Jackson 2013

Annual summer vacation to Jackson exceeded all expectations. It was AMAZING.  However, I was a bit nervous about this excursion from the get-go.  Frankly, the idea of driving for 5 hours with 2 small children was very intimidating.  i spent the last 2 weeks prior to the trip working out the logistics, times, best possible departures and arrivals.  However, all this worrying was pointless for two reasons.  #1:  Jack is awesome.  And #2:  Lucy is awesome-er.  Jack spent the entire trip (with the exception of 30 minutes at the end) happily watching the DVD player - God Bless Mimi for that indispensable gift.  Lucy slept the MAJORITY of the time.  Seriously.  The MAJORITY.  It was amazing.  And the best part was that I didn't bribe her or sleep deprive her the night before.  Maybe my sweet girl could sense my tension and terror and did me a favor.  The only terrifying part was changing Lucy in the bathroom at the combo gas station/McDonalds that was swarming with flies and freaked Jack out so that he grabbed my legs and we fell into the trash can together.  Gross.  There was a lot of sanitizer and Handi-Wipes to follow.  Note to self:  The Gallatin exit is gross.  Always stop at the Lebanon or Mt Juliet exits b/c they have nice, clean, friendly Chick-fil-A's to use.  Nevertheless, both there and back were amazing.  Which is fitting since the trip was also amazing :)  

The last 30 minutes involved Lucy screaming and Jack needing his movie started over (which I don't have the dexterity to do...yet I have the dexterity to snap a picture of my kids apparently while driving down the interstate).  I will take that last 30 minutes of screaming in exchange for the 4 hours of silence for anything.

When we arrived I pretty much quit raising my children.  Jack is attacking my dad with a Mike the Knight sword and shield from Gaga.

Dad made a rope swing in the backyard just for my child.  How awesome is my dad??

And it was sturdy enough to hold me to!

Wheeee!!!!

Gaga took care of my 17 lb chunk-a-munk.  Both were in heaven.

Jack even did a little yard work picking up apples in the backyard.  He wanted to work off any sweat equity that had accrued from the swing making I'm sure. :)

Lucy spent a majority of the time rolling around on this giant blanket in my parent's den.  Rarely an afternoon passed without a rolling partner.
 

Normally Jack sleeps in the pack n play that Mom sets up in the room with me.  But alas, he has not only outgrown it but his sister now needs the space.  So Jack has his own blow up bed to sleep on at Camp Babagaga!  It was pretty sweet.

One of the things I love to look at when I'm home is my parent's fridge.  This is just one door but notice on that one door that there are two, count 'em TWO, pictures of The Fat.  Told you she's a person :)

In the mornings Jack would get Mickey Mouse pancakes a'la Baba.

In the afternoons I would get a couple glasses of wine while Baba and Gaga raised my children.

Lucy had a bit of a tough time while we were there.  She coughed for 2-3 hours every night (stupid teething) and as per usual she cat napped during the day which made for a cranky girl.  It made me realize how unbelievably lucky and grateful I am that she normally sleeps through the night.  Simply because I got a taste of the "no sleeping at night and no napping during the day" Lucy and let's just say - I would seriously be rethinking the 3rd kid idea if this was her normal routine.

During the visit, Jack got a chance to bond with McGee all over again.

We got to eat one of our favorite meals - anything Mexican and covered in cheese sauce.  I'd like to note, for posterity's sake, that Jack is finally, officially, without a doubt POTTY TRAINED!  It's wonderful, it's glorious, but it's also showing me that I may have overdone it on the praise factor of potty training.  During this meal in particular, my son came out of the bathroom with Baba and announced to the entire left side of the restaurant, "Guess what Mommy? I pooped!!  Yay!!!"  At least the kid got a round of applause.  Can't say that'll ever happen again...

On Wednesday, we drove an hour to Missouri to visit my dad's hometown of Caruthersville.  This trip had a dual purpose - to visit with family and to let Jack ride on some real farm equipment (which he loved!)  Caruthersville (for those of you not familiar with teeny tiny Missouri towns) is right across the MS river from Dyersburg, TN.  Every year that we visited my grandparents I dreaded this one part - the dreaded bridge over the Mississippi.  It seriously made me sick to my stomach and it probably didn't help that my dad would slow down and let the car swerve to the right as we went across.  Nice Dad, really nice.

Yay Missouri!

We drove past my grandparent's old house.  It looks so small now - is that how memories always are?  Your childhood just shrinks as you get older?

Jack got to throw rocks in the Mississippi for the first time ever.  Dad also gave me a much need tutorial on what a grain elevator was since Caruthersville has a huge one on the river (I needed this since I teach about corrupt practices used on farmers of the Gilded Age and I've never quite gotten the whole "grain elevator" thing until now.)

Next stop?  Jack & Lucy got to meet their Great Uncle Kyle and Great Aunt Gloria for the first time!  Kyle is Dad's youngest brother and he still runs and takes care of the family farm.  Kyle and Gloria's son Landon (one of my two cousins) got married a few years ago and has a little boy, Kasen, about a month before we had Jack.  This was the first time they got to meet as well and they became buddies in an instant :)

Especially since Kasen has some awesome all-terrain vehicles to play with :)

Kasen was a pro at driving and Jack was content to ride shotgun.  They were really hilarious to watch.

After lunch, we headed out to the farm for our very own episode of Mighty Machines!  Uncle Kyle took Jack and Kasen out on the tractor and sprayer.  Jack got to drive both times and LOVED it!  He still doesn't realize how awesome his childhood is yet.

We made sure to send pictures to Andy from time to time to let him know we were ok and that we missed him :)

As we drove into town I noticed that Jackson still had its Double A baseball stadium & team - the Jackson Generals.  So I asked Dad if there might be a home game while we were in town - something fun to do with Jackman.  How lucky is it that Thursday night turned out to be Dollar Night?!?!  $1 admission, $1 hot dogs, $1 beer, $1 popcorn!  Overall we spent $15 the entire night.  It was so fun and Jack made it through 5 innings before he started to conk out on us.  And Lucy was fantastic.  Such a trooper.  Plus it reminded me how much fun a baseball game is.  There's something relaxing and nostalgic about sitting in the stands on a nice summer evening to watch America's pastime take place right in front of you.

And if you decide to indulge in that pastime with two small children, might I suggest bringing a Gaga with you?  Never leave the house without a Gaga.  Never.

Other activities to round out the week involved flying planes in the backyard...

Which worked out great when Jack flew it.

Not when Gaga did...

Having lemonade breaks with Baba on the deck.

Getting Bean updates as she started her first round of chemo (more on that later)

Running from the Baba Monster...

And chasing him as well.

And of course, we closed out the week with more pancakes.  This time spelling his name.  Once again Jack & Lucy, do you realize how awesome your childhoods are???  If you are reading this and made it to the end, thank you for putting up with the 94 pictures.  I can't help but take so many b/c when I go home (which is only a couple times a year) I don't want to forget a single moment.  We miss Andy and Bean while we are gone but I cherish the times I get to go back to Jackson and once again be one of the children again.  Mom and Dad know how to make me feel at home :) Until next year!