Big city girls' small town adventure

When daddy is away, the girls will play.. And oh boy, did these girls play!

For the last 3 weeks Dustin had training away from home. And this outnumbered mom knew that she could use some backup. So we packed up the car, dogs and all And drove to my parents' house. (aka Nonnie and Shummy's)

Our days of being cooped inside at home turned into living outside. (trust me the girls have tans to prove it) And even though they ate more popsicles and lollipops than I can even count; they ran off their sugar high in my parents' big back yard. (keep in mind, in our small back yard you're lucky to side step dog poop) They searched for squirrels, played at the park, got to see ducks in real life, and made cakes out of rocks. Baths were never an option because these girls played hard. And enjoyed every minute of it.

Shummy had them planting tomatoes, following him around the yard to water, and catching caterpillars to watch them then into butterflies. The girls spent time "in the country" (as my dad likes to call it) And picked blue bonnets,

fed cows and peacocks,

and listened to the loud scary train.

And Nonnie of course did what she does best,

spoiled the girls completely rotten. I swear her hands are never empty while we are there. The girls took a walk to see the church bells (which is now Mikah's new obsession) They constantly ate their favorite meals. All three girls had more attention than ever.

Of course Aunt R and Aunt A (my sister's Ariel and Adrienne) gave the girls the royal treatment. A trip to the zoo. Swinging high to the sky. First swim of the season. These aunts provided plenty of smiles and excitement. (and will be fully prepared for babies of their own one day)

Spending this time at my parents' definitely opened my eyes. My girls are living in a whole new world than I did growing up. Sometimes I do miss the small town lifestyle I was raised in.. Knowing everyone, School classes of less than 20. No traffic, or strangers. Family only minutes away. Waking up to the sounds of birds instead of helicopters.

But today, as I watched Livia get her face painted,

while Mikah played with her balloon animal at a store opening only minutes down the road from us; I realized they are living a different..yet pretty great childhood too. They are exposed to a lot being in a city nearly 3 times as large as the one I grew up in. But I want to make sure my spoiled little girls know just where I came from and appreciate every single thing they have. And I know that they will enjoy every memory of the time they spend "in the country".