Life Lately

Our neighborhood had a movie on the lawn and campout at the ballfield! We were able to borrow a tent and Max loved his first camping adventure (that's our pal Gino lurking in the background).

Hanging out and playing with Gino waiting for the sun to set and movie to start....





Up past bedtime enjoying the movie with snacks and a glow stick!

Daddy and Max slept in the tent all night long! (Mommy bailed and went home to sleep in a real bed around 2:00am-- ha!)

The next day there was a neighborhood wide cookout and we invited some friends up to join us.

First full face paint! Max was a Ninja Turtle. :-)



Sunday morning pajama wearing book worms...

Our annual trip to Hiawassee to spend time with extended family was fun, as always!

Max loves to drive the boat with Granddaddy!

Taking a break in the shade with Grandmommy after riding his bike on a hot afternoon....

Max and Nolan did a LOT of drawing and coloring together.

Learning how to "play" the fiddle with Craig!

There is a small public beach by the lake and we took Max down one afternoon. He had a lot of fun playing in the sand, splashing around, and swimming with the other kids!

Trying to get warm in the sun!

"Mommy, I'm FREEEEEZING!"

Max and Saskia hanging out at Conrad's (Saskia's grandfather) birthday party! These two are starting to play together more and more (versus playing near each other). It's fun to see them developing a little friendship!

Family Fun at Dollywood and the Zoo!

Riding the tram from the parking lot to the park was pretty fun! (Apparently the guys in the background thought so, too! Haha)

One of my (Laura) personal favorite parts of the trip? Holding an exhausted, snuggly boy. :-)

It seems we have a little thrill seeker on our hands! Max loved all the kid roller coasters and liked to go fast and high. I think he rode the roller coaster below four or five times! Max was too short to make it in the photo, but he and Ben are in the orange car below.

Giving Dad, Grandaddy, Lisa, and Valerie a thumbs up while they do a grown-up ride!

More snuggly tired baby!

Max was excited to ride the real coal train ...

... but fell asleep halfway through. Ha! (My hand is squishing his head because the train whistle was really loud.)

Somebody stole Grandmommy's sunglasses right off her face!

Taking Lisa for a drive in his fancy convertible!

On the elephant ride you have to push a button in your car to make the elephant "fly". When I rode it with him his first time around, I let go of the button at one point and Max yelled, "Higher! Higher!"  Haha  (In this photo, Ben and Max are in the green elephant)

Granddaddy may be 77 years old, but still loves to play!

Big boy waiting in line with Valerie and Daddy!

Max loved the Scrambler! He's in the car below between Ben and Valerie (you can see his hair), and Ben Sr. and Lisa are in the car behind them. This ride spins the cars really fast and changes directions constantly. It gave me a heart attack, and of course Max loved it.

I think Ben Sr. may have had the most fun of all of us. Here he is riding in the front seat of the roller coaster! (he's in the blue shirt waving on the left)

Dollywood had a couple playgrounds in the park, which was a nice break from rides for the little ones!

There were also some splash pads. Max was a little nervous to go in, so Valerie grabbed his hand and they took off running! He loved getting sprayed!

More sleeping baby!

We went to the neighboring water park, Splash Country, on our last day but didn't get any photos since phones and water don't mix. When Ben delivered an exhausted boy, I was happy to take on sleeping duty so he could do the really big water slides!

(The whole three days, Ben joked that my favorite ride in the park was the "Sleeping Baby Ride". Haha)

On the drive back we made a few sightseeing stops. Max wanted to take a photo of Dad and Grandmommy, and he did an okay job!

Stopped in Cherokee, NC to throw rocks in the river! There were tears when we had to leave.

The fun wasn't over! We also enjoyed a day at the zoo in Chattanooga with Grammie. Max tried a few carousel rides, and his favorite was sitting in the panda bear's lap.

Taking a break in the shade with Erich!

Another trip around on the carousel.

Brushing the goats!

 A visit to Great Grammie's apartment before heading home!