Our Big Weekend in Dallas

What a fun weekend! We flew out to Dallas on Thursday to see some long lost friends from our younger years. Our "excuse" for going out there was that Will and I acquired tickets to the Texas/OU game. Will's step-grandfather was a huge Texas guy and the family has kept his season tickets since he died and passes them around. It was our turn and we jumped on them. Thanks Abe and Nana!!

We stayed with our friends Wade and Sarah in Keller, Texas, just north of Fort Worth. Sarah and I interviewed on the same day for our job in the PICU at Children's Medical Center straight out of nursing school. We became fast friends and realized that we may have been separated at birth:). We have so much in common and might possibly share a brain! I don't know what it is about Sarahs that make them like sisters...

Anyway, Wade and Will have become pretty good buddies as well, so it is natural to jump at the chance to spend time with them. It's even better that they have two precious boys, Clayton and Drew, who are 4 and 1, respectively. We knew Anna would have a blast playing with them. Plus, they were extra sweet and offered us all their toddler paraphernalia (including a car seat) so we wouldn't have to lug all of our stuff out there on the plane. How awesome are they?

Anna did a great job on the flight over, even managing to sleep a little over an hour even thought the flight was delayed quite a bit. We got there to the usual Carpenter red carpet. They had presents for Anna and Sarah fixed a fantastic dinner. The kids got to take a bubble bath together in the big bath tub and had a ball.

On Friday, Sarah and I decided to take Clayton and Anna to the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch while the daddies stayed home so Drew could nap (and they could play Wii). I know you guys are familiar with the phrase "Everything is bigger and better in Texas", but I'm telling you it's true. This place was incredible! There were wooden painted characters everywhere, multiple bounce houses, a playground, mazes built out of bales of hay, and hundreds of beautiful pumpkins. The kids loved it! Anna was a little hesitant about the sheer number of people there and kept saying "There are lots of kids here!". It was apparently the first nice day after weeks of rain, so I don't blame them. It was a gorgeous day. On our way back to the car, we walked over to the adjacent ranch to see the horses. They were so friendly and made for a special end to the trip. Gotta see horses in Texas!

We met the men for lunch at La Madeleine to get their delicious tomato basil soup. Then the daddies offered to take the kids back for naps so Sarah and I could go shopping. How sweet?! We dashed over to Grapevine Mills. Now, we have Concord Mills down the road from us in Charlotte that I have been to once in my life. But I can't tell you how many times I've been to Grapevine Mills! The other insane thing is that I ran into someone I knew from NC there!! My sister's friend had emailed me to say she would be in Dallas and to ask for fun things to do while she was there. We ran into her at Ann Taylor!!! I still can't believe that in all of Dallas, we were at the same place at the same time. Crazy!

So, after shopping our hearts out (and finding some pretty awesome deals), we headed back to grab the boys. We met more Dallas friends for a reunion dinner. Dave and Peter were Will's roommates while he lived in Dallas and were groomsmen in our wedding. Dave and Missy have since added Allison to their family and Peter brought cute little Andrew. We were so excited to meet these new additions! I just felt really sorry for our waitress-- 8 adults and 5 kids is a little high on the insanity scale, not to mention the mess! I'm so glad we got a picture of all the kids afterwards.

Saturday was the big game. Sarah and Wade were incredible and offered to keep Anna so we wouldn't have to take her into the chaos of the Red River Shootout in the Texas State Fair. She got to go to Clayton's T-ball game while we watched football. The game was at 11 am, and so we knew traffic was going to be bad. We left the house at 8:30 and sailed into downtown by 9. Then we sat and sat and sat and sat in traffic. We entered the stadium at 11 and barely got to see the kick-off. Texas pulled out a win in one of the longest, turnover frenzied games I have ever seen. We met Will's cousin, TJ and his girlfriend Megan, at the game. Then we got to hang out and have a beer with his aunt and uncle afterwards. It was fun to catch up with all of them.

Saturday night we ventured out with the Carpenters for some Texas BBQ. We were excited because they actually had sweet tea!! Then, they wanted to take us to this place called Cabela's. This place was insane! It was like the Bass Pro Shop on steroids! Besides all the gear and whatnot, different taxidermists had donated work and all these different wildlife scenes were set up. It was almost like going to the zoo! They were so lifelike that Anna kept saying, "They not hurt us. They not real." We even got some fudge from the candy shop and the boys played around in the firing range. There's nothing like free entertainment!

We were so sad to come back on Sunday. Clayton kept telling us that he wished we could stay for 120 months. Me too, sweet boy, me too. We said good-bye to our dear friends, not knowing when we would see them again. We just count ourselves blessed to have met such wonderful people during our Dallas time and to be able to remain so close across all the miles between us.

Here are some pictures from our amazing Dallas adventure:

Playing Catch Up

I'm a little behind, so I'm going to try and catch up. Last weekend we headed for Chapel Hill for the Georgia Southern game. I was a little nervous because it was raining here when we left. It turned out to be a pleasant cloudy day and didn't sprinkle again until we were walking back to the car after the game. Yay! The highlight of this game was the fact that all three of my bestest girlfriends from UNC were going to be there. Melissa and Carrie and I see each other relatively frequently since we are all in NC, but Michelle is in Chicago. We do see her quite a bit considering the distance (thanks to her dedication for getting back here), but it's rare for all four of us to be together. I am so sad to report that we failed to get photographic proof of all of us together, but it was so good to see them again. Here are some pics of our fun day.

