Summer Vacation Day 8

This morning Logan chose the option to head to the zoo instead of the pool. The trip was fabulous. The trip would not have been successful without all of Logan's help. First we played in the fountains for about 45 minutes. All three boys had so much fun. Our friends, the Cooks, met us for water play time. Next we were off to the petting zoo/ barn area. For speech this week we are focusing on barnyard animals. It was great to show them the real thing and hear them make the real sound. Of course there was a lot of extra reinforcing from me too. At the end of the petting zoo area Logan enjoyed driving and climbing all over the old tractor. I moved Nathan and Owen close to get a picture with all three. Shortly after snapping the pics Owen started walking. His gait trainer was down in the wood chips so it was some tough exercise. He was really interested on the goat and walked about 10' through the wood chips to get there. Next we saw the giraffes and elephants. Logan was a great helping pushing and playing with his brothers. We were at the zoo 2 hours and they were in the gait trainers the entire time!

On our way to the Children's Zoo.

Owen loved the water!

Logan loves to jump and splash.

Nathan loves running through the water.

Checking out the sheep.

Owen stated to the right of Nathan and walked all the way over to see the goats.

Owen worked so hard to walk over to the goats.

On the old tractor.

Mr Monkey climbing the tires.

Logan driving the old tractor.

Still smiling and having a great time after being at the zoo 2 hours.

Summer Vacation Day 7

Early this morning Nathan had a bad dream. Preston was up early so he put Nathan in bed with me. This is the first time Nathan has been in our bed. It was such a joy to hold him and have him fall asleep so peacefully. I did not think about it until then but since Nathan can't walk he can't ever just climb into our bed if he is scared. I am glad Preston thought to put him in.

I decided to brave it and take all three kids to the pool. As we were packing up all our floats we noticed Logan's had some big holes in it. So we were off to Walmart to get Logan a new float and the we headed to the pool. We got our new membership cards and now Logan is old enough to have his own card...which he thinks is really cool. All three boys really enjoyed the water and I was able to keep a close eye on all three. We will be headed to the pool again in the morning.

After a quick lunch we headed to Children's South for an ENT visit. Nathan had some bloody drainage in his ear about two weeks ago so this was our follow-up appointment. His ear was looking good but they noticed the tube in his other ear was out. They tried to remove it but it was a little too far in so we are just letting it work itself out for a little bit. We were also sent for a tympanogram and the audiologist was someone I knew from high school! All together we were there for two hours, which did not seem long but apparently the staff thought it was long because they came in with animal crackers and juice boxes for us.

Summer Vacation Day 6

This morning we had both Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy appointments. Logan got to go to the zoo and Mc Donalds with CiCi so he did not have to come along. After lunch and nap we met our friends, the Comers, at Dawson to play at the Rec Center. Nathan and Owen love running around the gym in their gait trainers and Logan had a great time playing with James and Sarah!

Summer Vacation Day 5

This was the last day of our weekend in Nashville. This morning we went swimming for a while. Since all three kids enjoy it so much we wanted to give them more time in the pool. After lunch we spent several hours at the Nashville Zoo. It was a great zoo! It is well worth the stop and I am sure we will go there again. After the zoo we stopped at The Factory in Franklin where we met our friends Trey and Amy for some ice cream.

Summer Vacation Day 4

This morning we decided to attend Two Rivers Baptist Fellowship. The church was only a mile from our hotel and recommended by a friend at Dawson. I was not sure I wanted to put the boys in their nursery and told Preston Saturday night that I don't want our kids in the nursery at a church where we don't know anyone. I decided Sunday morning that they would be happier in the nursery and we would be able to focus more on worship in the nursery. I still figured Logan would do Big Church but as we were getting ready he said he wanted to go to Kids Worship. We told him he would not know anyone but he said it was okay and that he would just ask their name. We pulled up to the church and as we were getting out of our car we saw John Bryant, a friend from Dawson. It turns out his brother-in-law is one of the pastors at the church. We sat together with the Bryant family and all three of our kids did really great in the nursery.
Next we were off to the Pancake Pantry. We saw on Urban Spoon that it was the number one place to eat. In the write up it warns you that the line will be outside the door, and it was. We went ahead and started feeding Nathan and Owen while we were in line and Logan struck up an instant conversation with three college girls. After we were in line about 20 minutes the couple in front of us told us to get in front of them because we were approaching the shaded part of the building and we could get out 3 kids out of the sun. We started taking with them and it turns out they happen to be from Birmingham and their kids go to Westminster. We did not get a chance to meet their kids because they were here on an anniversary trip and the kids were back in Birmingham. We decided to just all have lunch together. It was great meeting another Westminster family and we had the best time all eating together. Oh yes, the Pancake Pantry's pancakes really are incredible.
We then left and headed to Belle Meade Plantation. It was very interesting seeing the grounds of an old beautiful southern mansion.
We then headed back to the hotel and went swimming for a while. Logan is really enjoying swimming. Tonight he let Preston hold him and was practicing swimming. He is coming a long way. Nathan and Owen really enjoyed the water too and were kicking their feet a lot trying to make their floats go. Since all three boys had so much fun we will definitely be joining a pool this summer.

Summer Vacation Day 3

This morning we started with a tour of Nashville. We loved seeing all the sites and our bus driver, Monty, was hilarious. He and Logan were instant friends. We made three stops along the way. First we stopped at the Ryman Auditorium, home of the first Grand Ole Opry Theater. We enjoyed learning the history and standing on the stage. We then stopped at their centennial park and enjoyed the 92 bell chimed songs that play every hour. The bells are in 50 columns, one for every state. Finally we spent some time at the Country Music Hall of Fame. It was a fabulous museum. Logan enjoyed a giant cookie feom the museum. Good thing he got full and could only finish half. After lunch we are headed to the swimming pool.

Summer Vacation Day 2

Today is the first day of our Anniversary/Family Vacation. With the van loaded we took the three hour trip to Nashville. Our only activity tonight is eating at The Rain Forest Cafe. Nathan and Logan are really enjoying themselves but Owen thinks it's a bit to real and is not a fan of the thunderstorms.

Summer Vacation Day 1

Yesterday was our first full day of summer vacation. It was wonderful. The entire morning we just stayed at home. We got tons of home therapy done with the boys. Logan read the book, Pete the Cat, to his brothers. We spent lots of time outside on the screen porch playing with bubbles and hangman too. I love playing hangman with Logan because it really works his writing and reading skills. In the afternoon we enjoyed two parties. First we went to a retirement reception and then a good-bye party for a couple in our Sunday School class. We really enjoyed spending the evening with friends.