Fun Times at Poppy and Enna's

After we left Pop and Lola's house, we headed south to see Poppy and Enna. Reed was really excited to see them. Reed asked Poppy to take him for a ride on his tractor. Poppy's tractor used to be my Papa's tractor so it has a lot of special memories for me.



Reed had a lot of fun riding on the tractor. We did not have a long time to visit only a couple of days, but it was good to be home. I really love living in Tennessee, but Mississippi still has my heart. It also has lots and lots of potholes!



It's so funny to see the tractor now, because it looks pretty dated. I remember when it was shiny and new. Enna and Poppy took Reed to some friends house where he saw Goats, Donkeys, and little horses. They let Abbey and me go to see a movie! We went to see grownups. Hilarious!



I think that Enna was excited to see Reed, too! Enna is coming up next Saturday to keep Reed while I work and Abbey goes to New Mexico to teach at a conference. Reed is excited about that.

Of course, you would know that we couldn't stay home long, so now we are in North Carolina where Abbey is teaching at a conference. Reed and I are hanging out and playing. Tomorrow we're going to see my Cousins Margie and Ivy.

Drake/Covington Fourth of July Celebration

We always look forward to going to cousin Molly and John's house for the Fourth of July celebration. It was lots of fun! Abbey made a patriotic cupcake creation.



It was good to see people that we don't get to see very often and it was amazing to see how much the family has grown.



Cousin Jason was a real trooper. He kept the kids entertained the entire time!



Brady, Ella, and Hugh have a lot of fun playing together.



Aunt Mellie enjoyed entertaining baby Claire.



Reed was really shy around the kids, which is very typical behavior for him. He did enjoy playing in some leftover water from the waterslide.



Pop, Lola, and Ava enjoyed some of Uncle Jimmy's homemade ice cream.



Our very thoughtful family had a shower for us for the two new little ones.



Aunt Mellie made this super cute "eye spy" quilt and backed it with a map.



The quilt is going to be featured in an issue of McCall's Easy Quilt magazine. It was really thoughtful how she chose different pieces of fabric that represented who things we hold dear to us.



We got giftcards, trucks, clothes, and lots of books. Aunt Karen is a librarian and she chose lots of fun books.



Aunt Ava read "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" to Reed.



Aunt Leslie and Uncle Jason got Will a cute little outfit and Nash a couple of fun books. I love the title of this book "Boys are Best".



Aunt Molly and Aunt Suzy got Abbey this wonderful ring with the boys' names stamped on them. They are each intertwined. It was very thoughtful.



Reed was thankful that Uncle John gave him a popsicle.



Abbey, Aunt Ava, and Pop posed for a picture.



I had to trick baby Ava into letting me hold her.



Pop and Reed played with "sparkulars".



Not the best family picture.



Of course, Reed had a great time playing with Lola. He loves hanging out with her.



Must have been something really interesting happening out in the wild yonder, but it was a great picture of Lola so I put it on.



Finally, Reed and Ella started playing together up in Brady's family room.

Hanging Out with Tate Tate Roller Skate

The other day, Reed and Mommy went to Wal-Mart. Of course, they had to hit Reed's favorite spot in Wally World, the fish.



I am almost positive that you are not supposed to take pictures while inside Wal-Mart, but Abbey didn't seem to mind.



Abbey and Reed hit the clearance section at Wal-Mart and the lady was there marking things down even further. Reed was almost hit by a falling price.



The other night, Todd, Jodi, and Tate Ballard invited us over to their house to grill out. It was a wonderful time. Tate is about 7 months younger than Reed, so they won't be in the same class in school, but they get to hang out a lot in church. Tate and Nash will be in the same grade in school.



Reed and Tate had a great time riding around in Tate's battery-powered vehicles.



We had a good time visiting with Todd and Jodi. They are expecting a new litte one, Emri, in a few months. Emri and Will are going to be in the same grade at school.





They had a blast hanging out with each other.

Coming soon ... "Fourth of July with the Drakes" and "Visit with Enna and Poppy."

Walt Disney World: Fun for Everyone

Uncle Bill poked the "3-Dness" out of Reed's 3-D glasses from Toy story and Reed enjoyed wearing them around.



Reed thought that it was fun to ride the "Manyarail" from the Tram to the Magic Kingdom.



He was quite taken by all of the sites. It was a lot of fun to see him. I told Abbey at one point that it seems like 3 Years Old is much harder than 2 Years Old, but it is so much more fun. Reed just was amazed by every single thing.



The Monster's Inc. show was really great.



I think that the Buzz Lightyear ride was one of my favorites. I was not really even into video games growing up, but this brought it to a whole new level.



Reed absolutely LOVED the race cars although they were 10,000 degrees because there was little shade and the heat from the motors of the cars.



Reed was super excited to get to meet Mickey Mouse. Mickey Mouse was really nice to Reed.



This is Reed on his first roller coaster, the Barnstormer. On the flagpole there was a pair of pants. Reed asked whose pants they were and Abbey told him that they were Goofy's. Remember this, because it has relevance later in the post.



Another classic Magic Kingdom ride is the Dumbo ride, however, it was too hot!



Unfortunately, Ms. Candace got a virus and wasn't able to go to the park with us that morning. We left the park to go eat supper at Olive Garden and pick Candace up for the parade. Reed was asleep before we were out of the parking lot. He slept through supper.



It was so fun going back that night because it rained while we were out, so the crowd was smaller and the air was much cooler.





Reed really enjoyed the "It's a Small World" ride. That one in particular was really trying for me. It can be a bit annoying.



Animal Kingdom was great. Flik was one of Reed's favorites.



Reed enjoyed the Kilaminjaro River Rapids were a blast. We got soaked, and rode first thing in the morning. Poor planning on our part.



"A Bug's Life is Tough" was wonderful except it was way too scary for Reed.



Reed was thrilled to meet Goofy and Pluto. Pluto is blushing because Reed told him that he was his favorite. Reed loves Pluto and told us that a thousand times. After we left Goofy and Pluto, Reed said, "I forgot to tell Goofy where his pants are." (see Goofy convo from above) Reed and I had to run back to Goofy where he proceeded to scream to Goofy to get his attention. Finally I told them photographer guy to tell Goofy for us.



Stitch was really friendly.



Uncle Bill and Reed were really silly!



Reed saw Donald and asked him where Daisy was. Donald told Reed that Daisy was off spending money!



Of course, the stars of Disney, Minnie and Mickey were available for a photoshoot.



We had a wonderful time!