Chuggin' Around Bristol. . .

Leave it to my parents to find a teeny tiny blurb in the Tallahassee Democrat about a restored steam engine that will give rids in the teeny tiny town of Bristol, Florida.

Of course Zachary was over the top excited about this upcoming adventure.  I had a photoshoot this morning but as soon as I got done I headed home and helped Paul get the kids ready to go.  Grammy and Papa came over around 10:45 and out the door we went!

When we arrived approximately an hour later at the Veterans Memorial Railroad I was pleasantly surprised.  The grounds were beautiful and they had so many interesting things for Zachary to have fun with.  Chase Parker was in a great mood and was enjoying all the sights and sounds.  He LOVED the ride!

Unfortunately the restored steam engine had problems earlier and had to go for a "rest" in the shed.  So, we didn't get to ride that one but they did bring out another one (more like a kiddie train) for everyone to ride.  Zach absolutely loved it and I loved seeing him love it!  It went on about a mile track and travelled through the woods, over a bridge, and through a tunnel.  I would say about a 20 minute slow ride.

Afterwards we went through the one and only red light in Bristol and headed to Blountstown to the one and only McDonalds.  I felt like I was arriving in New York City by the time we returned to Tally!

We learned that this organization in Bristol also gives rides at Halloween and Christmas.  We may not make the Halloween ride because we are planning to take him to ride Thomas the Tank Engine in Cordele, GA that month.  But, Bristol apparently puts on a big show at Christmas so we will definitely bring him.  When Zach heard that they let you rent out the train for birthday parties he was SO excited.  He's already started begging for his 5th birthday party to be there.   I'm kind of leaning toward letting him have it there because we will only invite immediate family most likely (who would want to travel all the way to Bristol!) and I wouldn't have to have a huge bash like I did this year.  We will see. . . .

As I mentioned before I had a photoshoot earlier in the morning.  I had a wonderful time!  This particular family was so fun to work with.  Truly beautiful people inside and out!  I'm enjoying my hobby more and more.  It's so nice to have the equipment to be able to learn all this cool stuff.  Maybe one day I will actually be able to take pictures of my own children.  I doubt it though. . . they NEVER will behave for me it seems.  Even my own husband is a hard one to handle!  I've included a few of my favorites from today's shoot.  You can see more at my photoblog (http://birdwellphotography.blogspot.com/).

Here are a few pics (and one video) from our adventurous day. . .

the coolest engineer!

a very large bystander watching the choo choo!

my favorite engineer of all.

from my fantastically fun photoshoot!!

Fourth of July Destin Style. . .

We headed to Destin again this year for the Fourth of July.  The boys were excited and ESPECIALLY excited since Grandma and Granddaddy AND Trevor were coming with us.  What a wild time to look forward to!

Zachary actually rode with the grandparents and Trevor on Thursday evening and Paul, and I, along with Chase came over on Friday evening.  When we arrived Chase Parker headed straight to his crib.  It was late late late for him since he's used to going to bed at 6pm or before.  He went down and to sleep like a little champ.  Not a peep out of him!  What a great baby.

Saturday was beach day!!   Zach was so excited.  Grandma and Trevor came with us and we had a great time.  The beach wore Chase out and he slept on a towel for about 45 minutes.  The rest of the time he played (and ate!) in the sand with his brother and cousin.  It was hot of course but the water was refreshing and beautiful.

After coming home to eat lunch we headed to the pool.  What a life. . . beach, lunch and pool!  Saturday evening we headed out on the town and had a fun time shopping and eating dinner.

Sunday morning the guys played golf and Grandma and I kept the boys entertained swimming.  Every day both Zach and Chase took great naps so we had fun in the evenings too.  Sunday night Paul and I had a little date night.  We ate outside at Bonefish and people watched.  Did a little shopping afterwards.  It was a nice break having time together without kiddos!

