Vacation part 2: Newport, AR

These are so out of order, but, I finally went through my pictures from the rest of our vacation. We were so glad we got to go to Newport and spend the night with the Salinases. We miss them so terribly. My dear friend told me that it really was better in a lot of ways when your friends aren’t right here because when you are together, your focus is on time together and not the day to day stuff. While that is true, and our time together is so much more meaningful now, I do miss having them right here.  Another perk of them being in Newport is that every time we visit, we get to visit with Daddy too since he lives pretty close to them. It’s a two for one deal!

 

We got to see one of Lucas’s games and what a game to see—he hit a home run! Of course nothing is better than snow cones with your best friend afterwards.  

Sleepover with cousins

We love it when the Jackson kiddos spend the night. I am going to have to get a bigger piano bench and bed when Jackson Baby #3 gets here!

 

The Paparazzi

We were enjoying a lovely lunch at one our neighborhood restaurants last week. Emmy wanted to wear the dress from her Rapunzel party; normally, I don’t let her wear dress up clothes out of the house but after one to many “boy” comments over her hair, I thought it would be fine. Not that anyone cares, but I wore a cute blue tunic with a floral scarf. Emmy fell in love with the hibachi grill and now usually insists on steak for dinner. I am glad that we can get by with a good beef and broccoli meal from the Chinese place without having to actually have a steak for each meal.

 

On the way home, Emmy borrowed my scarf. I love this picture, it looks like John is her own bodyguard. On the way home, she would run and then hide behind the bushes and cars and say “do you hear that? That clicking?” She was obviously a movie star and people were following her to get a good picture.

 

Super Proud Aunt

When Neall was a little boy, he climbed every door frame he could find. He WAS Spiderman. It is probably one of my most vivid childhood memories of him. So, when Solomon kept telling me he was Spiderman the other day, I told him about his daddy could climb door frames and the he should have him show him how. Being the brilliant boy he is, nothing escapes his memory, so Solomon did just that. Becca sent me this picture of him and I couldn't be more proud. And it doesn't hurt that he is wearing Incredible Hulk pajama bottoms. I love, love, love that sweet smile.

Preschool graduation

Emmy Ruth's school didn't have the traditional cap and gown graduation ceremony, and I am so thankful! We did, however, go to the park and have a fun picnic and everybody got their diplomas. I talked a big talk, but when it was time, I was the one crying more than others. I don't know what happened to me! We are so thankful for the wonderful friends she has made at Idlewild and look forward to going to school with many of them next year for kindergarten. We were so lucky to have such awesome teachers each year!

 

 

 

The Beach!

We decided to take a quick beach trip this summer. I didn't want to drive too much so we headed to Ocean Springs, MS. We couldn't have been more thrilled with our cabana. It was adorable and nestled just between the beach and the quaint downtown district. We loved it.

The water where we were wasn't the most enticing, but we heard about an excursion that we had to try. We got to ride a boat out eleven miles to Ship Island, a national park with nothing but a snack bar on it. It was awesome.

Some of Emmy's best quotes of the trip:
As we talked about fishing, I asked what we would do with the fish we caught and John suggested just tickling them and throwing them back. ER said, "or we could just kill 'em and eat 'em. Or send them back to our friends."

I told her I needed to write down all the funny things she was saying and she told me I was gonna need a lot of paper.

"Beaches are cool except for the goblins, monsters and vampires. Yep! None here!"

Every so often, she would kick back and exclaim, "this is the life!"

We had to make a trip to Walmart one night and she was not amused, "What are we doing here? We are here to relax and we are at Walmart??"

On the island, I headed to get food for us at the snack bar while she and John were making sandcastles. I asked if she needed anything and she replied that she needed a flag, with a crown, for her sandcastle. Sadly, they didn't have one.

At the cabana, she exclaimed, "I'm bored. I guess I'll read a book".

M4 marching band

We went to see an awesome band at the Levitt Shell tonight. They were so much fun and we got to meet this stilt walker. Emmy was nervous to meet her because she is "scared of tall people". Good thing we are so short!!!

She also calls the Shell "the clam". As they were playing she told John that it was another jam at the clam!!!

 

The cut

I have many wonderful things to post about our awesome little vacation week. However, I have to get this out there. Emmy Ruth cut her own hair. I finally have stopped crying, two days later. I know that is so trivial since hair is just nothing… it’s just hair! But, it was her beautiful hair and she doesn’t even look like the same little girl. She is so grown now. She absolutely loves it. I know it will be cool for summer, I just hope her curls come back and I am afraid that they aren’t since it isn’t that baby fine hair anymore.

 

This was her Saturday. I love that beautiful hair hanging down when she is concentrating on something.

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And Sunday at church with Nana:

 

After she cut it:

 

After Mrs. Shannon fixed it:

Making her bed

I really, really hate making a bed. I see no point in it since there are a limited number of reasons we are in our bedroom and quite honestly, none of them require a made bed. No one else goes in there and the only reason I find it even remotely needed is that I have pillows that are on the floor if the bed isn’t made.

