Deric's birthday + the pumpkin patch

Deric turned 33 last Friday! We had dinner plans with friends set for Saturday night--when a babysitter was available for both families--and so we planned to take it easy on Friday. That afternoon, a friend of ours called and offered up tickets to a concert downtown that she was no longer able to attend, PLUS offered to watch the boys for the night! The concert was Alabama and Charlie Daniels and while neither of us are diehard fans, we know and like their popular songs and we definitely weren't going to pass on a free date night and sitter!

We headed downtown and so enjoyed being in the city on a Friday night for the first time in a few years. The air was brisk, we weren't in a rush or entertaining kids, so even when we were halfway to the venue and realized I'd left the tickets in the car, it couldn't kill the mood! The concert was good but just being out with Deric was the best part. After the concert we stopped in a little coffee shop and shared a fantastic white chocolate mocha while we talked on the way home.

Deric has always wanted to try a Brazilian steakhouse in town so we asked our friends to join us and went out on Saturday night. Various cuts of meat are brought to the table on skewers and you eat as much as you'd like. They had ribs, sirloin, bacon-wrapped filets...everything! Even garlic bread came on a stick. It was a delicious meal and the birthday dessert was incredible: chocolate cake with turtle cheesecake on top! You know I "helped" Deric finish it off.

To switch gears a bit (prepare yourself for way too many photos!), earlier on Saturday we visited a nearby farm/pumpkin patch. It was so much fun! They had so many activities for kids that nothing felt crowded even though there were plenty of people at the farm. We spent the majority of our morning watching Jake on the slides that looked so fun I wanted to take a turn. ;) There were two slides made from that plumbing or piping--whatever it is--and one of them had a ladder and drawbridge to cross. The first few times Jake was a little hesitant on the bridge but he quickly gained some confidence and would hop up after sliding down, immediately saying he was going to go down again.

Kids shot out of those slides like rockets. I seriously wanted to give it a try myself. 

Check out the video of Jake on the drawbridge & slide! You can tell he was having the best time. (Sorry for how big it is! Forgot to turn my phone sideways.)

Deep Well Farm from Ashley Skinner on Vimeo.

Climbing up and jumping off hay bales. Simple, yet so entertaining--and itchy!

This slide was double the length that you see in the photo. It went all the way down a big hill but most kids weren't heavy enough to go very far. Dads, on the other hand, go just a bit further. ;)

We rode the hayride out to pick pumpkins and took so long to find the right ones that we were the last ones back on the hayride. Whoops! Also, this may be the only cornfield I've ever seen around Knoxville. And after about two months without rain, it was just a *bit* dusty out there!

Scouting out tiny green pumpkins tucked under the leaves:

Somehow this is the first time we'd taken Jake to a pumpkin patch! I know last year I was too nauseous and newly pregnant to feel up for it, but I'm not sure what our excuse was the year before. ;) 

Lest you think we forgot to bring Reid, here's proof that he came with us:

One day too soon he'll be sliding down those slides with his brother! But for now he's content to nap and check things out later. He did wake up after we picked pumpkins and headed to the playground a second time. This day was one of just a handful this October that have actually felt like fall! It was perfectly chilly but unfortunately its been in the 80s since then.

Playing in the corn sandbox! Cornbox?

The sun was so bright that we had to snatch Reid up as soon as we took this photo! Jake was quick to tell us the sun was hurting his eyes so the family photo below is quite the gem. ;)

Visiting the farm was so much fun for all of us that we'll absolutely be back next year! It'll be even more of an adventure when Reid can attempt those slides too. ;)

a weekend getaway to Chattanooga!

Over the weekend of the Fourth, Jake spent a few days with Deric's parents and his cousins in Indiana so Deric, Reid and I also decided to skip town and have some fun! Chattanooga is only about an hour and a half from us and yet in the five years we've lived here, we've never visited the city. We figured this last weekend was the perfect opportunity to explore and we loved it so much that we're already planning another trip with Jake this fall. Chattanooga is incredibly family friendly and there are plenty of attractions that we want to experience with Jake, especially the Children's Discovery Museum and the Aquarium.

