it's like disney world...minus the price tag

josh was working at a fundraising event for pearl, and i was supposed to meet him there to hand off the kiddos so i could go shoot a session.  but on my way to where he was, i got a call from my clients that their day had gotten crazy and they just weren't going to be able to make it.  they were incredibly apologetic, but i kept reassuring them that it was absolutely no big deal...i had a backup plan. it wasn't anything that i had thought out ahead of time, but when i had talked to my parents earlier that morning, i had mentioned that i wish we could drive up and see them (they're so sweet to hop in the car to come to birmingham whenever they can but with all the little ones in tow, it's hard for us to go there as often as we'd like).  so when my schedule suddenly cleared, i whipped the car around and headed north.

and boy, am i glad i did.  i enjoyed sweet fellowship with my parents and the kids soaked up every ounce of nanny and pop time they could get.  muffin-baking...

ball-tossing:

and swingset-playing:

a lovely day was had by all.  ;-)