A Few Summer Favorite Photo's

These are a few of his favorite things...trains and trucks.

These are compliments of the Great Aunt Sallie. Thank you Aunt Sallie!

I'm gonna get "chew"!

When Hunter has the water gun...he is TROUBLE!
He will run after you saying, "I'm gonna get chew!" Gettin' Annmother at a pool party.

T-R-O-U-B-L-E

Last week we spent the week in Nashville with family and friends. We had a blast! Normally most summers we spend 3 to 6 weeks in Nashville and then travel back to Naples. However, this year has been different. We have been out of pocket by going a variety of places, but not Nashville. Hunter started off the week by spending a night with Annmother and Pops while I went to a Bachelorette Party. I then traveled to a family reunion with my parents and uncle. It was good to just sit in a car, not having to drive and read/sleep..whatever I wanted. The remainder of the week was swimming, playing, learning how to make the famous Chicken-n-Dumplins from Mawmaw, and catching up with friends.

I even had the privilege to stay at Opryland Hotel with Virginia Reynolds and Kelly G. Troutt. We had a blast! It was so good to catch up. Time flew because before we knew it 3:30 am arrived and we were still up talking. The next morning I was in the elevator with a gentleman and he asked where I was from. My response, "About 5minutes from here. You?" We felt more than 5 minutes away though. It was good to get away and not have life chasing our every move.

Slip and Slide

The last few days have been filled with rain. Our backyard, we discovered, is a great place for a slip and slide along with some grass stains. Hunter had a blast using nature's own slip and slide.

Update...a few weeks ago I went to Naples to pack up the house and have some fun with friends. Hunter stayed behind in TN with family. He loved spending time with each and every one of them. It was good for him to get spend that quality time with family. I had a blast catching up with friends and packing in between Happy Hours. We only brought up a few pieces of furniture due to us being in between here and there. Our home in Bristol is looking more like OUR HOME! It is amazing what a few good pieces of furniture and decor can do for a house. The next week we will be spending time in Nashvegas. I'll have my camera ready to go this trip. Stay tuned...

Jumping In!!!

Hunter has been pretty brave in the water over the past few months. However, on our most recent trip to Pigeon Forge, he decided he wanted Adam to go "away" from him so that he could do it on his own. He did this over and over again for at least 15 minutes. It's amazing how brave he is with this. I guess he is growing up.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Wow! May 9th was the last blog update. It is already July 7, 2009. Amazing how time flies when you are so busy. Basically, May was busy with the end of the school year and packing up my classroom. Being team leader, a teacher, and a mom was difficult during that month. I also was trying to fit in all of the social aspects before leaving. Busy…that is all I have to say about May.

June…
We loaded the car on the first Friday in June. It was Hunter, Callie (our dog), a car load full of stuff, and 2 bikes on the back. Talk about a nerve wreaking trip. Hunter did fantastic!!! Callie was a little bit of a handful, but overall did really well. Friday we traveled to Warner Robins, GA, and stayed in Megan Hamann’s parents house. That was a 9 hour day due to bad weather. The next day wasn’t as bad we were on the road for about 6 hours. After 15 hours of Veggie Tale Cd’s, Thomas the Train, Baby Einstein, and Cars I was ready for an adult conversation. It was amazing to see Adam after such a long time apart (9 ½ weeks to be exact). Hunter’s expression was priceless. Unfortunately our reunion was short and sweet. Hunter and I packed up and left for Fall Creek Falls state part the next morning. Adam had to stay in Bristol to work, but joined us on Wednesday night.

Fall Creek Falls used to be a weekly family vacation every summer. It was always filled with bike riding, hiking, playing, fishing, swimming, and well…one summer flirting. We would take friends with us sometimes or other family members would rent cabins next to us. It was always a relaxing vacation. This tradition stopped sometime while I was in high school. We started the tradition again last summer and hope we will continue as long as we can. Both of my sisters and their husbands tagged along with Colin, my nephew, and of course, mom and dad. It was a great few days of NO cell phone reception or computers. Hunter had a blast just playing on the back patio while I read The Shack (which I recommend).

The next few weeks were basically us settling in Bristol and enjoying being back together as a family. We had a few events in those weeks, a family reunion on Baker’s Mountain (my Aunt Sallie and Uncle George’s beautiful home on the edge of the mountain), a golf tournament, and a trip to Splash Country.

Bristol life is different. The hottest it has gotten is 87 degrees. The lightening bugs just land on Hunter’s hands at night while he is running around trying to catch them. Our weeks are basically the following:

~Sunday: in transit from somewhere to somewhere. Hopefully we will start searching for churches soon.
~Monday: Adam is off and we venture out
~Tuesday: Mommy and Me group which heads out to a different park in the area each week. These mom’s have been very friendly and the kids, although most are older, have really enjoyed Hunter.
~Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday mornings: YMCA for either Group Power (strength training classes) or Cycling classes. Enjoying going and getting a lot from it.

To sum it all up…busy, busy, busy. I’m going to try to get back in the routine of updating the blog weekly, that is if Hunter will let me slow down ;) No pictures for now, but stayed tuned...I have found my camera.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day, Annmother and Nannie!

The Last Few Weeks

First Baseball Glove and Ball given to Hunter for Easter from Annmother and Pops
Girls Night at my house. Great night in and had lots of fun getting the house ready. It was the last adult party @ 4340 20th Street NE, Naples, Fl. I love hosting parties. My friends call me "Laura Stewart" Funtimes at the beach. Naples beaches are the prettiest beaches in Florida.

A couple of weeks ago, Hunter packed his lunch box up put it on his fire truck and said, "Bye, Have a good day." He is really starting to pretend play more over the last few months.

Playing the "Octagon Game". Yes, he knows what an octagon is. He pulled it out the other night and requested to play the octagon game. I thought it was a fluke, but then while riding in the car he pointed to a stop sign and said "Octagon". I'm not paying Dominique enough!!!

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The last few weeks we have been keeping busy from going to the pool, to the beach, and soaking up the Floridian life. Overall we have been doing well. Between friends keeping us busy and continuing our daily routine, time is going by pretty fast. We are now down to 4 weeks left.

This weekend, Mother's Day weekend, we have a lot planned. I ended up having to take Thursday off, due to having no one to watch Hunter. I did the laundry, paid bills, and cleaned the house. With all of that out of the way, we are just relaxing and having fun.

I am finding it hard to keep up with the blog now. I used to catch a few minutes here and there to sit down and do this, but with Adam gone I don't usually have the time. Life can be busy as a single mom. Above are a few pics from the last few weeks.