Oops...

I almost forgot this - Alan would never let me live that down!!

Heading home...

On the way back, we stayed with Aunt Deb and Taylor. It was great to visit with them and it gave me a chance to show Alan around Gardendale. We were ready to go home, but it sure is hard to say good-bye!

Playing with Austin's (very) old toys in Aunt Deb's living room-

Matthew loved them!

My first school

My first church

Matthew at Bass Pro Shop in Pearl, MS

The loved the shooting range (no real guns, in case you're worried!)

Six flags over Texas - at the TX border

The "native" Texans in our family were glad to be home...what a great vacation!

Georgia

Grammy and Grandpa Bob's (my mom's family) was the last half of our trip. We had such a good time and enjoyed being spoiled (I had to get used to making my own hot tea again!). It was wonderful to relax and catch up with each other. Thanks Grammy and Bob!

This is a yummy breakfast place and very Southern. Grits

are always on the menu and they serve hot tea, if you prefer.

In front of the restaurant

Grandpa Bob catching Matthew

We went to this great park right on the lake. It

was one of Matthew's favorite memories.

My guys!

Matthew loved exploring the woods around

Grammy's house - this is her backyard!

Check out these rocks

Fortunately, this was our only encounter with mountain lions.

I know - you love my outfit! I forgot tennis shoes and the bugs were mean!

I borrowed the boots from Grammy (remember these, Aunt Ginger?)

Yum, Yum! My first Smore.

Matthew loves the CD's from Grammy and Bob. They run Grace Ministries

sending sermons/ songs to people unable to attend church (or who just

enjoy them). These are part of their children's collection.

Perfect weather, beautiful home...wonder why they want to live here?

Grandpa Bob and Matthew in their race car shirts.

One last picture

Time to head to Texas....

Tennessee and North Carolina

Between visiting Grandparents, we took some time to explore. The scenery was amazing and so different from Texas. I loved all the hills....a good reminder of where I came from. It was also an amazing reminder of the creativity of God. How do you dream up a waterfall?

Riding the Incline Railway in TN

This is the trolley car. Years ago, it transported coal miners up

Lookout Mt. to work and brought children down to go to school.

This is the railway from the top

Making a souvenir penny in the gift shop

Alan found a trail that led to this clearing. It was a great place to play,

although the water was freezing! Look how excited Matthew is...

Matthew wanted to buy rocks to take home...here we are!

This cafe in Franklin, NC may not look romantic, but we ate here 11 years ago on our honeymoon! They still had the granny smith sandwich (yeah - I ordered it again!).

We found the BEST icecream - it's the store's own recipe.

Too bad it's a 1,000 mile trek to get some....

Mining for "gold" in Franklin

Matthew's first glimpse of a waterfall! The ground drops off just

beyond the guardrail (This explans the vise-like grip on my child).

There it is - 275 feet. Amazing!

Playing at the river

You can drive under this waterfall...we really enjoyed that.
On to Georgia to see Grammy and Grandpa Bob!

Alabama

The first part of vacation was spent with Nanny and Papa (my dad's parents). I loved being "home" again. I was born here and most of my dad's family still lives near, so I saw a lot of relatives. We had so much fun!

The view from the back of the boat
Papa's boat house

Papa's hunting land

The lake (taken on one of our boat rides)

Papa and Matthew driving Uncle Tommy's machines!

I love this picture! Matthew was absolutely speechless when

he realized he would be helping Papa drive the machines. He got to pick

which ones to drive and actually operated them! He loved it.

Going for a swim

Matthew's first boat ride - thanks Uncle Brian and Aunt Deb!

(He looks nervous, but he LOVED the boat - the faster, the better)

Nanny playing with Matthew

Daddy and Matthew driving the boat

Back at Papa's land - picking blackberries

Sitting on Nanny's porch

Summer Vacation!

We just returned from our summer vacation to visit my grandparents! It was SOOO good to be with family. We spent lots of time catching up and being spoiled (big surprise, I know). We saw 7 states and beautiful scenery. Everyday was fun. This week will definitely be some of my best memories...

Here's the first leg of our trip:

Here we go!

This is only 30 miles into our trip,
so this is the only documentation of LA!

At the hotel....the comforts of home.

Matthew was so excited about his

"giant" bed and the hotel swimming pool.

Aren't they handsome?

Us at the MS river

Daddy and Matthew stretching their legs.

Train track over the MS river

Matthew loved the cannons (so did his Daddy)

On to Alabama....