Vicksburg Fun

I know, I know, Long Time No Post! Well, here goes the check-up!

As of my last post, both of my boys were sick. We did end up taking both to the doctor the next morning with a general consensus of the $49 fever virus. (This is about what it cost to see a pediatrician and for them to do absolutely NOTHING for your child). I know, I know, "antibiotics are overused and becoming ineffective," but seriously, so is my pocketbook!! Anyway, the doctor declared them both ok and not contagious, so off we went to Vicksburg!

We had a wonderful time being with Mark's ENTIRE family. It does not happen very often, so it was really nice to see everyone and spend time together.

Lucy - my niece

Mark's brother's family came from Atlanta and his sister and her boyfriend came from Hattiesburg. We took Jonathan out to the levee on the lake for his very first fishing trip. He LOVED it. He was not very patient waiting for the cork to go under, but thankfully the fish were biting, so he didn't have to wait too long.

Jonathan's First Fish!

He also tried out the little kid rod and reel and did very well with that. We decided he is going to be a bass fisherman. Lacey had a great time fishing as well. We all fished until we ran out of crickets! Since he had done so well and had so much fun, we took him back out in the morning. Unfortunately, it got HOT fast and we didn't stay out there too long. Still fun, just very hot.

Jonathan & Paw Paw Fishing

Saturday night was Mark's parents' 40th Wedding Anniversary Party. We had the party at the Walnut Hills Nogales House.

The Thomas Family

It was a great location with wonderful food. Everyone seemed to have a really good time. The only problem was that the air conditioner was set on 83 degrees when we got there to set up. Unfortunately, MS heat being what it is, and being an antebellum house, it never really cooled off. You can tell from the pictures just how hot everyone was. But we survived. Mark and I put together a slide show of their lives together which turned out really well. Mark is so talented at these things. Mrs. MaryAnn Artz made the cake. She made our wedding cake, and everyone was really excited about tasting her cake again. The leftovers barely made it home before the rest of the cake was devoured.

Mark & Jonathan at the party.

Poor Mark is soooo hot!

Sunday, we had an early birthday party for our niece Lucy. She will be one at the end of the month, but we just went ahead and had a party while everyone was together. She had a GREAT time with the cake. It was hilarious watching her go at the cake. She really got in to opening her presents as well, which was fun. I made a scrapbook for her first birthday. I thought it turned out really nice (fun to do girl stuff for a change). Hopefully she will enjoy that in the years to come.

Lucy LOVED the cake!

Jonathan had so much fun playing with Lucy and with Lacey. We brought a little drum full of instruments, and he and Lucy went to town playing with everything. After the party Saturday night, Jonathan and Lacey played with Kim's old Barbie dream house. They crawled through it 100 times (yes through the house) and ran all around the house. Or at least, that's what I was told. I, unfortunately, came home from the party with a migraine, so I went to bed!

We went to visit Johnson Sunday afternoon. Jonathan had fun playing at her house and we had a really good time visiting with her. Unfortunately, we just do not get to Vicksburg as often as we would like, and when we do it is always too short!

Johnson & Jonathan

We ate dinner at our local Taco Casa, a true Vicksburg necessity. We love their chili con queso and crushed ice cokes. Their bathroom does leave a little to be desired though, so we drove up to the overlook to potty before hitting the road. We took a TON of pics by the river and up by the cannon. Jonathan loved the river, loved the boats on the river, loved the cannon, loved climbing on the cannon, and especially loved the train crossing the old bridge. All in all, a great 30 minute stop before our trip even started! Needless to say, it was quite late by the time we made it home Sunday night, but it was well worth it!!

Mississippi River Overlook

Happy Fourth of July!

The next weekend was the Fourth of July. We were both off on Friday, and we just enjoyed the weekend at home together. It was nice to just have some time at home without an agenda. We took Jonathan bowling for the first time on Saturday. There was no one at the bowling alley, can't imagine why?

Jonathan learning to bowl.

We went to Millennium Bowl in NLR and it was very nice and clean and family friendly. They have bumpers that popped up when it was Jonathan's turn to bowl and then went down for my and Mark's turns. (Of course, it might have been better if they had stayed up!) Jonathan loved bowling and kept telling us, "I do it by myself." He carried his 7 lb bowling ball for most of the two games. They also had one of the ramps that you could roll the ball down. That was a big help so it did not take the ball soooo long to get down the lane. We played two games and all three of us were completely exhausted.

Notice Jonathan won the Second Game!!!!

We discussed taking Jonathan down to the riverfront to watch the fireworks show, but it was just so hot and we were all just tired. So we started watching the different shows on TV. After a while, a couple of kids in the neighborhood started shooting off some bottle rockets, so Mark took Jonathan outside to watch (at a safe distance of course). Then they both come running inside for me to come. Our 'neighbors' two streets over were having a party and had bought a TON of fireworks to shoot off. We ended up sitting in lawn chairs in the back yard and enjoying their show. A Redneck Fireworks. It was hilariously silly, but we had a blast. We were far enough away that Jonathan wasn't scared of the noise, which was very nice as well.

I was very blessed to go on a Girl's Weekend to Branson last weekend with my friend Jennifer from church. Her parents own a condo/duplex up there so we had a free place to stay. We had a great time just being girls and taking a break from our boys! We drove up Friday night and ate dinner at the Outback that's not a chain Outback. It is a good place to eat. The next morning we got up and began our shopping adventure. We shopped for 12 hours with only a minor stop for lunch at Dairy Queen. I have done some major shopping in my life, but this might be a first. We did three malls: Tanger Outlet, Factory Merchants Branson, and Branson Landing. We had so much fun and completely filled up her Honda Pilot. Found a ton of good deals and some great Christmas/birthday presents for Jonathan. Of course, my feet were just tingling by the end of the day and my poor knees were shot. I was just groaning each time I stood up! Sad I know, that a 30 year old cannot hang any more than that! We ate dinner at Joe's Crab Shack that night. It was delicious! We had those new steampots that they have been advertising on television. I got the New Orleans one and it was actually good!! (Always afraid to try Cajun stuff when we are not down South).

While I was gone, the boys played! Mark took Jonathan to the movies Friday night to see Ice Age 3. He loved going to the movies again and especially loved the popcorn. Saturday they went to Wild River Country and had fun in the sun. Sunday they went to church. The other big news was that Jonathan stayed dry ALL day Friday and Saturday. Of course, as soon as I got home Sunday, he was wet. How is that!?!? And then Monday, wet all day long at school. Had been staying dry 75% of the day, then all day at home, then none at school. This potty training business is a little trying to say the least. I know it will happen, but it gets old fast.

I had some use or lose vacation time at work, so I took off Thursday and Friday of this week. Jonathan went to school yesterday and I tackled closets. I beat the bathroom cabinets, but our bedroom closet beat me! That thing has grown a life of it's own. I will have to continue working on it though, I am determined to clean out ALL the closets in the house this year. Jonathan's is always an ongoing process as he outgrows his clothes so fast!! We are all home today and just have been running some errands and playing around the house.

Thanks for checking in with us. Miss you all so much!

P.S. Does anyone know an easier way to do these posts? I am going crazy trying to keep the text centered/left justified and the pictures centered, appropriate lines between paragraphs, etc. This is a PAIN and time consuming. Any/all tips would be MOST appreciated!! I have got to learn how to do this an easier way!