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September 9, 2010

Sweet Home Alabama

The girls' first trip to Sweet Home Alabama was over Labor Day weekend last year, when they were eight months old. We've been looking forward to anniversarying the trip all summer.

We followed the same basic schedule this year as last, but there were definitely some differences with the girls being 20 months old this year!

We left Saturday morning, running about an hour late. I don't remember the specifics of our departure last year, but I don't think we've gotten any more efficient over the past year in leaving on trips!

Instead of stopping part-way for a bottle, though, we drove about 80 miles and stopped at the Olive Garden for lunch. The girls enjoyed their first taste of pizza - chicken alfredo - with Mommy.

We arrived at Granddaddy and Emme's house late Saturday afternoon. We admired the views from their back deck...


...and went to feed the geese, turtles, and fish in the neighbor's pond.



Sunday we enjoyed having my aunt (Grandma Linda) and cousins (Aunts Teresa, Tiffany, and Sara) over for a delicious barbeque. Granddaddy is quite the grill master, and this year the girls got to enjoy his handiwork, too.

Sadly, there aren't any pictures from the barbeque, though. Baby B was experiencing a bit of a meltdown. Last year she was pretty ambivalent to the festivities...this year, I think there was a little too much newness all at once...

Monday, mid-morning, we said goodbye to Granddaddy and Emme and headed to visit Great-Great Aunt GG, and Great Uncle Tommy and Aunt Janet.


Following the Grill Fest on Sunday, the girls got their first taste of real down-home Southern cooking, including Aunt GG's famous macaroni and cheese and green beans. They were licking their little fingers! I loved that the girls were able to partake in all the wonderful food, as opposed to the pureed fruits and veggies they were eating this time a year ago.



We got home Monday, late afternoon, exhausted...but happy at having seen the 'fam. And that's one thing that will never change...how great it is to have been back in Sweet Home Alabama for a couple of days.

Check out these comparison pictures from Granddaddy's porch swing...




What a difference a year makes!

8 comments:

SouthernDogwoods said...

Wonderful post (maybe I am a little biased though) Alabama is so fun and yum on Olive Garden! Great pictures!

Unknown said...

Great pics!!

Christina said...

Glad you guys had fun, the pictures are great. I want some southern cooking now! :)

Deanna said...

Glad you had a good trip! It's amazing how much these tiny little beings grow in a year that seems to fly by so quickly. : )

Anonymous said...

wow. what a difference a year DOES make!!

:)

MultipleMum said...

How fun! Gotta love a family holiday. Love the swing comparison shots. Looks like a tradition developing there...

northsidefour said...

Just when I think they haven't changed that much I look at last year's pictures, it is always amazing, even when they are old and six. Sounds like a wonderful trip, and a wonderful family! Keep giving those girls real food!

reanbean said...

Sounds like a great trip. And how nice that you get to make it an annual thing. We visited my family in Iowa last summer, but couldn't afford to make the trip two years in a row. I'm already budgeting for our trip next summer. I can't wait!