Dollar flip flops at Old Navy
My little ones feet
new summer shoes in summer colors
new fabric for a wrap skirt
24 new summer napkins for $6
I asked Joey's parent's for gift cards to Monkey Joe's for the boy's for Christmas that are good for ten visits. I wanted something that they could do through out the year. My boy's don't need any more toys. They like for us to be able to go and do on the weekends so gift cards to go places are great. The boys ran and bounced around, while Joey and I did some of our favorite things.... I read and he stared off into space. We had a birthday party for a little friend on Sunday that we needed to buy a gift for. We went to the Learning Express to pick out a treat for him. Oh yeah....Shrinky Dinks and a Melissa and Doug puzzle. Now that will make for a good afternoon.
The birthday party was four hours of mini golf, bumper boats, go carts (I forgot how fun that is), pizza & cake , and games. Rented some Red Box movies on the way home and called it a weekend.
As we came up over the hill on our way home the sunset was breath taking. It was literally setting before our eyes. I wanted to drive to the lake to watch it go down but it was gone within minutes. We all winced a little as it slipped behind the trees.
Monday was all about getting things back in order. Laundry, cooking, cleaning, coupon clipping, and such. Joey helped me make grape pops for the freezer. They are so yummy. I think it should be yummie.... because anything that ends in that sound I think should be spelled "ie". Tubbie, tummie, Mummie, it's just cuter. The boy's call me Mummie and I love it. I would have made my blog Pink Potato Mummie but I was assured that no one would find it that way. It will always be right that way in my head. :)
I made soup with some of the veggies from our CSA. It was zucchini, squash, green pepper, onion, carrot, tomato, tomato juice, and brown rice with some chicken broth. After it was cooked I put it in the blender until smooth and then mixed in a cup of tomato sauce and some basil and rosemary from my garden. ( garlic salt & pepper) It turned out like creamy tomato soup which is exactly what I told everyone it was. Sprinkled with parm cheese and they loved it! (I explained all of the ingredients after everyone had finished.) Tomato soup that's really got it all in there. Yummie :)
This is what my house smelled like yesterday. Warm and smeared with butter, so good. I love baking bread. It's good for the spirit.
The sky was beautiful as we were leaving the farm. Not a great picture - I was hanging out the truck window.
There are eight small heads of romaine lettuce under all those carrot greens.
I started this post last night in bed and proceeded to fall sound asleep with the laptop on my lap. I had taken the dog out and the full moon was mesmerizing, so I thought I would share the view. It is now 12:40 and I am just getting to this today. Once again.....that's the way we roll around here. I have a bunch of end of the vacation pictures to share and tales to tell......soon, really.....promise. My sister is just the coolest gal around as I have said before. She has a great family and could share so much good stuff. IF SHE WOULD ONLY START A BLOG!!!! Pretty, pretty please with a big blob of peanut butter on top. 
Lunch at a cool little Irish Pub in downtown Asheville. Wicked fried pickles and fish & chips. I'm an Irish gal for those who don't know. Mostly Irish with a little sprinkle of other things. This is my maiden name in Gaelic.
Little man at the Mast General Store. Oh boy I could have gone nuts in that place, but no, I got things for the boys and others. I have been saying no to buying in true "Story of Stuff" fashion. The desire to buy has subsided. Everything I look at I first ask myself do I really NEED it???(most likely no) And second, can I make it myself???? Usually yes. I would love to be completely debt free, so this helps. Note: Nothing good at any of the Goodwills. I am looking for Pyrex dishes and when I didn't find them.....I didn't buy anything else.
We went to the Western Carolina Farmers Market today. What a great place. We bought a few things to go along with some goodies in the cooler and had a cozy rainy day picnic in the truck. Jalapeno pickled eggs, cukes, Havarti with dill, and hot veggie mix - mmmm, mmmm good. I could have gone crazy with some of the cheeses.
We literally drove out of the rain. It was great. Those hopeful sun beams again. It's fun to be in Tennessee again. I wouldn't want to live in this area, but its a great place to visit. We got married here. Going to the Ripley's Aquarium and the Salt and Pepper Museum (Okay....that's for me) along with a few other places in the next few days. We are all starting to get tired. We are going to need rest when we get home.
The Chimney is where you see the flag.
And this is the awesome view from there. I went backpacking in Yosemite a month before I met my husband and the views there are surreal. I love feeling like your sitting on top of the world.
We took the Hickory Nut Falls trial out to the falls.
The water was cool and refreshing. I love the sights and smells along the way. I think as with most things it is about the journey, not the destination. As we got close the boys kept stopping and listening to hear the falls. It put a bounce in their step as soon as they could hear it. We identified several types of trees along the way and talked about the importance of leaving nature how you found it.
There were butterflies everywhere. We saw four different types.
We checked into our room around 8:00. I planned several make ahead meals that I could just rewarm in the microwave and it has worked out so well. I packed our 7 day cooler before we left and all of our rooms have refrigerators. I have Pampered Chef steamers that I brought and we stopped and picked up some fresh veggies. I steamed them with Italian seasoning Yum! We played go fish and old maid for a while and then the boys crashed. I on the other hand drank a bottle of wine and checked in on my fellow bloggers. Everyone slept until noon. Believe it or not I feel great this morning, er um ....afternoon. We are going to spend the day hangin at the pool. I've got some local papers to check out what's going on. We are in Asheville until Tuesday.
Blowing BIG bubbles.
Learning about our sculls.
"Hey Mummie, what's this?" Seriously.
This was my favorite activity at the Children's Museum back home when I was little. You should have heard them discussing prices. So funny. I've got great kids who really pay attention to all aspects of food.
It was awesome, at the end of the museum they were showing The Story of Stuff.
Swimming in Tennessee
We saw rainbow clouds all afternoon. They were just beautiful.
On the road again......
This made me miss living in North Carolina. My drive home from work used to look similar to this, so many years ago. There is something so hopeful about the way the sun rays shine through the clouds.
We have seen so many beautiful places. There is just so much land. Oh, to have a big yard for the boys to run and me to have my BIG garden and clothes line. And chickens :)
