Happy 4th Birthday Lily

Lily turned 4 this week so Papa and I picked up Jack on Friday night, in pajamas and ready to go and headed to West End.  He was a great traveler and fell asleep just as planned.

Lily requested a party at the lake, a great spot for an August birthday. 

Celia and Jack were happy to join in the play at the lake. We all had a great time!

Presents to open, food to eat, candles to blow out and more presents to open. Lots of fun at the lake!

And then a little time with Nana...we are so lucky to have this precious four year old in our lives.
                                                            Happy Birthday Sweetie!

A Week in the life of Celia and Lily

Our precious little granddaughters came to visit for a week and we have lots of plans.  The visit started out with bicycling around an obstacle course around the cul-de-sac.

CELIA the great

                                                                       

LILY the great

 Then we visited Paris Mountain State Park, played on the playground and went for a hike.

Celia & Lily the great climbers

Then we went to the library and checked out 22 books.  Did we read them all?  YES

And had a tea party every day!

It was HOT outside, so a day at the Children's Museum in Greenville with Jenna and Jack was a perfect way to spend the day.  The kids just couldn't get enough of shopping @ Bi Lo, horse back riding, medical treatments and construction jobs.  This place is incredible and we had a great day!

The next day we had to go check out BRAVE!

Do a little grocery shopping @ the real Bi Lo.

And finish the week with a birthday celebration for Sam's 2nd birthday.  Papa and I are two of the luckiest people in the world. 

St. Louis Arch

On the way home from our KC trip we stopped in St.Louis and visited Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Arch, the Gateway to the West.  The Arch stands 630 feet high and is an impressive masterpiece of architecture.

We took the 4 minute ride to the top in little 5 person pods.  Tiny windows opened out onto the city and the view was spectacular but my dislike for heights was with me the whole time.

This is the view from one of those windows directly down onto the Mississippi Rivier.  Can you find our Prius?

Inside the top of the arch.

Roosevelt was "so right".  How are we doing?

Family and Fun

It is always great to visit with family and this visit was especially fun for us.  Laurie and TJ were gracious enough to host us for the weekend, with lots of family time, storytelling and oh my goodness great food.  So much for dieting this weekend!

Mina, Alina and Emma were hard to catch for a photo, but easier when you can catch them chilling with a movie.

 

Kendall sitting very patiently waiting for dinner.

Emma and John became fast friends when she realized that "Grandpa" was good at chasing her around the house.  He got quite a "run" for his money.

Gretchen with Lila, the newest member of the family.

Katie, Shenouda, Gretchen and Lila

 

Beth and Katie also waiting patiently for dinner

John's Uncle Ray and Karen joined us for lunch. 

After the stone

To make a house a home one must add their own touches and one of our additions is a stone front. 

grandchildren

We have had several occasions to spend time with the kids and it couldn't be more fun, loud but fun.  They are growing up so fast , I can't keep up.They have my heart!!

 

What a beautiful smile Sam has and talks a mile a minute , so far I am still translating.

We went blueberry picking while they were here,Celia she filled her cup.

Lily loves to dress herself and has an eye for outlandish combinations, much to her mother's dismay.

Jack gets to sit in the Toy Story chair, pink is for girls.

Twelve years and a lions roar

Our 12th anniversary is today!  It has been a wonderful journey together and we are both very  grateful to have each other.  However, our ideas about celebrating that sometimes varies.  I love to celebrate the joys of life, John, not so much.  This year my hearts desire was to see The Lion King, and he granted me my wish.  I have wanted to see this production for years, and I was not disappointed.  The staging was impressive, the puppets were fascinating, the music of course was just great fun, the costumes were beyond imagination and the actors were impeccable. That level of creativity blows me away.  I was drawn in from the first moment and loved every bit of it.  It was simply wonderful, and John enjoyed it too.

At intermission he asked me if I was up for another 12.  I am going to take that as another marriage proposal and a renewal of our vows all in one.  Happy anniversary Sweetie!!