The Adventure Continues

We have been staying very busy still and are hardly ever at home.  I am trying to get as much family time in while we are here and Grayson absolutely loves being able to see his cousins and family so much more.  He even started saying 'grandpa' this week.  Of course, it is collectively referring to my mom and my dad, just as I am still also daddy.  He even called Trevor's parents 'grandpa' today when we were Skypeing with them.  He is learning a lot of words at a fast rate and often repeats words that we say.  I can always tell he is very proud of himself when he learns a new word because then he often goes around the house repeating it over and over very loudly.  It is pretty cute.  

On one of our less buys days, I decided to take Grayson up to Green Mountain.  It's a nature walk and picnic area on a mountain near my parents house.  We got to feed some ducks and fish and saw lots of turtles.  He really enjoyed himself and I had a hard time getting him to leave.  The geese followed us around the lake, I guess we didn't bring enough bread with us.  Little Grayson kept waving at them to come closer and when they came up on the trail we were walking at by the lake, he yelled, "quackie" and tried to run and pet them.  Needless to say, the geese were less then thrilled with this and went the other way.

He loved playing with the rocks on this trail.

It never fails, when we go outside, Grayson has to find himself a stick and carry it around with him everywhere.  He also loves to collect rocks and I have started a treasure box of some of the things we collect while we are on our adventures outside.  We didn't walk too far on the nature trail because I wasn't wearing the best shoes for it, but we did walk a short way to the covered bridge where there were lots of fish and turtles to look at.  Then we headed back to the pavilion and enjoyed the view of the lake from the beautiful rocking chairs.

The next day, my sister was in town and I hung out with her and here family all day.  It was so great!  My niece Anna was a great helper with Grayson and kept an eye on him when we went to the playground.  She was so sweet with him and made sure he stayed safe and had fun too.  

Grayson and Anna posing for a picture!!

Anna and Emma were sure to swing the tire nice and slow so that Grayson could be on it with them.

Grayson discovered this bouncy bridge and he was hooked.  He just ran back and forth for quite a while.

After the park, we went back to our house and I attempted to put Grayson down for a nap.  The older kids played on the Wii and when I realized that Grayson was way too excited to have his cousins around to sleep, he got out to play with them.  We went outside to a playground at our apartment complex and the kids had a great time there.  Then we came back for a picnic dinner inside the apartment.  After dinner, my sister and her family headed out.   Grayson was worn out and slept well that night.

Then that Saturday (we have had very busy social calendars) and we spent it in Decatur where my sister Decia and her family lives.  They were having their annual Jubilee festival and it was a lot of fun. There is an antique tractor show and they have tractor games (we weren't really sure what was happening but it was still fun to watch). 

Tractor games of some sort happening.

Trevor's favorite tractor.

Grayson loved this tractor so much, he got really mad when we tried to take him down.  The owner said we needed to buy him his own tractor.

Grayson thought this little toy tractor was pretty cool.

Grayson loves his cousins!

We headed off to see the car show next.  My oldest niece Katelyn took such good care of Grayson.  He liked walking with her and of course being carried, so my little niece MaryBeth took advantage and got a ride in the stroller.  She didn't mind taking a break.

Grayson loves cars!  He is his father's son.

Trevor was in heaven and the car show was huge!!  They had some really awesome cars to see and we all had a good time.  Finally, we went to the craft show and then looked at all the vendors and games.  Trevor, Grayson and I got lunch at a tasty, local hot dog place called Downtown Dog and then  headed to my sister's house.  We hung out for a while and then headed home to get Grayson to bed at a decent time.  I got a little sunburned, but at least no ant bites this time.  We had such a good time.

MEMORIAL DAY!

All my syblings and their families came over to my parent's house for a Memorial Day BBQ!  It was a delicious BBQ (my awesome husband made and grilled some delicious hamburgers and hot dogs) and we had so much fun.  My nieces and nephews played outside for hours after lunch.  My parent's have a water feature in their backyard with rocks that spray water.  The kids went back and forth from the kiddie pool and the water feature.  And my little Grayson was right there beside them having a great time.   

Playing in the little creek with cousins.

After a fun filled afternoon, we rotated putting the kids in the bath so they could clean up and get ready to go home.  We started with the two youngest, my little man and his cousin David.  They had a fun time taking a bath together and warming up after shivering in the sprinklers.

Having a fun bath with David!!

Enjoying a movie after baths and dinner.

I cannot begin to express how wonderful it is to be able to spend so much time with family again.  I haven't lived this close to my family in ten years and it has been such a joy.  We are so blessed to have such a wonderful family!