Deric and I didn't actually visit any of the attractions in the city this weekend, we mostly ate at a bunch of local restaurants and walked around the city to scout out fun things to do when we come back with Jake. Clumpies Ice Cream came highly recommended online and then by locals so we were sure to try it out on Friday night. We ordered probably the best fish tacos I've ever had at Big River Grille: they were wrapped in both a blue corn tortilla and a taco shell! I may have to try that at home to spiff up our next taco night.

The air conditioning in our van went out on Friday night so unfortunately, Deric spent Saturday morning at the mechanic in hopes that it would be a quick fix and we'd be back playing tourist by noon. At 6:00pm that night, we finally got our van--and its new air compressor--back. Whomp whomp. But of all the trips for car troubles to happen, the one without a toddler was the best timing. We didn't have any set plans for Saturday so while we waited for the van to be fixed, we explored more of the city, tried out a local burger place and spent a few hours reading (and napping, in Deric's case!) at Starbucks. It was nice to sit back and relax without worrying about keeping Jake entertained while we waited.

Instead of snapping pictures all weekend, I thought I'd try out a video to remember the trip. It was fun to put it all together so I think more videos will happen in the future!


Chattanooga from Ashley Skinner on Vimeo.

4th of July staycation

Jake spent a long weekend over the Fourth of July at Deric's parents' house, along with his two cousins. He had the time of his life: they rode the golf cart and the tractor (and rode in Grandpa's new red truck all weekend, a definite hit), went swimming on the 4th and watched fireworks, rode bikes at the park, and went to a local pizza place that sends a train to your booth to deliver your drinks. (I can only imagine the sheer glee that followed that discovery!) When we met up with everyone at the end of the weekend, he still had eyes only for Grandma and Grandpa and he was so upset when we left. It was heartbreaking but I'm glad that he had such a fun weekend.

[insert videos of Jake doing cute things once we get those videos from the g-rents]

While Jake was gone, Deric and I worked on a few furniture projects and finished painting Jake's toddler bed. We had plans to rent paddle boards at a park nearby, but it rained the entire weekend. Almost nonstop torrential downpours, so unfortunately it was a more low-key weekend than we'd planned. But even that was kind of nice because Deric caught up on some movies he wanted to see and I started a new book. We did eat out quite a bit and went rock climbing, something we haven't done together in quite a few years. I love climbing but always forget until I'm halfway up the wall just how afraid of heights I am. :) So even though I was petrified half the time, we enjoyed doing something different together.

^blurry thanks to my fear of falling off the wall while taking the pic

^blurry thanks to the woman who either didn't care about getting a decent picture, or who didn't know her way around an iPhone. because honestly, i debated asking her teenage daughter to take it instead. Even I'm getting schooled on technology by teenagers!

By the end of the weekend, we were both so ready to get Jake back. Even though we definitely enjoying sleeping in and having uninterrupted conversations, the house was just too quiet. And we did get a few more bonus days to sleep in because Jake slept hard until 8:30 the first day home and later took a four hour nap. I think that's a pretty sure sign he had a fantastic weekend. :)

five years together

Yesterday we celebrated five years of marriage! Five years that have gone way too quickly, probably because they've been so enjoyable. Most of the time its hard for me to remember what life was like before Jake, when it was just the two of us and we could go on dates any night of the week. Those three years were so fun, yet I love Deric more now as I watch him grow into his role as a father.

The night before our anniversary we talked for a while (well, I think I spewed thoughts everywhere and let Deric get a word in occasionally) about bigger things than the typical day to day "how's work? how's Jake? what are we eating tonight?" conversations, and it was so good to walk away from that conversation knowing we're right on the same page even though we'd initially had those thoughts separately. I'm very thankful that we have the same hopes/dreams/goals, even if they're not hammered out quite yet, and that we have each other's support. It makes me excited to see what the next five years hold!

