Jamestown Settlement

The Jones' live in Yorktown which is really close to Williamsburg and Jamestown. I love history, so today we to the "Jamestown Settlement." It had a pretty neat museum and an outdoor walking tour with full size replica's of an Indian Village, the 3 ships the first settlers came over on, and a Fort. People were dressed up in period clothing, so it really seemed authentic. :)

Virginia Beach!!

Virginia Beach is about 45 minutes from Brian & Melissa's house, so today we decided to head to the BEACH!! Its the first time Ethan has been to a beach, he was in awe of the massive "sandbox." Andrew and Matthew spent all day playing in the huge waves with Keira, Paige, and Carter.  So much fun!

Road Trip!!!

Today, we traveled to VA to visit the Jones'. It took us over 12 hours to get there but the trip seemed to fly by pretty quick. We were surprised at how well the kids and Yoshi handled being stuck in the car for so long.  Caleb decided he didn't want to make the drive, so he's staying with Josey while we are gone.

Twins Science Projects

Tonight, the twins and I worked on their cell projects for school. Matthew picked a plant cell and Andrew picked an animal cell. They both turned out great!

Making Freezer Meals

Tonight, the ladies in our LIFE group got together at the FLC kitchen to whip up some freezer meals for a couple in our class that just had a baby. Bro Tim comes to help because we have to have someone on staff there to "babysit." We always have lots of fun while we cook.

National Dog Day

I noticed that a bunch of people were posting pictures of their dogs on Facebook for National Dog Day today, so I figured Yoshi should be the subject of today's picture. He is such a great dog now that he isn't chewing on everything he can get his mouth on. We all love him being in our family, especially his BFF, Ethan.

Caleb's School Project

Tonight, Caleb and I worked on a project for school. He had to do a poster board about a character in a book that he had to read. He was told to make it colorful and since the boy went to Disney World in the book, he decided to do a Disney theme. We used a bunch of stuff that I had from doing scrapbook swaps years ago. :)

Big Boy Bed!!!

We had an evening free of activities (that never happens) so we took the time to switch Ethan's toddler bed for this twin bed that has been in our garage for months!! A friend of mine had it on her porch ready to take to the dump when we went by one day, she offered it to me and thanked us for hauling it off for them. I painted it with dark brown paint so it would match his chest (Fred & Janet's old chest that we have been "storing" for about 14 years) :) I'm in the process of making him a quilt so this one is temporary. He LOVES his new bed!!

My Little Model

I've really enjoyed making clothes as gifts lately! This was the first time I tried this pattern and technique. The technique is called "shirring," it gathers the fabric like what you do for smocking. After I shirred it, it looked really small, so I asked Ethan to try it on for me since it is a gift for DeLyla and they are about the same size. It was way too tight, so I had to adjust it (So glad I have my little model). I decided to put the pants and bow on him too, so I could see the whole outfit together. He was a good sport after I bribed him with cookies, he even gave me this cute little pose. :)

Gooey Mess!

My mom sent me the recipe to make flubber, so Ethan and I gave it a go today. He enjoying mixing the stuff together (glue, borax, water, and food coloring) and REALLY liked making a mess with it! I had to scrap it out of a rug and off his clothes twice! Needless to say, it was in the trash before too long. :(

4 + 3 = full table

We gave the Jones kids a ride home from church tonight. Their mom has been experimenting with some food that they don't like lately... so they have been sneaking down to our house to eat! lol Matt and Gabby would live her if we let them!

Teenie Tiny Frog

Andrew came in with this teenie tiny frog today, isn't he cute!!! Andrew loves finding little critters.  I took this with my phone camera, I'm amazed at the picture quality.

Skeet Shooting

Yesterday afternoon, Jeremy and the boys met up with some of our friends (dad's and boys) to shoot skeet. Ethan, wanted to tag along too. This is him pulling the trigger!! Isn't he cute in the little headphones?

Punk!!!

My dad and his wife, Tamara, went to Knoxville to drop her son off at school. They stopped by on their way back to see us. It's been a long time since I have seen my dad (aka Punk), but I feel like we picked up right where we left off. :)

Dehydrator!!

I've been wanting to get a dehydrator for a while, so when one of my friends posted on Facebook that he got one at Aldi's for $20, we asked Janet to pick one up for us. Jeremy brought it home last night and I couldn't wait to try it! I did strawberry fruit roll-ups, bananas, blueberries, and peaches. :)

1st Place Ribbon

Fred & Janet took the boys to the Wilson County Fair tonight. They all had an amazing time! A few weeks ago, while the boys were staying at their house over the weekend, Janet helped them make stepping stones. They turned out so well, that they decided to enter them in the fair. Caleb sent me this picture of his stepping stone... he and Matthew both got 1st place ribbons. Andrew got a 3rd Place.

