It's June, so I should blog about May

May was a big month filled with shows, family time, and birthdays, so I'm just now getting around to telling y'all about it.  

After we played in Arkansas at the end of April, we drove to Amarillo to see Trent's family.  I don't know what the deal was, but I got like no pictures.  Except this one.  Probably because our sweet boy did NOT sleep well, was super fussy, and also threw up.  That pretty much filled up our week. 

Thank the Lord for Thomas.  And his friends.

After A-town, we went to Salado.  It's always nice to get into town and have the whole family come to my parents' house to gather and have dinner.  And also act like fools.

Julie and I played golf with Caleb and it was SO CUTE how he thought he could beat us.  Bless him.  (Although, Julie and I did play very well, he had some tough holes, and still hung with us.  He'll beat us before too long.)

Later that day, we had an early b-day for Trent and me and also a Derby party.  Which is funny because our family is not a horse family.  But, it's a quick race and we all picked horses and wore hats for a bit.

Sweet Nana, 96 years young.  Taking in the selfie.    

  The oldest and the youngest...

That drool though...

The next day (Sunday, for those keeping up at home), we had a home show at our friends' house in their barn.  

They had it decorated so cute!  

And their niece has mad chalk skills.

This one really wanted to take this thing for a spin.  He'd push our hands away if we tried to help him, you know, not fall.  Stinker.  

Julie and Nathan wrangled the boy.  He sat and listened for a little while before running around, pointing and grunting at things. ;-)

The rest of the time was spent with these goobers.  Man, they have grown.  They kept Oliver while Trent and I went on a birthday trip.  (Another post for another day.)  God bless them.  

Griffin wasn't into it.

He likes to perform...

We had one more show, on Mother's Day, at FBC Conroe.  We were there last year and were blessed to be able to go back.  Amazing people!  Unfortunately, there had been some "stuff" happening there that was causing some stress and some feelings.  We were told we were a breath of fresh air and we were glad to offer any kind of encouragement we could.

Tom and Jessie… love 'em.  And it only took us two tries to nail it.

Oliver was so sweet to think of me on Mother's Day and make this craft.  

Yes, the chocolate was eaten.  Yes, I'm keeping this art piece. And yes, that picture of him is hilarious. 

More May Days to come!   Stay tuned.

What we did in April (dot, dot, dot)

Hello again.  It's been too long.  I'm a slacker.

Our April consisted of some shows and some home time and some get-togethers with friends and it was wonderful.

Our first show of the month was in Hattiesburg, MS at the Wesley Foundation at Southern Miss.  It was a quick trip, leaving the day of the show and coming back the next.

Oliver loves windows in hotels.

We got to the Wesley and sound checked before they had a little meeting and so the three of us found a park where we could play.  The boy's first time on a big slide.  We still need to support him a bit.

He loved it.

Then we got the stroller out and went for a stroll.  ;-)

The campus has a great walking track and then the sunset was beautiful.  There was another guy instagramming it and I wanted Trent to instagram a picture of that guy instagramming the sunset.  He didn't.

The show was fun (college kids are so fun) and our OliVolunteer, Alissa, was amazing.  Everywhere we go, I try to convince college girls, who are good with kids, to move to Nashville.  It's a great town!  And we like good baby sitters.

Picnic breakfast the next morning.  (Oliver gets to have more sugary cereals on the road: #luckycharms.)

The next Sunday, we played at Lebanon FUMC.  We shared music there in January and were looking forward to going back.  

Oliver carrying the offering basket?  So cute. 

Our sweet OliVolunteer, Grace.  Fourteen going on a way more mature age.  She was great.  Oliver had a blast with her and her friends.

Such a fun night.  Plus, our neighbors came out!  So sweet of them.  And their adorable little is a fan now =)

We had a little more time home before we left for a longer stretch.  First stop, Arkansas, then Texas.  As we often do, we stopped to stay with the Barlow bunch to split up the drive and spend time with this dude.

The next day, we continued to Barling, AR to play at Community Church at Chaffee Crossing.  We've been there twice before and always enjoy our time.

This is what getting ready looks like now...

