When in Rome

Slightly delayed, but after we recovered from our European vacation, the little boys and I headed to Rome to spend a few days with Grandmommy, Grandaddy, Aunt Kristy, Uncle Jeff & Cousin Sean. The boys had a ball swimming, snacking, bouncing and movie watching. It was plain ole fun, but don't take my word for it...

A Whole Lot of Christmas (part 1)

Christmas has come and gone, and I managed to get almost all my decorations packed away before 2012 rolled in. In my book, that's a huge accomplishment. Everyone knows how un-fun it is to put the decor away. While the decorations were still up though we had plenty of Christmas fun.

We started by hosting Josh's family for a couple of days. After we had tucked the kids in bed (much too late) on the night they arrived, we decided to go ahead and exchange gifts with one another. I'm sure some of it had to be with the late hour, and the rest you can blame of just being a family that loves to laugh, but we really enjoyed ourselves. There was much silliness involved...

Grandmommy got a real kick out of her very own pink pom-pom gloves!

And Aunt Kristy has a great sweater now for her growing neck. This was purchased at a giraffe super store :)

Who has the warmest head and ears around? Grandaddy!

We started the next day with an incredible breakfast at Natalie Jane's in Clarkesville. The poor boys were so ready to finish and get back to open their gifts. They were incredibly patient, and they were not disappointed once the fun began...

"What is it, Sean??" Jack even managed to do okay with taking turns.

Ready to explore with his very own binoculars!

Jack was soooo excited about his "iPad" from Aunt Cindy's crew.

Sam loved this rockin' Elmo and ALL his instruments...once we convinced him to actually open some gifts!

The big reveal felt a little like the Showcase Showdown from the Price is Right! They jumped in immediately!

Sam didn't know exactly where the seat was. Lounging in the floorboard with his arm up. I was hysterical at how comical he was.

Oh, look someone showed Sam where to sit, and not a moment too soon...

Hey, wait a minute!? Shouldn't this steering wheel be attached??

Sean & Jack breaking a sweat with the wii. Jack was too hot to wear a shirt apparently.

I have no idea what they were playing, but they were into it for sure!

Our Christmas dinner spread. It was even better than it looks in this photo.

Sweet potatoes were a hit...especially at the kids' table!

Stay tuned for part 2.

Wedding Weekend

This weekend we journeyed back to Chattanooga for the wedding of Josh's cousin, Ryan and his lovely bride Julie. We were also able to spend more time with Josh's uncle who is in the final stages of his battle with cancer. At certain moments, the wedding was bittersweet knowing the father of the groom was unable to attend because of his current residence on the hospice wing of Memorial Hospital. Join me in praying that his pain is eased and those around him comforted.


Birthday Princess & her summer sipper

 We also managed a small belated birthday celebration for Josh's sister, Kristy. She is such a funny gal, and so much fun to celebrate. When I was expecting Jack a few years ago, my mom bought a couple of little gifts for after our ultrasound. Once we learned we were having a Jack instead of a Jill, the mini tiara my mom had purchased from a friend's jewelry store was set to be returned. Josh's sister objected and insisted on buying the tiara for herself! For the past three years, she has adorned herself with the mini tiara on her birthday. I was overjoyed to see her slip it on after we arrived at lunch Saturday afternoon.

"They call this a challenge?"

Speaking of lunch, we dined at Cheeburger Cheeburger, which has one incredible burger. The menu lists a burger called "The Pounder," which is nearly $11 and weighs in at 20 ounces before being grilled. If you finish the pounder, you get embarrassed/recognized with a photo on a Wall of Fame in the restaurant. Of course, Josh loves a challenge. So, of course he jumped on the opportunity to defeat a food challenge. I was so proud...

Waiting for the fun to begin

The wedding was so lovely, and the weather was perfection for an outdoor gathering by the lake. Ryan and Julie wanted all their neices, nephews and cousins to participate in the ceremony with a parade of sorts. The smaller ones rode in wagons and strollers, while the older kids pushed and pulled. Jack and Sam did pretty well, especially since we were working off limited naptime for Sam and zero napt for Jack.

