Disney Day 1

Our first day at Disney the weather predicted that there was a 100% chance of rain basically all day.  Perfect!
It actually turned out that the rain wasn't such a bad thing.  It cut down on the crowds and the heat!  We met Meemaw at Hollywood Studios as soon as they opened.  We went to Beauty and the Beast first.  At this point, Elye had just begun being scared of everything.  It started at a 3D movie at Stone Mountain that we had to leave in the middle of because she was screaming so loud.  She didn't want to see Beauty and the Beast, but she made it through.  Next, we went to Toy Story, which she cried the whole way through.  Little Mermaid?  Nope.  Once Angie, Sophia, and Jack got there we tried the Playhouse Disney show and had to leave within 5 minutes.  Not the best way to do Disney, but we made the best of it and ended our night at the Starlight Theater diner.  Next, we headed straight to the Nemo pool to meet Meemaw and the rest of the crew for swimming.  It was too cold for me, but the kids had a blast swimming.  Then home to bed for day 2.

Only cell phone pictures this day since I didn't want to bring my big camera in the rain.

Long, long, drive

Saturday morning we woke up at the crack of dawn to start our journey.  First stop was Stone Mountain in Atlanta.  I had never even heard of this place and made fun of Larry when he said he thought there was a carving on the side of this stone mountain.  Surely, I would have heard of this place if there was a carving like Mt. Rushmore.  He was right.  I was wrong.  

We did have fun though.  We rode the cable car to the top.  We rode the Duck Boat in the blazing hot heat.  We saw some shows.  It was a nice way to break up our trip.

We stopped in Macon that night for a layover and then continued on to Orlando.  Our plan was to get there early so we would have time to swim all afternoon at our hotel's awesome pool area.  The storm Debbie downer had other plans.  It poured all afternoon and night.  So instead of swimming we lugged our luggage through the rain, bought some ponchos, checked the weather a million times for Disney the next day, and tried to stay dry.  

Swim Lessons!

After three years, Reesi finished up her last week of swim lessons for the rest of her life!  The first day of swim lessons she did not want to go back the next day because she hated the breast stroke.  It was too hard!  Of course, she went back the next day and surprised her self by how much better she got.  Each day, even though it was her hardest stroke, she chose to spend more time on it to get better.  She was so proud of herself by the end of the week and so was I.  She learned such a good life lesson.  Next year, it will be Elye's turn!

By the way, we love her swim teacher, if any one is looking for a recommendation!

Nashville Cumberland Park

Last week Larry had a day off so we headed to the new Nashville Cumberland Park next to LP Field.  It is a new sprinkler park that also has a rock wall, little slide, little rolling hills to run on with toys in them, and tons of flowers.  The girls, especially Elye, absolutely loved it.  I loved that it had a free parking lot right next to it and bathrooms!  Hopefully, we will have another day to go back and play!

Summer Bucket List

Larry made a summer bucket list of things he wants to do during the summer.  One of them is to eat at the Diner, Drive-ins, and Dives places in Nashville.  We went to Bro's Cajun a few weeks ago.  Pretty yummy catfish and I liked the jambalaya.

 Hole in one!

 Another one!

 She did not want her picture made.

 Neither did he.

Putt-Putt was also on his list.  He wanted to go to Music City Putt-Putt, but due to an unplanned trip to Wal-Mart to replace a dead car battery and Reesi's stomach hurting I talked him into going putt-putt somewhere closer.  It might have been the worse, most run down putt-putt place I have ever seen.  So I don't think he is letting me mark that one off his list, yet.

The Walking Potato

I was so impressed when Elye drew her first person with several parts.  Reesi immediately dubbed it, the walking potato.  Now that's what Elye calls it too.  Next time you see her ask her to draw you a walking potato!

Summer Days

We've been spending at least a couple days a week at Mimi and Papoo's swimming pool!  

 Eating lunch and seeing if they can touch their arm pit with their tongue.  They can.  Can you?

Annie loves Mimi and Papoo's too and playing with Aunt Sophie, their golden retriever.  It always wears her out!

Missouri

 Elye's typical smile

 The redneck train

 This kitten got a lot of love.

 water balloon fight!

 Grandma and Mom- I am hoping I look this good when I am both of their ages:)

My mom, sisters, and I hauled all of the cousins for our annual trip to Missouri.  It was a good 8-8.5 hour trip made in two cars.  Jenny and I took all the girls in the van and Mom and Julie took Easton in their car.  It was a pretty easy trip.  The kids kept themselves busy playing Toca Hair Saloon on the iPad and watching movies.
Once we got their the big girls spent most of their days roaming around the farm and swimming.  We had an extended family cook out one night.  My meal mainly consisted of Aunt Donna Lou's rolls and Aunt Donna Lou's cinnamon rolls.  The next day we went to Peggy and Terry's for the morning.  The girls had a great time and always can't wait to come back the next summer!