Blueberry Picking

We concluded a great family weekend with a trip up the Blue Ridge Parkway to the Art Loeb trail. What's special about this place is that it is prime blueberry real estate. Thousands upon thousands of blueberry bushes are scattered over a wide piece of land. This is the best time to go up there to the high altitudes to find yourself a little slice of heaven. We ventured out there with our friends Brian, Sarah and Maggie. We made a substantial haul of berries when all was said and done. Shannon was the picking MVP as she was merciless in her pursuit of the berry. Z was an all-star eater. Not only did she hoard all the berries she picked into her mouth, when we arrived home she had another four bowls of the stuff! Now we look forward to blueberry muffins, pancakes and other fine goodies. It was a great way to close out the summer. Glad to spend it with my wonderful ladies.

Zahra's New House

Here are pictures of the house Shannon made for Z. I wrote about it already a little further down on this same post.

Also some pictures of Z with Braden, Marvin and Maggie, some of the fun stuff I bought here at Wee Trade (an amazing non profit consignment event run by mom's in WNC) and some of the bounty we continue to collect from Shannon's garden.

The Last Sumer Weekend

That's it, it's over. Today marks the final day of summer as I know it. My students return Monday to meet me and my team for another exciting school year. In the meantime, I am going out with a bundle of fun.

Saturday, Shannon, Z and I went to the River fest down by the French Broad Park. It was your typical Asheville festival. Lots of yummy foods (organic of course), tons of music and plenty of folks dressed up in colorful garb with lots of hair and all kinds of freaks in the mix. We loved it! Z was particularly enthralled by the acrobats who were dangling in mid air and contorting their bodies as they performed ballet in the sky.

Today we will go blueberry picking in the higher elevations near Mt. Pisgah. We're hoping for a bumper crop with all the rain and sunshine we've had this summer. We'll be heading out there with our friends Brian, Sarah and their daughter Maggie.

Z continues to have good times with her family. Mommy made her an amazing playhouse that you have to see to believe. Made entirely of cardboard, fabric and love, this amazing little home is absolutely incredible. Shan even has a small family portrait hung inside to give the place that down home feel.

Although I am a little dismayed that I can no longer sleep in (until 7AM!) and enjoy Zahra's morning vibe daily, I know I have to get back to the work habits. This is the first time teaching that I am not particularly stoked to get back. I think the combo of working summer school (which did pay off in the end financially) and the school powers that be shortening our break combined for my brain not getting the necessary recharge I usually get. It's so important to be ready to teach in the beginning because by the end of the year, you are burnt out. Let's see how those kids treat me this year.

The Amazing Day

Today was a great day.

Shannon went with her girlfriends for the annual boating trip in Tennessee. So Z and I got to spend the whole day together. Even though we live together and do stuff all the time, truly spending a whole day together with your daughter always exceeds expectations.

Things that amazed me today...

My daughter is tuned in to music. Kiddie music that is. Mind you I hate kiddie music. I'm of the mind that kids can listen to good music. But I have to eat a little crow here as she is in love with her little classic sing a longs CD. It's all she wants to listen to. It's incredible because she is learning all of these little songs. She is starting to sing with the tunes and she bobs her little head while she hums.

Z is really into books. I think everyone who knows her knows that, but she is starting to get the stories and remember them. Today we read a book about how these little mom animals love their children. The part where the sheep kisses her lamb was followed by my daughter planting one on daddy. Then the next page had another mom cuddling with her baby and that got a cuddle from my daughter to me. She also has plenty of favorites and can even "read" along with some of her favorites by calling out words. I was smiling like an idiot.

I had some good parenting moments today. In the grocery store, I actually put my child down and she followed. She was also on the verge of tears when we started the shop. Mind you, she hates to be in the buggy (at least that's how she acts and we cave and let her out). But today, I stared her in the eyes, told her in a stern but quiet voice that she had to sit, turned my back to grab some meat from the counter and hoped she wouldn't bust out crying. Not only did she keep it together, we had an amazing shopping experience. Usually I'm trying to get in and out, inevitably forgetting something since I feel like I have to get out of there before the nuke of a child goes off. But today was spectacular. I did have to have another conversation like that with her to help her out and I fed her some cheese (thank goodness for those free sample trays!) but she was excellent.

And tonight she will be going down without any milk from momma. Does today mark the beginning of weening Z from the momma's precious milk?

Wedding Time

Another one of summer's mainstays is the wedding. We have two that we will attend this year. Last night was the first one. Our friends Joe and Jesse tied the know at their home in Black Mountain. It was a simple affair with friends and family, tons of delicious food from Asheville's own Mamacitas and some good ole bluegrass music to keep the folks entertained.

Zahra loved the entire thing. From the music to the food, she was enjoying this magic moment. Our little Cuban/Italian has got a little Appalachian Mountain girl in her. Check it out for yourself.