 

Regardless, I don’t want Emmy to be as unconcerned about these things as I am so I am starting to make my bed each morning and she is making hers. Today, she did it all by herself and announced to me that she was almost a grown up. I always act like I am crying when she says that and today she told me, “Mama, just like I told you before, no matter how grown I am, I will always be your baby. Even when I am forty.”

 

I certainly hope she doesn’t have this many stuffed animals on her bed when she is forty. I can say that a five year making her own bed and strategically placing all her stuffed animals each morning is one sure fire way to ensure you are late for work.

 

Last night was Emmy's first T-Ball game. I don't know that I see any scholarships in her future, but she did have fun. And she was an excellent rock finder on the field. At least she got her hat dirty... surely that means something.

Oh decisions, decisions...

“

I just don’t know how I am going to be an office girl, a guitar builder, Wonderwoman and President.”

 

“Yes, that would be a lot of responsibility for one person.”

 

“Well, I think President is most important, so I’ll just do that one.”

 

 

A wonderful Mother's Day Weekend

We got up bright and early Saturday morning in eager anticipation for the Cooper Young Community Yardsale only to find it raining. Emmy and I grabbed our rain coats and umbrellas and headed down to the farmer’s market anyway. Emmy was delighted to get some potatoes (or as we call them, tomatoes) that she could eat right then.  I love that she was eating tomatoes just like an apple! We also got peaches, kumquats, and strawberries. By then, the rain held off so we had fun wandering the neighborhood looking for neat stuff.

Emmy’s music teacher at school was playing at the Levitt Shell that night and Emmy was so excited that we knew there was no way we could miss it. It was soggy and dreary but we headed out to the “Clam” as Emmy calls it. There weren’t many people there so Mrs. Claire saw Emmy right away and introduced her from the stage. Emmy was delighted. She is growing up so quickly. I just can’t believe it. I had put a chair in the car for me and her and at the last minute, John was able to go. Emmy asked why didn’t I get him a chair and I said I had forgotten. I asked her if she had remembered and she said she had so I asked why she didn’t remind me. “Because I wanted you to use your brain.”

I woke Sunday morning to breakfast in bed from my favorite girl and then Sunday afternoon I went to the Grizzlies game with Natalie while John and Emmy hung out at home. It was a wonderful, wonderful weekend. I am so very blessed.

This picture of Lucas and Emmy is from a while back but I just love love love it. She adores him so much and any time we get to see them is just precious. In this picture, we met at a park in Harrisburg and all got to hang out for a while. Emmy kept saying she was in the country and she just knew that she would see Julia's house any minute.

Chalkboard

When we were in Atlanta, MaryMargaret had the cutest chalkboard frame. Emmy and I came home to make our own and it’s not nearly as adorable but we like it. I put something simple on it, like, “Welcome”, and Emmy decided it needed to be more exciting. So she had us tell her how to spell “let’s rock down to Burtonville”.

 

 

 

Atlanta

This weekend, a bunch of crazy mamas got together in Atlanta, with all our kids in tow. Becca, Sol and Rose let me and Emmy ride with them to visit with Mary Margaret, Maggie Grace and Rachel.  Joy, Julia and John B rode with Keeli and Chloe earlier on Friday and met us there. We had so much fun in our short trip!!! We got up Saturday and went to the aquarium and then headed to Ikea. It was fabulous. That night we actually went out on a grown up dinner!!!!

 

Just in case someone got lost at the aquarium, Aunt Becca wrote a phone number on everyone’s arm. Once, Emmy Ruth slipped away a little and when I was talking with her about how dangerous it was, I asked her what could happen if she got lost. She looked at me and said, ‘umm…’ and pointed at her arm with the number. Well played, Kid, well played.  Emmy loved being the second oldest, next to Chloe and loved to talk about her new friend, “you know, her” and gesture towards Chloe. It was really the first time they got to hang out together and it was so sweet.  Chloe is an excellent model for them.

 

The Meyers live in an awesome town outside of Atlanta, Peachtree City. It’s a golf community so we got to ride on a golf cart to dinner and the kids loved riding the cart to the park. I can’t say how thankful we are for our friends and our family. We are so very lucky.

 

Because of the big weekend, Emmy and I took off Monday and had a girls day. We hit up the children’s museum and then went to Walmart to spend a gift card Nana had given her for her birthday. I can’t remember what got Emmy talking about it but she was in the shopping cart and talking about how her grandmother talked to her. I kind of ignored it and then she said, ‘I know she’s in heaven, but she is also in my heart and talks to me.’ I managed to hold it together just long enough to tell her how that she was absolutely right. I told her that I just knew that if her grandmother could see her, she would be so proud of her for being so smart and so kind and so sweet. “Mama, she does see us; she sees us every day from heaven.” And then I cried in Wal-Mart.