Whirlwind Weekend

We just got back from a whirlwind weekend in Knoxville. It was a bittersweet weekend with the loss of Kory’s grandmother. Myldred was a wonderful, Godly woman and such a sweet spirit. All 3 of us were blessed to see her 2 weeks ago at home and Kaitlin had the best time hiding Easter Eggs and playing hide the birdie with her Great Grandmother. I put the eggs in Kaitlin’s hope box with her most important keepsakes. We will treasure those eggs forever. The weekend was all about family and we were blessed to be there.

Aunt Rachel and Kaitlin had fun with some sidewalk chalk.

Kory and I are so thankful for our family and we are so blessed! We saw all our brothers and sisters this weekend and it was a time of wonderful fellowship! We were all at dinner one night which rarely happens and they told us told us to wait right here! I gladly did!

My sweet parents kept Kaitlin and she already misses them. They did so much with her each day and she slept great at night after being so busy all day.

We went with all of Kory’s family to the BEST pizza place Big Ed’s! Kaitlin and Kiley are big buds and they had fun hugging and taking pictures. All of cousins were so good with her and she had so much fun with them.

We had so much fun with Aunt Gina and laughed the entire time she was with us! We can’t wait to see her again this summer!

We got to relax a little on the lake on Sunday with Rachel! It was a wonderful view on the water and it was warm but not HOT! It was a great time to catch up and laugh!

We had a long drive back yesterday but there is no where else I would have rather been than at home!

Sunglasses and Storms

This is a family blog but you would think it is a  crazy weather blog with all of our adventures recently! They had been predicting  DEVASTATING storms for our area on Tuesday since last weekend. I was on high alert and crazy about our preparation for Tuesday storm outbreak. Since the storms were coming again at night we kept Kaitlin in our room and set the pack n play up so she would be easy to grab and duck if it got that bad! I literally watched the weather channel all day and made myself crazy. We were spared once again but a small town to our south was destroyed by a mile wide tornado! 

Kaitlin had so much fun at our “sleepover”! She was so happy and laughed all night! We finally put her to bed in our room at ten and she was still wide awake. Kaitlin would stand up and then dive down and pretended to be asleep! Kory put her back in her room after two o clock and we were all very tired today!

My storm buddies!

Keeping her most valuable items close…She wanted to be prepared in the storm!!

Last Day of School

Today was the last day of school for Kaitlin! She was sooo excited to get in and see her Ms. Erika one last time! We have been so blessed by her wonderful experience this year. It was such a blessing to see Kaitlin learn and gain some independence.

We had terrible storms last night and Kaitlin was a trooper thru the entire night! We did not have any damage but it was a scary couple hours in our area. We had Kaitlin in our room during the 1st round of tornado active weather and she was so calm and relaxed. We finally put Kaitlin in her room to sleep after we got the “all clear” for the night. About an hour later an area of circulation came out of nowhere and we start hearing tornado sirens. Kory sprints upstairs and we all huddled in our tiny bathroom. I heard loud “pops” and did not know what I was hearing. Kaitlin was not happy to be awake but she never even whined or cried. We are so thankful to be safe and are preparing for more storms tonight and later this week!

Kaitlin slept an hour later after all of last nights excitement but she was ready for school!

We are both very sad about the year ending but are excited for a wonderful summer!

Hard to believe this was Kaitlin at the beginning of the year. They really grow up TOO fast!

Sisters and songwriters

We were driving back home to NWA and met up with Aunt Rachel at her favorite breakfast spot, Bread & Company! It was such a fun visit with lots of catching up with the recent graduate.  My sister just got her masters degree in counseling and has been working so hard. I am so proud of her!

Rachel always sees the most fabulous famous people in Nashville and this visit was no exception! We were right next to Brandon Heath, an amazing Christian singer. He looked so normal and even used his real name for his order. It was “So Nashville” to be so close to a real star and it made breakfast even more fun.

Rachel and Kaitlin are the cutest pair. Kaitlin was so great at breakfast and was so excited to see Rachel

A documented hug!

We love you Aunt Rachel!! Thanks for such a fun breakfast!

Friend a Saur

Our 1st stop at Broadway at the Beach was Build A Bear! Kaitlin could not decide what to make and finally picked out a pink dinosaur!

She was not so sure of the LOUD noises involved in making the dino but she would not let it go after it was finished!

Loving the dinosaurs today!

Kaitlin walked around and was so happy the entire time we were out. She even took some time to test out some chairs!

She was so tired after a morning of fun that she fell asleep in the parking lot on the way home!

We did not get any more beach time but we had a wonderful time and it was a very special vacation!

Sea Captain’s House

Our last day at the beach was not the prettiest! It was cool and cloudy so we decided to go to our favorite place for breakfast hoping the sun would come out! The Sea Captain's House is right on the beach and is a must go to whenever we are at Myrtle Beach! I remember being a little girl and sitting on the rocks for pictures! It is a sentimental place to eat and the best view in town!

We had a sweet lady come by and visit with Kaitlin! She wanted to know what grade she was in and guessed 1st grade. I told her that Kaitlin was only 2 and she was a little taken back! We giggled about it for the rest of breakfast!

Kaitlin ran around after breakfast and had so much fun

It is tradition to take your picture with the captain every visit! We think Kaitlin thought he resembled Santa and wanted NOTHING to do with him!

Still no sun after breakfast so we went to a fun shopping area to walk around and make the most of a cloudy day!

Boundary House

After busy beach day # 3 we ate at our favorite restaurant in Calabash NC! It is not a long drive but it was quite an adventure getting there. It was dark when we left the condo and the sky was getting darker by the second. We merged on the interstate and it started pouring. Then came the hail! Golf ball size and then the traffic on the  interstate STOPS completely. We were sitting ducks with the hail just crashing on our car. Kaitlin was a trooper and watched her DVD. We were not hurt and considered ourselves very lucky. We finally got to dinner and had the best meal!

Kaitlin loves coloring so she was happy

Too busy coloring to be bothered with pictures!

Calabash has a HUGE Christmas store that we always visit after dinner. Kaitlin was amazed at the the lights and ornaments. She kept saying BAAAWL at all the Christmas ornaments…. she has a strong Southern accent. It is too cute!

We stopped by our favorite ice-cream place, Calabash Creamery, and had the mandatory photo with the cow. Not a great picture but a memory of a fun day!

Beach Baby

Another day on our private beach!! This was the highlight of the day for Kaitlin, her very own stick!

Kaitlin was not so happy in the morning but she had a blast after her nap and a snack!

Kaitlin and Kory went “walking “ on the beach… Kaitlin ran the entire way and did not want to turn around. She had so much fun exploring and being outside!

Kory took this with his phone!! It just makes me laugh

The hole… kept Kaitlin happy for hours

 

She spent 45 minutes patiently throwing sand in the hole trying her best to fill it back up!

My pretty beach baby

I told her to smile and she did a super model pose instead silly girl!

Kaitlin in her castle!! Can’t wait to take her back!