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Whew! What a fun week! It's always nice to "break away" from the normal every now and then, and little John and I did just that. We went to Tennessee! My mom was going down to visit my sister and her family and at the last minute I decided to join her. We left early Wednesday morning and drove, drove, drove! I think we made three stops for breaks, little John was so good!

The last 2 hours were full of some whiny complaints, but all that was forgotten when we finally arrived! He absolutely loved his cousins! He immediately grabbed their fingers and proceeded to "tour the grounds" with them. And they were so willing to help and take care of them, what good kids they are!

On top of that there were the kittens...

12 Kittens!! Throughout the day he would bang on the glass doors every now and then so he could go out and see them. We would never get very far before he would plop himself down and watch them. They would usually congregate around him, or on his lap, and he loved it! He would pat their heads or give them a squeeze every now and then. Of course I never had the camera when they were all over him, most of them were having breakfast when I took this one, bummer.

Another source of interest was Samson. A very big and surprisingly well behaved young lab. Their first introduction was a few sniffs and licks behind the ears (given by the dog, of course!) and after that it was kind of a cool relationship. I think 'size' had allot to do with it, the kittens were so much more user friendly for little John!

There were also fish and a bird, all of which he had to greet every morning as soon as we woke up. No picture, sorry. But coming away from the animal fun, we also had our first swim in a pool together! The first time we got in he was a little worried and kept his 'serious face' on for most of it (despite his cousins efforts to make him smile). Isn't he so cute in his "Gilligan hat"!

When we went in the second time he was much more relaxed and had some real fun! It is so great to have new experiences with my boy!! Love it! It was especially great to share them with family, creating new memories with my mom and sister...

...and her wonderful kids!

It was sad to say "goodbye" but all good things...well, you know. We decided to break the drive up by leaving Friday evening. Little John slept most of the three or four hours that we drove until stopping at a hotel for the night. When we walked into the brightly lit lobby, elevator, and hallways he was wide awake and trying to take every sight in with a big grin on his face! He was so excited! I knew I wouldn't be able to lay him down again without showing him the whole room and letting him touch all the interesting things (like the door locks, and hangers). After that he slept pretty good. What a good baby I have!! We were in a hurry to leave the next morning but I took a quick shot before getting on the elevator, I had to somehow document his first hotel visit!

We were all so glad to get back to my parents house! John was waiting for us, and boy was little John excited to see his dad! He smiled and laughed and gave him a big hug. We've been giving each other big hugs ever since, it's so nice to be all together again! Hopefully our next big adventure will include all of us!

After all the fun and excitement it is nice to be home!