Delta Snow

Did I mention it is hot? And where do you take your kids when it's hot in Indianola? Delta Snow, of course!

I couldn't wait for the snow cone stand to open every summer. It was called Xan's Summer Snow in the 80's.

Sam ordered a rainbow snow cone and wanted me to pick him up so he could see it being made.

Happy little boy with a rainbow snow cone.

Ben loved the snow cone and my arms were barely long enough to keep him from knocking it out of my hands.

Sitting in the shade of our swagger wagon. (Check out the cute matching Mississippi State outfits.)

Blue mouth, anyone?

Mississippi Magnolias

One of my favorite things to do when I was growing up in Mississippi was climbing magnolia trees. The one in my Nanner's front yard was one of my favorites because they never trimmed the bottom branches. I couldn't wait to show Sam.

This is Nanner and Dorsey's house and that is the magnolia tree on the left.

This tree is HUGE! It's nothing like the puny little magnolias that people plant in their flower beds in Texas.

And nothing smells like summer more than magnolia flowers.

At first Sam didn't believe that we could get through the bottom branches.

I showed him how to get in and he was amazed at the magical hideout behind the branches. He ran in and out and around the tree, climbing over and under branches.

Since Sam loves his climbing wall, I thought he'd take to climbing trees naturally, but he did not really understand. I helped him climb up about six branches, and that's when I realized I'm a country girl raising a city boy.

The leaves were at least six inches deep under the tree. Nanner used to pay us to rake out the leaves from under the tree. I'm not sure who the last person was to try, but we found this old wheelbarrow hidden under the tree.

Back inside, we've had lots of fun playing with Ben and Sam on vacation.

Ben is feeling a lot better and is laughing a lot.

He loves it when Daddy tickles him.

Me too, Daddy, me too! Tickle me!

Happy Birthday to Me

We are in Indianola for my 35th birthday. It's still hot, but it's not so bad in the shade. We had a wonderful lunch of Bayou bread, salad, Catfish Allison, and chess pie at The Crown.

The boys could really get used to all of these wide open green spaces.

Nanner got Ben this adorable outfit.

St. Augustine feels quite different than Bermuda.

Behind the scenes ... wiping Cheeto schmutz off of Sam's face ... Ben really wants me to pick him up.

What else would we have for my birthday dinner than Nanner's spaghetti and meatballs? Mine will never taste like hers.

Yes, Sam, that's exactly how I feel about them too!

Recharged the red - our little tomato head.

Saying Good-Bye is Hard to Do

We packed up and left the coast on Tuesday. It was so hard to say good-bye. The boys loved spending time with their Yiayia and Papou. Hopefully it won't be so long until the next visit.

Tractor Ridin'

Sam loved Papou's tractor. He would have wanted to ride it for hours if it wasn't so stinkin' hot. Here are some of the pictures Chris took of them together riding the tractor ...

Father's Day

We had a great Father's Day yesterday. Ben seemed to sense it was Father's Day and clung to Chris all day.

Costas and Paola came down to make it a complete Conner clan.

We spent most of the day around the table visiting and telling stories, but everyone also had to give the iPad a try.

Sam was very excited to see Uncle Costas and Aunt Paola again. He loved playing I Spy with Uncle Costas.

Later that night around the dinner table again.

Sam and Ben were eating a snack and Chris snapped some great shots ...

Snuggling with Yiayia.

A big smile for the camera.

Ben convinced Papou to share a little of his ice cream. Ben has been trying some new foods on vacation. His favorites are cookies and blueberry cake, but he's also tried meatballs and fried fish.

Ben's fever spiked Saturday evening, so we took him to an urgent care facility. The doctor said his throat was red and swollen and one of his ears looked like it might be getting an infection. She prescribed antibiotics which we were thankfully able to fill before the pharmacy closed. He's doing great, but he's really been sleeping a lot and wanting to be held a lot. We only have two more days on the antibiotics, so hopefully he'll be back to his normal self soon.

Ben also turned 8 months old this weekend. He's getting to be a lot more vocal. You can tell he's trying to say words like Momma, Daddy, bottle, bye-bye, uh-oh, and all done. He's doing great with finger foods, but he still just has his two bottom front teeth. He's been teething a lot lately so we are really hoping that he cuts some more teeth soon. He's still sleeping well. He's still doing the combat crawl. It seems like he figured out how to move and that's good enough ... no need to improve. He's starting to want to practice walking though he hasn't figured out how to pull up on his own yet. His favorite toy at day care is the walker, but I haven't gotten ours out of the attic yet. When they weighed him at the doctor's office he was 18 lbs. We'll have to wait for his 9 month well visit to get an official weight though. Ben is starting to play with his toys more and that is making Sam a little jealous. Of course Sam is still Ben's favorite person in the world.