Fake Camping

This Memorial Day, we did some "Fake Camping" at the Malibu Creek State Park, a short 6 minute drive from our house. We had never been there, and with all of our camping stuff in Bakersfield storage, we realized that real camping wasn't an option. So, we did the next best thing: grabbed some hot dogs and charcoal and found a nice shady spot.


As soon as we pulled into the park, Lindsay shouts from the backseat "FOREST!". We have been reading a lot of Bambi lately :)

King of the "Forest Dawgs"... as Lindsay decidedly named them

Getting some sugar from Daddy

Chips and Dip Monster

 We took a nice little walk around the camp, and enjoyed being outside in the the sunshine and trees. It didn't feel like Malibu was a short drive away. To think, I drive past this place at least once a week, and never stopped in! We are so appreciative of all those in the military who are both actively serving and retired. Our dear friend is currently deployed to Afghanistan, and all day I was thinking of him and his sweet family who were missing him at home. No matter what your political views are, we can all agree that this is an amazing country, and we are truly indebted to our servicemen (and women!). Thank you for your continued sacrifices, bravery and we are praying you come home safe!

Mother's Day 2012

We had a lovely Mother's Day Weekend (yes I am claiming the entire weekend!) in Bakersfield! We are so lucky to have all of our Moms/Grandma's in the same city so we can celebrate together. This was my first Mother's Day as a mother of two, and I couldn't be more grateful to get to be the Mama for our sweet little ladies. It was HOT in Bakersfield, (think high 90's!) but it didn't seem to phase Lindsay too much, partly due to all the fun she had swinging and soaking up the Grandparent time.

Grammie surprised the girls with swing set in her backyard, put together by Papa and Uncle Matt! Thank you guys! She was so excited to test it out!

Papa and Uncle Matt were never far behind to give her a helping hand climbing!

Queen of the Fort

Can you tell that this kid loves to swing?

My little love bug Maddie Grace! Check out those sweet chunky legs- I could eat them up!

Me and my Mama!
I love you- only now that I am a mom can I truly appreciate all that you do/have done for us! Thank you from the bottom of my heart! xoxo

Lindsay and Grammie spending relaxing under the tree (probably only 90 degrees in the shade..lol)

Sorry this pic is a little blurry, but Madison LOVED getting tickled by Papa. She let out the best giggles and grins!

Nonna with her swingin' grandgirls

We stayed at Nonna's house this trip, and she spoiled us with homemade ice cream!! Can I just say- I have the BEST mother-in-law a girl can ask for! We went to church with Carol and Jerry on Sunday for the second mother's day in a row, and my favorite part of the service is the amazing Gospel choir. Worship was vibrant, and we always feel so welcome... I loved looking over at Lindsay clapping to the music.  A few people thought I was Carol's biological daughter, and it is always a happy mistake- I love being one of her kids :) Lindsay was so excited to get to sleep in a toddler bed (a handme-down from Sydnee) in the playroom. She said "Bee-u-tiful!" when she saw it...lol. It was good practice for when we put the rails on her bed, in the near future, after potty training is complete...

Wonderful Mama Auntie Katie and Madison (3.5 months). I wish I had gotten a pic of Katie and Katarina...next year!

I have been reading a book about praying for your children, and it had this quote in it that I wanted to share...

I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life. ~Abraham Lincoln

How lovely to think about all the prayers through the years from our Mom's that have surrounded us, and that in many situations, her prayers had already gone ahead of us. Thank you Mom and Grandma!

Puppy Slippers DO help me use the potty...

Our Southern Road trip marked the end of diapers for our sweet big girl. When we got back into town and into the groove of things, we began potty training. Now, we've had a small green potty and a over-toilet seat since before Madison was born, and she was pretty comfortable with the idea of it. P-Day in our house was brought on by her going potty at bible study a few weeks ago with her friends (good peer pressure!). She is still pretty young at 27 months, and we weren't particularly in a hurry, but thought we'd give it a try. We do kind of miss the crunch-crunch of her diaper when we pat her little bottom, but since she has been waking up dry for months now, we knew WE were putting it off, not her. Well, as with any new skill, we did encounter some challenges...

