Memorial Day--Ellijay with Mops and Pops

If I wasn't so far behind, I'm sure these last posts would be full of funny "kenlyisms" that I've long forgotten. So for now, I'm catching up. We went to Ellijay, Ga for Memorial Day weekend to spend some time with Mops and Pops. Kenly was over the moon when we arrived because Mops bought her a princess castle. We put the princess castle in our room, and she slept in it every night on a egg crate mattress covered in blankets. I think she'd trade in her big girl bed if she could sleep in the castle every night. She loves the cabin. While we were there, she spent most of her time fishing, creek hopping, and swimming in the pool. She also enjoyed an ice cream from Dairy Queen.

Kenly loves to fish. She kisses every fish before she throws it back.
She doesn't mind playing with the bait either. That gooey mess in her hands is a pile of night crawlers.
Adam hooks the fish for her, and then she reels them in all by herself.
Our pup is still handsome after all these years.
I could just kiss her face off in this picture. She's too adorable for words.
When she got tired of fishing, she retired to Pop's lap. During the trip she started calling Mops and Pops by new names. She calls them Mopsie and Popsie. She's also started calling my Daddy by Papa-man instead of just Papa.
Gearing up to give the fish a kiss.

Adam and I got married along Turnip Town Creek just below the cabin. Now we are bringing another generation of Brands to enjoy the creek too.


Kenly loved climbing the spiral staircase with close supervision.
Success. I can just hear her screaming, "Look at me. Look at me, Mops and Pops. I'm up here."

Bad Habits

Now that she's almost three, Kenly is picking up some bad habits. In addition to putting everything in her mouth still, she's "picked" up this gem of a habit.

Any tips on breaking the nose picking habit?

"The Big Ole Boat"

In May Kenly and I went to Augusta for a short visit. We had a great time as always. Summer hits Augusta hard, and it starts in April. We started the trip off my watering some flowers with Nana and Grandma.

When the temperature soared, Kenly cooled off by playing in the sprinkler in the backyard.

We spent a day at Lake Thurmond (or Clarks Hill if you're a local). Kenly got a chance to ride on Papa's "big ole boat." The boat's name is Papa's Folly and it is fantastic fun. Grandma came with us to the lake. I don't know who had more fun--Grandma or Kenly.
Papa was in the running for best time too.

Both Grandma and Kenly had "permagrins" while we were on the boat.


We had a picnic on a beach and then spent some time cooling off in the water.


Papa and Kenly did a bit of crafting while we were there too. Papa broke out the watercolors, and the creativity flowed.
Kenly got a bit distracted and started painting Papa's nails.
He let her paint all of his nails red. Look at him letting those nails dry. It's like he's been getting manicures his whole life.
Then he painted Kenly's nails the color of her choosing. She picked brown.

Mountian Playlodge

A new indoor playground opened in our area. It's a little on the pricey side, but the entry fee is for the day instead of just a few hours. Kenly loves the Mountain Playlodge. She can wear me out chasing her from one structure to the other. We meet Meghan and Ava there in May. Jennifer and her boys Davis and Drew joined us as well. Kenly and I went to play there today because it was too hot for the pregnant lady to be running round the park. These pictures are from the May trip.



Kenly tried to climb these stairs and freaked out about halfway up. A staff member rescued her for me. She watched Ava and Davis have fun. She didn't want to be outdone, so...
..she gave it a try. Now she's addicted. The look on her face as she slides down is a fine mix of terror and excitement.

Ava enjoyed putting out a few fires.
Davis decided that being a fire chief is his calling.
He signed Kenly up for duty as well.
Kenly later decided that she's rather do her hair in the salon.
Or maybe play with the food wall in the market.
We enjoy making the most of our time at the playlodge.

Creativity

Before the craziness of summer set in, we were still doing a bit of crafting around here. I'm trying to stand back and let Kenly's own creativity kick in. It's hard for me, but I'm learning. I've enjoyed watching her color this summer. She's being more deliberate about her color selection. Purple strawberries and green cats. I love it. I adored the phase of scribbling with wild abandon, but she's trying to color objects now instead of smearing the page with color. I've never told her she had to color in the lines. She's just watched and learned. It's a sobering fact. She's always watching and learning from me. Most of what she gets is good, but on occasion I'll see her roll her eyes and I know that I'm responsible. I hear my voice come out of her mouth, and I'm even more aware that I always want what she's learned from me to be good and wholesome.

Playing with glue and scissors to make a collage is one of her favorite crafts.



Paint with water books are great if you can find them. I've only found three since her birth, and I've been looking.

WHHS Prom

Before I was a SAHM, I was a 9th grade English teacher at West Henderson High School. (Please don't judge my writing from this point forward. This blog is like my baby book, a personal journal. I do edit, but I'm more interested in getting it down than getting it right.) I was invited to the prom this year because I taught this year's seniors when they were freshmen. Next year when I walk in West, only the faculty will know me. Kenly and I decided to make a date night out of it. These pictures aren't great, but they are good memory shots.

First, we decided to get all dolled up. Nana and Papa gave Kenly some make-up for Christmas. When she puts it on, it is completely sheer. I can't tell she's done anything different, so I turned her loose to put on her makeup.

She got dressed up in the twirly pink dress that Mops bought her.
Just after this picture, she wiped out and scraped her knee on the stump. We need to get patched up with a band aid so we could continue with our plans.
This smile is post prom. We arrived right as prom started. None of the students were dancing yet, but Kenly and I wore out the dance floor. The DJ had lights spinning on the dance floor, and Kenly really loved dancing on the lights.
She loved seeing all the girls dressed up. She really enjoyed eating chocolate covered strawberries and cookies at the prom. It's a good thing her Daddy's a teacher too. She'll have more prom dates than any one girl should have.