Memphis-Day 1

I have a lot of catching up to do on the blog. We have been enjoying playing outside every night till dark. Caroline is learning and absorbing so much information; it amazes me and Matt each day. She is saying full sentences and has her shapes down like a pro. She is starting to fill in the ABCs for me. If I stop singing she will say the next letter ( usually G, H, K, P). Her favorite items right now are tractors and lawn mowers.

Today is Friday! It was only a three day work week, but I am ready for the weekend. Caroline and I have a lots of things to do today, so we will see how many we can get checked off our list. We are busy bees on Fridays. Below is a picture that I took at Mamaw and Papaw's house last week. I just adore the picture.

This is Caroline's brushing habit at the current time...walk around with the brush till we brush all of our teeth! She does have an electric brush also, but we have found that she does not want to give up the electric brush when brushing time is finished.

My two favorite people...

We decided last minute that we would head out on the 4th of July weekend. We looked anywhere from Pensacola, Gulf Shores, Destin, Chicago, etc. We looked at driving...we looked at flying. With only one week to plan and after being on the computer every night trying to find a nice place last minute...we decided to put the computer down and go to Memphis.

Thank goodness we did, because Caroline had a blast! We left Friday afternoon to go pick up Daddy from work.

We arrived in Memphis Friday evening, checked in our room, and went to eat at Happy Mexican. Matt's plate was so large at the restaurant that it was making me sick to watch him eat the entire platter. Caroline ate her weight in chips and salsa.

Does anyone know where Caroline is?

We headed out early the next morning to the Memphis Zoo. We packed water bottles and loaded the sunscreen on Caroline. It ended up being so nice outside. Just perfect! They had lots of shade a it was cooler than we had anticipated. We made through the entire zoo before nap time...Matt and I were pretty impressed, because Caroline takes a early nap.

This picture cracks me up! Matt and were talking about how nasty it would be to pay to have a foot massage at the zoo. Think about all the nasty feet that have been on the same message system. Then up jumps Caroline...don't worry...we did not take her shoes off!

Caroline's favorite...the rooster. Grandma Etta Junior

Teton Trek...memories of our honeymoon

Daddy's favorite

After the zoo we were so surprised that Caroline stayed awake for lunch. We enjoyed Bar-B-Q at the original Corky's. The food was good and the service was amazing. Great atmosphere and a must for anyone who is heading to Memphis.

I will post more from the weekend trip this tomorrow. Tomorrow Caroline and I will be heading to Searcy to see Jensen.

Play Date/Nashville/Father's Day

It is a late night, so this post is probably going to be short and sweet. Since when did Matt start going to bed before me? I feel a little busy this week, so I went on a cleaning rampage instead of marking things off the to-do list. Now I find myself sitting in bed next to a husband who is sound asleep while my mind is wondering from one thing to another.

Aubrey came over last Sunday to share the afternoon with Caroline. Caroline always takes long naps on Sunday afternoon, so Aubrey and I waited patiently for her to wake. Finally, after great waiting we heard a little singing coming from the back hall. We found Caroline awake, and boy she was excited to see Aubrey!

Sweet Kisses

There is a small part of me...a very small part...that sometimes thinks that I would have liked to have twins. How much fun would it be all the time to have two girls the same age, experiencing life together? They could share clothes, stories, emotions, smiles, and love. It looks like this is as close as I am going to get.

I traveled this weekend to Nashville for a continuing education course sponsored by ADHA. Tanya and I braved the trip Thursday night. We made great time considering it rained the majority of the way and hailed a bit. It was my first time to drive in hail and I must say it was quite the experience. We stopped and had dinner at a diner outside of Forrest City. The diner was featured in a Southern Living Magazine last year for their breakfast. Below is a view from our hotel window. The positive aspect of arriving late was that we were placed in the concierge room. It was nice to have a meal available at all times without cooking...
Friday morning we arrived to a very organized and well put together CE course. It was the best meeting I have ever attended. We started off at the exhibits, and soon realized that it would take us the weekend to finish the exhibit hall. By the time the weekend was over we finished and left with samples galore.

For lunch Friday we headed downtown

We went to see Always... Patsy Cline at the Ryman. I did not know anything about Patsy Cline, but the show consisted of comedy and history...now I am a Patsy Cline expert.
So check out the newest dental chair...the ball chair. I laughed inside, and then proceeded to let Tanya take a picture. But...I must say that this chair is very comfortable, mobile with wheels, supports the lumbar, and you can sit at any position. I do not think that Dr. Bannerman would go for the leopard cover.
Friday evening we headed for the downtown farmer's market. I found Matt a homemade energy bar and Caroline a new bow for her collection. I always feel bad at the farmer's markets because I feel as if I need to purchase something from every vendor.

The pictures below are from the plenary session Saturday morning. It felt so special to be in the meeting with so many authors of dental hygiene material, researchers, national supporters, and Esther Wilkins! I kept telling Tanya all weekend that I just wanted to see Esther Wilkins. Tanya probably got tired of hearing me say her name.



Taylor Hicks...had to ask Tanya who he was on Friday. He is the winner of American Idol from a few seasons ago...his music was enjoyable.

Below are pictures from Always...Patsy Cline. A must see if you are in Nashville.

I was so excited to see my favorite two people when I arrived home on Sunday! Caroline waited to give Daddy her Father's Day presents until the afternoon so I could watch. Matt is such a good father, husband, and example for Caroline to follow. Words cannot express how much I love him. When I hear Caroline say Daddy, it makes that love grow deeper than I can imagine.


Last night Jensen came over for a few minutes. Caroline has this new obsession with wanting to hold her while sitting on the couch. She loves to give lots of love and kisses. As you can see, Jensen is wondering what is going on!

Just the Girls

I had the privileged of staying home with Caroline this week. We have had the best week! I think we have read every single book on the shelf, played dress up with our bracelets, and completed several things on our to-do list.

She is so much fun in the sun right now. When Matt gets home in the evening, we play outside until the sun is going down. She loves the water!

This picture was taken before her first day back to school for the summer session.

Dawson came over to play this week. As soon as Matt started mowing their eyes were glued to the lawn mower.