Summer- the rest of the story

This was the first outfit that I purchased for my expectant niece.  My sister informed me on Mother's Day that she is pregnant again.  I went shopping that following weekend.  I love this material for this outfit and cannot wait to try it on sweet Maddy.

Dollywood with one of my besties.  We got to go to Dollywood together twice and luckily, the guys got to come along on the second trip.  I enjoy being around this couple.  They are great people and wonderful parents.  I just love hanging out with my dear friend too because she is a hoot!

 

This was my birthday dinner.  I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family.  My mamaw spent the weekend with us that weekend and went to church with us on Sunday.  On Saturday, my Uncle Jeff, Aunt Melissa, cousins Leah Beth and Justin, and Justin's girlfriend, Reagan went out to eat with us at Red Lobster.  Afterward, we came home and enjoyed some homemade lemon ice cream and watched the girls dance with Justin and Leah Beth on the Wii.  I never knew Justin had moves or that Leah Beth could be so bashful.

I took a wild hair (or several) and decided that I needed to spice things up by getting some blue streaks in my hair this summer.  I want to do purple next but have been trying to put it off for a few more weeks.

Build a Bear sucked my child in once again. They had pigs and she just had to make one.  Then she just had to have the Rapunzel outfit to go on her pig.  I guess it is worth it if it makes her happy.

 

 

 

 

My nephew has spent a couple of weekends with us recently and his birthday was actually this past weekend.  We bought him the Abercrombie outfit for birthday pictures and then gave him his presents- two sets of Cars II cars, three pair of shorts, two shirts, 3 pair of boxers, helmet and pad set and a bunch of Toy Story action figures.  We also went to Chuck E Cheese where he led the Chuck dance.  He had a really good time and even asked for doughnuts after the Chuck E Cheese visit, stating that he would rather have doughnuts than a cake.

  

 My nephew had outgrown all of his pajamas and most of his summer clothes already.  We decided that he needed new pajamas so the girls got new pajamas as well.  They planned a slumber party but fortunately, they all fell asleep before 10:00.  

These are my "new" dishes.  If you remember last year at Mother's day (if I recall correctly), I purchased a set of dishes like the ones I grew up using at my mamaw's.  I saw this set on Craiglist and got a steal!  I bought all that you see here for $40 and could not have been happier.  I figure that the more pieces I have, the better.  Maybe I will actually be able to pass a set down to each of my girls.  My problem now is having a place to store all of it because my china cabinet only holds so much.  My sweet husband spoke to the owner at Missy's Treasures and she is going to work on finding a corner china cabinet for me that can be painted pink.

My cool dog...Bailey does not always enjoy the dressing up we do on him but he tolerates it.  The day after this picture was taken, Bailey got really sick with a stomach bug.  The vet said it was also possible that he got into something he shouldn't have.

Kendra and I took the kids to Chuck E Cheese one Monday this summer and the manager gave us princess tiaras to wear.  We have tried to spend quite a few Monday's together over the summer since I took Monday's off.  We went swimming a couple of times and spent some time just hanging out.  She always makes me smile and is like the soul mate of best friends.  I couldn't live without her!  Well I could but life just wouldn't be as much fun.

 

 

Kendra's dog, Daisy- She is such a sweet puppy.  

My mom brought my Mamaw flowers for her birthday and Bailey had to smell them.  Mamaw thought he was eating them and I had to reassure her that he just likes smelling things like humans do.  Last Christmas, he tried to eat all of Lynette's candles that were made to smell like food.
We took Mamaw out to eat at Amis Mill in Rogersville.  It was pretty good food!  We also got her a ton of Amish books since she has been into reading lately.

My Mamaw insists that she never thought she would like a dog, especially one inside the house but she seems to love Bailey and calls him when he does not come straight to her.  My Mamaw turned 77 this birthday and I hope that she lives another 77.  I really mean it when I say I couldn't live without her.  She has been my biggest cheerleader throughout everything in my life, even when she thought my decisions were stupid. 

My sister, nephew, and niece (in the belly)- I can't wait to see her, all though my nephew isn't quite as excited.  He has named her "gummypuss."  The kid cracks me up!  He recently told me that he wanted a trampoline but that I couldn't jump on it.  I asked if he was calling me fat and he said, "no, your just big because your an adult.  But Uncle Matt- he's fat."  Guess why I love that little stinker so much?!

Bailey was hanging on to Coke for dear life.  Just more proof that Coke is better than Pepsi. 

Yeah, I know...Maddy is already spoiled.  This isn't even the half of it.  I do admit that the aqua outfit is one of my favorites just because it says, "I Love Auntie" and has a cute monkey on the behind.  I can't wait to dress her up and put bows in her hair just to torture my sister.  I did do something nice for her though; I purchased a camo crib set.  I have threatened to decorate it in pink bows if she isn't careful though.

