When Two Cains Become Three... then FOUR!: October 2010

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

John and my trip to Asheville

Last weekend we went on our annual marriage retreat. We had the privilege of going to Ridgecrest Fesitval of Marriages in Ridgecrest, NC. It's about 17 miles out of Asheville, and the campus is so gorgeous! Also, it just happened to be after our 4 year anniversary (Thurs. Oct 21st was our anniversary) So, we got to celebrate our anniversary in Asheville, which is where we had our honeymoon, so we got to see a few of the things we did on our honeymoon.

First off... my husband has a way of making me laugh so hard, that it brings tears to my eyes. Like, he has the funniest way of saying things, and I don't know how he comes up with some things. I made an absolute fool of myself when we were checking in for our retreat. While we were in line, John was being his usual goof of a self and saying that he was going to say to the teller when she asked us what our last name was, "Cain"... and if she asked, and how is it spelled, he was going to say "J-E-S-S-I-C-A". Then he went on to say that if she looked at him in question, he'd say "yes, that's Cain with two s'". So he was joking around about it and we were laughing and I was telling him he better not.... So, we finally get up to the girl @ the counter where we check in and get our paperwork for the weekend and she asks us our last name... well, because of our previous conversation, I just start laughing! And not just a light laugh, like really hard.... like, John has to say our last name because I said it so quietly because I was laughing so hard. Then... she proceeds to ask how to spell it! So, I start laughing so hard I am crying! This girl is looking at me like I am crazy! She's probably thinking that we are trying to sneak in under someone else's name and I just can't lie, or something. Then she kind of smiles, and I am still laughing so hard that I can't explain why I am acting so strangely. Finally, I am able to catch enough breath to say to her "my husband was going to say we spelled Cain j-e-s-s-i-c-a"... and that's all I got out. Oh man! She just looked at me with a smile, and we walked out laughing, with the 40 or so couples behind us in line just staring as we walked out of the building trying to figure out if we are crazy, or if the lady behind the counter is the funniest stand up comedian in the world.... I still smile when I think about it... seriously, where did he come up with that. "Yes, Cain, J-E-S-S-I-C-A... I mean really!?

Ok, so anyways, we had a great time getting away. We needed to just have some time together w/out a potty training toddler, and to be able to sleep in and just relax! They had some great classes that we thoroughly enjoyed @ the retreat, and we got to hear Greg and Erin Smalley speak. It was just perfect!

Then, Saturday night was date night and John surprised me and took me to a really nice restaurant for our anniversary. Haven't been spoiled with that fancy of a meal in quite some time, it was so nice! I am already looking forward to our retreat next year! Pretty sure that after my parents finish doing this for the first 7 years of our marriage, we will continue it.

We also went to Sky Top apple orchard on our way home and loaded up on some yummy treats. I'll be making a ton of stuff with apple in it here for the next week or so.

Here's some pictures:

Me and my sweet man

The little square in the downtown Asheville area... pretty trees huh?

There are a lot of musicians playing on the street in Asheville, these guys were really good! Then we noticed the one on the left was playing w/a saw!!

At our favorite coffee shop in Asheville, World Coffee

Tiramisu @ World Coffee... mmmmmm.....

In the Grove Park Arcade mall there was a guy doing a glass blowing demonstration

It was soooo cool!

This is the Italian restaurant John and I ate at on our honeymoon... I guess it was booked completely full while we were there this last weekend... too bad, it was yummy food!

Random vintage Rolls Royce limo... cool huh?

Where John took me for our anniversary

Lamb....sooooo good!

Crab cakes... also SOOO good!!!

Posana was a great restaurant

completely stuffed full of awesome food! :)

View leaving Ridgecrest

Bye Ridgecrest, hope to see you next year!

Went back into Asheville one last time Sunday before heading home so we could get lunch... and saw this guy running down the street dressed as a nun.... I've heard Asheville is random, but wow....

Cool coffee shop, we were gonna go there, but then we saw "cash only"... we only had debit and there wasn't an ATM to be found... too bad!

cute name huh? :)

one of our FAVORITE restaurants, Salsa's, in Asheville... we had lunch there on Sunday, we always try to eat there at least 1x while we are in Asheville. John got a grilled chicken empanada... it was soo yummy!

