Update

We are now happily recovering from eating barbecue in Memphis, Tennessee. Here is the quick run-down on our trip:

We traveled on Monday about 10 hours from Lakeside, Arizona, to Amarillo, Texas. Ben was done with his carseat by the end of the day- when we put him back in the seat to go eat dinner he screamed the whole way. We were glad we have a relaxed schedule for this trip and not a traditional Bunker long day!

We went about 6 hours Tuesday from Amarillo to Henryetta, Oklahoma. We stopped in Oklahoma City and tried to picnic by the river until getting eaten by ants. We ate in the car while driving on. The road was terrible in Oklahoma City, but nothing was broken in the trailer and the only thing that spilled was some lotion. We are assuming the bad road was due to cheap gas ($3.35 at one point!)...

Today, Day 3, we went from Henryetta to Memphis, Tennessee (7 hours). We got here early and relaxed while researching a place to eat Memphis barbecue. We went to Corky's, and really enjoyed it. We are already planning to stop there again on our next trip.

Tomorrow we are headed for Knoxville, Tennessee... almost there!

Day One

From Lakeside AZ we drove to Amarillo TX. We left Arizona at 6 am this morning and arrived in Texas around 7 pm. We had a great time getting to know Grandpa and Grandma Caldwell. They are good company and have a fabulous 8 sided house. I wish we had pictures of the house to boot!

We're doing what?!?

This was Benjamin's response when we told him he had to spend 30+ hours in his car seat over the next few days.

Leaving The Bunker Homestead

North Carolina here we come! Well in a round about sort of way. The plan is to load up our 12 foot U-haul trailer Saturday morning. Then spend the weekend with Mari's Grandparents in Lakeside AZ. Then Monday morning we will leave from there and hop on I-40 to Asheville, NC. To say thank you to all the Bunker's for their love and support we honor you through this post.

Tummy Time 2

Ben still dislikes his tummy time, but he is getting better at looking around. He even gets up on his tummy and rocks around a bit... Rolling over, here we come!

Chubby Tummy

Benjamin is getting so much bigger! He currently weighs 16 pounds and is almost 25 inches long. His little tummy sticks out so that he looks like a barrel from the side- Grandma's hand and that diaper are right against his stomach.



He has fun playing with Grandma and Grandpa- he will miss all the attention when we get to Asheville.

He is getting much better at grabbing things, then they inevitably head for the mouth. He likes bright cloth of any kind much better than his toys, and his favorite thing to play with is a neon tie-dye fleece blanket.

Benjamin is at a loss

Benjamin is losing the hair on the sides of his head. He isn't following your typical balding pattern.

Who's Been Drinking from the bottle???

July 4th

We spent the fourth at the family camper. It's located next to the Bogue Inlet Fishing Pier at Emerald Isle. Benjamin didn't like the fireworks, of course he was trying to sleep through them, but as soon as Mari picked him up, he settled down in her arms and slept through the bangs! He also went swimming, up to his ankles of course. All in all we had a good visit down along the coast.

Playing with Grandpa

Ben loves to play with Grandpa Moody. He plays with colorful rings, sits and talks...


This is a picture of Benjamin watching TV with Grandpa. Grandpa very carefully chooses a colorful channel and turns off the sound so Ben can watch the bright colors!
After playing with Grandpa, Ben is so worn out that he sleeps in! The morning we took these pictures he slept until almost 10 am- we couldn't wake him up even when we unswaddled him.

Liking to look at bright colors is only one of Ben's new fun things to do. He loves his bath and has learned how to kick his feet and splash. He enjoys it so much that even when he is fussing he gets quiet and happy as soon as he hears the water running in the tub. Tonight, though, I was squeezing water out of a washcloth over his tummy to keep him warm while he splashed, and he got very interested in the dripping water. He even forgot to kick and splash!