Child-like innocence

I am so thankful for the sweetness and innocence of my child. Tonight we are having a thunderstorm. Kingston was so content to sit at the back door and watch the storm. I also got a running commentary of what was going on...

I see thunder. I'm going to help the wind blow faster (when the wind was blowing he blew too!). God's watering my flowers and roses. Isn't God sweet? I see (what's that word-lightening) lightening, was it yellow or orange?

Oh, I need these sweet moments sometimes to remember how much I love my child!

Playing with Poppa

Three generations of Barbers


We headed to Little Rock Friday night to visit with Chris' dad and uncle. Kingston had a great time because Poppa tried getting his ticklies right off! Kingston loves a good game of chase and Poppa was willing to participate! After a yummy BBQ lunch at Chris' uncle's house today, we headed home!

Kingston was so cute when he was referring to Chris' dad because he would call him "Daddy's daddy!"


Sitting on Poppa's lap.


Poppa's getting Kingston's ticklies!

Play Date at the Zoo

Mid-South Moms had a playdate with the gorillas today at the zoo. Lots of fun was had by all until we got too hot!

They had coloring pages for the kids to color.

We had FREE Ben and Jerry's ice cream! YUMMY!

A trip to the zoo would not be complete without a visit to the butterflies. Kingston did his own thing, while the rest of us enjoyed looking at butterflies!




We finished off our trip to the zoo with a visit to the Meerkats, complete with Meerkats masks/fans.

Chef Kingston

Mimi got Kingston a really cool blue camo chef's hat while we were on our trip. Kingston had an opportunity to wear it this afternoon while we were making dessert to take to a friend! He loves helping in the kitchen and cooking!

Strange

Kingston decided he needed to show Daddy his exercise/dance. But in order to do so he needed an outfit/dress. He got all of his blankies and asked Daddy to tie them around him to make his outfit. Here's the final product...

Day 7 and 8-Car Trip and Home

Saturday and Sunday were days of traveling. We did stop at Frankenmuth again, but this time it was to shop! They had one of the biggest outlet malls I have ever seen! We also ate at this place where the portions were huge. Let's just say a side order of bacon was about 2 pounds!! Kingston definitely got his fill of bacon! Sat. night we at pizza and played cards.

Sunday morning I had an early wake up call. Kingston was sleeping with me and he wakes up and tells me he's going to sleep on me. I push him back to his side only to feel that he is SOAKED! While I was out at the truck getting a pull-up he informed Mimi that the orange juice did it to him! (He did have a BIG glass of juice before he went to bed!) It took him about an 1 1/2 to go back to sleep, and by then it was time to get up to get on the road. Luckily he was in a great mood for the ride. He and his "friends" (blankie, puppy, frog, teddy bear) made up stories almost the whole 9 hours back to TN! I so wish I had a video camera for that part! After a yummy dinner at Uncle Jonathan's and Aunt Amy's we headed to church, where thankfully they had a "class" for Kingston. Then we headed back to Memphis and arrived around 10:30! The trip was awesome, but I'm very glad to be home and back into a routine!

Day 6-Rest and Relaxation!

Friday we were able to sleep in (well, as much as a 3 year old will let you).

Then I took Kingston to the heated outdoor pool. He loved it! It was a zero entry pool, so there was a nice shallow end for us to play in.



Then we played a little shuffle board. We had a great time, however I was very sore the next day! Kingston had been watching the Rescuers on DVD, and decided he needed to recreate the cave that is in the movie! Pops and Aunt Kathy graciously took on the task of supervising.



Then we headed to Bar Harbor to look at the lake, walk out to a lighthouse and walk in the water. Kingston loved the water! We had to warn him to watch out for Duckie Doo on the beach though. He is still talking about the Duckie Doo!!!!

That night Kingston went on to bed and we played some Hand-and-Foot.

Day 5- Sault St. Marie and Shipwreck Museum

Thursday of our trip brought some rainy and cool (48ºin the morning) weather. Luckily we made it through the first part (the boat ride) without rain. We rode a boat through the Locks on the lake. There was a 21 foot difference in the water from lake to lake! We started the tour on the American side and ended up going through the Canadian side on the way back. So Kingston has technically been out of the country now!!




After the boat tour, we asked the locals where we should eat. (Rachel Ray always suggests this on her show!) Frank's Place was the suggestion, and boy was it yummy! The homemade soups, sandwiches and dessert were AWESOME, but the fact that they had Cherry Coke sealed the deal!



The next stop took us to Whitefish Point. Here they have a shipwreck museum of the boats that have crashed on this point. It was raining and Kingston was tired by this point. He and I made it through a few of the buildings of the museum, but then opted to sit in the truck and watch a movie.




The cutest part of this trip was when everyone got out at the museum and put their hoods on, Kingston told Mimi that he didn't have a neighborhood (his version of a hood)! Mimi took care of that and Kingston is the proud owner of a Shipwreck Hoodie (neighborhood)!

Day 4-Macinac Island

Wednesday was a very exciting day on the trip! We made the ferry to the island with about 3 minutes to spare. Kingston loved the boat trip over. I, however, had to wear motion sickness bands!





Riding over reminded me of the trip to the island my parents had taken us on over 20 years ago! (Oh, I feel SO old!) It was so nice this time to be riding on a horse and carriage tour instead of taking a walking tour. There are no motor vehicles allowed on the island so the choices are limited when wanting to get around.



The carriage ride was fun, but my sensitive nose almost couldn't take riding behind the horses! Kingston liked the ride for the first 5 min. Then he kept telling me this ride is boring. Oh, the honesty of a three year old.

