A few realizations...

So, we're back!!  We had an amazing, exhausting, emotional, and fulfilling trip back to good 'ol Kansas.  One of my oldest and best friends, Wendy, got married and P and I were both in the wedding. I can't tell you how blessed I felt to be a part of her day.  

As always, I came to a few realizations while we were home...

1.  Have 'gator' will travel.  P loves his 'gator' at my parents' house (I am not really sure why we started calling it this).  He could ride on it every day, all day.  He even convinced my mom to push him all the way to the park once.

2.  Seeing my whole family does my heart good.  My brother came home for a few days...unfortunately, it was the same weekend as the wedding and our time was limited, but definitely better than nothing.  He also brought his beautiful girlfriend home and I am so glad I was able to meet her!!

3.  Sometimes it is necessary to refuel on friendship.  I never get to see everyone I want to see when I am home...it just gets too hard to spend time with family and see friends when you aren't home very often.  However, my best friend, Jamie, drove down from KC (yeah, I know...she is an AMAZING friend)  for a quick girls lunch with one of my other good friends, Heather.  I didn't realize how much I needed to be around friends who knew me before I was Brady's wife or Parker's mom.  I know it sounds silly, but just going to lunch re-charged my spirit.

4.  P loves salad...and ketchup...especially together

5.  P finally tamed the beast (my parents' dog, millie)...she actually let him pet her...numerous times...crazy

6.  I have definitely missed this other little man, Greyson.  He is Lindsey's son...she is one of my absolute favorite people which makes him one of my favorite little guys.  I swear we did not mean to dress them alike!

7.  P should not see his cousins on less than 8 hours of sleep.  As you can tell from the picture below, he was not exactly awake and totally missed out on the fun because he was a walking zombie.  Too bad...he woke up the next morning asking to see Kyler and Kamden...shoot!!

8.  We need to see cows more often...P loves animals...Papa Marvin even waited to herd the heffers and their calves until we got there...it was pretty awesome, but P thought they were too loud, ha.

9.  P loves goats...seriously.  Last year at this time he was terrified and this year, he saw them on three different occasions and loved it.  My favorite 'P' quote from the petting zoo, surrounded by goats, was, 'hey guys, excuse me...excuse me guys.'

10.  All a boy needs is a club...my dad took P golfing...he even found a putter that could be either right or left (because P swings with his left and throws with his right so we're still not sure) and cut it down to size.  P was in heaven.  This was G-Dawg/ Parker time and I don't have any pictures...shoot.

11.  Never underestimate the power of 'baseball socks'...P was growing a little weary of shopping and I when I had to open a pair of black socks to try on some black shoes for the wedding, his mood instantly lifted...'baseball socks, yay!'

 12.  A good neighbor is hard to find...luckily the bride and groom are also good friends with our old neighbors, Cate and Brian.  This means I got to see a lot of them while we were home.  I seriously miss them so much!!

13.  Old friends never get old...I had the pleasure of hanging out with my two best friends from high school for almost three days straight.  It always amazes me how quickly we can pick up where we left off and always reminds me of how lucky I am to have them in my life.

14.  When your date is wearing a three-piece suit, it doesn't matter how tall he is...seriously, how cute is he!!

15.  Watching a good friend find the love of her life never gets old...so happy!!

16.  If you agree to let your son have a Woody (the toy)...always ask if it talks first!

17.  It takes a village...it never fails, every time we come back, I wonder if we've done the right thing.  I see how P is with our parents and I wonder how we can possibly raise him without them.  They are so amazing and always seem to think of something to teach him that I have forgotten.  I love that he is so close to them and that there is never any time lost between them.  I am so grateful for all they do.

18.  Home is sweet...even though being far away is hard and I love going back to see family and friends, I love coming home to see Brady even more (it doesn't hurt when the house is clean and flowers are on the table:).  I know that I am so lucky that he lets P and I come back without him and I am so grateful.  We are so very blessed.