She's not asleep!! She just kept closing her eyes when the flash went off. I had to get a pic of her with her big-girl headphones on. Will is excited because we don't have to listen to Elmo on car rides since she will wear these now.

At this game, Anna figured out that she could sit in the hole on the corn-hole boards. She kept saying, "I can sit in the hole like on my potty!" Crazy girl! It's hard to play a game with a cutie-pie blocking the target!

At least I did manage to get a picture of Michelle and me together!

Anna sat in Talley's lap for probably a solid 15 minutes and learned how to open peanut shells to get the peanuts out. She was a pro by the end of it!

Anna' First Trip to the Fair

The excitement had been building about taking Anna to the fair this fall. We have actually had it on our calendars for a couple of months now. We decided it wouldn't be worth it the last couple of years since she was so little, but we knew this would be a perfect age to introduce her to the wonders of the fair. So Wednesday, Will took off from work early and we got there about 4:30, which was perfect because it got a little crazy later on. She rode rides, saw all the animals, ate a hot dog and her first cotton candy, and rode the big Ferris Wheel. She went fishing and won one of the monkeys with velcro on his hands and feet that can hang from everything. He is now a part of the "everybody" that she sleeps with (of course).

At first, she loved the rides, but would get really upset when the ride came to a stop. It took her a couple of times to realize that something else was right around the corner. We're pretty sure her favorite part was the pony ride. She got to ride Freckles and sat in that saddle with her head bobbing like she had done it a hundred times. She had a HUGE meltdown when that was over! One of the other moms looked at me and said, "I think a horse is in your future!". I was a little worried we were going to have to go home with one (just kidding!). Luckily, distractions were everywhere and we were soon on to more fun. I think Will and I had just as much fun as Anna did!

Anna on her first ride--Wormmy

Anna and Mommy on the train

She loved all the animals, but wasn't too sure about letting them touch her. She loved the cows and sheep since she got to hear them "moo" and "baa".

Mr. Camel was a tad intimidating!

Anna riding Freckles

She got to ride two horses that day!

Anna and Mommy on the Ferris Wheel--she was standing up, intrigued until about the third time around and then decided Mommy's lap felt a little safer.

Anna and Daddy on the Himalaya. There weren't many rides that she was tall enough to ride on, but this was one. It went WAY faster than we thought it would and Anna got her first taste of centrifugal force. She didn't quite know what to think, but still raised her hands up when Daddy did. It was pretty funny!

We can't wait until next year!

Anna's First Haircut

Anna was born with a head of dark brown hair. It soon fell out as baby hair often does and was eventually replaced with a blond peach fuzz, just like her Mama's at her age. We patiently waited and around 18 months, Anna's hair started growing. I was so excited because now I could maybe get a bow in her hair! I got a twinge of jealousy every time I would see a cute little girl with a bow in her hair because all of Anna's bows had been sitting in a drawer at home. I thought to myself that as long as we waited to get that hair, it was going to be forever before I got it cut.

Well, I ate my words. Anna's hair is not that long and it's baby fine. But somehow, it works itself into the craziest mess in the back when she sleeps. Anna will tell you that every morning Mommy has to brush out the "rat's nest" back there. I knew it needed to be trimmed because the back was also starting to resemble something of a rat tail (if you remember those from the 80's that still show up from time to time--usually at Walmart). Anyway, I hesitated for several weeks because at times, this rat tail would curl back up. Oh, if only my child would not inherit my stick straight hair and have some curls! So I waited...

Until today. Those of you who know me know that I am not usually a spontaneous person. (I realize that some of you are laughing hysterically here.) But this morning, I looked at her morning 'doo and said, "Anna, we're going to get your hair cut." So we headed to the Great Clips. On the way there, I talked to her about sitting still so they could cut and that they would have to get her hair wet. We walked in and Pansy showed us to her chair (yes, that was really her name--I checked on her cosmetology license). She put the booster on the seat and wrapped a fish smock around Anna's neck. Anna sat up in that chair and took it all in. She did so GREAT!

What is going on here?

I think my pictures made Pansy nervous because her hands were NOT the steadiest I've ever seen. Bless her heart!

Anna getting her hair dried.

Anna with her balloon and cherry lollipop when it was all over.

(Sorry for the orientation--it's flipped correctly on our computer program, but would not upload that way--frustration!)

As a treat for doing so well with her hair cut, we went to the mall and rode some of the rides there. Then, we ate pizza at the food court. What a fun morning!

Boring Enough to Sleep Through

The whole Hege crew traveled to Chapel Hill Saturday for the UNC vs. UVA game. Although the game left MUCH to be desired, the day was absolutely gorgeous and tailgating was fun. And watching Anna's reactions to everything is so amusing. Since the last game, we have been reading Hello Rameses! (thank you, Block and Talley) and our stuffed Rameses has become part of the "everybody" that Anna sleeps with. Well, Saturday she spotted Rameses on that field when no one else could find him. At least we know her vision is good (for now, anyway)! Here are a few pictures from our big adventure.

Block was teaching her football calls on the walk to the stadium. Here, she had just learned how to do "time out"!

Anna and her Daddy at Kenan Stadium

Ready for the game with her new Carolina outfit on and a Rameses sticker on her cheek!

Anna and Aunt Erin

I was a little concerned about this noon game, since it was right during nap time. I guess one good thing about the game being so boring was that it was quiet enough for Anna to sleep over an hour. Miraculous!