Richmond Trip

Dan took two days off from work so we could travel to Richmond to visit with family and friends.  We had so much fun and were able to do a lot, even though we were only there from Thursday afternoon until Saturday afternoon.  We had a pretty good trip down to Richmond and stopped by Penn Station for lunch before visiting my friend, Vanessa, and her kids, Milton and Ella.  We stayed for about 45 minutes before leaving to check into our hotel.  Then we drove downtown and picked up pizza before driving to Belle Isle.  I was meeting up with my cousin, Justin, and his fiancee, Christine, to do their engagement shoot!  We had planned to do the photo shoot on Saturday night but when we looked at the weather forecast, we changed our plan.  I am so glad we did, because the light on Thursday evening was perfect!  We crossed a long bridge and went up a steep staircase to reach a perfect spot to take pictures.  I was excited to get to use so many things I have learned from my Katelyn James photography courses during the photo shoot! 

The next day, Brady and I dropped Dan and Tyler off at Kings Dominion then headed back to Vanessa's house!  After playing and having lunch, all the kids slept for two hours at the same time!  Vanessa and I loved having two hours of uninterrupted conversation!  After their naps, we took them out for ice cream and a little shopping, then it was time to pick up the boys.  They had a great time at Kings Dominion and Tyler rode his first upside down roller coaster.  They were so lucky to have a nice day, and thankfully it wasn't too crowded.

On Saturday, we checked out of the hotel then headed to Justin and Christine's house.  We were so happy to get to see Christine's daughter, Aimee, and my Aunt Kathy and Uncle Dennis.  We also got to see my cousins Jackson, Luke, and Jeremiah.  It was so nice to get out of town and see so many people we love!

Tyler did a great job making cards for everyone, and despite some not so great nights in the hotel, Brady made up for it by being a pretty good car sleeper on our trip!

My Grannie

I think of this beautiful lady (my sweet Grannie) every single day.  She was the absolute best and gave me a huge family that I love.  While I can't believe it's been six years since my mom told me Grannie had gone to heaven, every time I think of her, I smile.  I feel so incredibly lucky to have had her here for 32 years of my life, and she will always have a very special place in my heart.  I talk about her to my boys.  I show Tyler the photos and videos of her holding him.  I will never be able to part with the special outfit he wore that day.  I tell him that she sang to him, and that she had such a beautiful voice.  All I have to do is close my eyes and I can hear her singing, "My Mother Was a Lady".

I tell my boys that everyone is different, and everyone has different people in their lives who matter to them.  We also all have different choices that we make throughout our lives.  Some people travel to many places; others like to stay put in whatever place makes them feel the happiest.  We all have to figure out what makes us happy, and it's different for everyone.  When I think of one of the most extraordinary people I have ever known, I think of my Grannie.  Because she has seven children, five son-in-laws, two daughter-in-laws, seventeen grandkids, and twenty great grandkids.  And year after year we would sit around my parents' living room at Christmas time, and we'd listen to her sing.  And I remember how we all would look at her.  She was the most adored woman I have ever known, and I will always love her so.

Our Creative Boy

The other day when my parents were over, Tyler was cracking up while playing basketball (I believe with my mom) and I took the CUTEST photos of him!!!  The other photos are of him during his week of Lego Camp!  He was so happy to have his friend, Sam, attend the camp too, and he made so many cool creations.  We all love Tyler's creative side, whether he is making a book, drawing, setting up cities, or creating different things with legos.

When his Mummi was over one afternoon, Tyler wanted to work with her and Dan to set up a futuristic city, which turned out amazing!  We love our creative boy!  :-)

Brady's First Haircut

Brady finally got his first haircut at two and a half!  I decided to take him to my friend, Jackie, who has been cutting my hair for many years.  He did a great job (having m&m's definitely helped!)  He didn't like the capes so we didn't use them.  He did, unfortunately, have a toy car that was very noisy the last 10 minutes, because I couldn't figure out how to turn it off!  He still has his sweet curls and the same haircut, but it's cleaned up now!  :-)

Here are a bunch of before pictures and a few "after" ones...