Park Pics

These are a few pictures from our park playgroup we have been having once a week. The boys love going and always have a blast! Our biggest hurdle lately has been keeping Gabe from eating all the acorns and rocks on the ground!

Dollywood, Tennessee

I'm finally getting around to downloading our pics from Dollywood, Tennessee or "Tennessee Dollywood" as Jayce called it the whole way there... and it was a LONG way there I must say... We were driving for 8 hours... on the way there, Gabe slept one and on the way home, he slept half of one... so, 7 hours with a one year old awake seems like an eternity I must say! But, he really did better than I expected... Gabe is wonderful in every way but the boy does not like to travel... he normally cries the whole way to and from Columbia so I was a little concerned about our sanity on this trip... but the crying would cease for a few minutes at a time, long enough for a little quiet.. at least it wasn't constant... Jayce did great on the trip, he is finally at a great age to travel. Our biggest problem was him knowing when we would be arriving to see his "friends" ... actually his cousins but he calls them friends, it's so cute!

This was a McLaughlin family trip... all of Jay's sisters and husbands and all the children...7 of them were in attendance... We really had a great time! Dollywood is a neat place, one I would like to go back to, maybe in a few more years... I loved the country feel to it, and the smell of freshly popped kettlecorn was especially nice! Jayce and I got to ride the ferris wheel with his cousin Tucker who was extremely afraid of heights, as I discovered at the top of the ride... Jayce rode the scrambler and some car ride with Jay... Jay and I both anxiously await the day that Gabe can ride with him as both of us tend to get sick these days on rides... I used to be the craziest roller coaster rider in my family, and now I just can't stomach them... so pathetic! Anyhow, thank goodness he will have a partner in crime to accompany him soon!

One thing I am glad we did was request a joining room... for Gabe... Yes, I did take some heat for this arrangement... being called high maintenance and such but I told Jay it is not that, it is about being practical... when you have a baby who is used to going to bed at 7 and being able to nap in a quiet room, he is not going to sleep with 3 people staring at him... So, I thought it was pretty smart... we actually got to sleep at night! Definitely worth the ridicule I endured from the fam!

I posted several pictures from the park... My favorite one is the one of all the kids on the truck right before we went in... I added one of Jayce taking pictures with his digital camera Nanny and Grandaddy gave him (they gave all the grandkids their own for the trip which I thought was so neat). Jayce is SO into dinosaurs currently and there were about 3 dinosaur museums within walking distance of where we were staying we stopped by one on our way out and he was in awe!

Heaven

I am SO behind... have so much to catch you up on... just got back from Dollywood, TN and will post pictures soon... But, I wanted to document this conversation while it was still fresh on my mind...

Tonight, out of the blue, Jayce said to me "Mommy, where do Jesus and God live?"

I said "they live in heaven."

Jayce: "How do we get there mommy to see them?"

Me: "Well, we have to ask Jesus to forgive us for our sins and ask him to come into our hearts and be our savior."

Jayce: "Well, I want to go there, with you and daddy and Gabe."

Me: "Well, I want us all to go there together too."

Jayce: "Well, will there be animals there?"

Me: "I am not sure but I kind of think so."

Jayce: "I hope so... mommy, if we want to go and then come back down, can we?"

Me: "Once you get there, you will never want to leave, I promise. Everyone there will be happy all the time, and you'll never cry about anything again."

Jayce: "Jesus, will you forgive me for my sins?"
"Mommy and Gabe, come on let's go tonight!"

Me: "Well, I don't THINK it will be tonight... but we actually don't know WHEN it will be...

This conversation with Jayce is by far the best I've ever had with him... I know that he does not quite comprehend the whole concept yet but he knows that he wants to be with Jesus one day and that is my one wish above all else for him! I think this is the proudest of him I have ever been!

Jayce

Cute things Jayce has said lately...

while asking me for some more pear... he said, "mommy I would like some more parrot now."

I overheard him say to Gabe today, "Gabe, you are one awesome little fella!"
(awesome is his new big word, he says it all the time!)

He loves to call the kids in his class by their first and last name, I think he gets this from his teacher...

So many more things, but I'm unable to remember them at the moment...

Our Little Cowboys!

Well, we took the cheap route this year and re-used Jayce's birthday attire and let Gabe wear a "handby-down" cowboy outfit... we did get new boots though! Gabe waltzed around all night in his red boots and Jayce had a blast too! The young married department at our church always has a Halloween party down at the M's cabin... We have a hay ride, chili cook off and dessert and costume contest. It's so much fun! All the kids looked adorable and had a blast, although I did not get many pictures once we got there... Trying to keep up now with not just Jayce but walking Gabe was a challenge amongst all those people! Gabe got lost several times, only for us to find he had knocked over a drink or was drinking from another child's sippy cup... He sure is enjoying his freedom! Jayce had a blast dancing with the other kids by the juke box and I posted a picture of him dancing with 2 other cowboys, Dillon and Taylor. Jayce said that his favorite part of the night was the hayride Daddy took us all on, and I agreed that was pretty fun!