Home Again

There is a saying; "You can never go home again."   I understand the sentiment, but for us, coming home is always a joy and this time has been no different.   We have been busy and have unpacked and repacked our bags several times.   But the car rides and suitcase living has been so worthwhile.    All the hugs and conversations and reunions are very very worth it.   Here are the pictures.........

One of our last days in LaGrange we spent the afternoon at the pool with cousins Sidney and Emma.   

And everyday in LaGrange includes lots of snuggles with Honey.

Mimi and Poppy and Shoo Shoo have a collection of Curious George stories that are hands down Susannah's favorites.

We spent a lot of time in Shoo Shoo's garden room watching the birds and squirrels in the backyard.

And we have skyped some friends from Germany already.

The friday before July 4th, Peter flew in from Virginia and we drove to Nashville TN to visit our friends Elizabeth and Jonathan.   They have a great big house but we managed to fill it to the brim with 4 couples and 6 kids.   

The little kids loved playing the piano in their living room. 

Which was a perfect addition to the chaos.  

Susannah loved baby Julia. 

And SA loved the back yard.

Pool time

Sitting with these high school and college friends and watching our kids splash in the pool was pretty surreal.  In the best possible way.   Remove the kids and change the scenery from nice suburban back yard to junky college apartment deck and everything would have felt identical to what it did 15 years ago.    I know it is more than trite, but time really does fly at warp speed.

Preston and Susannah were fast friends and spent most of the weekend in some kind of princess costume.

The Dads kept the kids one night so we girls could head out on the town.  

We had an awesome dinner in downtown Nashville.     Freedom!!!

Considering Preston's mom has been my best friend for almost 20 years, watching these two hit it off was such a joy for me.   

Red White and Blue pictures before our departure.  (Which was a day early because SA refused to sleep in her pack and play which sent us all into an exhaustion so deep I can't really find words to describe it.)   The exhaustion was more than worth the time spent with these old friends though.   Thank you Insognas for such a fun weekend!

But she slept wonderfully at Grammy's house and was ready to debut her new patriotic outfit on July 4.

Grammy was so excited to see us a day early.

And Meadow was quite possibly the girl's very favorite thing of the entire trip.

She is the softest.

And just as patient as ever with two little energy balls crawling all over her.

We have read some books with Grammy.

And spent some really fun time with my very best childhood friend, Lyndsey, and her family.   

Lyndsey's little boy Hudson is adorable but for some reason SA finds him terrifying.

But she loves all the toys and yummy snacks at his house!

Grammy's sofa is so big and comfy.

The perfect place for a little tickle session.

One day Grandmama kept SA for us so that Grammy and I could take Susannah for her very first pedicure.

It was a fun afternoon and we only had to go back into the salon once to get a touch up.  ;)

Grammy and SA have played legos together.  

And Peter came into knoxville another weekend so that he and I could go on an overnight date night in downtown Knoxville.  

We had this awesome view of the mountains and the river from our hotel.   Thank you Grammy for watching the girls!

Aunt Brittany gave the girls some new outfits and great big southern hair-bows to match.   

We have gone for walks in Grammy's neighborhood and checked out the southeastern insects.   

These girls were so excited to see their Daddy for the weekend.

Aunt Susan braided Susannah's hair.  

She looked so grown up.

Reading with Aunt Susan

And snuggling with Daddy.   Everybody is sweaty in this picture because they had been playing soccer outside. 

This week Susannah has been going with her friend Ellie to a little day camp called "Barnyard Bonanza."

We've had lunch at chickfila with some more old friends. 

These two girls are my very oldest friends.   Too many memories to count between the three of us.  

And now we all have kids of our own.  

This is how SA felt about sitting by Hudson.  ;)

Lyndsey and Nick have an awesome house that is perfect for kids, complete with built in bunk-beds so the girls and I spent a couple of nights with them slumber party style.   It was a blast.   Thank you Wallace Family!!

Not only did they have awesome bunk beds, but they also had a popcorn machine and ice cream sundays!!!

SA was a fan of both.

Ready to start Barnyard Bonanza Day 2

And now we are enjoying our last week at Grammy's before we head south again.   We are loving this family time, but are getting more and more excited about reuniting with Daddy in our new home in Virginia!   Hope all is well with all of you!