King of the Hill

TA DA!!! Look at me...I'm King of the Hill!! He's really thinking about going down the other side at this point.
had to take a break and look it over...
the climbing begins...
Look how BIG the pile is!

Robbie had a dump truck load of sand delivered on Wednesday, so naturally we HAD to let Boo "play and climb" in it! He loved it, which I'm hoping means he'll love the beach just as much this summer on vacation. He loved sticking his feet in it and he really loved climbing to the top! By the way the sand/dirt is for landscaping purposes instead of a sandbox.

"Say Chee..."

Edmond and me "cheeing" it up at Cheeburger Cheeburger!
Whitney, our waitress. She was really sweet and patient with all of the Cheerios Edmond threw everywhere!
Christi, Brendan and Jamie at Cheeburger Cheeburger.
Edmond didn't get a morning nap before going to LR and he didn't sleep on the way down so he finally crashed in Belk before lunch. Shopping wears him out!
Robbie and Edmond--Edmond is distracted by some noise; cars maybe..??

On Tuesday Christi and Baby Brendan and Edmond and I went to LR to do some shopping before meeting up with Jamie for a late lunch. We went to Pleasant Ridge in West LR. I had never been so I was very excited to finally go. We had a great time and the boys were great! Pleasant Ridge has a lot of neat shops; Posh (a really cool furniture store w/ lots of contemporary pieces), Faux Pas (a fun jewelry store w/ lots of costume jewelry, purses, etc.), several children's stores and Hallmark and Belk,,,there are others I didn't mention.

They also have the eating place Cheeburger Cheeburger where we met Jamie for lunch. It was good,,,kind of like a diner-type setting. Robbie came over to say hi and grab a bite of lunch earlier in the day. He said he'd never seen so many strollers!! Guess this place is popular for stay-at-home moms!

Edmond Update...

Edmond is really becoming independent. He wants to walk soooooooooo bad but he needs at least one hand to hold onto for reassurance. He loves this little walker; as you can see he pushes it around with one hand most of the time. He'll be a year old in 3 weeks! I can't believe it,,,it really is true when people say "how time flies"!! His hair has become extremely curly in the back (which is a Rhodes trait); thank goodness,,,at least he'll get something from my side! ;) Robbie and I love the curls and even though we have his first "haircut" scheduled we're not gonna get much cut off--maybe just a trim! They're too cute and everyone I've talked to says to leave em' as long as we can. You should see his hair in the mornings!! YIKES!

He's a good boy for the most part even though his onesie says "Mommy's Little Monster"! He has his moments just like the rest of us. :)

He found this bag in his closet and was toting it around like he was going shopping...Robbie said, "uh oh, you've been hanging out with your mommy too much",,,,BUSTED! Hey, I've gotta pass the time somehow day in and day out.

Happy Birthday, Karla!

Happy Birthday, Karla!!
Maggie, Sarah & Edmond.....The girls gladly walked Edmond around, which he loved!
Jennifer and Karla
He sleeps like his momma.....

Robbie took his first weekend off since he's been at Riverside Acura so we headed north to our parents'. My mom and Uncle Frank sold my Mammaw's house so we had a yard sale there on Sat. The weather was perfect, not a single raindrop all day. I made a measly $16.60...go ahead and take a moment to laugh right out loud. Pretty pitiful isn't it. Oh well,,,at least I didn't come back with any junk. The remaining "stuff" was donated or sold to a local business up there.

Sat. evening we went to Jonesboro to celebrate Karla's birthday with all of the Jones Clan. We ate at Ed's Fish House, which was good! Edmond enjoyed it as well eating black-eyed peas, sweet potatoes and rolls. We thought it was a little early to introduce him to crab legs and shrimp. Maybe next time...

Weekend Warriors

Weekend Warriors

This past weekend we hosted the Rhodes Bunch in Conway. It was alumni weekend at Hendrix College so we had the weekend planned with lots of activities. My parents and my youngest nephew, Kendall stayed at our house while Jason ,Corbin, and Camden stayed at a hotel so they could enjoy the indoor pool. Jamie stayed behind in CV for some R&R; we missed ya!

They all arrived Friday afternoon and headed out Sunday. Friday night my dad and Jason went to the Hall of Fame banquet while we "babysat". Saturday morning my mom and I shopped a little around town while the boys "babysat". Saturday afternoon we headed to the new Wellness Center at Hendrix for the alumni game and to see some fellow Warriors. There is a rock-climbing wall in the center and Corbin and Camden got to try it out (the pictures turned out real dark for some reason).

