Happy Memorial Day

Oh, Memorial Day...

On Memorial Day, the day started out beautiful! Gorgeous weather... a bit humid... but very nice out.

Mom, Dad, and the kids started the day with a walk down their lane. 

We played outside on the deck...

..and Sawyer really thought he was funny!!

Mom plays the taps every year that she is available at Grandpa Redeye's legion's Memorial Day celebration. They have two different ceremonies. So, Mom got ready and headed to Kampsville to play her trumpet at the cemetery and then at the Kampsville ceremony. The ceremony was SUPPOSED to take place in the park by the memorial but the weather had turned bad. It was pouring down rain with horrible storms on the way. So we had to improvise and do the ceremony in the old no longer functioning school.

The American Legion members in Kampsville

That handsome devil is my Grandpa

Honoring those that have fallen

Sawyer was pretty happy as long as he wasn't tied down. As you can see in the background there was standing room only.

Marching out...

Gigi and Papa and their favorite Americans

I love my Aunt Bev. She is an amazing person. Truly amazing.

Sawyer was giving Great Grandma Millie so many kisses.

The ceremony was a success

Grandpa did great in his role!!!

Happy Memorial Day...

We headed home to Metamora after the ceremony. We ended up in a terrible storm and had some pretty scary moment while we were driving. We ended up stopping at Aunt Didi's house as we passed it and we let the storm pass us by. We ended up staying with at their house and helping them rearrange furniture and hanging out. We spent the afternoon with them, ate their food, and just enjoyed a rainy Sunday afternoon there! Thanks for the hospitality, Didi :)

It was a great weekend...and Alex was so happy to have had two whole days off in a row.

Memorial Day Celebration At Mom and Dad's Villa

We spent Memorial Day weekend down by the Mississippi River at Mom and Dad's new place. We left our house Saturday night after Alex got off of work. We got to Mom and Dad's place around 10 pm. Much to our surprise, Aunt Kathy, Uncle Darrin, and Grandma were also there waiting for us! We had a big 'ole slumber party!

Sunday morning we got up and had a delicious breakfast. Mom and Dad took the kids with them to the annual Retzer family reunion to see a bunch of the extended family. Grandma, Kathy, Darrin, Alex, and I stayed back and prepped for a big meal later in the day with more family. 

Alex made Aunt Kathy and Uncle Darrin some delicious bloody marys that they all enjoyed out on the deck.

Alex and Uncle Darrin went to get ice and I decided to go for a run. Upon finishing my run, as I walked back onto the driveway, I saw a long black snake out of the corner of my eye. I ran into the open garage and into the house screaming. Grandma and Aunt Kathy had no idea what was going on. Aunt Kathy ran and closed the garage door because that is where the snake was headed. As soon as she shut it, the snake slithered over to it and stretched out along it. Grandma and Aunt Kathy said the snake was about 6 ft long. Luckily Alex and Uncle Darrin got back in time and Alex killed the snake. He then threw it into the good 'ole Mississippi River.

God Bless America.

We had an awesome day. The weather was great and we all were able to just hang out and chill outside on the deck and patio.

Sawyer even let Uncle Darrin hold him a few minutes :)

I never thought I would see the day that Uncle Darrin would willingly hold a baby :)

He is hooked now that he has a grandchild!

Love that face!!

Charlotte loves her Aunt Kathy....and watermelon.

Alex as manning the grill while Dad and Uncle Jim manned the frying.

Love my cousins and love my family time!

Can you tell that Charlotte loves the attention?!?!?

Food, family, fun.

After we all ate and couldn't move anymore, we hang out and watched the sun set. Some of us loaded up into Didi's car and drove to look at huge house that someone they know built right down the road. We were creepy. But the house is gorgeous and the people were actually there so she got to talk to them. 

Sawyer hung out with the guys on the deck :)

We had an awesome day. It always is awesome when you have such a great family to spend holidays with! Thanks for the fun everyone! :)

Playdates and Dance Parties

May 24 we woke up so excited because the Robinsons were coming to visit us!! We love when Aunt Tracey, Mitchell, and Carter come to visit. We love our play time and we love sharing our life with them. Most importantly we love love LOVE that we live close enough that they can come visit us and play at OUR house!!!!

The day actually started out pretty chilly...even though we were looking forward to playing outside and in the water all afternoon. It was much too chilly so we played in the basement for awhile instead.

It has similar qualities to the outside like a few random bugs and riding toys. Boys love riding toys :)

Charlotte served Carter some tea. She LOVES to make tea :) I am sure Uncle Mark will LOVE this picture of Carter having a tea party.

We had a delicious lunch of pepperoni bread. Everyone ate a ton and then we headed to Black Partridge Park... about a half of a mile away. There were plenty of other kids there (which always makes me cringe) but we scared the older ones off. 

The kiddos loved the merry-go-round.

They loved it!!

