Memorial Day Weekend

Happy {late} Memorial Day!  I hope yours was as blessed as ours.  We spent the long weekend celebrating with family at Pop & Gran's house.  We got to see Poppy & Cissy, too.  See if you can follow me here.  Cindy, my step-mom, has a cousin named Mary.  Mary lives next door to my mom on Lake Martin.  Small world, huh?  Cindy and my dad came down to spend the weekend at Mary and her husband's house.  So they were right next door.  It was quite convenient actually.  We spent a lot of time in the baby pool on this trip.

 

 

We also spent a lot of time on this bad boy.  Brad and Lauren brought it up.  I didn't get any pictures of anyone on it for some reason.  It was fantastic though.

Poppy & Cissy stole Miller Man one morning to take him over to Brian & Mary's house.  The golf cart was a little more convenient than trekking up the mountainous driveways.  Plus it was a fun ride for Miller.

 Brian sent him back with this on...

{Side note: Miller DID NOT actually ride the jet ski.  And certainly not without a life jacket.  He just pretended to drive while still tied to the dock.  That was plenty of fun for him.}

Miller was enthralled by this "airplane", as he called it.  Honestly, I wasn't sure how to correct him.  What is this thing?

 We ate and ate and ate some more.  I'm pretty sure I can blame Pop for a few extra pounds.

We tried out Miller's new Puddle Jumper.  He did pretty well, but I think he would have liked it more if it weren't so choppy.  There were about a gazillion boats out this weekend so the water was pretty rough.  {Sorry for the blurry picture.  John took it with his phone and I zoomed in on it some.}

We had such a great weekend and realize that freedoms like those we enjoyed this weekend haven't come without a price.  Thanks to all of you out there who have served to protect our freedom!

Cousinly Love

Malley and her mommy came up to visit last week while Scott was at their regional tournament.  Miller wanted to hold "baby" as he calls her and it made for a pretty good photo-op.

 Then he decided to give out her a few hugs.

It was a cute little glimpse of how he might react whenever we have another baby.  He did such a good job holding her and was so sweet with her!  {I was snapped back into reality when he wanted her "off" of her play-mat so that he could lay on it like he was a baby.}  We can't wait for them to visit again when Scott and his team go to Nationals!  Congrats Scott!

Farm Boys

Check out Miller's new ride.

Every farm boy needs a good "lovey" to help him...

a few friends to ride around with...

and a hot bath at the end of the day.

A Day at the Zoo

Saturday we went to Birmingham for the day to go to the zoo with Poppy and Cissy.  We had a blast and hated that we couldn't stay longer!  There was so much to do!  

Miller and Poppy watching the train go by.

I think Miller would have climbed IN every exhibit if we would have let him.

We took a break about halfway through the animal exhibits to play a bit.

 Then it was time to ride the train!

 Miller wasn't too sure what to think about the tunnel...

To end the day we decided to cool off a little on the splash pad.  He was a bit apprehensive at first...

but then he warmed right up to it.

 Thanks for a fun-filled day, Poppy and Cissy!

 

Last Day of Mother's Day Out

Today was Miller's last day of Mother's Day Out for the year.  Well, technically.  He is going to the Summer program and that starts in about a week and a half.  So we don't have to be too sad.  I have been so very pleased with his sweet little school.  To be honest, when I signed him up I was most interested in having a few hours a week baby-free for errands, appointments, and chores.  I, of course, wanted him to be well taken care of, but I never dreamed he would learn so much and DO so much while in their care.  We are so thankful for the teachers and staff and are excited to have found such a great program to be a part of!  He brought home the sweetest book full of pictures taken throughout the year and artwork made using his hand-prints, footprints, and fingerprints {those teachers are  way braver than I am!!}.  I will treasure that precious book always!  Thank you Beth, Jennifer, and Leslie for a fabulous year!  I had to include Miller's class picture from the Spring.  Aren't they the cutest?!?!

Photo Courtesy of Lecroy Photography

Beach Trip

We just returned from a fabulous five day trip to Orange Beach with Bryant's parents.  We stayed at Turquoise Place and why I didn't take a single picture of our condo is unknown - it was incredible.  By far the nicest beach condo I've ever stayed in.  Miller did great on this trip.  The six hour car ride wasn't too bad {thanks mostly to our portable DVD player}, he slept like a champ while we were there {we had to wake him at 9:00 almost every morning}, and he was pretty easy to keep up with on the beach this year.  I had imagined him running all over the place, but he was still a little hesitant of the sand and of the ocean which actually made it kind of nice.  He was content to sit in one place with a bucket full of water and a few toys {most of the time anyway}.

I had to get a picture of his first stop at Priester's.  My family always stopped here on our way to the beach and I'm happy to continue the tradition with Miller!

Day One:  Pretty hesitant walking on the sand.  A little whiny.

 Once Daddy and Papa showed him how it's done, he was much better.

We tried a ride around the Lazy River, but he wasn't much of a fan.

 That night we attempted to get a family pic before dinner.  Wind + squirmy toddler = total fail.

 Day Two:  Miller got a little braver and played in the water a bit.

Miller loved to play on the steps of the Lazy River, but that was as far as he wanted to go.

Day Three:  No daytime pics.  It was raining so Margaret and I went shopping at the outlets.  That afternoon we attempted some beach pictures before dinner though.  We weren't too successful, but we managed to get a few decent ones.

And then Miller told us it was time to go "up".  He was right.  The bottom fell out about five minutes after that.

{In case you are wondering what is wrong with my hand, I am fine.  Just a moron.  I had a minor one-car accident with the pole in our garage.  I was able to avoid actual stitches and they glued the cut I got, but I had to keep it dry and clean.  A difficult task with a toddler.  Even more difficult when you're at the beach.  Just a reminder to everyone out there: make sure your car is in park before you get out of it.  Lesson learned.}  Moving on to dinner that night.

Day Four:  Miller finally got the hang of the beach the last day we were there.  Of course.

Miller made friends with a group of ladies on the beach.  They gave him a juice box, chips and some new beach toys.  In return he entertained them with his dancing skills.

He got a little distracted from the kite because he was looking for the "hetitopter" {"helicopter"}.  It provided endless entertainment.

 
That night, Bryant and I got to go to dinner and a movie alone.  Ahh...

Thanks, Nana and Papa for a wonderful trip!  We had so much fun and made so many memories we will cherish forever!