Zac Brown Limo - 143/365

This morning Reagan insisted we take Brandy outside for some fun since she didn't get to go out yesterday. She seemed to really like it and hung by Brinkley a lot. It was cute. She did eat a lot of grass in which she threw up later. Thankfully on the tile for once.

This afternoon, we were going on a limo with Ron, Rachel, Chase, Jess and a whole bunch of other people to see Zac Brown Band. We had an absolute blast. The people watching in the parking lot was insane. Drunk teenagers, guys with tank tops and stains, girls with puke. It was a freak show that's for sure. The people watching was almost better than the concert. LOL!

We had lawn seats and thankfully it was dry. We found a good spot near the back. We were sitting on the grass for about five minutes when Ron said "I'll be right back." When he got back, he had six chairs for all of us. It was so nice. He said he couldn't take it another minute on the grass. LOL!

We got home around one. It was a fun day!

While we were there, Reagan spent the evening at Grandma and Papa Greg's. They had fun and Reagan was thrilled to help Papa Greg plant his garden. They planted all kinds of stuff.

They had a really fun time together.
Great day for all.

Brandy & Brinkley enjoying the yard.

 Garden Planting

 TaDA!

 Putting out the summer flag.

The girls at the concert 

 The crew!

 Enjoying our chairs courtesy of Ron.

Spring Fun & Pancakes - 87/365

Jim was up early and back at pancakes today!
He said that they've been really busy which is great! It's a huge fundraiser for Rotary, so they are proud!
While he was doing that, Reagan, Nana and I took a ride over to the Eastwood Mall. They were having a bunch of Spring activities this weekend.
They had the Leann Smith, the author of, The Winning Garden there. She was such a sweet lady. She gave Reagan a ladybug ring and signed her book! She also held a story time where she read the book. The kids loved it!
Also in that area, they had fairy garden displays and the kids were able to plant some seeds in a plastic cup to take home. Reagan loves planting, so she was thrilled!
After that, we headed over to Firebirds to have some lunch. We hadn't eaten over there for awhile, so it was a nice treat!
We ended our afternoon at the Butterfly House. It's always fun to visit a butterfly exhibit. Reagan was being a little shy this time with holding the butterflies. She didn't want them on her hand, but she let them sit on her sweater. Nana and I had fun though! LOL!
It was a nice afternoon, enjoying the indoor Spring, even if we can't do it outside yet!

Pancakes!

 Reagan and Leann

 Reagan and Rosebud

Planting her seeds

Reagan and her butterfly friend.

 

Golf Course Cutie - 259/365

Today, I was going to do some chores around the house and do a little photo organizing, so Reagan was going to spend the day with Nana. Jim had a typical day at work.

Reagan and Nana started their day at Bob Evan's for a Piggy Pancake, which has turned into a Bear pancake. Reagan was a little disappointed, but I guess they managed to form it into a piggy. So that made her happy.

The spent some time watering the flowers which is one of Reagan's favorite things to so. She loves it!

This evening, Nana, Papa and Reagan went over to Tippy for dinner. She got all dressed up and even stole Nana's wallet on the way over! LOL! 

After dinner, they took a ride on Cindy's golf cart. Reagan was loving her fuzzy club covers and pink stripes on her bag. They had a great time!

The first picture is Reagan doing some watering.

 Next, Reagan after she swiped Nana's wallet.

 Finally, Reagan loving on Cindy's golf bag. 

Garden Friday - Bees - 205/365

It was family garden Friday again!

This week the topic was bees. I was a little afraid, since I got stung last year while at the garden. LOL!

We went down and they had lots of fun activities for the kids. They had a little bowling game where they made two liter bottles into bees and they were using a cabbage as a ball. Reagan loved it.

They, of course, planted their weekly flower to bring home. Reagan is loving filling the garden with her plants.

Finally, they made lovely bee craft. Reagan was so proud of hers! Nana and I were excited because they had samples of the honey that the garden's bees made. It was SO delicious!!! We had to go in the main building and buy some! It seriously was THAT good!

Bee Bowling

 Planting

 Bee project!

Nature Hour, Garden Day, Tim McGraw - 157/365

Today started with Reagan's, Children's Nature Hour Class at the Ford Nature Center. 

