One person's trash is another person's treasure

Melanie has made friends with some new neighbors around the corner, Henry & Nora. Henry is 4 and Nora is 2; they are cutie-pies, and their parents seem very cool too. They were given this fabulous outdoor playground, and now that they're in a new house, they don't need it because they have another set. So, Melanie has a new backyard playground! For FREE! It took her just a few short minutes to warm up, before she was climbing the whole thing and going down head-first. I think it goes without saying, Daddy was not there for these antics. She will likely have different rules on the set when Mommy is watching and when Daddy is in charge.

Who needs a cleaning lady?

For years, I have wanted someone to help clean our house; just once or twice a month would be fantastic. Then, I had a baby. Now I just put her to work and sit back and eat bon-bons! For the right price, she will come to your house too. She's already hard at work on our neighborhood; she took the broom and walked up and down our street, ensuring the residents of the Westons some nice clean sidewalks!

Happy Birthday Molly Carolyn!

Miss Molly turned ONE on July 13 with her adoring public helping her celebrate. Molly has brought much joy into our lives, and we treasure watching her grow and learn!

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As you can tell from one of the photos above, Melanie thought that the party was for her as well. I had to do a couple of reality checks with her during the party.

Pinehurst

On Sunday, we went into the village of Pinehurst, as has become a tradition. We had ice cream, and window shopped before visiting the famous golf course(s). Each year we get some great photos at the golf course, so I included some here.

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Additionally, we had a Ladies' Day out on Tuesday in Pinehurst. We first went shopping, then had an outdoor lunch w/ cocktails, and then Diane dropped Cory & me off for pedicures! It was a great day to have some adult conversation while the Daddys, who had played golf for a couple of days, took over! Thanks again for arranging it, Diane!

Fun with Grandma & Grandpa!

I got some great photos of Melanie playing with her Grandma & Grandpa Worzala so I wanted to share a few here. She really enjoyed the longer stay with them! Thanks again for having us out, Grandma & Grandpa W!!

The Great Worzala Cook-off 2009

While in North Carolina, each couple had one night that they were in charge of the meal - appetizers, meal, dessert, clean-up, etc. As I shared, I wasn't in it to win it, I was just in it to survive. Charlie drew the names to determine what order we were going in, and my hopes were fulfilled, we went first! So we made dinner the very first night (Friday), and Cory & Randy went Sunday, while Ron & Diane went Monday. I'll spare the details on the scoring system, but suffice it to say that Randy & Cory won with their fish tacos & steak tacos! They were very yummy, as were Ron & Diane's steak kabobs. It was a great idea for division of labor!

Melanie's Big Adventure

We went to North Carolina for five nights to vacation with Jeff's parents, Randy, Cory & the kids. It was Melanie's first airplane ride, and she did a GREAT job! On the way out there, she got fussy a few times, but loved playing with stickers, and then slept during the landing. On the way back, she did an even better job, not really fussing at all. You know that feeling when they start crying and you don't know how long it's going to last, so it feels like it's going on forever? There were a few of those moments on the way out there; but retrospectively they didn't last long.

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While we were there, we had great weather for the first couple of days/nights - including the 4th. Melanie ended up sleeping through the fireworks, as keeping up with Charlie and playing with Sammie just wore her out! Above are several highlights of her trip, including the view of the lake from our back porch.

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She was up each morning at 7am, but, other than the day she was with Daddy all day, she took great naps, and she was in a great mood the whole trip. She started calling Grandpa Worzala "Paw-Paw" - and had a name for Charlie - "Char" or something similar - and got to spend a few days at the pool, some time at the park, and just generally loved playing with her cousins.