Good Things Must Come To an End...

I'm a little late posting on the 3rd week of our grandkids visit to Georgia...so here goes. The girls were really interested to see where Grandpa works so one afternoon I took them out to his job and they were able to "play" on the big equipment with their Grandpa whom they idolize. Teiha wasn't intimidated by the size of the equipment at all and once Launa was up on the first one and safe on her Grandpas' lap, she wasn't either. They had lots of fun and got to "operate" a big tractor, a bulldozer and a backhoe. They came home nice and dirty but happy! Grandpa and his girls...

Teiha on the tractor with Grandpa

Launa on the backhoe with Grandpa

Teiha doing her beauty queen wave...guess she thought she was in a parade or something!!

Launa on the bulldozer with Grandpa. This was one of the last things we did with the girls before their last weekend (before Cori and Brandon came). On the last weekend, we took them up to Atlanta and they stayed with Jarod and Lindsey for 2 nights. They totally spoiled them as well and had a great time with them. I don't have pictures of that weekend but it sounds like they had a great time with their Uncle Jarod and Aunt Lindsey. They were here for 2 days short of 3 weeks before thier parents came out and for only being 4 and 6, they did amazingly well. They kinda started getting homesick (really just missing their parents) a couple days before Cori and B got here but they were really fun to have and we sure enjoyed spending time with them.

On Sunday the 12th Cori and Brandon flew in for a week...and once they got here Launa and Teiha were different kids (i.e. monsters!!!) No seriously, for the first 2 days they were so beasty we could hardly stand it, but then my Mom said that's how we always were as kids...as soon as our parents showed up we were monsters, so I guess that's just how it goes. They really are sweet, funny, and bright little girls and even though they had their moments, they were awesome to have around. We really enjoyed having Cori and Brandon here for a week as well. It's the most time we've ever spent around Brandon and we got to know his personality a lot better. We hope y'all had a good time and wish we could've done more while you were here but it just makes us look forward to many more visits in the future. We had a bbq on their last day here with Jarod and Lindsey and it was a gorgeous day and we had lots of fun in the backyard. Of course we made Jarod cook ribs and Cori and B made stuffed mushrooms which were amazing (love it when the kids come and cook!). We really enjoyed spending time with everyone and wish Sara, Zach, Kyle and Mikell could've been here as well...maybe someday!!

Brandon was kicking a ball for the girls to chase and it got stuck in this tree

Brandon climbing the tree to get it out...took him a good 10 minutes to get it loose, but the girls sure thought he was a HERO when it finally came down.

Lindsey, Brandon and Teiha playing cornhole

Launa playing with Georgia....Launa absolutely loved Jarods' dog and I'm sure Georgia was really worn out after spending the day with the kids!

We couldn't wait til dark to do s'mores in the backyard firepit...Don't ya just love Georgia eyeing the s'mores makings in my hand???

Thanks again Cori and Brandon for letting the girls come out and spend time with us and also for your week visit with us. We love y'all and can't wait to see you again...

Week 2...

So it's now been 2 weeks since the girls came home with us and we've had lots of adventures. They don't really know how to act with a yard and room to play outside without traffic or sharing a playground with other kids...but they're learning! They don't even need toys to entertain them as they find many things in the woods to make up games. The first picture is pine cones and leaves that they made into the "Cheney Family" from the reunion. Although they couldn't remember all their relatives, they did do all of our immediate family and it was so cute to see who got hair, who didn't, who was chunky (Sara --because of Kenleigh only!) and who was napping (Grandpa-haha). They played this for hours last Friday morning after breakfast before they got dressed. This was Grandpa (and me...just not in the picture, always taking them) taking them for a walk in the woods and down to the little creek. They got to take off shoes and socks and wade in the creek but for some reason those pics didn't turn out.

Grandpa helped them get into this huge tree (sorry it's a little blurry...I really need a new camera!). They were a little scared at first, but once they were in it, they thought it was pretty cool.

Follow the leader...they sure love their Grandpa.

On the 4th of July in downtown Newnan they had a street festival with a few little rides for the kids which they really loved. It was so hot and we were all sweating so bad, but we lasted about 3-4 hours. We went with some friends of ours and then had lunch at the Red Neck Cafe which is always a treat.

They had face painting and the girls were so excited to be butterflies. I thought it turned out super cute and it lasted quite a while...well, until we got home and they started messing around then it was time for Grandma to wash it off so it wouldn't get on the furniture or their clothes.

And finally, yesterday (Tuesday) the girls and I all had a "mental meltdown" all at the same time. Let me just say that Launa and Teiha were REALLY happy to see their Grandpa come home from work and they spent several hours outside with him. I had to take a walk after dinner and by the time I got home all was good again. I guess that much estrogen in one house for 2 weeks will add up even when 2 of the girls are under the age of 7!!! Anyhow, when we got up this morning, we decided what better way to make it up than to go get pedicures and do a little shopping...cause that's what we girls do best is pamper ourselves. I couldn't find any clothes for myself, but the girls each got a cute little summer dress and flip flops.

Luana got purple sparkly nail polish with a flower on each big toe...once again the camera didn't do it justice.

