Our last day was a little sad, because my aunt and uncle had to leave in the morning and weren't able to come. We continued with our original plan though and spent the day at my parents' cabin. It was perfect weather, a little cooler and beautifully sunny.
The kids played outside and took turns in the boats.
Grayson got to have his first boat ride.
We had a hot dog barbecue and then played some more. My little family went to Falls Mill. Trevor didn't have a chance to go with us when his parents were visiting so we decided to swing by since we were so close. The water levels were much better this time so Grayson was able to get in and that of course made his day.
At the top of the water wheel.
Didn't take long!
Behind the mill.
I had to get in too to keep Grayson steady in the current, it wasn't strong, but strong enough to knock over a little munchkin. The water was freezing!! It did help me cool off a bit though. Grayson liked to try and catch the fish, but he didn't understand they were swimming away from him. We got to see crawdads swimming around too and Grayson thought that was cool too, he just said "ooooh!"
Walking back to the mill.
Daddy and munchkin on the way back up the hill.
Grayson and Trevor 'raced' up the hill.
What a cute face...despite the mosquito bite.
On our way up the hill, we saw a little green caterpillar suspended from a tree in the middle of the air. Grayson couldn't figure it out.
Front of the mill.
We headed back to the cabin and found my dad and brother in law, "digging to China" as my mom put it. They were digging a hole to put a post in so that they could hang up a hammock (my mom was inspired by the botanical gardens). As you can see, it was a pretty deep hole. Grayson had to investigate at a closer range.
Then he tried to help. Also, I will explain his lack of pant. I had a dry shirt in my bag, but no dry pants. Therefor after playing in the creek at Falls Mill he went around with no pants on. Luckily, that sort of thing is ok for little guys.
After that we called it a day and decided to head home. Grayson had gone to bed really late for the past two nights with all of the festivities and we wanted to make sure to get him in bed on time. We picked up dinner on the way home from Red Robin (yum!) and had a picnic at home. We watched 100 Dalmatians with Grayson yelling, "doggy, doggy" through pretty much the whole movie. I was getting Grayson's bath ready and thought he was behind me, when I came upon this:
I have a smart kid huh?! I know, I know, but I'm his mother, I can brag all I want. We are all worn out, but it was worth it and a fun three days. I am so blessed to have such an awesome family!
On Day 2, we began the day at the Huntsville Botanical Gardens. The weather was beautiful and sunny, hot as usual, but at least it wasn't raining like it had earlier in the week.
We stopped at the Big Garden, Little Me exhibit and the kids had a great time. These chairs are so huge, my sisters got stuck sliding in them and had a hard time getting out. It was pretty fun watching. Grayson thought the chairs were pretty cool.
He looks so tiny!
Playing checkers.
There were hammocks just behind the exhibit and the kids had a great time swinging. Of course, several of them just kept flipping the hammocks over but that was equally entertaining for the adults.
Grayson started falling asleep in the hammock while my mom was pushing him and my nephew David. We went to a couple other areas and then ended our fun morning with a picnic under the trees.
After the gardens, we went to my parents' house. Grayson took a nap and the kids played outside while the adults enjoyed chatting inside. We had a potluck dinner and enjoyed some good food. After dinner, the adults and older kids sat down with my dad and aunt and we asked them questions about growing up. It was a lot of fun, we got to hear some really cool stories and had some laughs. I learned some new things about my family that I didn't know. The kids loved hearing the stories and it was just such a special feeling to look around to see my family smiling, laughing and be a part of it. To be able to share family history and become closer was truly a blessing.
After family stories, my aunt and uncle shared stories and pictures from their trip around the world. It was amazing! It definitely gave me the travel bug or I should say increased my symptoms seeing as it's a bug I've never quite been able to clear.
This weekend we held the Swenson Family Reunion! It was a whirlwind couple of days and I'm tired, but man did we have a lot of fun. My wonderful aunt and uncle were able to drive up for the weekend and it was so good to see them and spend time together as a family.
For our first day, we kicked off our weekend hiking the nature trail at Green Mountain. It is a short and easy hike which is great considering all the short legs we had with us. We stopped at the covered bridge to feed the ducks, fish and turtles. We used a whole loaf of bread and those were some really happy critters.
Grayson, as always, ate more bread then he shared with the critters, but he really loved seeing all the friends that came to eat our bread. That piece of bread you see in his little fist remained there for almost the entire duration of the hike. He would nibble on it every once in a while until he ended up dropping the last bit. I thought it was pretty funny.
Grayson and I feeding the fish.
Grayson still can't quite make the whole hike and he got pretty tired towards the end. I carried him for a while and then my sweet dad gave him a piggy back the rest of the way. He kept reminding my dad that he was wearing a hat. His vocabulary is increasing exponentially!
