Wordless Wednesday

McKenzie's Birthday Trip

This past weekend we went to Memphis for a couple of nights for McKenzie's birthday trip.  Again this year McKenzie chose to go on a family trip instead of having a party.  (Yeah!)  Her first choice was to go to Nashville, but the flood changed our plans and she picked Memphis instead. 

Our first stop was The Incredible Pizza Company on Germantown Road.  That was at the top of McKenzie's list for the weekend so we decided to get that out of the way first.  I'm glad we did.  There were two bus loads of kids there but we still had a lot of fun playing the games and eating pizza. 

Next we checked in at the Doubletree Hotel downtown and went straight to the pool.  The pool was outside on the second floor, which was pretty neat.  The kids and I swam for a little while and then we headed out to find a nearby bakery for a snack.  We walked a few blocks and found this bakery that I had found on the Internet.  Unfortunately, it closes at 3:00 and it was 3:15!  Oh well, we made the loop and went to the Peabody Place.

The Peabody Place has gone down in recent years and doesn't have much left in it.  It does still have two awesome places to snack in, though!  The Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and Maggie Moo's Ice Cream.

These are three of the six chocolate covered strawberries that I got.  The RMCC has the best chocolate covered strawberries I have ever had!  The only reason I only got six is because that's all they had!

Betty got some ice cream and McKenzie got a chocolate milk shake from Maggie Moo's and Matt got a chocolate covered marshmallow with sprinkles.  Matt ate a few bites of his and then wanted to eat some of everybody else's snack.

The plan for Friday night was for Matt and me to go to the Redbirds game and McKenzie and Betty to eat a nice supper, go watch the ducks at the Peabody and then relax by the pool or in the room.  Our plans were changed by a flock of doves.  Apparently that is what caused a blackout in downtown Memphis for about 3 1/2 hours.  McKenzie and Betty's supper never came and the Redbirds game ended up being canceled.  We ended up going to see our friends at Target for a while.  I'm sure everyone there was happy to see Betty again!  We got back to the hotel just after the power was restored about 9:15.  Thankfully, we didn't have to go searching for another room!

Saturday morning we went to Miss Polly's on Beale Street for breakfast.  They have excellent waffles and potatoes.  Here's McKenzie's breakfast of eggs, bacon, grits and toast.

Lunch was at the Arcade, which is the oldest restaurant in Memphis.  The food is great and the atmosphere is really cool.  It was also frequently visited by Elvis - but he didn't show up that day.  We did sit a couple of tables away from his usual table, though.  We rode the trolley to and from the Arcade which thrilled Matt!

We got to see the Peabody ducks Saturday.

We hit a few stores Saturday afternoon and then went to eat supper at the Side Porch Steak House in Bartlett.  On the way back to the hotel we saw the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile downtown!!!

Saturday night we decided to take a tour of downtown on a carriage ride.  The carriage we picked happened to be driven by a guy who is originally from Grenada!  Small world!  We all had fun riding around seeing the sights of downtown.

This is the driver's dog, Sonny, who looked dead or asleep when we got in the carriage.  Once we got in and he realized that Betty "Dr. Doolittle" Cummings was riding, he came alive and actually jumped over the divider between the driver and the carriage and sat down in Betty's lap!  He didn't want to budge and the driver had to practically pick him up and put him back up front.  The driver kept apologizing and saying that Sonny NEVER does that and he didn't know what got into him.  We told him not to worry, it happens all the time to Betty.  Animals just love her!  At least the dog didn't jump on her head like the squirrel did!

The kids were glued to the seat opposite Sonny after his display of affection for Betty.

The Redbirds' ballpark was right across from our hotel, so after the carriage ride I went over and caught the last three innings of the game Saturday night.  The shot fireworks after the game and we had a perfect view from our hotel room!

Sunday we ate breakfast again at Miss Polly's before we checked out.  Our last stop of the weekend was in Southaven to watch the movie Ramona and Beezus.  It was a sweet little family movie and a good way to end a very fun birthday weekend for McKenzie and us!

The Berry Crew

Last Saturday I got to take pictures for our friends, the Berrys.  From what I understand, it was quite a rare occurrence that Ryan agreed to have his picture taken!  It was pretty hot, but I thought they turned out pretty good.  Here are a few pics and you can see the rest here.

Dancing Diva

Last week McKenzie went to a dance camp at Reagan Dance and Gymnastics.  She had a great time!  They danced, made a craft every day, and had snacks.  The first day, McKenzie came home and practiced what she had learned that day so much that she woke up Tuesday with a sore calf!  By Wednesday it was so sore that it hurt her to walk.  Betty rubbed her down with Myoflex and then I wrapped her leg with an ACE bandage.  She stretched it out a little and she sucked it up and went on to camp.  The instructor took pictures during the week and made a neat video of the girls which includes the dance they learned.  McKenzie is the one in the red monkey shirt.  Here it is!

Girls' Night and Boys' Night

McKenzie has been wanting to have a "girls' night" for just her and Betty.  So, Friday, Matt and I were banished from the house and headed down to Eupora to spend the night with Nana and Grand.  We had a great time visiting with them - even though Matt was disappointed because Mr. Glenn was out of town so he didn't get to go play trains with him.  Saturday morning we dragged out some old pictures and I showed one to Matt of me when I was four.  Matt studied it and said with amazement, "You were FOUR?!?!?!".  I guess he thinks I was always this old! 

The girls haven't divulged all of what went on during "Girls' Night".  I know there was at least food, a movie, and manicures.  The rest... they're not telling.

Last week, I got to take pictures for a young family.  The older child, is in Matt's Sunday School class and Matt calls him "Small Caleb" to differentiate him from his cousin Caleb, who he calls "Dah".  Hey, he's four, he doesn't have to make sense.  Anyway, the daddy, Jonathan is in the service and his wife, Gena, wanted a picture of the boys with the American flag in their back pockets.  I think they turned out really neat.  Here are a couple of pictures from the session.  Click here if you want to see some more.

Happy Birthday McKenzie!

Today is McKenzie's 9th birthday!  She is a sweet little girl, a wonderful daughter, and a great big sister.  We hope you have the best birthday ever!  We love you!!!

As promised by my wife, here's McKenzie's birthday video.  I accomplished my goal of making Betty cry when she watched it!  I hope you enjoy it.....

Birthday Fun!

McKenzie's birthday is Saturday and we have already started celebrating. She has talked about wanting a manicure and pedicure for her birthday for months now. So, I called Tammy last week to schedule her an appointment for today. We went this morning and had so much fun!

McKenzie has been dying to get her feet in this foot bath with jets. She said it tickled at first then it was so relaxing. I think I am a little jealous!

Matt kept saying you are not putting me in that thing because I'm a boy. Well, of course not, but he and I had fun hanging out with them and laughing and talking.

McKenzie chose the French manicure and pedicure. Tammy did a great job and was so sweet to her. I can't believe my girl will be nine in a few days! Where does the time go?  Makes me so sad! I will be back at the end of the week with a birthday video that David is creating for her.