A Memorial Day to Remember

Memorial Day was spent in Tennessee again this year. The entire family ventured in for my grandmother's 75th birthday 2 years ago. This year we all did the same for her sister's 75th birthday. Landon is a spectacular traveler. He entertains himself in the back seat with books, cars, his own radio, and a swig of juice every now and then. Landon even managed to tell us every time he needed to go potty! Unfortunately, sometimes that meant an emergency stop 5 minutes after we filled up at a gas station, or stopping at the scariest, and most gut wrenching gas station in the heart of Memphis. We were so proud of our big boy! Upon arrival, Landon was the center of attention. He didn't quite know what to think of all those people ooing & awing over him, but he warmed up quickly once showered with gifts from his GG, cousin Babs, and Aunt Stephanie. The weekend was filled with activities like redneck horseshoes, eating, chalk art, watermelon seed spitting, biking, eating, hiking, boating, tubing, eating, dancing, gaming, talking, eating, a performance by Grandmother's & Aunt Bettye's Hillbilly Band, volleyball, witnessing a streaker (Bo), and even a Halloween party! Aunt Bettye's favorite thing is their annual Halloween costume party, so we surprised her with one in May. It was hilarious, and even attracted the attention of a few park rangers. I'm sure they thought alcohol had to be involved, but nope! I have to talk about the food for a moment. Seriously, you haven't had great food until you've had it cooked by these folks. There's nothing like it! Breakfast is always my personal favorite, but it was rivaled by Joe's fish fry. The desserts were oh-so yummy too. We must have gained 10 lbs, terrible for me, but a perk for Bo. I know all that cooking is hard work, but it was truly a delight to eat such scrumptious food! Thank you, thank you, thank you! It was really a memorable Memorial Day weekend. Landon was so sad to leave. I asked him if he was ready to go back to Texas, and he kept saying, "No, I want to stay in Tennessee." It broke my heart. I truly think I have the very best (maybe the silliest too!) family in the world. They know how to have a good time, and did I mention they know how to cook? Landon doesn't know what kind of family he's inherited, but I'm hoping all these great pictures will give him an idea. Speaking of pictures, after we combined cameras we had well over 900 pictures! So, it was an insanely difficult task picking out a few for this blog.

The Busiest Weekend Ever....Really!

Saturday presented us with Bo's 10-year high school reunion (a year late, which only happens in a small town), a crawfish boil at the LaFollett's, & lots of last minute details for the upcoming surprise birthday party for Bo's mom.
The high school reunion was great. Bo graduated with a class of 53 and he has managed to stay in touch with many of them. I had no interest in going to mine, but I'd go to his again in a heartbeat! There really are some advantages to growing up in a small town, and that's exactly what we're trying to do for Landon.
The LaFollett's are some great, long-time friends of our family and they had an inaugural crawfish boil at their house this year. I'd say it was a complete success and we hope they make it an annual event. Little Kate is just precious; I hope she wasn't corrupted by our little stinker!
And now this brings us to the big surprise party that's been in the works for quite some time. Debbie turned 50, or as she likes to say, it was the 25th anniversary of her 25th birthday. While Bo, Boonie, & Steven took her out to lunch, my parents helped me set up everything. Thank goodness for my mom and dad because it would've taken me twice as long on my own. Debbie was totally surprised and thrilled to see so much of her family there together. With all the torrential rains we've had, we were certainly blessed with a sunny day! The party was a success, and I'm sure it's something she will never forget. Debbie (& Cecil, of course) raised 3 fabulous and handsome sons, one in particular, of course. I'm sure it was no easy journey, but well worth it to see how great they turned out. Now, if we could just get them hitched and helping us out with grandbabies!
And, as for my mom, I just know her journey was MUCH easier! :) I don't think I gave her 1 gray hair. My mom is a special woman. I am so thankful my son gets to spend time with her each week, where I know he's in very good hands. So, for the years you gave to me, and for the time you give to my baby, I thank you. Happy Mother's Day.

A Birthday Party & Bluebonnets

This weekend was a busy one. One of our neighbors has a little boy who just turned 2and I took Landon to his birthday party Saturday morning. It was a "messy" party, with different stations set up outside, some with mud, some with flour & water, not to mention the endless bottles of ketchup, mustard, bubbles, finger paint, and silly string. For those of you who know our son, this wasn't the most enjoyable birthday party ever. Landon does not like to be messy....AT ALL! He gladly played with toys inside and even more gladly devoured the pizza and birthday cake. Once the party moved outside, he didn't leave my side. We found our nice little comfort zone on the patio with sidewalk chalk. As silly string was flying everywhere, a little landed on Landon's head, and I thought my son was going to have a complete meltdown. I'm happy to say he and I both survived and walked away from the party just as clean as we had arrived (unlike most others).

Bo's football team, the Dallas Defenders, played the Central Texas Wolfpack Saturday afternoon. It wasn't looking too good for the Defenders until one of the last plays of the game. They scored with only 15 seconds remaining the game. It was really exciting! The Defenders are now the proud holders of the Southwest Conference Championship trophy. And, the best part is Bo walked away without cracking any ribs this time!

Sunday, we took a little trip down to Ennis to see the bluebonnets. The weather was just perfect and the bluebonnets were gorgeous. Sunday was one of those days that just made me feel good. I kept looking at Bo and Landon and was overwhelmingly thankful for my little family.

The Porcelain Throne

Bo and I bought a potty chair for Landon when he was about 18 months old. I just put it in our bathroom so that he could become familiar with it and begin to understand what it's there for. After several months, he decided he wanted to try it out. Once he showed signs of interest, I read this book about 3-day potty training. I knew others who had tried it and it worked for them. I was completely on board and just knew it had to work for us. How wonderful!...potty training done in a matter of 3 days! The 1st day went really well, then he woke up sick the next morning. Potty training is not something to push when your child is sick. Needless to say, I wasn't able to finish the 3-day system. However, Landon is wearing big boy underwear! We've resorted to potty training the way most people do it, but I'm considering making another attempt at the 3-day system. He does pretty well, telling us (sometimes) when he needs to go potty. When he's really busy or playing hard, he doesn't think to tell us. That would take him away from playtime! It's definitely a work in progress, but well worth every wet pair of underwear and the extra laundry. Bo even showed him the joys of "watering the plants", if you know what I mean. Instead of going to the potty, sometimes he asks me if he can do his business outside. "Sure", I say, "but only in the back yard."
I've added a few other pictures from a little park we went to a couple weeks ago. Landon likes to pick out his own clothes these days, which sometimes means wearing nothing at all or donning some interesting combinations. We've paired aqua & orange shark swim trunks with a black & green alien shirt, and in this case, it was a pair of cowboy boots with khaki shorts. I used to see girls dressed in princess outfits in Target, or boys wearing tights and a red cape in Olive Garden, and never was it Halloween. I always thought to myself, "why did his parents let him wear that in public?" Ah, now I understand. It's all about a wild sense of curiosity and wonder and finding independence.