Saturday evening we went to a lovely dinner at Michaelangelo's. My family are Mike's Place fans (go figure) so Robbie and I wanted to introduce them to their sister restaurant. We had some friends join us as well. Sunday morning we ended the weekend by having a family breakfast at good ole' Cracker Barrel, which is a tradition after a weekend visit (I know you're jealous Jonathan)!! Then it was time for the goodbyes. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of my parents,,sorry mom and dad!

We had a great time having them here for the weekend. Edmond had a blast hangin' with all of his cousins, especially Kendall. It was so quiet after everyone left! It was a busy but fun weekend and you can only imagine what my house looked like after 4 boys got through with it...let me quote Robbie, "We should contact Gov. Beebe and see if we could get FEMA assistance because I think a tornado has been through here..." (I hope no one takes offense to this statement, he was only joking) But how true that statement really was!! ;)

Baller'

Last week during Robbie's day off he and Edmond played a little pass with the basketball (notice the ball is Edmond size). I thought these were cute shots and just wanted to share them with everyone. Robbie is in front of Edmond catching and throwing the ball back and forth to him.

Park Playdate

He's holding on...in mid-swing. He was distracted by the cars passing by...
Rhonda and Owen Blue. Rhonda is expecting her 3rd boy in June!! Love those boys! Isn't she too cute??!! I think the sun was in Owen's eyes.
My little swinger...he's such a big boy! He knew to hold on all by himself.

Rhonda and her son, Owen invited us to play with them at 5th Avenue Park (behind Roller-McNut Funeral Home off the interstate) yesterday. The park is real nice; I wasn't even aware that there was a park there. It was Edmond's first time to go to a park and his very first time to swing! Thankfully he loved it so now we can add this to our summer-time activities list. It was so pretty and warm; a great day to be outside! He's a typical boy because he wanted to eat everything off the ground, including mulch and sticks. I think today was the first day he got dirt under his fingernails as well--Susan don't make fun! ;) Anyway, we had a good time and I enjoyed getting to visit with Rhonda as well.

Recap of Weekend

Edmond and I took Memaw Bettie home Friday and stayed the weekend with my parents. We were sad to see Memaw go especially since I got a lot of cleaning done in my house that was way overdue! I know Edmond enjoyed her visit as well! We had a good time having her here. Thanks Memaw Bettie!!

We hung out with my bro and his family Friday evening while waiting for my parents to return from Destin. Edmond had fun playing with all of his cousins and with all of their toys. He was in amazement. Jamie cooked a wonderful supper and we enjoyed our visit with all of them.

Saturday and Sunday we just hung around the house and I went to see Mammaw out at the nursing home before heading back to Conway. A nice weekend with family!!
We have one of these walkers at home and Edmond's really starting to use it. Every time he started walking behind it Kendall thought he would help him by hanging on to the side of it...it was so cute! We stopped the boys during their walk for a photo op. Kendall, Camden and Edmond
Edmond at Grandaddy's office...we thought we'd take a break from running errands and change a diaper and let Edmond see Grandaddy. He's so proud of himself!

Garvan Woodland Gardens

Garvan Woodland Gardens

We finally we made it to Garvan Woodland Gardens today, which is in Hot Springs. We thought today would be the best day since there was only a 20% chance of rain (at least that what the forecast said last night; we forgot to check it this morning) plus Robbie took off work. Not too far outta Little Rock it started pouring down rain and never stopped until we almost got to the gardens. We took a detour to Malvern (where Robbie lived when he was a little boy) to take a walk down memory lane and buy some time.

It was so cold but at least the rain had stopped; or so we thought. Needless to say we saw some of the gardens (the "Asian" inspired-botanical side and didn't get to see the flowers, which I was super excited about. Oh well,,maybe next time. The lady in the gift shop gave us a free one day pass to come back when the weather is more predictable--like that ever happens in Arkansas!

On our way to the car, we stopped by to admire the Anthony Chapel that includes "50-foot-tall glass walls and oversized skylights open to the surrounding woodlands..."it really is a magnificent sight. I know several couples that have been married here and I can totally understand why. I can hardly put into words what beauty we saw today and we didn't even see half of it. Visit www.garvangardens.org to find out more.