Memorial Day 2011



We were very lucky to be invited to Lake Oconee this year to spend the day with The Boones!! This is their view. I could really get used to it. Josh's parents own this house and it is open for the kids to use too. We had the best time with our best buds!!

I really do love these babies. I mean, I REALLY love the one on the right. See her? The little girl with no shirt? Yeah, she was one of the boys that day. And, the little guy in the red shorts is on the top of my list. But, I also really love the blonde and the red head. I love them like they are my own. I was there when their Mama and Daddy told me that they were on there way and I held both of them the day they were born. It is so special to me that my kids get to grow up with them...





So, Mary is in LOVE with Aden. She adores him with everything she has in her heart. Whenever you mention her favorite person she always yells Aden!! Anyways, Aden kinda broke Mary's heart on Memorial Day. He got mad and pushed her down. Mary was devastated. I mean, red faced, crying hysterical, heart broken yelling, "Aden pushed me!" She did, however, get over it really fast and declared her love for "Walta"...

Yeah, I know she said she's now in love with "Walta", but I think Aden will always be her first love...





This sweet boy of mine has a love for very big dogs. Whenever he sees one he goes over to it and drapes his body over their back and gives them the biggest hug. I love that he loves them. I also love that they seem to love him back. Neil and I have been really discussing getting him a companion to grow up with...



Here Mary is attempting to teach Aden how to sing "Take me out to the Baseball game". Yes, I know it is supposed to go "ball game", but she makes up her own words...

After dinner we all went on a, much anticpated, boat ride...

This made me REALLY nervous!! I just kept seeing one of them go over...









We had such a great day!! We didn't get home until 10:30 and the kids didn't go to bed until 11:30, but they woke up the next morning just fine. I, on the other hand, was very tired. Neil was too, but it was totally worth it. Tyrus just adores and loves "Walka" and we've already bought up what Mary thinks of Aden. :)
It also must be said that both of the kids were great in the water this day!! We played in the lake all day and both kids were easily in water up to their chins. Mary held my fingers and walked around. The only time she would get scared was when a big wave would come and make her lose her footing. She is very reasonable. When this would happen I would calmly tell her to put her feet down and touch the sand. She would and it would all be better. Tyrus and Walker played so great in the water. I was extremely proud of Tyrus. He is like a different boy this year and I am so excited to spend the summer swimming with him!!

Chattanooga 2011

Neil has been extremely busy for the last month or so. There have been many days where he only sees the babies in the morning before we leave. We needed a family day. A day to spend together with no worries. Our only goal was to love on Tyrus and Mary and show them how much we love them and how much they mean to us. So, earlier this week we decided that since it was a 3 day weekend that we would drive up to Chattanooga for the day. The only think that made us hesitate was the A/C in the van. It is working, but not well enough to spend the day in it. So, we rented a 4Runner for the day. Best decision we could have made...



I have always wanted one of these. Obviously, we couldn't afford a 2011 like this one, but we both had some issues with it anyways. So, we'll keep looking. Maybe older models. The kids loved it! Their favorite part? The fact that we could put their windows down...

First things first...the Tennesee Aquarium!! I love this aquarium. The first exhibit was the sting rays that you could touch. Tyrus enjoyed looking more...



"Mama, you touch one. It doesn't hurt you!"...





This one was waving at Tyrus. He thought that was cool...

Next was the Butterfly house. This was Mary's favorite...



Then the Penguins...



Next was the Sharks!! With Ty's recent LOVE of the movie Jaws this little piece was especially appropriate...

Would you like to see what Mary drove all the way to Tennessee to see? Wait for it...



This is all she cared about. See him? Yes, it is Nemo and there were 2 in the entire aquarium, but it still made her happy...

But then she saw a huge "Bibbett" on the wall and that made her happy...

After the aquarium we went to Ruby Falls. The line was very long, but we were told that it would move pretty fast. We had to wait. Tyrus was very excited about the underground waterfall. The wait was okay because we got this picture...



The place was swarming with Cicadas. They are a certain flying bug that only comes out every 14 years. Tyrus thought they were very cool...



I was nervous about taking Mary on the tour, but we told ourselves that if it got out of hand that one of us would just come back up. She did awesome!! One of us had to hold her the entire time. I held her on the way down and Neil held her on the way back...



She wasn't as impressed as Tyrus...

Tyrus was over 1,000 feet into a mountain. He thought this was very cool, but was ready to see the waterfall...



We met a very sweet family from Nashville. They were in the same boat as us as in they had an older brother, a baby sister, and neither parent wanted to miss seeing the older brother experience Ruby Falls. This baby, Quinn, was fussy, but Mary took care of her. It really helped to keep Mary occupied...





We made it...

I don't think Tyrus would have ever done this last year, but he was so brave and walked under the waterfall twice!! The last time we were right under the fall when the lights went out and was completely dark! He loved it...



Daddy was on Mary duty on the way back up. I guess his shoulder is more comfortable then mine...