MLP G1

I would imagine most people out there are wondering what I mean when I write MLP G1 in the post title. Scroll down to find out!

Did you guess right? It stands for My Little Pony Generation One and no, I didn't know that either until a few weeks ago. There are three "generations" of My Little Pony. Generation 3 (G3) is what is sold in stores today (and in my opinion kind of weired looking). G2 came out in the late nineties and evidently wasn't very popular. G1 is what is pictured above and they are the original ponies that came out in the early eighties. Are you wondering how I know all this stuff?..... keep reading. Anyway, my mom has been so good to keep my most beloved childhood toys. She passed along my set of My Little Ponies the other week and I have to say that Sarah Meredith and I (and even Layton at times) have been in pony heaven ever since! We have spent countless hours playing My Little Pony, researching through the best collectors sites on the web, and viewing every retro My Little Pony commercial that exists on YouTube. I have actually learned so much. I, of course, have my favorite collector's site bookmarked. This site has helped me relearn every pony's name, tell me which color ribbon came with each pony, what the date printed on each hoof actually means, and many other interesting, albeit useless facts about My Little Pony. Yes, I have wasted A LOT of time on the internet lately. If nothing else, it has been a fun activity for Sarah and I to do together. I guess I'm just not that into playing babies, dress up, or play kitchen, but playing My Little Pony has been quite fun. Our invitation to play extends to any of you 30 somethings out there with young daughters. This is only the beginning too. We still have Cabbage Patch Kid, Maple Town Place and Barbie on the way!

Surfer's Healing

Last Wednesday evening, we all headed down to Wrightsville Beach for the Surfer's Healing camp. It's a camp designed especially for autistic children. Professional surfers volunteer their time to help these kids get out into the ocean and up onto surfboards. We sure hope Layton enjoyed this special opportunity!

Sadly, this picture only shows about 2/3 rds of what we had to bring for a 4 day trip. What takes up a lot of room is all the food we have to bring. Since Layton is on such a specialized diet, we can't rely on swinging through the nearest drive thru or hitting the local grocery store for a quick meal. We must bring everything with us. We usually have a large cooler and several tall grocery bags packed with his food. Seeing this picture makes me miss the days when Chad and I were still dating and we would spontaneously head to the beach at a moments notice. I would just need a half hour to throw a bathing suit, change of clothes and some toiletries into a bag and we would be off.

Here's Layton up on the surfboard. He looks nervous in all these pictures, but he says he had a fun time.

I'm so thankful my sister was there to watch Sarah during Layton's surf time. I was busy taking pictures and Chad was taping with the video camera. There would have been no one to keep an eye on Sarah if Aunt Megan hadn't been there.

Beautiful Day

Look out over the water...

Run along the grass at the park...

Feel the wind run over every inch of your body...

Let your mommy capture on camera that great big happy smile...

Get right on the edge of where land meets water...

Be happy that you didn't fall in...

Accept a hug from a sister...

Slowly walk to the old oak trees...

Run like someone is chasing you...

Wonder where that sudden gust of wind came from...

And be so happy it was there...

...just another beautiful day at Wrightsville Beach!

"Passy in the Trashy"

A while back, Sarah Meredith had picked up a book at the library about giving up your pacifiers. I was surprised she wanted to get such a book since she mirrors a crack addict when it comes to her and her "E" (She has always called her pacifier an "E"). However, she really took to the book and adopted a few favorite phrases. They were "Put the passy in the trashy" and "Passys aren't forever!" I hadn't planned on her giving up her passy anytime soon. Mostly because I hadn't figured out what weaning technique would work for her. Even still, I figured I could at least use those two phrases sometime in the future.

Sarah and I took a trip to Target last weekend and not surprisingly she found a stuffed animal that she just had to have. It was a little stuffed penguin. After checking the price, I told her she could keep that penguin, but she would have to throw all her pacifiers away when we got home. I was a little nervous about making this proposition, but I saw an opportunity and I went with it. Well, she let out a nervous laugh and said she wanted to put the penguin back on the shelf. Upon placing the penguin back, she spotted a big (and more expensive) stuffed lion. Well that lion sealed the deal with her. She took the lion home, collected all her passys, threw them in the trash and hasn't looked back since. I really couldn't have asked it to go any better. I'm quite proud of her considering how addicted she was to them. I don't regret giving her a passy as a baby, but if I were to do it over again I would have taken it away a lot sooner. That lion must be really something though. They are so happy together!