Lauren Experiences Memphis!

Aunt Laren ("Larna") came to spend last week with us down here in TN!  For those of you who  don't know Lauren, she and her husband (Ray) were our neighbors in Hershey.  Not only were they great friends, but Lauren is actually our connection to the boys.  She heard about Elijah's need for adoptive parents before he was even born, and connected us to the Coopers which then led to adopting Elijah...and now Miles! ;-)  So, she's not only a best friend but a fairy godmother as well!  She and Ray have just moved to Pittsburgh for him to complete a Rheumatology fellowship (he's one of those smart kids!), and she decided to come visit before she found a new job as a pediatric dietician (she's a smart kid, too!).  Anyway, that's the Cliff's Notes version of our relationship with Lauren!  Here are the pics from her visit (they uploaded totally out of order, but I don't have the time to fix it!). We tried our best to give her Memphis in a Nutshell...Elvis, Rendezvous BBQ, Beale Street, local donuts, Memphis River Walk, Botanic Gardens, Memphis Zoo, The Peabody, and fro-yo every single night! Am I allowed to blame my gluttony on my dietician friend??!! :-)

This was actually Monday afternoon while Miles was napping.  My big helper...The Naked Chef!

Two Handsome Fellas...definitely starting to look more like brothers!

what a cutie!

Being a lion at the elephant exhibit??

The Koi Pond at the Botanic Gardens...they are fascinating!

  

My Big Back Yard...such fun!

climbing in the spider web

one of his many talents...

 literally, Lauren was off the plane and Elijah was in her arms!

silly bees!

 polar bear!

 grizzly feeding...have I mentioned how much I love our zoo??!!

cooling off at the fountains in the zoo!

seeing the famous Peabody ducks in the fountain

our first trip to the Mud Island River Museum (free and awesome!)

trying to bridge the gap from PA to TN!

on Beale St we found some pretty funny hats!

Miles: "who are you and what did you do with my father?"

hotdog hat

passed out after a long day downtown!

more of those crazy Koi

the simulated rain storm at the Botanic Gardens...the boys LOVED it!

the musical treehouse at the Botanic Gardens...

remembering Elvis...35th anniversary of his death that week...we saw a variety of Elvis impersonators...
my favorite was Asian Elvis!

one rainy afternoon we watched Nemo...Claire was fascinated!

Beautiful flowers for my bday from Luke...he really spoiled me!

Flowers and sushi take-out Friday night. Breakfast Saturday morning followed by a massage (oh yeah!). Then, the entire afternoon without the boys to shop (I only came home with new sheets and a mattress pad...how does that happen!?), and then came home to 30+ people surprising me in the garage! We had a fun cookout (with a slight delay when the propane ran out) with a great group of friends and kiddos! I am really blessed beyond measure.

I hope you guys are having a great week as well!