Bike Rides and Blow Outs

We went on a bike ride Saturday afternoon. It just finished raining, so there was that amazing, fresh, damp smell in the air, and we rode the greenway trail from Mountain Gap to Ditto Landing (about 3.5 miles each way.) We saw tons of dragonflies, some cows, a few puppies, a worm, some fat squirrels, and a butterfly, and we managed to make the trip with only one wipe out. We rode all the way to Ditto where we stopped to play on the playground and change Maddi. Drew had a great time racing me and doing tricks on his bike, and Maddi absolutely loves being outside, so she was perfectly content riding behind daddy. About a mile and a half into our journey back, Sean's back tire blew out, so Sean hopped on to my pretty purple bike and headed back to the car while I pushed his busted up bike and the pull along cart to the nearest road to meet him. It wasn't exactly how we had planned on ending the day, but we still had a great time together, and I honestly wasn't devastated to miss out on peddling the last two miles. :)

Drew waiting with me for Daddy to bring the car. Luckily we packed the umbrella, so we had some shade.

I like 'em chunky

I love every roll and pudge and squishy spot this little girl has. I love her little sausage roll wrists and her chunky thighs. I love her pudgy little fingers, her undefined knees, and both of her chins. I love you Maddi Moo.

A Concert in the Park

On Monday nights during the summer, Huntsville has free concerts in the park downtown. So this week we loaded the kids and dog in the car, grabbed a pizza, and headed downtown. We met Kevin and his puppies there and had a great time listening to music and people watching. People are amazingly entertaining to watch.

Grandparents

Sean's grandparents came to visit us this week. YAY!!!! While they were here we got to celebrate Grandpa's 80th birthday (a little late, but 80 is definitely worth celebrating anyway.) We got him a framed picture of Maddi and a webcam so we can start talking online. He's a gadget junky, and I'm sure he'll enjoy being able to talk to and see the kids on oovoo. We also grilled out, played wii, and then went to a Vipers game. What a day!

Sean's grandparents live in Naples, Florida, but they travel around the country in an Airstream. So we spent several afternoons visiting them at their camp ground by the Space and Rocket Center. We played football and baseball and just enjoyed spending time with them. I can't find words to describe how much these two people mean to us. They are an amazing, kind, and loving couple who freely share their wisdom and strength. I cherish every moment that I get to spend with them, and I am so grateful that my children get to know them and spend time with them too.

Apples

Maddi will only eat bananas. We've tried rice cereal and that was a bust, and yesterday when we tried apples, this is what we got....
'

She definitely knows what she likes and doesn't like :) I have also started making her banana baby food at home using this...

It's quick, easy, and preservative free, and she loves it even more than the stuff in the jar.

Sean put this song on the blog for me. I love when he surprises me with little things like that. He's such a sweetie. I love you babe.

Whatever It Is - the Zac Brown Band

She's got eyes that cut you like a knife and lips that taste like sweet red wine and pretty legs go to heaven every time. She got a gentle way that puts me at ease when she walks in the room I can hardly breathe. Got a devastating smile knock a grown man to his knees.
She's got whatever it is. It blows me away. She's everything I wanted to say to a woman but couldn't find the words to say. She's got whatever it is. I don't know what to do because every time I try and tell her how I feel, it comes out "I love you." You got whatever it is.
You know I've never been the type that would ever want to stay. Bring 'em home at night and they're gone the next day, but that all changed when she walked into my life. People ask me what it is. I tell them I don't know just something about the woman makes my heart go haywire. She's gonna be my wife.
She's got whatever it is. It blows me away. She's everything I wanted to say to a woman but couldn't find the words to say. She's got whatever it is. I don't know what to do because every time I try and tell her how I feel It comes out "I love you." You got whatever it is.
When she loves me, girl, that's how I feel. When she loves me I'm on top of the world because when she loves me I can live forever. When she loves me I am untouchable.
She's got whatever it is. It blows me away. She's everything I wanted to say to a woman but couldn't find the words to say. She's got whatever it is. I don't know what to do because every time I try and tell her how I feel It comes out "I love you." You got whatever it is.

