Clouds

I remember as a kid that I would lay on my back in the yard and look at the clouds to try to find things in them. As silly as it sounds, Matt and I still occasionally play this game when we are driving some where or just hanging out. I try to get the kids into the game but they are missing some imagination! Occasionally they will play but often just make fun of me and Matt.
Fast forward to Sunday...I saw the most incredible cloud ever! It was completely a cloud with no jets, airplanes, huge birds or anything causing the effect. I also thought it was slightly ironic that I caught a sign in the picture that reads "Hill blocks view". I often am reminded of how we forget God is still in control when we are in the valley. Those mountains we have to climb can keep us from looking just a little bit higher and seeing God with His outstretched hands like a parent holding out their arms for that baby just learning to walk. This had to be God's gift to me on Sunday just to remind me that just over that next hill, He is there waiting with outstretched hands and encouraging me to keep going.

Disney On Ice

Gepetto

The Green Army guy- I told Matt that this guy has definitely been playing Michael Jackson on the Wii.

Belle (Beauty) and the Beast
Genie

Timon rubbing Pumba's belly

Tuesday, we took the girls ice skating with some of the performers for Disney on Ice. I think it made the show much more fun to look for the people that they met. We went to to the performance on Saturday and it was wonderful. The characters changed it up a bit this year and skated around the edge of the rink shaking kids hands and giving high fives after the performance (for those that had floor seats). I think the girls had a great time and I know I did.

My family celebrated quite a few birthdays in September. My Papaw's birthday was one of them.
Me hanging with my brother! He was stinky and sweaty from working at the barn.
We took a day to go to Dollywood with my mom, brother, sister, and nephew. Overall, we all got along which is a miracle.

My brother wearing powdered sugar. You would think we would grow up at some point but my brother and sister still aggravate one another quite a bit.

The three of us.

Me and the best guy in the whole entire world. I never tell Matt enough how much I love him and appreciate him but he has to be the sweetest, most thoughtful, and most obedient :) husband in the world.

Bailey begging! But who can resist that face.
Bailey decided that he wanted to help scrapbook so he jumped up on the desk. I am happy to report that I only have about 10 pages left to do to finish the Disney trip.


Saturday, we went to Rogersville to visit the family and then to hear Herman Cain speak. Matt is leaning towards him for the Republican presidential candidate.

Pumpkin Pie celebrated her birthday Thursday. We have had several small get-togethers to celebrate her and Sweet Pea's birthdays. We got the girls Disney On Ice tickets and outfits. Sweet Pea wanted Rapunzel this year and I had the cutest top and skirt made for her. I can't wait for her to wear it. Pumpkin Pie wanted something slightly more mature this year so I opted for a dress and long sweater in pinks and browns for her, which she absolutely loved as well. The girls also received Just Dance 3, some other clothes, some money, and we are planning a small Pigeon Forge attraction trip within the next few weeks.
The girls celebrated their best friend's birthdays last weekend at a gymnastics center. They will be attending Disney on Ice with us again this year as well. We are looking forward to another few busy weekends (and weekdays) ahead and have quite a few things planned.

July/August

Because I am technologically challenged, these are completely out of order and random. The tea set was something that Sweet Pea picked out on a trip to Toys R Us for her back to school present.

The car is a present she chose for pulling a tooth.

Poor Bailey was still sleepy after I got out of bed so he wanted to lay back down and snuggle under the blanket. I didn't get a picture of him this morning but he found the blanket on the couch in the playroom and decided to snuggle up under it after we all woke up today.
The next four pictures are me and my nephew playing tickle monster. Since he was itty bitty, we have played the "Don't give me a kiss" game and he has added in the element of tickle wars now.




Bailey hanging out by the fence. The neighbor has two big labs on the other side and Bailey likes to taunt them.

My cutie husband eating birthday cake (my nephew's)


One of my nephew's birthday presents was a water gun. He had been playing with it for a little while and I had given the time warning to go in for baths. He ran out of water in the gun and got mad because I refused to fill it back up so he gave me the pouty face.

My nephew chose Smurfs for his special birthday cake at our house.


