Navy Ball

We went to our third military ball last night.  However, this one was a little different and it was an officer's only ball.  It was held at hotel on the beach in Ventura.  I almost switched seats so I could watch the sunset over the ocean as the speaker was talking.  Don't worry, I didn't actually do it, but I really wanted to.  I knew a few more people this year and was thankful to not be at the very head table...we were pretty much at the front, but not like last year.

Sometimes I still find myself thinking, "Is this for real?.  Like, look at my husband!  He's wearing a uniform and is all blinged out in ribbons.  What is happening?!"  But then Ben gets up and calmly begins the whole ceremony with a prayer and I remember how amazing he is at his job.

I'm so proud of him.

As I'm writing this, I'm realizing how ironic it is that it's called a "ball" and there wasn't actually any dancing last night...

Uncle Jordan's

I don't know what this game is, but it was played several times by all the boys.  All I know is it's Star Wars themed and some day when Eli reads this, he is going to roll his eyes that I can never remember Star Wars details.

Ben and I ran to the spot where Jordan and Amanda got married.  I think we are technically trespassing here...but it was cool to see it!

Jordan had to work some, so Amanda took us to a farm that she grew up going to.  We went on a tractor ride and saw a baby calf that had just been born.

It was really great to be back in Tennessee; it was the first time the boys have ever been.  We packed in a lot of time with family and most importantly gained a new brother-in-law!

Madisyn's Wedding!

Alison and I got to go to the wedding venue early and help with setting up.  We spent the day there, doing lots of odd and end jobs, from putting ribbon on the bouquets to setting the tables to making a last minute run to find more napkins.  It was really fun to be a part of the day.

 The boys were at Jordan's and Ben sent me this picture:

They were so excited to be in matching suits, although Eli is giving his "I'm taking this very seriously" look and wanted to surprise me.

Ben ushered the moms into the ceremony and then we got front row seats for the beautiful ceremony.

Again, no pictures because they were smart and asked everyone to put away their phones for the ceremony.

Then it was time to party!

 

 Ben declared this the perfect picture of the evening.  He calls it 'Boy at a Wedding'

Pretty much every single person there was on the dance floor, but Eli was completely oblivious as he devoured his cake.

Colin was out on the patio, dancing with Adelyn and Tessa.  He really clicked with them and did not want to leave their side the whole night.

 They only played a couple of slow songs, but Ben got to dance with Alison once :)

As Ben and I said goodbyes to family we haven't seen in years, the kids started helping clean up.  It was really sweet to see them jump in and help uncle Robin and aunt Mary.

Shopping and a show

The next day we did some shopping.

Ben wanted to go into a famous guitar store.  It was a treat for him...not so much for the kids.  

Their treat was the Lego store!

Alison's new favorite place is Bath and Body Works, so we let her shop in there too.  Opry Mills mall was one of my favorite places to go years ago and it was fun to go back.

That night, we got to have dinner with Madisyn and Wyatt.  It was such a sweet time with them...I tried to get a picture, but was told to wait until the wedding and I still didn't get a picture...oh well...we'll just put that down as living in the moment and not behind a phone.

Colin spent quite a bit of time at the pond in front of Poppy's house.  It was fun seeing him exploring.

The next day, Uncle Robin, Aunt Mary and Sarah came to town.  Rick reserved a table for us all at Plaza Mariachi.   We all got tacos and listened to the band, while the kids could play at this giant play place.

 There was also a ariel show that Colin was completely mesmerized by.

 It's been fun to connect with Sarah since living in California and it was so nice having her in Tennessee.  She is so sweet to our kids, especially Alison.  Right after I took this picture, she scooped her away to get some churros just the two of them.

 

I know where Sarah gets it from, because her parents are so loving.  Robin loves on our kids like their his own grandkids.

 We ended the night in the arcade.

Trip to Tennessee: to the farm with Poppy

We spent a week in Tennessee, to spend time with family and celebrate Madisyn's wedding.  We spent the first part of the week at Rick's and kicked off all the festivities at the farm.

I'm pretty sure this will be the last picture of Rick holding the boys.

I keep telling them to stop growing!

First stop, was the corn pits.  I think they would have happily played in the corn all day. It reminded me of all the times we would play in the silos at my Aunt Karen's as a kid.

Alison sliding down the hill:

Alison and Eli on the swings:

 

 We had a race through the corn maze.  Poppy and the boys were on a team and then Ben, Alison and I were on a team.  It was too hot to be stuck in a corn maze that didn't have an exit, but we survived and Poppy's team won.

The flower field next to the corn maze...wouldn't have minded getting lost in that field.

Zip lining:

The farm cat kept trying to bounce with Alison...it gave us all a good laugh.

My favorite part of the day was seeing Rick ride these tricycles with Colin.  It was the best!

Then Ben and the kids had a race.

 We split some apple cider slushies, which hit the spot on this unusually hot day.

We watched some pig races and saw lots of animals.

 

We stayed until the big event of shooting candy out of a canon. 

 

We ended our adventure at Sonic, because Sonic does not exist in California and some corndogs were calling our name.