dentist visit

last week the kids went to the dentist. this was malcolm's second ever visit and cleaning, and just like the first visit, he did great! i am so glad that he enjoys going there. i remember really liking the dentsit when i was little. but then i got older and they started pulling teeth (eight at one time, four of which were permanent. ouch!), attaching braces, and making my mouth hurt. i wore those beasts for six years, and my teeth are a mess because of it. i hated the denstist/orthodontist. i still do to this day. i would love to find a dentist who is truly judgement-free, then maybe i would go in for a cleaning and exam. anyway, i hope that alanna and malcolm always enjoy having their teeth cleaned, and that they will always maintain good oral health. oh, did i forget to mention that both of them had great check-ups and NO cavities!? because they did. pretty awesome. we celebrated with cupcakes from whole foods (again)!

he chose these scary monster teeth from the prize drawer, haha :)

waiting for alanna to finish up.

fancy new office!

yay (and rawr), no cavities!

malcolm loves to walk around "the jungle" before we leave.

maybe alanna needs to brush her teeth better?! ;)

one month from tonight

eeep, i'm getting so excited! this will be my fifth time seeing willie nelson perform live. he is, without a doubt, my absolute favorite musician. ever. 

the first time i saw willie was at kingsbury hall in salt lake city in 2002, and i won the tickets off of ebay. i split the price with dustin, my good friend and co-worker. the performance was amazing, and we had a blast. 

the second show was at the weber county fair in 2003 and i went with my brother. we had a good time (especially people watching!), but we wished we could have been closer to the stage. 

the third time i saw him was in roanoke rapids, nc in 2007, and i dragged alanna along. it was the "last of the breed" tour with ray price and merle haggard. the show was over an hour away and outdoors in a big field. we were surrounded by old people smoking cigarettes and drinking beer. i was pregnant with malcolm and alanna was eleven and totally bored, so neither of us were very stoked on the atmosphere. kind of a bummer.

the fourth show was at the dpac in durham in 2009, and i went alone. it was a great concert, and the dpac was brand new and super fancy, so i had a really good time. that was honestly the only time i have ever been to something like that by myself. (i won't even go to the movies alone, because i don't want to look weird. stupid, i know.) plus malcolm was only a year old, and i had not been away from him for that long before either. it was kind of a big deal day. 

next month will be the first time that i will be seeing willie live, with my sweet husband by my side! this is a true testament to how much danny must really love me. if you know him, then you probably know that danny strongly dislikes willie, maybe even loathes him, so for him to have agreed to go with me is saying a lot. i don't think that he would have been this accommodating when we first got married? husband, i hope you enjoy the show, or at least fake like you do. and i really, really hope that they serve coke products ;) thank you for being my date. i love you!  

august leftovers

mama cat loves her cat grass!

marbles' garden

mmm, starbucks :)

we went to chapel hill a few weeks ago for dinner, and when we pulled into the shopping center where the restaurant is located, this was also pulling in... the oscar mayer wienermobile! i know it might seem strange, since we are a vegan family, but we all got really excited when we saw it. it's totally a piece of americana, and reminds me of my childhood (that song! and those commercials!), so of course we walked over to check it out.  

then we ate our delicious vegan burgers ;)

malcolm napped through the meal.

costco already has toys out for christmas shopping. oh, and christmas decorations too... in august!?

this is what happens out here when there is severe weather on the way. the store shelves get totally wiped out! it's usually just milk, eggs, and bread that sell out, but this was in the natural foods section of our kroger before hurricane irene hit the coast. people are crazy i tell ya!

malcolm napping in the car. with shades, an eye patch, and a "gun" in his hand. this is totally normal, right?!

irene brought some really strong winds, and after the rain stopped danny took advantage of the gusts and flew his kite out in the yard.

the sky was beautiful as the storm was heading north.

since we were stuck inside most of the day while the hurricane traveled past, i made cupcakes! we are so glad that the wind didn't bring down any trees in our neighborhood, and that we never lost our power. i did miss a work shift, since we closed up the store for the afternoon, but it was nice to spend a lazy saturday afternoon at home with my family.

i caught malcolm like this, helping himself to a treat from the kitchen cupboard. naughty boy!

and i'll end this post with my insane family. jumping for joy because a storm was blowing in! we love this rainy time of the year :)

family fun day 2011

i've had this post saved as a draft for about a week now, but we've been so busy and i never had the chance to finish it up until now. wow august went by fast! on saturday the 20th, dan & vicky came over and we all headed downtown together for family fun day at artspace. alanna attended two summer youth art classes there again this summer, so we got to see her creations on display. it was a fun day. here is the post from last year to see how much she has changed in one short year. dan kindly took all of these photos with his fancy camera. thanks dan! 

this large display was a collaboration that our friend garrett did with the boys & girls club of raleigh. it was really cool. each photo was on a door, they all opened, and inside was artwork that the kids did themselves. 

malcolm got his face painted. last year we waited in a crazy long line, and then when it was his turn, he was too scared to get it done. this year he could have cared less. he chose his favorite veggie, broccoli! 

alanna with the ceramic display pieces from her first class. 

and with the plush creations from her second class.

she made the little guy in the bottom left-hand corner. so cute!

i love this photo. all of us looking in different directions. there was a lot to take in, and i was busy trying to keep malcolm out of trouble. so glad that dan was there to take photos for me. 

our little family!

beautiful alanna with her ceramics.

time to go home.

these are the pieces that were not chosen to be on display. she is so creative, and did such a great job this year. i especially love her plush characters. i think she could sell them, they are that good. 

yes, his hands are x'd up! haha!
this cat was malcolms favorite, he hugged him and told us he loved him sooo much.
love that lil' guy :)

ta da!