Maybe....

"Hey Mom, maybe when all the people all over the world, even on the other side, learn about Jesus then Daddy won't have to go to church anymore, or to England, or to anywhere else...and then he can just go to the pool. You think so? Maybe?"

I simply love this kid more than words.....

Our Trip to Arkansas

The boys and I just got back from the great state of Arkansas. I am so proud of my boys and their traveling skills. Thank goodness for the dual dvd player and fruit snacks! We had such a relaxing time hanging out with my family and seeing old friends. Thanks Nanny and Pa for entertaining us and feeding us good food!

We went to a fish hatchery one day and had a picnic. The boys had a fun time feeding the fish and just watching them swim around. The water was so clear!




We also went to a petting zoo and "drive thru zoo" one day. Braxton LOVED it! We fed the animals from our window and then hung out with a little goat. There was a parrot that kept telling Braxton "hello", which he completely got a kick out of! It was great! Check out my photography skills on the deer picture. I seriously took that...she was right next to my window and the lighting was perfect-o!




We hung out on the front porch a lot....chasing butterflies, climbing trees, eating ice cream, running in the yard, and catching lightning bugs when the sun went down. To be a kid again...oh, and what do you think about our little linebacker below!?!







It was also such a treat to get to hang out with my dear friend, Marci, while I was visiting my hometown. Marci and I went to high school and church together. We know WAY TOO much about each other so I need to keep her close...too much dirt! Hee Hee! She has two precious kiddos with the cutest curly hair. What a squirmy bunch! This is the best picture I could get! Marci, it was soooo great to see you!!! I miss you!


We had a great time in Arkansas...now back to reality...laundry to do and kids to retrain! :)

Don't answer the door...

I usually don't answer my front door. Especially around the dinner hour. It is always a bug guy, a carpet cleaner dude, or someone trying to sell me something. So, I usually don't answer my door. My friends don't "come calling" and if they were then I know that they would pick up a phone first. So tonight when the doorbell rang at 5:30 I don't know what possessed me to answer it. The conversation is as follows:

"Hello, are you the mom in the house?"
"Umm, yes I am."
"Good, can I have 3-4 minutes of your time."
"Right now is really not a good time."
"When will a good time be?"
"I don't know. What are you selling?"
"Well, I have been talking to parents literally all day about how to get a head start on their child's education."
"And who are you with?"
****He said some company I had never heard of and frankly I tuned him out for a minute as Braxton said, "Mom how do you spell the word you?"****
"I am really not interested in buying anything."
"Mam, if you could give me just 3 minutes of your time."
"Okay, go!"
****He proceeds to talk to me about a set of children's books. Oooo, how colorful they were and wow, they had spill proof pages. Oh wait, they asked questions in the books too?****
"Mam, are you interested in purchasing any of these books to help your children get a head start on learning?"
"No thank you."
"And why don't you want to buy them?"
"Well, I have a degree in early childhood education. I have 6 years of experience teaching first graders how to read. I currently teach preschool children. And I have so many children's books in our home library I just don't know what to do with them. Although they look like great books, I just don't need them."
"Oh. Do you have a bottled water?"
"No."

Words to the wise....don't answer your door, or maybe even better don't knock on mine.

Tough Guy

My sister has a real live child-sized go cart....they bought it for her grandkids to ride on. Therefore, Braxton got to be a tough guy this past weekend. He totally took me by surprise and put the petal to the metal. Thankfully Daddy had a remote control in case of emergency, so with the push of one button he could stop it completely. Daddy definitely got his work out chasing our tough guy around the yard. Thank you Jesus for helmets.

July 4th Weekend

We had a GREAT 4th of July weekend. My sister Kelly has a fabulous lake house in Possum Kingdom. Google it....it's so lovely! We went on Thursday and stayed until Sunday. My mom and dad came down, as well as my sister Kim and her son Dilan. Steve's sister Amy was able to go with us also....I hope my side of the family didn't scare her away! :)

We had fantastic food....to name just a few: cookies galore, homemade spaghetti sauce, grilled out fajitas, AND smoked brisket and chicken. My nephew Colby is a "famous" griller...seriously, he has entered several smoking and grilling competitions and has won first place for his ribs and his brisket. Needless to say, we ate well this weekend!

We swam in the pool, swam in the lake, took out the boat, rode jet skis, watched Braxton ride like a maniac on the go cart, played the Wii via HUGE projector on the wall, slept, ate, slept, ate, played games, and ended the weekend with a fireworks extravaganza over the lake.

Check out the view! Those are my parents taking it easy in the chairs.


Cool ceilings in one of the guest bedrooms and guest bathroom. I know some of you like little details! :)



Daddy and Braxton on the jet ski. Braxton had so much fun riding with Dad!


Braxton on the dock. The dock was a happening place for fishing and watching the fish chow down on the cups and cups of food Braxton threw into the water. The top of the dock was great too....my brother-in-law Tony had it all set up with lounge chairs and a mister. Although with 2 kiddos, I didn't get to enjoy laying out under the misters much! :)


Braxton on the great mega float. We attached it to the dock and anchored it down several yards out. The bottom of it was mesh so the kids could play in the water....without fish nibbling at their toes and without sinking.



Nash was not too found of the lake so we took the kids to the pool in the neighborhood one day. Yay for the famous fish hat!


We attempted to get a good family picture on the 4th, but needless to say my kids are turkeys. I still like this one though. Maybe if I start trying now, we can get a decent one for our Christmas card this year! I gave up trying to get one of the four of us, but really like the one of the boys looking out at the water.






Me and my two sisters, Kelly and Kim. Thanks Kelly for a great weekend! Thanks for feeding us and letting us use all your gas on the jet skis. :) We had a super time and can't wait to come back!!

You have legs...

Me: "Braxton, will you please go get Nash's shoes for me?"
Braxton: "Mom. You have legs. Why do you keep asking me to get stuff for you??"

Hmmm. I guess he does have a point.