Pop and Grammy's House -- Day 2

Pool and swimming: Jack's two favorite words. But he was a little leary of the waterslide. That was, until cousins Anna and Ryan came by...


"Hey Mom, I think I'll hang out over here in the wading pool with my Spiderman floaties and Diego."


"Ryan sure is spending a lot of time on that slide ..."


"Well, Mom, if Anna says it's cool ..."



"Whatever Anna and Ryan do, sign me up."

Pop and Grammy's New House

This trip to Middle Tennessee was our first visit to John's parents' new house -- which is in a new neighborhood with a pool and playground. Jack woke up asking about the pool and, of course, Cousin Ryan. Ryan is about to turn 5, and Jack thinks he's the coolest guy around.

Here's a look at our first visit to the pool. Pop and Daddy had to encourage Jack to take the plunge a couple of times. He's still a little unsure of the water.

John and Jack cruise down the slide

Pop and Jack kick through the water.

Pop, Jack and John play in the water.

Ryan and Jack study Pop's train set. They were instructed not to touch it, which is a foreign concept for Jack. Jack will do whatever Ryan tells him to, though.

Happy Birthday, Aunt Ruby!

It's Ruby's birthday, but I'm pretty sure Jack thought we were singing to him. He did, after all, get some "birthday" out of it. (That's "cake" to the rest of us.)

Pizza, Pizza, Pizza

However cheesy it sounds, we owe our really cool day to the Incredible Pizza Co., which saved us from a rainy day. I'm starting to take off some Wednesdays instead of Fridays so John, Jack and I can hang out together.

My Sunday school class told me about this place a few months ago -- those 10- and 11-year-olds keep me up on what's cool. "Chuckie Cheese times a hundred" would be a good definition of this place.

"Pizza, pizza, pizza" was Jack's chant from the backseat -- though he just wanted "roni" (macaroni and cheese) when we got there.

I'm still kicking myself for forgetting the camera. I think John had more fun than Jack -- with the NASCAR games, bowling and deer hunter game. He says the most fun was watching Jack, and I'll have to agree. They had a giant moon bounce and a carousel and Jack just ran from one game to another.

Here's all I have to show. I'll learn to start bringing the camera along.


Jack took two steps into the ticket room to redeem his tickets, and found the big dinosaur and car. He was sure that was what he wanted, and very proud of his "purchase."




Jack, post Incredible Pizza Co. I promise, I'll start remembering my camera soon.

Cousin Luke comes to visit

My brother and his family -- along with my mom -- came to visit this past weekend. We made sure they had plenty of Memphis barbecue, but found time for a trip to the zoo and splash park as well.


Jack and cousin Luke -- who is 10 days older and a full head taller than Jack -- help me put away the pool after an afternoon swim.



Baby Paul takes a break at the zoo.



John, Luke and Jack watch the sea lion show.



We visited the splash park one afternoon. Nevermind the dozens of sprinklers around. Jack spent much of his time playing with the drain.



Luke and Jack battle over who should drink from the sprinkler.

Working in the Yard

Last week, I would have told you we were melting from the heat, but the summer heat has cooled a little this week. This weekend gave us a perfect morning to work in the front yard.


And as we did, Jack decided to help -- read on to find out how much ...

Making sure the irrigation system works ...

And one more check to make sure the water's on ...

Helping Daddy pull weeds in the beds



Taking a break from the hard work to talk to Mama ...

I needed to water the flowers, and the dogs drank the leftover water (we were dogsitting sweet Emma, Ruby's dog) ... Taking a water break sounded like a good idea to Jack ...

And, one final drink before Jack agrees to find a sippie.