Sweet Pea is in love with Rapunzel so she chose this doll as her back to school present. She already has two other ones that are about this size and another that I have purchased but put back for birthday or Christmas.
Pumpkin Pie asked to have her room rearranged however she wanted so we agreed and did that this past weekend.
Both of the girls are off to good school years so far.  Sweet Pea loves her teacher this year and I think I may like her as well.  Pumpkin Pie insists that she is going to work on making the highest GPA this year in her class and I am so encouraging that.  She is super smart in so many ways but just like her dad, she tries to get by with the littlest amount of work as possible to skate through.  She is playing volleyball and basketball for the school this year.  It has me worried slightly because I cannot be with her 24/7 and letting her have that freedom is scary.  I promise I won't get on my soapbox and talk about kids in the world today and all the problems with parents not being involved or knowing what is going on in their life.  I will share my bad parenting of the week to make others feel better though.  I feel like Pumpkin Pie has grown up way too much over the summer and I have been trying to squeeze some teachable moments in with her and get her to talking.  Saturday night, she and I stayed up late watching "Teen Mom" (yes, I know it is horrible to let my child watch) but I turned it into that decision making kind of discussion and tried to focus on how each person makes bad choices and have to learn to accept consequences and move forward.  It also gave me an opportunity to hear what she thinks about the decisions that some of those girls were making and what she would do differently.  At least I know some areas that I really need to focus on with her before she grows up much more.  I am very blessed to have such smart, sweet, and loving children, even when they think I am the meanest mom in the world.  She even snuggled with me while we were watching the show which definitely made it worth that much more because she has never been a snuggler.

Two cutesie pictures of Bailey wearing my Eeyore ears from Kendra's trip to Disney years ago.  Oh, did I mention that we have made vacation plans for this fall. That's right; we are headed back to Disney and I cannot wait.  Once the cat is out of the bag so to speak on the other vacation surprise, I will post about it too.  I know my kids will be doubly happy when they find out the second part of their vacation surprise. 
Overall, I can say that we have had a great summer but I will sure be glad to get back into a regular work routine.  The 10 hour days were not so good for my brain!  At the end of the day, I felt like crawling into bed and hiding under the covers the remainder of the night.  Not that the work load gets any easier with 8 hour days but at least there are two less cases to think about and worry that you are making the right decisions and helping people to the best of your ability.  I also missed time with my kids...coming home to house chores and getting them into bed was about all that I had time for at the end of the day.  I did appreciate that one full day to focus on them each week and of course the weekends with my husband tagging along with us but I felt like I was missing out on important things each day.
We are looking forward to another wonderful school year and really hope to make time to spend with friends a little more in the next few weeks.  Maybe if I can keep the housework caught up, I won't mind having people over. 

April and May

 Dollywood - April 16th

 J's birthday party- May 6th

 The chicken with no feathers hanging out at the goat's dog house
(Below) Pumpkin Pie driving the Rhino

 Mother's Day- May 13rh
Mamaw with her handpainted Mickey and Minnie for her flower beds and Me and Ry acting silly

(Below) Taking off the training wheels May 16th

It seems like it has been something every weekend.  The girls have had their music recital and several field trips- Titanic, caving, Safety City, Creation Museum, fun day, etc. and then their award ceremony last week.  Sweet Pea got the highest GPA in her class again this year.  You have never seen a happier child.  Pumpkin Pie made the A and B honor roll, which was a big deal compared to the rest of her class.  This year was a little more difficult and the kids were expected to keep up with their work more independently.  Her teacher was wonderful and has helped Pumpkin Pie grow so much this year. 
So in April, we went to Dollywood with the Brackett's and took the field trip with the school to the Creation Museum.  It was a very neat trip and would definitely like to go sometime when we could walk through and read everything.  Keeping up with a group of children kinda prevented reading so much on this trip.  The kids were wonderful though and we had two of Pumpkin Pie's best friends in our group.  They were very polite but then again, Pumpkin Pie had them scared of me! 
In May, we went to J's birthday party and then to their house afterward.  The kids always love hanging with the animals and their godparent's.  Jason let Pumpkin Pie drive the Rhino...five acres of open land and she nearly hits one of the cars in the driveway.  I am definitely not going to be the one to teach her to drive.  The kids are already making plans for when they can go to spend the night with their beloved aunt and uncle.  We also got to attend the Lupus Walk on the 20th that Lynette arranged.  It was awesome and she raised over $2000 for the Lupus Foundation. 
Sweet Pea asked for her training wheels to be removed on the 16th.  I was shocked at how well she did and continues to do.  The kid does not have much fear in her. 
Also this month, our roof has a leak.  We are waiting to hear from insurance about getting the roof replaced since it seems to be from the storms that came through not to long ago and caused some damage.  Our heat pump also went out on us this week which was insufferable.  Luckily, a wonderful man from our church came out and fixed it for us the next evening (charging us less to come out and make repairs than other companies were even willing to come out for).  Thank God for good Christian people that have talents because I could have hugged this man's neck for giving me air conditioning back, especially since my husband was contemplating a window air conditioning unit (such a hillbilly). 
On the weekends that we haven't been in Kentucky, we make the trip to my grandmother's house.  I love spending time with her and the kids typically enjoy the attention (and deserts).  I also received another surprise right before Mother's Day.  My sister is expecting again and although she is only 8 weeks along, I have already purchased the cutest little blue dress for this winter.  I have been researching and comparing prices on other big things too and am so excited to have a new baby in the family by the end of the year.  I know that my nephew will be a wonderful big brother and my girls are looking forward to helping out as well. 

