Heading West: West Virginia, that is

For this lovely 3 day weekend we held true to what has become another annual tradition of going to spend Labor Day at Eric's grandma's house in West Virginia. Mamaw just lives on the outskirts of Charleston which gives us the added bonus of celebrating the Sternwheel Regatta Festival while we're there.

Because we were there from Friday until Monday, I'll just share half of the load of pictures that I took and highlight the most fun, sweet and unforgettable moments of our trip. Our first night, we foolishly thought that Lincoln would sleep happily in his pack 'n play. Imagine our weary dismay when he began to cry to get out of it at 3:30 in the morning. Eric lay Lincoln in between us in our bed where he flopped around for 2 hours and then began to scream at 5:30 a.m., waking up the entire house. Needless to say, our first day was off to a rocky start but with a much needed scheduled nap time for the whole family in the early afternoon.

Since it was near 90 outside, we sought out a cooler climate and free entertainment in the mall. Both kids loved playing with the oversized train table in the most awesome toy store. Lincoln picked out his favorite train cars and didn't want to ever give them up. Elaina made a little seat for herself out of a package and played with the doll house filled with little bear people and pint sized furniture.When we arrived back at Mamaw's house, we were pleasantly surprised to walk in on a toddler bed set up in our bedroom with a giant, full, Winnie the Pooh comforter set atop of it. Eric's aunt and uncle who live nearby, so kindly brought over these accommodations that they use for their grandchildren for our kids to enjoy. Our lucky day, indeed. We lined the pack 'n play with the comforter and Elaina slept happily in a perfect sized bed for her. Aaah, the beauty of a good night's sleep! Thank you very much Gail and Ernie!

On Sunday we ventured out to the Regatta Festival held on the river bank, packed with food, entertainment and rides. The inflatable slide was awesome for Elaina and she wore herself out by making at least 15 trips up and down the slide until she was so sweaty and flushed we had to make her stop. Lincoln was finally big enough to ride some rides too. I don't think I would have been especially trusting if Elaina wasn't at his side, but Elaina would never let anyone or anything harm her baby brother. Who's that in the back seat of the crazy car ride? Why, it's me and Lincoln. Eric finally stepped behind the camera and with some stroke of luck, I actually look like I went on a family trip with my family! There's finally proof that I was there! (Tangerine shirt, visor, baby to the right... it's ME!) (And look where Lincoln's arm rests. LOOK. It looks like a giant fat roll seeping from underneath my shirt. And that leaves me to critique my picture. Maybe this is why I'm never in any ;-)) And this would be Mamaw. Eric's grandmother who is 85 years young and still believes and lives good, old southern hospitality. For her, it's all about family and good cooking. Thanks for a great visit Mamaw! I love this tree. The actual tree stump is grounded off to the left. Years ago the tree was struck by lightning and bent just so that it planted itself upright to begin to grow in a new direction. (Tracy, eat your heart out at this photo op! You could spend all day capturing angles and poses with this tree.) Here, Eric was tossing Lincoln in the air and on one particularly high toss, he got hollered at by not only his wife but his Mamaw too! ERIC!! But if only you could hear Lincoln's belly laughs bursting from his little self. Look! There's a Buckeye in the West Virginia tree! Eric, do you just want to be hollered at by your wife?Just before we left, Eric's Aunt Debbie got some help picking tomatoes from the garden. Elaina already asked to come back next year to help when the tomatoes are even bigger, like she will be.
And the tradition lives on.