Labor Day Weekend

We had such a fun Labor Day weekend! It started with a trip to Callaway Gardens with Birdie and Grandpa for the Hot Air Balloon Festival.

The first thing Ben did was design and fly his own kite.

He got a bird's-eye view for the disc dogs, although I'm not sure he actually saw anything under Daddy's hat. We went for a paddle boat ride, while Noah and Grandpa waited on the dock. We met our friends Katie and Andrew and their kids Kaili and Gavin there (Katie works with Jess). It was so funny because Noah stared at Katie for so long with this look like, "I know you're not my Mommy, but wait ... are you my Mommy?" Birdie is so funny!

Then it was time for the balloons ...

When they started to lift off, it was spectacular!

On Sunday, we went to the Decatur Book Festival with Grandma Jenny and Aunt Jennifer. Ben colored a bookmark just for Aunt Jennifer.

Of course, Noah had to get in on the action. He was not so sure about getting his picture taken with "Bullseye" the dog. He was MUCH happier with Grandma Jenny. Listening to a storyteller with Aunt Jennifer.

On Monday we went to a backyard party at our friends' house. We had a lot of fun watching the kids slide down a huge water slide (Ben didn't summon the courage to go down), playing games, and eating homemade ice cream! Ben practiced his tennis swing.And Noah laughed and laughed when Ben pushed him on the swing.

Ben's First Day of Preschool!

Ben started preschool today (sniff, sniff). While part of me has visions of him heading off to college before I know it, we really do feel so good about his new school. Our cautious, cautious boy was not so sure about the idea when he first woke up, but a new backpack helped ease the nervousness. It was a rainy morning, but we tried to keep things as "sunny" as possible. He ended up having a fantastic first day, making new friends and actually asking to stay longer when I came to get him. Hooray for Ben!

Sporting his new backpack and ready for his first day.

"I'm a little nervous." That's what Ben kept telling us leading up to this morning. Walking into school. And dropping him off in his classroom (not sure if that was harder on him or us).

The Giggles

Noah had a serious case of them, and there's nothing better ...

Trip to Michigan

We just got back from visiting my family in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where life slows down a bit. We had an amazing week of beautiful weather and lots of time spent playing with cousins. One of the things I love most about going home is that we have time for things like ...

picking vegetables out of Papa's garden,

going for a walk and watching the horses, chasing butterflies,

and just hanging out with Papa.

My hometown is on Lake Michigan. We spent a great morning down by the water. The boys loved the "Harbor Hideout" playground, and then we had a picnic by the lake. Captain Noah

"You found me!"

Picnic in the Escanaba harbor. Daddy, Ben, and cousin Jeremy.

On the docks.
On the beach.

Boomma and Papa have a trampoline in their backyard. The boys spent a ton of time bouncing and playing on it - boing, boing, boing ...

Ben's job was to grab Noah whenever he got too close to the edge. He'd grab him and roll him back to the middle, and Noah would burst into fits of laughter. Here's a clip ...

One morning, Boomma took us to the library ...

She read to Ben in the book boat,

and helped Noah type on the computer.

The fair happened to be in town while we were there. We had a blast playing games, riding the rides, and enjoying the animals!

Ben's favorite part was feeding the animals, including this silly llama.
Ben declined a pony ride, but he and Noah enjoyed petting them.

Noah's cow fascination continues (see Children's Museum post).

Ben's big rig.
Daddy and Ben in a spinning apple.

Riding the train with cousins Kaylin and Austin."I may be too small for the rides, but at least I look cool."

Later in the week, we spent a fun afternoon at the pool with cousins Kelsey and Austin ...

Noah LOVES the water.

Here he is in action ...

Falcons Training Camp

Yesterday, Jess took the day off of work to take Ben to the Atlanta Falcons training camp, just about 45 minutes outside the city. They had such a great time. Our little "dirty bird." Waiting for the players to take the field. "Uh, Daddy, did you see how big those guys are?" Jess had to take a picture of former UGA quarterback D.J. Shockley. Goofball (Every time we call him a goofball, Ben says, "I eat goofballs. They're crunchy.") Cold towel cool-down. "I'm like 3 feet tall, so I think I'll just watch from over here."Then this giant offensive tackle came over and offered to take a picture with Ben (whose expression says, "I'm a little nervous, but I think you're super cool, so I'll stand by you."). Such a fun boys' day out!