Oliver wore a cute tropical shirt that morning.  He always likes to "help" with the luggage cart and it just made me laugh.

With the practical shoes, khakis, and shirt, it looked like he had a job at a resort.  

When you need to steep in a pinch...

We left after church and made the drive to Amarillo.  There may or may not have been some Thomas and Friends on the YouTube due to a certain someone not napping as long as he should have and it's a 7 hour drive.

Whatever works… in moderation. ;-)

Meet Virginia (and Illinois)

After our last run, we came back home for a week then headed back to Virginia.  Williamsburg, to be exact.  We almost had to cancel because that lovely stomach virus Oliver had the previous week made its way into my bowels.  Not. Fun. 

We decided to rest up and leave a little later and all was fine.  I mean, I wasn't 100%, but I knew I could make it.   Since splitting of the drive is our new normal, Roanoke, VA is where we camped out for the night.  

Before checking out, Mister and I let Daddy sleep in and we went to breakfast.

And had this view.  That part of the country really is beautiful.  I could be a mountain mama, I think.  At least part of the year, then I'd need to be a beach bum.  (Hey dear husband…write a big hit song so we can have some property, k?) ;-)

We left and made it to Williamsburg.  Getting to the hotel in time to rest a bit and clean the road off is always nice.  But OF COURSE this one didn't nap.

So, we just left a little early to let him get a little nap in the car.  If I had a dime...

There was a sweet 13-year-old who watched Oliver in the nursery during sound check and the show and she was wonderful!

Where we hung out before the show, there was a dry eraser board that was calling my name and I'm a very cheesy person with limited art abilities.

 We had so much fun at Williamsburg Christian Church.  It had been too long since the last time we were there (2012) and was great to see some familiar faces!  And we powered through, despite still feeling icky.  The show must go on, as they say.

We came back home the next day and had a week to prepare for the next show in Belleville, IL at St. Matthew UMC.  We were there a few years back and have tried to get back since, but dates never aligned.  But they did this time =)

It was a short drive, so no need to stop along the way!  And this microphone from Wendy's brought some much needed entertainment.  

.  

I can't even with this cuteness.

We were able to set up and sound check that night. (If you've been following for any amount of time, you know how much we love that.)  The church was getting ready for their Easter program.  They do it 3 days and have done so for over 20 years!  Quite the production.

I feel like Jesus is totally ok with a sweet boy playing soccer in the church.  Don't you?

Life of a road baby.  Everything on stage is a toy…including a cajon bag.  

After sound check, we went to dinner with a family and their 7-week-old grandson!  They were so sweet and so kind.  Truly enjoyed ourselves.

Oliver had a rough night and was up at 5:00, so that was fun.  At least the sunrise was beautiful! 

At church that morning, we played special music in 2 services and led worship/special music in the other service.  Everyone was very complimentary and that never gets old.  PLUS, when the older congregation in the early/traditional service get on board, that really means a lot.

Oliver was in the nursery all morning and did great.  If there are balls and little kids, he's golden.  Although, during the sermon, Trent and I heard what was clearly our boy's scream.  My pager didn't go off, so I went to check.  Yeah… he was screaming because his diaper was getting changed which meant he had to stop playing.  The ladies were understanding when I said something alongs these lines, "oops.  I forgot to tell you he's not a fan of diaper changes.  Ha!  Okthanksbye."

After church (and after a quick 30 minute Oliver nap), a family took us to eat BBQ.  When people find out we're from TX and TN, they're a little worried when they feed us BBQ.  But y'all, this was so good.  Beast, you have our love.  And the name is perfect.  Then that family gave us raw honey from their bees.  Fresh honey is a love language in my book, so I was jazzed.  We left and got a few zzz's at the hotel before going back up to the church for the show that night.

After the show at the merch table, an older lady, with tears in her eyes, thanked us for what we did.  Then I cried, of course, because her genuine appreciation was something you could not fake.  It got me.  

And the family that took us to dinner the night before gave us a gift and Oliver a stuffed dog.  He was over the moon.  

It was an awesome night!  We had so. much. fun.  All shows are fun, but some have a little more energy than others and these guys were a blast.  And some of the sweetest ever.  

So blessed to do this.