Trip to Dothan

The girls were absolute angels for their first airplane trip. I felt like they were old pros.

And besides the fact that I got "felt up" by airport security (Have any of y'all had that happen?! I've heard the jokes but I was not prepared for the, um, intensity and thoroughness. I could not stop laughing the whole time. I was totally inappropriate.) for the sippy cup in my carry-on, the whole experience was uneventful...even fun.

This little baby was marvelous. Thank you for your prayers. I feel sort of ridiculous now about how anxious I was.

It's hard to describe how wonderful it felt to be. home. I stopped in for a visit with my friends in our old neighborhood. I love when familiarity rolls over you like it never skipped a breath.

On our way out of town, Bryan asked us to drop by his studio for him to try out some new lights he'd gotten for taking natural-looking photographs (It was way more technical than that, but that's the gist of what I came away with). We looked a bit bedraggled after a hard day of playing, but I never miss an opportunity to be a part of a A Bryan Photo. He is so awesome. You can see a few of his shots of the girls here. Thank you Bryan! It was a blast and an honor, as always.

Then, we headed down to Dothan. All my sisters came home for the weekend, along with their husbands/boyfriend. This was the first time in a really, really long time, that we've all been under one roof... It felt bizarrely wonderful and normal. Although normal is not what comes to mind here:

Watson was leading everybody in a football workout in the front yard.

I smiled when I saw this rolling by the house. Not something I've seen a whole lot of in Seattle :)

Kendall tried to drop a subtle hint or two to the only remaining "boyfriend" in the group.

I'm not sure he took it quite the way she wanted him to ;)

Sometimes my camera gets hi-jinked. I'm not sure what Taylor was trying to capture here, but I know what it captured for me, "Oh my! Look, there are boys in the backyard with Dad!" It still feels surreal to see the men we all hoped would come one day, be real in this day.

I spent much of the time doing this:

On the phone with Jeremiah, the only one missing to make the joy complete, trying to describe all the houses I'd been seeing.

On Saturday, Dr. Maddox invited our whole big Clark family crew to come out to the farm for a horse drawn wagon ride through the woods.

And they weren't just any horses. Meet Heidi and Maggie:

Two of the cutest Clydesdale horses you'll ever meet.

They're both rescue horses.

And my girls couldn't resist a little time on their backs, despite the availability of a perfectly good wagon.

'Ol girls had quite a heavy load to carry. This isn't even everybody. A total of TEN adults and two chicken wings. Keke baby, we're not in New York.

These guys were staying far away from us. Who could blame them? I wouldn't have wanted to be strapped to our raucous party either.

Dapples and Popon "hemmed and hawwed" us together for a bit.

There was something magnificent about seeing these girls work their way through rough cut wooded trails. They seem like they should be clipping across pavement through a parade. Instead, it felt like we were using them in the way they were made to be used.

Until we wore them out, utterly and completely.

And hopped out and walked for a while to give them a much needed break.

Sashey met us after the ride, so we could meet Coco...

...her new friend who she's trying to train to barrel race.

On their first ride, Coco apparently stopped to try and drink water off the top of the barrel. She's come a long way!

We also celebrated my Dad's 53rd birthday!!!

My Dad with his brother, Uncle Alan. Does anybody else see George W?

We had a huge crowd of extended family, and my Aunt Sheila prepared a Mexican fiesta to satisfy my Mexican-loving heart. Unfortunately, I blanked out on taking pictures. Thankfully, Caroline snapped a few for us.

Grandma and Grandpa made their famous homemade icecream.

I looked at a lot of really wonderful potential homes while we were in Dothan. I'm still excited about what God's going to do...but He hasn't done it yet. I thought He was gonna, but apparently he didn't get my memo with the schedule ;)

This was my lap on the plane ride home. We're all feeling pretty drained, but thankful for sweet family, friends, and home.