Labor Day at the Lake

Over the Labor Day holiday, we packed up once again and headed west to Louisiana to visit with Matt's family. When we arrived, Pappaw was beside himself to show the kids his new project. I laughed when I saw it, and Matt and I both made a comment about grandparents not letting each other out do one other. The kids were of course delighted to have another jeep to play with and since their yard is plenty big, the kids roamed around like they owned the place.We couldn't let the summer end without playing with our cousins at the lake, so the holiday also made for a great excuse to have a little fun getting dirty and eating some fried food. Since we don't get together as often as we would like, Mamaw Elsie makes certain that we get her great grandbabies together for a group photo. Then, so that no one feels left out, she also asks for a picture of all the families. We appreciate her kind gesture of asking for our picture as well, but we all know that the only picture she is really concerned about getting is that of her sweet little kiddos. But then again, who wouldn't if they were all this cute?Matt and I took advantage of the Fisher household babysitting service, so we brought our bikes with us and headed to the state park to do some mountain bike trail rides. Of course, we forgot our helmets and were thus not allowed to ride at the park. So, Matt informed me that we would be running for 45 minutes instead. I made it, with a few breaks of course, but informed him that we would be buying helmets so that we could ride our bikes on Monday instead of going running again.

So, on Monday, we headed out for the trails again and enjoyed ourselves. Mamaw Kat, Pappaw, Erin and the kids met us for a picnic lunch followed by playing at the park.Once Pappaw and the kids were ready for their nap (ha, ha...somebody has to give him a hard time and I gladly accept the role!), they headed for the house while Matt and I headed out for the trails one more time. Of course with our luck, minutes into the ride I heard what sounded like a firecracker. Unfortunately, I knew what it was before I turned around to find Matt off of his bike. Yep, he blew a tire. Perhaps it was due to all of the rough trails that he conned me into going down with him. I thought we were doing the beginner trails, but halfway through the ride, I commented that they sure didn't seem like beginner trails to me. He replied, "Oh, I missed that turn a while back...we're on the other trail now." "Thanks, dear...hope my life insurance is good," I replied.And last but not least...the guys all went to check out the deer plot or whatever you call it. This marked Will's 1st trip with them, so I had to get a picture. I think both of the men were just as excited to take Will as he was in going. Thankfully, I believe he is going to enjoy hunting...otherwise, he would greatly disappoint his father's side of the family.While the men folks (my grandmother always refers to it as such so don't make fun...yes, this comment is for you, Laura) were away, Caroline took full advantage of having Mamaw Kat "all to her own" as she calls it. They made mud pies on Mamaw Kat's kitchen stove that she enjoyed playing with as a little girl and of course played with all of the baby dolls (by far Caroline's favorite past time).Anyway, the weekend was so much fun and a great way to wrap up a summer that flew by way too fast!

Blog book

Since a couple of my friends have asked how to make a blog scrapbook, I decided it would be best to respond on my blog rather than typing an email. All you have to do is go to Blurb, download the software and then upload your blog. It is really simple, but does take a little time to upload everything if you have a lot of pictures. Once that is complete, you can format it to your liking and then order your book. While I still have not finished my book yet (I tend to procrastinate on certain things), my friend Laura has and said it turned out really good. If you try it, I hope you have good luck! I can't think of a better way to keep up with how fast our kids grow up.

Meeting Joe, Missy and Mo Joe

Last Friday, the kids and I joined our friends, Tamah and Abby, and their friends, who are quickly becoming our friends as well, Martha, Joe Gunn and Hollyn and met up at the Jackson Zoo. This marked the first time Caroline and Will have been to a zoo, so I was excited to see what they would think about it. As expected, they loved it. (Oh, and for clarification purposes, Will decided he needed to wear his cowboy hat and refused to take it off even though I informed him that it didn't match and is starting to get a little bit too little for his head.)Will was probably the most intrigued by all the animals, which made it difficult for me to get him to say bye to one animal and move on to the next.Our timing was perfect because we made it just in time to meet the zoo keeper and see him feed the chimps. He told us all about the newest chimp...the son of Joe and Missy who has properly been named Mo Joe. How cute is this little fellow? We also enjoyed getting all of the zoo gossip from the zoo keeper who was the nicest man.The funniest animal we met was by far the crazy monkey, whose name I can't recall. He had the kids laughing their heads off. He would turn around and shake his little bootie at us, slap at his feet, and then make a very unusual growl face at us. It was definitely for show because he seemed disappointed when we moved on to see other animals.

