oh, my aching feet!

what a fun-filled day i have had - ritchie, eli, and i spent the day with our friend (and ritchie's fellow photographer) kim. we spent the entire day somewhere i have wanted to go for years - scott's antique market. the place is unbelievably huge - two very large buildings, plus more stuff than the average sized flea market outside as well. i wouldn't want to go in july, because the outside portion was my favorite, and i probably wouldn't have been able to enjoy it near as much if it had been warmer!

our day started off with us running late, which neither ritchie nor i can stand. but, the power evidently flashed off for a second between 5 and 7 this morning, which meant our alarms didn't go off. we finally got out the door, and after taking a brief detour through the country on the way to kim's house, we were finally able to pick up kim and make it to our destination. kim was searching for something, but nothing in particular, and it evaded her all day long. thankfully, she was able to enjoy the experience in and of itself though. ritchie was on the prowl for "THE" chair. we've had a particular chair in mind for photography use for months, and knew we would recognize it when we saw it. i just wanted a simple hook to hang my towel on in the bathroom. we searched inside and out at the first building. everything seemed out of our budget (or came in an un-needed set, forcing it out of our budget), or was just not quite right, as far as the chairs go. while i couldn't find my hook, i did find some cool old doorknobs that i thought might do the trick. but i passed them over. we ate lunch, then we headed out to the truck to drive to the second building. outside building #1, we found a pair of great chairs - just what we were looking for! they were very pretty, and $500 for the pair. we really didn't have $500 to spend. the dealer wouldn't split them up. i was bummed. we tore ourselves away, hoping that if we couldn't find anything else they would still be available.

we moved on to the second building. the outside section was much larger, and looked like a place i could spend hours. eli started nodding off in his stroller (an umbrella stroller at that) and ended up napping for a couple of hours - he even slept while i bounced him along on the gravel paths! just as we were nearly finished with the outside section, ritchie found "THE" chair. it was the right size, style, and price. we looked and looked at it. we looked at the one that was very similar at the same booth. we were trying not to be hasty, so we decided to look through the inside of the building in case there was something better. we looked. we found alot of chairs, but nothing nearly as perfect. we went back to get "THE" chair, and happily paid for it. plus, at the same booth i found my hook!

so now, we are home. we were gone for nearly 12 hours. we probably walked for 6. my feet are killing me, in spite of my always reliable doc marten's that have seen me through three trips to europe. eli was the best behaved, happiest, most agreeable 3 year old ever. i really should be even more pleased with him than i am - he totally has me spoiled, and my expectations of him are probably higher than they should be at times. he has exceptional self-control for a child so young, and even though he is normally a whirlwind of energy, when asked to sit for 98% of the day, he does exceptionally well.

so anyway, it was a darn great day. i always enjoy a day with my boys, but having kim with us was the icing on the cake. it was fun to get to know her better, and excellent to have a fellow browser with me - not to knock ritchie's "scanning" style of shopping, but i really enjoyed going slow!

now, i will prop up my feet, enjoy a cup of hot tea, and get ready to go to bed a little earlier than usual. and hope that eli sleeps in late in the morning!