The topic today was "under a log." They were going to learn about all the creepy crawly stuff that lives under logs. They sang their song and read their book We then went into the woods, to look under logs, to see what we could find! They loved it and even Reagan, who is a little skittish around bugs, was into it. They found potato bugs, spiders, slugs, and even a salamander it was so cool! They all just loved the little salamander!  

 When we were done with that, we went back up to the Nature Center to make our craft. They were making a little salamander out of pipe cleaners. It was too, too cute! Reagan carried him everywhere the rest of the day. 

After Nature Hour we headed over to Fellows for Family Garden Friday. They had a lot going on! They had big buckets with bubble solution, limbo, a parachute to sing around. They also got to plant a cucumber to bring home and learned about each part of a plant. It was a great time! Reagan had a ball! 

This evening, Jim and I were off to see Tim McGraw at First Niagara in Pittsburgh! We stopped for dinner at the Shale on the was down. We just love that little place and it's an awesome stopping place on the way to Burgettstown, since their isn't much down there. 

We got to the concert a bit early, so we had some drinks in this patio area. Finally, it was time for Tim! We had AWESOME seats right down by the catwalk. It was great. He was standing RIGHT there the WHOLE time! 

He put on a fabulous show, although he was a bit grumpy about his IFB. He kept ripping it out and putting it back in. Eventually, he ripped it so hard that the plastic tip that sits in your ear, went flying! Yikes! 

A funny thing that happened was, during Indian Outlaw, a young girl dressed head to toe in an Indian costume, hopped right up on stage behind him. He was singing at his stationary microphone and NEVER even saw her before the security guard took her off the stage. It was too funny! 

The best thing that happened was, Tim was bending down, shaking people's hands while he was singing on song. There were people on both sides of the catwalk, so he had his back to us. There was a kid right up at the catwalk, on our side, waving his beer around and actually spilled a little bit on Tim. Tim turned around, gently took the beer off the kid and then tossed the whole thing in his face. They kid was SOAKED and was in total shock! It was HILARIOUS!!! 

It was quite the eventful show. Awesome, too! We had a blast! 

Reagan was going to spend the night with Nana and Papa. They ended up having dinner at Johnny's, then went to Yumberries for dessert! Reagan was thrilled! 

Great day for everyone!  

First Reagan and her salamander...

Next, her and her friend Lydia planting their cucumbers.

Next, Tim McGraw

Finally, Papa and Reagan enjoying their Yumberries

Creeper Morning and Family Garden Day - 143/365

This morning, we went to get Reagan up for the day. We had to wake her up, which never results in a great mood. LOL! This morning, she REFUSED to come out of her room. It was so weird. Finally, we would just leave, go in our room and watch down the hall. She would slightly peek her head around the corner to see where we went. When she would see us, she would quickly retreat back to her room. She did this for at least 15 minutes. I went downstairs to grab my camera and layed down on the floor in our room pointing down the hall. I said, "OK, daddy and I are going to play cupcakes, (her favorite game) we;ll see you later!" She finally came crawling out of her room at a pretty good clip. When she saw the camera, she zoomed back into her room. 

She eventually came around and was pleasant the rest of the day, thank goodness!

This afternoon, we went to our first Family Garden Friday for 2014. We had to miss the first two, but we were glad to be back now. Uncle Raymond even joined us today! It was fun!

They were learning all about worms today. Reagan was brave and held a few, but not without a few squeals.  It was cute! She loved digging for them though! 

They were also planting sunflowers today. Reagan is a pro at planting and had her's done in no time! 

 We also got to take a few tulip bulbs home. I can't wait to see if they come up next year! Reagan had fun digging through the bulbs to select the perfect one.

The first picture is our little creeper....

The next is our little worm catcher...

Finally, her with her sunflower...

  

Lemonade Purchase - 117/365

This evening I was getting ready to mow, when I noticed the neighborhood kids had set up a lemonade stand on the corner across the street. I went in the house, grabbed some money and Reagan. Jim and I sent her over all by herself to get a cup. She was so proud of herself. It was her first transaction. Lol! She did forget to give them the money, so we had to send her back over. It was too cute. The kids didn't even question her. She loved the lemonade, too! 