My nephew's shoe fetish...I can blame that on his mommy! He calls each pair his "awesome" shoes.


These are my roses that I received for Mother's day. I'm not a plant person and was not given warning of how big these things actually get. I hope they have enough room because they are growing quickly.

My goober husband couldn't make room on the shelf for the pizza box so he thinks he was being creative by placing it in the door. Needless to say, my OCD kicked in and I had to reorganize the fridge to make the box fit on a shelf!

So the kids have started back to school. We did the ritual going for junk food after orientation and paid a visit to Krispy Kreme again this year. The workers put on a show for the kids and made funny looking doughnuts and coated them with extra icing (just for show) but the kids got a great kick out of watching. As you can see from the pictures, Sweet Pea chose a tea set for her back to school present. I didn't take a picture of Pumpkin Pie's present but she chose a fashion design book. She has big dreams of being a fashion designer when she grows up, despite me repeatedly explaining that she still has to go to college to become a fashion designer. School is not her favorite thing!
The weekend before that, my nephew came to stay with us because I didn't get to attend his birthday get together. He picked out his special cake for our house and opened up his presents...only to ask for more! The girls love having him at the house and he is so funny!
I have been attempting to get things ready for the consignment sale coming up but it has been a very slow process. We did get through most of the kids clothes and the girls have decided to part with some of their toys. The kids (mainly Matt) got a basketball goal several weeks ago and we are now looking to purchase a new grill. Matt seems to have worn his out in a very short three years; 2 burners are not working and the grill slats are wearing out. It seems to be his favorite way of cooking and I sure don't want to be the one to deprive him of that luxury.

The desk

My cool new mugs

Bailey with Shelby- we babysat Shelby while his mommy was on vacation.

My nephew attempting to dance

Sweet Pea caught a fish

My birthday was wonderful. We spent the Saturday before my birthday with some great friends. I got a set of M&M mugs that were personalized. SWEET!

The Wednesday before my birthday, my husband and girls surprised me with a new scrapbook desk and chair. I had been using a card table that was not very spacious or sturdy. I had finally branched out from the closet to moving my stuff to the play room. I did go out and purchase a lamp since the lighting in the room is not that great after the sun goes down. I have been working on the Disney scrapbook since I was inspired by seeing someone else’s progress on theirs.

On Friday, we went out to eat with my husband’s family. Chicken Fajita Nachos are one of my favorite foods!

On Saturday, my actual birthday, we went to visit my grandparent’s and my mom. My mamaw fixed one of my other top favorite foods, spaghetti with tomato juice.

On Sunday, my cousin went to church with us and then out to eat at Red Lobster. Wow, my whole weekend was filled with favorite foods!

For Father’s Day, the girls and I got Matt some UT DVD’s that he has been asking for. We visited my grandparent’s again on Sunday and hung out with the family. Mamaw even cooked for us, which is a huge task since caring for my Papaw takes up so much of her time and energy.

This past weekend, we kept my nephew. I had promised that we would go to Chuck E. Cheese when he came down and he does not forget anything. He loved Chuck. After we left, he asked if that was Mickey Mouse and I explained that it was Chuck but he is a mouse too. My nephew says, “Can you tell Mickey to come see me too?” He is a riot. At Kohl’s, he found some John Deere shirts and says, “Oh My God. You have to buy me those.” He got to pick out two, one of which I am saving for his birthday pictures since he is doing his party in tractors. We went to Norris Lake on Sunday to see all of Matt’s family. They are staying for the week for the family vacation. The kids went fishing and then ate Strudel for supper.

We went back to see the family again on Tuesday and the girls went fishing again. I never would have thought that fishing would hold their attention for very long, since it never has in the past but they both stuck with it for quite some time. The girls were disappointed that they did not get to go swimming but I will have to make that up somehow.

This weekend will be another busy weekend. It seems that something is always going on. We planned to visit my grandparents today but I woke up not feeling well. We have church on Sunday, and a party on Monday. I would like to squeeze in a little sleep and maybe a little scrapbooking time somewhere along the way but my house keeps shouting “CLEAN ME” and I keep trying to drown that sound out.

