More visitors!

A couple weeks ago, Jackie called us to let us know she found a great deal on plane tickets and was heading back down for another visit and bringing Jarrod's grandma with her to meet Riley.  It was a short visit, but Gavin always loves any time he gets to see family (read: gets spoiled!) and it was great for Riley to meet her great-grandma.  Here are some pics from their visit.

Final batch of vacation pics

I'm finally through the vacation pics.  Just a few last ones to share...

Gavin and Memaw playing Memory

Gavin with his Great-Grandma

 Checking out the rain at the Chicago airport as we killed time during our delay while heading home on Wednesday.

And, I just a couple things that made this vacation easier -

1. We borrowed this car seat cover from Amy for this trip and it was great!  So much easier for Jarrod to wear this on his back while pulling our other luggage since I'm officially in charge of Gavin while traveling and he handles most of the luggage. 

2. We went the first night and bought a potty ring at Target because we couldn't get Gavin to sit on the potty to poop (sorry...but that's what us moms talk about!)  He was so much more willing to sit on the potty ring than trying to balance his tiny little self on a big potty.  And, added bonus...we cleaned it off, wrapped it in a plastic back and hid it in the car seat cover so we could bring it home with us!  I think it will be traveling with us for a while.

3. These bed rails we bought for Gavin's new bed are amazing!

They are inflatable, and come with a carrying bag and a pump.  We fit them in Jarrod's backpack that he had for his carry-on, as well as the DVD player and DVDs...that's how little room they take up.  And it was nice to know Gavin wouldn't fall off the bed while we were at the hotel.  So easy to use!

Ok - enough about our vacation...we're back to life in Arkansas, so I'll get back to our normal posts now.  :)

Rehearsal Day

Friday was the rehearsal day, and the only day we saw rain.  We went in the morning to help decorate the reception site, and Gavin kept himself busy with his trains!  

Friday night we went to the rehearsal dinner at Aunt Pat's house.  Gavin loved playing in her huge yard with the dogs.  He was so tired and so dirty when we left! 

 Gavin with Aunt Ashley and Memaw 

By the time we got back to the hotel and gave Gavin a bath, he was in bed WAY past his bedtime.  Not a big deal...we were on vacation right?  No, not with Gavin.  Late bedtime means bad night of sleep.  So, at 4:15, we were up.  Fun stuff.  I tried really hard to get him to lay back down, and he did doze off for maybe 30 minutes, but not long.  I got him to at least stay on the bed so I could rest until 6:30 or so, but we knew right then that he would be in bed at his normal time for Saturday!  

More gifts!

After the fun Sunday night of a surprise dinner and gifts, we headed to Dayton on Monday.  Unfortunately, we weren't able to meet up with Valinda like we'd hoped, but did get to see both of Jarrod's old managers, visit his old club, and get together for a brief visit with Tori.  Of course, I didn't take my camera in so I have to wait for Tori to send me pics of our visit.  Gavin had so much fun playing with Zoe and I had so much fun holding her chunk, Jack.  

After Dayton, we headed to Travis and Ashley's for LaRosa's (YUM!) and to open presents with Jarrod's family.  Once again, Gavin left very spoiled.  I think you'll notice in these pictures that the boy is still OBSESSED with Thomas! 

 Hugs for everyone!  (except Uncle Travis - we missed him because 

he and Daddy were down in the basement talking guns...)

Family Pics

Thank you, Jackie, for requesting that I take some family shots while we are in St. Louis.  This is something that I always have good intentions of doing and 9 times out of 10 I forget.  So, Saturday night, before Gavin's bath, we snapped some shots.  He was surprisingly into it for the first shot with his grandparents....and then slowly lost interest.  You'll see....

These crack me up - I got like 6 of him with his grandparents...but someone was taking pics with my parents' camera,too.  So, not one of the shots I took has all 4 looking at the same camea.  Oh well! 

Gavin with Mimi, Beepa, and Memaw

Gavin with his great aunts - Sandy and Rosi

Gavin with Aunt Briana and Uncle Tyler

Gavin with Daddy and Gigi Garner

A Nice Surprise

Last weekend, we got a surprise package from Memaw with money in it to go out to dinner on her. It was a nice little treat and we jumped on the opportunity to try a new restaurant. We got ready and headed to Copeland's, a New Orleans style restaurant. Since it was the 4th of July weekend, I got Gavin all ready in red, white, and blue. :) Thanks to a self-time, we got a family picture! Shirley even wanted in on this one.

I love this one of Gavin. He looks so incredibly big to me in this photo. But, don't let that fool you - it must have been the angle I took the picture at because those shorts are size 6-12 months! He may be growing, but he's still a little peanut!

Dinner was yummy! We had a few "tasting plates," which were smaller portions so we could try a few different things. After sampling the lobster ravioli, BBQ shrimp, and a steak with pasta dish, we shared a brownie a la mode, with 3 spoons! :) Thanks, Memaw, for the surprise!

Gavin's first horseback riding experience

Don't get too excited - that's the one of the only pictures of Gavin and a horse in this post. :) Let me explain...

Jarrod asked me to look up horseback riding places for when his mom was here because he thought it would be something we could do for our anniversary. I called Dinner Bell Ranch and started to ask if they had anything on the property Jackie could do with Gavin while we were riding, and the man proceeded to tell me kids his age ride double all the time. So, we thought we'd give it a try. The whole time leading up to it I was pretty nervous about the whole situation, but didn't really know what to expect.

Once we got there, Jarrod started to get nervous, too. There were no helmets and the trail was up and down a "mountain." We started to put Gavin up with him on the horse and he wasn't having anything to do with it. Jackie was really looking forward to riding, so I told her to go ahead with Jarrod and Gavin and I stayed behind.

So, during Gavin's first horseback riding adventure, here's what we did...

Played with rocks. He loved picking them up, handing them to me, and throwing the big ones.

Look through the fence and saw pretty flowers. Mommy just loved taking pictures there.

Ran up and down a small hill.....Gavin thought this was the best thing ever!

Took a break for juice and a snack in the back of Mommy's car.

Chased one of the dogs that was on the property. Gavin kept yelling, "Beagle, come back!"

Then we finally spotted Daddy, Memaw, and the trail guide coming back! Gavin thought that was pretty neat to hear Daddy call him name.

Memaw had Gavin laughing so hard on the ride home. It was good since it was quite a long drive home!