virginia - part four

Sunday morning we made plans to meet the Vetrovec Family at Maymont Park. It is a HUGE, free park, full of animals and gardens that is absolutely beautiful.. We couldn't have asked for better weather either...



First we got to see some horses....



Then, we passed through a butterfly garden, which the kids adored! David even got the name of the plant that was attracting some, and we hope to plan some in our backyard...there were butterflies EVERYWHERE!

The kids had lots of fun and were such troopers - there was a lot of walking involved!

Of course, every chance we got, we lined up the cousins for photoshoots....

There were tons of birds, including owls, vultures, and eagles, many of which were injured and rescued to live at Maymont...

Another photo op!

And another....

There was a beautiful Chinese garden with a lily pond and waterfall...the kids were so excited abuot walking across the stepping stones....



And Elise enjoyed posing for a picture for her Daddy...

We loved Maymont!

Now it was time to go home and rest up, because the brave Logan and John were having everyone over to their house tonight for dinner!

virginia - part three

After our great morning of swimming Saturday, we headed back to Roy and Kay's to get ready for the bbq that night. They had invited the whole family over for hamburgers and hot dogs, and we were really looking forward to it!!

The kids wasted no time getting to know each other!



Look how precious these kids are! That is James at the top, then Elise and Bennett, then Turner, Stella, and Lila....
James immediately started flirting with Elise...he is 4 1/2, so just a little younger, and he kept asking her, "do you like me?" "do you think I am funny?"
Such a little character! She loved the attention, and by the end of the night they were inseparable!
Bennett was thrilled to have some boys around, and loved following them everywhere!
Lila and Stella bonded, worked on puzzles together, and chased the boys!



Then Logan read all of the kids a story....



We fed the kids, and then when it was time for us to eat, we put on a movie for the kids...
They all laid on the floor with pillows and cracked up!



And, yes, look at our shy little daughter, HOLDING HANDS.....shyness went out of the window this night!!!



So cute!! It was such a fun night! We really appreciated Roy and Kay hosting such a wonderful get together!! The kids had an absolute blast, and I really enjoyed getting to know all of the cousins, and cousins spouses (some of which I hadn't met before) that night. They are such a great group, and David and I felt like we were hanging out with people we had known forever!

virginia - part two

The kids did great on the plane, and we had a relatively uneventful trip to Richmond. When we got to the airport, David's Aunt and Uncle were nice enough to meet us there with three car seats for the kids. It was so nice not to have to lug ours on the plane, and not to have to pay to rent them. We rented a mini van, which David became obsessed with, all piled in and headed to their house.
We met David's cousin Logan, her husband John, and their cute kids Stella and Whit for a pizza dinner in downtown Richmond, and then walked down to a little farmers market that was going on. After a long day of travel, we decided the kids had had enough and headed back to go to sleep.
Saturday morning the kids were up bright and early, and when Uncle Roy mentioned he needed to clean up the patio for that evenings family bbq, the kids wanted to help!



The weather was beautiful, almost chilly, and they loved being outside. It was such a pretty day we decided to spend some time at their country club pool.
Here we met up with some more cousins: Andy & Brooke with their little one Judson, Clay & Stephanie with their two boys Turner and James, and Lee & Casey.
We had so much fun!

Bennett even thought about jumping off of the diving board....



But then changed his mind....



Lila looking at her shadow (this pic reminds me of one of my favs from the Brister Blog)....



And Elise swimming with Uncle Roy and James....

It was a great day at the pool, and a good way to gear up for the big BBQ that night!

virginia - part one

I have a lot of posting to do!

David's parents flew us to Richmond, Virginia for Labor Day weekend to visit David's Uncle and Family. We got up early Friday morning, loaded up the kids and headed to New Orleans. The kids were so excited to fly on an airplane and we were all looking forward to visiting the Allison Family!

We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to kill before our first flight (to Atlanta) and so we worked on puzzles while we waited...



It was a fun flight because it was full of LSU fans heading to Atlanta for LSU's first game.



Elise excited and working on her puzzle. These puzzles ended up being the best $3 I had spent in a long time. I picked them up at the Dollar Tree on Thursday morning and the kids did them over and over on the trip.

Lila and Bennett were so excited to see our plane pull up and park.......

It was time for our adventure to begin......

More to come!

{sweet}

My very sweet friend, Casey, has just launched an adorable line of t-shirts called My Sweet Peanut.
She was sweet enough to do a shirt for each of my kids, and asked me to take some pics for her new blog, which was designed by the fabulously talented Aunt Mo!!
Here are some outtakes!

Visit her site to check out the final shots, as well as all of the awesomely sweet designs available!