Caroline was so excited that she finally got to see a real live mamingo (translation: flamingo)!While the Jackson Zoo may not be as large as most zoos, it is the perfect place to spend a weekday with the kids. There aren't many people, so the kids can roam around a little more...
there isn't a line for the elephant slide...and it is the perfect place to have a picnic and then finish the day with a carousel ride! When we got home from out fun outing, I asked Caroline what her favorite animal was. Can you guess what she said? The pigs! What?!? Out of all those beautiful creatures that we rarely see, she still prefers a regular farm pig! She is such a mess.

We've been busy...

...and I've finally had a chance to catch my breath! So here is a recap of what we've been up to lately which will hopefully get me back into the swing of blogging more regularly.For starters, the kids and I headed to Philly a few weekends ago to see Neshoba Central play football. Correction...I should say that we really went to the game to see Uncle A play the drums. This year he is captain of the drumline and I must say that he is doing a mighty fine job at keeping everyone on beat. Of course while we were at Pop and Mimi's we had to ride Durango and drive Pop's tractor.

Matt and I decided to take the kids swimming for one last time before the cooler weather arrives. Every day they ask me if it is hot enough to go swimming, but for some reason the water is freezing, so it looks like that has come to an end.


I am proud to report that Caroline has turned into a little fish over the summer and is basically swimming on her own. Her confidence sometimes wavers, but all and all she has come a long way over the summer. Matt and I are giving each other pats on the back because we decided to give it a try and teach her to swim instead of signing her up for swim lessons. We'll just keep our fingers crossed and hope that she continues to progress next year or otherwise, we'll be enlisting the help of a professional! Will still prefers the comfort of his floaties, and I'm not opposed to it because I can barely keep up with the little stinker at the pool.Caroline began taking a combo ballet/tap/tumble class over the last few weeks and absolutely loves it! I can't distinguish if she loves the class or loves dancing around with her favorite little cousin, Helen.


Both girls have a fan club member who accompanies them to their class each week. Will patiently sits in his little chair (well, as patiently as he can possibly be) and watches them dance around the room. During tumble class the other day, the teacher noticed how entrigued Will was and asked if he wanted to take a try on the tumble mat. He hopped up as quick as lightning and ran over for a turn. He did a great job and afterwards, all of the girls gave him an applause! He couldn't have been more proud of himself.
And last but not least...while Caroline was still taking a nap the other day, I caught her little brother trying out her tap shoes. I decided to put them up so he wouldn't get to comfortable in them because I'm not sure what his Daddy would think of it!

Caroline's 1st sleepover

This post is way past due, but I want it in our scrapbook at the end of the year so here goes. (In case you are wondering, you can make a very neat scrapbook out of all of your blog posts and since I am the world's worst in scrapbooking, it is a life saver for me.)The night before Hunter's first day of school (he started the 1st grade this year), Mecie asked if I could keep Helen while they went to meet his teacher. I of course said yes and then thought a minute...this would be a great time for Helen to spend the night with Caroline. Caroline had been begging to have Helen stay with her, so I figured why not. I really was not the least concerned with how a 3-year old and a 4-year old would handle a spend the night party, because these two are like peas in a pod. They get along so well together and Helen is Miss Independent, so I knew she wouldn't cry to go home during the night.
Well, we did typical spend the night rituals like braiding our hair (Mecie told me that was a must if I was going to manage fixing Helen's curly hair in the morning), painted our nails, and played with baby dolls. But, I think the girls would agree that their favorite thing that we did was go swimming. We went late in the evening and stayed until 9pm. Since we were the only ones at the pool, they had a hayday! So much so that they begged to go back the following day. I obliged and we went back for another 3 hours that afternoon until it was time for Helen to go home. The girls had a blast and Caroline is already asking when we can do it again.

