Our Trip to Nebraska

We went on our annual summer trip to Nebraska at the end of June.  I'll be posting our adventures over a period of several posts, so keep coming back to see all our adventures while we were there!

The drive there was quite eventful as it took us 16.5hrs!  Typically it takes us about 15hrs, but we hit several spots where there was road construction, so that slowed us down a bit.  The kids were great - they did much better than Brad and I.  Parker slept about 45 minutes the entire trip, Hannah slept the majority of the trip and Jake slept about half.  About the last hour though, Parker had reached his limit and he was kicking his leg on the door.  It was pretty funny and we couldn't blame him - we all wanted to do that during our last hour.

Hannah was a great little traveler - she was all smiles and enjoyed watching Jake and Parker in the backseat.  It's a good thing she didn't have a clue how long the ride was going to be - hah!


















I absolutely love this!  We probably read this book several, several times on the way there!

Hannah entertained herself with her butterfly!

The kids entertained themselves and each other for a little while.

Poor little Jake was squished between the 2 car seats, but he managed just fine!

This is always a great site for us - the Arch at St. Louis - it means we've reached the halfway point of our trip!

Parker and Hannah have started playing together more.  Brad and I are so glad because now they can entertain each other.  It's also really sweet!  Hannah also took her first crawling steps while we were in Nebraska.  She can do about 4-5 "crawls" really good!

Monday night we went to the finals of the College World Series. 

We had great seats - just a few rows behind home plate (thanks to Brad's dad for the great seats) as we rooted for South Carolina!

During one of half innings, the outfield crowd threw a bunch of beach balls onto the field, in which the ground crew had to come and clean up.  This is a tradition at the stadium and is so funny!  There was even one beach ball attached to a string, so when the ground crew came to pick it up, the person in the crowd would pull it up - hilarious!

And, of course, it would not be fitting, if at least 1 person did not run onto the field during the game.  Again, another tradition that happens at some point during the series.  This time, we got a real treat, because there were about 10 kids that ran onto the field.  There was 1 girl that ran around and actually tapped 2 of the Arizona players on their butts, before she got caught - hilarious!!

Then, this guy that is in a choke hold, eluded the security for a couple of minutes.  He was caught 1 time down the left field line, but then got free and ran all the way back to the outfield area, where he was sitting and tried to jump back into the outfield seat.  He was drug down by the security, then was escorted, in this choke-hold all the way off the field.  Great entertainment and these crazy kids really got the stadium fired up! 

Arizona beat South Carolina, so we were a little bummed, but we had a great time at the game and we were very thankful we got to be there!

Good Times with Grandma!

Grandma Henry came to Georgia for a few days to spend some time with the kids.  Since Parker loved his 1st bowling experience so much, we decided to take him bowling again.  I think he wanted to show off for Grandma - hah!  Parker did great - another successful bowling experience!

Parker knew exactly what to do and was a pro at getting his ball from the rack, going up to the slide, and pushing it down!

Parker bowled 1 complete game and scored a 76!  He improved from his last bowling game where he scored a 54!

Very proud of my little bowler!

After bowling, we went to eat lunch at Chick-fil-A to celebrate a great job!

Hannah got to experience CFA for the first time in the highchair!  She ate her own baby food, but I have to start training the kids early about how yummy Chick-fil-A is - hah!

We took Grandma Henry to Gibbs Gardens.  This is one of our favorite places to go.  Parker gets to run and walk all over, gets a great workout, then he takes a big nap when he gets home.  The gardens are so nice and there weren't many people there at all!

They have a children's sculpture garden and Parker is fascinated by all the sculptures.

When we got home, I walked in on Grandma and Hannah playing with a hair bow!  I was like, "nope," but I let them have their fun for just a little bit.

I think these 2 pics say it all . . . I don't think Hannah is a fan of this hairdo - hah!

Hannah is 7 months!

