Memphis

At James' sister Cheryl's suggestion, we took the kids and all went to Memphis to surprise James' dad, Mark, on his birthday. Mark was truly shocked to see us all there, and we had a great time together.

We arrived Friday night and took in some of the sights, including the Peabody ducks...

the Redbirds' stadium...

... and the Mississippi riverfront.

Saturday morning, we met everyone at Cracker Barrel to surprise Mark, then informed him he was taking all of us to the zoo! I could post dozens of pictures from the Memphis Zoo, but it's better that you see it for yourself! Still, here are a select few.

The party crowd...

Cuddly cougars

One conked-out tiger

Mr. Meerkat

Sir silverback

More wild animals

Seal smooch

Polar bear chillin'

(To see the other 130 pics, you'll just have to come over.)

First Day of School

Here's Leah on her first day of kindergarten.

We walk to and from school each day, and talk with new and old friends along the way. Sometimes Sox and Gandalf escort us to the end of the sidewalk! Leah loves everything about school, and is already comfortable with the new routine. Her teacher named her the class computer "expert," and she has gotten smiley faces for behavior each day. You might think she'd be tired after all the successive long days, but she just wants to play until the sun sets!

Here's Elise on her first day of preschool.

Elise has a great teacher, and knew a couple of friends in her class before starting. She's very comfortable at church, and so had no problems adjusting. She likes being able to visit with Grandmama before and after school! When I asked her what she did at school, she said, "I play, I eat, I go night-night."

Late Summer

I haven't posted anything in a while because we've been so busy doing everything and nothing! We squeezed all the fun out of summer before school started!

July's events included the annual church Fish Fry, including the debut of our "green" servingware (brought to you by yours truly). James cut fish for 4 hours, Dad played bluegrass and supervised the fish cooking, Mom supervised the children's area, and I made baked goods and worked a shift at the inflatable obstacle course. I also sat at a table with a man who later turned out to be my third cousin on Dad's side of the family! That day also happened to be Granddaddy Ed's 88th birthday. He had many well-wishers, and was serenaded with "Happy Birthday to You" by the bluegrass band on local radio.

What else? Let's see...

We released the tadpoles into a backwater area of the river with some help from neighboring kids... (Fare thee well, little froggies!)

Went swimming... (BTW, you can recycle foam peanuts at UPS and FedEx stores)


Found the girl who fit the slipper...


Had a great (but brief) visit with Granna, Louis, Sarah, Ashley, and Rachel (including treats at B & R!) before they headed to see "Elvis" at the fair...

And spotted this 6-point buck in the backyard one misty morning!

Other than that, we've done a lot of scooter riding and ball playing with neighbors in the evenings, replaced 500 square feet of carpet with Pergo floors, and done some work on the landscaping project in the back and side yards (pictures to come!).