Mountain trip

This summer we visited Cousin Charlotte's mountain house for the weekend with her and her mom and dad.  Caroline roasted a marshmallow for the first time. (It caught on fire.)

 She got to feed some animals at a petting zoo:

 We took a family photo at the top of a mountain:

And since one day she will look back on this blog and be embarrassed by some of the photos I've posted, I decided to do it to myself:

Princess of the High Seas

The same weekend Caroline went fishin' for the first time, we took a boat ride up to Dayton, Tenn. for dinner at a place where you can just pull up in your boat, tie off and go eat.  Got this picture of her on the dock and it cracks me up for some reason.  I can't quite explain what I think the look on her face is saying, but something like "I thought we were going to Cabo..."

Even more beach pictures

While there are many more, these are probably the final pictures from the July 4 week beach trip with Poppy and Deede.

Why?  Well, you weren't invited.  Kidding.  It more has to do with that fact that us adults had to be in bathing suits and this isn't that kind of website.
 
Below, Caroline in mid-air with Poppy during what became her favorite thing to do, 'jump' over the waves. (Note the pointed toes.  Gymnastics in her future?)

 

 And here's Caroline and Deede walking in the waves:

More beach photos

Here are a few more photos from the beach trip.  Below, Uncle Mike and cousin Caiden and below that Caroline hits her stride on the sand....

Beach Time, part one

We have TONS of awesome pictures from being at the beach last week, but here's one of my favorites.  I'll be posting more over the next several days.  Caroline was scared of the waves for about two days, then we had to hold her back from trying to swim to France.  Oh, and the sandcastles and the beach toys like the water gun below?  A major hit.

Kids see more than we do

This weekend while driving on the highway (through Spaghetti Junction for you ATL folks), Caroline looked out of the window on her side of the car and said "Is that Jesus?"

My only response, "It could be."

A Day Out with Thomas

This past Saturday, we took Caroline, who is a BIG fan of Thomas the Tank Engine, to the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, as Thomas was making a visit and taking kids for a 20 minute ride.

First off though were some side attractions and Caroline got a temporary tattoo of Thomas, from a lady named Caroline actually.

 This photo below was taken shortly after Thomas arrived for the first time while we were there.  She was captivated.

 The Mommy, Caroline and Thomas the Tank Engine:

The museum had several other engines.  Here you see Caroline considering a career as chair of the US Deaprtment of Transportation.

On the train ride, Caroline was named a Jr. Engineer and is qualified to ride Thomas any time she chooses.  Regretfully for me and The Mommy, she wants to do this every day, which is not logistically possible.

Collegiate Caroline

This weekend we all went to Chapel Hill to visit Melissa's friend from college and her daughter. This is the four of them at UNC's landmark water fountain. As a Wake Forest grad it pains me to have this photo before one of Caroline on the quad at Wake, but I would never deny the chance to expose her to higher educaion!

 

Pictures from a typical morning

Here are two photos from Caroline's trip to school earlier this week. (They were taken safely at a stop light).

She's way better at mornings than I am and really likes looking out the window.

New (old) photos

Dug some photos of off Poppy's camera today, these are from Thanksgiving:

Three generations:
Father Ween, The Mommy and Lady C:
Sarah Elizabeth and Caroline Elizabeth:

Christmas, part two

Photos below from Christmas in Sale Creek, Tenn.:

The Mommy and Caroline in front of the tree
Starting to unwrap presents
I clearly think I'm hilarious by putting things on Caroline's head
This wasn't her present, but Caroline sure liked it

Grumps' Yearly Christmas E-card

So, if you know my dad (a.k.a. Grumps), you know he has an affinity for Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Each year, he and my niece Addie have visited Krispy Kreme in December for a holiday treat and a photo which my Dad then emails to all of his buddies as an e-card.

Last year since Caroline was a pretty new entry to the family, I had to photoshop in a photo of her. Crude, but it served the purpose.

When we visited Chattanooga last week, we were excited for both girls to make the trip to the land of doughnut supremacy. Our family has a strong belief that the only true doughnut is a Krispy Kreme, and Dunkin Donuts is akin to carpetbagging Yankees diluting Southern culture. Or something like that.

