Visitors from the West

We had some fun visitors visit us in August. Willie's brother Jer and his wife Kim came. We received an invitation to come out to visit them in February for the birth of their baby. We were excited to find out they were pregnant. I love the birthday invitation as an announcement. We had many plans when these two came out to visit. The top two attractions were the PGA tournament and a Braves game where Bobby Cox's number was retired.

The other few days that we did things we kept the kids in mind. First on the list was the Georgia Aquarium. Most of us had an excellent day at the aquarium. We felt bad for Kim it was her worst day of her pregnancy so far. The boys watched the sting rays and little sharks but they were never able to reach them. Parker did find an area where he touched a fish that kept coming over for a good back rub. Parker has really developed in his curiosity. He is more willing to hold bugs and look closely at them. He is willing to touch the fish.

Lincoln loved the sea turtle. We saw a little fellow that swam right in front of Linc. Henry did well the whole time. We kept him fed and in the stroller most of the time. We saw many fish and tried to enjoy the whole place. We took about two hours at the Georgia Aquarium.

Kim's favorite animal was the penguin. I never knew she had such a fascination for them.

Uncle Jer is a little afraid of sharks but he seemed to enjoy the whole place.

I always enjoy the tropical fish tank because you can get good pictures and it's a brighter room. The big tank is pretty cool too. I love the manta rays.

If only the picture didn't come out blurry, it would have been even cooler. I thought this was kind of fun of Jer and Kim.
Parker really liked sitting by Kim at the tropical tank.
Henry loves to smile. Anything can please this kid. He loved the fish swimming around.
Here is Lincoln by the Jellies.
Jer, Willie and Lincoln by a cool attraction at the entrance of the aquarium.

Boys.

The beluga whale.

We walked through Centennial Olympic Park and let the kids run around the fountain. We tried not to get them too wet. We hadn't planned on a water activity after the aquarium.
Henry wanted to crawl all over the place. He loved watching the water shoot up and splash all over.
Willie tried to guide the boys through most of the time so they wouldn't get too wet. One time Parker took off and got shot in the shorts. He had fun and we laughed and luckily it was only a little bit. He would have been miserable being wet the rest of the night.

Linc was feeling a little left out at times. He still had fun and was sad to leave but happy for dinner.

We visited the famous Anticos located near Georgia Tech. Many people have raved about the goodness of this place. We thought it would be nice to take Jer and Kim there to try out what Atlanta had to offer. Unfortunately for Kim it wasn't a good day. The pizza was very yummy and the atmosphere was fun but not as much fun as it would have been if we didn't take the kids. It wasn't too kid friendly because they had big benches to sit on and we didn't have a place for Henry. I would return though it was good pizza, but I'm cheap and I like to make my own instead of going out.

Parade and Fireworks

The Fourth of July was a little different than I had hoped it would be. Willie and I signed up to run in the traditional 5k race in Riverdale. In the past we've all gone down and then we've had a good breakfast after the race and then we participate in getting candy during the parade. We woke up early for the race. Parker wasn't feeling too hot. I was feeling better than I had the past few days but I still was not 100%. We watched as the rest of our family decided to go on the walk. I was a little bummed that we really didn't get to spend good time with them during the race. We probably should have walked. Just before the race started Parker threw up. At least he was in the stroller but I really had to wonder why we were still doing the race. We wanted the shirt and we didn't want to loose the $10 we paid to run in the race. About half way through the race I really wasn't feeling well and I remember there being a little kid about 11. My goal was to beat this kid. I didn't make my goal because I had to walk so much and I really wanted to just sit and watch everyone else. We finished the race, not in last but we did finish. We got the shirt, which did turn out really nice this year. Worth it? I'm still debating.

The breakfast looked nice but to someone who isn't feeling to great it wasn't going to be a part of my day. Willie and Lincoln ate while Parker and I sat on the grass with Henry. I really wanted to take the kids to the parade but my parents were leaving to go somewhere else and my sisters weren't staying because they too were sick or had somewhere else to be. We sat by some good family friends. Thanks for letting us sit by you Loomis family. The parade was great. Lincoln really loved it. He had the best time and still two months later he tells us his favorite part of the day was the parade. It doesn't matter what day it is he still remembers the parade with Jordy and Kaylee. Oh yeah, we took my two nieces with us to the parade which I'm glad we did. They were easy going and made it more fun for our boys.

Parker, Lincoln, Jordan and KayleeAfter resting for most of the day we enjoyed the evening by preparing for fireworks. Up on our little piece of heaven we were able to see many firework shows. I really loved being outside and enjoying the family chatter. The fireworks were nice. We also spent one night doing our own little fireworks. We did have an option to spend a lot of money for the big ones that became legal this year in Utah but when kids can be happy with the little stuff then there is no need to go all big.
Lincoln couldn't throw the 'popits', 'snaps' or whatever you want to call them on the ground hard enough so he was resourceful and used his feet smashing them. He is quite brilliant.
Most of the family with my cousin and her husband and dog.
Lincoln with Grandpa David and Kaylee riding the golf cart to the hill.A blast from the past. This is something that we always did. To be 'safe' we put our seat belts on in the golf cart. Now my little dudes are doing the same thing. Hold on tight Parker because Grandpa is a crazy driver. With all the kids I'm sure he really was trying to be safe.

One of the best parts of the night was this moment. I really do miss seeing the sunset. In the future I hope that we live somewhere so I can enjoy them once again.

On a separate night we pulled out the fireworks for the kids to play with. . . sort of.Sitting on the trailer watching the little show.
Willie said the Lincoln was the only kid he didn't have to tell him what to do. I really love this video of Linc.