It was pure bliss before some weirdo kids came over and started trying to push the merry-go-round and take part. I was like, "Um, there is an entire park to play in. Go somewhere else." So annoying.

So we all shifted to the swings....

Sawyer let Aunt Tracey love on him.

Charlotte isn't one for swinging really high. She says, "Big, Momma!" I barely tap her and that is big for her. This is her excited about the BIG push.

Love our babies!

We had a blast at the park!! :) Everyone got a lot of energy out. We then headed back to our humble abode and had a delicious treat!!

ICE CREAM CONES!!!

Carter LOVED the ice cream cone.

Mitchell opted out of the actual cone. But he loved him some ice cream on a lion plate :)

They headed back to Davis Junction after dessert. Now that the crew is getting older, we don't have to plan the entire day around naps. They got to stay until 3:30 pm. 

After dinner and baths, we had a dance party in Sawyer's room. The kids wearing bath robes is just so cute.

How cute is this girl??

We love brushing our teeth!

"Mom, I have teeth now. We had better brush them!"

Dancing crazy!!

"Sissy, you are so silly!"

How cute is this girl????

SO HAPPY!!!

Love him!

It always turns to taking everything out of the drawers and it always turns into a dress up party :)

We had a great Friday. Amazing friends. Fabulous kids. Wonderful memories.

Charlotte's First Meeting With Gigi

We came back from Grandma's house on Monday, May 20th. Mom called on our drive back and asked if she could pick Charlotte up at 5pm and keep her for the night. (Mom had been out of town and we hadn't seen her in a week.) Naturally I was all over that :) Charlotte needs one on one time sometimes too. So, when we got home, I repacked a bag for her, got her dressed in something pretty, and she was all set for special time with Gigi when Gigi came to pick her up.

Mom was taking Charlotte to her first GFWC Junior Women's Club meeting. (A club that Mom has been a part of for 25 yrs.)

Mom brought Charlotte a special bag. It was the same bag that Mom was carrying. Inside the bag was snacks, crayons, paper, notepads, pens and so many more treasures. Charlotte was SO excited!!!

Here they are ready for their meeting!!

Charlotte didn't know what to do :)

Check out her face.

"Alright, I am ready. Let's get out of here."

Sawyer was so happy to see his Gigi :)

Charlotte had a GREAT night with Gigi. The weather was bad...severe thunderstorms. I kept calling Mom and checking on them. I am a spazz. Charlotte really did love her time with Gigi. In fact, she didn't even miss me while she was there.

A Pond Sort Of Day

We can now say that Eric' and Amanda's wedding was a HUGE success!!! The weather was perfect, everyone did great, the food was delicious, the drinks were flowing, and the dance floor was hoppin'. The next morning came a bit too early. Having two small ones who love the early morning hours made it a bit difficult. Dad got up early to farm. He helped Uncle Jim in the fields. Sawyer was up with the sun basically. Charlotte did sleep a bit longer than Sawyer so Alex got to sleep in more than I did. (not that I am keeping track :) ).

We got up and had a delicious breakfast prepared by Grandma Ann. We helped Eric get things loaded up and Alex went out to the fairgrounds to help get everything cleaned up there. We all ended back up at Grandma's throughout the afternoon (as usual, people just filter in and out all day long.)

We finally made it down to the pond for the afternoon though.

Uncle Rick loves to spend weekend afternoons out here fishing.

Melissa was a maniac with the catching of the fish!!!

Grandma and her pond. This just might be her favorite place.

...fish after fish...

Sawyer and I sat on the blanket with Aunt Michelle and Kyla and played.

Alex didn't have much luck catching so he took one of Melissa's fish...

...and showed Sawyer his first fish that he could touch.

Rock on, Dude.

This guy loves the farm and he loves to fish.

Melissa and Caleb decided to take the row boat out on the pond. We weren't quite sure if it would sink or float :) And we weren't quite sure if they would be able to get back to shore...

Dad finished plowing for Uncle Jim and made it out to fish for awhile.

I went back to Grandma's house to check on Charlotte and get Sawyer some snack. Charlotte was taking a nap with Aunt Kathy. When I got back, they had just woken up so we went back down to the pond.

They are maniacs together. 

She looks a bit crabby :)

When we were finished (and full of bug bites), we headed back to Grandma's house for supper, snacks, and Alex prepared the fish they caught. Then he and Dad headed back to Metamora. The kids and I stayed a bit longer.

My favorite time of the day is dusk. LOVE IT. Love it.

I took picutres of the pond as the sun was setting.

Amazing, right???

It's a beautiful place. And to think this used to be a feed lot a few years ago.

The kids and I then headed into Didi's house so that I could upload pictures onto her computer.

Charlotte put her own shoes on.

Charlotte was so happy that she got to see Sadie.

Such a good girl. She is such a big part of the family :)

We loved our day at the pond. It was a great way to end a family filled weekend. Days spent at the farm are like no other.