). Waiting in line to ride in a giant spinning strawberry:

Finn was all smiles when we got him set up in the stroller. There was just so much fun stuff to look at!

We lucked out that Papa and Mimi were in town meeting our new niece, Ella. They came with us to enjoy our day at the festival!

Mimi could not resist the smell of the giant turkey legs cooking… just one ended up being enough to feed her, Papa, Matt and Kenna! Finn definitely got a few bites too.

Kenna’s second choice of rides was a mini version of the fairground swings that go wider, higher and faster as the ride progresses. I was not sure how she’d handle it (and was silently saying prayers that she didn’t somehow slide out of the bottom and get flung out of it!) but she held on tight and absolutely LOVED it. She ended up riding it twice more before we left! It was totally worth it for the super big grin she had the entire time.

Matt and I were so impressed at how brave she was on the rides, especially a really fast one she rode with Papa. She seems so little to me still, but I have to admit sometimes that she is really growing up so fast and I’m constantly amazed at how much she can handle. We were so proud!

 Our favorite part of the day was the petting zoo where you could pet the animals up close and feed them by hand! That two dollar cup of animal feed might have been the best two dollars we’ve ever spent! I think I loved feeding and petting all the baby cows, sheep, goats, alpacas, and deer as much as Kenna did! They were all super sweet and gentle and seemed to love being fed snacks and loved on so much.

These little baby cows were SO soft! Much softer than the sheep, which was surprising to me! Petting their little ears was like pettting a puppy.

 This little goat very nearly needed to come home with us. He was SO sweet!

 The highlight of the trip for Matt was where we stopped for lunch- the Pig Jig was a section of tents/booths where local Masonic lodges had each made their best barbecue and were competing against each other… for ten bucks you got an all-you-can-eat plate to try them all out! We stuffed ourselves trying to find the best NC barbecue, and had hush puppies, coleslaw, lemonade, and even a piece of homemade pound cake to round it out.

Surprisingly for a three year old, Kenna absolutely loves barbecue- this was her second plate! The silly face was because she had just dumped a water bottle down her shirt. We lost count of how many hush puppies Finn ate!

 After walking through more of the festival and seeing more of the vendors and booths, we stopped by the Jim Graham building to see the Fiber Arts part of  the festival (mostly a craft show of sorts with local yarns and wool for sale). It was mostly a pit stop for bathrooms, air conditioning, and a chance to get out of the sun, but Kenna did get the chance to learn how to spin wool roving into yarn with a really cool homemade spinning wheel. She seems to have caught an interest in handmade/crafty things from somewhere...

 We had promised Kenna some ice cream, so on the way out we found the homemade NC ice cream booth… unfortunately the NC State ice cream wasn’t there like it normally is at the fair. Somehow Daddy got stuck holding everybody’s cones while Kenna took one last ride on the “big swings.”

 

 Waiting to give the man her tickets because she's apparently grown now. Where did my little girl go?

 What a fun, fun day! We'll definitely be on the lookout for this festival again next year!

The best email I've ever received

Lind emailed me at work last night to tell me the following conversation took place. My heart swelled with thankfulness for my wife's patience and constant teaching and for God's grace to all of us to be able to know him. Here's what transpired:


kenna reading her bible to her piggy: (as verbatim as i could get it, scribbling fast)

"Jesus has to fix our hearts
not be bad
but be good
sometimes we be sad or angry
that's why we have to learn about Jesus
it fixes our hearts happy, not sad.
we don't say oh my god.
we never say shut up.
oh, you not heard Jesus alive?
Jesus alive!
i think everybody love to herrr. (hear)"

I love her precious heart!

Pictures in the Park.

I'm finally trying to finish up blogging some older photos we have, so these are from back on October! If you haven't read the story of the heirloom red boots, start here...

I realized this fall that as Kenna was about to turn 3, if I didn't take a picture of her wearing the red boots and little blue dress that my mom made and saved, neither would fit her anymore! In the hubbub of late pregnancy and newborn days with Finn, I almost missed it. I still regret not taking them sooner, but thankfully, she was happy to squish into them (maybe one last time? Tears.) and we added leggings under the dress that was short on me at 2 years old, and very short on Kenna at almost 3 years old!

So here I am in the dress and boots:
And here's my pretty girl in them:
Apparently Kenna is a bit taller than Mommy was when I wore them (even with little jeans bloomers on underneath!) The weather was beautiful, and Kenna had so much fun being the center of Mommy's attention with the camera. I think she can tell there's something special about these boots. I just let her run and play and be silly with her little suitcase.
That bright red tongue is proof that her Momma may or may not have bribed her with candy for a good smile in the photos. Shhhhh.

And the beautiful red curls are all Kenna's own, her trademark.
We added some little "jeggings" to cover up those long legs. I think she looks like something out of a Sundance catalog here... she may have missed her calling as a model! Carrying around her favorite little "cutecase" as she calls it.
We were having so much fun that little brother wanted in on the action! (Truth be told, he needed his diaper changed and was getting antsy in the stroller.) We seriously have some baby models in the family.
Kenna sat down with him and I didn't do a thing other than just click away as they played together. These are some of the sweetest sibling photos we have of them so far. They absolutely melt my heart every time I look at them. Love them so.
I found one of those free canvas deals online and have this one printed on a little 8x10 art canvas in our living room. Love it!

Our Long Valentine's Day/Week

Due to Matt having to work on Valentine's Day, we had to celebrate the holiday on the following weekend. In the week leading up to Valentine's Day, Mimi sent Kenna and Finn homemade muffins all the way from Orlando, Fl. How sweet is that?!

On Valentine's Day we exchanged cards and the kids found lots of sweet surprises and ate entirely too much candy. We even got to stop by Matt's Mom and Dad's office for some sweet Valentine's Day cuddles, candy and fun before heading to lunch at IHOP. Kenna saw her Nana and took off running for her across the office. It's so much fun to see her enjoy her grandparents so much!

IHOP was a huge hit for everyone since we all got to eat delicious pancakes and enjoy each other's company before Matt had to head to work.

Finn loves pancakes just as much as his sister and Kenna thought it was so cool to get all dolled up in pink and draw hearts on the papers with her Momma. She's such a sweet, girly girl.

Later that week, after Lindsey went to a baby shower at church on Sunday for some friends, we got the opportunity to go see The Miss Firecracker Contest at Raleigh Little Theatre for a date without the kids. Then we got to eat at Winston's Grill for dinner! It was nice to be able to leave the kids at home and be able to go out and eat a full meal focusing our full attention on each other. It was lovely, to say the least.

That wouldn't have been possible without the help of Matt's Mom and Dad watching the kids. When we came to pick them up, we found them quite content.

And the kids had a pretty good time too. :)