Tweetsie Railroad

Our last day at the mountains, we ventured over to the famous Tweetsie Railroad. We grew up going here and loved it as kids. Watson is infatuated with trains and he couldn't contain his excitement when we arrived. We rode the big Thomas train, played in the Thomas jumpy thing, met Sir Topham Hatt, watched a dance skit, rode some rides, and went to the gift store. It was fun seeing the similarities and differences from when we used to go to now. Some things were the same while others were different. Aaron and Alex had never been and I had been telling them the skit on the train was cool and scary. The cowboys would get off the train at a stop and there would be fake shooting going on between Cowboys and Indians. Unfortunately, they have toned it down a lot which was a huge disappointment. The kids still had fun and they just watched the whole time without moving!

 It was a great time and fun watching the kids enjoy something that we enjoyed as kids! 

Mountain Adventures!

This morning Alex and I joined Amy, Aaron and the kids and we all headed up to the mountains. Amy and I grew up going to the mountains every Thanksgiving and every Christmas as Grandmama and Granddaddy Watson had a mountain house in West Jefferson, NC about 30 miles from Boone. The kids had never seen a mountain much less been to the mountains. Aaron, being the vacation planner that he is, planned a trip to The Blowing Rock and Tweetsie Railroad. Having a 4 year old{almost 5 year old}, a 2 year old who is in the midst of potty training, and two pregnant women, we decided to stop for a potty break and eat lunch about an hour and a half outside of Blowing Rock. The kids spotted the playground in Chick Fil A and wanted to slide. Boland being the stubborn child that he is, wouldn't get down when it was time to go, so Daddy to the rescue.

We finished lunch and headed back on the road for our last stretch of the car ride. We were getting close and I was getting excited because I love the mountains. I have great childhood memories from going each winter. As we were finding our way to the mountain house, we spotted Mater from Cars! We pulled into the gas station to stop and get a picture. Amy got a picture of the kids with Mater. {Ignore my hand in the window reflection, I was trying to get picture as we drove by!}

We got to the mountain house just in time to watch our Gamecocks play Clemson! Watson has become the biggest Gamecock Baseball fan this last season and constantly wants to see Christian Walker everytime he sees the Gamecocks play. Luckily for us, Watson put his rally cap on and the Gamecocks pulled out the victory in the first game in 12 innings! I had a happy husband! YAY!

The next morning, we got up, ate breakfast and headed to The Blowing Rock, which is actually a rock in the town of Blowing Rock. We didn't know what to expect and with three kids and a stroller we were confined to a small space but the kids LOVED it. My scared-of-heights husband tried to stay far away from the edge until he was put in charge of one of the kids. The kids climbed on the rocks, ran until being told not to, posed for pictures, and just enjoyed the new scenery. Warning: Picture Overload

Amy tried to get a good picture of the kids sitting on the bench on her big camera so I snapped one myself..hard to believe in less than 5 months they will be adding another child and we will have our first! 

The wind was crazy and it was a bit chilly. We walked a little more and took some more pictures...

We left and headed downtown Blowing Rock to eat lunch and explore the little town. Uncle Alex pushed the kids on the swing while Amy decided she wanted a swing as well. 

We headed back to the house so some of us could nap while the guys took the big kids fishing! I didn't get any pictures of that as I was one of the ones napping! The guys and kids made it back in time for dinner and the Gamecocks vs. Tigers baseball game. The Gamecocks needed this victory to secure a trip to the Super Regionals! Boland cheered on the Gamecocks as we needed just one out left to win the game while Watson showed us how he really felt about the Tigers. Alex, being the replica of my dad when it comes to South Carolina Gamecocks, gave me this face when we won!

The next day we headed to Tweetsie Railroad. Blog to follow...We headed back to the house to drop the boys off and the girls headed to the outlets. I bought my first purchase for Baby Kubas: pink onesie set, blue onesie set, and a neutral outfit. Emory spotted a small ride and wanted to pretend to ride. We headed back to the house, ate dinner and the next morning it was time to leave the mountains. None of us wanted to leave but some expressed the disappointment more than others! 

Alex and I had a great time. Thank you for letting us tag along, Amy! 