We also noticed today, her plants in her princess greenhouse, SHOT UP. Seriously, they were barely peeking out of the dirt this morning, and by this evening, they were an inch tall. They are cosmos, which are known to grow fast, but my goodness! She loves checking out her plants everyday. They are all doing well. 

The photo of the day is Reagan after her purchase. 

Next, her amazingly fast growing plants...

 

Attack of the Bees - 214/365

Today was buzzing with excitement! 

 Reagan started with Gymnastics. She used her "flying to Alaska" again, and was mad there was no popsicles. It was the third week in a row, she's asked for one. Poor thing...LOL! 

After Gymnastics, Nana, Reagan and I went back down to Fellows Riverside Garden, for family day. This week, the theme was spiders. She started out making a paper spider. She was so into it and pretty much did the whole thing herself. I was so proud of her! 

The kids also got to make a web for their spider. They put a black piece of paper in a Tupperware container. Then, squirted a little white paint on the paper. Next, they placed three little balls in there, rolled them all around, spreading the paint. It was so cute. 

After we did our craft, we hung it up to dry and headed into the garden. We saw two bee keepers near the bee hive so we walked over there to watch them. The hive is behind glass, so we felt pretty safe. We were watching them, when suddenly they were all around the garden. One kinda buzzed by my ear and felt like it got stuck in my hair. I instinctively swatted him away. I said, "OK, they seem pretty upset. I'm done with the bees" and started walking away toward another part of the garden. Didn't the damn bee follow me and kept dive bombing my head!!! I kept moving around and swatting, he would NOT go away. At this point, I'm doing quite the "jig" and wailing. It was horrible. It got stuck in my hair twice! Finally, I felt the "sting" and it was over. That little bastard got me right on my neck, under my ear! OUCH!! 

This nice lady, who goes every week, came flying over with an ice pack and put it right on my neck. She was like "Oh my god. Are you OK? That was crazy!" She happened to know a lot about bees, because her son does beekeeping for 4H. She said honeybees usually aren't that aggressive. We talked to her for a few minutes, when ANOTHER bee came dive bombing my head! This one got stuck in my hair, too! The same nice lady pulled it out. I finally said, "OK, I'm OUT of here all together" and hurried straight to the car.  By the time we were in the car, the bump was starting to form from the sting. OUCH! 

After we fled the scene, we decided to have lunch at LaRocca's in Poland. We were 1/2 way there when I realized my lens cap must have fallen out of my pocket while I was dancing with the bee. After lunch, we had to go back down to the garden to see if we could find it. The nice bee lady was still there, said she found it, and put it up in the main building. How sweet! We talked to her a few more minutes and she told us, the "queen bee" had died, so that can make the bees extra aggressive. Nice!

 I myself was curious about the bees, so I did a little reading when I got home. I read that when a bee stings it releases an "attack" pheromone which attracts other bees if the hive is threatened. The tend to go for dark colors, the head, and hair. Well, I was batting 1000 then. Those bees should know...I didn't kill the QUEEN! WTF! 

Before we left the garden, Reagan got to plant her spider plant, that she didn't get to do the first time around. She just loves growing things. This will be extra special for her, because it's an indoor plant she can watch all year. 

 All in all, I'm OK and it's my first sting since I was a teeny bopper. I hope I don't get another for awhile! 

This evening, Jim and I went for a walk around the neighborhood. I also, made enchilada zucchini boats for dinner...YUM!   

The photo of the day is the bee hive and my sting site...

 The next is Reagan and her spider plant....

Slip and Slide - 196/365

It was another HOT one today! Low 90's again! 

Nana, Reagan, Brinkley and I started out on the Kirk Road trail. Brinkley was feeling pretty hot I think, I felt bad for him. He got some doggie ice cream when we got back! He loved it! 

 After we dropped him off, we went out to Haus Cider Mill to get some more peaches. My mom got some the other day and said they were fabulous. I ended up getting some, too! I have to say, they WERE fabulous! I ended up eating two today! 

Next, we had some lunch at the Dutch Hause. Reagan seems to be getting excited about the cruise, because she made Nana draw her four or five cruise ships today on the place mats. 

 After lunch, we met Becky to give her some fabric for a few custom items for the cruise for Reagan! YAY! 