The Story of Jesus's Life

This is a paper that Sweet Pea had to write for school. She had to use her spelling word list. I am copying it on here as she wrote it.

"When Jesus was born he was the son of his earthly father, Joseph, and his heavenly father, God. Other people, like shepherds, came to worship the son of the living God. Now in Jesus's times they didn't have a single pouch to carry anything in. And when he was older he was brilliant. He loved to worship God. But He had not one earthly brother. His mothers name's Mary. The Lord won many lives, and none except Peter, didn't mean to reject Jesus. Jesus taught that He should be in front of their very lives. Jesus was born in the month of December. The people probably started to wonder about Jesus. One day Jesus was a wedding and He might have eaten, lion, lemon, melon, and banana. Meat from a lion is nothing special. Then a thousand people got saved because of His wonderful teachings."

Isn't that just the sweetest thing?! I love that meat from a lion is nothing special!

Spring Break

Matt's big laugh when he got his only hole-in-one!

Farm scenery

Matt playing with bubbles at Wonderworks

This one is for my cousin- Stacey. Know what? Cow's Butt! (Sorry, they didn't have chickens.)

I guess I haven't had anything really major to blog about lately. My Papaw passed away at the end of January and will be missed so much. My Mamaw decided to do some cleaning in the weeks after his passing and ended up with a broken rib and some bruises when her china cabinet fell on her. We have spent almost every weekend with her and I am hoping she will spend a few days with us at the end of the month since she is starting to feel a little better. Matt celebrated a birthday and we did make him a birthday cake but I didn't take any pictures of it. I also didn't get any pictures of his birthday present - Star Wars Saga on Blu-Ray. We have started watching the movies with the girls but I am pretty sure that at least one of them has some strong profanity in it so we are pre-screening them before the kids get to see them. We celebrated a friend's birthday at the end of January but again, I didn't get any pictures. It seems that my camera has not been used much lately and I am definitely going to have to make up for that since the weather is improving.
Unfortunately, I talked my sweet husband out of a vacation this year, thinking that getting some big items paid off was more of a priority. Boy, do I regret it now! I really miss Disney and would have definitely enjoyed a vacation there this year but I am considering a fall break or early December trip.
Matt and I did take the week off with the kids. I got the carpet shampooed and house cleaned (the whole thing was clean for part of a day), which is a miracle. It typically happens in increments and is never cleaned completely at the same time. A dear friend of ours lost his mother and we visited with them.
Tuesday got to be the fun day! We took the kids to Pigeon Forge and went to Wonderworks, Olive Garden and Ripley's Putt-Putting. Putt-Putting was the one thing that Sweet Pea said we must do for vacation so she was definitely happy. Wednesday, we spent the day being lazy and letting the kids play outside. Thursday, we had a few errands to run and got haircuts. Friday, we went to visit my mamaw and she made some delicious roast beef. Yummy! Matt made some baked potatoes, lemon pepper roast, rolls, and noodles to go with it and I was in hog heaven. Saturday, we did some summer clothes shopping and had dinner at Cracker Barrel with some of Matt's family. Today, we were blessed to hear some good preaching and take a short nap. I fixed biscuits, gravy, and scrambled eggs (Matt fried the bacon) for lunch because Matt loves those kind of meals and I thought I should be nice to him at least one day this week.
While I definitely enjoyed a week off from work, I would have enjoyed a week at Disney even more. Time with my family is always enjoyable though and I dread going back to work and the routine of the week because I feel like I miss out on so much with the kids. Luckily, I have a job that I absolutely love beyond measure and am blessed with some wonderful people to work with.
I think I might also start planning that Disney trip for the end of the year too :)

