Vacation for the Kiddos....

Pa and Na (my parents) wanted the kids to come and stay a week in Byrdstown...and stay and play is what they did! They had so much fun and Pa and Na completely wore them down with stuff to do....I think Pa and Na were a little tired as well. I am going to try to remember all the stuff they did....here goes....

First...and this was a big one....Pa and Na had a traveling petting zoo come to the house...seriously....a traveling petting zoo, you read correctly. There was a couple of donkeys, a mini camel, goats...I really do not know what else...but they were all in the yard. The kids were so excited that they made "zoo" signs....Pa and Na took their picture in front of their signs...Samuel informed me that his sign blew away. Check out Anna in her boots....Na said she dug that dress out of the dirty clothes almost every day so she could wear....that is my child....

Here they are unloading some of the animals. That is Pa standing in front of the camel while the kids watch.....

And then below is the gated area where they put the animals. I ask Na what happened when the animals used the bathroom in the yard....Samuel was quick to tell me that the people cleaned it up really good....good to know! Pa and Na also invited some of the kids in the area to come and enjoy the animals as well. They all had a blast.

There were 3 donkeys....Ricky, Candy, and Dolly. We learned alot about these animals. Dolly was pregnant...Anna was convinced that she was going to have 2 babies, not just one. Candy was the brown donkey...not sure if she did much. But then there was Ricky....the kids got to ride on Ricky.....below is Anna on Ricky....with her Pa and Papa right beside her....Papa is JT's dad....

And then here is Anna with her Na.....however, Anna would NOT get on Ricky and ride unless.....

Na got on first.....

And then Samuel on Ricky....

And then Molly on Ricky....

That is all I know about the petting zoo. But then was a camp fire built. They roasted marshmallows to make smores. Samuel can roast some marshmallows and he likes his burnt some, just like his mommy. He eats the chocolate but will not eat graham crackers. Anna eats the marshmallows and then eats the chocolate. If I know Molly well, she eats smores the correct way.....

Here they are around the fire with Pa....

Of course they went fishing at the lake.

Here they are at the little bridge out at Eagles Cove....

Samuel fishing...with his new Star Wars fishing pole....

Not sure if Anna fished much....she liked sitting in Na's lap and ate peanuts that she cracked open herself. She also apparently waded in the edge of the water to see if she could get wet....

They had to camp out one night...in the yard of course. Na said the kids went right to sleep...which surprised me. Pa and Samuel slept in the blue tent and Na and the girls slept in the big tent. Not sure how much sleeping Pa and Na did....

Here are the kids in the big tent with Na....

In the big tent with Pa....

And naturally they went swimming a couple times each day. Here they are with Uncle Pat in the pool.

I grew up going to First Christian Church. Below is a picture of the kids with Ms. Sandy Parris...her son Barton was my best bud growing up.

And here is Ms. Sandy's husband, James. James was my basketball coach from 4th grade until 8th grade. I learned alot from James about playing basketball.....

And here they are with Uncle Pat....he and Samuel match....

JT and I got so much accomplished the week the kids were gone. My sister painted on the kids walls (another blog item), I cleaned like crazy, had lunch with a couple of friends and actually got to order and eat my own food....JT and I got to carry on conversations without being out talked by the kids....it was nice....but it was WAY too quiet at our house. There were no toys out, no clothes laying on the floor, no juice cups, no toothbrushes laying on the sink....the house was very clean and organized and I did enjoy it but knew it would not last long....I would take the mess any day over the clean....we love our kids!

Then it came time to pick the kids up. Below is the picture I took of them as they loaded up in my truck and we were putting their stuff in the back. They had many adventures at Pa and Na's. I don't have pictures of these things but they went to Forbus General Store and really enjoyed the homemade fudge. They also went to Sunset Marina and had lunch and fed the ducks. I worked at Sunset while I was in college and home for the summer. Then worked there on until after JT and I got married. Have many stories from working there and look forward to telling the kids about them all when they get older. If you want a relaxing vacation, go down to Sunset on Dale Hollow Lake...and tell Tom and Angela that I sent you there!

Lots of good memories for Samuel, Anna, and Molly while at Pa and Na's and lots of good memories for Pa and Na as well. I know that there is so much funny stuff that I have left out and will have to get with Na and find out what all I left out so I can add it in here. They all had a good time and we appreciate Pa and Na for spending time with our kiddos.....they live the dream....