So excited to spend the night in a train car!

Our train car hotel room

At Rock City

Great views at Rock City!

Jumping off the rock to Daddy at Little River Canyon

7/13/09: This summer has been filled with a lot of fun! Sara Kate & I have spent a lot of time at the pool. She is still quite a little fish! She loves to swim and even jumps off of the diving board. A few weeks ago we went to Little River Canyon. We took a little hike & then took a swim. Sara Kate especially loved jumping off of a rock to Karl. Jack went with us, too, of course. Last weekend we went to Chattanooga & spent the night on a train car at the Chattanooga Choo Choo. Needless to say, the train car hotel room was thrilling for Sara Kate. While at the hotel we also got to go on a trolley ride (Sara Kate got to ring the trolley bell) and eat dinner on a train car. It was a very exciting day for our little train lover!

That weekend we also went to Rock City, took a ride on the Incline Railway, visited the sprinkler fountain downtown, found a great outdoor's store for Karl, and shopped at the most wonderful used bookstore (McKay's). We all had so much fun & plan on going back for another trip to Chattanooga soon. There is so much to do there!

5/27/09: Since my last post, we have celebrated Easter, gone to the beach, and Sara Kate now has a "big girl bed" in her room! Enjoy the pics! (sorry they're out of order!)

Playing dress-up with her friend, Joanna.

Silly girls!

Easter

Hunting eggs with her buddy, Broc.

At the petting zoo with JuJu

Sara Kate's "big girl bed"

So proud!

Reading books with Daddy At the cabinSara Kate LOVES the beach!

Climbing up the inflatable slide...She's a daredevil!

Climbing through the inflatable "obstacle" course

Sara Kate wasn't quite sure how to tackle eating the cotton candy. She decided to begin by burying her face in it.

She soon figured out it was easier to use her fingers.


Seconds later she had polished off everything but the stick holding the cotton candy!

Look at all of those eggs she collected!

Off and running at our Church's Easter Egg Hunt.

These are the eggs we colored at home.

4/5/09: Most of these are pictures from our church's Easter Egg Hunt that we went to yesterday. Watching Sara Kate "hunt" Easter eggs was quite funny. She carefully selected the eggs she wanted to put in her basket. I'm not sure what criteria she had, but she picked each egg with a purpose. Along the way she also decided to pick some dandelions to give me. She definitely has not reached the stage where she is in a race to get as many eggs as possible. Another entertaining event to watch was her eating cotton candy. As you can see from the pictures, she thoroughly enjoyed every bite. Once again, messy hands don't bother her a bit! In fact, the messier, the better!

Roasting marshmallows...yum!

One of her favorite foods!!!

Happy because I got to enjoy a quick nap in the hammock!

The chef for the trip.

Ahhh! I love camping!

The "Jumping Jack"

Look at those big smiles!

Jack went with us, too. That night it was quite cold. Karl, Sara Kate, Jack, & I all slept on the same bed. We stayed nice & cozy!

4/21/09: We went camping at DeSoto State Park over the weekend. Emily & Royal were kind enough to lend us their "Jumping Jack". (It's a cross between a pop up & a tent.) We had a wonderful time! Sara Kate is a born camper! She loves to be outside, hike, roast marshmallows, and sleep in a tent. It's all a big adventure for her! We even took a canoe ride. We were quite a sight - Karl, Jack (the 80 lb. Lab), Sara Kate, and me all in the boat floating along. Although, I have to say, it is surprising how well behaved this wild bunch is when you put us in a canoe! We had a great time. Karl, with all of his camping expertise, made it such an enjoyable trip. He had everything we needed & did all of the cooking! I even got to take a quick nap in the hammock while he took Sara Kate on a hike. It was a fun trip for everyone!

Day Out with Thomas

All aboard!

Posing for a picture for the photographer.

Getting a Rosie tattoo on her hand.

Dressed from head to toe in Thomas. (including her Thomas underwear, of course!)

Sara Kate was VERY excited when she first saw Thomas!

Playing in the big pile of sand
(This was one of our last stops. As you can see, Sara Kate doesn't mind getting dirty at all!)

Sliding down the slide after jumping on the inflatable bouncer.

There was a petting "zoo" tent with bunnies, goats, chickens & a calf.

Playing putt-putt. (We need to work on her swing!) Notice her Thomas rain boots.
Aunt Sara gave her these on Christmas.

One tent was filled with Thomas train tables. Sara Kate was quite overwhelmed!

Papa let Sara Kate pick out the balloon she wanted to buy. Of course, she picked out the biggest Thomas balloon the lady had. Unfortunately, it sailed off into the sky as we were walking to the car at the end of the day. Thankfully, only a few tears were shed.

Running down the aisle of the train after we took our train ride. Off to the next stop!

Taking a picture with two of her favorite people.
She was holding her balloon flower that a clown made for her.

4/1/09: Last Friday JuJu, Papa, Sara Kate and I went to Day Out with Thomas in Calera, AL. Needless to say, it was a very exciting day for Sara Kate who absolutely ADORES Thomas the Tank Engine. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I thought it was a great event. We got to ride Thomas, get Thomas tatoos, and a lot more. The pictures show all the great activities Sara Kate got to do...