When Jim got home from work, we went for a walk around the neighborhood; we have no idea why. We were dying of heat and sweating up a storm! We only took Brinkley down to the end of one caul-de-sac and back. The heat was just too much for him! 

After our walk, we played in Reagan's splash pool. She loves putting her little slide on the one side and sliding down into the water. I had filled it up right before her nap, so the water would be a good temperature by the time she used it.  She probably went down that slide a million times. She went down on her butt, tummy, backwards...she did it all! She LOVED it! 

We noticed yesterday, that Reagan's famous tomato plant finally had some tomatoes!! YAY! It's amazing how well they are doing! She planted them herself and now they are taller than her! I wanted to take my macro lens and get some cool shots of her first tomatoes, so after swimming, we took a walk back and visited them...LOL! 

We're having such fun growing our own food, that we decided we want to try something new every year. We decided our major crop next year will be pumpkins. Jim said, we could probably win the biggest pumpkin at the fair. We shall see....LOL! 

 The photo of the day is a collage of Reagan going down our version of the slip and slide! 

 The next is Reagan's first tomatoes...

Tomato Transfer - 183/365

Nothing overly exciting happened today. 

We started at music class for Reagan, then ran to Hobby Lobby and lunch with Nana. 

We got back home and I was going to do some yard work. Nana stuck around to help and keep an eye on Reagan. Turns out, Josh from next door came over and wanted to play with Reagan, so they went back to the playset and played for quite awhile! He is just SO GOOD with her. I could see him being a babysitter for us one day. He's such a sweet kid! 

While in the midst of yard work, I finally got around to transplanting our tomato plants. We had bought a kids tomato kit at Walmart early in the Spring. We got it all ready and Reagan actually planted the little seeds all by herself. A few days later, we had sprouts! When I planted all my flowers at the end of May, I moved them from the window sill starter tray, into a bigger pot out on the deck. When I transplanted them, I didn't give them a fighting chance. They had turned a little yellow and they just looked like they were on their last leg. I actually ALMOST said, "forget it" and tossed them. It was a week or so later, I was at Walgreen's for something else, when I happened to see some vegetable fertilizer on an end-cap. I thought, "what the heck, let's give it a whirl!" I went home and gave them a sprinkle! It wasn't no time, those freaking tomatoes TOOK OFF! They are HUGE!! I had got them a tomato cage at Petitti's and up until today, I just had it upside down, around them on the deck. Today, I FINALLY transplanted them to their permanent home in the back mulch bed. I hope they continue to do good back there! They are just starting to flower, so hopefully, real tomatoes aren't that far behind. It's so fun growing from a seed and seeing how they do! 

When Jim got home from work, we took a little walk around the neighborhood. We stopped up at Ron and Rachel's new house for awhile and chatted with them. It's weird to see them up the street! The new neighbors across from us have started to move in. They were in and out all day. We haven't had a chance to talk with them yet, but hopefully soon! 

The photo of the day is Reagan's transplanted tomato plants...

Playing, Picking, Crabby & Chesney - 171/365

Busy day today, again! 

 It started with a visit from Aunt JoAnn and Bridget. JoAnn had never seen the playroom and wanted to see the new play set, so they stopped over for a visit. The girls had a good time playing. Bridget was so great with Reagan! Brinkley was happy to see Aunt JoAnn, too. He wouldn't leave her alone! 

After our visit, we went and dropped Brinkley off at his beauty appointment. 

While he was there, my mom and I went over to Toys R Us to see about getting Reagan a small sandbox. She loves the sand! They ended up having a cute one, shaped like a crab. We got to the counter and paid. The lady said in the walkie talkie, "I need one crabby sandbox please!" After a few minutes, she said, "we're out of crabby sandboxes." Which made us crabby...LOL! They ended up having a bunch in Niles, so we just swung over there to pick one up! 

We got back to the house and got it all set up! It's so cute and Reagan LOVES it! 

Before we went in, Reagan helped water some flowers. We noticed that our first strawberry was finally bright red! YAY! Reagan picked it and then we sampled it. I have to say, it was great! We are all about strawberries this summer! :) 

Then, it was time to get ready for the Kenny Chesney concert! Woo hoo! 

