Weekend Recap

What a wonderfully busy weekend we Lowes had!  I feel like I got so much checked off my to do list and still was able to relax and enjoy time with my family.  For starters, Friday afternoon, Cash's vet called to let me know that his lump was cancer free!  Such a huge relief for us.  It was a regressing histiocytoma, which Landry had as a puppy.  There were some mast cells around it, but he said that's not uncommon with that type of lump.  We are going to keep getting every little bump aspirated, but we were so relieved that this one, which was particularly ugly, was benign.  And his stitches can come out this week.  All great news!  Then, Friday night after work I got a pedicure.  Having your feet rubbed this late in the pregnancy game is a Godsend!!  I told them I planned to see them one more time before I have this little sweetie, so here's hoping we make it to 39 weeks.

We had a storm blow through around 2AM on Saturday morning, so I slept like a baby.  Then we got up around 9AM, had bacon, eggs, and my fantastic homemade drop biscuits.  We tried to walk the pups next, but it started raining pretty hard, so we only got to do a very short loop.  We did spend some time that morning clearing out Riley's room, packing her diaper bag, making the hospital packing list, and boiling bottles and passies.

Then we headed in to town.  Alli has majorly outgrown her first pair of riding boots - they were a size 13 and now she's a 3!  Bless her heart, no wonder she fought me every time we put them on.  So we headed to one of my favorite stores in Fayetteville called Everything Horse and Hound to get new boots.  We of course walked out with new gloves, new socks, and some little pony socks for Riley.  You just can't stop me in a horse store.

Then I went in for a hair appointment - I got my last full foil before this little lady makes her big debut.  So hard to believe that the next time I go in, I'll have a bambino in tow!!  I also snagged some cute hair ties and two new summer Piko tops.  I am still obsessed with these - how convenient is it that they are in style and still fit pregnant ladies?  Screw you, peplum tops.  I love my Pikos.

After a little dinner, this mama was worn out and hit the hay early.  Ryan and Alli watched a movie and popped some popcorn, I think.  I was seriously snoozing by 7PM.

Today we walked the pups, and then Alli had a horse show.  She got two firsts and two seconds - very exciting.  She's not always too keen on the thirds and fourths.  She rode really well, and we are so very very proud of her.  We also got to see a little girl she used to go to Montessori School with who just started riding a few months ago - so fun!

Afterwards, we got our planting on here at the house (finally).  I'm a mid-to-late April planter, because you just never know when you're going to get that last frost.  I was a little lost at first trying to plant for this house.  In our last house, I had been doing it for five years, so I had a good idea of what plants went where.  This one was a whole new experience for me!

I did decide not to tear up any beds.  Our builder planted them, and he did pretty well, but I definitely have some changes I'd like to make.  However, with a bambino on the way, I decided to leave well enough alone.  We did purchase a green Japanese maple that they are going to plant in front of our house in two weeks.  It's going to go right in front of our front office window, so it'll provide some shade and privacy.  We are so excited!

So anyway, I got all of the pots done, and I think they look great.  We did African daisies, a tomato plant, a strawberry plant, and petunias in the back.  I like to have a few fruit/veggie producing plants, as Alli really seems to enjoy them.  Thanks to the Gosselin family for the strawberry plant!

And then vincas, vinca vines, dracaena, a penta, more petunias, and a geranium in the front.  I hear the humming birds really love the pentas, and I've seen myself that they love petunias.  I am itching for a birdbath or feeder, but I think that will have to come after we get the tree planted.

Then I painted yogurt on the terra cotta pot with the pentas in it, hoping to get a really nice patina on it in the next few weeks.  So now I am kicked back on our pretty shaded patio admiring our handiwork and trying to find the motivation to go cook.  Hope everyone's weekend was as fun as ours, and that you were all blessed with a gorgeous day like our Sunday has been!

Wildlife Safari

We've lived here almost ten years and have never visited one of the biggest family-friendly attractions in the area - the Gentry Wildness Safari/Drive Thru Zoo!  When I saw the forecast for 75 & sunny this weekend, I decided visiting Saturday would be the perfect family excursion.  We packed up around 10:30AM and headed out on the 30 minute drive.

It wasn't especially beautiful, and I have some reservations about the establishment (part of the reason we haven't gone before) but everyone with kids that I know has been and their kids love it.  So I put my reservations aside for Alli's enjoyment.  And man, did she enjoy it!

When we pulled in, the man taking money told us they had baby lions and baby giraffes in the barn, but warned that the baby lions might get cranky before too long.  So Ryan decided we would go to the petting area first and then hit the drive through portion later.