I got a slow-cooked pork quesadilla... mmmmm!

John ecstatic about his Mexican/Caribbean food

obviously, I am too!

There was a full moon Saturday night... tried to catch it and it didn't quite work...

On our way up the mile long rode up to Sky Top Orchard

Pretty views huh?

More views...

still warm apple cider doughnuts... SOOO Good!

entrance to the orchard

the bees makin' the honey

more bees...mind you, I am allergic (thankfully not deathly) to these, had chills the entire time I was taking these pictures...

Just couldn't get enough of those pretty fall colored, tree covered mountains!

John enjoying one of those Apple Cider doughnuts... they were heavenly!

And this was my view when I came out from putting dinner away last night. John and Madi watching "Elmo" together on the floor while John scratched Madi's back. If he stopped she'd say "more, more!"

Sooo sweet!!!

Till my next post...

Madilyn is 18 months old!

On October 17th, Madilyn turned 18 months old... my sweet baby! There are a few new things to report!

#1 : We turned her car seat around in the car... so she is officially forward facing. We were going to wait the extended recommendation, but car rides were beginning to be miserable... she needed to see, and I had to be able to see what was going on to help her. So... much better car rides come from turning her around... so happy we decided to do it.

#2: Madilyn can say so many new things! Most recently, she says moon, star and sky. The only problem is that she gets all upset when she can't see the moon or stars in the sky during the day, and can't figure out why mommy can't make them appear for her... if only I were that powerful!

#3: She is being potty trained. After much debate, and talking to 2 doctors about persistent rashes and trying every option under the sun... we decided to potty train! I was sooo dreading it, and probably would have waited until she went to Wal-Mart, purchased a potty and trained herself! J/K, but it's going so much better than I hoped. She hasn't had any accidents w/the #1... but #2 we are still struggling with, she's still scared of doing #2 on the potty, but she's getting better day by day. I am so proud of her!!!

#4: She is trying to dress herself! :) She can successfully take OFF her clothing... (Sooooo not the best thing for mommy), and she can almost get her pants back on after going potty. She can take her shoes off, and almost get them back on! She's getting so big!

#5: She tries to sing, and it is soo precious! She like, moves her head back and forth, with her mouth opening and closing, and hardly any sound coming out... it cracks me up, but it's just so precious! She tries to pick out words she knows, and will say that, then just continue to open and close her mouth while bopping her head back and forth. I am smiling just typing it!!!

#6: She loves to dance, but lately is consists of spinning until she falls down. A while ago we went to the Italian Festival downtown, and they had this great live music... but she wouldn't dance like normal, she just wanted to spin around. The problem with that is that we were outside on the asphalt, and if she fell, it would have been painful. So, I told her to stop spinning and just dance, she screamed and sat on the ground having a little fit... needless to say we had to leave a little earlier than we planned... :)

#7: She can't jump... but she tries so hard! She thinks her cousin, Preston (who's 13 months older than her) is just about the coolest thing in the whole world. He'll jump, and she'll try to imitate him... it looks like the cutest thing, he's jumping and she looks like she's galloping across the room. :) Love it!!!

#8: She is good @ helping mommy and daddy pray for meals and at bed time. She will even prompt us to pray before we eat, like... um, aren't we supposed to pray first? :) She'll fold her hands and squint her eyes. So sweet!

#9: She loves to pretend to go "nigh night". She'll lay on the floor w/her blanket and her lovie, or stuffed animal, and close her eyes. Then, she'll say, "mommy, daddy nigh night". So then we get on the floor and go "nigh night" also. She just giggles and thinks it soo fun! HA! The only problem is explaining to her that I can't pretend to go nigh night when I am driving... :)

#10: Her 12 mo pants are finally getting a little bit short. Most of her 18 month pants are way too big in the waist though, especially since she is now sans diaper... but we're trying to figure out what to do. It was so funny the other day though when I had her @ work with me and she ran across the room to get papa, and by the time she got there her whole tushie was exposed! I'm gonna have to tailor her pants!!! We don't want that happening in public!

Well, that's what I can think of for now. She has her 18 mo tomorrow so I'll have to post her stats... maybe she finally made 22 lbs! We'll see!!