Mommy's little sweetheart

Will's big boy bed

When the kids returned from their weekend with Matt's parents, we had a little surprise for Will...his bed was converted into a toddler bed. We had contemplated the transition for months primarily because he had jumped out of his bed once and I had caught him multiple times attempting it again. So, despite my reservations of allowing him free range in his room at night, it was better than the alternative - an injury from falling out of the baby bed.I wish I could say the transition went smoothly, but it didn't. Perhaps it was because he had been away from home a few nights and had trouble sleeping in his bed, but I doubt it. As soon as he awoke during the night, he was pulling on the gate we installed and screaming. Against better judgment, I responded to his whimpers which meant this little routine went on for several nights. Finally, I had enough interrupted sleep and let him cry it out as suggested by my husband. Once his tantrum ceased and I knew he was asleep, I went to his door to peep in on him. I expected to find him on the floor by the door, but instead he had hopped back into his bed. I guess he figured he wouldn't try to prove a point by sleeping on the floor but instead enjoyed the comforts of his own bed. As in the past (why do I ever give in to the cries to begin with?), one night of crying took care of it and now he is such a big boy who sleeps in his bed all night long! When morning comes, I hear him get out of bed and in a few moments, he's at his door saying, "Momma...Momma".

All good things come to an end...

...and today was the last day of ballet with Mrs. Joselyn. After ballet bootcamp was over, Mrs. Joselyn decided to offer a ballet class for the little girls who were interested. Caroline and her buddy Abby jumped at the chance to dance with Mrs. Joselyn, and it provided a perfect time for Tamah and I to work out while Will stayed in the nursery. I guess you could say he ended up with the short stick in the deal, but the nursery was full of fun toys and his babysitters were precious! We hope that Mrs. Joselyn returns to teaching again soon because we sure will miss her. Until then, we wish Mrs. Joselyn good luck in finishing up her degree and pray that her husband returns from Iraq safely and soon!

1st day of playschool

Today was the kids' first day at playschool (aka Mother's Morning Out...but we fondly refer to it as playschool because it sounds like so much more fun). We decided to try out a new program this year and so far all three of us are thrilled. I'm relieved, especially since I got up at 4:30 a.m. to wait in line just to get our names on the list last spring. Rumor was that this program was top notch, and so far I couldn't agree more.

Last week, there was a parent night and the following day, there was "Meet the teacher". Caroline and Will both had so much fun meeting their teachers that neither really wanted to leave. Last night, I put them both to bed early, something we haven't done all summer. I was a little apprehensive as to how this morning would go since we had to actually be at the school at the time they normally get up. However, both hopped out of bed somewhat cheerfully and gladly got ready for their big day.
On our way to school, Caroline informed me that she would like to take her little brother to his room. I obliged and once we saw he was going to be okay, we headed to her room. However, just as we rounded the corner, we both heard him start to whimper. Caroline looked up at me and said, "I think that's Will crying." I agreed and said, "I'm sure if they can't get him to stop crying, they will come get you to help calm him down." Anticipating his separation anxiety, I grabbed my chance at a photo with Will's teacher, Mrs. Natalie, at "meet the teacher night". As it turns out, we already knew Mrs. Natalie because she takes her little ones to story time at the library as well. In fact, she was one of the ladies who talked me into trying this program!

Although a little apprehensive and nervous (she kept playing with the button on her dress), Caroline did great when I dropped her off. She posed for a quick picture with her teachers, Mrs. Michelle and Mrs. Brooks, and then headed off to play. Mommy then headed off to play as well...a game of tennis that is!
When I picked them up, their teachers all bragged on both of them and said they did so well on the first day. They also told me how sweet they were to one another with they saw each other in the hall going to and from recess. According to Mrs. Michelle, they gave each other a quick hug and then got back into their line to go with their classes. Oh, my precious little angels!