October Visit to Memphis

Mid October, Mario had the opportunity to go on a fishing trip with his dad. He dropped the kids and I off at my parents' house in Memphis for a long weekend. We did a lot of fun things with the kiddos. They especially enjoyed playing with their cousins! It's picture overload again, but here's a snapshot of our time at "The Big H" (that's what the kids call Meme and Papa's house!).

me and my little "Bookus" (as he calls himself)

We got to visit Delle, Peggy, Michelle, Lexxis, and Landon at their home. They treated us to a yummy lunch, and the kids had a ball playing!

One day we went to the HUGE new park out at Shelby Farms. The first area the kids played on was the "climb and slope nest".

Reese snoozed while the boys played.

My boys loved the "musical ramp"....these hanging gongs were all over--the kids found some sticks and started banging away making some beautiful music! It was great!

Lucas and James playing on the "climbing wall" of the climb and slope nest

Basically, the ground was made of non-skid rubber (like a running track). It sloped down with 4 huge slides of differing widths and heights. Anthony's first try down!

He got brave pretty quickly and started going down head first!

oh, he had a ball!

anthony showing lucas the ropes

wheeeeee!

lucas ready to try his hand at the big slide

what a rush!

he loved it!

anthony tries backwards

james did a little sliding, but he had more fun playing with the rocks

big cheers from his mommy when he decides to go down! yay james!

aunt mandy helped the kids on the bungee swings in another area of the park

james enjoyed this one!

cutie smile!

the park had this adorable padded swing shaped like a big basket! it was in high demand, but the boys snagged a turn!

can you tell they loved this one?!?

these cousins love each other so much!

wish they made these swings for big people too!!!

Grandad came over and was able to snag a picutre with all the great-grandkids

then it turned into one big jumpfest! poor reese!

anthony loving on his uncle josh

these two are up to no good! :)

dinner around the Bellican table--corky's...YUM!

our family is going to outgrow this room before too long!!!

the boys love playing outside at the playground in the backyard!

anthony lines his forks up on the balance beam that i used to play on!

lucas plays in the playhouse...or should we call it a "fort" now for all these boys?

james going down the slide

my sweet big boy

little reese snuggled in her blanket, watching all the activity

It was a beautiful fall day--we decided to go on a family walk on the trails behind the house.

James and Anthony lead the way!

twins!

don't you love the height difference!

Papa pushes Lucas in the stroller

sweet happy boy

james was really power walking along the first stretch

james loves his uncle josh

anthony would run ahead and yell, "come on guys!"

sweet lovebirds michelle and josh

we stopped to look at the beautiful horses

when we got back home, the boys helped Papa collect some firewood

anthony was very enthusiastic about his big job

lucas was a big helper too

the perfect end to a perfect day--a huge bonfire!

we used to do this all the time growing up

it's been quite a few years since the last one, but hopefully this will be a new tradition

lucas loves his marshmallows, oh yes he does!

what an adventure!

i think this was the best part of the weekend for them!

trying to get a shot of all the kiddos before we leave!

there we go...that one will work!

thanks, meme and papa, for letting us come for a visit!!! our time there always seems too short! we love you and love how you share your home and your lives with us! miss you!!!