Trek to Mississippi

Everett is nearing 15 months now and he's been eating table food for awhile. The next thing on his list was to head to the family restaurant to dine and feast like we all love to do in our family. So, we made the 12+ hour trek in the car. The drive started last Thursday night from Raleigh to Greenville, SC. Friday lunch in Birmingham and headed into Greenwood, Mississippi about 6pm. Not many people have heard of Greenwood. It's a small, charming town, but not too much there. Greenwood is home of the Viking cooking equipment and the downtown is quaint for an afternoon stroll. Other than that, we are just there for the family. My aunt and uncle own "Mai Little China" and my grandmother was in town for a visit too. We got to surprise my grandmother with our visit and she got lots of sweet time with Everett. Of course, LOTS and LOTS of food was involved during our weekend stay and I'm sure we gained a few pounds along the way.

Lunch stop in Birmingham, Alabama

We were not in the restaurant for 2 minutes and
Everett is already getting fed!

My grandmother was so surprised to see us
and LOVED seeing Everett

My grandmother, Aunt Cathy, Uncle Matthew, and Everett

Enjoying one more meal at the restaurant before we leave town

These two had so much fun together

Everett LOVES LOVES his great-grandmother!!

From Greenwood, we took the short drive to Madison, Mississippi (right outside Jackson) to my great-uncle's 80th birthday. We got to see many more family members there and share in the special occasion. The trek back home started after the birthday party headed to Atlanta, GA. We were blessed to spend time with the Rollmans and truly appreciated their hospitality. We left Atlanta around 11am and made it to Charlotte for a late lunch and shopping at Ikea! This was our first time there and it was a perfect outing before heading home. Lunch was great (and cheap!) and Adam and I spent time oooing and ahhhing at all their furniture and things at reasonable prices. We will be back! We got back home to Raleigh by 7:30pm and Everett headed to bed. It was such a great trip and we are so thankful so many family members got to meet and spend time with our little boy!

Happy Birthday Uncle Fee!

Visit with the Rollmans in Atlanta

Everett and Daddy with matching camo shorts

Visit from friends

Our friends Lois and Jordan came for a visit and brought their 8 month old son, Silas. We had a great weekend catching up with them, going to the beach, and watching our two boys become friends. They will be returning to China next year, so we are so thankful to have gotten time with them before they leave.

We think that Everett thought that Jordan was family because he was Chinese. Everett would want to sit in his lap all the time.
It was entirely hilarious.

Everett's best friend for the weekend

Boys Club - Everett, Silas, and Max
The boys had a great time playing together and keeping each other company. Everett was SO excited to have friends at his house that he crawled over to Max and gave him kisses.

On Friday, Jordan, Lois, and I took Everett and Silas to this extremely LARGE Kids Consignment Sale. I bought Everett this toy kitchen and he loves it. His favorite thing to do is to open and close the refrigerator.

We got a babysitter on Friday night while both boys slept. We enjoyed dinner in downtown Raleigh and Adam loved introducing Jordan to Krispy Kreme donuts!

Silas and Everett helping us carry all our gear to the beach

Everett at the beach and playing in the sand

He loved having all his sand toys with him!

Everett would look for shells and put them in his sand truck (or occasionally, put them in his mouth)

Lois, Jordan, and Silas

Family picture at the beach

Everett enjoying being close to the water

When the waves would get to tall, we would lift him up and he would run in the water and just laugh. It was great!

Everett was content to sit anywhere on the beach...in the water, in the sand, in his wagon, he just loved it!
Can't wait to go back in a few weeks with Adam's parents!

July 4th Weekend

We spent the weekend relaxing, hanging out with friends, and shopping! On Friday night, we got to go watch a friend of ours, Ron, play softball with The King and His Court. It is an exhibition team of 4 players who play against a full team. Adam compares it to the Harlem Globetrotters of softball. Needless to say, it was fun to watch Ron play and see all the crazy tricks they can do!

On Saturday, Parken Family Shopping Spree was in full force as we tackled the outlet mall about 45 minutes away. Adam needed new shoes and the entire family could benefit from some new clothes. The sales were awesome and we definitely came home with a stash of stuff!

Sunday was a relaxing day of going to church, taking care of things around the house, and spending time at Kristen's for a cookout. We did get to see some fireworks from her deck as neighbors were shooting them off, but we decided to take it easy this year rather than hauling our 14 month old out to a big crowd after his bedtime. Here are just a couple pictures of Everett sporting his red, white, and blue on the 4th.




For an Everett update, he is growing! Surprise surprise! Everett's current favorite food is blueberries. He has eaten over a cup of them in one sitting AFTER a meal. We usually have to cut him off or I think he would eat the entire carton. He still does great with his veggies with a few favorites being peas, lima beans, and mushrooms. He loves ground beef, but will chow down on turkey, chicken, or tofu too. He is getting tall! He can stand up and reach the doorknobs now! Everett has loved being outside and playing in the water, especially the swimming pool. His favorite toys right now are transportation vehicles where he can push around on the floor and go "vroom vroom." From airplanes to cars to trucks, we definitely have a little boy in this house! He also is loving his books. He really has liked the books with different textures on the page. I think his favorite one right now is a farm book where you can pet the different animals. We are loving every minute with Everett and continue to laugh our way through each day as he entertains us!