Weekend at Nan and Poppa's

This past weekend, we travelled down to Tennesse for a visit with Brent's parents. Maura always loves going to Nan and Poppa's house, and this weekend was no exception. She talked all week about the visit and about seeing "Ucy," the dog.(Actual name: Lucy) There's always something exciting happening there and lots of animals to see and walks to be taken on. This weekend, she had some new toys to play with: a table and chairs and tea set. This made for many happy and wet teaparties.

Maura drinking her "tea." As you can see, she's not the most experienced tea pourer and generally got more on the table than in the glass. I bet she drank down a gallon of water during all these teaparties.

Feeding the doll. You can see the utter concentration on her face as she does this. I think she's biting her lower lip! You can also see the results of a poorly aimed cup of tea down the front of her!
This is why I love my husband. He's not only brilliant and athletic, he has no problem sitting down for a tea party with his little girl. Maura loved having someone to share her teaparties with and always kept our cups well supplied.
Nan also has an awesome dollhouse. It's huge, taller than Maura and has rooms now completely furnished with doll furniture. It's such an amazing place for Maura to play and "use her imagination." She told me on Thursday while we were riding in the car that she was "using her imagination." I about drove off the road laughing. I don't know where she gets this stuff. Anyway, Maura loves the dollhouse and especially the baby. We'll see if her mothering instincts extend to her baby brother.
Maura and Lucy. I can't decide if the dog loves or hates her. She certainly knows where to position herself to get the best leftovers. This is the best picture of Maura's crazy hair. It's driving me to distraction. Stat tuned to future posts to see what I've done about it.
Just Rockin. Nan bought this cool antique rocker that's just her size, but last visit Maura wouldn't go near it. She liked it a lot better this time around.

Nan's girl. Maura always has fun with her Nan. Nan and Poppa take Maura to McDonald's on every trip to TN while Mommy and Daddy get some much needed rest. On this visit, I was still recovering from my terrible illness, so Nan and Poppa spent lots of time entertaining her so I could rest.
Maura and her Poppa at church. As you can see, Maura's had just about enough of church. My in-laws are helping to get a new church going and it meets at an elementary school. Maura actually went to Sunday school without me this time and did suprisingly well.
Now she's really had enough. Brent's grandmother and grandpoppa came to service because Brent taught both Sunday School and the sermon. Brent is in high demand as a teacher at this church. This is three generations of Allens.
Maura with Great Grandmother Chambers. I'll never get normal pictures of Maura with any of her relatives. She's just too on the go.
Maura and GG. It was so much fun seeing everybody on our whirlwind trip. We picked up a new(to us) computer cabinet while we were there and I'm excited to announce that we finally have our guestroom in order. So, reserve your space in the Allen guestroom. We'd love to have you!!