Movie Date

If you have holes in the wall where a television used to be....
If you have a tired Mombo....
If you have a million things to do.....
If you have children easily mesmerized by a movie....

...sometimes you just have to use an alternate viewing location.

Here is Mom pretending she is comfortable as springs poke her in the behind.  Here is Polly Jane pretending she is going to sit still and watch the movie for more than two minutes.

 She didn't watch the movie, but she did discover the stash of toys~:-)

Look, everyone comes back so happy!  Mission accomplished.

6.26.2012

Shoe Fetish

We may have a problem.  Girlfriend will steal your shoes the moment you take them off.  She is just SO HAPPY about being able to wear them too!

6.25.2012

Nature Cruise

I purchased a Groupon for a kid-friendly cruise and we met up with several friends for a morning adventure.  This turned out to be so much more fun than I had anticipated!  The captain of our little boat kept whipping out new toys for the children.  He even provided drinks and snacks! 

Magnetic bracelets, water guns, balloon swords, all kinds of water toys....

Polly Jane was mostly enamored with Baby Vivian.  "Baby!  Baby!  Baby!"

We saw some homemade fishing traps set out along the river. One had actually caught a large fish. Some grandmother onboard hoisted it out of the water so all the children could get a good look.

 

Check out Blue Heron Cruises if you live in Middle Tennessee.  It is a non-stressful, absolutely no-prep-required, fun outing for the children.

 

6.22.2012

Bobbie's Dairy Dip

My favorite hamburger in Nashville - a blue cheese burger - is made at Bobbie's Dairy Dip.  Mom treated us there, because she likes it *almost* as much as I do and because she is awesome.  We also ate fries (yum!) and milkshakes.  I likely got a James Brown.  Chai & coffee & ice cream?  Yes, yes!

If you decide to visit, be forewarned that Bobbie's is in the ghetto, you'll be sitting on picnic tables, there are no bathroom facilities, and you have to stay outside.  But, the burger!  Totally worth it!

Look how happy these children are! And they only got the swirly ice cream with fake sprinkles! 6.21.2012

Mombo to the rescue!

I can't count how many times my Mom has come to my rescue.  She came again, mostly to help with the children so I could handle cleaning and hiring repairmen and ridiculous amounts of time on the phone.  Amazingly, everything just got better once she arrived!

Kudos to my sister, as well.  I'm pretty sure that two little Virginians were missing their Mombo (and that Mombo was missing a big pregnancy announcement) due to this trip.

Treasures were still being spotted under almost every piece of furniture.

 

Maybe no one was dressed, but at least everyone was happy!  We love you, Mombo!!!

6.18.2012

Robbery Recovery

We had planned to go to Cheekwood on Saturday. A sweet friend had given me two passes to this wonderful place as a birthday gift. Elijah kept talking about "Cheekweed" and how it was going to be beautiful.

Then robbers kicked open our door and flung apart our home.

Eric insisted that we still keep our family date, even though it was just one day after the robbery. Perhaps my wise husband knew that I needed to be away from this wreck and only be surrounded by real, living, unstolen treasures.  We went and I took lots of pictures.  I may not have those first 5 1/2 years in photos, but perhaps I'll be able to retain little glimpses from the many days to come.  (You'll forgive the numerous photos, yes?  It was just such a good day!)

A {rare} father-daughter moment:

Sibling love~;-o:

A picnic to start things off.

Treehouses, treehouses, treehouses!

This is the sweetest girl I have ever seen!

She loves to point and show you her amazing find!

Dancing in the fish.

There was a rope swing in the middle of this ball of yarn!

"Scaring" us from one of many hiding spots.  This game never gets old!

"Show me the rabbit!"

Lesson: Listen to husband when he recommends fun plans.

6.16.2012