Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Pops' 74th Birthday

Pulling Pops away from the farm is really hard this time of year. We brought the party up to him. Shipley's Doughnuts are a favorite, particularly the apple fritters. We delivered them first thing this morning. The kids and I decided to decorate a few signs to hang up for party decorations. We celebrated over yummy food, all of which came from the farm. We finished off the afternoon with a race on the bikes. Hunter won most every time. Pops did cut corners a few times and Hunter caught him making sure that Pops knew that was "cheating". It was a good family day, farm and all. We are going to miss this.

New Hat

This morning Mackenzie came out wearing a new hat. Yes, they are clean. She was so proud of her hat she wanted to go show Nannie. I love the look from the back. She is such a girl, but a girl with rough edges. Love her!

Visiting with Mawmaw

Mawmaw was not aware that I took this picture. She has become camera shy over the last year. We had her over for dinner. She had a great time sitting and enjoying their little laughs. I am always happy to see family, but I am extremely happy that she has moved into a home and is happy about being there. I have missed her being at mom's, but was happy to have her closer in her new home.

S'mores Please

Getting together with my BFFs is always fun. I was looking forward to a night of wine, laughs, and sleeping in. We ate dinner downtown at the Pub. Once I heard what they had for dessert there was no turning it down... S'mores. As Girl Scouts, this is a staple food for us. We had fun sitting in the middle of a crowd of business and enjoying an old memory. Love you gals!

It's the Little Things

Pops has all kinds of boxes pulling up around the farm. He has one box the kids have taken too. They have painted, colored, and cut this box. Aunt Wendy got to enjoy them playing and creating.
That night I had a night out with my girls. Adam was on parent patrol with the help of Annmother, Wendy, and Pops. They took the kids back to the Summer Fest for more fun. Wendy is now calling Mackenzie "Warrior Princess" due to her lack of fear. They had so much fun that they slept in the next morning till 8. That NEVER happens.

SummerFest in Ashland City

Adam and I took the kids down to the festival on Wednesday night. I knew that Hunter would get his money worth out of the kiddy rides, but I had no idea that Mackenzie would be up for the rides. I don't know why this surprised me. She rode every ride that she could. Hunter even braved the adult rides. We had a good night enjoying the kids.

Monday, July 2, 2012

Neighborhood Fun

Adam's neighborhood buddy dropped by to let Hunter play with her kids. They had a blast painting the Watermelon box. Adam even carved out a few windows and a door. All smiles here.

Fishing with Pops

Now that Hunter has learned a little about fishing, he has been begging Pops to take him out on the boat. Adam and Mackenzie showed up at the pond just in time to capture a picture of their catch for the day.

The Tricks and Trade on the Farm

Annmother and Pop's farm is so much fun for the kids. Hunter loves helping with the farm stand. It has been incredibly hot, but they always seem to find things to entertain them. Hunter is trying to learn how to climb trees. Of course, little lady (our Peter Pan Shadow) follows Hunter's every move. She is learning the tricks and the trade of the farm from the best.

Play Date with the Troutts

Our time in TN is flying by. Luckily, Kelly has Wednesdays off and was able to meet up for a play date. Due to the extremely hot weather, we decided on making a trip to the Monkey Treehouse. The kids had a blast running around and playing. It was fun to share our kiddos. We grabbed a bite to eat afterwards at the famous McDonalds. I hate that we don't get to see them more, but the time we had was well spent.

Sisters, Sisters

Sara, Martha, and I splurged and decided to treat ourselves to a night at the Opryland Hotel. We had discussed not exchanging birthday gifts, but taking a night to be together. Opryland was worth every penny. We enjoyed every minute. This is now going to be an annual event from now on.

Swinging and Swinging

Here are a few pics of the family crossing the swinging bridge and playing in one of the falls. Hunter is getting braver by the day with swimming and taking risks. I am so proud of him.

Hunter's Artistic Touch

Before FCF, I purchased a sewing machine. Mom and I worked on an outfit for Mackenzie while the kids napped. I had also purchased Hunter a little tee shirt for him to color. He spent several days working on his shirt. He was so proud of his finished project.

Fall Creek Falls

Fall Creek Falls (FCF) has always been a family favorite vacation. From the summer of 1978 till the mid 1990's, we would pile up into the family car and take off for a week of fishing, biking, hiking, swimming, and relaxing. We always preferred doing this than going to theme parks.
A few years back we decided to start up the tradition again for as long as possible. We have missed the last 2 summers due to our move back to FL and Mackenzie being to young last year. Hunter was soooo excited about this trip. He couldn't wait to ride horses, go fishing, riding bikes, and playing. We had 2 cabins. Sara and Martha stayed in one and we stayed with Nannie and Papa in the other. We were in a secluded area with a playground area 100 ft. from the front door. We could let the babies play and not have to worry.
Mackenzie loved playing on the playground. By the end of the week I had given her at least 2 baths a day and she had the most bumps, scrapes, and bruises of all of the kids. That girl can get dirt, swim, and she can RUN! We had a blast watching then toddle around and play.
Hunter helped teach Colin how to ride his new bike. He also enjoyed splashing around the pool having splash fights with everyone. Adam joined us on Wednesday. He took Hunter on his first little fishing adventure. They caught one little brim. We also went canoeing and paddle boating. Sara and Papa joined us on that adventure. Sara had fun riding in the back letting Papa paddle away. She worked on her tan a bit also.
The wildlife was fun to watch. Every morning we would wake up to deer sitting 5 feet in front of our back porch. They would let us sit and watch them. At the beginning of the week, Papa enjoyed following the deer into the forest. We finally had to tell him he was going to get ticks if he wandered too far. That kept the deer tracking down the rest of the week.
We had a great time. Papa even commented on how it was the best week we have ever had. I have to agree.