Our sweet little Hannah turned 7 months on June 19.  I cannot believe she is already 7 months - where is the time going??  She won't go back to the doctor until 9 months, so we did our own weight and height measurements . . . 22lbs and 28 1/2 inches long.  She is wearing 9-12month clothes and she cannot wear any shorts or playsuits that have the elastic in the legs, because her thighs are huge!  She has several outfits like this, and I have had to cut the elastic out, just so she can wear it.

She is a sweet, sweet girl and into everything.  She is super curious and the interaction between her and Parker is improving every single day!  They are both starting to get very curious about each other.  Parker has even been helping hold Hannah's bottle while she eats and puts toys in front of her - so sweet! 

Hannah is super close to crawling!  She sortof army crawls and she has just about mastered sitting up from her tummy.  She can sit unsupported and it won't be long before she's chasing Parker around the house. 

Hannah has mastered eating baby food.  We've had just about everything: peas, pears, squash, bananas, sweet potatoes, apples and carrots.  She has liked them all. 

She's also starting to get on a little sleeping routine (sort of).  She'll take a few short morning naps, a long afternoon nap, and a short evening nap.  She usually takes her last bottle around 7pm and is in bed by 7:30pm.  However, we are still working on the 4-4:30am feeding.  Granted she goes right back to sleep after she eats, but that's still a little early!  Parker goes to bed at 8pm and still takes an afternoon nap, so I'm working to get these 2 little kiddos sleeping in the afternoon at the same time. 

Sweet Hannah loves to  ride in the shopping cart when we go to the grocery store or to Target (yes, those are about the only 2 places I go).  She is my little shopping buddy!

This was my first attempt at putting a headband on Hannah.  Needless to say, it didn't go too well.  The headband was made by Rachel, whom I work with, and that blue thing on the side is an octopus (but you can't see it).  As soon as I put the headband on, it started to slide backwards, so I tried it a few more times, then just gave up!  I did promise Rachel that I would try again and take a better picture!

Hannah's first experience at Chick-fil-A getting to sit like a big girl in the highchair.  She didn't eat any of the food, but she certainly enjoyed herself!  Hey, I have to train the kids early how yummy CFA is!

We are so thankful for you, Hannah!  You are a beautiful, healthy and sweet little girl.  You have a great big brother and I know you two are going to be good buddies! 

And, just to compare . . . here is Parker at 7 months!

Father's Day and 1st Bowling Experience

We celebrated Father's Day by going to Gibbs Gardens and walking around.  It was a really nice day and we went first thing in the morning, so there weren't too many people there.  The gardens had all their flowers blooming and their pots were beautiful!

Brad has already taught Parker to appreciate the flowers - hah! 

Daddy and his little girl! 

Parker made this trophy picture for Brad and decorated the homemade card for him. 

Parker made this at his preschool before school was over.  I thought that was really nice of the teachers to think of Father's Day in May! 

I want to also wish my Dad a Happy Father's Day in Heaven!  I miss him so very much, but I know he is looking down on me and my family.  I see my Dad in Parker and Hannah and I am sure they make him laugh every day!  I love you always Dad! 

Parker got his first experience with bowling at a birthday party last week.  Parker had never been bowling, so I was a little nervous about how it would go (because I knew there would be a lot of waiting, and Parker likes to be on-the-go)! 

However, it turned out great!!  Parker did fantastic and really caught on to the whole bowling concept fairly quickly!  I was so proud of him!

Parker sat patiently while they put all the kids on the lanes and typed everyone's name on the screen.  He even looked super cute with his little bowling shoes!

I explained to Parker how it would work and he was fascinated with the balls rolling down the lane and knocking the pins over!

When it was Parker's turn, we got our 6-lb bowling ball from the rack and carried it together to the slide.  We set the ball on the top, then Parker gave it a good push and off it went!

Parker watched the ball go all the way down the lane and knock some pins over - it was awesome!  He had such a cute look of satisfaction on his face, knowing that he was doing such a good job - it was priceless!

Parker's first score - 8!

Parker bowled a 54 through 9 frames (we didn't get to bowl the last frame), but what a great job he did!  I was super proud of him and he even got a spare on 1 frame - hah!

Griffin's birthday cake - too cute!

We had such a fun time bowling - we can't wait to go back!