Tieha got orange sparkly with flowers on each big toe...sorry for the blurry picture. Can you tell that I need a new camera or have I mentioned that before??? HEHEHE!!

Anyhow that sums up our week 2. We are taking the girls to Jarod and Lindseys on Friday and they are staying with them until Sunday afternoon. Cori and Brandon fly in late on Sunday night and will be here all next week. The girlies are ready to see their Mom and Dad and I'm sure that feeling is mutual for Cori and Brandon.

Sunday Sadness

We had a little drama at the Cheney homestead this weekend...so let me see if I can explain it to you. So when we got home from the Cheney reunion a couple weeks ago, Cleo was showing the girls around the place when they came upon a small bird nest with 4 little eggs in it. It was in a wooden basket that was on his "hunting porch". Grandpa explained the process of laying eggs and how the Mama Bird cares for them until they hatch and that you can't touch them and every night they would go out and check on the eggs to see if they had hatched yet. Yesterday (the 4th) we had been downtown enjoying the festivities all afternoon and when we came home the girls rested for a bit and then went outside to play. Unknown to Cleo and I, they "checked on" the birds nest all by themselves and little by little last night the details of their escapade became clear to us both. They had gone out to the porch, Launa climbed up on the milkcan while Teiha kept a look out, and then Launa reached in grabbed 3 of the eggs and proceeded to crush them in her hands. Now, I'm pretty sure they were just curious to see what the little birds looked like and didn't really mean to kill them, but nonetheless they did kill them! They then proceeded to hide the evidence behind a big tree in the woods---funny girls!!! Well it was after dark last night when all this came out so Cleo couldn't really go check on things so first thing this morning he went out and sure enough...there was only 1 little egg left. He calmly came into the house, herded the girls up, and had a really long "talk" with them about how wrong this was and how sad the Mama Bird must be to discover 3 of her babies were dead. For those of you who really know Cleo, you know how much he loves nature and all animals and he saw this is a perfect opportunity to give the girls a much needed Life Lesson. They were punished by having to sit seperately for 1/2 hour and be quiet, which wasn't easy for them. They truly seemed to be sorry for their deeds and after punishment time was over, Grandpa took them outside to give the baby birds a proper burial.
This is the lone surviving bird egg...sure hope the Mama Bird won't abandon this one

Teiha and launa covering the grave

Thie girls saying a prayer over the grave

The "headstone" that Cleo made for the grave.

I wasn't out there when the burial took place, but Cleo said it was pretty cute. Their little prayer was really sweet and they seemed very sorry to have killed them and most likely will never do this again. I just wanted to share this touching story with y'all and hope that the girls learned a valuable lesson this weekend.

Week 1....

Cleo and I have been having so much fun this past 9 days with our 2 sweet (not sure that's the appropriate adjective!) granddaughters. They keep us on our toes and keep us laughing for sure. All my instincts are still there...just the reflexes are a bit slow but I'm loving every minute of it. I think Cleo is happy to go to work during the day and then get all the attention at night. Launa is definately a Grandpas' girl and Teiha is my little shadow and follows me everywhere...literally everywhere, i.e. the bathroom, the laundry room, the kitchen, everywhere! This is Launa on the couch yesterday...she has come down with a pretty nasty cold and isn't feeling too good and about 5:00 yesterday she fell asleep on the couch...so sweet.

Teiha, Launa and Grandma drawing on the driveway with sidewalk chalk

Grandpa is drawing an outline of Launa for her to color in

This is Teihas' body outline and she's getting ready to color it in

We went to the Wild Animal Safari in Pine Mountain on Saturday. You drive thru the park in your own vehicle and feed the animals. Launa was feeding this deer...she wasn't really scared for them to lick her, but Teiha would have nothing to do with that and just threw the food out the window onto the ground. They thought it was pretty fun

Both girls looking down at a pig...they were so cute but yet so ugly and they really made the girls laugh.

This is our "Redneck Swimming Pool". We turned the hottub down so the girls could use as a swimming pool, but we made the mistake of letting them run around in the grass and then get back in and the water turned pretty nasty so we had to drain it and we still haven't filled it back up. I did take them over to my friends to swim in her pool the other day and that seemed to work out much better :)

Every evening around 8:30-9:00 the little toads make their way to our back patio and Launa is fascinated by them so she makes Grandpa take her out there so she can catch them. She is really good at it and just loves to chase them, catch them, hold them softly and then let them go free. Teiha, once again, won't have anything to do with touching them but loves to locate them and make her sister catch them.

Last night while Launa was taking a nap on the couch, Cleo took Teiha for a walk into the woods and she found some turkey feathers. When they got home they played Pocahontas...it was so cute to watch them play and she obviously thought she was hot stuff.

This is Grandpa and Teiha with their feathers in their hair. She loved having Grandpa to herself for a little bit while her Sissy slept.

This kind of sums up our first 9 days with the girls. Who knows what the next week and a half will bring...but I'll be sure to post more pics for their Mommy and Daddy to see. The girls really miss them but they are being very good and don't really seem to mind being here without them. We are excited for Cori and Brandon to come on the 12th and spend a week here with us as well.