July 4 Weekend

My mom, the kids and I drove to Hartselle, AL Saturday morning. We visited first and second cousins, aunts and uncles. The kids cousin was there too, and I loved watching them interact. I keep thinking how special these pictures will be to them when they're older. 

My aunt and uncle went down Friday morning and set up shop on the land in their camper. My dad (Paw Paw) came down Saturday night. :-) 

The rain caused us to postpone our trip a day because several roads were flooded and detours hadn't been marked. 

My first cousin and her husband built a gorgeous home on 7 acres of land. Only about 2 acres are cleared, and the house, barn, chicken house and yard area were a perfect getaway for us. 

All three kids loved the chickens. Mac was into the chickens themselves, and LS was into the egg laying. 

My cousin- DeLaura- and her husband built most everything themselves. She even designed the house plans from scratch, and it's pretty amazing. 

This barn swing was quite a hit. 

Richard and DeLaura's road is on a flood zone so the bottom of their road floods with springs that drain into the Tennessee River. We walked down the road, and muddy bottoms were inevitable. Everyone had a good laugh when the kids refused to walk around the puddles- they walked straight thru them. 

Wesleigh got the award for the best print on her tush ;-)

Now for the road spring...

Mac rode the 4 wheeler, Lilly fished in their pond and Paisley was free to roam and discover. 

After this morning's play and muddy britches removed, the cousins enjoyed the front porch swing. 

Busy and memorable holiday, and we are so glad to be home! We missed Jordan, but we are excited to all visit the family again soon! 

as always,

ashley 

June Dollywood Weekend

We went to Dollywood last weekend with Carsen and Bailey. On our way we got a flat tire. Boo. Poor Jordan had to put on his AAA hat and change the tire in our 'bus.'

After we got to Gatlinburg at about 10, we crashed. All of us... We had to be rested for the next day!

Dollywood bound!

The kids loved the playground and fountains- my kids can't be in wet clothes. They take off their clothes when water is involved. They actually tried to remove diapers too. That's how we roll. 

We went to dinner at No Way, Jose's. haha. It was delicious! Someone was quite a fan of the salsa... She's so my child. 

On our way back to Chattanooga, we dropped off Carsen and Bailey. Aunt Deb had a BBQ lunch waiting for us. Yum. 

It was a family gathering with aunts, uncle, cousins and (great) grandparents. 

We love our family time!

as always, 

ashley 

 

Happy Fourth, America!

We are doing some traveling this patriotic holiday. Don't be surprised- traveling is what we do. It seems we are always on the go, but I love it. I certainly couldn't do it without Jordan's help, though. It's like we are gears- we work simultaneously to do what needs to be done and barely have to communicate our thoughts when we pack and unpack the car. Then we give a run down to make sure we got everything once we are on the road. If we forget it, it's a relief to know there's most likely a Target or Publix close by. 

This holiday I am solo, however. :-( Jordan works in maintenance so this was his weekend. The kids and I sure miss him. 

Enough rambling... We came to Murfreesboro Wednesday evening (July 3). We went to my Aunt Dee's house where the kids loved playing in the back yard. I even let them air out their sweet toddler tushes ;-) 

July 4 was a rainy, yucky day. We visited with family and sweet friends, which made the day more pleasant. 

Today we went to the Discovery Museum with Paw Paw and Uncle Jeff. 

After lunch, M and P went down for a (long, much needed) nap. After they woke up we went to Mimi and Geep's house. Epic fail: I didn't take one picture. :-/ Geep is a great back up- he's always camera ready. 

Tomorrow we leave for Hartselle, AL to visit more cousins. Pics to come!

as always, 

ashley