Last night, we swapped babysitting with friends whose anniversary was last weekend so they came over to play with Jake. We ate dinner with them and then left to watch Jurassic World, but the theater was so full that the only seats available were down front. Usually we'd just wait for the later showing but we didn't want our friends to stay even later than planned since they have kids of their own, so we came home after about an hour of trying to think of something else we could do. We ended up spending the rest of the evening with Jake on the playground, enjoying an unseasonably cool night, and later ate our movie candy while we watched Netflix. It wasn't too much of a bummer though because Jake is spending a long weekend at Deric's parents for the 4th of July so we've been looking forward to celebrating our anniversary for an entire weekend!

A Weekend Retreat

Deric and I spent last weekend with the other ministers at our church and their spouses, planning and dreaming for next year and simply spending some time together. We all stayed at a cabin in the mountains which was perfect for the drizzly, gray days! Thursday was spent in planning sessions and on Friday, we spent the morning hiking and then ate lunch at Smokin' Joe's, a locally owned barbeque joint that won me over as soon as I saw my Coke come in a massive Mason jar. That night, each couple went on a date and then we all met back up and stayed up talking for a while. We had a great time relaxing and spending time with people we see every day but rarely actually spend time with. And Jake had a great weekend too- Deric's parents came in town to stay with Jake and they played nonstop.

Next up on the docket during the busiest month this year, Charlotte for Sarah's baby shower!

four years of happy

On Saturday night Deric and I celebrated our fourth anniversary with dinner at our favorite restaurant, Lakeside Tavern (hello parmesan fried asparagus!) and the latest Transformers movie...which we almost bowed out on because 7:30 rolled around and we were so tired. (In our defense, we had a 5:30 wake up call that morning..) But I'm glad we powered through the slump because we both miss going to the movies. It was so great to be out with Deric, enjoying an entire meal without keeping one eye on the toddler who may choke on a fistful of food or throw his drink at the next table. Deric is truly a wonderful husband: he's more than willing to help with Jake and chores around the house, he loves to eat at Moe's as often as I do, he wakes up with Jake most mornings and let me sleep just a few minutes longer, and he works hard for our family. I couldn't have picked a better one!

th-th-thirty

Deric turned 30 on Monday and I've been ragging him nonstop about it, since I've got five years until I hit the same milestone (booyah!). But jokes about bad knees and fading memory aside, I love celebrating Deric and making sure he knows how much he means to me. The celebrations are continuing this weekend, he just doesn't know it!

3 years (give or take a few weeks)

On our actual anniversary, my sisters and mom were in town so we spent the day with them and decided to celebrate after they left town. Last Saturday night, we headed to the brand new Cheesecake Factory for dinner (and definitely dessert). But honestly, the night didn't play out how I would have liked. Torrential rain all weekend dropped the temperature so low we were both wearing jeans and long sleeves, which was no fun since it meant I had to bust out my maternity jeans again. That, combined with my stomach's disagreement with my meal (tmi, sorry) didn't put me in a great mood by the end of the night. Since I wasn't feeling too hot we headed home pretty early, but the night did improve from that point forward. We collected Jake from our friends' house and spent the remainder of the evening how we usually spend our evenings: playing with Jake, watching an episode or two of our favorite show (currently, New Girl), and just being together. I even managed to eat some of the cheesecake we'd brought home...bonus! So while the anniversary date wasn't as fabulous as I'd hoped it would be, it actually made me even more thankful for Deric and for our relationship. Because we can still have a good time together even when plans don't work out, when we feel lousy, or when the day is just an ordinary day. Even those ordinary days are a blessing with Deric...and Jake! Happy three years Deric, you are without a doubt the best.

first Father's Day

Deric's first Father's Day was an all-around good day. We started the day off with church and lunch with friends from out of town. From there, I took Deric to get his Father's Day gift-- a grill, because every dad needs one. ;) I had researched a few basic models the day before and the grill I decided on was only available at a Lowe's in northern Knoxville, so we took a little road trip to pick it up, followed by some free frozen yogurt. A few hours (and one serious nap) later, we wrapped up the day with barbeque chicken on the grill.

