Reedy River Ken-ducky Derby

While in Greenville, SC this past weekend, our plans for Saturday included a visit to the downtown market where we bought some boiled peanuts, chowchow, and some yummy barbecue sauce. They sell all kinds of locally-grown produce, soaps, candles, cupcakes, and other little knickknacks. We walked around there for a little bit, and then left to get a delicious lunch at MoJo's Famous Burgers before returning downtown for more festivities.

Each year, the Rotary Club of Greenville hosts a fundraising event called the Reedy River Duck Derby, where they release (12,000 this year) yellow rubber duckies donning sunglasses into the river and over the falls. The ducks are all numbered and "adopted" and the winning ducks at the end of the race can win all kinds of prizes. It was pretty neat to watch, but not long after it began, I realized just how many ducks are 12,000, and just how many obstacles prevent many from even making it across the finish line. I also quickly realized that we would probably not win the year's worth of free groceries or the $1500. Despite that, we had a great time, and Quinn, although he did not understand why we weren't bringing bread to feed the duckies, thoroughly enjoyed "calling the ducks" with his whistle.

   

*note the battle scar from his other new trick, to be revealed in a later post

Giving Uncle Wade a thumbs-up before the race begins....I think they were conspiring their ducks winning strategies.

And, FINALLY, letting us know the race was about to begin!

*sorry it's blurry...he moves fast, that little one does

And the race begins!

The leaders approach the first rapid...

  

  

And the fight for the lead begins!

  

  

     

Rub-a-dub-dub

    

Although the shades make a nice touch, the sunshine was lacking for the day.

 

    

    

So I don't think our Quack Pack actually won any prizes, but we had fun, and who wouldn't with 12,000 rubber duckies?

Quinn Rides a Bicycle

Quinn was so excited to show us how he rides his bicycle. Before Wade & I got there, he was telling Barbie that he wanted to show us how he rides his bicycle and falls down and hurts his elbow. She suggested he show how he does it without falling down. He did. He was amazing. Now, if he would just face which way he's going instead of watching us to make sure we are watching him.

To see the boy in action, make sure to pause the music player at the bottom before watching.

My Two Favorite Littles

This weekend we got to go visit my sister and her family for a very quick trip. No matter how quick and how short these visits are, they are precious to me and I truly treasure this time spent with them. Quinn is getting so big...

....and Maddie is not. She is a little skinny-minny and just as pretty as can be.

 

We had so much fun together! I'll post more later on all the fun we had, complete with a "dirt-day party"!

My First Photo Shoot

While my sister and her family were here visiting, they asked me if I would take some family pictures of them. Of course, I said yes, and I was so excited! I knew I would be limited with my little point & shoot camera, but I was willing to see what I could pull off. Despite some nasty cold & wet weather, we were able to get in a short little session. Here are some of my favorites:

I have to say, it helps make good pictures when the subjects are so good looking. My sister is beautiful, my nephew is precious, my brother-in-law is handsome, and I just KNOW my niece is gorgeous, even if I can't see her yet! I'm so blessed to have them in my life!

Halaby's Go To Tallahassee

My sister calls her blog Halaby's Go Upstate, but this weekend, then left the upstate of South Carolina and came all the way to Tallahassee....just to see me!! I finally got to talk to Maddie (my niece, in utero), got some major kisses and QT with Quinn, and some fun laughs and talks with Barbie & Jalal. This weekend was a total blast, and even nasty, wet, cold weather couldn't bring us down! It may have changed our plans slightly, but we adapted.

Quinn decided to sing along with Daddy & Uncle Wade's intense Guitar Hero game.

Quinn got to help Uncle Wade collect eggs and feed the chickens.

He LOVED sitting on Uncle Wade's motorcycle.

However, the experience was not complete until he had on his sunglasses.

Q got a little playground time...

And even got to visit the dinosaurs at the local museum.

Can you tell who the star of the show was this past weekend? I can't help it...I love taking this handsome boy's picture! (Stay tuned for some nice family shots of him with his beautiful mama & handsome daddy.) This weekend was so much fun for all of us. I can't wait until the next time we're all together.

Saturday Morning Treasures

This past weekend, Wade had to work so I was left without my usual garage saling partner. My good friend Evelyn decided to join me, despite the wretched hour of dawn I like to get started (Evelyn is NOT a morning person). She was a trooper! We had a great time...it was so good to get to spend some time together. Our deal-finding started off kind of slow, but after a little while, we started to come across some treasures. Ev found a few books, a sweater, and a few precious baby girl outfits. Here are my finds for the weekend:

1. Books: a complete set of Nature's Wild animal books (16 total) for Quinn, a hardback copy of The Polar Express, again for Quinn, a brand-spankin' new copy of The 5 Love Languages, for Wade & I to read together, and a nice Best-Ever Cake Decorating book, for me, of course.

2. Toys: 5 Harley Davidson's for Wade (the biggest kid) to add to his collection, 3 brand new Hot Wheels, for Q for Christmas, & a Giraffe beanie baby w/tag, sticker sets, and bouncy balls, all for my Operation Christmas Child box.

3. Scrapbooking supplies: extra pages, page covers, stickers, & glue spots (all of this for $2.00!)

4. Maddie clothes & shoes, of course: Here are just a few of my favorites. Note: the tiny pink crocs.

 

5. And last, because my sister and brother in law LOVE camoflauge, for some reason:

And how do you possibly make camo girly??

Why, just add some ruffles and a bow, of course.