4th of July

I have decided that instead of playing catch up I am just going to start with July 4 and keep it up from here. We didn't do much July 4 weekend because we knew were going to be busy the next few weeks. Our friends, The Busby's invited us to an event at the Morgan Creek Winery, about 30 minutes outside of town. We had such a good time that we want to make it an annual thing.

It is gorgeous out there. There were over 1000 people there. You bring your own food, chairs, wine, beer, etc. and just hang out from about 6-10. We were there right at 6 so we were able to sit close to the front where the band was so that the kids could dance and stay entertained.




About 1 hour into the fun. I got bitten by aunts when I was picking up french fries that the kids had dropped on the ground. It hurt really bad but I didn't think anything of it because I had never had issues before. Well about 15 minutes after it happened my knee started swelling and the palms of my hands, bottoms of my feet, and my eyelids, started itching and burning really bad. I thought it was just because it was hot and the mosquitos were out and probably biting me and making me itch all over. Barkley looked over at me and saw that my arms were covered in hives, so she suggested we all head over to the little store to get Benadryl. As we walked over it got worse and worse. I took some Benadryl and went to the restroom. As I was washing my hands I looked in the mirror to see that my entire face was swollen and broken out in hives.(This answered why everyone was staring at me when we were walking). Brandon said that I looked like Will Smith in Hitched.
Brandon decided it would be best to bring me around the corner to the Harpersville Fire Station to let the paramedic look me over so Barkley and Buzz were nice enough to watch Jack and take the kids to pick blueberries. I'm so glad she took pics because he had a blast and I missed all of it. As it turned out I was having an allergic reaction to the ants and after a few Benadryl the hives were gone, I was fine, and we were able to enjoy the rest of the festivities.

It was a late night but the kids and the adults had a blast. They ended the night with a great fireworks show that the kids loved. I can't wait to go back next year. I hope everyone had a great 4th of July.

Ashley

Mother's Day

I am playing some serious catch up here. We have been so busy already this summer and this is the first chance that I have had to sit down and update. This may take me a few days to post about everything we have been doing.
I'm going to start with Mother's Day. I had a wonderful Mother's Day this year. My Mom came into town for the weekend and we were able to go to brunch on Sunday morning at Another Broken Egg. That afternoon Brandon's Mom and Sister came over and he grilled for all of us. It was a nice relaxing, unforgettable Mother's Day. I couldn't have asked for a better day.

Mother and Son Weekend

This weekend Brandon headed to a friends camp for a "work" weekend. Jack and I had a busy but relaxing weekend planned. Friday we went to dinner with my Sister and then he got to stay up late to watch The Princess and the Frog...great movie by the way, especially if you are from New Orleans...he is watching it for the 4th time. Saturday, his Aunt Nikki came and got him to go feed the ducks, play, and eat lunch at McDonald's while I got out with Sena and Robbie for a nice relaxing lunch. That afternoon we headed to our friend Lalah Peaglers 2nd birthday. Jack had a blast. On the way home from the party, Jack informs me that he would like a "brilled cheese"(grilled cheese) for dinner from the "brilled cheese" place, so that is where we headed. He directed me to Zoes and we had a great dinner outside. When I say directed, he literally told me how to get there from the backseat. "Mommy, go that way, no not that way, don't slow down(I didn't have a choice since there were 10 cars stopped in front of me, but explain that to an almost 3 year old), the light is red, go Mommy". As we pulled into the parking lot he said, "Mommy, you are going to park, we get out and then we go eat". He quite a boss these days, thinking that he is an adult.

Sorry I have no pics but I do have a few Jackisms that I would like to share:

*While at dinner he was observing what everyone around us was doing(he is so nosey). This couple and there son(probably aroudn 8 or 9) sat down across from us. The little boy had a fruit juice in a bottle that looked like beer. Jack starts yelling(understatement), "Mommy, wook, that boy has a beer". I wanted to crawl under the table in hide. In Louisiana that would be hilarious to everyone, but in Alabama you never know how that will be received. Luckily, they thought it was hilarious. We ate quickly and then left. I thought I had a couple more years before I had to worry about him saying inappropriate things in public, but I guess not.

*After dinner we went to Walmart to grab a few things. He always ask me if he has to get in the buggy(he hates it, as I'm sure most kids his age do). We were just grabbing 2 things so I told him "no, if he would stay right next to me and mind"(wishful thinking). Well, as we pulled into the parking lot he said "Mommy, Mommy, listen to me". I said, "I'm listening, Jack". He said, "You going to be a good girl in the store?" He listens to everything that I say to him.

*One more, before I forget. The other day I was cleaning up upstairs and stepped on a piece of plastic from one of his toys and cut my foot. At first I thought I may need stitches but wasn't sure because it was hard to see on the bottom of my toe. I hobbled downstairs to clean it off and get a band aid and Jack followed. I wanted to call Brandona and ask him what I should do, but I had left my cell phone upstairs, so I asked Jack if he would please go into my bedroom and bring me the phone(I love that he can do this now). He looked at me and said, "otay, you going to call the ambulance?" I said, "no buddy, I'm going to call Daddy". He said, "no you call the ambulance". I just agreed, so that he would go get me the phone. He brought me the phone and I called Brandon. Jack had walked into the living room and I thought was watching tv, but he was evesdropping on my conversation. He realized that I was on the phone with Daddy and not the ambulance and was not happy. He came running back into the kitchen and pointed at me and said, " no, no, I told you to call the ambulance". He was really upset, not that Mommy was hurt, but that the ambulance was not coming.

Sorry for the rambling, but I need to document these so that I can remember later and I thought ya'll would get a kick out of it. I hope everyone has had a great weekend like us!

Jack's First Swim Lesson

Jack had his first swim lesson this morning. He was so excited and couldn't wait to get there.
It took a little bit of talking to get him to get in with John, the teacher. He was a little confused that I wasn't getting in with him. Once he got in he did great!

We are doing the lessons with his friend Ian that is his age and a friend of Ian's, David, that is also their age.

Here are a few more cute pics fromt the morning. When Jack got out of the pool he said, "Mommy, next time I am going to dive to the bottom, okay". I just giggled. A little too ambitious, but it made me feel good about the lessons.