80th Birthday

Well, I looked back at the blog and realized that I skipped a trip to Springfield, and a very important one at that!! :) The weekend BEFORE we went to Springfield to visit the Looten's and go to Silver Dollar City, we went down again to visit my grandparents for Grandpa Don's 80th birthday! We really spent the whole weekend just hanging out, and had a very low-key celebration. It is always nice to hang out with that side of the family, as we usually only see the whole group at Christmas!

As usual, Elena spent a lot of time "playing" with Anias, the turtle that lives in Grandma & Grandpa's backyard! We all hunted all over the yard for him, then we hunted all over to find clover flowers that she could feed him! It was kind of cool to see him actually eat a flower from her hand, though!

Grandpa & Laney, off to hunt for Anias!

Poor Anias, no hiding spot was safe!!

But at least he got lots of clover flowers!

This was hilarious- Elena literally walked out into the yard, patted her leg, and said "C'mere, turtle!" (Or teetle, which is what it sounds like when she says it). Clearly, she's not quite up to speed on the whole turtle personality!!

All that turtle chasing can wear a girl out! I love that she is sleeping in a "chicken nest," just like Yaya used to make for us. And, boy, did she sleep! She slept for several hours in there, and didn't even flinch when we took several pictures, USING a flash! She's a sleeper!

Of course, Laney helped Grandpa blow out the candles, which made for some really cute pictures! Ruth got this one, where they're both actually looking at the camera...

... but I almost like this one better!

The whole family at the party, jammed in behind Grandpa's chair! It actually doesn't look so bad, but it was a little claustrophobic! Only a few people missing- Dad, Jess & Mike, and Jeff. Not bad!

And, of course, Laney learned the joys of playing "ride a horsey" with Aunt Kim! They were really buds this trip... and Elena even managed to talk to Uncle Drew, who she is usually scared of!

All in all, it was a really fun and relaxing trip... and always awesome to hang out with that side of the family when we get the chance! Love you all, and happy birthday, Grandpa!!