Hillbilly Days 2009!

This post is a little late in coming... Dad had these images captured on his camera from April. Now that I am home visiting, I thought it would be a good time to steal them from him to post!

The day before Hillbilly Days began, I came home to pick up Sarah from an extended stay with the grandparents. I decided to revisit my young days and take Sarah to her very first Hillbilly Days before going back home. Pikeville holds a Shriner's festival called Hillbilly Days each spring. The first year of the festival was the year I was born (wouldn't you like to know...). It gets bigger each year. I have skipped it the past few years, and I was surprised at how great the rides were! The festival always occurs the third week in April, and you never know what type of weather you will see. We woke up to overcast cool weather, but Sarah was determined to hit the rides no matter the temperature. We zipped her up and off we went.

Saying she was pumped to see these rides is a big understatement!

I know Sarah will be a coaster enthusiast when she gets bigger. There wasn't a ride she was allowed on that she did not take full advantage. Here are the speed boats.

She especially enjoyed the "4 wheelers" since she loves her Papaw's so much!

She has been on boats before but not bumper boats. She couldn't quite get the hang of the steering wheel. She turned in circles screaming "I'm dizzy" and smiling the whole time!

This ride reminded her of the magic carpet ride at Disney World. I wondered if she would be scared flying high all alone...


No need to fear, she had a blast!


As usual, she loved the slides
Now off to the booths with yummy food!


Sarah especially enjoyed the gigantic corn dog!

It definitely was a tale of two days... While we were eating, the clouds parted, the sun shined and it became a perfect 70 degrees!

Sarah was quite interested in the gigantic snake across the street from where we stopped to eat. Yuck!

Our park used to hold hundreds of booths. Now they are in the parking garage which gives everyone room to spread out and listen to some bluegrass music. The cool morning weather had kept the big crowds away for the first day of the festival. It was great! No crowds to fight!

Sarah made a friend on the playground in the park. Check out Mom's Hillbilly attire!


Mom is not the only one who dresses up at Hillbilly Days. Shriners come from far and wide for this!

Sarah and her Mamaw. She looooves the mountains!
This was a really fun trip. I am going to try and get her back here as much as possible for the event each year. Next year will be a little more interesting with an infant and a 4 year old!

Till next time,

Sarah's Preschool Graduation Ceremony 2009

Time really does seem to fly! It seems like yesterday that I sent my little one to her first day of preschool. I am so thankful that I did. She had a wonderful year of making new friends, learning about letters, numbers, days of the week, science, music, and so many other wonderful things. Every Tuesday, Sarah was so ready to put on her clothes and strap on her backpack for another great day of adventure. Now summer is upon us and school is over. We had one last ceremony to make it official. Sarah's preschool has a graduation and promotion ceremony for every student at the preschool. Our first attempt at showcasing Sarah's talents on stage didn't go so well (see the Thanksgiving play post last fall), but she was determined to get up on stage and make a go of it again. Many members of our family came to support her in the audience.

Mom (aka Mammaw from the mountains) was there.

Amy and Chris's mom (aka Mamaw from the street) came as well. (Uncle Jason is in the background working on the AV for the ceremony). Here is the whole family anxiously anticipating the show.

Here are the proud 4 and 5 year old graduates. Aren't they cute?

My little cutie made her way onto the stage as well. How will this turn out? Only time will tell. The whole gang is on stage and stage fright is setting in.
Sarah is now in Ms. Christy's arms. I am determined not to go up on stage. I want her to work out her fears this time.
The masks must have made her feel just comfortable enough to strut her stuff. From that song on, she was ready to show off! Yeah! Stage fright won a battle but Sarah won the war. I am a proud mommy.


Video footage of Sarah actually singing on stage! Sorry for the sound, this camera really has virtually no mic.

Our family. Check out the look of pride on her face.




Here is Sarah with Payton, a girl who goes to the same babysitter. Sarah idolizes this girl. She even mimic her manner of speaking. How cute!



Sarah, Payton, and Kylie (Sarah's baby sitter's granddaughter). We feel so blessed to have found such a safe and wonderful environment for Sarah to grow in her book knowledge as well as love for the Lord. Thanks Joan and thanks Preschool teachers. We look forward to another great year in the fall!