Deric's really risen to the challenge of being a good father and has taken such great care of both me and Jake. He takes the middle of the night feeding so I can sleep, gets me whatever I need while I nurse, bathes and changes Jake, and helps with everything else too. I love listening when he talks to Jake because he can't keep from "baby talking" and making up conversations between the two of them. I so look forward to watching their relationship develop over the years.

And speaking of dads, can't leave out my dad! Dad, I'm so thankful for you and the sacrifices you make to take care of your family. Even just a month ago, you worked tirelessly to take care of us while waiting for Jake to arrive. I hope you're enjoying having some of your grandkids with you this week!

fri-date

Deric and I went on a date last night and left Jake with non-family babysitters for the first time (thanks Sara!). We definitely weren't worried about leaving Jake because the lady who watched him is a nurse and mother of two, but we did miss him a lot. Still though, it was nice to get out and just be the two of us. We ate dinner at Connor's and I got fantastic shrimp and grits while Deric ordered some fancy sea food combo. We didn't have any plans for after dinner and sadly it was drizzling all evening, so we wound up at the mall--which we rarely visit-- and wandered around, just talking and browsing. (We did take pics in one of those cheesy photo booths though, something we'd never done together!) As we were talking, we ended up planning a bunch of date nights for the next few months, like rock climbing and putt putt, so we've got a few dates to look forward to. I love spending time with Deric and I'm so glad he  insists on regular date nights!


(The new camera lens doesn't zoom, but it was fun (and funny) trying to get us both in the shot!)

T-3 months

Approximately three months until baby boy shows up and we've got plenty of things on our to-do list that are nowhere near to being checked off. Think: nursery (which is currently a completely blank slate), registering, health insurance for the babe (although that process has been started), picking out a name, etc. I keep thinking we've got all the time in the world to get these things accomplished, but the weeks are starting to slip away pretty quickly. I've delegated the boring stuff like insurance over to Deric, whose smarter with that than I am anyways, and I've put myself in charge of the fun stuff such as nursery design...and baby announcements. Because what better to do on a Sunday afternoon than peruse cute baby announcements from the comfort of the couch? :)

Here are some designs and inspirations I've found so far, all from Minted. They have no shortage of cute prints for babies and adults alike, and I could probably find a few things I want for each room of the house. But for now, I'll limit myself to baby announcements since there are quite a few other things I should probably be doing right now...like picking out a name.

Hello, Baby board by Ashley. See more modern Minted birth announcements

24 weeks

I feel like I'm finally to that "golden" stage of pregnancy that everyone kept telling me about when I was nauseous and exhausted every day. I've noticed an upswing in energy over the past few weeks and combined with some New Years resolution-y motivation, a lot's been accomplished in this house! Well, it seems that way. Doesn't quite look like much progress yet, but considering the soon-to-be nursery is cleared out and ready to be painted, at least we've made some headway. We attempted registering on Friday afternoon but left after it took us an hour to check off maybe fifteen items from the checklist. (Wedding registry= so much fun. Baby registry= so many questions.) We did pick out a crib though, so there's that. Baby boy will indeed have somewhere to sleep. Oh yeah, no name for the babe yet. We don't even talk about it anymore since we can't think of any even remote possibilities. I just hope that when we meet him, the perfect name miraculously pops into our heads. 

So that's where we're at these days. Nursery preparations, researching cloth diapers and countless other baby paraphernalia, and best of all: feeling (and watching) baby boy kick and roll around almost constantly. We can't wait for the little guy to just get here already!

what a typical December night looks like

I talked to my dad on the phone yesterday and he mentioned my lack of blogging lately. I told him it was because we've done nothing blog-worthy lately, and that could not be more true. Amidst all the Christmas parties and events, our nights at home have been b-o-r-i-n-g...and I like it. At 16 weeks pregnant now, I've thankfully graduated from the nausea stage to the two-hour-nap-every-day stage and yet I'm still exhausted when 8:00pm rolls around. (That's also why there are basically no Christmas decorations up yet besides the tree and stockings.) We have been playing a ridiculous amount of Monopoly, however. It's low-energy and a better alternative that watching tv all night, plus I'm finally developing a little bit of strategy and winning every so often! So Dad, here's your recap of our crazy exciting December. ;)

