Playdate at the Park

Mondays are pretty laid back at our house... we only have one drop off and pick up since Bry doesn't go to school that day. So we thought it would be a good day to plan a play date with some new friends. I've been catching up with Kristy on Facebook and we decided to get our kids together to run off a little energy at the park since the weather has been so fantastic!


We got there a little before they did and all Bryant wanted to do was help his sister. I just love this about him. When he is with her... he is all about her. He gets on her level and plays with her.

Then Kristy got there with Annalise and Gideon. The kids instantly hit it off and Kristy and I went about trying to talk and catch up while keeping up with active kids!

Two pretty princesses! They were so cute together! Soph kept saying, "Baby!" like she isn't one herself. Love it!I love how Gideon kept coming up to me and saying, 'Hey, Bryant's Mom...' He is such a cute and sweet little man.

Sophie liked picking the 'fow-ers.' She picked a dandelion and I told her she needed to blow it and she put it right on her lips... too funny!

Monkey boy, Bryant! He loves to climb and be a daredevil!

Bryant checked to make sure there weren't any Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in this drain when we went for a bathroom break!

We're so glad we got to play with our new friend, "Indian" (that's what Bryant called Gideon)!

A Visit with Friends

Over the past football weekend, Hank's best friend from high school, Danny, came into town with his wife, Jackie, and their two kids, Morgan and Luke. Danny LOVES the University of Kentucky and was thrilled to come in and go to the UA vs. UK game, even though they got beat. The guys had a football filled time, and Jackie and I had a good time with the kids! We got Jackie's haircut, and visited the mall, then we came back home and dyed Jackie's hair and then when the guys got home, I took Jackie with me to introduce her to CVS. She was intrigued! Saving money intrigues everyone, huh? Here are a few pics from the weekend... of the kids of course.Here's Luke. He's 7 months and bigger than Sophie! He is a happy little boy and such a charmer!
And Morgan is the sweetest little thing! She has her own language. Sorry the video is turned sideways, I guess I just picked up the camera and hit record without thinking, but it's cute just the same! We get to see them again pretty soon, and I know it will be just as fun and chaotic! Good friends are hard to come by and we feel blessed that Danny and Jackie are in our lives.

Swimming with Betty B. Hind

My friend Traci and her two daughters came in town last weekend. We decided to take advantage of the hot weather, and had a pool day. My Mom had just come home from the hospital, so I was running between the pool and checking on her for a while cause my Dad had to go do some things.

I always have fun with Olivia-Bolivia (as we call her... kind of like Hannah Montanna). My boys have met their match with this one! I heard her bossing them around! Here was one convo I overheard:

Tres: Let's go upstairs and play Star Wars! Okay, Olivia?
Bryant: Yeah, Bulivia, let's play Star Wars!
Olivia: No, let's go this way.

Then she promptly led them downstairs with not one complaint! Here are a couple of pics from our afternoon.Olivia Bolivia was not too happy about having to leave. Don't worry, Liv... I feel the same way!

We had a great time, girls! We gotta do it more often!

Girl's Night with CD

That's Crystal Dawn, in case you didn't know! Since Hankie is out of town, and Bry had a sleepover last night, Sophie and I called and asked Crystal to come hang out with us! I wanted to do some girlie things like paint my toes and maybe even Sophie's but we just ended up talking, talking, talking, and then watching a movie, and talking! I love that about Crystal... we can talk about ANYTHING! We watched the movie "Juno" which wasn't really what I expected it to be, but it was good just the same. I laughed a lot, and I needed to laugh!

Soph has decided that Crystal is her buddy! She kept crawling all over her and smiling at her and talking to her. It made me happy, cause she really doesn't do that to too many people! She instantly decided that she liked Crystal though! And at the end of the night, she had even found a new pillow!I appreciate you Crystal Dawn. Thank you for listening and talking with me. And thank you for loving my children so unreservedly. They love you right back... how can they help it? You have such a mother's heart.

I Made A Friend!

Isn't the internet a funny thing?? A friend of a friend of mine and I have been able to get to know one another through blogs, emails, and comments.

So, ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to my new friend, Nikki. She knew of my from All State Choir days back in high school, and we have a couple of mutual friends (Nikki, ask Asher if he remembers Kelly Willis... my best friend!). She is super sweet, and she has so SUPER CUTE stuff at her etsy shop! Go check it out, and be sure and leave her a comment!

This is the one thing I love about blogging! Getting to know new friends.

Heroes, Turtles, and Ninjas... Oh My!

As I posted last week, Bryant turned four... for some reason that makes me want to cry just typing it. He seems so 'big boy' to me lately. Anyway, since I had volleyball obligations and my Dad's birthday the weekend before his birthday, we planned his party for the weekend after.

