Sleeping & Splashing…

The weekends go by so fast.

AB had already asked her Daddy to take us to “breakfix” at Cracker Barrel on Saturday morning, so that’s how we started our weekend. (I think its so funny that she knows all the different restaurants and has her favorites. Its so fun that’s she’s at the age where she can tell us what she wants and what she likes and doesn’t like).

After breakfast, we came home to do a few things around the house and then went to Pappy’s pool for a few hours.

It was our first swim of the year and AB had a ball.

She is LOVING the water this year. EXCEPT when it gets in her face. She’s not a fan of going under. Swimming lessons started on Monday, so I am anxious to see how that goes.

That night, AB was so excited that Grammy was staying the night at our house! My Dad was away for work, so Momma decided to stay with us! She didn’t want to put AB out of her bed, so she brought an aerobed. She ended up having company. Annabelle never even asked, she had just decided she was going to sleep with Grammy. When she got her jammies on, she went straight for the blow-up. She’s too much. She loved getting to sleep with mom and I couldn’t believe it on Sunday morning when they had both slept all night.

AB wanted Mamie Girl to lay on the “bwo up wif her”

Mother’s Day is always a bittersweet day. For the past five years, we just try to do something different and get out for the day.

This year, we thought about the zoo again, but we weren’t sure about the weather, and decided not to drive that far, just in case it did rain us out. Last week, I had heard about a water park that is close to us. It said on the website that it was a “safe Christian environment for swimmers of all ages and abilities.” I wasn’t sure how much AB would be able to do, but we thought it would be worth checking out, especially since we’ve been brainstorming local things to do with my brother’s family when they come down soon.

It was about a 30 minute drive for us and we still didn’t really know what to expect when we got there. The entrance and grounds looked really nice, though. The water park is actually on the grounds of a camp. There were cabins, a prayer chapel, cafeteria as well as other banquet halls and meeting rooms on the grounds. The whole place is owned by a church conference. They do summer camps and retreats for their churches there, and then they also rent out the facilities to other churches and organizations. I don’t really know anything about the denomination that owns the camp, but the waterpark was nice.

I loved that they had the JoyFM playing on the speakers around the park and it made for such a peaceful, friendly environment.

To our surprise, AB was able to enjoy everything there, except the water slide (and I don’t think she would have even went on it if she had been tall enough).

They have a small lazy river

the water slide

and a wave pool. The wave pool has the gradual entry which was perfect for smaller kids. It also has a little splash zone that AB enjoyed. They turn the waves on every 15 or 20 minutes and AB loved getting to hold on to a tube and ride the waves. She also likes to ride on her Daddy’s back. :)

They had lots of nice chairs and plenty of tents set up around the park for shade. They also have several tents with picnic tables under them.

Me, Mom & Mamie watched from the shade for most of our visit.

AB had DW going back and forth from the wave pool to the lazy river the whole time we were there! :)  Grammy gave him a break, though, and got in the wave pool with her for a while.

I surprised even myself, when I actually got in the water with AB, too. The thought of public pools really gross me out – and if any pool is even slightly warm, you won’t catch this girl in it. But I did it and I was pleased to report the water was cold and not even close to feeling like it had been tee-teed in. :)  It also smelled like strong chlorine, which is another plus- I will take my bathing suit fading over yucky germy water any day. :)

It was a fun morning and we will definitely be taking Beau’s crew when they come down!

I am certainly so very thankful for my own Momma and of course for my three children. What a privledge it is to be a mom.

We ended the day with a visit to “Cooper’s place” (as AB calls it). It wouldn’t feel right to me, having Mothers Day without going there. He is, after all, the precious boy who made me a momma. My mom got me the sweetest little statue of three turtles on it for out there. I love that when I told AB it had three little turtles just like my three little kids, that she knew exactly what I meant and pointed out who was who.

Yes, Mother’s Day (along with everything else) will always be bittersweet – But I’ll take that over just plain bitter any day.

I am blessed – and I am thankful.

~amw~

Five Months

 

 

Wordless Wednesday

Sleepy Sisters

Blue Run

Saturday morning, AB was up around 6:30. This RARELY happens at our house. My children have all taken after their mother and they like to sleep. I couldn’t blame her for waking up SO EARLY though---I was excited about the day, too!

We were headed to Blue Run.

We packed up our sunscreen, snacks and swimsuits and hit the road. We had barely crossed over the first cattle gap in our drive way when AB asked to make sure her Daddy had grabbed her “fishing rod” – she blows our mind with the things she can remember! We haven’t been to Blue Run since August and that was the last time she used her fishing “rod” – (I have a hard time calling it a rod, I always call it a pole, but apparently on Mickey Mouse, it’s a “rod”).

