JOY

I LOVE having a daughter!!!

Trip to DC

We left BHM on Friday to spend a long weekend with Grandmommy and Granddad in our nation's capital. It was Joel's first flight and Claire prepped him well. They both handled flying well though restless at times. We had a great time and overall the kids did very well! We had 2 full days there. Saturday was a stroll around the mall to take in the major monuments and some time at the Air and Space Museum. Time with Grandmommy and Granddad is not complete without snow cones and rides on a carousel no matter where we are! After a rest time, Claire got a personal shopping trip to a toy store near by with her grandparents! Very special for her! Sunday we spent some time at the National Zoo in which we all agreed that our favorite animal to see was the Giant Panda! It's not easy to get off schedule with kids but if you wait until all are rested and happy to go do anything, you'll never go anywhere...so take your kids and enjoy and just plan for a meltdown here and there and know they come out of it and recover...It's tough to travel with kids but we all learn so much when we get out of our normal routine and try some new things. Great life training for them on how to travel safely and smart! It's fun to enjoy these sites with children even at their young ages. I tried to explain to Claire that we were going to our nation's capital...I asked her if she knew who lived there...Her response, "God"...Jeff and I both had chuckles about that one! Enjoy some highlights from our trip. Thanks Grandmommy and Granddad for a wonderful weekend for us all!

2014 July DC Trip - Video Maker

July 4 weekend

Independence Day! Much to give thanks for...The Declaration...our Founding Fathers...Guts and Glory of freedom from the British that now heads most to the beach, lakes, pools or some other favorite vacation spot. We staying in Birmingham which for the most part was very quiet, and we liked it! We started our 4th with swimming with YaYa and Jim at their country club pool and topped it off with great July 4 food! That night we sat on our screened in porch just the 4 of us with ribs, mac and cheese and baked beans...the sounds of crickets put the kids to sleep but we waited until the sounds of fireworks were done. Claire and Joel just can't quite make it to 9pm just yet...maybe next year. The rest of our weekend was spent playing in the backyard with sprinklers and water guns and one more trip to the pool on Sunday with the Breland boys, Jack and Sam. Our neighbors came over Monday for more waterplay as Claire calls it. Gorgeous weekend to have fun in the sun and give thanks for our heritage...here's some clips of the fun we had.