Going "Green"

It was very weird for me to not be in school on St. Patrick's Day.  We have never had spring break so early that the day of green was a no school day.  I was kinda bummed that I could not wear my flashing shamrock earings, my large shamrock glasses or my green feather bowa :(  I would have looked rather silly wearing that outside of a school building :) So insteading of sitting inside, we went outside to be in the "green".

It is hard to believe that this very same hiking trail was under water less than one year ago.  In May, we had a devisting flood in Nashville. This picture show some evidence of limbs that were washed into the tree line.

Along the way we stumbled upon a creek.  If you know Boo, you know that he beelined straight for it.  We threw a few rocks in and went on our merry way.  He was all good until we had to cross this......



You can see the look of "not so sure" on his face.  He had to hold mommys hand to get across.  Nine to know that my Mr. Independant still needs me :)

 Here is Nolan with one of the MANY treasures he found along the way.  We did more stopping and starting than the average hiker I am sure.

 I love this picture.  Boo looks like he is having a relaxing stroll through the woods without a care in the world.  My wish for him is that he continues to live his childhood that way.  As a teacher, I see far to many children who carry the weight of their parent's struggles.  Lord, give the the strength and the patience to not do that to him.

 Do you notice the dirty hands and pants?  Well right before this we came to an area of "quick sand"...not really :)  We did happen upon a section that was so protected by trees that the muddy ground was still there...from rain 3 days prior!!!!  We had fun crossing.  Prehaps a little too much fun :)

 On the way back to the car, we had to cross the troll bridge again.  This time around Nolan was brave enough to go very close to the water.  When I say close, I mean he wanted to jump in.  If it were warmer, I would have let him.  Next time, I will remember to bring the puddle jumper rainboots.  As you can see he has sas.  He was great the entire 40 mintue hike, but the last 10 mintues got a little hairy...I caved.  He had a ball dipping that sas into into the creek and then........

 

sucking up the water.  Gross I know.  The creek was moving so I assumed there was not harful bacteria growing.  Boys will be boys :)

Silly Monkey

 Nolan and I went for a zoo visit over Spring Break.  Like I mentioned before, we had some great weather.  I chose this particular day to go because it was going to be a little cool...in the 60's :)  I thought that it would keep some of the zoo folks away.  I was wrong.  It was beyond crowded.  Nolan and I had a blast watching all of the crazy mamas with their even crazier children.  I swear, I saw more pregnant mothers with 3-4 children than I have ever seen before.  They all looked like death warmed over.  Better them than me :)  So, take a look at the following pictures and see if you notice anything.

 Anything?  Lack of animals, maybe?  When I got home and looked at our pics, I noticed that I took more pictures of Nolan than I did of the animals.  Ohh well.  He is the cutest little monkey you will ever see.  I did manage to get a few pics of the back of his head while he looked at some creepy crawlies :)

Crumbs, Tears, and Dirt

Over my Spring Break, Nolan and I spent an abundance of time outside.  We were lucky enough to get temps in the 70's for the majority of the week.  On Saturday of that week, Brad and I spent about 6 hours in the yard.  Since Nolan can not babysit himself inside, he spend majority of that time outside with us.  He absolutely loved it.  He explored every part of our large fenced in back yard. 

 Do you love his attire?  That's how we roll on Saturday afternoon after nap time :)

 Take a look at that face!  Boys are supposed to be covered in dirt and mud, and my little boy has not problem with that!

 Here we are having a little snack picnic after spreading 14 bags of mulch.  He worked up a good appetite!

 For the life of me, I can not remember what spurred this sudden outbreak of emotion.  Look at those tears welling up in those beautiful eyes....

...and release.  Something broke his heart so much that he could not even finish eating his graham cracker :(

Long Time No Blog

Yes, I know it has been a while.  My computer finally bit the dust after a few almost hard drive crashes.  This time was not an almost...it was a for sure.  We bought a new computer today, so the weekly blogging will commence again.  I have been picture taking as usual, so don't you worry your pretty little heads.  I have three weeks of bloggin' to do.  Check back in about 24 hours :) For now, here is a little something for you.  Nolan has learned how to feed himself with a spoon without getting it all over himself, the high chair, the floor, and the blinds :)



HE'S BAAAAAAAAAAACK!

Do you remember this guy??? http://erinbradnolan.blogspot.com/2010/12/here-kitty-kitty.html  Well, he is back!  On Sunday afternoon, our little kitty friend came back for a visit.  The last time we saw him he had a hurt little paw.  Glad to report that it seems to have healed because he was jumping all over my deck :)  Nolan immediately freaked out.  He started running towards him and arrff arrfffing at him...not kidding.  He seems to be getting his animal sounds messed up.  Example...we went to the park on Saturday and saw some doggies.  He walked right up to them (two giant black labs) and said "brrroooommmm brrroooom" (the sound he makes for any moving vehicle). 

Here is boo and his friend.  I went inside and got a bowl of water to coax him on to the deck.  I made Nolan sit down next to me and the bowl, and the little kitty walked right up to us.  He went around the back of Nolan doing that "touch you while they walk" cat thing.  Boo LOVED it, and he squealed :) 

I would not let him off the deck.  He would have followed that cat up the street.  So, we looked from afar and practiced saying "here kitty kitty" :)

After boo tried to escape a few times, we moved to the kitchen and looked out the window :)  He is a kid who pushes his limits...he gets that from someone, but I don't know who ;)