Memphis

Since I missed Julie in Belize, I wanted to spend some extra time with her and the boys in Memphis at the start of my road trip. Yes! My road trip has finally started :). The last week of April I left mom and dad's, not to return until after Labor Day. The plan was and still is to National Park hop out west. The starting point was Big Bend National Park in southwestern Texas. So I'd be headed right through Memphis on my way there :).

I spent a week with Julie and the boys. She had work and they had preschool, so I did my own thing during the day and we had fun in the evenings. It was late April and the weather in Memphis was beautiful! 

One night was their last swim lesson, which is key for later on. 

Goofiness at the pool

One night Julie's mom watched the boys so she and I could go to a wine night at the botanical gardens. We got a tour of the herb garden and learned a lot about different types of herbs (though I'm not sure how much was retained). I was surprised at how many different mint varieties there are! It was a really fun night and the botanical gardens there are very nice. Julie showed me some of the kid areas which were huge and looked like they'd be lots of fun for little ones.

There was a lot of playing with the neighbor boys and I think everyone had a mini melt down at least once during the week ;). Lots of playing in the huge sandbox, and even emptying the sandbox so we could move it to a different spot on the yard. It is a huge sandbox!

Friday we left town for an adventure. We went to some indoor/outdoor museum place a couple hours away and stayed in a hotel Friday night. A hotel with a pool of course! We played with the boys in the pool and tested their skills. Ian even started dunking himself under water and holding his breath - a lot of progress from basically splashing his face when we first got in :). 

Saturday was fun day!  There was a giant slide, moon sand, space, geology, trains, tractors, a maze....tons of fun stuff and we couldn't hit it all up in just one day. We blew the caboose horn on the train. Rang the old timey school bell. Walked a lot! It was fun and I think everyone was exhausted by 2, lol. 

Then we headed back for a 'race' Sunday. Julie and I signed up for a three mile St. Jude race that she had done in the past. We got these awesome neon shirts and laid low in the pack, walking our first mile. Then we jogged and walked on and off as my lungs allowed :). A runner I am not. After the race there was tons of free food (bananas, cookies, bbq, hot dogs) and drinks. We rested and filled ourselves before heading home.

We got in a couple of movies during the week. The boys picked Big Hero 6, which I mostly watched and liked. Then I picked an old school one for them, The Rescuers. Man, animation has come a long way. They watched it all though - not sure there will be a replay of that one though. 

It was a fun week!