Fall Festival

This weekend our church had its annual Fall Festival, so that's what I've been working on most of the week. It turned out great. The kids had a blast, and we were able to raise money for our local police dog.
Of course Levi and I went in diy costumes. We were bears...although, I didn't do the most phenomenal of jobs on these, so we could have been a few different critters...
Instead of trick-or-treat we did trunk-or-treat. The adults decorate their trunks and line them up in a row. At first Levi didnt' get it. He got the candy from trunk number one, but he tried to take it out of his bag and eat it right there. Eventually we convinced him to go to the next trunk, and a light bulb went off.
After filling up their bags, we headed inside where a potluck supper and entertainment were awaiting.
Our preacher did a skit that kept the kiddos and adults laughing...
We played pin the apple on the tree, a pumpkin bean bag toss, and a fishing game...
And a Nana kitty made pumpkins with a little bear...
And, of course, there was face painting!! Even Baw-baw got in on some of that action...
When it was all over, we were heading straight for bed. But on the way the little bear fell and cut his lip. So a visit to Nana and Baw-baw's and an overabundance of chocolate were in order...
Stay tuned...tomorrow you'll find out what crazy object from the night this little bear decided he absolutely must sleep with.

State Fair

It's been raining cats and dogs around here for what seems like FOREVER. It's more than made up for June...enough now...seriously. Rain is in the forecast every day this week. So, we decided that today would be just as good as any to take Levi for his first trip to the State Fair. According to the weatherman the rain was supposed to clear up while we were there. Ahem. It got worse. No worries though. We still managed to thoroughly enjoy ourselves. We really just went for three things...the animals, the food, and the cars...and that's exactly what we got.

Levi fell in love with the cows. Now, every time we mention them, he shouts (very, very loudly with loads of enthusiasm and hand motions), "Coooows!!!!"
We finally had to tell him that the cows had to go nap-nap, so we could get some food in our bellies. The boy takes his napping seriously. So, of course, he thought the cows did too.

No trip to the fair would be complete without massive quantities of artery clogging goodness. Our lunch consisted of ALL fried food...fried chicken on a stick, french fries, fried pickles, fried green beans, fried green tomatoes (hey at least we got our greens, right?), and a fried funnel cake. It's just not possible to leave the fair without chowing down on one of these...YUM!!!
I can't believe there are actually people in this world who eat this stuff on a regular basis! Definitely a once a year kind of meal.

After filling our bellies (and our arteries) we headed for the antique car display. Levi couldn't get enough.
He dragged us from car to car and then back again...
And this...
Was his reaction to seeing this...
What can I say? The kid loves fire trucks.
And, this little boy who wanted to be carried or strolled through the entire fair had a new found sense of independence in here...y'all, I really don't think the kid would have looked back...ever.
The intensity was killing me it was so cute!
But, of every last automobile in the place, this lone tractor was his favorite. He kept going back to it. Oh, and, this little hands on hips stance...it popped up a couple of weeks ago. He does it all the time now.
After all of that adventuring of course he was whooped...
Is there anything in this world sweeter than a sleeping little one?

Explorations Continued

We took a family day trip to one of our favorite childhood haunts last weekend. Rocky Springs is a pretty little creek on the Natchez Trace. I can't count the number of times my brother, sister, and I played here. We absolutely loved this place....still do. It's perfect for little ones. The water is shallow, and there are naturally formed little kiddie pools sprinkled throughout. There's even a little sandbank. Levi thought it was the beach...
We caught vanilla beetles...that's not their actual name, but they smell like vanilla. Okay, so if you really want to be grossed out it's more than likely their pee that smells like vanilla. Yes, we were strange children....completely and utterly fascinated by smelly water beetles. It probably explains a lot about what we're like as adults.
On a less gross note, we chased butterflies. There were tons of them. We also did lots of damselfly chasing. You can check one of those out here.
My siblings and I like this creek because of the bugs and the water. My parents come here for the rocks. Seriously, they like rocks. I guess it's not as crazy as liking bugs.
Levi got into the whole rock hunting bit too. Although, I don't think he caught on that he was supposed to be looking for agates and fossils. He just likes the noise two rocks make when bashed together.
A cute little baby toad that entertained us for quite some time. Levi is fascinated by such critters.
Believe it or not, this is a waterfall. I know, right, where's the water? Hmmmm...Something about damming up rivers, etc. kinda messed that up. If you come after a big rain you can see more than just the tiny trickle here. And if you like heights you can stand on top of it. I don't like heights, so you get the pic from beneath. That's Annie and Levi in that cozy little nook...
We took about a kabillion pictures...which is why I was so slow getting them posted. It was just so darn hard to pick out my favorites! If you missed the initial post click here.
So, what was your favorite childhood haunt? Have you taken your munchkin there yet? I'd love to hear about it!