Bryant was given a choice of either going to Disney for a long weekend (since we are current annuel passholders) or having a party. After much diliberation, he decided to have a party. He wanted to have a Super Hero party complete with costumes. And he and Tres came to the conclusion that the perfect place for a Super Hero party was as Hero's Park. That worked for me since it is minutes from my house and this particular park does not require you to reserve a time or pavilion or anything!

Here was his invitation this year:We emailed this to a family and a couple of good friends. This is how Bryant went to church when they had a dress up day. He wanted to be Lego-Man, so I made the box costume part, and he came up with the rest. Bryant dressed up as Superman... and was so cute running around with his cape flapping in the wind!

Although he wanted a hero party, Bry did not want a hero cake... he wanted an all chocolate Lego cake... so this is what I came up with: Professional it is not, but I'm proud just the same. I tackle making them a cake every year, even if it ends in disaster (does anyone remember the Hershey Bar burnt brick?).

His cousins and friends came and they had a blast playing on the playground, then playing some party games. We had a cupcake eating contest for kids then one for adults... I didn't get any digital pics, but I think Hank got some video, so I'll try to post that soon. Then we let the kids use the pinata as a target and try to hit it with a frisbee, then a football. And we hid a couple of eggs and let the kids hunt them for special door prizes.
After all the games, we went ahead and let the kids attack the pinata! And let me tell you... they ATTACKED that sucker! It never had a fighting chance. I think Sierra never even got a whack at it cause all the boys swung so hard! Then it was time for cake and presents. I thought since we had done a cupcake eating contest that they wouldn't want cake, but I was wrong... they all wanted a piece that had a Lego part on it!Here's a baseball cap clad ninja, football man, and Superman choosing their pieces.Bryant got some great stuff too! He got a kite, a bubble gun, a Star Wars Galactic Hero Millenium Falcon, and a bunch of other things... including a Starbucks card (Decaf Mocha Frappacinos, remember?)!

It was a gorgeous day and we had so much fun! Here are some random shots from the party.

Tidmore Time

I've gotten to see my best friend Traci several times this month! Traci and I talk a lot, and e-mail, but we rarely get to see each other, so it's been so great to get to see her and her family some lately! The first time was when we took a weekend trip to Nashville. We stopped at Traci and Matt's house and spent the night Friday, which cut our trip in half. Felicity and Sophie got some good girl time in! Since they are only about a month and a half apart, it has been so fun to go through all the pregnancy and baby stuff with my BFF! :) Olivia was the life of the party! That girl is a live wire and seriously one of the smartest little chicks I know! She was singing us songs about how she likes dirty socks, and the books of the New Testament. I think she liked me pretty well... I mean I think she's finally putting a face to the person that keeps her mom on the phone endless hours! My favorite thing from this night was the following conversation:
Olivia: How long are you gonna stay here?
Me: Forever. I'm moving in with you.
Olivia: {Looking at me very seriously} You don't have any cloths here.
Me: I thought I could borrow some of yours.
Olivia: Well, I have a Minnie sleep shirt you can use.
{She runs upstairs and brings it down to me. I'm already laughing and being that it's close to midnight we are all getting a little slap happy!}
Olivia: Here you go.
Me: Well, I would wear it, but I'm allerigic to pink.
{Olivia pulls back, with a surprised and slightly horrified look on her face}
Olivia: Oh!
We all burst out laughing and I hugged her and told her we were kidding her, but that was just priceless!

This past week, Traci called me and told me they were going to be in town and asked if we might could get together. We made plans to meet at a park. It was supposed to rain, so I cleaned my house just in case, but the bad weather held off and we got to enjoy a few hours at the park. We ran into Crystal and Vickie there celebrating Mercy's birthday too! After the park, we went to McD's yo eat and let the kids continue playing. Here are the Dad's with their little teething girls. Gotta be chewing on something I guess! At first the boys told me that they didn't know Olivia so well, but by the end of our playdate, they were loving it!And both times we saw the Tidmore's, Olivia makes it a point to tell us that our baby is a lot more fun than her baby cause her baby doesn't play yet. She is so funny!

I didn't get a picture of Traci and me, because as usual, we were too busy taking pics of everyone else. Thank you Trac for your friendship. I know I will ALWAYS have fun with you and I know that you are one of those friends who will ALWAYS be there. I'm so glad you're my friend.

Felicity Corinne

My best friend, Traci, had her little girl on September 25. We got to see them when they were in town visiting Traci's parents.
Look at all that hair on that sweet baby girl! When she was born she weighed 7 pounds, 6 ounces and she was 18 1/2 inches long.

