Three is Company: Road Trip!

I left Friday afternoon about 1:00pm to begin my trip to Memphis for the weekend. I went to see a cousin of mine get married and because it was an "adult only" wedding, I traveled alone. Lucas had his first long weekend all alone with Layla. Before I left, we were switching the car seat to Lucas's car and Layla was SO excited about being able to ride in "daddy's car". With Lucas's job he is unable to do a lot of traveling, so I left my family behind and started the 6.5 hour trip to Memphis.

Luckily, on the way there, I was able to break up the trip. I stopped in Murfreesboro and spent the night with my parents. This was the first time I was able to see my uncle since his surgery, and he looks great! We were even able to go OUT to dinner on Friday night. That was the first time he had been out of the house in 2 weeks. Saturday morning, I picked up my almost 90 year old granddad and his wife and they rode along with me to Memphis. We got to spend some quality time together in the car talking about family of the past. I love spending time with them in conversation, there is always so much history to be shared. We arrived in Memphis about lunch time and it was non stop after that. The wedding was beautiful on Sunday and I got to see many people that I haven't seen in over a year.

My cousin (the groom's brother) trying to not get salsa on his tux:)

Reception. Girl in middle is Talia. She is the fiance of the cousin above. Other is a long time family friend Kelly. It was a fun night!

Mimosas and Chocolate covered fruit for breakfast...YUM!

Back home, Layla and daddy stayed busy as well. They had playground dates, went to church and attended a birthday party. Natalie took Layla to dance for me today and watched her until Lucas was able to pick her up after work. THANKS SO MUCH to the two of you for making this trip possible for me. It blessed me, as well as others.

Layla at the birthday party

Then at Barnes and Nobles. She really does have the BEST DADDY!

I left Memphis about 7:15am this morning with my grandparents. I dropped them off in Middle TN where I then picked up one of my other cousins who just got out of the air force and was needing a ride to Atlanta. He is staying with us for a few days. I grew up with my cousin Adam, so it has been fun to catch up since he has spent the last 5 years in Germany. We gained an hour and arrived in Atlanta at about 3:45pm. Not too bad of timing if you ask me:)

I did learn in on the way home that our childhood pet dog, Maggie, of about 15 or 16 years died on Sunday. Maggie was a chocolate lab who was one of the most gentle, loyal, dogs... ever. She arrived on an airplane from out west when I was around the age of 11 or 12. If I remember right, she was from a show breed but because of a defect on one of her claws she was not able to be used. Somehow, we got connected with her and she quickly became a part of the family. Not too long after we had her, she got hit by a car and the vet told us to put her to sleep because she would never walk again. Well, my uncle is pretty old school when it comes to that, so he just brought her home. We would go down to the barn everyday and try to beg her to walk by moving her food bowl just out of her reach. To all of our amazement, within a couple of weeks she began walking. Until the day she died, she walked flawlessly and you would of never known that she was ever hit by a car. We knew her time was coming. She would get up and down slower, and slower, and her body eventually just gave up. I am thankful that she did not have to face another winter, because it was so tough on her old bones. Because of my uncle's back surgery, he was not able to dig a grave so the neighbor came over and helped. Maggie, has a permanent spot of rest behind the barn on the family farm. RIP Maggie. You definitely lived up to the reputation of your breed. To be able to share life with a dog like you was a joy. Thanks for all the fun memories and companionship. You will be missed!