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Our family is a big fan of Chik-fil-A; we will even spend an entire morning sewing in order to get a free sandwich. Being on a budget greatly spawns creativity~:-) MawMaw, PawPaw, Mom, Elijah, and I headed out for our free lunch in Fairburn, GA. Mmmm, delicious! Don't worry; we have all saved our shirts for next year!





When we got home, Aunt Donna spent time playing with Elijah. He was fascinated by this ridiculous dog which sang "You Ain't Nothin' But a Hound Dog" while shaking back and forth. Elijah LOVED it and kept asking "Please!" everytime the song would come to an end. Here is Elijah dancing with Aunt Donna and the hound dog:
And here is a great idea for entertaining a toddler in his great-grandparent's home - the walker! Ingenious, Aunt Donna!
We had fun in Georgia, waiting for Daddy to come pick us up. We played in the pool and ate lots of good food (minus the fried chicken livers - Uuuuugh!). After some challenging bush trimming experiences, we headed to Fort Campbell to see John and Heather. We were able to go to church and lunch with them before finally heading back home.

Riverbanks Zoo

Elijah would laugh everytime the sea lion would swim by and snort out water.
Watching the sea lion show with Grandma:
My favorite type of flower - a hibiscus. (Note to Husband: Favorite flower is NOT a peace lily.)A giant Galapagos turtle, the open mouth displaying the Creator's genius:

Mom, Elijah, and I went to the zoo for free thanks to the reciprocity offered by our membership to the Nashville Zoo (thanks, Mom and Dad!). Despite the heat, we had a lovely time looking at the animals, exploring the various gardens, and playing on the playground.


As Mom likes to tell visitors, "Riverbanks Zoo was ranked as one of the top ten zoos in the country." It really is amazing, and they have greatly expanded their gardens since the last time I visited. They now have a water garden and a children's garden. It was really a treat to go.

Grandpa came home early to get a little exploring time in with Elijah. During their exploits, Elijah managed to find and put on a sweatband - "The only one I have left," says Dad. It was really funny to see Elijah sporting a sweatband. (Does anyone - besides my Dad - still wear these?) He kept it on all through dinner, during which we noted that Elijah's head must be as big as an adults.
All done!

Favorite Toy

This oar belonging to the blow-up boats proved to be Elijah's VERY FAVORITE toy at Mom and Dad's house. He would make a beeline for it as soon as anyone let him outside, and he even succeeded in bringing it in the house a time or two. It was obviously way too long for him to handle, so many tears and squeals were heard as Elijah "got stuck" every few minutes with the oar. How are you supposed to teach your child to try different strategies to free the oar without squealing for assistance?

He tends to like toys just about this length. At GiGi and Great-Grandpa's house, Elijah found a nasty short broom on the porch. "That's probably been there for 17 years," Grandma remarked. Elijah cares nothing for the cleanliness of an item, just the height. At home he is now playing with the yardstick and with a little riding horse (thanks Ian!). If you want to bring a toy by, just make sure it is tall.

Isn't he adorable?

Friends

As HamFam drew to a close, these two dear friends came to visit. There are few people with whom I would rather spend time. After Lauren left, Jenelle and I spent much of our time together discussing whether Lauren was pregnant. We both knew, as only good friends can~:-) Congratulations to you, Lauren & Drew!!!

HamFam 2008 - Day Three

The whole crew, just after the HamFam Talent Show (Joe & Abigail's brain child): Talent show highlights included select songs from "Pajama Game" (Uncle Tom); "Here at the HamFam Reunion," an original song by Rachel and Jason which continues to be sung in at least one household; and "Ode to Henry" a song by Eric and Joe on the joys of courting a Hamilton girl.

No one can possibly appreciate this song more than Abigail and I, but some who know my Father may at least undertand parts of it. I LOVED watching these two sing this. It made me so very grateful that God provided both of us with such wonderful husbands. What amazing men!

That night we watched fireworks, Elijah and Reagan experiencing them for the first time.
All the cousins:
The girls:
A new baby is on the way!!!!

And, another new baby is on the way!!!

How fun! Mom especially is having a great time in the front yard.
We really did have such a great time at the HamFam this year. Eric and I are very thankful to have such fun, encouraging, challenging people in our family.

Can't wait for our next one!

WooHOOOOOO!!!!

Did anyone else just watch our guys WIN the 400 meter Men's Relay???? Go America!!!