Weekend Work

If you ever happen to need some entertainment for a little munchkin, put a nail in a piece of wood. Give the kidling a hammer, and let 'em go to town....It's guaranteed entertainment for you as well. Promise.
This weekend was simply beautiful. The coolness made for perfect working weather. So, the never ending chicken yard project was tackled...yet again. Levi was the official dirt tamper. He did a pretty swell job except for the umpteen million times that he got distracted.
We spent as much time as possible just enjoying the beautiful weather. Can you hear that sound?...It's the sound of my washing machine not getting used, the dishes not getting washed, and the floors not being swept...not to mention all the other stuff not getting done...it's a good sound.
How was your weekend? Beautiful, I hope!

Happy Birthday Mom/Nana/Nanno!!!

Happy Birthday to an extra spectacular lady who answers to lots of different names. We love you so much!!

Levi loves her so much that he was willing to get hot, sweaty, and very dirty for her. Rough task for a little boy, I know. We were all so shocked. ; )

He "helped" move stones to make a path for her. He thinks she's the coolest Nanno on the block (not that we even have a block) just because she requested a truckload of stones for her birthday.

Sorry, Mom, I meant to do a post for you earlier, but the day got away from me. Hope you had a spectacular birthday. Enjoy your truckload of rocks!

Drizzly...Rainy...Lovely

Three generations of toes...
It was a lovely day.

Sweet Surprises

This weekend held many wonderful little surprises. For Levi, they took the form of colorful eggs, (mostly) handmade treats and toys, and loads of lovely sweets. For me, the surprise was in the joy that my little fella' got out of this lovely holiday. His delight over hidden eggs and fuzzy little bunnies left me beaming. It might be quite some time before he gets the true meaning of Easter, but in the meantime I'll just sit back and enjoy his beautiful curiosity and his terribly cute squeals of delight over a found "eck" (a.k.a. egg).
I was convinced that he would spend all of his time doing this...plucking the heads off all the flowers.
But he was truly enthralled by the whole egg finding adventure. Plucking flowers didn't occur to him until all of the eggs had been found....
...and dumped out and found yet again.
Oh, yes. Let's not forget they all had to be emptied of their contents as well.

I Promise I Have An Excuse

Oh, my stars! I can't believe how sporadic a blogger I've become the past couple of weeks. My excuses? It all started off with getting sick, and then it snowballed from there. I was in charge of a church picnic and outing last weekend as well as the church Easter Egg Hunt which happened today. On top of all that I decided to make Levi's Easter Basket. Had I ever made a basket? No. Did I have any inkling how to go about making one? Not really. It turned out to be a VERY time consuming task that finally and thankfully ended last night around 12:30--just in the nick of time. It's not exactly like I envisioned it to be, but oh, well.
Today's Easter Egg Hunt was a blast. We kicked things off with a brunch, face painting, and egg dying. Then we got down to business and hunted down some eggs. Surprisingly, Levi really got into it. Baw-Baw (have I mentioned that's his new name for his Grandpa?) would show him an egg, and Levi would make a beeline for it and put it in his basket. He had a pretty nice stash by the end of it all.
Next week, things should slow down a bit. Maybe I'll be able to do some catching up. How is it that being sick puts me so far behind. We're practically swimming in dirty laundry, and the backed up to do list makes me cringe just looking at it. But, you know what? I don't plan to make a dent in any of it this weekend. The weather is just too beautiful, and, hey, it's Easter--time to celebrate not do laundry!
I hope y'all have a beautiful Easter tomorrow. We're cooking up another Easter Egg Hunt for Levi after church. He got so into today's we figure a second one is in order. Of course, a yummy lunch will be on the agenda as well. Maybe even a nap for Mommy and baby. What are your Easter plans?

Picture Day

This weekend we had our pictures taken for the church photo directory. (Think school picture day just in the church fellowship hall instead of the school auditorium.) To be honest, we weren't bowled over by the results. I mean, how is it possible to walk in a place thinking you look pretty darn good and walk out feeling like you've gained thirty pounds and bad hair to top it off? But...since we were all gussied up anyway, we snapped a few pics of our own. Call me crazy, but I totally prefer outdoor, all natural, snapshots to stiff, staged "portraits". I may not have a swanky-danky camera or any roll down backdrops, but I'm really liking these anyway. They show us doing whatever it is that we do--albeit a little more dressed up than usual.
I just have to say, I think I have quite a beautiful sister. Not only is she beautiful and a fabulous Auntie, she's pretty dang talented to boot. She made the dress she's wearing! :
So, there you have it, our non-professional but beloved family portraits.