We saw peacocks, capybaras, goats, kangaroos, llamas, ponies, and camels - most of which Alli could pet or feed.  Along the way, we found the baby lions and actually got to go in the pen and pet them.  Ryan went in and sat on the hay bale, and one of the little ones actually jumped on the hay bale and crawled into his lap.  It was seriously the cutest thing.  And Alli got to pet a lynx (??) named Sheila.  She says that was her favorite part of the day.

After going through all of the petting areas, we went through the drive through.  It was pretty neat - they had big cats, deer, yaks - all kinds of cool animals to see up close.  When we were almost done going through, the gas light came on in the car.  We sweated it, but we made it!  Thank goodness - we weren't stranded in the drive through safari.

Afterwards, we hosted a zoo at our house - three of Alli's friends came over to play!  We walked them down to the neighborhood playground to enjoy the gorgeous weather.  And after a very full day, Alli curled up on the couch for a movie.  It was a wonderful, gorgeous day, and I'm so happy we got to spend most of it outside!

Spring Break 2012 - Branson, Baby!

I really am going to start doing better on this whole blog thing.  The mister just got me a super sweet new MacBook Air, and he keeps stressing to me that it's exclusively mine.  So instead of questioning his motives (is he plotting on something bigger and better for himself??), I'm going to accept it and move on.

Anyway, this beautiful new computer which has never had a Coke spilled on it, a meal eaten over it, or been dropped from great heights, is all the motivation I need to get back on the blogwagon.  The keys don't stick, the mouse works, and it doesn't take forever to do everything.  What's stopping me?

Instead of trying to catch you up on the past few months, I'll just move forward like we never stopped.  Here's the LoweDown on our last great adventure - Branson Spring Break 2012!

At the end of Alli's Spring Break, which was last week, Ryan and I decided to take Thursday and Friday off and do a mini-vacation to Branson, MO.  Usually, our vacations are either centered around our beloved Razorbacks or our beloved ocean, but this time we decided to take a trip almost completely focused on our beloved bebe, Alli!

On the way to Branson - so excited!

We booked our stay at the Grand Country Inn, a kid-friendly hotel complex, complete with a game center, music hall, restaurant, and indoor water park.  The lodging wasn't that spectacular - our room was older, but clean - but the amenities can't be beat for a family with kids!  When we arrived, we were immediately met with the constant question "When can we go to the water park??" over and over from Alli, but we had to get ready for dinner - at the one and only Dixie Stampede.  I've only been to Branson one other time, but the only thing I wanted to when I was there was go to the Dixie Stampede.  A dinner featuring horses?  It was my childhood dream come true.  I didn't get to go then, but you'd better believe we went this time.

We couldn't take any pictures inside, but we had a great time.  If you don't know, the theme of the show is the Civil War, and the audience and cast are split into sides (North vs. South) and compete against each other.  All the while, they serve you dinner, which you have to eat with your hands - no silverware.  I cannot believe I picked the carcass of a Cornish hen.  We were on the South team, and they actually asked Ryan and I to participate in the show!  We would have had to leave Alli alone for about 10 minutes, so we declined, but Ryan pouted about it the rest of the night (until he saw that the task was riding a stick horse around the arena).  Our side won almost all of the battles, but then lost at the very end.  Alli was pretty distressed until she got her new stuffed horse to console her.

Much happier after a loss with a new pony 

Big Belgian at Dixie Stampede

After Dixie Stampede, we headed to the water park for about an hour and a half, and Alli was asleep before we could get her out of her swimsuit.  The next day (Friday) was pretty rainy, so we opted to hang close to the complex.  We went to see a show called Amazing Pets, which Alli really enjoyed, and then spent some time in the gaming center and mini-golf part of our hotel.  After that, we hit some outlets, where Alli and Ryan racked up.  You know your girl well enough to know she can't outlet shop very well for herself - digging through racks of clothes that are supposed to be rejects and really aren't that much cheaper just ain't my thing.  We went to dinner at Cantina Laredo on the Landing where the margaritas were to die for and we saw some really neat fountains.

Saturday was our last day, and our first stop was the Gone With the Wind museum that I spied on the way to the Landing the night before.  Mr. Lowe very politely toured it with me, and Alli griped the whole time.  I really needed my mom and some peace and quiet to fully enjoy it.  After that, it was off to Silver Dollar City.  The traffic was INTENSE!  We waited 2 hours in traffic just to park the car, and then we could barely navigate the crowd to get anywhere.  I got pretty cranky when we waited in line 45 minutes for a hot dog, and people kept telling us that it had never been this crowded.  I guess the beautiful Saturday after 3 days of cold rain was the culprit.  However, it ended up that we all had an awesome time, but need another day there to do everything we wanted to.  I suspect we will head back there soon - it's only an hour and a half from our front door, so making a day trip doesn't sound too terrible.

