Brown County

For BC's birthday weekend we surprised him with a trip down to Brown County! We stayed at the park in a little, I mean one room with a tiny bathroom little, cabin. We got settled in on Friday evening and had some dessert at the lodge, after putting Declan down we sat outside on our porch and enjoyed some quiet time.

Declan woke up quite early (5:30 am) on Saturday and was not about to go back to sleep, so after a walk with dad we headed into Nashville for some breakfast. We ate at the cozy Hob Nob restaurant and walked around town for awhile. BC and I bought some new shirts and Declan got a new beanie:) We even stopped at the old Log Jail!

We headed back to the park to do some bike riding. Our plan was to ride the mile or so down to where the trails start...Declan's bike seat is on the back of my bike and I should preface this with two things: 1. I'm not a great bike rider and 2. I like to ride on flat, not big hilly roads. That being said, Dec and I made it about half way when we had to switch! Good thing BC is such a pro at bike riding because there is no way I would have made it on those trails with Dec! We stopped for a some snacks before heading back to the cabin.

Declan took a great 2 hour nap and BC and I sat outside, had some beer and threw a ball around (I found this ball outside the lodge and I was so excited to give it to Declan, well it rolled in this little hole under cabin, but I saved it!). BC also threw sticks at a tree before we took a nap ourselves! The Abe Martin Lodge has a big indoor swim park that we went to after his nap. Declan did great in the water and BC and I even went down the big slide:)

Saturday night we went back into Nashville for dinner and live music at Muddy Boots Cafe. That's when the rain started! But after making it back to the cabin and putting Dec to bed, we braved the rain for beer and wine on the porch! Declan slept in until 6:30 on Sunday morning and since the rain left the ground to wet for us to ride the trails again, we packed things up and headed home. On the way out of the park we stopped at the North Lookout for some beautiful views. It was a great weekend and a wonderful place to visit:)

More!

We've been working with Declan to sign "more" for quite some time and last month he started doing it when we would prompt him, but last week he started doing it all on his own! We're so proud of the big guy:) Here he is at breakfast asking for "more" of dad's french toast!

Happy 31st Papa!!

It's BC's 31st birthday today!

Happy birthday Papa, we love you!!

Safety First!

This weekend we got Declan a seat that attaches to the back of my bike along with a new helmet! I'm not the best bike rider, just ask BC, so I'm really going to have to focus now:) We went for a short ride yesterday to test it out and when we got back inside he didn't want to take his helmet off! I love that he thinks being safe is cool!!

At the park

We have a wonderful little park close to us that Declan and I have been going to quite often. It's fenced in so he can wander and has slides that are perfect for him. He has a love/hate relationship with the swings...about 75% of the time he refuses to get in! He also loves the fire truck:)

New plants...

I have finally gotten around to planting some plants on the side of our house. This past Sunday BC and Declan stayed inside to watch football while I went to Lowe's to pick out plants (Lowe's has a 1 year guarantee on their plants, which I will probably use). I was so excited to get a hibiscus tree! I alternated with Java Red Weigela and Henry's Garnet Sweetspire. The little front area has purple and green Kale, which I love! It took all day, but here it is!

The Attack of Deczilla

As BC and I were attempting to watch a movie the other day, I was attacked by Deczilla...a blond monster that loves to kiss and hug:)

The Ripple Effect

Last night we took part in The Ripple Effect, a 4 mile run/walk race in Broad Ripple! This was first time BC and I have ever done a race and we had so much fun, we might just do more:) BC finished in 34 minutes and 31 seconds (the winner ran it in 21 minutes!) and I made my goal of under an hour at 52 minutes 21 seconds!! The race didn't start til 7 pm, so we put Dec in his jammies thinking he'd fall asleep along the way...nope, he had an awesome people watching. I told him to wave bye-bye to the people we passed:) After the race we bumped into Sarah (Bultemeier) Harnish. We're just a little sore today, nothing too bad though. We may not be ready for a full marathon, but a mini maybe:)

Jessica's Wedding

This past weekend we up to Syracuse to celebrate Jessica (Leach) and Mike's wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony, as was the bride, and we had so much fun at the reception. BC even got out on the dance floor! Declan had fun emptying out the diaper bag and loved being outside.

Best wishes to Jess & Mike!

With the bride:)

Yes, we're doing the Cupid Shuffle (at least I think that's what it's called)!

Kisses from Aunt Abby:)

O'Rourke Cousins

Last Friday we spent the night at Gram and Grandad's house and Declan got to play with his cousins Kylie, Emmie and Erin:) I don't think he wanted Erin to play with his GI Joe tank! He did have fun trying to brush their hair though!

I was trying to get a picture of Dec and his new shirt (it's a Guinness Beer shirt from China) with Grandad, but he just wasn't having it!!