A Visit to Neyland Stadium

The annual Orange & White game took place on Saturday, and we thought it would be the perfect opportunity to introduce E to the 8th Wonder of the World: Neyland Stadium. OK, so maybe it isn't the 8th Wonder of the World, but at the very least it is the Mecca for the Vol Nation. I digress...

Anyway, we pulled out the little orange and white football jumper that Mommy has been waiting for him to grow into, and took our littlest Vol fan to campus to experience a sampling of what game day is like in Knoxville. We found a great free parking spot near the baseball stadium, and with E snugly secured in a rucksack carry in our new orange wrap, we headed across campus toward the stadium. We stopped off at Tennessee Traditions in Stokely Athletic Center to purchase E a souvenir to commemorate this important milestone. We were excited to learn it was half off day in the store, and E scored an awesome Tennessee ball cap, a t-shirt, and an arm band for only $13! While in Stokely, we visited Uncle G's wrestling photo that hangs there as part of the Vol All Americans display.

The we paused for some pics with the orange and white tulips in Circle Park.

Then we went to the stadium to enjoy some football. E loved it. He enjoyed watching the players, listening to the band, and clapping along with all of the other fans.

Papaw, Papa S, Aunt C, and Grammy also joined us for the game. Aunt C helped E eat his hot dog. He enjoyed spending time with all of them.

At half time, we got a special treat. Several Vol legends returned for an alumni flag football game. It was so nice to see Peerless Price, Al Wilson, and several other Vol greats take the field again.

It was a great introduction to Neyland Stadium and the University in general. It may have been his first trip to this great place in person (he attended several games while still in the womb), but it certainly won't be his last!

A Try at Another Type of Green Thumb

When J and I bought our house in Oak Ridge, we wanted to have a garden where we could grown some tomatoes and a few other vegetables to enjoy. We tilled up a small space and gave it our best shot. Unfortunately, there were too many squirrels and not enough sun light, and our one attempt gardening there was pretty much a complete failure. 

One of the things we love about our new house is that we have a big back yard with lots of sun, and there was already a place where the previous owners had raised a garden for years. While I doubt our little garden will thrive as well as Mr. W's did, we are giving gardening another try. Hopefully since the conditions here are more favorable, we have more success. 

We want to invite you along on this little gardening adventure with us, so check back regularly to see how things are going...or should I say growing. This week, J tilled the garden. Then with help and encouragement from E riding in the awesome new wrap that Mamaw helped me make this week, I helped Jeff rake the garden to remove all of the grass that had taken over the garden while Mr. W was ill.

Hopefully our hard work preparing the soil will result in a wonderful harvest.

I Scream for Ice Cream!!

Last Sunday we were sitting in the sunroom with the windows open watching the Masters and playing when Daddy suddenly says, "Do you hear that? It sounds like an ice cream truck." If you know J, you know that he loves ice cream, so you won't be surprised to learn that he heard the truck a good 5 - 10 minutes before it finally appeared on our street. E had never experienced an ice cream truck, so we quickly grabbed some cash from Daddy's wallet and headed to the front door to wait. Finally, the ice cream truck came driving down our street, and E and Mommy ran out to greet it!

We have shared ice cream with E several times, and he loves it, but I wanted him to have something that he could eat by himself. He tried a popsicle from the store a few days earlier and wasn't a huge fan, but we decided to give popscicles another try. We purchased an original bomb pop and headed inside to dig in.

I think it is safe to assume that he liked it this time!

Yard work, Dollywood, and a Softball Game

We have continued to take advantage of the wonderful weather by getting outside as often as we can. With the arrival of Spring, we have been working on the flower beds getting them ready to bloom and be beautiful in the coming days. E was a big helper when it came time to prune the monkey grass out front. He helped Mommy by pushing her gardening cart away from the flower bed and out into the yard.

A few days later he once again helped Daddy mow the lawn. We went to Home Depot and bought him special ear muffs so he could mow without the worry of the loud motor damaging his hearing. Daddy worked him so hard that he fell asleep on the lawn mower.

We also got to spend some time at Dollywood one day. Papaw accompanied us on E's first visit to the park. He rode the big cars with Daddy, but Mommy had to ride everything else with him because Daddy was too big to fit. But after once around with Mommy, he was ready to venture out and ride on his own!

Then after a fun morning at Dollywood, we headed north to Aunt B's softball game. E enjoyed playing with D and Z at the game, then playing with D at their house later that night before sleeping all the was back to Meow and Papaws. Z had played so hard that day that he was out for the night by the time we got back to the house.

As you can see, we are definitely enjoying the weather. And while I am sure we will be happy to see Old Man Winter visit again in a few months, we are glad the warm weather is here to stay for now!

He is Risen!

It is hard to believe that this was E's second Easter. Last year he was so tiny...well, tiny by E's standards. One of his Easter presents last year was a big stuffed bunny. The bunny was so large that E was able to sit on his lap last year. To show how much he has grown in his first year, we decided that it was only fitting to pose him with the bunny again this year. As you can see, he is a bit bigger this year than last.

On the day before Easter, our church had an egg hunt. This was E's first egg hunting experience as he was obviously too small for such fun activities last year. He was so cute in the little bunny romper that Great Aunt L had given him last year and the new sandals that Grammy and C got him. He enjoyed watching and playing with all of the kids while getting ready for the hunt. By the time he found his 11th egg, he had finally mastered the concept of picking up the egg and putting it in the basket. He played so hard that he had worked up quite an appetite when dinner arrived. He ate 2/3 of a hot dog, some baked beans, a couple of Cheetos puffs, and some fruit! He had a wonderful time and was absolutely nasty by the time the evening was over! Unfortunately Mommy and Daddy were too busy playing with E and working the video and forgot to take many still photos, but here are a few that we managed to snap.

On Easter Sunday, he was so cute in his little suit. We had a brief photo session on the front porch before heading to church.

After church we shared a special lunch with some special family members. The sweet potatoes were his favorite. Then it was time for Easter baskets and more egg hunting! The Easter Bunny sure was good to E again this year!

 What a great day celebrating that He is risen indeed!