Hillsborough Halloween

We love living in Hillsborough! The town is always hosting some sort of event downtown. For Halloween, kids could dress up and visit all of the shops for treats. One of the local real estate offices even had a "haunted house" that ended with cookies and warm cider. We met up with the McCains and had a great time.

Goodies from Dual Supply Hardware Store

Cora's old pal, Oh-Wo! I mean Spider Man

She LOVES the fire station!

Spirit Week at MGP

Cora's school has a week of dressing up that leads to Halloween. I didn't take pictures each day but here are some of my favorites. One day she was to dress up as someone from the Bible or an animal. We opted for the cow this year. Last year she was a lovely Mary. This year a cow.

They had one 50's, 60's, 70's day. Cora and her pal Ava Ava both decided to be hippies. Go figure, daughters of Happy Appys.

Tacky Day- It was tacky day at my school that day too! Great photo op! We were a sight!

Cora's 1st Field Trip

The Pumpkin Patch

She was ready with all of the necessary pumpkin patch accoutrements:

pumpkin hair bows holding super cute curly piggies

Old Navy 2010 pumpkin t-shirt

Jack-o-Lantern socks
A Fistfull of Candy Corn

Giggling BFF, Ava Ava

corn and soy beans to feed the goats

An excited Mommy taking a day off to spend with her best girl!

Burlington Park

We love Burlington Park. My grandmother used to take my mom and her brothers and sisters when they were little. Quite a bit has changed but a lot has not. Cora seems to get more out of it each time we go. It is also nice that it is roughly halfway between Reidsville and Hillsborough. It is perfect for meeting up with the family! I let Cora ride the "airplanes" this time. She did great! You better not throw me, horsie.

That's her age not a political statement. Well, take it as you will. From the mouths of babes, right?

Train!

Oh my! Is that Cora's mama in a picture?! Too bad it appears that I am feeding my child artificial flavoring, artificial coloring and corn syrup... She survived. Thanks Daniel. You really know how to spoil my girl.

Heading to spring break with the top down!

Buddies. Getting so big!

Hanging out with Tropical Storm Nicole

We went down to the beach for some R&R. Well Tropical Storm decided to vacation on the very same beach on the very same week. Go figure. It was an amazing experience except for being wet, wet, wet. Did I mention that we were soaking wet almost the entire time? Boots, rain coats and Aquarium memberships all came in handy this week! We did sneak in some seashell and beach walking time. We even did a drive by of the Seafood Festival. It was a fun and undoubtedly unforgettable week!!!

If you look closely, you can see waves crashing through the end of the Oceanana Pier. It was an incredible sight.

Many of know how much work has been put into building and keeping these dunes. This storm did a number on them. You know it is bad when you see the roots of the sea oats where the sand has been washed away from them. This shot shows the water coming down the public access. Mom said that we were heading for the hills if it came much farther! Scaredy cat :)

I took this one to show the water level in relation to the trash cans. It is hard to tell but it was actually worse up the beach.

My seashell gathering buddy before daylight. I told her she had to lose the pocketbook. She complied.

Cora having a splashing good time BEFORE Nicole showed up. There had just been quite a bit of rain before we got there. Please notice the million dollar (including labor) retaining wall in the distance. We affectionately call her Little Fort Macon.

We got up before the sun and decided to walk down to the pier for some good ol' pier breakfast. On the way back, Cora decided we should get in the ocean....wearing our jeans. She laughed until she couldn't catch her breath. Awesome memory created. I hope she remembers too.

She likes to rock the hat backwards.

See that orange glow? That is the sun waking up!

Those boots were priceless!!!!! Behind her there is an orange DOT barrel floating down Club Colony Drive. There was so much rain! A lot of the water had receded from around the house at this point.

Blog Catch Up!!!

Having an IPhone has really kept me away from our computer. On the other hand, it has allowed me to take some pictures when I don't have my monster camera along. Here are a few pictures from as far back as August. Captions will be few and brief! Time to catch up!

We met Coy at work for lunch. We all enjoyed the visit and Cora got to be the Krispy Kreme Elf for Coy's lab!

By the way, she thinks it is hilarious to smile this way...
Better :)

Hugs!

Cora and I went to Science/Family Day at Duke Gardens. She got a tube of blue water to put a carnation in. She gave it to Jen Jen.

We love any chance to enjoy Loco Pops! Yummy! Notice the shoes on the wrong feet.

getting apples from Papa for the donkeys

We were at the Museum of Life and Science recently and Cora pointed at the donkeys and said, "donkey". A boy beside her put his nose in the air and said, "Actually, that is a horse." He was talking to the wrong girl... Little did he know that he would actually run into a donkey owner in the middle of Durham.

Everyone loves Mayberry's in Reidsville.

Enjoying the "air conditioning" at the peach stand

Helping Ge work at the peach stand

It's a grainy one but this was Cora's first day of school in the 2 year old room.

Cora's favorite part of the museum, the frogs. I have to agree, they are beautiful!

No, I don't make a habit of allowing Cora to ride in the "bed" of the buggy. This was an exception. We were in a bit of a hurry to get out of Target.

Cora's easel- We could not wait for Christmas.

AIG or OCD? You be the judge. We just walked in and she had this set up. She does a lot of sorting and lining things up... hummm...

Dear Cora,

To those you you who read our blog, please feel free to read on. It is "written" to Cora but I intentionally included it in the blog to make sure it was included in what has become our family record book. I just ask that you remember our family in your prayers as we get through this tough time. We thank you so much. -Mandi

My Sweet Cora,
I have been lying in bed wide awake thinking about how much you mean to your daddy and me. You are smart, thoughtful, beautiful, kind, witty, and so many other adjectives that it would take forever to list them all. We love you so so so much.
Yesterday (9-21-2010) we got some pretty terrible news. We found out that the baby brother or sister in mommy's tummy was not going to be born. We know that he or she was in there because we were so blessed to already have heard a heartbeat. Unfortunately, this little one was too sick to grow in my tummy and meet us. God decided to go ahead and take him or her to Heaven. While we are so sad right now, we find peace in knowing that this baby and our first baby have each other to run around and play with. And I am sure they will always be watching over you!
Another reason that I am a little sad is because I know that you would have been an amazing big sister. I watch you around other babies and even your dolls. You are so gentle and sweet. I would have been so proud for you to be looked up to by a sibling.
But in my grief, I have to believe that there is a plan for all of us that we just can't begin to predict. Maybe one day this will help you understand why you were an only child like both of your parents. And I pray that you never have to lose a heartbeat of your own one day.
Hopefully it is okay with you that I am posting this letter on your blog. This has become a journal about your life. I've written more than I ever dreamed I would in the spring of 2008! While sometimes I write the least when you are doing the most, and I could not possibly include everything, I try to mention the big stuff. This is a sad one but it is something that we are going through as a family. You are even doing your part to make things better. When your daddy brought you home from school yesterday, you crawled into the bed beside me and said, "you don't feel good?" When I replied that indeed, I didn't feel too good, you gave me a hug and snuggled with me for a few minutes. There is nothing in the world that could have helped more than that. Then after a perfectly acceptable 2 year old wait time, you very seriously informed me that you wanted some oatmeal. Your timing is perfect.
As I said before, you are wonderful beyond words. We could not have asked for a more perfect daughter. Your daddy and I are in complete awe of you. God picked the most beautiful flower, inside and out, and gave her to us. We are so proud to have you in our lives. We love you.
Hugs and kisses,
Mommy