Family Trip to Rock City!

What we've been up to...

We had a wonderful visit to the Botanical Gardens with friends. Both kiddos were in a "picture-taking" mood, so I grabbed some good ones! Love the head tilt-in. :)

We are already enjoying our pool! The water is still pretty chilly, but Emerson doesn't mind. Now Goo-Goo on the other hand, she does mind. She minds a lot actually. She screams "No, thank you-too cold!" when you try to even get her to go near the water.

We went to the Buck Creek Festival in Helena a couple weekends ago. The kiddos had a great time, and Emerson snagged this cool work apron. Not a whole lot of this kind of work going on around here (sorry, Todd), but he can wear it when Grampa gets back down here. :)

Emerson is very much into puzzles right now. I think we have done close to 20. The only problem is that when he has completed it, he insists that we glue it and hang it on his wall. So, we get one use out of the thing and on the wall it goes. Needless to say, his room is starting to look a little crowded.

I saved the best for last. I have to tell you that this picture makes me sob like a baby. Not because of how cute it is, but because of the conversation right before it was taken. Emerson asked me if I would take a picture of how much he loves his baby. (He has called Gracely "Baby" since she was born.) I asked him how could I take a picture of that and he simply replied "Like this." And from that came a picture that Todd and I will treasure forever.

We love you all. Thank you for checking in on us. We are happy, happy and blessed beyond words.

We love rainy days too!

Gracely is extremely freaked out by bugs...any bugs. This pic was taken right before she started screaming "Big bug get me! Big bug get me!" Good grief, it was monstrous, wasn't it?

Goo-Goo has named her baby 'Una' (?????) and she goes everywhere we go.

E-man is proud of his treasure that he found in the nasty ditch of water that runs behind our property. Uhh!

Having a blast!

This happens EVERY NIGHT!!! He says that he tries to stay awake, but I'm getting suspicious. Don't worry, I go and get him and put him to bed.



BTW, the sweethearts are going to Mississippi for a few days to stay with Mammaw and Pappaw...holla!!! Todd and I are getting a long weekend together by ourselves. SO excited! We are going to rest and relax and eat a few meals without sharing or stuffing it in so fast that we don't taste it. We might even go see a movie! Who am I kidding, we will probably twiddle our thumbs, not know what to do with ourselves and then miss the sweethearts so badly that we decide to get them early. Oh well, we try!

Much love to you all!

Howatt Happenings!

Gracely getting some good sugar from Baby Luke! Precious!
Our friend Daniel!

Sweet Sarah, another great friend!

Emerson loving the water park at the Zoo!

Gracely wouldn't touch the water, but she was rocking that leopard tankini!

Watching the monkeys!

The whole group!

Gracely couldn't believe what the Easter Bunny brought!

Emerson showing some yummys!

The Easter Bunny left a trail of candy down the stairs!

At the egg hunt!

Emerson showing his hoop skills!
This kid could win a contest!

With Daddy!

She just couldn't believe it! HA!

This pic was too cute not to include!

I hope everyone is doing well and making it through the yellow fog that has taken over! So far, neither one of our little loves has shown any reaction to it...no stuffy/runny noses or cough and sneezing, so for that we are very thankful. We have had a very busy couple weeks!

We had a wonderful Easter. The kiddos enjoyed dyeing eggs, going to a community-wide egg hunt and discovering the goodies that the Easter Bunny left behind. All of that was very fun and a great part of Easter, but Todd and I strove to incorporate the REAL reason for Easter (have you tried explaining the crucifixion and ressurection of our Lord to a 4-year old!?!?!-not easy!). But we did our best, and Mr. Easter Bunny tried to help us by leaving the kiddos a nice note explaining why he celebrates Easter.

Todd actually had to leave on Easter Sunday for St. Augustine, FL for a continuing ed. course/tests. He will be home tonight, thank you Lord! We have missed him terribly but have had a great week with Mammaw with us. Tuesday we visited the zoo with great friends, so I'll include a few pics from that too.

We love you all and hope you are enjoying this beautiful Spring weather...we sure are!