The girls and Mama rode up to the mountains with Grammy and Granddaddy for a picnic by the river. The girls enjoyed coloring at the table while we cooked and playing in the stream. We floated bark like boats down the side pool we were playing in, we threw rocks, we jumped in the water from the top of the rocks, we caught minnows in a bucket so we could inspect them close up, and we rearranged the river rocks. The girls were fascinated by the people floating down the river by us. We had a blast. Then we drove into town and enjoyed pizza for dinner followed with driving home. The girls minds were filled with ideas of other things we should go back and do another day.

Sisters loving on each other while enjoying their picnic.

How Julia looked when we got to the picnic area. She had the best nap of any of us that day.

Emily taking her coloring seriously.

Julia enjoyed a little pre-picnic rock throwing. She was excited!

Mama loves this photo. It was of just genuine happiness, no cheesy grins.

Granddaddy just enjoying watching the river. He also enjoyed watching the girls play and reading his book riverside. Looks comfy!

The girls were busy in the water walking on the rocks and searching for the next best rock to throw.

Julia got a little cold in the water and decided laying on the rock in the sun was a good solution to the problem.

What do you do with 11 peaches? You make peach ice cream!

Grammy made homemade peach ice cream while we were over to play. The girls supervised and helped with the various steps, but loved the sampling step most.

Granddaddy has a standing Father’s Day gift of being taken to the Smokies’ ballpark. We sit in the family section down low where he can feel the game as much as watch it. We all enjoy our hotdogs, popcorn, ice cream, and soda (all a dollar on buck night) and cheer for our favorite team. This is pretty close to heaven for him and it is a delight to be able to spend the evening with him doing it.

This year we went on the perfect evening. The day had been hot, but not humid. The evening brought warm and comfortable weather. A light breeze made it perfect. School was still in session so there were not many people out at the park. The girls enjoyed sitting and eating their snacks. They bounced between different laps, especially when someone still had a treat. We spent the later innings over at the playground with the girls. They enjoyed walking around the outfield, watching for the mascots, listening to the different music, actually watched the game some, learned some baseball terms, sang “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”, and said cute things.

To our surprise Julia was not terrified of the mascots this year. She willingly had a photo taken near them. Maybe next year, she will want to give them hugs. We look forward to our next trip out the the ball game.

Don’t let the lack of grin fool you, Grandaddy was a happy man. We know you are grinning on the inside.

Emily wanted to join the team

Our hug with the mascot. He flirted with Julia and she was happy, but not going to touch him. Emily was so happy to be picked up!

Julia wanted to join the team even though she couldn’t hold still enough for a photo. She had to be just like her big sister.

We had a wonderful Easter day. The girls looked beautiful in their dresses and loved twirling in them. Emily’s Sunday School class marched into the church service playing percussion instruments and she loved it. After church, we took some photos and then went to Grammy and Granddaddy’s house for lunch and an egg hunt.

The girls helped Grammy and Granddaddy hide the eggs for the big kid hunt. To qualify for the big kid hunt you can’t be a grandparent nor under 10.  The next hunt was for the girls. Emily asked Grammy to hide the eggs in the grass where it would be easier to find. They did well looking and finding the eggs. After finding a few, Julia was very happy pulling the eggs out of her basket and eating what she found inside.

Lots of fun photos! Enjoy!

The morning Easter Basket – The girls came running in to tell their parents about their basket. We got them to spend about 10 minutes running back and forth to look at the basket and then come back to report on what they found.

Every year the little ones just get bigger and bigger.

When we arrived at Grammy and Granddaddy’s house, the girls had woken up from a nap in the car and there were people there the girls didn’t know. Julia was her usual shy self around new people and I gave her a choice of places to go while we carried things in from the car. She happily chose Granddaddy’s lap for a place of safety.

I think this is a photo of our future. Emily found the funny pages from the paper and was fascinated by them. She also had been looking at Robby’s phone and was fond of holding on to it. I can remember spending a lot of Sunday’s at my Grandparent’s house reading the funny pages to fill the afternoon.

The girls at the beginning of their egg hunt.

Emily on the hunt!

Little Girl on the loose, watch out candy!

Mama with her girls

It is spring break for Grammy so we went over for a little playtime and lunch. It was a bit cooler outside than I was expecting so the girls were underdressed for playing outside. So we found a shrug for Julia and Emily got a sweatshirt that looked like a dress on her. They played outside for a long time both on the swing set and picking up leaves and putting them in a pot with water in it. It always amazes me at what keeps kids entertained.

Julia is looking older now days in her photos. I guess she is getting older. I’m not sure she asked permission to grow up.

We took Granddaddy to his annual baseball game. The attendance was light that evening and it made for a very enjoyable evening. It was a hot day that spilled over into the evening, but for part of the game we had a breeze that made it bearable. The girls were great for the whole game. They enjoyed eating, swapping laps, walking around the outfield, listening to the fun songs, and watching the between inning entertainment. Emily sitting in Grammy’s lap was so sweet. They were discussing things going on around us. The day we went had cheap food so we were able to feed the girls popcorn, hot dogs, and ice cream in different innings to keep them occupied. In the bottom of the 5th inning Robby, Grammy, and the girls went for a walk around the field. They found the playground to play in for a little while. The evening ended just right with a win for the Smokies and us staying in a hotel close by.