Anniversary 2.0

Deric asked me a few weeks back if I had anything in mind for our anniversary, to which I replied no. He then said, "Well, what if we did something like Texas Roadhouse and a movie, maybe the Sunsphere....you know, like a repeat of our first date?" I loved the idea, so it was settled. We ended up nixing the Sunsphere (where Deric proposed to me) because dinner + a movie took up the evening as it was.

A low-key and sentimental evening sounded perfect to both of us so we went on our merry way to the Roadhouse and proceeded to eat our weight in rolls and cinnamon butter (sigh...). Almost as an afterthought, I remembered to pull out the real camera (rather than my phone) and document the evening-- our only tradition so far for anniversaries. Honestly, neither of us wanted to take pics-- it was already after 6:00, it was still in the 90's, and those rolls were waiting for us. But you'd never know that from our smilin' faces! A few self-timed pictures later and we were in the blessedly air-conditioned car on our way to dinner. 

We talked over dinner about the four years we've been together--two dating/engaged, two married. The dating period is already getting foggy in my memory, but Deric remembers many more details than I do and it was fun to relive them. Like our first "date", the reason for Texas Roadhouse and a movie. About a month before we actually started dating, my roommate and a few friends put together a surprise birthday dinner for me at the Roadhouse. Deric's job was to entertain me for a few hours prior to the dinner and somehow get me out to the specific Texas Roadhouse they'd chosen. So Deric and I went to see Vantage Point, which I assumed was all we had in store for the evening. On the way out of the theater, Deric mentioned he was really hungry and do I mind if we stop to get dinner? I was already on cloud nine seeing as he'd invited me to the movies, so the prospect of dinner had me on cloud ten (if there is one...). He said he's really in the mood for a steak and he knows there's a Texas Roadhouse near the theater somewhere, so he drove around the shopping center for a few minutes before we found it. On the way in, I noticed my best friend's car in the parking lot and mentioned it to Deric, saying something like "What are the odds that Mandy's here tonight too??". (At this point, Deric said he was sweating bullets that I'd figure it out, but he needn't have worried...I can be an idiot.) We walked in the restaurant, the hostess ruined the surprise when she asked if we're with the birthday party in the back, and I can't remember the rest of the night. ;) But it was a good one, I do know that!

Now, the restaurant and movie theater we went to that night were on the clear opposite side of Knoxville from our school, and it was the only time I ever went out that way--same for Deric. Ironically, we now live less than two minutes from that shopping center. We can actually walk there. Its funny to think we sorta ended up where we started, huh?

Here's to fifty million more years together!

Two Years Already?

Its hard to believe its already been two years since Deric and I got married. But I think I say its "hard to believe" for everything...hard to believe its already the end of June, hard to believe we've been in TN for a year, hard to believe I'm already 24...basically, time just seriously flies when you grow up (yet high school has to last literally forever).

Anyways, these two years have been the happiest of my life. Deric makes me laugh every day. My favorite part of the day is in the evening when Deric comes home, all (or most) of the day's work is done and we can just spend time together. We're partying it up tonight, back with details about our not-too-fancy-but-sentimental date later!

1. First picture as a couple 2. Christmas in Thailand 

3. Wedding day 4. One year anniversary

A (Fairly) Typical Weekend

1// Buffalo Wild Wings to watch NBA games (Deric gets wings; I get ice cream) 2// berry picking with friends and their little ones ($5 for 2 pounds!) 3// bonfire on Friday night 4// our first tomato from the garden 5// loads of laundry 6// summer dinner in the backyard 7// Madagascar 3 8// new hair! first time ever with bangs and I looovee them. Sure beats trying to keep my hair outta my face.