Farmers' Market and a Walk Off

Saturday night and the ladies are up!

Saturdays aren't really "Saturdays" around here. Since Ryan and I work for ourselves, Saturdays sometimes become working days, so the idea of the "weekend" doesn't hold much clout around the Shove household. (In fact, we often find ourselves in conversations that begin, "What day is it again?") However, on the rare occasion that we have a true weekend and Ryan's not traveling, it's as exciting as Christmas morning. We love to join the masses in celebrating NOT working by venturing out into public places where the energy is high. Man, people are happy on the weekends, and it feels so good to be a part of that shared human experience!

Friday night as we drove through downtown Alpharetta, contemplating what to do with our actual weekend-weekend, we were reminded of the Farmers' Market the following morning. We decided we'd stop by, but with early afternoon plans already set, I was secretly dreading getting Ryan out of bed in the morning (a daily struggle since I, a morning person, married the king of the night owls). In an odd twist of fate, at 9 a.m. I was changing Emma Vance in her nursery while Ryan slept soundly in the other room when she decided to release the biggest super squirt yet. In fact, the little imp tricked me with a mini super squirt mid-diaper change, so that I, thinking it was the main event, was lifting her bottom up by her feet when the true super squirt occurred. Thus, not only did I get it ALL the way up my arm, but I was unwittingly aiming it OFF the changing table and onto our brand new carpet (which has finally been replaced per my earlier post). Needless to say, I yelped and cried out for Ryan's help, who groggily but quickly came to my aid. Thanks, Emma Vance. That was the quickest wake up that Ryan's had in a while! (Worth the clean up in my opinion!)

Once she was cleaned up (did I mention that she then spit up ALL over herself as we tended to the super squirt mess?) and I had showered, we were off to the Farmers' Market. It's been a while since we've attended, and we were surprised at how crowded it's gotten. (Plus I think it might have been a dog-themed day because there were a LOT of puppies running around...) The sun was a little too bright for E.V.'s vampire tastes, so she and I tried to stick to the shade of the tents, and eventually ended up parked under a honey stand while Ryan made a few purchases. The nice bee man let us look at his bee box (technical term), and E.V. was both interested and confused. I was too, as I tried to spot the queen bee, who apparently had a yellow dot on her back. She, unfortunately, refused to make a public appearance for us.

We started off with a headband, but it was WAY too hot...

...and the sun was way too bright...

...so we ended up in the shade, which made E.V. happy.

"Hey mom, what's that over there?"

"It's a bee box." (Mom's smart.)

I see no yellow dots.

Our trip was a short one because Ryan had to run downtown for a mixology course with his buddy Taylor (which apparently went very well and now Ryan's eager to try out his newfound skills...), and E.V. and I were meeting Grandma for lunch at Panera. (I really ought to invest...) I was a bit more excited than Emma Vance to be eating at my go-to restaurant, so she passed out halfway through lunch. (Or perhaps the excitement of seeing her grandma caught up to her? :) )

Passed out completely...

When our little family reunited in the early evening, E.V. practiced her sitting up, an exciting development that she's very proud to be attempting. (Right now that big ol' head is just a teensy bit too big for her to last very long...)

We finished off our Saturday with a late night dinner with Taylor and his wife Katie. (E.V. stayed home with Nanny.) It was a fun meal with a lot of laughs, and we ended with a night cap back at home with the baby. E.V. loves new faces, and the Cases were no exception. She was enamored with Katie, and when Taylor rocked Emma Vance to sleep, she was in heaven. Afterwards, we got into a lively conversation about a variety of funny topics, including PCD (Perfect Child Syndrome...wait a minute) and "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo," which may or may not have ended with a "Toddlers and Tiaras"-style walk off (which I may or may not have won).

I did NOT want to leave this little miss!

(I mean, would YOU want to leave this face?)

Madras dress compliments of Miss Katie...wait. Are they wearing matching seersucker? Katie...

E.V. LOVED her!

Overall it was an eventful day, and I woke up this morning with the strangest feeling... Then I realized that weekends are TWO days long! Ahhh. Here's to Sundays!