S'More Please!

I can't get enough of the weather...too bad tomorrow it's taking a nosedive. Max and I have been trying to take advantage during the days it's been nice out.

St. Patrick's Day was a nice day. It was Max's first St. Patrick's Day...and Mimi and PopPop's 38th Anniversary. They've been married longer than I've been alive! That's crazy! Wait a minute....

Max started the day in this oh-so-perfect-for-St.-Patty's-Day outfit.


He and Bailey did a bit of celebrating. Bailey forgot to wear her St. Patty's Day collar, but she did sit on her green chair.




Later in the day, however, it was much too warm for the green-bean outfit. Time for shorts and playing outside!









Max wrapped up the day by watching the Greenville St. Patrick's Day Parade...on TV. (Yes, this is the perfect example of "How Not To Raise Your Kid." I promise I don't really park him in front of the TV. I just wanted to get a picture of him enjoying the bagpipes!) Notice the temperature on the TV...delicious.



The following day, Friday, we had s'more of the same...great weather, and Chris came home from his quick trip to Germany. Yay!



So, Saturday Chris and Max got to spend the day together while Julie and I took a photography class downtown. I was hoping to be a professional-level photog after the day-long class. I'm not. Nothing has changed. I learned nothing. AND...let's leave it at that.

And to add insult-to-injury, just as the class was letting out, a HAIL of a storm came up and after running through the rain to the car, Julie and I literally had to drive through hail to get home. It was crazy. We were scared that the windshield was going to shatter; and the yards that we passed on the way home looked like they were covered in snow. It was crazy, did I mention that? It looked like someone had emptied their ice-filled coolers around our gutters.



But we couldn't let a little crazy weather keep us from our fun-filled plans for the evening. So after loading enough baby gear in Chris's rental to last us for a week, we headed off to Greer to have dinner with Paul and Olympia. And, most importantly, to test out the new fire pit with some S'mores!!!

Before dinner, we enjoyed the nice weather (no hail here!) on the deck.


Max also regaled us with some interesting tales and his highly developed humor.



Then some of us enjoyed a yummy dinner of Barbecue Chicken with Lentils and Garlic Bread prepared by Olympia, while others of us enjoyed a milk and oatmeal puree...




And FINALLY we got down to business at the firepit. This is where I will demonstrate my newly acquired photography skills. Look at how I've captured this fire. Amazing, right?




Actually, I did learn this impressive technique in class. (Don't worry, the fire didn't actually explode volcano-style and nobody was injured). Seriously, this is the only thing the photography teacher "taught" us how to do...something about a very slow shutter speed. I can see SO MANY uses for this....



But back to the S'Mores...I LOVE S'Mores. I think this was actually the first time I ever actually had them...and I WILL be having them again. Also, I covet Paul and Olympia's fire pit and I want one in my yard. I'm not sure that's ever going to happen, so I foresee some trips to Greer in my future. Paul and Olympia being at home (or even inviting me) is really optional since I don't need a key to get to the fire pit :) Hopefully they won't train their ferocious housecat Leonard to keep me away.

I mean, look at how much fun Paul and Lympi were having:



Actually, Lympi MAY have been steaming about the fact that Chris was continously bombing her baby Magnolia tree with magma-hot marshmallows. (She really wasn't...I think she was actually on high alert for the wild fox in this picture).

A fun time was had by all, including Max, who was a trooper as he hung out by the fire with us, sleeping in his carseat.

The next day saw the return of the Omi and OpiLu from their cruise and a few more days of bonding before they headed back to Germany. They even managed to fit in a Skype session with Uncle Oli.



So, now we're all caught up...and dreading the upcoming rainy days. Not sure how we'll entertain ourselves. Maybe we'll do some further training with straw drinking...