I have the honor of honoring my Daddy (Colonel), both my grandfathers (Generals), three uncles (Colonels), my cousin, my brother-in-law (currently serving overseas right now) - and several of the above are service academy grads (Although, I'm loyal to West Point. Go ARMY!).
What a legacy. :)
THANK YOU for serving us and giving us the freedom we enjoy and usually just take for granted!
Onto our weekend...
We had lots of fun stuff planned, although I chose to enjoy most of it and not take pictures. :) Sometimes it's just more fun that way!
Friday night, we had a pool party at a friend's house. I was very happy to be surrounded by other pregnant people. We like to travel in groups. Unlike last weekend, when I was the only one at a big party and felt super ugly. Then super guilty because I have this BEAUTIFUL HEALTHY blessing inside of me and WHY am I worried about how I look?!!! I'll muster through this during another post. Let's talk about something more fun...
Anyways, Zac went off the diving board for the first time! I say "went" because it wouldn't be accurate to say something like he "jumped" or he "dove." It was more like I held him at the end of the diving board and dropped him in. :) He loved it, don't worry. It was his idea. He knew he didn't have the nerve to do it and asked for my help.
But most of the night, he spent with his 3 buddies in the hot tub. They even ate their pizza in there. TOO cute. After they all got in jammies, they crawled into a big bed together and watched a movie. Again... TOO cute.
Saturday morning, we went to Brian's softball practice. To say Zac was THRILLED is an understatement. He could barely contain himself watching Brian out there (who - BRAG ALERT - was hitting a couple of over-the-fence balls and, when in the field, was catching lots of big hits).
Brian took ZZ onto the field while people were practicing batting, and he was hilarious. He almost got hit a couple of times, but had no fear whatsoever trying to go after a ball and catch it like he had been watching Brian do. Kind of scary for me to watch, but it was so cool for him... I couldn't NOT let him do it! Then they let him play catcher, and that was so adorable. He was so serious out there with the big boys. Big difference from playing baseball in the backyard. He was just thrilled.
That night (after cleaning the garage... UGH), we had a party with our Shepherd's Group from church. It was such a blessing to get together with them and everyone has such sweet kids. Zac spent the evening playing in the backyard with two other children. At the end of the night, they had a whole story they were acting out, complete with a bonfire they had built. SUPER cute.
Sunday morning, we had church - always fun! And then we left to go to my parent's house.
We hadn't seen them since Christmas, and since they really haven't had a HOUSE in 2 years, it was just fun to be there and enjoy their company in their beautiful new home. And of course, their 30 acres of land! What a beautiful thing to come out of the city into the country where you can't even SEE another home.
Zac loved seeing their dogs Ginger, Ranger, and Recon. He had all the commands down and was letting those dogs know that it didn't matter that they are now bigger than him - ZZ was going to tell them what was up. A Golden Retriever and 2 Labs - you can't find better kid-friendly dogs. They just adored him.
Here is Zac at my parent's house. This swan is something he used to rock on so many years ago. It's still fun!
My parents - with their cool latest-and-greatest gadgets. Zac could watch some television and we didn't have to listen to it. :) He loved that he could go to the bathroom while wearing the headphones and still be able to hear his show. And watch it, too, because my parents also have a flat-screen in the bathroom! (don't worry, he didn't watch tv the whole time! this is while we were packing the car to leave)
There is a great pond on their land. Brian and Zac went fishing. Good times!
My dad on his kayak. He uses his feet to pedal and steer. He uses it while fly-fishing on the river, and he can even go upstream.
He's the only one who caught a fish this day.
Zac coming off the boat - very excited and happy!
I just love shots like this. Probably doesn't mean much to someone else. But this is my BABY! My sweet baby boy. With his dire need of a haircut. His little nostrils flaring like he does when he is studying something. Those beautiful dark eyes. Oh! Just makes me fall in love with him!!!
He was really trying to catch a fish. And by "trying" I mean, he kept casting and quickly reeling in, casting, reeling in..... I would have been surprised if this tactic had worked. And alas, it didn't. But he had fun anyway!
Nana had bought the COOLEST bubble sword. $1 at Walmart and it makes the BIGGEST bubbles. Lots and lots of really big bubbles! We were having the best time with this thing.
Until it started running out of solution, so we decided to add a little water. A little water apparently screwed with the bubble-making capabilities of this contraption, so we didn't see too many bubbles after that. If you buy it and it runs low, don't add water. :)
Nana teaching Zac about the sundial. He was really intrigued by it.
He really loved this telescope. Of all things, he enjoyed watching the chickens out in their coop.
And - HEY! Look who found the kayak!!
There's something special being back in your parents' home.
In our family, we moved every couple of years. So, we joke that we "traveled light." Meaning, we didn't hang on to things. And I love that. It means no clutter! We could fit all our things in 1500 SqFt or 4000 SqFt. And we rarely did garage sales - they set a great example of giving stuff away to others. We didn't keep things just to store them in the attic and forget about them. (btw, have YOU ever had to move and clean out an attic?!)
It means the things that made it through the years actually had really special meanings. We didn't have any antiques (remember - both my parents grew up military, too!) or things that were passed down. But as I walked around my parents' house this weekend, I found so many little tiny special things that I have treasured memories of - and my parents probably don't even know it!
First off - my dad's study. I'm SO proud of him!! He has so many awesome awards and cool memoribilia. It's fun to just be nosy and poke around at all his stuff. :) Such a cool history!
I have always loved these little guys. I think it's a West Point cadet getting yelled at. It's always been somewhere in one of our houses, and has always made me giggle.
This rat has also made EVERY move. It's a family joke, really. He looks very real, and we spent years teasing each other with him.
Mom has always put this in her kitchen. It was one of those very familiar things that gets unpacked and the "new" house starts to feel like a home.
She always has lots of pictures of my dad in uniform. Here he has a mustache! She is so proud of him. :) In the background is a picture of my mom fly-fishing - a sport she took up with my dad in which he is so proud of her!
This old clock has been around forever. I'm not sure it even works. We used to have to open it and wind it. Regardless - it's always been around and I'm happy it's up on the wall, working or not!
Just an example of what each drawer looks like inside. No joke.
And, if you ever need an issue of Consumer Reports or Family Handyman, both of these are catalogued neatly. I think the oldest issue is somewhere around 1983. I'm not joking, I'm as serious as the day is long. He's incredibly resourceful, although probably much more of a googler now.
And my mom's chair. I think she's had this since before they even HAD children. It's in every home, somewhere. I always thought it looked like a chair for a princess. :)
I'm so happy for them that they finally have a HOME where they can unpack for longer than 3 years. What a blessing to be able to enjoy it with them this weekend!! Thanks guys!!
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