THANKFUL

For me, this month is all about giving thanks, reminding myself of my blessings, and not taking anything, no matter how small, for granted. I was so happy to have my mom and grandma visiting for a few days, and while I wish we could have had them stay longer, I am thankful for the time that we did have. In fact, if we hadn't had that (canceled) conference, I wouldn't have seen them until after Christmas, so I know we are especially lucky to have found this time together! We have lived here in Mississippi for over 4.5 years now, and while it's starting to feel like home in more ways than one, we still get weepy (weekly, if not more often) over the fact that all of our family is so far away. The only thing that makes our constant lack of family interaction bearable, is the camaraderie that has grown between us and our friends here. We are so thankful for them! Whether it be parties or date nights or playdates, we are lucky to have found ourselves in a group of people that really care about us and our children. So, thank you to all of our friends here for making the 'Burg feel a bit more like home.

For example, after 2 days off from studying due to our trip down to New Orleans, Jay was backed up with schoolwork and needed a lot of time to catch up over the weekend. The solution? I took the kids on a 6-hour adventure to Jackson to play at a brand new, HUGE playground that Sophie discovered. And because Alex came along as well, we were able to keep our eyes on the 3 big kids and make sure none of them got into anything beyond their abilities. So a huge thank-you to Sophie and Alex for spending the morning (and lunch!) out with my munchkins. They had a blast, and I couldn't have done it without you!

This playground is awesome! It has 5 different play structures (plus a teeny set of structures for itty-bitty toddlers - the crawlers and early walkers). James managed to play on almost everything (with a little assistance along the way for the "big kid" stuff). Cora had me running after her and pulling her off ladders constantly (she can go up a couple of rungs before she gets stuck). She was determined to go up the "rolling pin" slide and figure out the climbing walls (there were 2 of them), so I pretty much had to keep her within arms reach the whole time. They both loved it, and we spent almost 2 hours there, playing with Manu and Alex (while baby Leo snuggled in his Ergo with his mama).

This little fire engine structure was a favorite for the boys:

Cora wanted to climb up after her big bro SO badly!

She rocked out on this little dolphin: James navigated these pods a few times:

This is where he said "I climb a BIG ROCK!"

There were lots of musical "instruments" interspersed throughout the 5 play structures:

And a cool exploration wall for the little ones:

This was the craziest slide - you had to straddle it! James and I declined a ride, but Manu rode with his daddy and seemed to like it.

James was more interested in climbing up to the top of the tallest structure and riding down the 2 tunnel slides (alone, and with me and Sissy). I'm not sure how tall they were exactly, but they required 2 sets of stairs and a long ladder to get to the top. (Note to parents who accompany their children - these structures were meant for KIDS, so us tall adults need to be VERY careful when climbing into tight spaces - my head still hurts where I slammed into the metal roof above that ladder)

The playground also had a fun spin toy and a rocking "boat". I didn't think Cora would want to go, but she asked to get in with the boys, so I set her between them and told James to hold her tight. He was so good about keeping his arm around her - made me so proud!

At the end of the adventure, following snacks and potty breaks (shout out to James AND Manu for telling us when they needed to pee, then actually going!), the kids swung and stomped with Alex until we decided it was well past lunch time. Then they piled into the cars without complaint - again, making me so proud that James understood the adventure was over and that we'd be back again another time.

After lunch at Lenny's (where the kids ate FREE!), I started the drive back to the 'Burg. The kids were asleep before I even got out of the parking lot...