Alli rode some roller coasters, and had to keep telling her mommy to stop grabbing her.  I was so afraid our little skinny minnie would fly out!!  She rode Thunderation three times in a row and probably would have kept going if the park hadn't been closing.  We grabbed a quick dinner and headed home, getting in around 10PM and I bet everyone was knocked out by 10:05PM.  All in all, a great little weekend trip for our family, and we're definitely planning a return in the near future.

Worn out after Day 1 in Branson - She slept well!!

Bloom Boom

It's one of my favorite times of the year.  Not that I care for spring any more or less than any other season, I just love it when the weather changes!  In case you hadn't picked up on it, Mrs. Lowe loves her a good change.  Hence the 45 paint colors in this ever evolving place we call home.  So when it's late spring and the temperature is inching up, I'm always eager for summer pool time.  When that fall crisp gets into the air, all I can think of is Thanksgiving and football.  When winter comes a-knocking, I'm always up for a good excuse to hibernate.  And when the days get warmer and the flowers start blooming, I'm ready for spring.

It's only been warm here for a few weeks, but I am cautiously optimistic that it's here to stay.  In fact, this weekend, we Lowes did some planting, walking, patioing, and general outdoor merriment.  We officially have declared it spring.

My parents are coming up for a visit next weekend, and my mom always helps me plant my pots.  Your girl may have a decorating eye, but she has a black thumb and no sense of style when it comes to flowers.  Other than I like for them all to be pink.  So Momsy works with that one stipulation and always helps me plant the most gorgeous pots year after year.  People stop me and ask me about them and I stumble through the flower names and look like a fool.  But the house looks rocking.

I decided to get a jump on her this year by planting a few of the pots with flowers I know we like to use year after year.  Even plant moron can pick up on a few things after 3 years.

These pots are Alli's.  The first year we had the house, my mom got her Gerber daisy in this pot.  So every year we do a pretty pink Gerber daisy here in the full sun that is our back porch.  This year Miss Bree opted for a softer pink.  Subtlety.  Something her mother lacks.  Next to that is a new pot from her Granny, Ryan's mom.  She put some little succulents (sorry, Johnnie, I can't remember what they are called!) in this cute pale pink pot.  I topped it off with a bulldog - my mom bought this for herself and Alli talked her into giving it her instead.  As usual.  We have another pot on our bistro table and  I'm planning to add two more out there as well, but those will stay unplanted until my pro gets here next weekend.

These are New Guinea impatiens in a wicked hot pink outside the front door.  They see very little sun and generally do pretty well here (unless I overwater them like I did last year).  Hopefully I've learned my lesson.

My mom bought this pot for me when we lived in our first apartment.  I always have a geranium in it - it has a really tiny mouth, so the geraniums sits just perfectly in it.  This is the one plant I have that I've never struggled with.  I can keep those alive like nobody's business.  Yeah, I'm bragging about it.

Ryan and I put this bed in the second spring we lived here - obviously it's on the side of our house around the AC unit.  We started out with spirea there, but they had a hard summer last year and we ended up losing them.  We replaced them this weekend with loropetalum.  So you can see that these plants are still babies, but I am so excited for them to grow in.  I read somewhere that loropetalum can grow 3 feet in a growing season!!  I added these pots last summer, and those are snapdragons peeking out.  Of course in assorted colors.  Including pink.

Last summer we decided to plant along the other side of the house, but elected not to put a bed in.  I felt like we'd regret it, but Mr. Lowe did not enjoy the other bed installment.  So I used his lack of enthusiasm to leverage some hot pink knockout roses.  Easy care, pretty flowers, and look good without a bed.  I'm hoping these bad boys burst into bloom soon.

And now a sad shot.  These four ladies have been with me since Spring 1 in Chateau de Lowe.  Mom, Dad, and I spent the better half of a weekend putting this bed in and planting these gorgeous Encore Azaleas.  They have had a few tough winters and are looking pretty darn sad right now.  Alive, but sad.  They barely bloomed last year at all.  I'm looking at you, plant-loving readers.  Help me bring them back.  I love them.  I get physically ill thinking about them not blooming again.  Save them.

Okay, recover.  And check back soon - hopefully this time next weekend I'll have some more gorgeous flower pots to share with you!!