Sign of the times...

my baby is growing up. Not only is he going to be in 1st grade and eat school lunch (occasionally), but he's now missing a little baby tooth. The tooth fairy treated him better than fair (more than I ever hoped for when I was little!). I'm secretly hoping that his front teeth will fall out in time for the Christmas classic, "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth" - that would make shopping so much easier.

Traveling amongst the Southerners

I had the opportunity to go to Atlanta, GA and then to Charlotte, NC to visit family! I took Danny in my lap and left the older boys with Shayne. He had the help of his sisters and my mom while he worked and I couldn't have done it without them! It was a fabulous vacation and I can't believe how much I did over the week! Danny was a great traveler and made friends with EVERYONE everywhere we went. The Southerners were so friendly! Here are few of the highlights:

Visiting Lara and Greg in Atlanta
Riding in style to see Peachtree City. They have over 80 miles of paths for folks to run, bike, walk, or drive their "household" golf cart around!

Beautiful sunset over a lake near Lara's home.

Lara, Greg, and Danny

Visiting the CNN building in downtown Atlanta.

Smith Plantation Home in Roswell. This was my favorite tour. Lots of old furniture, good stories, and an amazing home.

Martin Luther King's Grandmother's home in Atlanta. He grew up here till he was about 12 years old. Very beautiful home and a great tour about his life as a child. I especially enjoyed the stories about him trying to get out piano lessons.

This telegraph system in the firehouse down the street from MLK's childhood home was still in use until 1985! That BEFUDDLES me!

Visiting Grandma and Grandpa Nelson in Charlotte, NC

Grandma and Grandpa in front of their office where they serve as Church Employment Missionaries (they offer services to help people find jobs!)

This is a beautiful Magnolia tree. The blossoms are AMAZING right now... just a few blooms decorate each tree EVERYWHERE. This is my FAVORITE tree!

Here are a few of those amazing blossoms. They are bigger than Danny's head!

Grandma smothering Danny with a couple of those "thousand kisses" saved up for him


Happy to be together!

The "lot" of us!

COMING HOME
Hunter told me on the phone that "EVERYTHING is different when you're gone, mommy." Yes, I'm sure it was! Shayne had the house spotless and he finished the HUGE project of doing our backsplash. Isn't he AMAZING!?!?!