We had such a fun day playing in the water and soaking up the sun with Pappy, Nie-Nie & Kels.

AB & Nie-Nie

Mamie Girl enjoyed her very first visit to the run, too!

Annabelle loved it this year! She stayed in the water way longer than anyone else wanted to, and when she got out for a couple minutes, she was ready to get right back in.

She thought she was big stuff getting to take pictures with my underwater camera. She loves her Aunt Nen’s, so she was excited we have our own now, too.

Her self portrait of her piggies underwater

and a pic of Mommy & Mames

No trip to the river is complete without a ride on the float-boat to the head for a swim in the really clear, non-grassy part. (which just happens to be my favorite). :) The only thing you have to worry about getting you up there are “Pappy-Gators” – but they only chase the grandkids…not the daughter-in-laws, so I’m safe.

We did have a little excitement on our way back down the river… DW, his Daddy, his Dad’s friend, and AB were all floating in front of the boat when they heard a splash from the back of the boat. Pappy’s friend, in a very serious tone, told DW to get AB in the boat NOW. DW lifted her up to me on the boat and then they all climbed on (after they had all seen what was in the water with them)… there was a HUGE (and looked ever BIGGER in the water) snake trying to climb on the back of the pontoon. EEKKK… At first glance everyone thought it was a water moccassin, (especially when they were IN the water with it!) but after it fell off and swam to the edge, they determined it was a water snake. Either way, I hate a snake.

Annabelle has asked us at least a dozen times when we are going back to Blue Run, so I’m pretty sure we’ll be staying the whole time during Pappy & Nie-Nie’s week this summer if she has anything to do with it! :) And I will be just fine if we don’t see another snake when we do.

~amw~

Twenty- Nine

Today is the first day of the last year in my twenties.

My hospital picture - 1983

I seriously cannot believe I turned 29 yesterday. I thought all year long that I was turning 28 on May 3. It wasn’t until I said something a couple months ago that my Dad informed me I was ALREADY 28 and May would make 29 for me. In my mind I guess I’ll always be in my early twenties and I will never remember getting old enough to vote, much less be married and have kids! :)

When I was younger, my brother always said I was spoiled. I’ll never forget my BFF telling him I was in no way spoiled- I was just “very, very loved.”  :)

And loved is definitely what I felt this year on my birthday.

The celebrations started with Carrie and the kids on Wednesday. We met up at the mall for lunch and a little shopping. I MIGHT have felt my age and season of life that day, since we did forego the usual birthday lunch at an actual restaurant and parked our double strollers at the Chick-fil-A in the food court! :)  Any time we get to spend with our friends is always fun, and always colorful. We have two three year olds, it has be. :)

That night, DW and I had a date! We don’t go out alone very often and it was such a treat. Uncle Adam & Aunt Nen were so sweet to offer to keep the girls for us. We went to the Izzak Walton Lodge, which happens to be where we went on our second date over ten years ago. It’s on the water and a whole lot has flowed through there since that sweet second date of ours. We would have never imagined where our lives would take us that night 10 years ago, but I am sure glad it’s taken us together. We couldn’t be that close to the gulf and not drive down to see it.

AB was so excited it was my birthday! I couldn’t believe she remembered first thing yesterday morning. When she woke up, she didn’t wish me a Happy Birthday, but she did tell me she needed to call her Grammy to make sure she had the cake for my “Paw-ty” that night. AB LOVES dessert. We know exactly where she gets that from. :)

That evening, we had a literal seafood fest at our house with my parents and in-laws. Dinner was great, but the most exciting part was my cake. I couldn’t believe it when my Dad got there carrying a Dairy Queen Ice cream cake. I asked WHERE in the world they found a DQ around us that made cakes only to find out that him and my Momma drove all the way to Cross City to get it. Even better than the gesture itself, was when someone said, “Yall drove ALL the way to Cross City to get it?” and my Dad said, “Well, sure. It was for Annie.” :) I remember eating DQ Ice cream cakes in Georgia in the summers I would spend up there. They were my favorite, but I never got one here for my b-day because we didn’t have a DQ. I hadn’t had any in years, but it was just as good as I remembered.

Dr. Gary Chapman would be blown away, because ALL the five love languages were represented extremely well that night. ESPECIALLY my top three, which are “Words of Affirmation, “Receiving Gifts” and “Quality Time.”

After yesterday, I KNOW Carrie was right all those years ago when she told Beau that I was “very, very loved” – but I am thinking he may have been, too. I definitely feel very loved and very spoiled. But above all, VERY blessed and VERY thankful.

Bring on 30! :)

~amw~