Weekend around downtown

We had fun this weekend enjoying what downtown Greenville had to offer. Starting early on Saturday morning, (10:00 am) we visited the farmer's market on Main Street. It opens up every Spring and runs through Fall, selling fresh local fruits and vegetables. And also hot boiled peanuts. I've come to realize that they are a true Southern food-- other regions just don't get it. But I enjoyed it!

We walked around and sat near a grassy area, where Helen ran around a sculpture with some other kids. Kim and I talked to some other parents that were also just hanging out.

A little while, later we headed over to the other side of downtown to visit the annual Greek Festival. Of course, we tried some delicious foods, such as gyros, souvlaki, and a sampling of sweet treats (baklava!) There was also some good music and children dancing. The weather was just perfect to be outside and enjoy the day! Helen made it all the way to the car before having her first meltdown of the day, followed by a nap lasting all the way home and most of the afternoon!

And to cap off an already wonderful day, our neighbors Tim and Carolyn babysat for Helen (and had a grand old time), while we went back downtown to try out a new restaurant that we've been hearing a lot about. The Lazy Goat is a neat little place right on the Reedy River serving Mediterranean fare... a little Spanish, Moroccan, southern French, Italian, etc. We tried several things, including the fried goat cheese with "honey drizzle and pistachio dust" that was amazing! It reminded me a lot of some of the food experiences I had when I was an exchange student in Toulouse, France... especially the meats and cheeses sampler we tried. Yum!

We had such a nice night, we walked around downtown around the river and enjoyed the waterfalls before and after dinner. Oh, here's a juicy fact: Did you know that Greenville is the only metropolitan city in the US with a waterfall in it's downtown? (I hope have those details right!) For those of you haven't been before, you really have to visit and see it!

-AW

Dance Fever

No, Helen is not sick (yet). But her latest thing is that she loves to cut a rug anytime she hears a little music and song. Any kind of music or song will do.

Check out this video of her showing some moves. Okay, so you're going to have to sit through 2 minutes of us trying to get her to dance to see 2 seconds of dancing. But watch closely, she does it several times!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to Kim and all other mothers out there! I was glad to get back home after another Seattle trip this week. Kim was kept company by her parents and sister who came to visit for a few days. This weekend we did a little more gardening, trying to spruce up the front yard with some colorful flowers.

This past week, Kim caught Helen "writing" thank you notes for her birthday. Looks like she was mostly writing on herself!






Helen was kind enough to help me prepare some muffins for Kim this morning before she got up. We all needed our rest today since a thunderstorm kept Dora awake-and therefore all of us- shaking under our bed through the night. Of course, by helping, Helen pulled out some cooking oil and some foil. And then pulled out a lot more foil! She loves to get into everything now.



























And look at this sweet girl; all dressed up, pretty, and happy!