Out on the lawn watching the firework shows at a distance. We could maybe see about five different shows.

Jordan and Kaylee

Jess and Ben. He was smart to close his eyes, the flash at night isn't always cool.
Grandma Nanette and Kaylee.

More Cabin.

While we were visiting the cabin we spent some time at the pool. One day. The water was really really cold. I opted to put my feet in the water. Pretty much everyone else got in. The ride down is memorable. Riding in the back of the truck, dangerous but fun. Small town style. While I was growing up the folks in town would always wave at you, it didn't matter that they didn't know you but they always waved. I remember my grandpa doing it when we drove down by their house, he wouldn't look he would just wave. Jess was one of the only ones to really get Henry to like her. He was content in her arms and it gave me some relief. I wish I had her touch.

Mckinley in the freezing water. I don't think she was too happy.

As a sign of the cold water here is a sequence of picture of everyone trying to get warm. First off Erika using body heat to warm Kaylee and Logan up.

Parker lounging in the sun wrapped up nice and tight in his towel. Parker was introduced to some spicy Doritos chips. Once he tried one there was no going back for him. He kept asking for the bag. I think we owe Jess a bag of Doritos. Thanks for sharing.
Even Willie was a bit chilly.
Poor Mckinley so cold she fell asleep in the nice warm towel cuddled up next to her mom.
Our little Henry was pretty chilled but he too took a nice little nap once he was warmed up.
Jordan.
Logan was fun to have around. He's a pretty silent kid but very entertaining at times.
Here's most of everyone trying to enjoy the chilly waters. I love that Logan is hanging out in Henry's floatie (yellow), it's good up to 25lbs, which Logan is not.
Here's Henry having fun in Mckinleys little floatie.

Erika also opted to stay out of the water. At least until the very end, after the pool's heat went up, when she jumped in.
Pink. With girls you have pink. With boys you don't.
Our little Lincoln. He gave us a scare on this day. There were two pools; a big one and a small one that was about 3 ft deep. We let Lincoln get in the little one. He learned before leaving GA that he could touch the ground. He was good. Willie had been watching him and he was having fun bouncing up and down in the water. He didn't have his floatie on. We were close by. I was holding Henry and Willie came over for some chips, yes the Doritos that Pman fell in love with. I turned to look around and saw Lincoln with his face in the water and his arms and legs kicking. He had slipped. I yelled to Willie and he reacted fast, but in the moment it felt incredibly slow. Our hearts were racing and we felt scared, blessed, nervous, grateful, and a whole bunch of different emotions. We nearly lost Lincoln, again. He fell into the pool last year. We love Lincoln and we are very grateful that he is still with our family. He brings us so much joy. We do our best to watch over our kids but there will be a day when we won't always be around. Lincoln later said that he didn't like the little pool anymore, just the big one. He was shaken up a little but not enough to enjoy the pool. Now that we are back to GA he is in love with the pool again.

Mckinley and Henry.

Saturday morning we ate a really nice breakfast. We loaded up in the truck to head to the golf cart parade. I felt like I had eaten too much food that morning. The feeling kept getting worse. So during the parade I laid down in the bed of the truck. I let everyone else try to help my kids have fun and take pictures. I love how vibrant my grandma is. She is so full of life and so positive. Here she is helping the kids gather candy.
A cousin picture. I was feeling really yucky at this time and was in the back of the truck. I enjoy that Lincoln is covering his face. He cracks me up.

It turns out that I became really really sick. Willie went golfing with my dad and Jess and Ben who wasn't feeling to great. I sent the kids with Andi and Nick to a small carnival going on. I heard the kids had fun. I on the other hand ended up throwing up at least five times. Ben was up there with me by the night time. Grandma had also received this mysterious flu. Sunday came around and nearly half of us had gotten sick. We traveled home Sunday when our two older boys started throwing up as well. It was not a great trip coming home. We found out that day also that our ward in GA had split, a huge shock to us. The cabin was fun until many of us couldn't stand. I think the survivors of the sickness ended up being Willie, my Mom and Henry. Andi's family had gone through it before we came. Even then some of her kids were throwing up on the way home. After the carnival the kids came back with a handpicked bouquet of flowers. They were very pretty.

I wanted to make sure that while we were with my family that I would get to see my Grandma Pettigrew. We made a short visit with her and we took her picture with Henry because he was born on her birthday. I wish we could have stayed longer.

Bed Time Routine

I love Willie's bed time routine he has with the boys. In the beginning I would lay Parker down for bed, then Lincoln was born and Willie took the opportunity for his time with Parker. Then when Henry was born he took over Parker and Lincoln.

Recently the new thing is to take the boys into their room on piggy back. Parker loves it and sometimes squeals with joy. As of this week they have had some fun birthday balloons to carry in with them. So off Willie jumps and the balloon is streaming behind them. The boys really love their time with dad.

I miss being a part of the bedtime routine but it will come around again soon.

As a side note Willie and I have some devastating news. After four years we have seen our day of secrecy end. Parker has discovered the switch. Yes the switch. In GA many things can be run by a switch. We have chosen to run our television on the switch. We would always turn it off when we didn't want the kids watching it. We would say they had to be good for the tv to work. We would send the boys in the other room to turn the switch on if they were good. When we had someone watching our kids we let them in on the secret. We did so well until recently. The tv was on one Saturday when Parker decided to start playing with the light switch. He hit it and the sound on the tv stopped. This new discovery was amazing to him. He thought it was the coolest thing in the world. In our minds we thought, oh man this is the end we no longer have control. Now we have to play mind tricks on the boys and coerce them to do something else. So long to our secret.