Jim had his last Rotary Board meeting, before they switch presidents this weekend. This president always held his meetings at night, so Jim wasn't going to be around to watch Reagan. Papa, so sweetly, volunteered to play with Reagan until Jim got home, so we could get going to the concert! How wonderful!
 Nana, Papa, Reagan and I ended up having dinner at Nicolini's. 

After dinner, my mom and I headed to the concert and papa and Reagan went back to the house to play. They played in the sand and on the play set. Reagan even got papa to go down the blue slide! They had a great time together! So great, that when Jim got home, Reagan look at him and said, "Dada, go back to work. I want to play with papa!" LMAO!
We got to Blossom with no problems and the concert was FABULOUS! He had an awesome set, with huge HD video screens! It was amazing! He really is such a wonderful entertainer! He NEVER stops! He runs back and forth on that stage like a mad man. He couldn't give anymore if he wanted to, he's fantastic! We hadn't got to see him in a few years because he had been doing the bigger stadium tours. We went to a couple and the atmosphere stinks. We decided we would only see him if he did Blossom or First Niagara.  So happy he came back around! We had a great time!
 The photo of the day is Kenny. I forgot my camera, so this is an awful iPhone photo. :(

Here is Aunt JoAnn getting some "love" from Brinkley...she was cracking up!

The next is Reagan in her new Crabby Sandbox....

And finally, the first of our own strawberries and Reagan doing the first "pick"...

 

Planting Posies - 142/365

Today was finally planting day! 

 It was gorgeous and not overwhelmingly hot, thank goodness! 

Jim's mom and my mom both came over around nine, to lend a hand! Jim's mom was going to hang out with Reagan and my mom was going to help me plant. Thank goodness for both of them, because, they day couldn't have gone any smoother. 

 I have flowers pretty much everywhere. I do two begonia borders in the mulch beds in the front and one border in the back. I do a ton of pots with mixed flowers and sprinkle them about the porch, deck and yard. It's a bitch to water come mid-July, but it's so worth it to see all the beautiful color around the yard. I do a lot of reds and deep pinks. I just love how the red really "pops" from the street. 

We got the begonia borders in relatively quick, then, it was on to the pots. Grandma, Reagan and Brinkley came out to visit while we were finishing the pots. Reagan loved lending a hand. She pulled out her little garden cart, put on her little garden gloves, grabbed her little digger, little rake and went to work. She was having a good time! Brinkley just supervised! 

My mom and I, had everything mostly done by 12:30. I realized, I surprisingly, needed a couple more pots and a couple more plants. I was also ready to upgrade my two pots on the front porch, too, so we hit Petitti's. We also made a pit stop at Bob Evan's and enjoyed the chicken salad plate with fruit...YUM! 

We got back to the house and got right back to work. By this time, Reagan was napping, so Jim's mom headed home to do her own yard work. My mom and I got the rest of the pots done, but it was starting to look like some storms were trying to rev up. I wanted to try to get the grass done before any rain came. I hopped on the rider, while my mom, offered to listen to the monitor and get the last begonia border in. SWEET! 

I buzzed around the yard pretty quickly for a change, NO CLUMPS! Yee haw! After the grass, I finally sent my mom on her way, after she put in a 9-5 work day...LOL! 

By this time, I was a FILTHY, SWEATY mess, so I decided to just keep going and try to build Reagan's, Step 2, double slide, climber thing. Nana and Papa had got it for her awhile back, but we hadn't put it together. Jim took Reagan and Brinkley for a walk, while I braved the construction! I love to build stuff like that. Jim offered to help, but he doesn't have the patience and we just end up sniping at each other...LOL! I figured, I would just try it alone and if I needed help, he would be more than happy to help, but I got it together all by myself! It really wasn't that bad! It only took about 45 minutes! Woohoo! 

They got done with their walk and were nice enough to the store to get me iced tea! I was craving iced tea after being outside all day. When they came home, Jim brought me my tea and we just sat and watched Reagan play on the climber. It was a nice way to end the day! 

Thanks, Nana and Grandma for all your help today! I really appreciate it!

 You guys are the best! ♥ 

The photo of the day is the planting station....

The extra pic is Reagan on her new double slide climber....