Georgia

Well, we made it through the summer in Orlando
(we were all this excited to be done!)
and we headed home to sweet Georgia.

However, THIS is what we found in our backyard . . .


Weeds over 12 feet tall covering our entire yard!!!
Can you say - WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE!?!?
My parents were taking care of the front yard while we were gone, but since the tornado last year that took out 5 massive trees in our backyard, there is NO landscaping or grass to care for. Who knew what could happen to a yard in four months?
Apparently, this.

Catch up

We have been having SO MUCH FUN lately (hooray for fun!) that I've had very little time to blog about it. I've spent the past few nights playing catch up. So, pretty much I have 5 new posts backdated close to their original dates. Enjoy!

Duckmaster Luke

Have you ever heard of The Peabody Hotel? Well, I hadn't. So, I also hadn't heard about their famous MARCHING DUCKS!

The daily march of the world-famous Peabody Ducks is a time-honored tradition, begun in 1933 and attended by countless visitors. Aunt Kelli had heard about this and since Orlando has one of the only hotels in the country, she wanted to be sure and see it. When I looked into it, I found out that one guest at each march is chosen as "Honorary Duckmaster."
Lucky for us, they had a slot available for Luke!

I have NEVER seen Luke so serious about anything in his life. He listened very attentively to the Duckmaster as he gave him instructions. He took the responsibility to heart and was extremely focused and attentive and calm. Wow!

He was so cute!

With the marching music blasting through the hotel, the ducks began their famous march . . .

. . . and Luke began to follow.
The Duckmaster told Luke as we marched that he must be really strong to be able to hold up that heavy brass cane all by himself. Luke's face lit up! He is ALWAYS saying he wants to be "big and strong" like Daddy and our friend Rob. Ironically, I had just used that tactic to get him to finish eating his well-balanced lunch. The Duckmaster's comment couldn't have been more perfect!
(Thanks, Duckmaster! I'll pay you later!)

The ducks have an elevator reserved just for them! We got the special privilege of riding with them.

Marching down the hall . . .

. . . and into their penthouse for the night.

Here is part of their home.

Miles really enjoyed watching the ducks too.

Duckmaster Brooks presented Luke with a certificate and a duck with the Peabody logo on it at the end.

Finally a smile! He was so serious the whole time. I know he really had fun though, because he talked about it for days afterwards!
QUACK! QUACK!