Thursday, June 2, 2016

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!




Friday, May 20, 2016

Strawberry Festival and More!

Out for Mother's Day brunch with my sweet boys!


Cutie patootie having a snack before we head to the pool.


We decorated the mantle! (And don't worry... Dad was standing just outside the photo)



Picking strawberries! (Okay, picked like, two strawberries and then just grabbed leaves and underripe berries and threw them. Haha)


Max and Preston (my friend Stacey's five year old son) showing off their berries. These two had a blast together!


Preston leading the way!


Fun at the bouncy house!


Petting baby goats!


Snack while we wait for the hay ride.


The farmer pulled the hay ride trailer between some feeding bins and we got to see the cows eat up close!



Snuck in Max's room during naptime to snap a quick photo (sorry it's so blurry... had to take it in a dark room and lighten it up!).



Friday, April 22, 2016

Two Wheelin'!

Check out Max's new bike! I found it for $15 at a consignment sale, and Ben did an amazing job getting it all cleaned up. I wish we'd thought to take a "before" picture! Looks practically new, and Max loves it. Hard to see in the photos, but it's a "Lightening McQueen" themed bike (his favorite race car character). A little tentative about sitting up so high at first, but now we literally have to jog to keep up with him when he rides!

Checking out the tires...



So excited!




Big boy!


Once Max got comfortable pedaling around the driveway, we packed up a picnic lunch and headed to the park! After we ate lunch Max rode his bike all around the paved path. We think he may have ridden about two miles in all! Needless to say, he took an amazing nap when we got home. :-)


Water break!


Enjoy some video footage of our resident biker dude!





https://youtu.be/ljHnNmQ-0HY




https://youtu.be/FGBWhvG2xeo




https://youtu.be/_a8s8xXxmDA




https://youtu.be/H0Bc3xEXmEg

Friday, April 8, 2016

Life Lately

Swim lessons are still going well!


Lunch with Miss Saskia.


Playing with baby Natalia


Wheeee!


Max had a one man parade marching around the house!


We spotted a photo of baby Max and Daddy on a bulletin board at the aquatics center! Apparently we signed a photo release when they took the Parent-Tot class a couple years ago, and someone snapped a photo.


Delicious book....


Sunday, March 13, 2016

Friends and neighborhood fun!

We had fun at the neighborhood "Eggstravaganza"!!



As always, Max gravitated to the person in costume! Haha 


Got a turtle painted on his arm!


There was a little "petting zoo" area, and Max LOVED holding the baby chicks.


... and bunnies!


He even got to brush a sheep!




Different day, but a funny, "I don't need a nap" photo. :-)


Max has started pre-school swimming lessons on Saturday mornings! There are four or five little kids in his class, and it's about 30 minutes long. He is doing great, and continues to be a little fishy.


We (finally) had a chance to celebrate Saskia and Walter's birthdays! This was the first time Max and Saskia really, truly played together without adult guidance. So fun to see them grow up!


Sunday afternoon hike! Max is holding a peanut can and he collected sticks, rocks, etc.


He walked about 3 1/2 miles without a single pick-up!


Being silly after storytime at the library.


More birthday party photos! Baby Natalia is the happiest baby we've ever met.



Saskia isn't too excited about blowing out candles, so Walter blew them out in honor of them both. Clearly Max is pumped to sing and eat cake. ;-)


Backyard obstacle course! Max said he wanted to do it "19 times".  :-)  



https://youtu.be/MJBfe3EpTHg

At the birthday party, the adults were eating and talking in the dining room and we suddenly heard giggling coming from the bedroom. Max and Saskia had gotten a stool out of the bathroom, climbed on the bed, and started jumping!



https://youtu.be/0ojBQdxnp68

Of course, baby Natalia was excited to get in on the action, too!



https://youtu.be/yrX6MTLflG8