After the hike, we set up all of our food and ate a delicious barbecue pulled pork dinner at the pavilion. My favorite part of this whole weekend was just the time to visit and catch up with family. I hadn't had the chance to see my aunt and uncle since my wedding reception and it was so exciting to be able to visit with them again.
I made a 'family tree' display of our family to set up at our different events. It was mainly to help my aunt and uncle with all of the kids' names, but it was really fun to see everything. I had everyone tell me a few things about themselves, like their favorite food and color. It was a fun way to get to know each other a little better.
After dinner, the kids had fun playing around the lake and looking for fish and ducks. Grayson discovered the water fountain and he ended up laughing so hard that he would get red in the face. It is so random the things that kids find funny.
Grayson just loves my nephew Trevor. He loves to follow him around where ever he goes.
All the boys chillin' on the swing.
After dinner and a little chatting time, we decided to go walk back to the covered bridge since my sister Decia and her family hadn't been able to make it for the hike. The kids were all more then willing to do the hike all over again, but we convinced them to only go as far as the cabin which is at the beginning.
Anna and Trent helping Grayson climb a tree.
These girls sure take good care of my little man.
Hanging out while the kids play in the cabin.
This one turned out blurry, but we had almost all the kids in it so I had to use it. They had so much fun running all over the place. I think it was a successful start to our reunion.
We went to the cabin on Monday with my mom. A short while after we got there, a bulldozer and dump truck arrived to work on digging a ditch by the road that runs right in front of my parents' cabin. Let me just say that it made Grayson's day! We stood outside and watched the men work for a good long while. He was enthralled! When the bulldozer would stop digging or moving rocks he would look at me and say "more, more."
The guys working were really nice and when they were done with the bulldozer and working on something else, they asked if Grayson would like to sit in the cab. Did he ever!? He was such a happy kid.
He looks so tiny in that giant machine! They let him push all the buttons on the inside of the cab. They had of course turned it off, so Grayson kept pushing buttons and pulling levers saying "off, off." I just told him it was off and it was going to stay that way.
The chair swiveled around and then Grayson could look out the back. There was also a horn to honk on a lever at the back and he thought that was pretty awesome. He would just laugh when he pushed the button. Of course, he also laughed at one of the construction guys when he slipped in the ditch, but in his defense it was kind of funny.
When it was time for Grayson to get out, he was really not happy. My mom helped him out and he just went limp and started pitching a fit. The rest of the day he kept talking about dump trucks and tractors.
Last week, my mom and I took Grayson to visit some friends that have a farm. He had a great time! They have four cows, some pigs and a cat. Grayson was not sure how he felt about the cows. He liked them when someone was holding him or he was outside the fence, but when they got too close when he was standing next to the fence he would back away. He did get brave enough to pet them when someone was holding him. They were pretty friendly calves. They liked to be scratched.
Observing the cows from a distance.
This picture is my favorite! Grayson was reaching through the fence to the cows and one actually came over. He had turned his head and a cow came over to sniff his hand. When he turned back around, he was very startled to notice a cow right next to him sniffing his hand and he immediately pulled his hand away and watched the cow warily. The cow was sweet and licked my hand, it tickled, they have such rough tongues.
After the cows, we went to feed the pigs. Holy cow do they smell! Probably didn't help that there had been pouring rain for days before we came over, so their pen was a mess!!! They were still pretty cute. Grayson liked the pigs too, but also from a distance.
After feeding the pigs, we headed to the barn to explore things there. We put Grayson in an empty feed bag, he is such a good sport.
And then...we found the cat. The two of them chased each other around the farm, it was pretty cute.
The stare down.
It was off to feed the fish in the pond next and again I had to hold him back from jumping in the pond. I really did not feel like getting wet.
The area was beautiful and Grayson just loved being able to run around. I think he liked the cat best. He would follow that thing wherever it went.
Grayson and I went to the Botanical Gardens again, we are trying to take advantage of our membership while we are here. We started out in the 'Big Garden, Little Me' section this time. Everything there is giant, it's awesome. Grayson was very intrigued by the giant checker board.
Next, we headed over to the children's garden. They have different themed sections and we went to the dinosaur garden first.
Digging for dinosaur bones.
The rocks spray a mist over the ground.
We had to check all of the water spots of course. Grayson had to explore each rock.
This is the biggest water feature and I think it's his favorite.
We ended our morning with a visit to the butterfly house. The butterflies were very active when we were there and it was beautiful. They also have some turtles you can pet, which Grayson really likes, and a fish pond. Have I mentioned how much I love the Botanical Gardens here yet?
Had to get him cleaned up before we headed home. He was really mad that we were leaving until I let him play in the sink in the family bathroom. He was covered in sand and soaking wet, so I had to rinse him off before I could put clean clothes on. He got all dried off and was happy to have a ride in the wagon back to the entrance.
My husband, Trevor, and I were married in December 2007. My background is in Microbiology and my husband is studying law. We love logic, travel and movies. These are our adventures.
