Memorial Day Weekend

Finally, the long awaited day arrived!! We took off for Kentucky to visit with my family I haven't seen in over 6 years!! Tim wasn't able to get a few hours off on Sunday, so our weekend was cut short- but we still had a lot of fun!

We arrived in time for dinner on Sunday after a very uneventful trip- aren't those the best kind? Eli fell asleep for the last hour or so of our trip. He was so very excited to find that cousin Luke was coming to play. Luke is the same age as Eli's cousin Wesley, who lives next door, so he was very familiar with playing with an 8 year old cousin :)

We all had a great dinner and a wonderful time in fellowship and conversation with Aunt Ruth, Uncle David, Tonya, Brett and Luke. Eli couldn't believe that Uncle David had a school bus!!! How cool that was to get up in it and start the engine and get to open and close the door. Such excitement! Eli didn't want to go to bed- even though it was so late!! We told him to go ahead and go to sleep and we would go fishing the next morning...

So, sure enough, bright and early (I think sometime way before 7), he came running into our room and jumped up on the bed and asked if we could go fishing right now!! He was so excited to try out his new fishing gear. So he and I got up and dressed and played outside for a little while to give everyone else a chance to wake up and get moving.

Well, once everyone was up and functioning and breakfast fixed and eaten and all of us outfitted with some older long pants from Aunt Ruth, we headed out on Uncle David's Gator for a fun morning of fishing.

Luke caught a fish as soon as his hook hit the water, setting off a palpable excitement for the rest of us. Uncle David and Tim helped Eli get his new pole all set up, Tim showed him how to cast his new open reel pole, and Eli was off and running. He finally caught a medium size blue gill- if I can figure transfer from my iphone, I'll put video up soon :) Tim caught the big fish of the day- a nice size large mouth bass.

We came back, had lunch and then it was time for water guns, swimming and all around relaxation and fun with the family. Was soo good to see Aunt Diane and meet Chris as we were able to sit around and catch up.

We all went to be a little earlier that night :)

Aunt Ruth related a conversation she had with Luke that morning while they were waiting for us to get ready.... Apparently, Luke had been so excited to meet and play with Eli. So, Aunt Ruth, his Nanan, asked him how he enjoyed playing with Eli so far. He said something like this, "Nanan, I think he is the smartest little boy I have ever seen in my whole life!! Of course, I never saw myself when I was little..."

Tuesday morning, Eli actually slept in!! Couldn't believe it! So, we decided to go out and go fishing again.


Tim started getting Eli ready for our trip as we were out on the porch.

Here are Eli and Mommy on the Gator, getting ready to go fishing...

In the back, Tim and Luke were all ready, too!!

And our fearless leader, Uncle David!! Notice the beautiful lake in the background. We had such fun!!

Eli and Daddy went down to find their spots.
Daddy gave Eli a little help to get him started and refresh from the day before...
Ahhh, what a beautiful and relaxing day we all had, listening to the sounds of nature, spending time together and trying to snag a beauty!!
Uncle David took us around the farm and showed us so many amazing things. Eli didn't quite make it back- he succumbed to the weariness and slept for a little while- until I tried to lay him down....

Tonya had a few bags of clothing that Luke had outgrown which she brought over to see if Eli wanted. What a blessing they were!! Most fit him now, and several we were able to put back for next year. How amazing it is to be able to be the recipient of such a great gift!! Mommy got Eli's clothes all cleaned out of his drawers and closets (packing away the remainder of the clothes we had when we brought him home over 2 years ago!!) Eli loves to be able to say he is wearing his Luke clothes- and, in fact, keeps telling me if I pick out some of his old clothes, no thank you, Mommy- I want to wear my Luke clothes.... :)

What a great time!! We can't wait to go back and hopefully be able to spend time with more family!!

On the way home, I was able to get a picture of a suspension bridge. How cool is this?

Only 2 piers- for the whole bridge- in the middle of the bridge. It was bizarre going across it on the way down. Wish I would have gotten a pic from under looking up...

This is the view from the bridge up the river when we crossed. Very elegant!!