But, Caroline had a little meltdown during our errands in Chattanooga and needed a nap ASAP -- so we didn't make it to Krispy Kreme and had to improvise. Thankfully, my dad has a light-up Santa on the front porch so we got a photo not at Krispy Kreme, but with some Christmas doughnuts and the granddaughters.

Here's hoping Santa is nice to you and you get Hot Doughnuts Now this December.

Caroline's first wedding

Steve and Jennifer got married this weekend and we traveled to Raleigh to celebrate. After stopping for a night in Charlotte with Neil, Hima and Abi (3 months, and a new friend!) we made it to Raleigh, picked up Father Ween's tux and then Lady C proceeded to kind of melt down a bit since for some reason she felt compelled to skip all naps. Two three-hour trips in 24 hours was kind of a lot for her as it turns out!
But as you can see, she recovered to be the lovely and beautiful Caroline we all know and love for the big day on Saturday. After babbling through the whole ceremony (probably wondering why her dad was standing at the front and ignoring her and The Mommy) we headed to the reception.
We had a bit of trouble keeping her from eating the flower on my tux so we decided to see what she'd do with it.
Should have known.
Caroline made lots of new friends this weekend, some pictured below top to bottom and left to right:
Chris B., Mary Katherine, Justin and Charlotte, Neil and Abi, Brian and Ian, Chris A. and the bride and groom, Steve and Jennifer!

It was a great day seeing them and the rest of the college gang and their kids.

The trip home went about as well as could be expected. We actually made it past Charlotte and to the outlet malls in Gaffney, SC before we stopped to get lunch, stretch our legs (and Caroline's mood) for about 30 minutes, but the final 30-45 minutes of the drive back into the ATL was, well, not as awesome as the rest of the trip. :)

One side note: today is Caroline's 11 month b-day! I know. Wild, right?

I-75, prunes and 63 miles to home

We're on our way home from a long weekend visiting Grams and Grumps, plus Stacey and Addie too, and without getting into the details, decided we needed to stop at the Walnut Ave. exit in Dalton, Ga. to get some Gerber prunes before we get home. Pretty impressed with Caroline's ability to eat on the fly, she knocked back the container quickly and was pleased with it, despite the look on her face in the photo!

Tooth Fairy

I'm in St. Louis for work, missing Melissa and Caroline a lot, and will get home tonight to see.... The first tooth! Photos may be tricky, but I'll try!


-- Post From My iPhone

Who's number one?

Caroline and The Mommy celebrate a hole-in-one last night playing mini golf in PCB last night. More beach pics to come, when I muster the energy to load the camera photos to our laptop...

Caroline and the King of Pop

Caroline's on the way down to the beach for the first time and really enjoying the Michael Jackson tribute mom and dad are playing on the ipod. We're over half way through the "best of" album, and interestingly enough, she's singing along with "Black and White"...what a PC baby we have. It's a good thing that her carseat faces the rear so she doesn't have to witness her dad's dance party.
-The Mommy ;)

Just two days...

Caroline, and her tired mommy and daddy are headed to the beach with Grammy and Popi and Mike, Carrie and Caiden this weekend for a week's vacation.

For Father Ween, this will be a real vacation with a dead, dormant BlackBerry and phone that will likely develop an allergic reaction to sand and sun.

What people see when they email me will be important, so I've been daydreaming of what my email's out of office reply could say....

"Thanks for your message. I'm out of the office, on vacation, a real one, so please contact xxxxxx or yyyyy if you need imediate assistance. Its our infant daughter's first trip to the beach and I haven't had a real week-long vacation since we got married. So, please put yourself in my (lack of) shoes and direct your question to one of the people listed above, and cheers!"

Probably get fired for that, but I won't know for a week, because I'm going off the grid -- unless there are cute beach photos of Caroline to share with the Friends of Caroline's Corner...

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Hi, I'm Caroline, and if you stay at the Hampton Inn in Morganton, NC, you'll sleep like a baby...

On the road again...

Caroline is in South Carolina for the first time, to be followed shortly after by its upward neighbor, North Carolina!
So watch out Carolinas, Caroline is in the house.