AT HEATHMAN PLANTATION

catfish fry - √

water slides - √

ice cream - √

tons of kiddos - √

family fun - √

It just gets better every year!!!!

We LOVE LOVE LOVE our Church 4th of July Party!

OUR TRIP TO HUNTSVILLE

AUNT LIB MET THE TWINS!

I had no idea how huge Huntsville really was.  I swear it is bigger than Jackson!  Usually we stay kinda on the outskirts of town, close to Aunt Lib's house.  I had a patient that gave me a two night free stay at the Westin in the new "Bridgewater" area.  So, by having free rooms I was able to talk Papa into staying somewhere a little more fun.  WOW.  It reminded me of the Baytowne Warf in San Destin - shops, dining, live music, carousel rides, paddle boats, cocktail bars, feed the fish, kid zones, etc....  It was crazy how much there was to do in just that one area - not even including all the other things Huntsville has to offer :  space station, zoo, botanical gardens.  Definitely a great place we will want to go when the kids get a little older and can enjoy it.  It was a quick trip but a lot of fun!  The girls did great in the car, so lets just hope the beach travel is just as good :/

PAPA AND HIS SISTER LIBBY

LIBBY AND HER FRIENDS FROM THE UKRAINE

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE

IF ONLY I HAD MILLS IN THIS PICTURE....

THE HARDIN HOARDER

YOU COULD CONSIDER THIS AN INTERVENTION

We have come to an undeniable conclusion that our suspicions about Rose are true.  She is a PACK RAT.  I mean - Wikipedia even has her pegged.  

We came to this conclusion as we packed up her room to move to the new house.  I truly stood back in amazement.  How does one small person accumulate that much crap in one small space???  I blame myself totally for allowing her disorder to get to this point.  I should have bitten the bullet and cleaned out her toys/room/closet a long long long time ago.  She has kept EVERY. SINGLE. THING. she has ever gotten....  the tops to chap stick, Sonic Wacky Pack prizes, rings from the Mexican restaurant toy machine, random puzzle pieces, pennies, ribbon, the tip of a broken crayon, dried up play doh, a bird feather, an empty Kleenex box, DVD cases with no DVDs to be found, and an empty Pezz Candy thing-a-ma-jig - ya know?  because we like to FEED THE ANTS at our house! OMG  ....  you name it - it was in her room.  She strategically placed each toy inside of another toy (shes a clean closet hoarder in other words).  So all of her junk was compactly placed into something small and usually zipped up, then placed into something a little larger - and usually zipped again, then placed into something like a birthday sack and then shoved into a hidden place behind something bigger.  Yes we clean our house.  Yes Rose's room is picked up and toys put away on a daily basis.  She's just magical I guess. I have no explanation as to where all this crap came from.  Really. 

Inside this jewel of a purse:  one my little pony, one LARGE piece of blue sidewalk chalk, one baby toy, pink and purple hair extensions, a stuffed pig, two UNO cards, a cup, a random puzzle piece, a hair bow, a pool toy, a melted peppermint, and my missing Nude colored make-up Foundation sponge.

This may just seem like books to most people - but here is the kicker - we had already boxed up her bookshelf.  These are the books that appeared as we were cleaning up other parts of her bedroom.  Amazing.  

WOW.  just WOW.