This........

This is what I am reading. This is what I cannot put down. This is what I am going to buy for everyone I love. This is what I will definitely be finishing tonight (once my kiddies go to sleep)! This is what I will be posting in detail about later. This is what will change your life forever!

Fairest of the Fair...

No, I did not enter my kids in a pageant. I just thought they were super-cute as they enjoyed a day (okay, a couple of hours) at the Appalachian Fair this weekend. I love to see the look on their faces as they see new things for the first time--like the Ferris wheel, HUGE real tractors, baby animals, etc.


At the entrance, they had a bunch of tractors for sale. Brady was in HEAVEN!

Brady really likes to read about farm animals. He loves to play with toy animals and begs me to find animals for him to see as we are driving---but, seeing farm animals in real life....not so much! This is him trying to climb up Daddy as we entered the sheep area.How sweet! Well, not for Jeremy. Apparently, this chick is not yet potty-trained.
Don't worry Llama your mama's always near, even if she's not right here!
Yes! Finally a ride with a 30 inch minimum! It is so wonderful to always have a riding partner! Thankfully, these partners each had their own steering wheel!
My sweet girl

Rebels, Rebels, Rebels are the Best!

Tonight was the first football game of the season. So, we got all decked out in our Rebel gear. This season is especially exciting for 2 reasons:

1- This year's seniors are the last class of 8th graders that I taught at Colonial Heights Middle. It is so cool to see how these young men have matured and grown!

2-Jeremy is doing the radio broadcast for the South games. Check him out on Friday nights at 7:00 on WHCB 91.5. I listened to him tonight as I cleaned the house---he was amazing! I am super impressed! I think he should get picked up by ESPN!

This was the smallest shirt size the Pigskin Parents were selling. Thank goodness for the "bow as a belt fad" of the early 1990s. I knew this would come in handy again someday!

We are proud supporters of the Blue and Gray!

My little OzziesSouthern Pride stand'n tall!
Congrats Rebels on your 1st victory over Science Hill!

I'll Tumble For You!

If you know me at all, you know that I spent a large part of my childhood at gymnastics. Unfortunately, I was always at least 8 inches too tall and completely lacked the "dare-devil"

guts to be very good, but I was there none the less. Thankfully, my goal was never to be in the Olympics. I was okay with just learning enough of the basic tumbling skills to make it at least part of the way down the gym floor/football field on a Friday night.

Anyway, I thought it would be fun for all of us to get out of the house once a week and take a class. Since I have absolutely no singing talent, I thought gymnastics might be a little more up our alley than a music class. Karson and Brady really enjoy it. They have really learned so much since we started last April.

Okay, the trampoline is our favorite. However, jumping with 2 feet is a skill we are still working on. I think Grammy and G-Daddy should get one for their yard so we can practice! Notice the one foot gallop. The pit (aka the blocks) is another crowd favorite--no skills needed here!
Grammy usually goes with us. Did I mention that it is a Mommy and Me class. We need an extra hand most of the time. She is a spunky Grammy!
We can walk on the beam by ourselves now!
And, we can do a table! Brady and Karson get a little help from Miss Kristin on the higher beam.

And at the end, we all get stamps! How could it get any better than this?

Cut me Mick!

This year, Brady may have to go as Rocky for Halloween. He is sooooooooooooo allergic to mosquitoes! He got bitten in the middle of his cheek around 5:00 pm and by the next day, this is what he looked like.
By the next morning, his eye had swollen completely shut! (Jeremy took pics on his cell phone, so I don't have them yet.) We took him to the Dr., and she said she had never seen anything like this--ever! He is on steroids and antibiotics. We have an appointment with the allergist as well. It really stinks because we can't let him outside right now, and we are all going stir crazy. Just to keep my sanity, we did venture to the mailbox yesterday, but not until I literally covered him from head to toe with insect repellent.

Unfortunately, this is not his first run-in with mosquitoes. The same thing happened last September when he was only 11 months old; but, at the time, we weren't sure what had caused it. Last year, it only swelled on the top of his eye. This time, it swelled both above and below.

Though he looks pitiful, we did have a few laughs getting him to act out a scene from Rocky! (You'll have to pause my music to hear him. Also, I can't figure out how to flip the video :)

No Soup for You!

So, Mikey (aka Karson), who dislikes almost everything but pizza and cheese crackers, has found a new item to add to her very selective lunch menu. Unfortunately, it is not something I look forward to feeding her. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. I better go now and stock up on some Shout and other stain-fighting necessities.

Yeah, it's soup, and it is red--need I say more.

And, she is sooooo over letting me help her eat. "I do it, I get it Mommy," she says.

But, at least, she likes it! She likes it!

It was a dark and rainy night....

So, we decided to make a tent in the den. When I was little, I loved to pull the cushions off of the couch, drag the breakfast room chairs into the den and cover them with blankets to make a tent.

Daddy is a super-duper tent builder!

Karson brought her baby in so she wouldn't get wet.
Daddy and Brady had fun playing peek-a-boo!
Here are my two favorite boys discussing what animals are coming in the tent with us. The twins learned about it "aining" a lot and God bringing all the animals to the ark a couple of weeks ago in Sunday School. So, since it was "aining" outside, Brady decided that it was time for the animals to get in the tent.

Karson didn't want to be left out of the fun!

Happenings...

Recent news from the Land of Oz

Karson discovered boys (kissing Flynn Bottcher)Brady discovered the art of sidewalk chalk
Karson learned to wink ; )
Brady learned to drive
And Daddy finally got a much needed tropical vacation!

Hey, We Wanna Party!

We attended Abbey Hoover's 2nd Birthday on Saturday at Warrior's Playground and had a great time!

Karson and Abbey get some pushes from their daddies.

Here is my cheesy girl driving her car...

And sliding--look no hands!The ducks were a BIG hit!Drew, Allie and Brady "quaking" at the ducksHere's everyone watching Abbey open presents. How much cooler can it get? Brady got these sunglasses in his treat-bag. His poor face was so

red (not from sunburn--just the heat :)

Thow Ocks Daddy, Thow Ocks!

We have a little creek at the end of our street. Jeremy has been taking turns letting the twin that is not napping or not otherwise engaged in some other activity throw rocks off the little bridge into the water. So, a couple of Saturdays ago, I decided to go with him and let both kids "thow ocks." However, to my horror, I realized that in order to get close enough to the water, he was seriously dangling my children over the bridge! This might seem harmless to a man who, in his youth, rolled down a gigantic hill in a barrel, but it was not ok with me! Not to mention that our neighbors were having a yard sale and there was an unusual amount of traffic on our quiet little street!

Not wanting to pull a Michael Jackson move, I suggested that we simply go to Nana and Papa's house (Jeremy's parents) who have a creek that runs right in their neatly mowed backyard. After enduring his speech about me always wanting to keep our kids in a plastic bubble, we went to Nana's.

We got really wet and muddy but at least we were safe!

I'm sure I told Jeremy to hold onto her. I'm kinda annoying that way.

But look, I even let him dangle my precious angel over the water!
And, we safely sat down to "thow ocks!"

We tried to find crawdads. But even with Nana's help we had no luck. Still, we had a fun, safe time playing in the creek and no one had a reason to call Child Protective Services :)