She came running in the room one morning crying because she got the potty seat stuck on her head. There is a warning on the BOTTOM of the seat not to put it on your head. I couldn't stop laughing. Potty training fail!! LOL

After we figured out NOT to put the seat on our head, Lindsay got the hang of it pretty quickly. On Day 1 she had 5 accidents, Day 2 had 2 accidents, Day 3 had 1 accident, and then there were suddenly at 0 accidents day after day. She has loved wearing her big girl underpants, and didn't like that I made her run around nakie for the first couple of days. We did a TON of reading, so I had to reference the Fancy Nancy book that we read 50 + times . We are still practicing pulling pants up and down and wiping, but hey, Rome wasn't built in a day! I think if you think there will be no tears in potty training, you will be sorely mislead- at any age. Lindsay would be resistant when she was really into playing or a show. I even get resistant when I am in a good movie...LOL. We used chocolate covered raisins for rewards, and when that got old, she came up with another reward for staying dry... painted toes like Mama's! (She chose hot pink...atta girl!)

Pink Toenails DO accentuate (the fancy word for stand out) the pink in my princess underpants...

Now, we still use diapers at night, but will do away with those after a few months of successful daytime potty use. We even traveled sans-diapers to Bakersfield for Mother's Day. We brought the potty's and she did great!! It is wonderful having only 1 size diaper in my diaper bag now, although it is still a lot of work monitoring potty visits. She is very proud of herself, and we are too!

Diaper free is the way to be! Yay Big Girl!!

Southern Roadtrip: Atlanta Part II

The Atlanta skyline greeted us as we drove back into the city. Jarrett's sister Sarah and her family drove down from Charlotte to hang out with us and end our trip on a high note with some sweet memories!

Getting some cousin love....Nate (3 yrs) and Lindsay (2 yrs) were SO excited to see each other.

They totally melted our hearts when they gave each other a hug- unprompted!!

We got to meet our new niece, Ameila Diane, who we will be attending her baptism in July. We could not get over what a good girl she was- didn't even hear her cry once, and what a happy baby. Sweet Dolly!

After a yummy southern lunch at Mary Mac's Tea Room, where we dined on favorites like sweet potato souffle, cornbread, and chicken pot pie, we took the kids to the Atlanta Children's Museum.  Nate and Lindsay had fun at all the exhibits while us parents got the opportunity to visit between chasing the kiddos around.

Picasso's in training

Big Brother & Little Sister: Jarrett & Madison (3 months) and Sarah & Amelia (4 months). It still amazes me that Sarah and Katie were able to grow up with such an ornery older brother and still like him. LOL.

Nate LOVED the fishing pond and had fun looking for blue fish to catch.

Lindsay did some hillbillie hand fishing too.

A budding tap dancer? She had fun putting on a performance for Daddy!

Handsome Husband, wonderful Daddy!!

Pure joy.

We had so much fun with you Morris Family!! Love you guys!

Our flight back to LA wasn't until 2pm, so we took the opportunity to visit Ebenezer Baptist Church, where MLK Jr. preached and leader of the Civil Rights Movement met. It was a beautiful church, and a powerful reminder that through God all things are possible.

 

Final resting place of MLK Jr. and his wife

Don't judge... had to stop in at "the pig" just one time for kicks and giggles.

Our last lunch in the south was BBQ (of course) and it was at a yummy hole-in-the-wall kind of place that honestly, we were a little afraid our yelp map took us somewhere sketchy. We saw a ton of police and firemen outside eating there for lunch, and knew we found a local gem.

We came. We saw. We ate. A LOT of good food. We had a fun trip, although I am not sure we would do the road trippin' part again until the girls are older. It was pretty rough at times with both kids crying while we were lost or navigating a tough area. One thing Jarrett and I have in common is our love of traveling. I am such a lucky gal to be married to a man who loves spontaneity- we planned and took this trip within two weeks, start to finish! When we first got married we opened up frequent flyer accounts and have cashed in our miles to take some really cool trips through the years. Fortunately, we are both in a profession (education) that will allow our family to take trips during the summers.

