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 

Get Well Soon

I'm on a roll updating the blog. I have a ton of posts I want to do, but then the process overwhelms me and I just don't do any. I'm going to embrace the post about our present, and we have two sick tots. :-/
Last Monday night Paisley woke up crying. She laid down with us and sleep was on again off again. She was congested and felt feverish.
Tuesday she acted in better sprits as the day went on so I thought it was a one time deal. After nap, she was feverish again. That evening Jordan mentioned the doctor- which I had contemplated- so my decision was made.
Wednesday we saw the nurse practitioner and P had an ear infection. Mac had his throat swabbed, but everything came back negative.
Some improvement Thursday until P woke up from nap. She had a 103.5 temp.
Friday morning we went back to the pediatrician. I waited around an hour so we could see our regular doctor.
She looked and listened to both kids, and P was diagnosed with bronchitis and a bulging ear drum. Since she's allergic to penicillin and cephalosporins, we are limited on what she can take. We were on Primsol but switched to a stronger med- Biaxin.
Mac was swabbed again and has strep :-/ because Mac has a sensitive stomach, it's better for him to have a shot rather than 10 days of an antibiotic. And let's face it, it's easier to have less syringes lined up at night.
So here we are- breathing treatments for P every few hours, little sleep at night and fussy during the day.
We were suppose to visit the Nashville Allens this weekend, but we couldn't take the tots. I stayed home, and Jordan took Lilly Scott. My mom- a saving grace- came to spend the weekend and help me. Bless her. She's so good to us.
Poor babies. Poor us.
You can see the regression in the pics as the week went along.
As always,
Ashley

LS becomes an Allen :-)

We are finally at the end of the adoption. Lilly Scott Allen is our pride and joy :-)
The Tuesday after Easter, my parents came to be a part of a special event for our family. We so appreciate the love and support of Nana and Paw Paw's presence with us on this special day.
After court, we ate brunch and came home for an egg hunt.

Dirty Thirty Birthdays

I've had two special friends turn 30 this year. I'm a couple years behind them so I have a fun birthday celebration to embrace in my near future :-)

For Leslie's birthday we went to Atlanta and stayed up waaaaay past my bedtime. After a delicious dinner, we went to a few places with live bands and no bump and grind kind of places.

Anna's birthday was a surprise Jordan as I got to be a part of. We ate dinner and 'strolled' down Frazier on Chattanooga's Northshore. We landed at a cool local restaurant called Hill City Pizza where Anna's family and friends were anxiously awaiting her arrival.

Happy birthday to my two friends!

as always,
ashley

Our Easter

We went to Murfreesboro for Easter this year. We had planned and prepped for a spectacular holiday with family and friends and Aunt Dee's cooking :-)
Our plans were rocked when Lilly Scott ended up with a 104+ fever. We took her to a walk in clinic that was open (the day before Easter, mind you), and when the nurse practitioner walked in wearing a surgical mask, I about lost it. Turns out poor LS had flu B and strep. She was devastated, and I just wanted to make her better.
We decided to go home to minimize exposure. I cried, Jordan kept all of us together and Mac and Paisley were clueless. Before we left Uncle Larry brought us food to enjoy at home, and we were on our way.
The next day we spent quarantined at home. It was sad for us all, but it is what it is. No one was to blame- it just happened. We made up for Easter a few days later... See the next post :-)