And they're off...

Somehow they made it by the cupcakes without incidence

But, Jack gave the chocolate cakes an EYE-full!

You can see more of the fun in my May picasa album.

Birthday x 3 = FUN!

Saturday we had the pleasure of having Josh's family over to celebrate three birthdays. Mine, our nephew Sean's and Josh's dad's are all within about two weeks. We typically celebrate together. When they arrived Josh's sister and I started on a cake. Kristy had envisioned a green cake with football players and cheerleaders on it. She made all the characters in advance. The cake was certainly delicious, but I'm not sure you want to call the Food Network just yet...the finished product wasn't exactly picture perfect, but still photo worthy. Who knows...maybe it will end up over here at some point!

Sean & Jack had a ball playing together as always. Grandmommy & Grandaddy also brought Jack & Sam their very own patio table for outside. Thankfully, the rain stopped and it turned out to be a pretty comfortable afternoon outside. So, the table was assembled and snack were enjoyed!

Sam enjoyed some tickles from his Aunt Kristy too. It was a triple sized celebration just perfect for three special people...hey, the writer reserves the right to call herself special :)

Family Times

What a beautiful weekend it was...in more ways than one. The weather was wonderful, and we had the opportunity to spend it with family. Josh's family journeyed over from Rome on Friday evening, and we all traveled to Athens for the game on Saturday. Jack enjoyed some time with Memaw and my sister joined us at the game.

Afterwards, we grilled out at my parent's house. It was a great chance for Jack to chase his cousin Sean around the yard. It was so nice to be able to relax and enjoy the company of those so close to us. Here are some snapshots from the weekend.

Enjoying a game of football with cousin Sean

Getting a photography lesson from Aunt Kristy

Peek a boo!

Here I am!

Happy Birthday, Aunt Kristy

Saturday afternoon we headed to Atlanta to celebrate Kristy's birthday (Josh's sister). She lives in Rome, near Josh's parents. So, the three of them along with our nephew Sean met us at Maggiano's at Perimeter. It wasn't hard to convince everyone that we should dine family style, but it was challenging to narrow our selections. But, when faced with choosing or going hungry we managed to select some pretty incredible dishes. The chicken & spinach manicotti was my favorite, and I could have eaten the whole dish of creme brulee by myself (in fact I almost did!) Sean had a meatball the size of his head, then nibbled on a second meatsicle style (see picture).

It was great to spend time with everyone and to surprise Kristy with her birthday gift. She loves Josh's Keurig one-cup coffee brewer, and now she's pretty much loving her OWN Keurig one-cup coffee brewer. She was so excited. Although he was a little out of sorts, Jack enjoyed goofing around with Grandaddy (see picture).

These two boys seem to spread a lot of laughter and smiles everywhere they go.

Father's Day

Well, we've been up to a lot since my last post, which I'm hoping explains why it's been so long since my last post. I'm hoping you'll all forgive me. We'll begin with Father's Day weekend. We set out on Saturday to visit Jack's Grandmommy and Grandaddy in Rome. We arrived for a pretty late lunch at the Chick-fil-A dwarf house...yum! Josh can't wait to introduce Jack to barbeque, and I can't wait for him to taste his first waffle fry and chicken nugget. He did sample a little of the menu. He tasted a few pickles, which he liked.

We spent the afternoon catching up. Sean showed Jack how to play with his old Barney laptop. He loved it. We were happy that he found something so entertaining, but it is quite a loud toy, which maybe one reason everyone was so quick to part with it and send it home with us! Here he is enjoying every second of it.

Saturday evening we went to Olive Garden for dinner, which is one of Grandmommy's favorites. We ate so much! I think I had about a dozen breadsticks! Despite that, Josh's sister Kristy thought we should make fruit pizzas! She really wanted to make one for her fiance, Jeff for father's day. She had already made the sugar cookies and cream cheese spread. So, we started spreading and placing our fruit when there was a bit of a cream cheese incident! I'm still not completely sure how, but somehow I ended up with cream cheese in my hair, which was pretty hilarious! Thanks, Kristy!

