Water Day

Today Alley was in a much better mood (which puts us all in a better mood!), so we decided to declare it water day:) Doesn't water make everyone happy? Well it does for the McPherson family. This morning was busy with errands and housework, so after lunch, Alley helped daddy blow up her new swimming pool (which was much bigger than I thought!). She practiced getting in and out of the pool (in the living room) and had a complete blast rolling around inside it!! Then after a nap we invited Granny to come over and hang out while we tried out the pool. We had lots of fun, even though the water was brrr cold. Here are some pictures from today.

What a happy girl...

Giving Granny high-five

Who likes the pool? I do, I do... (okay, she was actually asking for food...whats new!)

"Daddy, it's still too cold!"Thirsty?? (she's drinking water from her watering can)

Okay, so our house SHOULD be super clean because this little lady LOVES to sweep...so we put her to work:) Here is the little lady cleaning the dining room...She gave her father the dust pan to hold...bossy little thing;)

Oh God is good:) ...she even cleans up after herself!!

I hope everyone enjoyed this sunny and hot day!

Weekend trip

It's been awhile since I've updated the blog...we just really haven't been doing much that is photo worthy ;) As of Thursday, the school year finally ended for me! Woo-hoo! Our first summer adventure was a trip to Roanoke for a racquetball tournament. Andy and his assistant, Isaac, started playing racquetball several months ago and thoroughly enjoy the challenge. They thought it would be fun to see how well they would do against people who have been playing for years (and seem to take it way to seriously;) ). They ended up winning!!! The two underdogs who haven't even been playing for a year...won! Can you tell I'm proud:)
We had a great time in Roanoke visiting friends and just getting summer started off in the right way. Here are some pictures...

This picture was taken a week ago - we bought Alley some sidewalk chalk for her to play with...she enjoyed it for a second...I think mommy enjoyed it more;)

Alley completely absorbed in a book at Barnes & Noble - just like her mommy:) We needed to waste some time while waiting for Andy to play, so this place was great!

Alley's first bubble bath while in Roanoke...she loved it, but couldn't stop "eating" the bubbles...While driving around (wasting time again) we found a garden with paths and water fountains...so we got out and looked around...here we are sitting still for a split second:)Looking at the fish, who went into hiding when Alley came around...they must already know her!Sniffing flowers...we're still working on her not eating flowers and leaves...why does everything look like food to her?!!walking along the stonesHere she was hiding from us in the hotel room, between our bed and the wall...and she got stuck...it was actually funny to watch:)

All in all we had a great time:) We are all exhausted (I'm sure Andy is more than we are) and very happy to be at home...we've got just a few days to enjoy home before we're off again on our next trip!!! Can't wait;)

Memorial Day Weekend

The weather was so wonderful this weekend! We spent a lot of our time outside enjoying the three day weekend. We started the holiday weekend off with a walk down town to eat breakfast (yummy!) and finished the morning up with a long walk and visit over at my grandmother's house. My aunt and uncle came up from Georgia for a few days, so we did a lot of visiting with them and my grandmother. After church on Sunday we left to go to Williamsburg for the night. Our close friends, Tom and LeeAnn Rasey, came with us and we had a great time shopping at the outlets and visiting colonial Williamsburg. Alley did so well on this over night trip, which was a huge relief since she doesn't do well when her schedule is messed up! Here are some pictures from the weekend in Williamsburg:

The family photo on the steps of the Wren building

Alley laying claim to the cannon...she will climb on anything!

Enjoying a swing while walkingThe girls:)LeeAnn and Alley enjoying the shopsAlley checking out TJ's grammar on the Declaration of Independence he was writing...always her Mimi's child;)Alley hanging out far away from the governor's palace...Tom and Alley playingI just couldn't help myself....

Weekend photos

Where did the warm weather go? It was here on Saturday but gone today! On Saturday we spent almost the whole day outside basking in the sun...but today we were confined to the indoors only to watch the rain and feel the cold through the glass door. Ugh...I am not a fan of cold wet days, and neither is Alley. Hopefully the warm, sunny weather will be back this week:)

On another note, Alley gave us a wonderful gift two days in a row - she slept in until 8am!!! I was up at 7am just waiting to hear her start talking...and I waited an hour in disbelief! I thought, surely Sunday morning will be back to normal...nope...8am rolls around and she calls out "mommeeee!". She is still going to bed around 6:30pm, so I have no clue what got into her, but I love it:)

Here are some pictures from our Sunday inside:

Daddy and Alley taking a break from playing

getting ready to go upstairs on her own

watching the cars go by...and saying "bye-bye" to each one...

Alley having some quiet time in the play room - oddly enough, she was in here for almost an hour playing quietly - she even forgot about dinner!!! We eventually had to call her to eat over 45 minutes after she normally eats - crazy!

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!! Today was a great day:) The weather was beautiful and I got to spend it with family and good friends. After church this morning we went with some friends to Mother's Day brunch at a local restaurant (yum!) and completely stuffed ourselves! Then after Alley's nap we went over to Granny's house to celebrate Mother's Day with Mimi, Papa and Granny. We had a great time playing and eating. Here are some pictures from tonight:

Alley delicately playing the piano (just with her fingers)

The family:)

Three generations

Four generationsThank you Granny and Mom for all the love and support you give daily! I couldn't do it without you and I sure wouldn't be where I am today with out you!!! And Happy Mother's Day to my mother-in-law, Sally! Thank you for raising such a wonderful son and for all you do! We miss you!
Much love to you all on this Mother's Day:)

Race for a Cure

This weekend the whole Alley-McPherson clan ran in the Race for a Cure. We have been running this race for the past several years and have really enjoyed supporting this cause. As many of you all know, my mom had breast cancer and beat all the odds to be here today. I run this race for my mom who has shown incredible strength, unwavering faith, unquestionable love and amazing endurance through a time in her life when she could have given up. She is an amazing mother and the absolute least I can do is to run by her side in this race year after year to show my support and thanks for her and what she went through. We had a wonderful race and look forward to many more years of celebrating!

Here is Alley the night before the race - going out for a pre-race walk Mimi and Alley enjoying the weather (and the rocks in the driveway!)

Mimi and Alley getting in some giggles before the race

Our good friends Tom and LeeAnn came down with us to run in the race (thanks guys!!!!!). We all had a blast! - Here is a before picture of us

A family photo after the race - whew, we survived;)

Here's the whole group - a celebratory picture:)Alley eating her lunch...somehow her foot found it's way on top of the table...

Sneaky

The house went really quiet yesterday and I thought, "oh no, what is Alley doing?!"...I walk into the dining room and find Alley like this...She had taken her blanket and binkie and had climbed up into her stroller and was just sitting there...do you think she wants to go for a walk???