Bento Box

After another eventful weekend, we have yet another blog post. We also have a new nickname for the banana man. Here's the story. We got to see my amazing friend, Lauren, this weekend. She told us that she calls our son Bento Box, which is apparently a japanese boxed lunch. Anyway, the name is now commonly used in our household.

On Friday night, we took the Bento Box to meet his future wife. Madelyn Page Molletta was born to our wonderful friends, Eric and Stephanie, on June 28. Since Benton and Madelyn were betrothed before they were even born, it's a good thing they liked each other. (Don't let Madelyn's face in the following picture fool you. She liked him.) Baby Madelyn is precious and we are so thrilled for our friends.

Saturday night, after a relaxing morning and afternoon at home, we went to Stone Mountain. We walked around the park, had a picnic on the lawn, and stayed for the laser show. Brack hadn't seen it before. He was most amazed by the fact that the crowd's loudest cheers of the night came during Devil Went Down to Georgia. Benton was a champ and surprised us by not screaming when the fireworks started.

Sunday morning, we walked down to Piedmont Park to watch the end of the Peachtree Road Race. We made it just in time to watch the lead runners head toward the finish line. Those guys are fast. Benton (who should have been incredibly cranky thanks to a very late night and a very early morning) watched the whole thing quietly in his stroller.

That afternoon, we went to Fayetteville to celebrate the Fourth and my little sister's 17th birthday. Happy birthday, Brooke! We grilled hamburgers, played volleyball (ok, Benton and I were just spectators), and ate awesome homemade cake and ice cream. 

And it doesn't end there. Monday, Kelly and Michael came to visit us. We tried a great new restaurant, Yeah! Burger, and took a trip to IKEA. I didn't buy anything except a cinnamon roll. What a shame. I tried to convince Brack I needed a 19 cent tumbler, but he wasn't buying it.

Orlando

After our stay at Rosemary, we drove to Orlando to visit Brack's dad, Ricky. We had a great couple of days with him and got to see some fun things. Benton loved spending time with his Pawpaw!

Our first stop was the City Walk at Universal Studios. Lots of great shops, restaurants and performers. We ate at the Bob Marley restaurant and walked around for awhile.

The next day, we went to Wonderworks--a big upside-down house with a lot of fun exhibits. It reminded me of my childhood visits to SciTrek in Atlanta. We experienced an earthquake, hurricane, virtual games and a 3-D roller coaster ride. Benton especially liked the astronauts and the robotic arms.

We had to buy Benton a souvenir t-shirt.

Thanks, Ricky! We had a really fun time and we're looking forward to our next visit!

First vacation

Two weeks ago, we were able to go to Rosemary Beach, Florida with my parents, brother and sister. Some friends of my parents have a beautiful home there and graciously invited us to go visit for a week. Thanks, Steve and Ann! I was able to go a couple of years ago, but Brack had to stay home then because of classes. It was wonderful to have Brack along this time and, of course, bring Benton on his first beach vacation.

Benton did great at the beach. He slept like a baby on the sand most days and even braved the ocean a few times. His favorite part, by far, was the pool. We weren't sure how he would feel about the water but he loved it. It didn't hurt that the water was super warm and we usually went to the pool in the late afternoon when there was lots of shade from the sun.

We were so proud of how easy-going Benton was on this trip. With so much time in the sun, lots of eating out, and later than normal bedtimes, he could have been a disaster. But he was a trooper and behaved so well. He slept amazing every night: 9-10 hours straight! 

There were a couple of crazy moments. We went to eat at Fudpucker's in Destin one night. Right before our food came, the staff decided to have a contest to give away a dessert. One of the waiters came out to the floor and explained that whoever yelled the loudest would win. Well, the place got real loud real quick and Benton, who was starting to fall asleep, was startled to say the least. He cried more than I've ever heard him cry and Brack had to take him outside. My dad and Brack both filled out comment cards at the end of our meal and pointed out that it may not be the most family-friendly game. (You know Brack's comments were full of sarcasm.) Yesterday, we got a nice apology letter in the mail from the manager, along with a gift certificate. Hopefully, they'll check their dining room before that contest next time!

That same night we played miniature golf. It was super crowded and we had to wait awhile between each hole. Since we weren't planning for it to take as long as it did, about halfway through the course it was time for Benton to eat. There aren't any benches or chairs on a putt-putt course, so I hopped the line to go feed him in the car (in the air-conditioning!). When we got back, I had only missed two holes. We were all pretty sweaty by the end of that game.

Benton had two parents, two grandparents, an aunt and an uncle to take care of his every need on this trip. A big thank you go to Mom, Dad, Brooke and Jesse for their help. They worked hard at spoiling our baby.

Here's a few more pictures of our amazing vacation: