SURPRISE VISITORS

Robyn and Sandra surprised me Friday when I showed up to Cottonwood for lunch only to find a pair of dancing dinosaurs on the nearby stage. Jay told me to go over and take a picture with them for the kids and they handed me a bag of adult beverage components and a card telling me to quit adulting and spend the day with them. It was such a shock that I didn't even know how to respond at first, but obviously I was beyond thrilled to see them! We went inside for pizza and beer, then headed down the street to the Secret Garden Spa for massages and cupcakes (that Robyn brought over from Waco, TX and The Silos), went home for a bit, then back downtown for dinner at the newly opened Mississippi Barbeque Company. It was such a fun day from start to finish!

Saturday was filled with party prep and a late night of hammer swinging, then Sunday was a much quieter start followed by some more girl time. We had a late lunch with a view at 10 South before Sandra had to head home.

Robyn and I went out later that night to check out the most haunted house in Mississippi, the McRaven house. We weren't scared, and we didn't see any ghosts, but we were surprised that our tour included ghost actors telling the history of the house.

I'm a lucky girl to have such great friends willing to take their time (and money) out of their schedules to travel to Vicksburg to help me celebrate the big 40! Thank you SO MUCH for helping me extend my birthday festivities and for showing me so much LOVE this weekend!!

OUR WEEK IS UP

We all had a great visit with Uncle Jamie this week and we're very grateful that he was able to come and help us out! Thank you Jamie, and we hope you can come back again soon!

CELTICFEST 2013

We went to CelticFest once 3 years ago (when Cora was itty bitty) and had a good time eating corned beef and cabbage, drinking Harp and Guiness, and watching the Irish Dancers and bands, so we decided to go again this year and take Jamie on an adventure. Other than the oppressive heat, it was awesome. We ate and drank, enjoyed the dancing and music, and the kids were old enough this year to play in the kids area (which had a bounce house, barnyard, and train).

Eating homemade, old fashioned, churned ice cream

Watching the log toss (or whatever the official term is...)

Cute kids holding hands of their own accord. Check.

More junk food. Check.

Lauren is a WALKER now!

Watching the "dancing girls"

Our kids can't resist sharing Manu and  Leo's stroller...

Watching the musicians

Showing us their sad faces because the train conductor wasn't around (Leo was trying to get James to smile)

After the conductor came and took our money, promising a ride

Worth the wait for those happy faces!

Jay and I wore our kilts, but completely forgot to take a photo.
Guess we'll have to go back next year!

THE BEER IS ALL MINE!

Lunch with Jamie today at Martin's. Yumma yum. 

We also had Reese's chocolate peanut butter mini bundts. And they were also delicious.

UNCLE JAMIE!

Uncle Jamie arrived this afternoon!

After collecting him from the airport (having searched for him up and down, since his flight arrived early and we casually sat in the waiting area while he collected his bag and went outside to find us...), we stopped by the sports store for soccer supplies (Cora needed shoes and a ball, and James needed new shinguards since his are being passed down to Cora), then went over to the Natural Science Museum to check out their reptile exhibit. We stayed just long enough to chase the kids throughout the place, then went in search of a splash pad (but none were operational), and ended up at PF Changs for dinner (not the best restaurant for kids, though yummy, and it was one of the strangest dining experiences any of us have ever had...)

Kissing the Alligator Snapping Turtle while her brother refuses to pose nicely

He loved the special exhibit, though was surprisingly uninterested in the chameleon (even though that was the one thing he originally said he wanted to see most...)

Entertaining the kids with iPhones and Uncle Jamie's iPad at dinner

THE OLD DEPOT MUSEUM

Grambot took the kids to The Old Depot Museum (a small new museum in downtown Vicksburg that features lots of dioramas, including trains and scenes from the battlefield). James was particularly interested in the trains and soldiers, but was disappointed that more of them weren't set in motion (only one diorama had a working train). Grambot said both kids really liked checking it all out though.

The kids lasted about 20 minutes at the museum, then they spent the rest of the hot and humid morning next door at the splash pad. 

That was followed by a trip to the grocery store, with chicken tenders for lunch in the shopping cart (since it was already well past lunch and naptime by that point and needs had to be met), including some type of fruity fountain drink (three different colors, I'm told), so the kids were more than happy with their day (and they didn't have to do naptime OR quiet time, so that sealed the deal). By dinner they'd already planned Day Two for Grambot - the Mississippi River Museum and river model splash pad. Hope she can keep up with our little rapscallions!...

THE FIRST 48 HOURS

 In the first 48 hours that Grambot has been in Mississippi, she spent 1 hour at a toy store, 1.5 hours at the pool, 2 hours in the movie theater, 2 hours at restaurants, 6 hours at a waterpark, 7 hours in the car, and only about 12 hours sleeping, and we're all happily exhausted!

P.S. James surprised us on this trip and went down ALL the waterslides in the family area that he was tall enough to ride (even the tunnel slides and the really tall slides)! Cora had done a couple of them earlier (solo, since they don't let kids ride in parents' laps, and screaming happy the whole way down) and James watched her, fascinated, but nervous, and he kept trying to muster his bravery, then backed out. Obviously we didn't push the issue. Then, when Cora fell asleep and was hanging out with Grambot, and he had both his mommy AND his daddy to himself, James decided to go back and try again. He started off watching daddy go down, then following, with mommy following really close behind (and catching up to help him feel safe). By the time the thunderstorm rolled in, he'd done all the slides and was running up the stairs and getting in line before us, almost going to early (before the attendants gave him the ok). We were proud of him for being brave and trying something that was scary for him, and we were thrilled that he had so much fun (because we love waterparks and hope that both kids will enjoy the big slides with us when they're tall enough)!

SHORT SWIM

Gramma and the kiddos met us at the pool for a short swim this afternoon. 

Such a couple of goons. 

I'll leave it up to you to decide which two I'm talking about :-)

SOMETIMES...

 ...you just need to SPLASH!

SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER!

This was the kids on Monday morning...

Not too enthused about going to school. They wanted to stay home and watch a movie on the guest bed mattress that we dragged out to the living room on Saturday (all the better to laze around on Mother's Day). Plus, James was still feeling yucky due to his ear infection (making this the 3rd one since his tubes fell out in January, meaning he is likely to need another set of tubes, unless he survives the rest of the summer without another infection), as diagnosed Friday after school (he'd been snotty and coughing with a sore/swollen throat, which is why we took him in - we had no idea he had an ear infection, since he hadn't mentioned any pain and hadn't had a fever - he just tends not to get fevers with his ear infections). It's his left ear again, and it's "bad". Poor kid.

Luckily, they had a very short week with a sweet reward at the end. They had a party day on Tuesday, complete with snow cones and bounce houses. Today was the last day of school until summer semester starts (a week and a half away), and the kids are THRILLED to be staying home with Gramma for the duration! (And we're thrilled that she was willing to come brave our humid-and-no-ocean-breeze variety of hot, travel all the way to Mississippi when we know she has things to attend to in Florida whenever she's not in Georgia tending to GG, and make our kids SO happy. Seriously, within an hour we were completely replaced in the favorite department. Good thing this mama and daddy know it's temporary!)

Anyway, to celebrate the last day of school, the kids brought their three teachers little gifts:

Last week they each brought a couple of flowers to add to a big vase that each classroom filled for their teacher. The end result was pretty fun (lots of varieties of store-bought and locally grown blooms) and I know the teachers enjoyed their 'Teacher Appreciation Week' bouquets!

I tried SO hard this morning to get a picture of them together on their "last day of school", but this was the best I could do. It required dinosaur roaring...

Let the summer begin!

WHY GRANDPARENTS ARE AWESOME

There are MANY reasons that grandparents are awesome, of course, but here is my top ten list (in no particular order) for this past week:

(This cool dinosaur, not to be confused with the "Corasaurus", complements of Pawpaw. I didn't even know he could draw!)

1. They PLAY with the kids. They don't just watch the kids - they are constantly interacting and teaching and encouraging. They read books, build train tracks and Legolands, make chalk drawings, take them to parks and Playland, let them ride bikes in the driveway, set up Hotwheeels tracks, go for walks, play with the sensory bins, color, and so much more. They don't mind being silly and are great entertainers. Granted, we give our kids a lot of attention when we are with them as well, but the attention they get from their grandparents is extra special, and they know it.

2. They somehow find time to help with housework too. (We haven't had to do laundry all week, and my evenings have been spent just playing with the kids, relaxing, and enjoying my parents company, rather than dealing with chores. In fact, I've even gotten to bed early a few nights, while other nights I've actually READ A BOOK. That doesn't have to do with raising toddlers.)

3. We didn't have to wake the kids, get them dressed or pottied (or diaper changed), pack their school bags, make breakfasts or lunches, or snacks, or deal with naptime battles. ALL WEEK LONG. I felt like I was on a sort of vacation, regardless of having to go to work each day!

4. We got to go to the gym and workout TOGETHER for the first time ever this week while the kids hung out with their grands. It almost felt like a date. Except that Jay made me lift weights and grit my teeth. One day, they even met us at the gym so we could take the kids to the pool and get them used to it, in prep for the start of their swimming lessons next week.

5. They LOVE our kids so extremely. They can do no wrong. They are adorable and entertaining. They may spoil them, sure, but a little spoiling never hurt anyone!

6. They love us too. Even though we know we're lower on the totem pole now that they have grandkids to dote on, they still make us feel special and loved and missed.

7. They spoil us too, with dinners out and treats at home. ("Diets" and vacation just don't mix, and we weren't too concerned about that!)

8. They are more than happy to sit and brag about our kids, and listen to us brag back with full agreement. They tell us stories about the things the kids said and did during the day, amazed at their intelligence and creativity and cuteness. Every parent loves to talk about their kids, but it's even better when others want to talk about your kids and agree with you about how incredible they are. Makes us feel like we're doing a good job as parents, since the kids are obviously making a good impression.

9. They made it possible for us both to work full 8-hour days all week (and not have to do 7-hours here and 9-hours there due to daycare scheduling), carpool (boy was it ever nice to have adult conversations on those 10 minutes car rides without having to remind the kids about "no screaming in the car"), and thus leave early enough that we could play with the kids in the afternoon TOGETHER!

10. They are each unique (Grambot, Pawpaw, AND Gramma), and we love that their specific personalities and strengths are shared with the kids in different ways. It's fun for us to see how James and Cora respond differently to their grandparents: who they prefer for bedtime snuggles or stories or at bath time. I know that Jay and I treasure the relationships we have with our grandparents, and it makes us very happy to watch those relationships grow for our own kids.

It's been a great week and we sure wish they could have stayed longer! We know they're exhausted though (our kids are the opposite of sedentary and quiet) and have commitments back in Cali. And poor Pawpaw left with a cold (or something...) - sorry about that Dad! We feel very lucky that they were able to come out here and help us this week while the kids were on Spring Break. As hard as it is to live so far from family, it IS nice that when we do see each other, we get a whole ton of quality time in by staying together 24/7. They really get a taste for what life is like in our home, from sunrise to sunset and in between! Thank you both SO much for taking this time with us!!

And those of you out there who live near your parents or grandparents or siblings or cousins, please know that we envy you. In a nice way, of course!

RIVERFRONT PIT-STOP

After Rocky Springs, and picking up Jay, we headed over to Riverfront Park for a quick stop before dinner. Talk about spoiled! The kids got to go to TWO parks (Grambot and Pawpaw had already taken them to our favorite Glenwood this morning) AND go on a hiking/splashing adventure. Not to mention getting two meals out at restaurants. That's a BIG day in their worlds!

I'm glad the kids got to spend so much time outdoors this week with their grandparents. They SO love to go to playgrounds.

Cora's favorite is swinging:

And James loves to climb:

He nearly gave his grandparents heart failure with this move (turning around at the top of the structure), but Jay and I were so proud of him for learning how to successfully and safely navigate climbing up, over, and down all by himself. He thought he was pretty hot stuff too.

ROCKY SPRINGS ADVENTURE

I worked a half-day today so that I could spend some extra time with Mom and Dad before they have to leave tomorrow, and we wanted to do something different with the kids this afternoon, so we drove down to Rocky Springs to take a nature walk and let them play in Little Sand Creek. We hadn't been there in almost a full year, so it was like a brand-new adventure for the kids.

Cora was too scared to leave the edge of the creek, even with her big brother's assistance. (And she hung out in her pull-up because she had been wearing pants, not shorts.)

They both loved throwing rocks into the water, of course.

And playing with sticks.

Good thing we had extra clothes and diapers, since James fell in and Cora's pull-up was completely soaked from sitting in the water.

The kids had such a great time at the creek!

But honestly, for me, the best part was the nature walk. At one point I turned around after hearing James say "I got my fire on my head!" to see this:

Apparently he pays more attention to Survivor than we thought, since he was imitating their torches (by holding his water bottle on top of his head).

You know what was even funnier than that though? When Grambot was trying to encourage Cora to keep moving on the trail and told her to "March, march, march!" But she was marching with her hands on her hips. So Cora followed right along and imitated her Grambot.

Yup, these kiddos are complete entertainment, all the time. LOVE it!