On Sunday, we went to church with Josh's folks. There were quite a few folks who hadn't met Jack and were excited to see him. Others were just excited to see him again, like Mrs. Christine. She introduced Jack to her dad, who we all call Grandad. Grandad's name is also Jackson, which is pretty neat. After church we had a visit from the Reichels, who had a gift for Jack. It was a really neat flatware set for a child and made of real stainless. The set included a baby spoon, toddler spoon and fork and child's spoon, fork and knife. Afterwards, we went to lunch at a place that served family-style home cooking. They had the best homemade chicken fingers and the best sweet potato casserole I've had in a long time. Josh and I kept going on and on about it. Jack was so worn out he fell asleep on Josh's leg! Once we returned home, we ate again! This time red velvet cake from Sweet Sensations.

After departing from Rome, we went through Kennesaw to visit Ben, Wendy and B.J. Josh and Ben watched the U.S. Open while B.J., Wendy and I played with Jack. After Jack had his dinner we set out for Ted's Montana Grill, which was quite tasty. Ben and I both wanted to have steak and salmon, so he ordered one and I ordered the other! Since Josh had to work all day Monday and then in the ER Monday night and Jack and I were headed to the first day of VBS, it was not so fun getting home so late. It was worth it for a really great weekend.

Before I conclude my Father's Day recap, I'd like to recognize some great fathers. First, my heavenly Father. He's blessed me and my family with so much and over the last year has shown me how much I can and should trust in Him. Secondly, my earthly father. What a great leader he is for our family. Also, Josh's father. I'm thankful to have such wonderful in-laws. Lastly, Jack's father and my hubby, Josh. If you only knew how much I have enjoyed being witness to your journey so far as a father. Jack is so blessed to have you as his dad. Thanks, fathers! (Here's Josh lending his knee to Jack for a nap.)

Welcome Spring

Sorry it has been a couple of weeks since my last post. Things are great here. Jack is so much fun...laughing and smiling so much every day. We've been enjoying the warm weather, but keep our coats and umbrellas handy since we've been getting much needed rain and chilly temps a lot too! Last weekend we had company. Grandmommy and Grandaddy Garrett along with Aunt Kristy and Cousin Sean spent a couple of days with us. We had a grand time. Jack was feeling a little bit under the weather...he had his first runny nose. But his illness actually made him more cuddly and clingy, which everyone always enjoys.

We also had a visit from the Carrs. Dennis and Mickie had not yet met Jack and were also eager to visit the house and tour Josh's office. They brought Jack some very cute Georgia gear. It was great to catch up with them and made us look forward to football season even more. I think Jack will enjoy tailgating :)

This past week Jack tried rice cereal for the first time. I've been trying to give it to him every other day or so, but he's not really into it yet. He doesn't hate it, but he's just not sure he likes it or what exactly to do with it. I even put him in his high chair which was very cute. He looked so tiny, barely peeping over the tray. I can't imagine him filling it up one day.

On Monday, Jack and I got the opportunity to meet Rachel and Naomi Gowder for lunch. The Gowders are old friends of ours that are currently living in San Antonio. Daniel is currently serving in Iraq. Rachel and Naomi, who just turned 2, were visiting relatives. It was so great to get a chance to catch up. Rachel was very excited to meet Jack. Naomi is so much fun to be around and so entertaining. She says the funniest stuff!

This Saturday, Jack's Grandma Giles (yet to be named), Aunt Emily and her boyfriend Jonathan came to visit for a few hours. Grandpa was covering the G-Day game. It's probably a good thing we didn't go since I hear it was a nasty drizzle the entire time. It's been a busy couple of weeks, but the warm weather has us excited to welcome spring, which signals afternoon walks, evening grill outs and the Masters.