15 Weeks

We had our 15 week check up today and Baby Kubas is doing great! The nurse said I had lost a pound from the last visit but that was okay and she sees that happen all the time. We met with another doctor but I forgot his name(oops)! We heard our sweet little baby's heartbeat for the first time and it was so amazing! Last visit was when we were suppose to hear it but it was hard of hearing so we had an ultrasound instead. Even with my belly getting bigger each day, it's still nerve racking when we go in, but it's always nice after we leave knowing everything is good! We go back on June 25 for our 20 week visit! We will be half way there!! Woohoo!! We were also told that this next visit is when we can find out what we are having! We've(I've) always talked about not finding out but when the doctor told me we could find out so soon, I got butterflies. Alex is pretty funny during all the visits because whenever he hears or sees the baby he just gets a big grin on his face! I asked him today what he wanted to do as far as finding out and his response was "oh, I get a decision too?". As of right now, we aren't finding out but Alex and I will{I am sure} go back and forth between both. We have also been talking about baby names! I never thought picking out a baby name would be so difficult! We've locked in a boys name and have had that since we started talking about kids but the girl name is what we don't have. Alex has said he wants our daughter to have a double name because it's southern. We shall see! Wish us luck! Until the next visit..

It's a...

BABY!! Yes, you read that right! Alex and I are expecting our first child in
November! We will be adding two more babies to Mom and Dad's clan..Baby Dupree and Baby Kubas! Amy is due a month before me with their fourth child! We are so excited to welcome a new life into our life! Last year I got to experience planning a wedding with one sister and now this year I get to experience the joys of motherhood with another sister! We are so excited to welcome a baby into our life and can't wait for November! {Let's just hope the baby doesn't come on the Carolina-Clemson game!} haha!

P.S. we found out early March and my sisters put together a sweet Easter Basket for Baby Kubas! Oh and I asked Em if me and Alex could have a baby and she said no because our baby would steal all of her baby's toys haha!

Mr. And Mrs. John Anderson Thompson III!!!

Kat and John are officially married!! Mom can officially breathe again! Dad can officially start saving up for Joanna's wedding! {haha}! What a beautiful wedding it was! What a beautiful bride. Handsome groom. And one heck of a party! Kat and I got engaged less than a month apart and got married less than 4 months apart! We planned our weddings together, same church, same reception venue but different weddings! The wedding was beautiful and so much fun! I know it was everything Kat and John wanted and more! Now, they are enjoying their honeymoon as husband and wife! Welcome to the family, JT! Congrats to the new Mr. And Mrs. JATIII!

P.S. check out the amazing photo Liz captured! Love it!

Christian Walker, Christian Walker!

To most people, Christian Walker is just a really talented baseball player. To Gamecock Nation, he is our top player and contributor. To Watson, he is the greatest person ever! My dad took Watson to his first USC baseball game of the season earlier in the year and let me tell you, Watson{and my dad} were in heaven! Ever since that first game, all Watson had talked about was Christian Walker. I want to go to baseball game to see Christian Walker. You ask Watson who his favorite baseball player is, he responds with a grin, "Christian Walker". I think it is safe to say Christian Walker is Watson's idol. Today, we went to see the Gamecocks play Mississippi State and after the game we took Watson and Em down to the players. After much anticipation of waiting for Christian Walker, finally Watson met Christian Walker! He was star struck for sure but he was the happiest child! Thanks to Dad, Watson got his foul ball signed by Walker too!! It was glassed up immediately! All in all, we had a great day but Watson had the best!

Three.

Today marks three months since Alex and I became husband and wife! We have enjoyed married life and all the ups and downs that come with living with someone! We are learning what it takes to make a healthy and strong marriage{we have plenty of great role models}! We have decided to move into Alex's parents house since they have an empty house and aren't moving back for a while! What will we do with a 5 bedroom house?? Start a Bed and Breakfast?? Maybe. I'll let you know the going rate! Haha! 4 extra bedrooms. We are thankful that Alex's parents are allowing us to live in their house while they are gone, here's to being all moved in and ready to get back in a routine and here's to another month of marriage!