Monday was a relaxing day at the pool too.  A couple of cousins that live in Destin came over to play with the boys at the pool too.  We had a BBQ lunch at our favorite BBQ place, Jim and Nick's.  The cheese biscuits were a hit with Chase Parker too!  Yummy!!  We headed home and arrived around 7pm.  Zachary missed Grammy and Papa so much that he begged and begged all the way home to see them when we returned.  Of course they didn't mind that at all.  They picked him up and took him to see fireworks that evening.  He was POOPED by the time he laid his sweet head on the pillow at 10:45PM.

It was a fantastic weekend.  We are so blessed to be able to share great days with our kids and our grandparents (parents).  Happy Birthday America!!!

A few pics from our weekend. . .

tuckered out!!

is this not the CUTEST little belly hangover you've ever seen??

A Sad Goodbye. . .

Jessi Anne Birdwell

April 14, 2000 - June 30, 2011

Another sad day. . . Jessi Anne is happily playing with Alex now.  She was our beloved basset hound for over eleven years.  She was with me before Zach, Chase, or even Paul.  I will miss her.

She was diagnosed with glaucoma a couple of years ago and developed blindness in both eyes.  While that didn't seem to bother her much, since bassets are known to heavily rely on their incredible noses, I began noticing in recent days that she didn't seem herself.  As many of you know we recently lost Alex, her mate for almost 10 years, a couple of months ago.  She seemed fine after he died but here lately she has been going downhill.  The last week or so her hips started bothering her too.  No pep in her step and seemed lonely and tired.  I definitely believe they let you know when it's time if you are listening.  Today I was with her every step of the way even as hard as it was for me.  I guess that's just sometimes part of being a mom, even to your pup.

She has enjoyed a wonderful life.  Many people have teased me over the years that I have loved my dogs more than anything else.  She enjoyed an air conditioned shed in the summer and many plush pillows and blankets to keep her warm in the winter with me tucking her in almost every night.  Before I had children she was my child.  Through the years my dogs have brought me much needed stress release and joy in troubled times as well as just pure fun.  I have always been drawn to basset hounds for their comical looks and behavior.  She was one of my favorites!  

It will be an adjustment not having a doggie greet us when we drive up or greet the boys and me when we come back from morning walks.  For as long as I can remember I've always had a dog to care for.  Now we are down to two cats and two frogs!

I'm thankful that God cares about anything that we care about, no matter how big or small.  I just hope we can do a good job fielding the many many questions our inquisitive Zachary will ask.  And I REALLY wish we really knew what happens to animals after they die.  Oh how I wish I knew that, especially for Zach's sake.

Love you so very much Jessi Anne!  You brought so much joy to us over the years.  We will miss you.  I hope you and Alex are having a wonderful time together.  I'm sure you are bossing him around already.

Love,

Momma

As Our World Turns. . .

It's been pretty much like a soap opera around here the last few days. . .crazy! More Crazy!

Last Friday I went to my ear doctor since I have been having weird symptoms lately and was long overdue for a cleaning.  Long story short the ear SPECIALIST said I didn't have anything wrong and for me to "try not to think about it for 2-3 weeks and see if it goes away".  A day and a half later I found myself at CHP's Urgent Care being treated for a middle and outer ear infection.  Fun Fun!  Unfortunately I missed my little cousin's 5th birthday party because of this.  Not a happy camper!!

Sunday evening my brother Steve and nephew Kacy arrived from Tennessee.  They came down to celebrate my mom's birthday and then also for  a couple of days of golf with the guys.  As if anything else needed to go wrong in my day the electricity went out!  It went out around 3pm and everyone arrived for the party at 6pm and the lights were out!  So, no pictures of my mom's birthday celebration.  And, yours truly was not in a great frame of mind due to every few seconds sharp pains shooting through my ear.  I kept thinking that if the SPECIALIST really would have done his job I would be well on my way to recovery at that moment.  Oh well.  Even doctors who have gone to school umpteen years, had over 25 years of experience,  are highly skilled surgeons, and filthy rich from their thousands of patients even make mistakes right?  ;)

Anyway, Zachary and Chase LOVED seeing Steve and Kacy.  Zachary has been anxiously awaiting the arrival of Uncle Fart as he so lovingly calls Steve.  (As his sister I tend to think it's a very appropriate name!)  They had a blast together.