Mrs. Phyl wouldn't take no for an answer on getting a picture of us together! I'm looking some kind of rough in this one, but I couldn't resist putting it on here! Who knows when I'll get to see them in person again, so here it is! Sophie's looking at Felicity like, "Can I get some of that hair, please?"

More Baby Shower Pics

My husband is so smart! He figured out what was up with the computer and now we are all back online! Here are some of my pictures I took at the baby shower.Jennifer Snyder and I took our own picture!Three of my favorite old ladies! :) Faith, Vickie, and my Mom. I loved how when everyone was going around and telling how they knew me, Faith said she knew me when I wasn't even a twinkle in my Daddy's eye! They should have put my Mom in the middle to have a reverse oreo thing going on! Crystal made a new friend! This is Heather. She goes to my church. Her husband plays the drums on the praise & worship band.Lori, Ashley, and Kelly enjoying the food! It actually took me three pics to get this, they were all eating, laughing, or blinking in the others! Here's Tonnie cutting up the cake. I didn't do so good at getting a picture of the table, which was super cute, or all the food. And this is the only picture I got of my sister! She stayed pretty busy the whole time, though! Life-long friends are the best kind, huh? This is Larissa, one of the few high school friend I still stay in contact with! She MADE me the CUTEST little dress. It's a white eyelet dress with ribbon spaghetti straps! So cute! And this is Becca. She and I have known each other since our youth group days! Now we live down the road from each other and our kids throw bricks at each other! :)

So that's it for the shower! I had such an awesome time! I really want to thank my Mom and Tonnie for going through all the hassle to put it together and to all you wonderful ladies who brought food!!

Play dates

I gotta say, I love play dates! Especially with good friends! The boys and I were able to meet up with my friend Becca, her four-month-old Madeliene, and her little boy Caleb for a play date at Chik-fil-A. My boys LOVE playing with their buddy! And Becca and I were fortunate enough to snag the booth right by the playground so we could sit, eat, and talk all while watching our little 'angels' play.

We figured something out too. Instead of making them sit with us, we let them sit at the table right behind us to eat... and they actually ATE instead of picking and then begging to play.

There was this girl in the playground that kept kicking Caleb. We thought maybe it was retaliation of some sort until we actually saw her corner Tres and Caleb and kick them for no reason. Then Tres said, "That hurt! Don't do that!" but didn't kick back {pausing for a proud momma moment!}. I marched myself in there and told her, very politely but with the 'motherly' tone, not to kick our sons anymore. It turns out she was there with a friend and her mom so no one was actually watching her!

New Look

A certain 'blog fairy' visited my blog and gave me a brand new look! And just in time. I will have been blogging for 3 years on July 8th. Oh my goodness! Thank you, Crystal Dawn! You are such a treasured friend! I don't know what I would do without you. Thank you for praying with me, encouraging me, trusting me, and most of all for laughing with me! You rock!

Deep Breath!

Shew! It's been a busy few days! Hank and I spent the majority of the weekend working on our house. Cleaning, odds and ends kind of stuff. We are pretty ready to put this bad boy on the market, but plan to wait until after we get back from Disney.

Sunday evening, a blog friend, Melanie, came into town and I got to meet her and her kids in person! It's so funny how you can get to know someone through a venue like this. I was amazed at how natural it felt to spend time with her. We played games Sunday evening, and laughed until we cried (and some of us may have even peed our pants...being pregnant and all!). We ate until we were sick of eating. We played games and talked until 2 am. That is not something I do anymore, and was so much fun!

Monday, I spent the morning getting things semi-ready for our vacation, then went and picked up Crystal and Mel and her boys. We ate at Chik-fil-A with Vickie and Mercy. Then we headed over to Watermark for a while. After that we went to the mall, and indulged Mel in as many cravings as we could! We were both pushing our strollers, constantly answering one of our two boys, and shopping for our girls on the way! I was truely sad to have to leave when I dropped them off! I have pictures, but I don't have time to download them now! I will do a slide show when I get back next week!

For now, I hope this video tides you all over! The boys were painting a project for Grammy & Pop Pop. The messiness almost got away from us!
You are instructed to ignore the huge pregnant woman who walks into the shot at the end! :)
And here they are are getting all cleaned up after the paint onslaught!
I had to rinse them off, wrap them in towels, clean the tub, then put them back in and bathe them. Such fun!

The boys also had their first tee ball game tonight and it was so much fun! Again, pictures will be posted when I get back! They did so good, and looked so darn cute in their little uniforms!

Well, I better sign off for now! We leave for Hank's parent's house in the morning. Then from there it's on to Disney! The boys are so excited that they went to bed early for us! Can you believe it!