10 Years Together!

Believe it or not, it has been 10 years since Chris and I said "I do". We have been dating or married for more than 16 years (approximately half our lives!). We are truly soul mates and I cannot imagine my life with anyone else. Although I had always envisioned a trip to Hawaii or Europe for our 10th anniversary, the pregnancy and the economy put a halt to those dreams this time around. We made due with a wonderful weekend trip to the Smokey Mountains. We have found a little slice of Heaven in Townsend, Tennessee, just between Pigeon Forge and
Cad es Cove. We climbed a mountain for a couple of miles and we found a group of gorgeous cabins overlooking the whole area. We felt like we are the only ones on earth when we sat on the porch or gazed out the large windows. It had three floors, one bedroom, a pool table, and a huge front porch. This was our second trip here, but it definitely won't be our last. Check out the views below.

I could stand here for hours just looking at God's creation.


We definitely could characterize this trip as a visit to the Smokies. The fog hung in the mountains for the majority of our trip.



Though we never used the pool, it sure looks beautiful against the mountain backdrop. This covered porch area is used for weddings. How beautiful would that be!




We stayed at the Preserve. We stayed here last summer and it is honestly the most beautiful and relaxing place I have ever been while visiting the smokies. We look forward to many more visits here.



On day 2, we woke up to rain so we piddled around until noon and went for a movie. When we left the theater, we actually saw sunshine! We decided to walk around a small barbecue festival and listen to some bluegrass.

After the festival, we went to the Apple Barn for supper. Then we walked across the road to walk the banks of the creek and relax during the 5 hours of sunshine we had on this trip.


A mommy duck and her babies had the same idea.

This is the stream across the road from the Apple Barn. When I find places like this, I like to fantasize that I am walking in my backyard. The sounds are so relaxing.

Although this is not a flattering photo for me, I decided to sacrifice and post this to show you my growing tummy. I have virtually NO photos of me pregnant with Sarah (I wonder why?) and I decided that this time I would better document my hugeness. Who knows, this photo may make me feel better when I start losing weight after October.


What a needed weekend! It was a great time for us to rest and reconnect. We have a pretty big year ahead of us! I will cherish these memories of alone time with my hubby. Happy Anniversary honey!

Baby Shower for Ashley

Ashley and Jason are getting so close to welcoming baby number one into their lives. I cannot believe how time has flown! Brandy and other church members threw her a wonderful baby shower a couple of weeks ago.

Brandy has been taking cake decorating classes and opted to make Ashley's cake rather than buying one. Isn't it beautiful? I know, I have a thing for photographing (and eating) cakes. But not creating them! I will leave this to the professionals.

Ashley had a great turnout. Many friends and family members attended to celebrate baby McReynolds.





Ashley and Brandy are so close. It must be nice having a sister. They seem to have a special bond.

She got so many gifts that once opened, it took three tables to display them all!

We are very excited to welcome a new young lady into the family. I cannot wait to find out what they are naming her! Good luck guys.

Spring Fun

Hello again,

Although few and far between, I have managed to put together a few days that I felt like taking Sarah out of the house and connecting with the world at large! We usually like to spend our spring days at the playground, but thanks to mother nature, dry days have been scarce. We decided a couple of weeks ago to try out the Explorium for a few hours. It has been many months since we visited here and boy, this time was so different. We used to spend the bulk of our time in the toddler play area. Now Sarah is much more interested in the "big kid" activities like standing inside giant bubbles and playing music on a footstep piano. She had a blast and talked about it for days. Here are a few highlights from the day.

Sarah loves water play. She was more interested this time in seeing the area "flood" when I turned the knobs to release water into the "river".

She loved the riverboat. She pretended to be floating herself.



Happy Sarah!





We have been on this horse numerous times, but this is the first time she really cared. She had just watched the Kentucky Derby (and picked Mine That Bird to win I might add). When "her" horse won, she became infatuated with horses.





Lovin' the horse.

This was her first trip to the Explorium. Boy has she grown. I get teary eyed just thinking about it.

What a scary photo! Not only is Sarah inside a giant mouth, there are two Sarahs!

Even she is running away!

+

This was the part she couldn't wait to see. She wanted to check out the moon. She was unsure at first, but once I stepped on, she had no problem joining in the fun.

My little astronaut. I will cherish these memories of Mommy Daughter time, just the two of us. Life is about to change forever soon!
Later,