This has been a great weekend. David was off and the weather here has been beautiful for lots of outside activities. We made a trip out to the Holston dam, which is in TN, to check out the famous trout fishing spots for David. The dam is amazing and Hunter had fun watching all the people fishing in the river. If you ask me, some of those guys fishing are cheating. The dam operators have these 'wells' in the river that rise and fall when the water is released. The fish seem to get trapped in there so they become easy targets for fishermen. You guys can decide. We also spent lots of time on the Creeper Trail. We usually go running after Hunter's morning nap, and since the weather has been close to perfect, we have been taking extra walks on the Trail in the afternoons. We have been searching for that perfect spot where the dogs and Hunter can play and David can fish. So far we haven't found it. There are some good access points along our walk, good for fishing, not so good for little boys to play in. Hunter loves the river and one of his new favorite things to do is to throw rocks in the water. He really enjoys throwing the rocks and watching Abby chase them.
For our Ibis fans out there, we almost lost him on our last Creeper Trail hike. As you all know Abby is our little lap dog, one that is entirely dependent on human entertainment and is never more than a leg's length from your shadow. She is great and we hardly ever walk her on a leash. Ibis, on the other hand, is our free spirit and he is restricted to a 'leash only' policy on our walks, hence we may never see him again. Well, we found a good spot to let Hunter play down by the river so I thought it would be OK to let Ibis run around for awhile and take a little swim. Ibis loves to swim and isn't the least little bit afraid of the water or rapids, or snakes, or, I really can't think of a thing he is afraid of. Needless to say, Ibis swam across the river and spent the rest of the time on the river hunting (or whatever he does on his adventures) and out of site. We spent the whole time calling him. It was awful. For about an hour we debated on who was going to cross the river and go search for him. While David was searching for a place to cross, here comes Ibis running down the rocky beach on the opposite side of the river, he catapults into the river and heads for the rock David is standing on. The next thing I see is a wet dog being tossed into the air as David pulls him from the rapids by his harness. David was so upset with him and Hunter and I are just laughing at this ridiculous sight. From down at the river's edge David was yelling, "Get out his leash!" Well, Ibis is safe. He has quite the adventures around here. The 'leash only' policy is back in effect for now.
Hunter also got a great little car over the weekend. He loves to sit in our cars and 'drive.' It is a little tikes car that we can push from the back and he loves it. Sometimes it is hard to get him out. We have lots of great pictures and videos of him riding in this car.

This is about as deep as it gets for Abby. We are just happy she got her feet wet.

Cheaters?

This is the spot where we lost Ibis. He was running up the shoreline on the left.

Ibis found and trying to get back into David's good graces!

New favorite toy!

Sorry, turn your screen around. Aren't we all thankful for those little outlet covers?Thanks for the cool b'day toys! Hunter loves them.

Eli is the next Lance. "Eli go fast".

Eli and Hunter riding in the Trek Go-Bug. I don't know who enjoyed this more, the boys or David.

Our first big boo-boo. Hunter fell over a ball and face planted onto the hardwood floors. He took it like a pro (only a few big tears)!

I actually got a picture of them sitting still..and at the same time. Way to go Aunt Noelle!

It has been a very busy week around the Simmons house. We had our in laws up from Atlanta so Hunter wore himself out trying to keep up with cousin Eli who will be 2 next month. The pace around here is quite different from that of the big city, but there were plenty of things to do to keep 2 little boys busy...and when little boys are busy, mommies and daddies are TIRED! Thanks to cousin Eli's help, Hunter had the extra motivation to rise up off all fours and really give the walking thing a shot. He is so funny, most of the time he walks with his arms straight up beside his head. I keep telling him it is harder that way to drop them out to his side. Whatever gets the job done I guess. We can't wait to have them back for another visit.

Birthday party!

PRESENTS!!! We looked like the Toys 'r' Us truck back to VA!

Some may think this hat looks ridiculous. As his mother, I think it is adorable. It was quite unbelievable, Hunter actually didn't mind wearing it. He knows he's a prince so maybe he thought it appropriate and about time!

He had a lion cupcake to match his cake. It was HUGE and he loved it so much David had to take it away. He almost ate the whole thing and we thought he might get sick!

Hunter loves his Papa and Granddaddy...and cousin Chloe.

I will not discuss the difficulties in purchasing this cake. All I can say is "Thanks Wanda, you rock!"

Hunter had such a great first birthday party and enjoyed sharing the special day with many family and friends. It was a beautiful afternoon and unusually cooler for an August afternoon in Pilot Mountain. David and I decided it would be nice to celebrate a little closer to our family and friends, not to mention we really don't have enough furniture to accommodate more than say, oh, 5-6 people! Maybe next year we will have the bash in Abingdon and actually have some patio furniture for a cookout. Hunter has a great summer birthday so we could even do a pool party. He is quite the swimmer this summer, but we are taking a leave of absence for the rest of the year as prophylaxis treatment against any more nasty ear infections. Please don't mention this to Hunter or David, both would be upset. Enjoy the pictures of the party.

Running with mommy and daddy on the Creeper..or just anywhere they will take me.
Wagon rides around the neighborhood dragging my 3 wood.
Helping mommy clean.
Polaris rides with my friends and Papa.
Helping daddy run any piece of motorized machinery around the house.

Just thought we would share some of the things that Hunter loves to do.

August 15, 2008

OK, so there are a few of you in this world that know I am not very computer savvy, so hang in there as I figure out the brand new world of blogging. My sister in law, Noelle, was kind enough to walk me through the steps of setting this communication super highway up! We are settling into our new home and would like to share many of our daily activities with you. Hunter is growing up and getting big so fast. This will be a neat way for all of our friends and family to see and keep up with all the fun things our superstar is getting into these days. Now I must say things are pretty busy, especially now that we are trying are very hardest to get up and walk, so I will try to post updates at least weekly. We will just see how it goes!