Day at Concord Mills

Over the weekend, Josh traveled to Kansas City for the Patriots game. He was pretty excited and luckily they won. And yes, I watched the game from home. It was stressful and I don’t think OT good for my heart.  This is the only picture he sent. Am I surprised? Not at all.

Monday, Charlotte had no school for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. I knew we needed to get out of the house but it was also going to be freezing. I put the girls in matching outfits and we headed to the Concord Mills Mall. It is pretty much the same as Ontario Mills in Southern California or an inside Block of Orange.

I had told Charlotte ahead of time that I wasn’t going to be buying anything extra for her, so if she wanted something, she needed to bring her own money. She has a jar of bills that she puts any money that comes in the mail or she gets for birthdays. She never touches it, but this time she was all for it! I told her she could only bring $10. Of course, it was burning a hole in her pocket by the time we stepped foot in the mall and we had to go directly to the Disney store (outlet). This child is OBSESSED with all stuffed animals. And she really does play with them all equally. So I was not surprised at all when she picked up a Vampirina doll. 

Then we went and ate lunch at the food court. Not the greatest options. Of course, Chick-Fil-A and Chipotle were on the outside of the mall, so we ate at Firebiuse Subs. I always forget how good that place is! Charlotte got a grilled cheese and I got the Turkey Bacon Ranch. Charlotte ate hers and said it was the best grilled cheese. That’s always a win when I can find a place where she likes to eat. And Naomi munch on the crust! (And yes, I had brought the baby more food!) 

I had told Charlotte we would ride the carousel as part of the trip to this mall. We needed to spend lots of time here because I knew she would be “bored” at home. I was a little surprised that it cost $3 (am I just too cheap), so just Charlotte rode.  Naomi and I watched and enjoyed that just as much. Of course Charlotte had to pick the “Mer-horse” in the middle and next to someone. The entire thing was practically empty. Oh well. 

It was a fun little outing. I haven’t been to that mall since we lived in Charlotte the first time. We walked around to kill more time. On our way back home, we stopped at Andy’s Frozen Custard, due to a recommendation from a friend. It was good! Josh wants to try it so I’m sure we will be back sometime soon.

 

Around Town

The weather has been really cold here in the Queen City. I have tried getting out as much as possible but some days it's only been an hour tops, if that. We (me and Charlotte) are tired of being cooped up inside. So I thought last night, we will head into Uptown and go to ImaginOn for storytime. 

This morning, after we delivered mascara to a local customer, we headed to the children's library. It was fun and nice to get out! 

My friend, Caryn, who i delivered mascara to this morning, told me about Belmont, NC. It's a little town outside of Charlotte that has a cute Main Street, including an ice cream parlor. Ice cream is the magic word! On the way home, the weather was beautiful, so we stopped by and explored this quaint little town. It was adorable!! We ate at the parlor and then drove around, looked at houses and finally continued home. 

Charlotte doesn't take formal naps anymore, but if she's tired, she has no problem telling me and falling asleep. Which I'm totally fine with!! 

And a little added picture of my silly girl back at home. 

Christmas in Charlotte

Yesterday we were in full swing of (attempted) Christmas shopping. But shopping together, doesn't really help! After a great lunch at Moe's and the mall, we went home empty handed. 

Later that night, we met up with some friends at the Billy Graham Library for a live nativity. I have high expectations for live nativities since I am used to "Follow the Star" in Rancho Santa Margarita. This nativity wasn't even close, BUT it was still a fun night to get out and enjoy Christmas at a very popular Charlotte spot. I am pretty sure half of Charotte was there. It was packed! Luckily, it's big and plenty of space to roam. 

Evan and Charlotte loved the animals in the nativity. We ate dinner in the library cafe and listened to story time. It was a lot of fun and if you're in the area, I highly recommend! 

Monkeying Around

She is obsessed with putting on every pair of shoes she has throughout the day.  It started very early yesterday.

Yesterday was a long, productive day.  Order...1) Walmart return, 2) Monkey Joe's, 3) Lunch 4) Pick up clothes from alterations, 5) Put together ward bulletin board, 6) Pack for Utah.   I get tired just thinking about the day, even though it's over.  Some of you are probably saying, "psh, that's my schedule everyday!"  Lately, I have been trying to limit the amount of places I go, for Charlotte's sake.  She loves getting out, but she LOVES going back home!  We are spending the majority of the week at home getting ready to leave TOMORROW!!  I am so excited to see my family, I might have well served another mission again ;)   But we still have to have fun in the midst of leaving for the holidays.  Therefore, we explored Monkey Joe's for play group.  We had never been here before.  I didn't know what to expect and it was basically a bunch of bounce houses.  Charlotte took a LONG time to warm up to it, but finally she liked it.  I also have never put so much hand sanitizer on her, probably in her life combined.  There are no signs of sickness today, so I think I killed all her germs ;)  

After Monkey Joe's, we went to Chili's for lunch (I had a coupon for a free kids meal) and I got the BEST salad...Santa Fe Chicken salad.  And then to the church building to put up the ward bulletin board.  It's nothing to brag about, but it's better than what it was...nothing!

Once we got home, Charlotte crashed!  I went upstairs to grab something out of my room and couldn't help but snap a photo of her around around her baby.  It kills me.  Love this little trooper of mine!

   

Fall Activities Galore

My last post was a fall activity and this post is a fall activity.  Sorry!  But it's so fun having all these things to do as the seasons are changing.  We were looking forward to going to the pumpkin patch this weekend, especially because the forecast said it would be in the 60's!!  Finally, a crisp day!  I dressed up in fall attire (boots) and was so excited.  We arrived at the pumpkin patch and the longer we were there, the warmer it got.  Luckily, it wasn't as hot as last weekend, but still...BRING THE FALL WEATHER!!  
We met up with the Nyborg's and also a new couple that has moved into the area Josh knew from Raleigh.  We let the kids play around the fire truck, wheeled them around in a wagon, played in the sandbox, ate some more donuts (not as good as Sky Top) and took a hay ride!  We are actually going back to the same place on Tuesday for play group, but we wanted to scout it out and take our husbands.  It was a lot of fun!!  I'm looking forward to Tuesday and actually leaving with a pumpkin!  

Afterward, we went to lunch at Red Robin (both Nels and Josh had their birthday burgers to redeem). We had just received a gift card from PwC also.  It was great!  The kids were really good during lunch as well.  By the end, everyone was tired and we were ready to go home and crash (which our family did).  
The rest of the weekend was The LDS General conference. It was rough with Charlotte. I know I only have ONE child, but I don't think it matters. Toddlers don't like listening/watching to church on TV. We will have to watch the recorded conference or re-read it in the Ensign. We got a little in, so that's good. Yeah, we aren't perfect :)
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Today we went back to the same pumpkin patch with our friends! There was hardly anyone there...just a bunch of moms and little kids! Charlotte wore her Halloween shirt and I attempted some festive pictures, but you know her, she doesn't like to cooperate! 

After, we went and ate at Moe's, one of my new favorite places here in Charlotte. Much to my surprise, kids eat free on Tuesdays! Yay!! 

It was such a fun day and I'm so glad I can spend these memorable moments with my baby girl!!