Days with the Jensens: What A Week

Warning: Long post ahead! We have been quite busy this past week with traveling, shuffling kids and making plans. We started our week of travels last Friday, July 16th. I had my friend, Megan, ride with me to Hertz (Spencer was working) to pick up a rental car for me to drive to Louisville. I drove a lovely bright red Carolla 6 hours to Louisville Friday (left at noon) and when I arrived I had a huge headache from all the shaking! Needless to say, I was still happy to be there and I made the trip ALL ALONE! Ahhhh....6 hours of silence, well besides my music blaring! I left the kids with Spencer because my best friend/sorority sister, Andrea, is having a baby girl in August and she was having a shower on Saturday. My three other best friends/sorority sisters, Emily, Katie and Laura, were also there and I hadn't seen them since July of last year. We always try to get together more often but with babies and schedules it makes it very difficult. Andrea and her husband, Mike, had a cookout at their house on Friday night and we enjoyed some great food and conversations. Of course the girls and I stayed up super late talking and just trying to catch up with each other. The shower was at Mike's parent's house Saturday at noon and Andrea got tons of great stuff! Mike and Andrea took us to their favorite restaurant in Louisville and all of us agreed that it was one of the best places ever! We had a blast at dinner and a good time that night. I had so much fun with the girls and I love it when we are all together....it is a rare occasion these days! My Mom drove to Louisville to spend the weekend with her sister so Andrea dropped me off at Valerie's house Sunday morning so I could ride home with my Mom (will get to the reason as to why I was driving a rental in a minute).

So Spencer was a champ and had a great time being the sole caregiver for a full 24 hours. His parents drove down Saturday to help him (which he informed me later that he would have been fine without them because he was doing such a good job and having so much fun). So they had some good family time and after church on Sunday and lunch Gary and Gayla kindly drove our children back to Kentucky with a stop in Tennessee to pick up Carter and Seth....can you imagine the ride???? ha! Gary and Gayla wanted to keep the older kids for a week this summer so this was the week. Mom and I picked up Rane on Monday morning and took him back to their house for the week. I really, really enjoyed my time with Rane. He was such a good boy and became extremely attached to his Mimi. In fact, I know he held a grudge against me for leaving him on Friday because him AND Ella Ann ran straight into my Mom's arms Monday morning when they saw us pull into the driveway! I could not even get a hug, kiss or even a smile out of Rane until late Monday afternoon! I felt terrible! He finally forgave me and became my sweet, loving little boy again! We played around the house during the week, my friend, Sara, and her two kids came over on Tuesday for a visit and on Wednesday Mom and I drove to Evansville to shop and eat lunch. Rane was a trooper the entire time and was great. He got very upset, though, while we were at the mall but we just thought he wanted out of his little car cart. That was certainly not the case because when it was time to leave and we got him out of the car we saw that he had pooped through his shorts! Poor boy! So he went to lunch at Chili's in a white polo shirt, a diaper and brown sandals! Leave it to me to not have any backup clothes! We went to dinner on Thursday night at a new restaurant in town and on Friday we drove back to Gary and Gayla's house to trade kids.

We picked up Ella Ann Friday morning and left Rane with the Jensens for the weekend. Spencer arrived at their house on Thursday afternoon so he rode back with us to my parent's house. Side note....Ella Ann couldn't stop talking about all the fun she had at her Nana and Papa's house! On Thursday they took the kids to visit Nanny in Central Kentucky, to Dino World and made a stop at Chuck E. Cheese's on the way home! Yes we will have a difficult time adjusting both our kids to our normal, boring days at home! My Dad met us at the house and we loaded up the cars and drove to the lake, a.k.a., Barkley Lake for my non-Kentucky readers. This is the reason I drove a rental to Kentucky because Spencer was driving up later in the week and we didn't want to take two cars home to Atlanta. We have been planning a trip to the lake with just Ella Ann (Rane couldn't handle it yet) for a very long time and I know my Dad has been looking forward to it for months and months! I grew up at the lake and my parents have never been without a boat....they go every weekend in the summer and have since I was born. I hadn't been since I lived in Kentucky (5 1/2 years ago) so I was looking forward to enjoying some time out on the boat and seeing familiar faces.

We went out on the boat, just the 5 of us, Friday afternoon to let Ella Ann experience the lake for the first time. We thought she'd go banana's over having to wear a life jacket the entire time, swimming in lake water, riding on a boat, etc. but she proved us all wrong and loved every second of our time on the lake! She couldn't wait to get in the water and once she was in she never got out! She had a blast both Friday and Saturday! We ate dinner at the boat dock restaurant Friday night and for breakfast Saturday morning. Ella Ann was ready to get back in the lake on Saturday as soon as possible! After we loaded up the boat we headed out for the day, along with all of my parent's friends. Ella Ann loved playing with Brylee, the daughter of some friends of ours, and playing in the water with Grandpa, Mimi, Daddy and all the other little kids and adults in the water. It was good to see everyone that I hadn't seen in so long and hang out with my parents on the boat. Everyone ties their boats together in a bay close to our boat dock so it was a lot of fun and a lot of boats/people! Late that afternoon, after dragging our pruned little girl out of the lake, we headed in to grill out at my parent's place. Ella Ann was SO tired she nearly fell asleep during the short boat ride back to the dock. We enjoyed some wonderful food courtesy of my Dad and he cooked breakfast for us Sunday morning that Spencer really, really loved. Ella Ann went across the street to give hugs to some of our friends, mainly Brylee, and off we went to pick up Rane. We met Gary in Madisonville and we were finally back together as a family of 4. I missed us all being together for an entire week but it was worth all the traveling and planning for all the fun that was had. It was good to get home and I am ready for normalcy but we will all surely miss the good times we had last week. Thanks again to my parents and Gary and Gayla for taking such good care of us and especially our kids!

Another warning: Lots of pictures ahead!

The amazing red velvet (my favorite!!!!!!) cake at Andrea's shower.

Andrea with some of her loot!

My dear friends/sisters: Emily, Andrea, Me, Laura and Katie at the shower.

At dinner Saturday night.

Rane lovin' on Sebastian.

Rane was NOT happy at all when Mom or I held Jay (Sara's little boy) and he would come barreling toward us and practically sit on Jay! Ummm...jealous a little???

He didn't like Lucy, Sara's daughter who is one month older than Rane, in Mimi's lap either!

Rane's sweet ride at the mall in Evansville. Side note, I have the same picture of Ella Ann riding in it when she was 2.

Mom just got Rane up from his nap and I had to snap a picture because he looked so precious.

Rane and Dad were playing with a balloon and when I snapped this picture it was perfectly in front of my Dad's head....what a shot!!!

And we're ready for Ella Ann's first ever boat ride! We ride their golf cart down to the boat dock and I think Ella Ann loved that the most! She put her life jacket on as soon as we arrived!