December

I try to convince myself that I am going to keep up with things better but I somehow always manage to fall behind. This month was super busy as I am sure that everyone else is in December as well.
Typically we make our gingerbread house on Thanksgiving. This year did not work out that way so Sweet Pea and I decorated it on the 15th. It turned out cute and with a lot less stress this year. We bought the pre-made gingerbread house versus the ones that you have to piece together yourself this year and it saved a lot of time. The real fun is all in the decorating and sneaking candy anyway. Sweet Pea and I took turns squirting the left over icing in our mouths to get that good old sugar rush afterward.
The finished Gingerbread house

On the 15th, I had lunch with my work. On the 16th, I took my mom, sister, and nephew Christmas shopping. My mom is the worst to wait until the last minute and hates driving anywhere at this time of the year so I did my good deed for the month. I enjoyed the time out though and my nephew was great for me. We had fun looking at all of the Christmas decorations out and about and laughing at all the craziness.
On the 20th, we got together with some friends to eat dinner and exchange presents. The girls got Amazon gift certificates (although they did not fully comprehend the reason yet) and we got a single serve Keurig machine. The hot chocolate is delicious! Both of the girls have had to have hot chocolate at least once a day since we received the gift. The girls also put on a little dance show for us that they coordinated that evening, which was funny to watch!
Our new Keurig

I took the 21st off with plans to visit my best friend from college but she ended up having to work so me and the girls ran a few errands to piece together the last of the Christmas presents and wrapped gifts that evening (that hadn't already been completed).
On the 23rd, we went to Dollywood to check out the Christmas lights. It was cold but it could have been much worse and the crowd was not horrible.
Christmas lights at Dollywood

On Christmas Eve, we went to Matt's aunt's to eat and exchange presents. The girls received Amazon and Itunes gift cards (and I again had to finagle my way around why with Pumpkin Pie), Hello Kitty water bottles and banks, and fudge and pecan pie. The sweets were the girls special requests from their aunt.
Bailey and Shelby playing

We always celebrate Christmas with the kids on Christmas Eve because Christmas day is so busy with everything else. The girls each got a new jewelry armoire, Ipod Touch, and Kindle Fire, among other presents. We gave Pumpkin Pie her Ipod touch as her big present and Sweet Pea the Kindle Fire. Matt snuck upstairs and put the Kindle Fire on Pumpkin Pie's desk and the Ipod touch on Sweet Pea's desk to find when they carried their other items upstairs. Pumpkin Pie is oblivious to the world at times because she never noticed the huge gift on her desk until we pointed it out. The girls were absolutely thrilled because they had no idea that Christmas was going to be so nice for them this year. I told them not to expect this kind of gift giving every year because we rarely spend quite so much on them.
Me and Bailey
Bailey's presents

Bailey after he opened his presents- he snuggled up with his new penguin and went to sleep. I think he liked all of his gifts (candy cane bone, his favorite dog food, peppermint flavored bones, some new toys, a blanket and a new picture frame for his picture).
Matt's presents- Grippo's, popcorn, new gray Bass shoes that I thought were super cute, sweater, khakis, socks, etc. His big present is already on the desk; he got a new computer for Christmas but given he picks those kinds of things out, he got to get it early.
Sweet Pea's presents
Pumpkin Pie's presents

My presents- Coach purse, new shirt (based on Courageous movie), and odds and ends. My big gift was an Ipad 2 but Matt is not good with keeping secrets so I got it early :)

Christmas day we were blessed with being able to attend church. After church, we went to my grandparent's home. We ate dinner, read the story of the birth of Jesus and then opened presents. The girls again got way more than they should ever get.
Bailey sticking his head in his new toy box from his wonderful aunt and uncle

After my grandparent's house, we always go to my best friend's house for the evening. It gives me some much needed unwinding time from the holiday stress and I love that I can just be silly with her and she gets it. I got a couple of really cute pictures of the kids running around playing cowboys with their hats and guns. I received an M&M's popcorn bucket, cups, blanket, clock, and Ipad case. The girls got Ipod cases and Kids Dance 2 for the Wii.
My M&M clock
Me and Matt on Christmas night

In between a couple of work things that I had to do this week, I have managed to get all of the presents put away, the house cleaned, and all of the Christmas decorations stored safely in their boxes for next year. On the 29th, we took another trip to Dollywood. This time we went to ride the rides and have fun versus seeing the lights. By the time we left Dollywood, the whole parking lot was full and people were parking at Splash Country. It was ridiculously crowded!
Matt on Adventure Mountain- pretending that he is going to fall. Sweet Pea had been requesting to do Adventure Mountain forever and they finally decided to wait in line for the "adventure". The line wait was about an hour long and that is short compared to previous estimated times.

Today we have all chilled out and rested from the holiday busyness. Matt finally touched some of the paint up that I have been fussing about for a year. Let's hope he did it right because I don't want to fuss about it again. Hope everyone else has enjoyed their holidays as much as we have.