The first stop on the tour was to a butterfly conservatory. Of course Kingston loved it! My dad had a butterfly land on him that was the same color of his shirt. Outside of the conservatory they had a flower garden with a bench. Kingston thought the bench was his stage and proceeded to give us a full concert, complete with some Kingston originals!




The next big stop took us to a fort on the island. Kingston was SO sleeping and HUNGRY by this point that he was not much fun. Then we found a kids' section and he perked up real quickly. He had to touch and hold everything. We managed to get some really cute pictures here. Finally everyone got fed at the Tea Room in the fort and life was MUCH better!



From here we went to the Grand Hotel. We saw Don Schula sitting in the hotel. I very carefully took a picture of my dad/Don! We sat on the front porch (there's 1oo rocking chairs) and enjoyed the view from the rocking chairs. Kingston was getting so tired by this point (4:30 pm) so we started the walk back into town. Kingston finally fell asleep while we were waiting for the ferry back to the mainland.

Day Three-Franenmuth and Boyne Falls

We had a very relaxing day on Tuesday. We woke up and headed to an Italian Grocery store. They have the best bakery and I would be SO fat if we had one in Memphis. I got some awesome cookies and a bagel. Kingston talked Mimi into getting him some muffins.




We headed out after breakfast to Frankenmuth,MI. They have the largest Christmas store in the US. This place was HUGE. I was so wishing I had a wheelchair by the time we left! Kingston decided he needed to be baby Jesus in the nativity scene outside!



We then went to a German resturant for lunch and then to make pretzels. Kingston, the chef, loved the making of pretzels! We had to wear hair nets though, so the pictures will be very funny when I get them on!! Kingston also got to make a Monster Cookie. (They will make cute cookies at Halloween!)




From Frankenmuth we headed to the resort to get our room! Of course everyone was laughing at me because I had to make a few restroom stops along the way!! On a side note, the North is Pepsi country! I so miss my Coke! Fortunately we found a 12 pack of CHERRY COKE in TN on sale for $2.50 that we brought with us!

At the resort Kingston has his own "room"! It's a closet, but it helps me keep my sanity!

Day Two-Car trip

Day two found us riding in the car for 10 hours. It wasn't really as bad as it sounds. Kingston was very thrilled to know that he could watch DVDs for most of the day! Lucky for us he has grown a little from last year. He managed to watch multiple movies instead of the same one over and over. Let's just say the Winnie the Pooh video from last year's trip will never be the same! We taught my 15 year old cousin how to play the ABC game while we were going through Cinncinati. We have a very competitive bunch in the car, but I managed to win! (Mainly because I was sitting in the front seat and NOT driving!) The funniest part of the ride was when Kingston announced he HAD to go to the potty. We asked him if he could wait for a gas station, of course he couldn't. Luckily, we came upon a rest stop right after he told us. I knew he wouldn't make it into the restroom, so I took him to go behind the trees! My mother was appalled! But there were no accidents, so life was good! We made it to my uncle's house around 8 pm (Michigan time). He was made roast beef, mashed potatoes, corn and green beans! I was in heaven! Little did he know that is one of my favorite meals. I'll confess that I actually ate TWO platefuls!!!

Michigan Trip-Day One

Day one of our big trip to Michigan took us to White House,TN to spend the night with Uncle Jonathan and Aunt Amy. We were almost there when we found out that Ella and Jude would not be there. Kingston was very disappointed until we got there and he realized that he had free reign of the toys. I did manage to keep him out of Ella's "office" (think markers, pencils, stationary), but not her glass slippers! We went to evening service, where I was very exicted to find out they had a children's class!!!! What a relief! Goldfish and fruit snacks can only go so far to keeping a three year old happy.

Cheeto Madness

It seems like every time we turn around Kingston is saying "I'm hungry!" or "I'm thirsty" or "Can I have a snack?" We've nicknamed him the little eaglet. So we weren't surprised when he asked for some Cheetos on the way home from Union City. At first I just let him get a handful at a time. Then I realized that I could just give him the bag. That boy set to munchin' Cheetos like there was no tomorrow. I guess at 6 pm at night, that should have been a sign that he was really hungry! He ended up with Cheetos EVERYWHERE! But he had a look on his face of total satisfaction!!!!

Patty's

Two years ago at Patty's


We decided to take the 1 hour trek to Patty's today for lunch. (Camden NEEDED some strawberry butter and homemade bread!) Kingston was so funny at the table. Two years ago he couldn't make it through the whole meal and had to be taken out for a "walk". This year he entertained himself the whole time. Who knew that a three year old only needed 5 pewter plates, a spoon, a fork, and a sugar horse and cart to keep entertained!!! I'm so glad that I didn't bring the "keep-my-child-entertained" bag this time!

Fireworks!!!

Kingston has discovered the joy of fireworks. (Thanks to Uncle Jonathan at Jude's party for that!) He asked us about 20 times when we were getting to the fireworks store. When we finally made it, he was SOOO excited. He was even more excited when we shot them off. He loves the sparklers (until they pop) and really enjoys watching the bright lights. Chris was also excited, but for another reason: we didn't have any duds in the bunch and he got $20 worth of fireworks for $10!!!!!

A Visit to Union City

We all went to Union City for a visit with Gimmama, Grandpa, and Aunt Pat. Kingston had a great time! We went to watch Kung Fu Panda on Thursday night. Kingston enjoyed the movie and really loved the snacks!!! I'm realizing that Kingston talks/comments more in the movies than even his Daddy does! He swam (naked) in the pool, rode his bike, went to the park, and colored in his coloring book. We've had a busy, but fun weekend!