Archive for July, 2009

Jay has been out of town the last few days for work, so the kids and I have spent the last couple of days at my parents' house. Monday night we had an 8:30pm softball game, so it made sense to just stay with them after the game rather than drive all the way home. I slept on the top bunk of Lydia's bed, while Eliza slept on the bottom with Adrienne, who was also spending the night. (Lydia and Benjamin are chaperoning a group of kids from our church at camp this week.) James slept with Gerald, in Benjamin's normal spot. Sleeping on the top bunk was interesting, especially when I had to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, oh, and there's no ladder, either. (Bunk beds and pregnant women don't really go together all that well!)

Tuesday we just hung out, being lazy at Mom's. I took the kids to see Jay's grandmother that afternoon, and then we were supposed to have another ballgame that night, but it was canceled. I can't say I was that upset about it; our season is supposed to be over! We have had so much rain, though, that we have make-up games until the second week of August. (I'm not complaining about the rain…it's a lot better than the drought we've had the last couple of summers!) I haven't been that enthusiastic about playing these days (it really wears me out!), but we are having trouble getting enough players to show up for these last few games, and I can't let them forfeit on my account.

We received some sad news yesterday: Jay's former boss at Mississippi State, who was also a mentor and friend, passed away yesterday morning. He will be missed by many, including his former employees. Frank was one of the most loveable bachelors I have ever met, and it is hard to imagine Mississippi State without him. I'm sure Jay and others who are grieving would appreciate your prayers. We will be traveling to Memphis on Friday for his funeral.

I have enjoyed my mini-vacation away from home, but I am glad Jay will be back tonight! The kids have also enjoyed spending time at Mammy and Pappy's house. We have all been spoiled rotten and will have to adjust to normal life again. School starts in a few weeks, and then we really will have some adjusting to do!

James has always had a large vocabulary, but the way he uses adult phrases sometimes still makes me giggle. The other day I was talking about something that James didn't like, and he told me, "Mom, don't even mention that to me." And today we were trying to leave my parents' house, and James remembered that he had brought his Pokemon cards inside (by the way, did you know those things are making a comeback? James has taken a strong interest in them, much to my dismay.) Anyway, he asked, "Mom, did you get my stuff?" and he ran upstairs to look for them. A few seconds later, we heard him in Gerald's room, saying, "Apparently not." Mom and I looked at each other, and just laughed. That boy is too funny!

Well, we had 2 rainy days last week that caused both of our softball games to be canceled, and the rain yesterday and today means we probably won't play tonight either. Our grass is sure loving the rain! And it has cooled things off quite a bit. The rain held off for the weekend, though, and we had a few nice days to enjoy some time outside. Friday I took the kids to the zoo, and the weather was beautiful! I took a few pictures:

James on the carousel

I thought this was funny….

Saturday we got to stay home for a change! It was another beautiful day, and we spent most of it outside. Jay washed both of the cars (the kids tried to help), and I worked on the inside of my car. It was pretty nasty! Well, it has been a few years since I really cleaned it. We took the mats out and scrubbed and rinsed them, leaving them in the sun to dry. I vacuumed and scrubbed at the spots that were under or around the mats in the car. It was a lot of work, but now it's clean! The kids played in the pool in the backyard when they got tired of "helping". Here's a picture of them working:

Ok, here's one more set of pictures. One of Eliza's birthday presents from us was a trapeze for our swingset in the backyard. After just a couple of tries, both James and Eliza were able to get their feet up to the bar by themselves so they could hang upside down. I really thought it would take them a while to master that, so I was impressed! Here they are:

Here are some pictures from our adventures at a lake in Pine Bluff, where we celebrated Eliza's birthday last Saturday:

Our spot on the "beach"

James in the lake

Mayo sisters

Ready for a ride!

Eliza's princess cake

The right way to eat cake

It's a new bike!

Eliza's new ride

James and Jay on the tube

We had a great time!

Today is Eliza's 4th birthday. That girl is a blessing, a ray of sunshine, as well as a little stinker. She makes me laugh and groan, often at the same time. She is a good friend to her brother, although they have their little spats, she is always ready to make up. Her laughter is contagious, and she has a smile that melts her Daddy's heart every time. Eliza's sense of humor is so like Jay's, intentionally misunderstanding things to get a laugh. She is a devil when she's tired, an angel when she isn't. She is so excited about being a big sister, and I know she will be a good one. We love our sweet girl so much!

Yesterday we had a party for her with my family at a lake in Pine Bluff. Jon and Adrienne brought their boat and the kids got to go tubing in a double tube. They loved it! Eliza said it was the "best birthday party ever!" We had pizza and cake, and of course, birthday presents! Pictures coming soon!

I'm pregnant! We are very excited about baby number 3, expected to arrive in early January (I am 13 weeks along). Now that I've made it "Facebook-official", it seems a little more real. :) James and Eliza are excited, too, although it is going to be rough on one of them when we find out the gender (of course, James wants a boy and Eliza wants a girl. They've already come up with names and everything.) The early ultrasound showed only one baby, so it's not going to be one of each. I have been feeling pretty good, with only occasional bouts of nausea, but nothing horrible. My "morning sickness" has always been at night, so at least I usually wake up feeling pretty good. This one has actually been easier than the first two, and for that I am thankful!

I started playing softball again tonight, for the first time since I injured my ankle 3 1/2 weeks ago. We won, although I got out at first base once because I was scared to run like I normally do. I gave everyone else a scare when I was running to get a fly ball that went over my head. I lost my balance and nearly fell, but caught myself and was able to keep going. Everyone thought my ankle had given way…thank goodness it hadn't! I really think being pregnant has somehow messed up my ability to run properly. (Well, it sounds like a good excuse!) This is the second time I've lost my balance in a game…at least this time I didn't fall!

Jay has put some pictures up from our detour down the Natchez Trace in Mississippi. Here are some of my favorites:

Rocky Springs church…all that remains of an old town along the Trace

Rocky Springs cemetery

Cute kids on the old trail

Sunken Trace

Well, we are home from our second road trip in as many weekends. This time, Jay was going down to Mississippi to help his mom out with some projects around her house, and the kids and I just came along to see her and try to stay out of the way as much as possible. I think we did a pretty good job! We arrived Friday at lunch time, so after lunch I took the kids to a public pool in the neighboring community of Pearl. The kids enjoyed getting to swim, and I didn't mind it too much, either.

Saturday I took the kids to the movie theater to see "Up". The kids mostly enjoyed it, although Eliza did get a little scared a few times, and I cried several times during the movie. It was just really sad. But I guess it was a good movie, even if it was a bit over the kids' heads. They just enjoyed the concept of a house carried away by balloons! Saturday afternoon the kids and I went to a "splash park" near Jay's mom's house. It was a neat place, with lots of water spraying to keep the kids entertained.

Jay and his mom got several projects done while we were off playing in the water, so I guess it was a successful weekend! We took a short detour on the way home, this time to drive some of the Natchez Trace in Mississippi. We did the northernmost portion of the Trace last weekend, in Tennessee. We didn't make it all the way south to Natchez, but we drove from Jackson to Port Gibson, which is about 60 miles. We stopped at a couple of historic sites along the way, including the Sunken Trace, a portion of the old trail that had been worn down by years of travelers until it was several yards below the level of the ground. We made it home around 9:00PM (much better than 1:00AM like last weekend!) It is nice to be able to go see friends and family, and do fun stuff as a family along the way. We are worn out from all the traveling, though. Maybe we'll stay home for a while!