Sweetwater

I grew up in a small town called Sweetwater, TN, located about 2 1/2 hours southwest of where we are living now. My parents still live there and run their dairy farm with the help of one of my sisters and her husband. Ever since Anna was born, we've tried to make the drive about once every 2 to 3 months to stay for several days and visit.


This last visit was a fun one. My parents recently moved to town but still run the farm which is several miles outside of town. Being "in the city" has added a lot to our visits. During our latest visit my mom and I walked with the kids to the duck park so they could traumatize a bunch of overweight geese and ducks. We enjoyed some time at the school playground that is a couple blocks from my parents' house. We spent an afternoon at the city pool. We also had some time to just relax and be with my sister and her family.

Athens is a neighboring city where I went to high school. It is home to one of the most awesome playgrounds I've ever seen. Take a look at those slides! Shouldn't there be pools at the bottom? Shouldn't the sign read "Welcome to Athens Regional Park where your kids will enjoy zooming down really high slides, climbing a web that is two stories high, sitting on some really hot surfaces, and a field trip to the ER!"
For me, a nice part of going to this park is that I frequently discover some long lost friend from high school who has brought her children to play. It's great to reconnect after so many years. How many years has it been? Oh, it's not really been many. Did I say after "so many" years? I just meant that it seems like it's been awhile. It's really not. I'm really young, you know. Really.

In Remembrance of our only boy (not really)

Once upon a time, a baby boy was born.

The baby boy was loved and nurtured.
He laughed and danced.
He posed for silly pictures.
He experienced joys . . .
. . . and frustrations.

He was sweet. As sweet as they come . . .
. . . and silly. As silly as they come.
Oh, how his family loved him.
Then one day, one horrible sad day, the boogie man stole the boy from his loving family.
And he was never to be seen again.
Just kidding. The boogie man didn't really steal the boy.
No, it was something called Kindergarten.
And they did see him again.
Just not as often.
Oh well, at least we still have Caroline . . .
. . . till the boogie man strikes again.

The Slushie was the best part.

For Christmas this past year, Ryan's dad ("Paw Paw") decided to treat us to tickets to some area attractions. Every month, we receive another Christmas gift in the mail. The kids have loved this. Some of the tickets have been to Fun Expedition, the Gray Fossil Museum, and Barter Theatre. The latest was for Wetlands. This was a fun, hot day for us all. Anna & Luke loved the slides most of all. Anna was a little disappointed that she wasn't tall enough to ride the big slides (weird since she was tall enough last year) but she handled it pretty well. Mom & Dad's favorite part was finding a comfy, shady area to relax. The kids had fun eating a blue slushie and sharing with their baby sister. Oddly, I came away with no swimming pictures but plenty of the slushie.

Snakes in the Library

Our city library has provided our family with some great entertainment this summer. The kids' favorite was the day "Safari Greg" brought some unusual creatures. He ended the show by bringing out one of the biggest snakes I've ever seen. That's when I pulled out the camera for some shots of the kids with wide eyes and expressions of caution. Is it really OK for that thing to be in the library?

Sweet Shots

We drove up to Rocky Mount which is a hop, skip, and a jump from our home for some family pictures. My friend, Rebecca, did a great job. For more pics or to order some, just check out Rebecca's site at rebeccamarrphotography.com. She's really good and super reasonable. Thanks Rebecca!

Miss you Dad

Ryan is currently soaking up the sun in the Cayman Islands. We're totally jealous, but this is his celebrating the big 30 equivalent to my Vegas trip in May. We hope you're having fun Dad. Miss you lots. Here are some of our favorite shots of our favorite guy.

Senior League

Most of you know that Ryan is a big baseball fan. He loves following the Atlanta Braves and coaching Little League. You may not know, however, that he still enjoys playing. He and some of his buds plus a few youth group fellas try to get together occasionally (ok, once a year if he's lucky)for a game. This year we also cooked out to make it fun for the families too. Caroline was especially moody this evening, but everyone else had a great time.