Graduation and Field Trips

I just love this picture for some reason. Bailey is such a cute doggy!

Bailey playing in the sprinkler with the kids.

Ice Cream at Mayfield's...still doesn't compare to Matt's homemade lemon ice cream (just like my Mamaw's)
Dolphin at the aquarium

American Idol couch

Coke bottles from around the world

Matt on the American Idol couch

An Albino Alligator


Each of the girls took field trips at the end of the school year. Pumpkin Pie went to the Coca Cola museum and the aquarium. Sweet Pea went to Mayfield and the park. Matt was able to go on both field trips, not that I would have ever let either of my children go out of state without one of us.
The school year has finally ended. I have been very blessed that both of my children are very smart. Sweet Pea had the highest GPA in her class and Pumpkin Pie was one of four to achieve the A and B honor roll in her class. Both also done extremely well on their standardized testing, testing out at several grade levels ahead in every subject. Pumpkin Pie even received Post High School (PHS) scores in several areas.
We had the pleasure of keeping my nephew last weekend and the kids played in the sprinkler, blew bubbles, and drew with chalk. The weather was so nice and it was a shame to stay inside. Matt also worked on fixing my new flower bed for the roses I received for Mother's Day. I will post finished pictures of it as soon as it is actually finished.
My nephew is the most hilarious kid ever, right up there with mine. Friday night on our way home, he shares with us that he has a cat and it doesn't fly. I tried to interpret this 3 year old language and thought he was referring to a kite. I was wrong...he said, "No! I have a cat and cat's don't have wings. It won't fly."
We went to my cousin's high school graduation today. It was packed in that gymnasium. We are so proud of her for graduating and hope she has a blast when she starts off to college this fall. We visited with my grandparent's after the graduation. I am looking forward to church tomorrow and relaxing on Monday. We are getting together with friend's next weekend to celebrate my upcoming birthday. I enjoy those times so much because the food is always so yummy!

Partying

The goat dressed up for the birthday party

One of the dog's dressed up for the party

Matt and Jason paddling. You would think they were both out of shape or something!

For Easter, we bought my nephew a Paper Jam Guitar. I forgot to send batteries, which I typically do try to remember to do. I had my mom deliver the toy to him and she later informed me that he did not like the guitar.

This weekend, we visited with my nephew and I asked him about the guitar. Apparently no one put batteries in it for him and he responded to me with, “It’s crap!” I explained to a 3 year old that his mom would have to put batteries in it but I am guessing that will not change his opinion much at this point.

He also asked me if he could come to my house to get presents. I explained that I sent his presents to his house because he did not come home with me on Christmas, as was planned. I listed off the things we bought him, which he did recall but says, “No, mamaw got those for me.” Again, because my mom delivered the presents to him, he associates her with the present. No more presents will be delivered through a third party.

We took the kids to Dollywood Saturday morning to make up for Pumpkin Pie having to miss a trip to Zuma with church. It wasn’t that crowded and the weather was nice (not too hot and not too cold).

We did go to visit my grandparent’s this weekend and cleaned house for mamaw. We planned to mow but it looked like it was going to rain so we put it off.

We also went to Kentucky for a birthday party this weekend. Matt and Jason were hilarious paddling the paddle boat around the pond. It was nice to hang out with friends and I plan to get up there more this summer with an extra day off from work each week.

Blast from the Past:

Sweet Pea has a different personality than most kids. She is quick to smart off and is good with comebacks. A few weeks ago, she was scratching and my mom asked her what was wrong. She responded that she had a yeast infection (which she did have over a year ago). Mom jokingly tells her that she should drink beer for that, knowing we do not allow our children around alcohol and we do not drink. Sweet Pea says, “We have A&W.”

This past week, Sweet Pea smarted off to me. Pumpkin Pie says in her Sweet Pea voice, “I’m sorry, mom.” Sweet Pea says, “That wasn’t me. I don’t say I’m sorry.” She means it too…the child is not known to apologize for anything because she means what she says when she says it and does not back down from it. I wonder where she gets that from!