The Cains: Down on the farm

I'm behind on blogging because we traveled every weekend in February except for one - lots of fun and lots of family time! President's Day weekend we traveled to North Alabama to spend some time with my Dad (Granddaddy), the Greats and Catherine Ellis and Caroline's sweet godsiblings - one of whom was celebrating the big 3!

A special treat was getting to visit with my grandparents next door neighbors and lifetime friends, the Andersons. Kat and Lec hold a very special place in my heart and I'm so glad they've been able to meet both of our girls - life coming full circle for them , I'm sure! Kat is a young 89 and Lec is a young 91 - makes me even more thankful for the time we have with them when we visit.

The weekend was rainy and cold, but we still had a great time playing on the farm. I'll let the pictures do the talking:

Granddaddy and Caroline - sweet C loves him so!

Fun in the jet tub

Pool instructions - Catherine Ellis is in deep thought

Two year old pool playin'

Sweet C even got in on the action

Kat and the girls!

Kat and Caroline - you'd never know that this was
Caroline's first time meeting Kat

Tractor fun with Granddaddy

Little windy that morning ....

All the girls

On Sunday afternoon we celebrated our favorite three year old's birthday with a treasure hunt - pirates included! It was a lot of fun to be able to attend Hill's birthday party. What a dear, dear family the Liles are to us. Many of you know the special place they hold in our hearts, but for those you that don't - here is the history: Allison and Megann serve on Summer Camp Staff '99 at Camp McDowell, the years pass by, Megann finally gets married, Allison marries Megann & David, Hill is born in 2009, two months later Catherine Ellis is born, Caroline is born in 2011, two months later Pailet is born, Megann is sweet P's godmama and great friends with Allison. Hill and Catherine Ellis are big buddies - even if they don't see each other every day, week or even month. It's so fun to watch them grow up together. So, it goes without saying that the Cains are super sad that the Liles family is leaving us for Virginia - Charlottesville - where Eric will be the Rector of a great Episcopal Church there. It has been such a blessing to be so involved in Allison's life since 1999 - though the miles may be long, the Liles will continue to be a part of our lives, because, well, that's just how we roll. Time can pass, but love keeps us together. These mamas and these children will see to it that we continue to experience life together - and thank goodness for iphones, ipads and Macs so we can FaceTime!

So we celebrated despite the freezing cold and wind - and it was worth every single second: