Labor Day Weekend

What a weekend. This labor day weekend we were divided as a family-Mike and Kyle went to Louisiana to check on his family and I took my parents and grandmother to Pigeon Forge. I know my big boys had fun in LA, and I had fun in Pigeon Forge with four generations of "Beamer women!" My poor Dad and Davey were out numbered!

Despite the fun and silliness that occurred, it was still hard on my grandmother to go to Dollywood for the first time without her sweetie. Mimi and Pawpaw usually took several treks to Dollywood during the year and I know it hurt her heart to be there without him. The "firsts" without a loved one is so hard on the heart, but I think she still had fun:)


The hotel we stayed in had a great pool and here are Davey and Mom on the lazy river. Poor David got super sick with croup on Friday night/Saturday morning which necessitated a trip to the ER for him. Bless his heart-he still had fun, but he did not feel the best.
My cousin, Matt and his family live in Knoxville so they came to have lunch with us one day and they came back to the hotel and swam. He and his wife Sarah run a dog kennel in Knoxville and they are super busy with doggies. They have two kiddos-Brandon and Emily. Here is Emily on Mimi's lap by the pool.

Lazy river:)

Mimi, Mom, and Hope on the carousel. My grandmother is in great health, but she has problems with her knees and she is unsteady on her feet. She was DETERMINED to ride the horses, so we picked her a real low horse to climb on and Hope rode beside her. The problem was that the horse ended the ride WAY up in the air and it took Mom and I both to gracefully help her off of that horse!

Mimi is a lot of fun and despite her sad heart she really did have fun with us:)

I love that sweet face! She rode and rode and rode some more. My girl may just be a thrill rider like her Daddy because she was not the least bit scared on any of the baby rides.

David was checking on his little sister to make sure she was not scared on the piggies!:) David enjoyed riding these little rides with Hope:)

My aunt Debbie's huband Mike works at Dollywood with the eagles and does a wonderful Birds of Prey show. Since we were visiting we got to sit up front and he called David up to be on stage with him to be his helper!!

David modeling how big our eyes would be if we were eagles!

The highlight of the trip for sweet Dave-the train. We rode it twice and he would get so excited when that loud whistle blew!

Me and Dave on the cars. All my kiddos have loved those cars. David was too busy honking, waving, and singing to do that great of a job driving us, but we certainly had fun!

Poor Dave did not feel 100% after his night in the ER, so he and Hope shared her stroller through the park!

My Mike loves his little girl, and he bought her a Louisiana Tech cheerleader outfit from the bookstore:) I love it and it looks so cute on her!! Mike and Kyle had a great time down south with the family. So tomorrow we are back to reality after our fun trips with family:)

Really?

Has it really been four whole days since I last blogged? For me that is truly unbelieveable:) This week has been somewhat of a blur as the kids have been on a two hour early dismissal everyday due to the high temperatures around here. Sweet Hope has not felt all that great this week, so my long "to do" list does not have too many things crossed off of it. Oh well:)

Here are just some quick updates from the week:)

Mike and Kyle left on their down south boys road trip. They both LOVE going to Shreveport to see Mike's brother Daniel and their family. They have three boys and Kyle LOVES cousin time:) I am so thrilled that they get this precious guy bonding time every year.

So, that leaves me with David and Hope for this holiday weekend. We are also heading out in just a little bit for our own adventures in Pigeon Forge. We are going with my parents and we are taking my grandmother. (pray for us-ha!!) My grandmother has been pretty tied down with my grandfather's ailing health over the last few months so we hope the change of scenery and a little Smoky Mountain fun will be good for her soul:)

I took sweet girl for her first hair cut this morning, but the beautician really did not recommend that I trim anything now. Her hair on top is getting really long, but since we want it to grow long then she just recommended a hairbow to hold that long piece back until it all evens out.

We got to go out on a fun playdate after school this week with some friends to Hungry Mother to swim and it was heavenly. Not crowded but still super hot and we just sucked the life right out of that place! I am not quite ready to say goodbye to summer yet.

I better go finish packing our bags for the trip. It should be interesting sharing a hotel room with my 81 year old grandmother! I will post tons of pictures and I am SURE that there will be lots of funny stories to report:)

New Normal

We are settling in to "new normal" around here as we adjust to life without Pawpaw and the kids settling into school. So far, both boys are doing well in school and I am so darn thankful.

Yesterday afternoon we had my parents, my grandmother, and my Pawpaw's sister, Aunt Louise down to our house for lunch after church. I believe they all enjoyed coming here for a visit. The last few months for them have included doctors appointments and the hospital with my Pawpaw. It was a beautiful day so we all sat outside in the yard while the kids played.


Here is my precious, great aunt Louise who is 90 years old playing on the new playground with my boys. When my boys heard that the family was coming they begged to invite Louise because they love her. She is my Pawpaw's older sister and they were very close. This amazing lady has lost her husband (in 1993) and both of her children in the same WEEK in 2003. Despite all the tragedy in her life, she is FUNNY and amazing and we all adore her.

David loves all the attention from the family and I love this picture of him kicking back with his popsicle.

Hope, my Mom, and Louise swinging in my favorite swing. My parents got this swing for me back when I had Hope and we have all enjoyed it:)

I love this sweet boy.

Kyle loves to carry Hope around?!

Mike put David up in the tree and he just looked so darn cute up there!

Hope's turn in the tree! She is sitting so ladylike and dainty because she had just woken up!

Hope loving all the attention:)

Who is this preteen and how did he get in my tree? Just kidding sort of. I am blown away by the growth spurt that Kyle has had just recently and I am so sad that he looks so NOT like a little boy anymore:(

I just love the stage that Hope is in now. I love that she is walking some, but still needs a little hand holding and reassurance along the way. I caught this precious picture of Hope walking across the yard holding my Mom's hand and I just melted. I love baby legs and she was still wearing her sweet church dress. I know one of these days I will treasure sweet pictures like this:)