Family

These past few weeks we were blessed to have my parents come stay with us. We celebrated Gavin's birthday with a few kids, and it was so nice to have family there too. It was also great to have their help all week. Cooking with them was amazing. Things got done much quicker with the extra hands and I didn't have to put Gavin in front of abcmouse.com to get it done. Cleanup was a cinch!

My parents had quite a few firsts while they were here. Dad and mom went to church with us both Sunday's and hell didn't freeze over! Just kidding! I don't think Dad had been to church, since he was a kid.  I was honored they would join us. It was my dad's first time trying brussel sprouts (I had no idea). My mom's first flight! It was the first time trying sushi for both of them, which they liked. And my dad ate his first fresh mozzarella on a homemade pizza. I had a great time coming up with menus and cooking them with my dad. It will always be one of my favorite memories. Most of the stuff I know, I learned from him. And my mom's moans across the table are always a good sign that I've become quite the chef.

My mom and I had our usual foot massages and played cards. One of my greatest memories of this trip will be Gavin learning to play Uno and well I might add. We had some great laughs!

We all golfed together one day and mom drove the cart. We also rode a trolley in downtown Montgomery and saw the historical sights. We visited the Tucker Pecan Factory for some gift souvenirs. We walked around the Waters subdivision, which is like its own little town and took lots of pictures. Mom even had her own camera which she started experimenting with on the trip! Turns out she's not too bad!

Unfortunately, the weather was pretty chilly, so we braved it a few days and went for walks while Gavin was in school. We did cancel our plans to go to Tennessee though. Instead, we headed up to Callaway Gardens in GA. Turned out to be a beautiful day and we were all so relaxed by the end of it. Just walking around and soaking up nature. We also roasted marshmallows outside one evening at the fire pit. It's kind of become a tradition of ours when we are with my mom and dad.

Mom and Gavin and I went to the zoo one day while Shannon and dad golfed.  That day they released the new baby Bengal tigers into their cage. It was a very cool experience. The news crews were there, and we were sure we'd be on tv that night. We forgot to check which station though so the one station we did catch that would have news of the tigers we were most certainly not a part of their 10 second story!

We were awoken one night by a crazy house alarm, only it wasn't ADT or the fire alarm. Shannon and dad fumbled to find out what was causing it by pulling out wires and such. We even called the fire department and had them come. Turns out it was the Carbon Monoxide detector having a glitch. The firemen tested for Carbon Monoxide to be sure and there was none. Needless to say, nobody got much sleep that night! 

It was a really fun time and relaxing too. I will always cherish the memories that we make the few times we do have together. I hope they come again soon! Gavin sure loves having the extra people around to spoil him!