Trip to Readyville

This past weekend we packed up (and we have no idea how to pack light, but we did our best) and ventured out to Readyville, Tenn., to celebrate my cousin Jon Marc's wedding to my new cousin Abigail!  It was a wonderful reason to take Paul on his first trip to a place that was my second home growing up.  Of course, Paul only napped for the last 30 minutes of the almost-four-hour drive, so I was afraid he'd be not only overwhelmed by all the people but now, on top of that, overtired. Fortunately, he did great! 

When we drove up to my aunt's farm, I was struck by how beautiful it was, especially this time of year.  The creek we crossed to reach her long, winding driveway had a few inches of running water, the trees lining the way shaded us with leafy branches, there were bright tulips in the yard, and of course, we could see the rolling hills of Cannon County that are part of the foothills of the Appalachian mountains.  (They may be pretty small, but I have to remind you Tennessee folk that there are no hills in Florida higher than landfills, and we're now on the flats of the Mississippi here in Memphis, so those are some pretty big hills to us!)

But the best part of the arrival was seeing family!  My mom had driven up with my aunts, Joyce and Jean, and my uncle Tommy.  My aunt Cathy and uncle Alvin (whose farm it is) were also there, as well as some Arkansas cousins I hadn't seen in a very long time!  It seemed like Jon Marc's party was reason enough for family to come from all over to celebrate!

We spent the afternoon hanging out on the farm.  We walked Paul down to the creek, wishing it was warm enough to wade.  He loves being outside so he enjoyed the walk and getting to stand by the creek!  Although I could tell he wanted in.  We also got to go see my cousins' goats!  Paul has a couple of farm animal books and a little set of farm animals that make noise, and we have been reading the books and playing with the toys a lot lately, so maybe he recognized the goats.  It was fun to see them up close!  Paul kept pointing at them.

Walking down to the creek.

Trying to jump in!

Goats! Lots of kids -- most of them were just a few weeks old!

Playing with Uncle Alvin, who brought us out to see the goats.

Love his sweet smile!

I tried to get him to take his afternoon nap, but he was just too hyped up!  My mom and aunts were giving him lots of attention and he did not want to give that up!  Luckily, he was a perfect trooper and we had zero meltdowns, even with close to zero naps.  (He fell asleep again for a few minutes on our drive to the party.)

When we got to my uncle Mark and aunt Jean Anne's house, we were out of the car about two seconds when my cousin Jerry whisked Paul away.  I don't know if it was the sunglasses or beard or what, (probably Jerry's fun nature) but Paul (who usually wants me to hold him in pretty much any situation, especially unfamiliar ones) let Jerry take him all around!  Once we got inside and said hi to a few people, we realized Paul and Jerry were no where to be seen!  I went to check and Paul was just taking it all in.  Throughout the party he enjoyed meeting lots of new people, and seeing some that he hadn't seen since last summer.  He especially liked Jerry's daughter Emilie, my uncle Jack, and my cousin Matt's almost 3-year-old girl, Ella (who is just so cute!).

It was so fun to see Jon Marc and to meet his wife Abigail, and sweet Bella!  We are so excited for them and so happy we could celebrate with them!

Paul loved playing with his cousin Ella.  He could not stop hugging her, which sounds sweet, but part if his hugging technique is tackling, so I'm not sure how much she appreciated it!  We had a great time seeing so many loved ones.  It was a rare treat to see cousin Jan who came up from UGA law right before 3L finals!

Paul hug-tackling Ella.

Finally, a nice hug!

But my favorite part of the trip was seeing Paul with my family.  He had such a wonderful time with everyone (especially Emilie who had the patience to open and close the microwave many times just for Paul, who is currently in an open/close phase).

Emilie reading to Paul and Ella.

Mom/Grammy got this silly fake plant that sings and dances when you press a button.  The kids in the family have enjoyed it for years, and now it's Paul's turn.  He LOVED it.  He kept pressing the button to make it go, then dancing along with it, then pressing the button again.

Aunt Cathy let Paul play with an old cow bell!  And boy did he love ringing it!

Pausing for a moment of silence to look at the dog on the porch.

Kisses for Aunt Cathy!

Hugs for Aunt Jean!

And all smiles for Grammy!

The next day we got up for a big, country breakfast -- biscuits, gravy, blackberry jam, honey/butter mash, eggs and sausage -- and then with full bellies, loaded up, said goodbye, and drove off to Nashville.  It was on the way back so we figured we'd stop for a quick trip to Opry Mills Mall.  Well, it turned out to be an all afternoon affair for us, but it was really fun and we took our time and enjoyed ourselves!  Michael got some new clothes for his birthday, and I got a few things just for fun.  We got back to Memphis around 8:30.

We had such a great time that we vowed to come back again soon!  Maybe next time it will be warm enough to get in the creek!