Columbus visit

We have spent the last week in Columbus visiting family and celebrating this little guys 2nd birthday.

Jacob with his Nana

Jacob was such a cutie at lunch.  I loved is longer curly hair.  Aunt Christy has been
out of town so he's not had a haircut recently, but I loved it just the way it was.

We arrived on Wednesday night and had plans of staying with our niece Faith and her husband Tim.  They have the room and seem happy to open their doors to us. On Thursday I had lunch with Amanda, Jacob and Faith and picked up a couple of things for Kent's surprise graduation party.

Jacob just adores his aunt Fay, as he calls her.

After lunch we returned to Faith's for a little visit with Papa and to play with the blocks.  Such a
face of concentration. 

I unfortunately have no pictures of Kent's party, but it was a big surprise and we all had a great time.

Saturday was Jacob's 2nd birthday party being held at my brothers.  What a day that was.  His Grandparents Nardin where in town along with Kent's sister Michelle and her little girl Katherine who is 2 weeks younger than Jacob.  It was a beautiful day and once again we all had a terrific time.

There were lots of presents to open

Cousin Miles wanting to help

Mom and Dad were there to help too.

Batman Cupcakes, yum!

Jacob loved being able to eat his cupcake all by himself.

Cousins love cupcakes too!

Even Aunts love them.

Lots and lots and lots of playing outside.

Cousins taking turns.

Kind of looks like he is thinking about giving her a little push.

Hugging cousin Miles when he arrives.  

Playing chase in the yard is always fun.

Or playing on the slide with Papa close by watching.

After the party Mike and I went for a visit to our daughter Kate's home and visit a while with her and Miles.  I still can not get over how much Miles has grown.  He is such a sweet little guy.  I just love playing with him.  Below are a few candid shots I took of him while he was listening to his Mom and Papa talk.

That night after the party was over I found our niece Faith laying on her bed and all the pups had joined her.  I kept referring to her as the dog whisperer

On Sunday we had one last visit with Jacob.  His parents needed a little time alone to get their stuff put together for their upcoming vacation that was starting the following day.  So we took the birthday boy to the park for a walk then to Steak N Shake for lunch after that we stopped at the Mall and got a cookie.  He was such a good boy.

A walk at the park

Nana took pictures of the summer flowers

What a face this little man can make.

Doing pretty good handling the juice box.

We spent Sunday night at the Kerns residence.  They were so kind to let us keep the boat there overnight and us too for that matter.  I just love their home and property, it's such a relaxing place to be.

Julie always has the best hummingbirds

And flowers

Julie making a delicious dinner.  I think I caught her here in mid sentence.

The guys were shucking corn for dinner while the girls (pups) supervised.

Yummy Roasted veggies

The girls had a blast running around and playing with each other.

I just love these swings at the Kern's house.

Sweet little Buzz just sat quietly watching.

On Monday morning we were on our way back home to North Carolina.  The day started out beautifully.  Weather was cooler and dry and we got on the road with no problems.  We actually saw Amanda and Kent (with Jacob) on their way to Hilton Head for their vacation on Route 23.  Then shortly before lunch Mike was driving us through Charleston WV and he just gets this horrible look on his face and says we just blew two tires on the boat trailer.  All I could think was CRAP.  Mike handled the truck and trailer really well.  We were able to get pulled off the freeway and onto a side street.  

The tires were mere shreds, but luckily we didn't do any damage to the rims.

Nothing like hanging out on a side street waiting for road side assistance.

Millie was whooped!!! after a long stressful day.

Tuesday morning we were back on the road to NC.  Arrived home about 1:30.  It was a great visit with the family.  We are though so happy to be home now and looking out our back window at the lovely greenery. Night all!