Glad to be home....

ICE Atlanta

I started a long drawn out post about every detail of our mini vacation to Atlanta, and then it occurred to me that you probably don't care all that much about the minutia of our tiny trip. Which was tiny in the scheme of things, but huge to us. Overnight in a hotel in a big city that we're not all that familiar with, with a 2 month old and an extremely precocious 2 year old, with just us, no parents or friends or anyone else to lend a hand - was very difficult. But we're so proud of ourselves and we had a blast.
So, rather than bore you all with the teeniest of details, I will show you our trip in a couple of posts, the first of which is all about the Indie Craft Experience. This was an awesome event in Centennial Olympic Park on Saturday and Sunday. We were very lucky it was two days, because both kids started to lose it a little on Saturday when we went, and we had to cut it short and check into the hotel for nap time. So, we went back on Sunday to enjoy the wares all the indie crafters had to share. We also enjoyed the park, complete with awesome playgrounds and a fountain area (you know the kind where the jets shoot out of the ground?). Enjoy the pics....

Jacks fell in love with this felt pirate hat (which was $40, so we left it there), and he had a hissy fit when we tore him away from the felt hat booth. He even declared he wanted an eye patch when he put that hat on. Here he is pretending to be a pirate, complete with a scowl and an, "arrrrrgh!"

Joe had to take a picture of these sassy girls in their sassy hats!

Jacks made a fool of himself in front of these hipster Latvian girls by dumping out his juice down his shirt. Here is a dramatic reinactment of said event....


Awesome journals made from recycled books...


Nealy was trying to not sweat to death in her stroller....


Jacks got a nice cool down in the fountains before we hit the road for home.

More camera talk

This is proof that: A. Joe's camera definitely takes better pictures than mine, and B. Joe is a much better photographer than me. The pictures that Joe took today of Nealy and Sophie are truly stunning. I still like my little point and shoot, though. I don't have the skills for all that photographic power.

Playdate!

Some of you might remember when I posted pregnant pictures of Bethel and me a while back. Well, Bethel's baby Sophie came the day after we took those pictures, and Nealy came 4 days later. We finally managed to get them together for a play date today while Bethel went for a job interview (they've "met" before, but not for long periods of time until today).

I was so excited to have Sophie over - you know how much I love to play real life baby dolls. Like this time one time with Jacks:He wasn't all that happy with me because I decided to try this outfit on him while he was still sleeping. He might have been mad at me, but doesn't he look adorable in this vintage knitted onesie? Still totally worth it....

I did a good job of restraining myself this time, and I only changed their clothes once. Luckily, I had these matching outfits from the bags of hand me downs from sister. I should have prepared more wardrobe changes before Sophie arrived, because I would not have restrained myself if I had more outfit options readily available.

Here are the pictures of their good time. Shortly after this, Nealy had a hissy fit and Sophie dozed off for about 10 minutes before deciding she needed some bottle.

Our trip to Gainesville

Nealy took her first road trip over Memorial Day weekend to see my sister and her family in Gainesville. It was a large family gathering. My Uncle Tom and Aunt Mary Lou came over for the day from Jacksonville, my parents were there, and my brother came over for the evening on Saturday. It was a really great visit.

I didn't take many pictures because we were very busy keeping up with the kids, but here are a few highlights.

Laura gave us a clarinet concert.....

Jacks took a bath with Jean Louise.....
Jacks practiced his Blue Steel.....
Carrie stole that baby.....Then Queenie stole that baby.....

Jacks played with his Chet.....

Jacks bossed everyone around.....

The biggest event of the trip was meeting the new addition to the Westmark family, Rocky. He is a Toy Australian Shepherd, and he is gorgeous. Jacks is still afraid of dogs, so he didn't make very good friends with Rocky. But isn't he pretty?
And we all made it home in one piece! I rode in the back of the big truck with the babies. Nealy slept most of the way while Jacks and I hid under the blanket to avoid seeing the scary interstate traffic in the pouring down rain. The ride home got a little rough when Nealy decided she was completely done with riding in the car, and she screamed for about 2 solid hours. So, needless to say I was a little tired long before we got home. Joe did a good job of getting us up and down the road safely.

Summer has officially begun, folks! We're going to have a great one, so stay tuned.

Nealy meets Ryan

Look at these two beauties!!

Well, this isn't their first meeting, but it's the first one where I whipped out the tiny Nikon to capture the moment. Joe, Nealy, and I were out and about when we thought we might make a visit to Drake since Jenny, Bill, and Ryan were up there hanging out. Their Aunt Bev was there, too, which is who they're both smiling at in the picture above.

Ryan came about 3 weeks before Nealy, and you can tell in the pictures that she is clearly older and wiser. Here she is staring Nealy down and sizing her up. Nealy does not seem to know that she's being silently judged.


Then, we lined them up on Jenny's desk (which made Bev very nervous), where Nealy practiced her gymnastic abilities while Ryan expressed her displeasure with her mother for not holding her up on her shoulder like she would have preferred at that moment. Already, they are both more concerned with their own agendas. So typical for a couple of prisses.


They are already quite a pair!

Pretty Girl

I'm sure you'll agree, her shirt don't lie.