Our Visit To Troy

Last weekend, Mom, Eli, Bella, and I packed up the van and headed to Troy for the weekend. When we arrived, Mamaw was greeted with a great big hug from Eli. Too bad I didn't have my camera ready; it was very sweet. Eli and Bella were both very excited when we finally arrived at Mamaw and Papaw's house.

Our first night in Troy, after dinner, Mamaw wrote Eli and Bella's names on the table... with Whip Cream. I don't think grandparents (even my mom and dad and we live with them!) understand the impact sugar has on a child, especially our children. Maybe it's because I've never given them a whole lot of sweets, I'm not sure, but sugar is like a drug! It's not often that Mamaw is able to spoil them they way she wants to, so the name writing on the table continued for a while. Eli and Bella, loved it, of course.




Another night, Mamaw brought cupcakes home from the shop so Eli, Bella, and Wesley could decorate them. I guess that's one of the benefits of having a grandma who is a baker.

Yes, that is my child sucking blue frosting out a the bag. Oh goodness! He is my child, though, and I love frosting! I kept having to tell myself, "This doesn't happen very often. It's okay."

While in Troy, we went to a really cool playground we had never visited before, and we went to a small zoo.


When we arrived at the zoo, we started looking at a bear. Eli, not knowing it, was standing in an ant bed. When the ants started biting, Eli started screaming. His screaming scared the bear who began making noises and pacing back and forth in his cage. After Eli's crying stopped, we all kind of laughed about that bear pacing like that.

We all had a wonderful visit. I am happy Eli and Bella were able to spend time with Mamaw and Papaw. Eli, of course, always looks forward to playing with Wesley. They play so well together and definitely keep each other entertained.



Please note the Batman jogging suit Eli is wearing in just about all of the photos. Joyce gave this to him when we got there, and well, he wanted to wear it the entire time we were there!

Of course, Mom, Eli, and Bella took a nap on the way home. Mom loves it when I take pictures of her sleeping. Hahaha!

Spidey Goes to Afghanistan

When Eli mailed Spiderman to Stephen, he had no idea Spidey would be going to work with Daddy. Sadly, Spiderman sustained a battle wound and lost his arm. (I think Stephen tried to move his arm so he could wave at the camera, and his arm broke off.) Hopefully, Spiderman's arm will heal. Eli is going to think these pics are so cool!

Three Months Down!

Nine more months and we get to see this face everyday...

Nine more months and our family will be together again. We may not know exactly where "home" will be, but as long as we are all together, that will make all of us do a lot of this...


I can't wait to get some of these from my sweet husband...

Yard Sales, Motorcycles, and More

What a busy Saturday this has been! We started our morning bright and early and went to several yard sales. Eli and Bella like looking at the toys, Mom likes looking at everything, and I usually end up looking at children's books. Today, Eli got a scooter. Not the kind with training wheels, but a two wheel Razor. He loves it!

I have no idea why he is riding in his undies. Eli just really likes being in his undies.
Mom found this wicker patio furniture. I think it looks great on the back porch!

Next, we made our way to, well, we really didn't have an actual destination. We just knew we wanted watch the Trail of Tears ride by. We began to drive down 565 and exited close to the Space and Rocket Center. Mom asked a lady at the light, "Are they coming?" The biker chick told us that they had already been by. Ugh! Knowing they were going to stop in Madison, we made our way there to look at all the motorcycles. Eli really enjoyed seeing all of those motorcycles in one place. It really was something to see. Poor baby Bella just seemed to be along for the ride as she still wasn't herself. This pic was taken yesterday. She hasn't been feeling well, but she was better today than she has been the past couple of days. After we were told the bikers would be heading out "in about thirty minutes," we decided to drive down the road to find a place to sit and watch as they rode by. So, we drove a couple of miles down the road, found us a nice spot, opened the back, had a snack, and waited.
We blew bubbles and waited a bit longer. The kids played in the field, and yes, we continued to wait.
Where in the heck were the motorcycles?! Realizing that when the bikes did begin to pass, we were going to be stuck in that spot until the entire group had passed us, we decided to move to the other side of the road. As we began to drive down the road, we saw the line of bikes turning left, onto a road about a mile down from where we were positioned. Thankfully, we had not missed much, or we would have had two very disappointed children, not to mention Mommy and Grandma! We pulled over, got out, and watched the line of bikes drive down the road. Eli was very excited! He and Bella both had fun watching all of the bikes pass by. Eli did ask me why they were not throwing candy. Ha!

After that, we went to eat as Casa Blanca. When we were leaving, Eli said, "I have to go poop." Mom was going to take him back inside the restaurant, but he said, "No, I want to wait until I get home. I only want to poop at home!" Stephen, you have to know where I'm going with this. He is JUST LIKE Stephen in so many ways, including this one!

This evening, Bella helped me prepare Grandparent's Day gifts. I don't know why I thought Grandparent's Day was tomorrow. I'm slacking! I thought the gifts turned out so cute... The directions for preparing the soup are on the back. I actually made a pot of this soup for dinner tonight. I was quite yummy!


Eli figured out he could actually be like Spiderman and climb the wall. "Look at this, Mommy! I can climb the wall." He's such a little monkey!



Side note...
Eli and Bella both received post cards from Stephen last week and wrote him back (dictated letters to me) the other day. They are both just so precious. Eli's cracked me up. I know they both miss Stephen, as do I. I am so thankful to be here, with mom and dad while he's gone! I could not ask for better parents, or grandparents. Nine more months and our family will be back together FOREVER!



Shoot stuff?? I have no idea.

A Day at the Garden...

On Saturday, we ventured to Botanical Garden for a day of fun, a very HOT day of fun, with Grandma, Michelle, Sophia, Melanie, and Savannah. This was the first weekend the scarecrows were on display. I did not imagine we would see scarecrows like this...

It's a good thing there were sprinklers, wading pools, and showers there. These kids needed to cool off!



For some reason, after being drenched with water, Eli and Bella decided to roll their wet bodies in sand.
All of the kids really enjoyed playing in the tree houses. The pirate ship tree house was really cool. We will definitely be going back in the fall.

Beach Day

Eli and Bella had "Beach Day" at school one day this week. After talking about it for a week, they were both so excited when the day finally came. That morning, Eli woke up and started getting his clothes ready. I thought he was picking out the clothes he wanted to wear after the water fun was over. No, that was not the case. When Eli asked me if it was going to be a long drive, I replied, "No, we're just going down the road to school." He said, "To the beach??" Oooohh no. Poor baby. He thought we were actually going to the beach. He was so disappointed when he found out we were not going. I felt so bad for him. I guess I need to make it up to him by planning a "real" beach day soon.

Bella's class was the first class to go out for beach day. I love the next two pictures of her.

She had fun playing, but was cold and wanted to get dressed. She wanted to sit on her towel and wait for her popsicle.


When it was time for the class to go in, Ms. Kristie had all of the kids hold onto this stick. They looked so cute walking in like that.

When I left, Bella, once again, made the sad face she makes each time I take her to school. She has been doing good about not crying, though. She holds back her tears, but this face just looks so pitiful...
Eli's disappointment was short lived, when he started to play in the water and the bounce house.