So, that’s how the sunflower trip started.  On the way there, we knew we were in for a treat.  Neither Haley nor Trey had their naps that day.  Their grumpiness was in the air.  So between the unbearable heat and the grumpy kids, the pictures didn’t turn out so well.  Go figure.

Trey’s haircut went as planned.  We gave him his haircut at home rather than taking him to a barber because there really wasn’t much to cut.  Literally, two snips and we were done. 

Saturday morning started early.  We went to Blue Springs Ranch to go floating down the river.  There were about 20 of us that went.  It was great to see some of the faces that we hadn’t seen in over a year.   After canoeing for about 5 hours, we headed back to John and Margie’s for a cookout.

It was publicly announced that Laura’s sister, Kathleen, and Jason are engaged!  Everyone was so happy for them.  Laura and I were too.  I think we were just as happy that we don’t have to keep in the secret anymore.

All in all, we had a great trip.  Haley and Trey absolutely enjoyed themselves.  The biggest thing we realized is that we need to go to St. Louis a little more often.  Special thanks to John, Margie, Tom, Megan, Buddy and Zoe for sharing their house with us.

T-Boy has been toddling around like crazy.  He averages about 4 bloody lips a week now from falling down.  I hate to see him fall, but it usually doesn’t phase him for long.  He’s making such funny faces too.  Like if you tell him “no”, he wrinkles up his eyebrows and just shoots you this evil look.  It is really cute.

We went to Lambert’s and ate last night.  Haley had a great time with the rolls.  She got to catch one and was so proud of herself.  I was pretty proud too.

The theme was “the Oscars” and they urged people to dress up.  A photo of Laura and me is below.  And no, I don’t normally wear eyeliner.  It was for the stage.

Saturday night we had Laura’s girls that she teaches in Sunday School spend the night.  They seemed to have a good time, but not nearly as good of a time as Haley.  Haley thought she was their age.  We let Haley sleep with them…well, almost.  Around midnight they were all still up and apparently Haley bumped her nose.  She started crying so from midnight on, Haley slept on the floor in our room. 

So we rushed home to get her some panties and still managed to catch part of the parade.  Haley didn’t mind holding up the police escorts by stopping for a little hopscotch.  Afterwards, there was refreshments and we got a chance to get the kids’ pictures taken with the policemen.  Haley seemed to enjoy it, but Trey wanted nothing to do with it.

That evening, we invited over some friends and had a “cookout” in the cove.  I put cookout in quotes because we didn’t really cook.  A few of our friends did, but we ran to Little Caesars for a $5 hot and ready.  I know…pretty lame to celebrate the Independence of the United States with a pizza.  The Lakeland fireworks weren’t bad.  In fact, we’d have probably thought they were awesome had we not seen Bellevue’s the weekend before.

We rounded out the weekend with a visit to Tupelo to visit my grandfather and a trip to a friend’s house for dinner.  We were able to get a few fireworks shot off that night before hitting the sack and wrapping up a solid 4th of July weekend!

The concerts were great as were the fireworks.  Since I was busy taking pictures, I didn’t have time to enjoy all the things I normally enjoy at Starlight.  Things like corn dogs, funnel cakes and other tasty carnival food.  I did manage to find time to chow down on a snow cone.

Laura and I were “kidless” for Starlight.  Haley and Trey are with my parents in Jackson.  We get them back on Wednesday.  Its been fun doing things that we can’t normally do when the kids are around.  Things like hitting J Alexander’s after church with friends and going to the movies.  But we sure are ready to get them back.  I’ve talked to Haley on the phone a few times since she’s been gone.  She sounds so old!  I guess I normally talk to her face to face and physically see her as my little bitty girl.  But on the phone, when I don’t see her in front of me, she doesn’t seem like a three year old.  Makes me sad.

It didn’t take us long to pull down the wallpaper and paint once we moved in, but apparently the countertops and backsplash took us a bit over a year.  The countertops were a piece of cake.  Mainly because it involved two steps.  Picking it out and writing a check.

The backsplash wasn’t quite as easy.  I figured I’d tackle it myself.  We purchased the tile from Flooring Solutions.  I’d highly recommend them.  Jon was fantastic.  We went with a walnut colored tumbled travertine.  We used 4 inch square tiles at the base.  After that, we ran a thin strip of glass tiles and ran 3×6 inch tiles the rest of the way up.  We got a little “fancy” above the sink to break up the monotony a little.  While it did take a little work, it actually wasn’t as much trouble as I thought it would be.  Still, I don’t know that I want to lay backsplashes for a living.

First two pictures are from before we bought the house…last three are after adding the new countertop and backsplash.  I’ll repeat to make it clear (and to satisfy Laura), the first two pictures are from BEFORE we bought the house.  That isn’t our stuff.

Before – Sink Area

Before – Stove Area

After – Sink Area

After – Sink Area

After – Stove Area

We also had a fun weekend in Jackson last weekend.  We went to celebrate the marriage of Michael and Anna Walley.  It was great to visit with family and catch up with friends.  We quickly realized we are the veteran married couple and couldn’t be more excited about the upcoming weddings of all our engaged friends!  It was fun to watch Hayden having fun with some old buddies…he hadn’t realized how long it had been since they’d seen each other.  Good times.

But the drive was worth it.  Jerry’s was pretty neat.  It really took you back to a time around the 50’s.  Lots of people driving up, waiting in line for their frozen concoction, and then sitting around on the sidewalk, parking lot and hoods of cars just enjoying the frozen treats.  We just hung out as the sun dropped lower and lower in the sky.

It really did seem like time stood still for just a little bit.  Haley seemed to enjoy her snow cone.  Of course, Trey did as well.  If it is edible, Trey is on board.  We’ll definitely be hitting this joint again before the summer is over.

We had a dinosaur party for Trey (T-Rex, as we called him this weekend) and it was fun.  I loved getting the decorations ready and trying to make his day special…even if he is a little to young to know what a great party he had!  The Simons, Murphy’s, Nana Clack, KJ, and my parents were all in attendance.  Friday night we had a little cook out and ate dinosaur cookies for our dessert…made by Haley and I!  Saturday was the real party and since the pork took a little longer than I planned, we opened presents and ate cake first!  Trey had a great time watching Haley and Seth open all his presents and show him what he got.  He just smiled and laughed at all the commotion.  We’ve already started playing with all the new toys and reading the new books.  Trey wasn’t feeling that well on Saturday so he took a time-out to rest with Dad on the big chair.  That didn’t stop him from eating his cake.  Haley helped show him the good stuff- ICING.  She helped herself…as an example, of course! 

It was a special day and gave me pause to reflect on the blessing of both my kids.  I am overwhelmed that God has loaned us these amazing people to teach, love, and encourage.  Every night when I check on them before I go to bed I thank Him for the amazing gift Hayden and I have of parenthood and for these incredible individuals.  What an amazing year!