roll tide: 2013

It's that time of the year again. I even managed to already have a pumpkin spice latte! But anyway, football time! And the boys are representing their team today – both with a lovely "Roll Tide!" randomly escaping their lips. Happy college football, y'all!

(For years past: 2012, 2011, 2010 & 2009)

picturesque.

We were blessed to be able to travel east (way east) this past weekend to Wadley, Alabama. When were told it was in the middle of nowhere, that was more correct than it could be. The drive over was absolutely beautiful. Rolling hills, small towns, vast areas of nothing more than trees... And when we arrived at our destination? So worth the two hour drive.

Why would we drive two hours east randomly on a Saturday in August? To visit our friends Tom and Jennifer of course! We were invited to Jennifer's parents house for the afternoon, and we're so glad we took the time to go. The house was completely breathtaking. A cabin with a full 360º porch with swings, hammocks and rocking chairs everywhere you looked. A fabulous chicken coop in the back yard; the boys even got to gather fresh eggs! (And now they want their own chickens. We might have to see what can be done about that.)

After exploring the house area for a bit, Jennifer took us on a jeep ride through some of the other property. Y'all, we were so far out that all you could hear were bugs and one of the two creeks that run through their property. The boys were thrilled to walk through the creek barefoot. And all of the rocks! Sawyer was in rock heaven.

When we came out the other side of the creek, there was a huge pecan tree with two tree swings. Sawyer wasn't having any of the swing action, but Cayden? Oh, Cayden was in swing heaven! Once he mastered how to hold on and sit on the seat properly, he was laughing and squealing with delight.

After a bit more exploring, we set out for dinner and Jon Boy's Smoke House in Roanoke. I'd say this was probably the most authentic southern roadhouse I've ever been to. Small town atmosphere where our waitress knew our hosts (down to what they ate and drank). It was covered in old garage signs and posters, with small antiques tucked away here and there.

Overall, we were so glad to make the trek there and back. The scenery was perfect, and the day away from the social media world was very welcome. It didn't hurt that we got to hang out with two of the coolest people we know on top of it all.

first day of 4k.

Y'all, I felt like supermom this morning! I got up, cooked pancakes for the boys, packed Cayden's lunch, took first day photos AND got out the door on time! Amazing! Until I got to work and realized that I forgot to pack myself lunch. Or any snacks. Cue sad violin.

But, BUT!, first day of 4K for Cayden! We were talking up school this morning at breakfast and he gave us the sad, "But I want to stay with Sawyer all day." Sigh. It's tough being four and your parents are making you do something out of your comfort zone. Heck, even I started getting a little misty-eyed. Since we left daycare in March to have Nana watch the boys, this is literally the first time we've left Cayden anywhere for an extended period of time in six months. And my mama heart almost got overwhelmed with that this morning.

Instead of letting that feeling encompass my thoughts, I said a little prayer and put on a bright face for my oldest. And at drop-off? You'd never know he was unhappy about going to school. He jumped down out of the car and walked into school like a big boy. I'd loved to have lingered a bit and watch him walk all the way in, but I was the first car in line at that point, so I said another little prayer for Cayden to have a good day, and drove off.

Don't you love the bag the school provides is as big as Cayden? They have three year olds that have to carry these bags too. It's adorable. Oh, and for some fun comparisons, first day of school last year.

tuesday takes: dinosaur train.

Thanks to a great post by my online friend Suzanne, I realized that I don't focus on lifestyle shots of our family. At all. And I realized that I needed to capture some of the more abundant moments in our life rather than just the exceptional. While I was getting ready for church Sunday morning, instead of taking the extra time to make my hair look decent, I grabbed the camera and watched the boys rediscover all their Dinosaur Train toys. And you know what? Those 10-15 minutes that I would have spent on my hair were totally worth losing to capture my sweet boys on camera in one of their most natural elements.

loveless & rockets.

With the majority of my family being in Tennessee, we travel up north several times a year. And at least one of those trips every year involved a breakfast trip to Loveless Cafe. If you've never been, you need to go. On the outskirts of Nashville, it's the perfect place to spend a lazy Saturday morning. Great food, great atmosphere, shops to browse in... Seriously, it's just good. And while we were eating, Cayden saw a photo on the table of people sticking their faces through the people cut-outs and INSISTED that we stick our faces in them too. He also strongly declared that Sawyer would be the girl. Ha! The photos make me laugh because the boys stuck their whole head through. Good stuff!

And on the way home, the Alabama/Tennessee state line boasts a rocket! We've told the boys countless times that we would stop and check out the rocket, and without fail, they would always be asleep. But this time? The were awake, so we stopped and checked things out. Cayden desperately wanted to get in the rocket, but that wasn't going to happen. It was still cool to walk up to it and look straight up. There's also a small memorial wall for Vietnam warriors; it was really beautiful.

Our trip to Tennessee was short overall, but we lived it up the best we could and had a fun little family trip. Also, in that first photo, you can see what an effort/progression it is to get all of us in a photo. We weren't exactly perfect, but we were perfectly us. And? That first photo of our boys and our two nephews? I love it. So much so that it might be printed and hung up in the house somewhere.