The power finally came back on around 9:30PM.  Thankfully we didn't have to spend the night hot.  Both kids slept like little champs like they usually do so I guess the day didn't bother them a bit.

Monday rolled around and Zachary had more excitement to look forward to!  His best buddy Drew from school was coming over for a playdate that afternoon.  He could HARDLY wait!  Drew's brother Brady was coming too and Zachary was so excited.  He kept asking me over and over how long it would be until Drew arrived.  So cute.  They did have an awesome time together and I had a wonderful time talking with Erin.  She is awesome to hang out with!  We are coming up with some wonderful photography ideas together.  Can't wait to have some time to put some ideas into action!

After they left for home we had a repeat!  The power went out again.  This time it was out for maybe 3 hours?  Just enough time to ruin plans for dinner!  Uugh.

Today we've actually kept power believe it or not!  Amazing!

The boys and I enjoyed a fun lunch out with Grammy today while the men have had a big time playing golf all day.  Tonight they all went to Tom Brown for disk golf again.  Zachary went with them last night and wanted to go again tonight.  He loves it!

I am enjoying some peace and quiet at home.  I had fun editing some cute pictures that I took of Chase Parker today.  Hard to believe my baby is 11 months old now.

Tomorrow I will have to start getting all the clothes washed and ready for our beach trip this weekend.  We are headed to Destin for the 4th of July.  The boys are looking forward to it and Paul and I are too!  Grandma and Granddaddy are coming with us so we are gonna get a date night together.  YIPPEEE!!!!

Hope everyone has had a wonderful week and I hope your world is turning well too.

Of course I couldn't leave you without a couple of cute Chase Parker pics!

A Special Birthday. . .

Tomorrow is my sweet Mom's birthday.  So, today we decided to get the celebration started!  We invited Mom and Mrs. Dorothy over for lunch and playtime today.  It was a FUN time!

Mom and Mrs. Dorothy have been best friends since before my time.  Mrs. Dorothy (or Mrs. Hanselman as I call her) was my babysitter.  My brothers and I grew up with her kids and she is a part of our family for sure.

Zachary and Chase Parker LOVE Mrs. Dorothy.  She got huge smiles out of both of them today!

To celebrate we decided to have cupcakes for dessert.  Of course this was no problem for Zachary.  He helped Grammy blow out all the candles and helped her open her gifts from Mrs. Hanselman.  One gift was a beach towel!  Mrs. Hanselman gave it to her as a gag gift saying that she could use it when she came swimming at our house.  She sweetly embroidered Grammy's name on the inside too.  So cute!!

We had a great time together.  My kids and I are blessed to have both of these women in our lives.  BUT, we especially celebrate Grammy this weekend!  Her actual birthday is tomorrow like I said, but we are having a party for her on Sunday evening after my brother Steve and nephew Kacy arrive from Tennessee for a short visit.  I'm sure Mom will enjoy sharing her celebration with all three of her kids!

TO MY MOM:

Happy Birthday.  I kind of had to stop typing for a few seconds because I just can't seem to find the words to adequately say how much you mean to me.  You are ALWAYS there for me.  ALWAYS loving me.  ALWAYS supporting me.  ALWAYS lifting my spirits or giving me a break when I'm tired.  You ALWAYS understand me.  I just REALLY don't know what my life would be without you.  Your unconditional love and your life example mean the world to me.  You deserve a Happy Birthday!  You are a wonderful Mom and I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!

Here are a few cute pics from today. . .

Playing Photographer. . .

Another photoshoot!  This time with a sweet mom and her one year old.  Ethan was adorable!!  We met up at Tom Brown Park and had a great time.  Ethan was SO good.  It's a nice change of pace for me.  I'm thoroughly enjoying my hobby. . . .

Here are a few pics from the shoot.  You may see more pics on my facebook page or my photography blogsite at http://birdwellphotography.blogspot.com/