Recycling

While the rest of the family probably doesn't enjoy the extra work it takes to recycle, it is something that we do. :) We recycle plastic, aluminum, cardboard, glass, and newspaper. It all goes in a bin in the pantry until it is full, then we take it out to the garage to sort. Today, Ethan wanted to do it by himself... he was so proud!

28 GAs!!

I've been teaching GAs for several years now and we have never had 28 show up in 1 night... our tiny room was packed with squealing girls! We do a picture bulletin board every year so tonight I took their pictures... I couldn't get them all in 1 screen shot on my phone! I'm looking forward to a fun year with these girls!

Preschool Rocks!!

Here's my big boy on his first day of school!! I know he is going to have a great year!

Slumber Party

When I went to Ethan's room to turn off his lamp tonight I found that he had gotten up to invite a few friends over for a sleep over. :) I love how he has them all neatly arranged. :)

Two Peas in a Pod

Ethan and Ashlyn have been boyfriend/girlfriend since birth according to Matthew. They were cute sitting in the same chair eating a snack today, so I snapped a picture. I'll have to include this one on the slideshow at their wedding. :)

Hanging Out with Friends!!

Check out how many people are on the porch!! I still can't get over how much bigger it seems with the new furniture. Since the Jones' are in town, we had a get-together with them, the Winns, the Syner's and Suttons. Good Times!

The Jones' are HERE!!

Chad bought a new truck that was in Virginia, so he asked Brian and Melissa if they would drive it down for him and come visit. He said it jokingly, but they said sure!! It was soooo good to see them, I miss them being here so much!!!

Ethan's Preschool Open House

Tonight, Jeremy and I took Ethan to his preschool open house. He has been excited about going for months!! He got to see his classroom and meet his teacher, Miss Ashley. He usually doesn't take to strangers, but Miss Ashley won his heart. He gave her a few kisses and hugs as well as let her pick him up for this picture. We were surprised and also glad that he felt comfortable with her. :)

Back to School Bash at Church

Tonight we went to the "Back to School Bash" at church. The gym was full of inflatables. Since Jeremy and I both teach missions on Wednesday night, we had to man one of them. Bro Tim put us on the most labor intensive one!! We had to strap kids into harnesses on top of a blow up so they could race against each other trying to score a goal on opposite sides. It was work, but also a lot of fun. Jeremy would strap himself in when one of the twins or one of their friends were playing without them knowing, he would give them a head start, then take off and slam them back into to center pole, it was hysterical. Anyhoo, I took this picture from across the gym as Matthew and Ethan were going down a big slide. :)

Twins Open House

The kids start back to school tomorrow and tonight we went to the twins open house to meet their teachers and to see who was in their classes. Both boys have several friends with them this year, they are excited! Hard to believe this is their last year of elementary school, what happened to my little babies!!

Headed Home

Today we headed back home from Arkansas with Gilbert. She traveled so much better than Yoshi!! She took turns sitting/sleeping in each of the boys laps... even Ethan's.

Aunt Mandy's Zoo

The kids love going to my sister's house because she has a ton of animals. I think she has 8 birds, 6 dogs, and a few tanks of fish. The boys love playing with the birds because they TALK!

Childhood Home

The big boys went to spend the night with my sister and Ethan went fishing with Papa so my mom and I headed to Memphis to go shopping. We were really close to the house that I lived in from age 6-11, so we did a drive by. I have sooo many memories from this house!!

Reading with Grandma

My mom moved into her house over a year ago and she has been waiting for me to help her decorate/get organized. So that is what we have been doing. :) Today we were working in the playroom and I had all our old record albums on the floor while I cleaned out the cabinet. There was Strawberry Shortcake, Rainbow Brite, Smurfs, The Chipmunks, and lots of Disney Albums. Some of the albums were also books, so Ethan had my mom take a break to read a few.

Gilbert!!

After dinner last night, the kids went out in the back parking lot to play. This sweet little stray cat came up to us and my kids fell in LOVE! They begged me to bring her home, but I told them that their daddy would shoot me. So they called Jeremy to ask. He said no, so after a sad goodbye, we left Pizza Hut. We got down the road a little bit and I decided to turn around to go back to get her. I talked to Jeremy and he was fine with us bringing her home if she stayed outside. The boys were SO EXCITED!!! We named her Gilbert because that is the name of Caillou's cat. Caillou is Ethan's favorite show. :)