Playing

So I have been told that some people can not see videos that I post on the blog.  I am not sure what else to do because it is working on my computer.  Any ideas?  Hope this one works!

This is a great example of our evenings.  After bathtime...before bedtime...we have a very active boy on our hands.  He is either awake and going 100mph or asleep.  Rarely is there a middle ground.  He sure does keep us on our toes!



Vacation Week: Part Two

Usually where there is a part one, a part two follows.  Sorry for the delay!  For the second half of our week we headed to north Georgia to Sky Valley.  It is almost in North Carolina.  We actually drive through North Carolina for a little while in order to reach Sky Valley.  Ben's aunt and uncle have a beautiful cabin (for sale if you are interested...) with perfect views.  I could live on their back porch.  We had a fun time hiking, exploring, eating wonderful food and spending time with family.  It also did not hurt that is was at least 10 - 15 degrees cooler in Sky Valley than in Huntsville.  It felt wonderful!  We did so many things that I am just going to have to explain picture by picture.  

Ma-Maw and GrandBob with the grandkids and great-grandson at the waterfall

Parker and GrandBob - so cute!

The Hikers (minus Mike and Uncle John)

This warning sign should have been a huge red flag for me...saying it wasn't easy is an understatement.    Going down into the gorge was not difficult.  It was the climbing out that was so painful.

This picture does not do it justice.  It was a straight drop!  And a long way down!

Once we made it down, it was beautiful.  The climb down was really fun.  We had to climb from rock to rock over the river, use a few ropes, and go on some swinging bridges so get down there.  It reminded me of hiking in Auburn's state park, Chewacla, but this was just more strenuous.  The hike down was easily my favorite part of the hike.

There was a natural rock slide at the bottom.  It was fun to watch the guys slide down.   

This is for the people from church who read this blog...your pastor  courageously went down the slide.  Please also note that he is wearing an Auburn shirt...people kept on saying War Eagle to him on the trail and he just smiled.  That is evidence of the love you have for your children for a Bama fan to wear an Auburn shirt.

Some of us just rested once we got to the bottom.  It was fun to watch everyone go down the slide.    There was a wide variety of people, and it was endlessly entertaining.  Brooke actually fell asleep!

Even though the rock slide looked fun, the prospect of climbing back up in wet clothes did not appeal to us.    It sure did feel good to stick our feet in the water though!

I regret not getting pictures of Uncle John and Joe, but they went exploring behind the "Do Not Enter" sign which was far away from my camera.  Of course that is where Joe went...They have a history of this behavior.

I wish this picture did justice to the steepness of of climb up.  I am currently in the worst shape of my life (started running to turn that around...ugh) so I had to stop several times to catch my breath.  It was like doing lunges up a mountain.  If you got too close to the person in front of you, you would get kicked in the face.  That. Is. Steep.

Back at the cabin it was time to rest.  This was the view from the back porch in the mornings.

And this was the view at night.

It was such a wonderful trip.  We are blessed to have so much family that we love spending time with.

Vacation Week: Part One

We were away on vacation all of last week.  For the first half of the week, we celebrated the 4th of July with my side of the family at the Barnsley Gardens in GA.  19 people in one house might sound crazy, but it was wonderful!  It was one of the nicest places I have ever been.  The homes were beautiful, the gardens were beautiful and there was no shortage of fun with the pool and lawn games.  Even more beautiful than the landscape was the reason we were there...to celebrate and thank my GiGi and Grandad for the many (countless) ways they have blessed us.  I love them both more than I can say.  

 

The Big 5-0

 My dad turned 50 in June, so we had a surprise party for him at our house.  I can't take credit for the idea...or the planning.  I just cleaned the house and opened the door for my sisters and mom to bring the food and the guests to arrive.  We actually pulled off the surprise (even though all the cars were parked in the church parking lot right in front of the house and I thought there was no way he would miss it!)  It was fun to celebrate with our family and friends, and I know it was special for my dad.

 No birthday is complete without a cookie cake!

You would think that all of these wonderful people would be looking at the birthday boy....

...but this little guy was the entertainment for the night.  He is turning into quite the performer.  Thankfully he did not pick up an ounce of his mother's shyness.

I am so thankful for my sweet Dad.  I already knew that he was a great father, husband, and friend but now we get to add being an awesome Pops to his resume!

My Little Fish

Parker went from being terrified of the water to being a little fish.  He loves to kick, splash, and lay in his float.  I see summer swim team in our future.  We went to the Hampton Cove pool with the Calverts one evening and as you can see Parker was having a great time.  He also knows that he is getting his picture taken when he sees a phone so he always pauses what he is doing for a big cheesy smile.  He obviously did not get that from me...much more like his daddy.  ;)

Pictures for family

We have many family members and friends that read this blog who don't have Facebook.  Gasp!  No Facebook??  A lot of the time I think I should join them.  Since they don't have Facebook they miss out on some of the more random pictures we post so I want to share a few extras.  

This is when Parker was able to meet Aubie at an Auburn baseball game.  Ben was so excited about this moment and it was very cute to watch.  We are shamelessly grooming Parker to be a huge Auburn fan.

One of Parker's favorite foods is avocados.  I can just cut one into tiny pieces and he will sit there and eat it all until it is gone.  The problem with avocados (and his other favorite:  bananas) is that a large portion of it ends up in his hair.  After this particular dinner there was so much in his hair I was able to use is like hair gel and give him a nice new hair style.  

These next two pictures are from Kelsey and Blake's wedding.  It was uncharacteristically cold for May so we used whatever we brought for this outdoor wedding to keep warm...including body heat.  This was not just a pose for a picture, it was us warding off the cold!

Of course we had to get a pictures of all the handsome men with bowties.  It was a fun wedding with lots of dancing.  Congrats to Kelsey and Blake!

Beach Trip

My family loves the beach.  I mean LOOOOVES the beach.  So I expected Parker to immediately love the beach.  After all, it is in his genes.  It was much more of a process than I had expected.  Thankfully we captured some of the process on camera.  

First day at the pool:  not a fan of the water.  The moment his feet hit the water there was a lot of crying and pitiful faces.  

It was only better when he was being held and there was no part of him touching the water.  

We went to the beach to take a nap.  We had to be careful not to touch the sand though...not a fan of that either.

Day two:  he magically loves the water!  Ben took him in there first and he was loving it.  I am not sure what changed but I was not about to question it!

He was taking it easy and loving life in his float.  

Day 3:  He had a blast with his dad in the ocean!  Parker is much braver than his mom because he went out farther than I did.  I am going to try my best not to let my overwhelming fear of jellyfish rub off on my son :)

We had such a great time as a family on this trip.  We all enjoyed introducing Parker to the many exciting things that come with a Martin beach trip including lunch on the way in to town at Sea-n-Suds, lots of fun times in the sand, plenty of good food and most importantly quality time with family.  Only problem with this trip is that it ended.

Ben and Jamie with McGuire's famous root beer

Parker, Gami, and Pops

Jen and Joe looking good as always ;)

Our handsome beach boy