Airplane!

The weekend after the kids' birthday party, Uncle Clay, Aunt Carey, and Cousins Tyler and Avery came for a visit. It was a much anticipated visit because I had never seen Avery before! She had just turned 4 months old, and I couldn't wait to get my hands on her! I was also excited for the kids to have some playtime with Tyler, now that he is walking and can keep up with them a little better.


We had an absolute blast! It was so much fun to watch the kids play together and chase each other all over the yard! And I loved getting to cuddle a little baby again!

Tyler loved the swing set too!

Pretty little Avery!

On Sat we all got up early and took the kids to Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies. JonZReaTom had never been to an actual aquarium before, but judging from other fish tank experiences, we thought they'd like it! And they did! Unfortunately, they also got tired of being confined to their strollers and got kind of fussy towards the end of the trip. I think they'll enjoy the aquarium even more when they're old enough to not have to ride in the strollers.

Thomas, enjoying the ride for the moment

Notable Aquarium Experiences:

1. We were surprised and delighted to run into friends, Steve and Suzy, while there. A treat for us all!

2. While traveling through the main attraction, a glass tunnel through the middle of the largest fish tank, we pointed up above us to draw the kids' attention to the large sharks swimming above our heads. Thomas looked up, pointed at the shark, and said, "Airplane!" He called all the sharks airplanes for the rest of the visit. Too funny!

Not the plane I want to ride on!

Clay and Carey, Me and Jim, and all the children

Reagan LOVED having Avery around! Anytime they were in the same room, Reagan spent a good portion of her energy pointing at Avery and squealing, "Be-bee! Be-BEEEEE!!!" She also liked to poke Avery in the face. "Be-bee eye?" We worked a lot on teaching her NOT to do that.

Zachary, Thomas, Tyler, Jonathan, and Reagan, putting that table to good use

On Sun we got up early again and hit the road to Jasper for the Harris family reunion. They get together every year, but Jim and I had never gone before. I'm really glad we went this time even though it was hectic having the kids there. We got to see a lot of family that we don't normally see, most of whom had never seen the kids before. I hope we can make it every year!

While in Jasper for the reunion, we paid a visit to Gammy and Granny Kat. Here's Gammy with all her kids and grandkids!



Sidenote: At the reunion, Aunt Jayne gave each of the kids a set of Go, Diego, Go plastic animal figurines. One set was water creatures and included a hammerhead shark. Thomas lifted it in the air and proudly proclaimed, "Airplane!"