We made some great memories, and got a taste of what living in the south is like. All in all, you know it was a great trip when you open your suitcase to unpack and your clothes still smell like that tasty BBQ.

Southern Road Trip: Oxford, Tuscaloosa & Montgomery

Before we drove down to Mississippi, we visited downtown Memphis and the Lorraine Motel, where MLK Jr. was shot.

Lindsay was so excited to see the trolley... she said "Choo Choo Train!"

My big girl... sight seeing in downtown Memphis.

After a fun time in Tennessee, we ventured south to Oxford, Mississippi to stop by University of Mississippi, or Ole Miss. Jarrett LOVES to visit colleges while on vacation wherever we go, so we had lunch in the town square and drove around the campus.

 

Gorgeous, shady trees were all over the campus... and the stadium was HUGE. This is where the movie "The Blind Side" is set in.

Lyceum build in 1848, (the big building with the white pillars above) was the set of an event in the Civil Rights Movement where the MS Governor refused to let James Meredith, the first African American student be admitted in the 1962. Rioting ensued, and the state guard had to escort him inside. During the civil war, the building was used as a hospital for union soldiers.  

We visited Greek Row.. Jarrett snapped a shot of the KA house. I told him to use his secret handshake and get a tour, but he was chicken. Also, I think it would probably break some sort of code having a wife and two babies hanging out. LOL

A sweet student who lives in Oxford bought Lindsay a book from Square Book Store... The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein.
We LOVED the cute town square, and all the school pride.

Ajax Diner..... We ate Shrimp Po' Boys with Pimento Cheese (just because it was on the menu and we never tried it). Ate a squash casserole that my Grandma Cross used to make... so yummy!

We continued to Alabama and to Tuscaloosa.  We stopped in at the University of Alabama (Crimson Tide, Roll Tide, Bama) where the school spirit was insane. Every car, building, gas station, etc... had some sort of school sticker. We saw where the huge tornado last year (almost to the day we were there) ripped through the community and left many buildings reduced to rubble.

This was just one of the many, many huge buildings all over the campus. Hands down, biggest university we have ever been to. It was a metropolis... more than 16,000 students. More than the town I grew up in!

We spent the night in Tuscaloosa and visited the pool. It wasn't heated, so we swam in the jacuzzi. It felt pretty good after the cold pool!

This picture was taken at 8:30pm and our happy girl was all smiles when she saw her waffle.

Alright east coast folks, make fun of us if you want, but we had to stop and eat a a Waffle House. We had been seeing them on the road for days, and wanted to sample the local cuisine. LOL. I think my favorite was the customizable hash browns...Who would have thought you could put sauteed mushrooms, onions, cheese, chili and make them even more yummy? A person can't eat like that everyday, but it was a fun stop. We woke up the next day and headed to Montgomery, AL.

We checked out the White House of the Confederacy. The home was restored beautifully, and it was fun to see all the period furnishings. My favorite was a gorgeous gown they had displayed.

Alabama State Capitol

The museum was closed, but we got to see the site where Rosa Parks stood her ground and kept her seat on the bus.

One of the places I really wanted to visit while in Montgomery was called Old Alabama Town. It is a collection of houses, church, and school that covered several blocks in downtown Montgomery and depicted everyday life in Alabama at the turn of the century. It was so hot that morning, we felt like people thought we were crazy dragging two babies around to the un-air conditioned buildings.

A sweaty Mama and Madison at a general store.

Old Town Alabama street

Already a great student! They still used this one room school up until the 1950's...nuts!

After we saw an ambulance called for a fourth grader who had overheated (he was ok after some water), we thought we better pack up our kiddos before any of us melted. We were so glad to get back to our air conditioned mini van to crank the air and let the girls nap while we drove back to Atlanta, where it all started.