the longest vacation ever: part 3...

on father's day, we packed up yet again and headed for little rock. that's where both sides of my family live. it's always fun to go see everyone! man, can i just say how thankful i am that my boys travel so well? thank goodness for our portable dvd players and snacks :)

on the way into town, the boys and i stopped at my favorite chicken spot for dinner. i was a little nervous to take all 3 of them into a sit down restaurant by myself since i've never done that before. i usually try to make thing easy on myself :) but they did amazing and it was a breeze! we even had a sweet older couple stop to chat with us. i love it when people stop to affirm and encourage young parents! 

next we drove to my aunt and uncle's house right outside of LR. i ADORE visiting them! their home is the epitomy of hospitality and beauty and relaxation. it looks straight out of a magazine. my aunt even made me a chocolate pie! we got to catch up with my cousin, too. it was such a nice evening! the first 2 nights, we spent the night at my mamie and papa john's house. it was great spending some time with them!

the next morning we visited my cousin, karrie, and her 3 kiddos! we had 1 5 year old and 5 kids under 3 :) it was fun...and loud!

lilly kate and knox are 10 days apart!

ledger took to sweet oliver. he's so sweet to babies!

that evening, we met up with my aunt michelle and cousins, morgan and chandler, at chickfila. it had been way TOO long since we'd seen/visited with them. morgan is about to move to india to work with STUMO. i HATE, HATE that i didn't get a picture with her before we left. i'm so thankful i was able to hug her, though, before she's gone for that long!

on our last morning with them, we headed up to their church's recreation center to play. papa john works there 3 days a week and invited us up! the boys LOVED this!

we look alike :) hey mamie, i'm finally updating my blog!!!

after yummy cheeseburgers from black angus, we said good-bye late afternoon and headed to mimi's house for the next few nights. on wednesday, we spent the morning at the park. it's the same park she used to take me and my cousins to! the boys had fun exploring the bunkers.

wednesday afternoon, we met my aunt sue and cousins at their neighborhood pool for some fun! they recently re-did it and it's PERFECT for my kids. i really wish it was in our neighborhood! afterwards, she made a big taco dinner for us. it was a fun night!

hahahaha! pic courtesy of kristen :)

on thursday morning, we went to a bounce house. it was awesome! except adults couldn't get on the inflatables :( they played for a solid 2 hours! best $7 spent.

knox's first taste of ketchup. the moment felt monumental!

we had a big family dinner with the most perfect summer menu that night...yum. so much of my trips revolve around food! at one point, my cousins had taken the boys outside to play and my mimi and aunt susan refused to let me help clean up. i was told to go sit and do nothing. that was strange :)

back in december when we visited, mimi took us to ihop for breakfast one morning. ever since then, ledger has had a major love affair with ihop. he has managed to get whoever we are visiting to take him there for breakfast. he can also spot an ihop from a mile away! so before hitting the road for oklahoma, we had ihop :)

we gave hugs and said our good-byes and left for my mom's...again!

that night, we drove to tulsa for dinner. during our meal, i broke my personal record of how many times i had to get up to take a kid to the bathroom. it was 4 if you were wondering! my mom snapped this picture when we were leaving. all my appendages :) the 4 of us are ALWAYS together. they're my buds! i know i will SO miss this phase one day!

on saturday, after 17 days of being apart, we were finally reunited with lane! it was glorious! we miss him so much when he's gone. and just like that 2.5 weeks of travel were gone. and i had a lot of unpacking to do. and only 2 weeks to prepare to leave for another 2.5 weeks!

to all of our arkansas family, it was SO wonderful to see you! thanks for loving on us and spoiling us good while we were there. we love y'all so much and wish we could see you more on a regular basis! until next time :)