Falls Mill

Sean and I both had the day off yesterday, so we decided to take the kids up to Falls Mill in Belvidere, Tennessee. It was an old Mill that was originally a Textile Mill but is now used to make Corn Meal. It was built in 1906 and is still completely functional. It was amazing that a little trickle of water could create enough energy to run the entire factory. Simply amazing. So we toured the old mill and then walked around the grounds and saw the dam, the mill run, and a few other things on the property. When we finished, we loaded the kids in the car and then I ran back inside to buy a bag of fresh yellow corn meal. When I paid, the lady gave me some old bread for Drew to feed the fish at the bottom of the Mill. So, I got Drew back out of the car and we ran back down the hill so that he could feed all of the fish that he saw earlier. As we were walking down the hill, I realized I was going over in my head what to do in case he was bitten by a snake and ways I could carry all fifty pounds of him back up the steep hill with my limited upper body strength. I know... I can be a little paranoid at times, but it's my job to protect my babies, so sometimes I just have crazy thoughts like that.

Well, we make it down the hill and through the woods and take the path down to the waters edge. We walk down the little stone path steps and as Drew steps off of the last step, a snake rears up his head, hissing, and ready to strike. He must have been laying under the last step and Drew almost squashed him, so he was MAD. I started screaming like a banshee and stomping my feet from behind the snake which startled him (and Drew). So here I was... a nightmare I've dreamt a thousand times. Just feet away from my son, but a huge angry poisonous snake between us I know I have crazy dreams, but this time it was a real situation. a horrible situation. I was memorizing every single scale on his body in case I had to tell a doctor what he looked like because unfortunately I had no idea what kind he was, but I knew pointy heads were a dangerous sign. So, after concluding there was no safer way for Drew to get back to me, I screamed & stomped again hoping he would bite me instead of Drew. He was startled again and must have felt threatened with us on either side of him, so when he moved to get both of us positioned in front of him, I screamed for Drew and we both made a run for it. On the way back up the steps we saw another huge snake slithering down the side. I seriously felt like we were in one of those horrible Indiana Jones snake pit scenes. As we walked back up the hill with Drew crying because he didn't get to feed the fish (seriously!?!) I realized I had learned several things during this terrifying event...

#1 Never ignore my intuition.

#2 Screaming like an insanly intoxicated woman at a NASCAR race and doing the footloose dance stuns a snake long enough to make an escape.

#3 Never ever volunteer to be the parent to take one of the children through the woods; instead, sit in the car with the sleeping baby.

(no I did not stop to take a picture of the snake. When I got home I looked through bazillions of pictures and this was definitely the one I saw... a copperhead)

a true story.

I was working the Keith Urban concert on Saturday, and I had to run to the gas station to grab a few things for back stage. I made my purchases and walked back outside to get into my car when I heard someone shout "I SAY-ED SCOO ME WHITE GIRL !!" Hmmm... I turned around to see something like this glaring at me...

I shielded my eyes from the sun's reflection off of the gold outlining her front tooth and politely reply "Yes mam, Can I help you?" She just stared at me for a minute and then said "Lemme ax you a qwerstion. Were Wheela at?" All of the possibilities of who or what Wheeler could be were rushing through my mind, and I wasn't positive that I had correctly deciphered what she said so I quickly replied "pardon me?" She repeated herself and all I could think of was the Wheeler Wildlife Refuge. She didn't exactly look like the bird watching type though, and as I was scouring my brain for other alternatives, she said "Wheela... the jail... I gots ta go see my Boo." Yep. She had given Madison County's correctional facility a name and was shamelessly asking for directions to get there. Sometimes I seriously feel like the South is a world of its own and I am an alien wandering its streets.