Playing Catch Up

In August last year, Ben had a playdate with Abby at Cherokee Dam. They talked and laughed, and laughed and talked. They played in the dirt, and they chased and fed squirrels. It was fun. We'll have to do it again.





The next day Ben went to the Jefferson County Fair for the first time. He played in the petting zoo and got to watch the demolition derby (for future reference, Crash Cars.) It's almost time to go again!

Even though he loved the crash cars, they were loud, and it did scare him a bit. Here he's hiding between Daddy and Mamaw Debbie.

In September, on a trip to Asheville, NC, to visit Abby, we went to the Arboretum to enjoy fall. It's a beautiful place, and we've decided this is where Ben and Abby will marry someday. (Who says arranged marriages don't exist anymore?)

The scenery.

Ben and Abby had great fun getting to run around like little wild children.

They played in rocks....

and enjoyed what nature has to offer.

Wow

I got to looking back, and it's been a year now since I've done a real post. It's been a roller coaster year.

About the time I stopped updating we found out Aunt Shirley had cancer, then Mom got sick again and put into ICU. While she was in there we found out Mamaw had cancer. About the time Mamaw got out of the hospital, Aunt Shirley passed away. Then Mom got out of the hospital, too, and Mamaw started her chemo. Then the holidays hit. Then the new year, the coldest winter we've had in ages, turning into spring. Then Uncle Harold passed away. Then Mamaw passed. Now Mike's Uncle Steven has passed. In the midst of all this, we've had to have our dog, Buffy, put down due to congestive heart failure, and our oldest cat, Doyle, Mike's best buddy, has disappeared. It's been a really tough year.

We have tried to keep things going and still have fun where we can. Looking back through pictures, I'm really thankful that I have them or I'd never remember the things that we've done this year. There've been a few outings, some kind of exciting, and I'll try, over the next few days, maybe, to put up a few picture updates from over the last year.

Reading Dr Seuss

Toward the end of the book, what you can't see is him pointing at words and asking me what they are. He's got a very good memory!

Happy Birthday, Aunt Angie!

Okay, so I was gonna post a pic of the lovely Aunt Angie, but she doesn't like for me to take her picture. That means what I do have is sometimes less than flattering (and she'd kill me for posting them.) Not to mention all the ones from the past few months are of her on the phone somehow. Weird.

Anyway, Ben and his Mama and Daddy would like to say, "Happy Birthday, Aunt Angie! We love you!"

Happy Birthday, Ben!

Here's one of Ben's 2 year pics. It isn't the greatest quality because I don't have the actual high-res images yet, but they're coming!

It's hard to believe he is 2! He's a little more grown up all the time, and looks so much like a little boy and so much less like a baby. We can't wait to see what this year will bring.

Happy birthday, Ben!

Another Epic Post

Here I go again. I'm terrible at keeping things up to date. When we left off, Ben was about to be in Rocky and Lauren's wedding, which went so well and was beautiful. I have to say Ben did an excellent job, as did the flower girl, Emily. They're both under 2 years old and followed instructions like pros!

The morning of the wedding, Ben woke up to great views and a covered porch to play on.

Ben and Emily did great! He decided he didn't want to be led, he just went after Daddy!

The happy couple!

Need I explain?

...

First Dance!

The next week, we got to hang out with Abby and Aunt Ang after their beach trip. We spent all week together! The kids loved it, but I think it did a number on 'em!

A lot of our time revolved around food.

... and more food.

What's a quick bath between friends after a dip in the lake?

Some choo-choo time!

... more food.

Despite the foggy lens, still an ok picture, I think. Ben and Abby got to play with Emma, but I just enjoyed 'em mostly, instead of snapping photos.

A week later, Letti and Levi had their official wedding ceremony! We walked through the doors just in the nick of time. Ben talked through the entire ceremony, but he wasn't too loud.

Letti and Levi, gettin' hitched

Pepaw and No-wee (Nora) after the service

Hangin' outside with Daddy and Dylan

Siblings: Letti, Andy, Tori

again, hangin' with Dylan

Eating chocolate cake with black icing (the groom's cake was a tux). His lips stayed black for a while.

The weekend after that was 4th of July! We try to make sure that this is always a fun day for us because the 5th is Daddy's birthday! This year it turned out really great because we had a whole weekend to celebrate. Somehow I ended up being off work both Saturday and Sunday, and got to spend 2 whole, uninterrupted days with my 2 guys!

At first, Ben just dropped rocks in his pool.

Then he really started "getting in" to it.

Then came the good old drinking from the hose, so to speak.

There was a lot of that.

Ben literally could not get enough of riding on the golf cart.

He got to play with his cousin, Seth, most of the day on the 4th! They got along really well, I think.

Never turn down an opportunity to drive the boat!

Something about this shot appealed to me. I think it was the only time they were both still. I love how they're both sitting.

After seeing some fireworks from the boat, we came back to shoot some of our own. Pop-pop and Daddy did all the work. Ben thought the up-close and personal stuff was a little too loud and bright for a really sleepy little guy, though. He fell asleep, amidst it all, in the swing with Nano!

Here are my first attempts at "real" fireworks pictures.

Other things that Ben's been up to in the mean time mainly just includes playing outside and resting up from all the action lately. He played ball outside the other day, and I got a few good shots I thought I'd include.

The rest seem kind of self-explanatory. This one not as much. He's pointing at an airplane. He's really good at spotting them.