My Grandparents!!!!

We were able to enjoy a wonderful visit with my family while we were back in TN closing on our house this past weekend!! On Saturday, we went to visit my Grandma Ouida and my Grandmamma and Grandaddy Rogers. The boys enjoyed seeing them and playing with all their fun toys. They of course had a GREAT time at their MiMi and Pop's house too!! They are SPOILED beyond imagination...in fact - it takes us a good week to get them back to normal after a visit with any of their grandparents. But we don't mind....we are glad they enjoy spending time with them all!!!

Here is a picture of the boys with their Grandma Ouida...this is my dad's mom. She is living in a town house in Henderson, TN...and seems to be in great health. The boys enjoy playing with her "sand box" as they call it (it is really a little bowl with sand and shells...that they make a HUGE mess with - but they LOVE playing with it). I had a great time looking through old photo albums - boy, I was a SIGHT when I was younger!!!



Here are some pictures with my Grandmamma and Grandaddy. They are the parents of my mom. Barrett is named after my grandfather ("James" Barrett Moore)...and he loves every minute of that!! He loves telling everyone about "Little Jim Barrett" - and he loves talking about Carson too!! My grandmamma just glows every time the boys walk through the door. No matter how bad they might feel that day...it just seems to brighten their day when the boys walk in!!!





We really hate that we don't get to visit the grandparents more often, but we love the time we have with them when we do get to visit...time seems to FLY by. I feel very blessed that my boys have the opportunity to get to know their great-grandparents...not many children do - and for that - I am so thankful!!!


God has blessed me and my boys with wonderful grandparents and great-grandparents!! They play a major part of our lives everyday. We know that we are in their prayers everyday....and the boys pray for them EVERY time they pray....prayers are sometimes very lengthy, but we don't mind at all!!! I know that memories are being made every time they are with them. I can still remember VERY VIVIDLY the special times we had when Ginger and I would visit Granny (my grandfather's mother). She always gave us club crackers and coke!!!! She also had a box of toys in her hall closet (I can still visualize it today). I can remember Grandma Ouida would always take us up to the People's Bank and to Wal-Mart each time we visited....and we thought we could buy the world with the $1.00 that she would give me and my sister. Grandmamma and Grandaddy always had "cool" toys for us to play with (so we thought...they were really old toys that my mom and aunts use to have, but we didn't care...we loved them). They always let us sleep on the couch bed, and grandmamma would lay at the end of the bed until we went to sleep!!! These types of memories are still soooo vivid to me, and my boys have their own "special things to do" at their grandparent's house too!!! At Grandma Ouida's she always has ice-cream sandwiches for the boys, at Grandmamma and Grandaddy's - they know exactly where to find the chocolate cookies and the "yellow" gum,at MiMi and Pop's house they LOVE playing baseball and going to the River House, and at Granna and Grandaddy's (Davy's parents) they enjoy going to Wal-Mart and riding the 4-wheeler with Grandaddy. It is so cute to hear them tell EVERY THING they love to do at each house....they could talk for HOURS. A special thanks to all of them for making WONDERFUL memories for me and my boys that will last forever!!!!

Well we are officially HOMELESS!!!!

Well, as of 9:00am this morning....we are officially homeless!! We closed on our home in Jackson, TN!!! I guess I shouldn't use the term "homeless" - b/c we are living in an apartment, but it isn't a home!! We were happy - yet sad to sign those papers today, because that really gave closure to our "home" in TN. The couple that purchased our house is a retired couple moving from Washington, DC...they were thrilled to see the amount of house they were getting for the price....I TOTALLY AGREE...now that we are looking for a house in Ohio! You can't find anything like this up there.

We drove down on Wednesday night and spent the night at the house at the river...then drove on in to Jackson to load up the rest of our stuff. We came on down to Henderson (to my parents' house) Thursday night - and then we went back up Jackson for the closing today. We will enjoy the remainder of our weekend with our friends and family before heading back North on Sunday!!!

Poor, Poor, Ayla...she will be a BIG Tom-boy if she hangs with my Boys for LONG!!

We had a great day today! The boys had a birthday party to go to today...and it was a Star Wars Party! The boys had a blast with their swords, masks, and prizes. When they got home tonight - Baby Ayla wanted to play with them - so she put on her mask...and borrowed a sword and jumped right in their with them!! She thinks she is just as big as they are....and LOVES them to pieces!!!

Here are a couple of pictures on our way home from the party...the boys were all geared up!!



Here are some pictures of all three of them having a ball!!!

Fun Night With the Cardens!!!

We enjoyed a great time tonight at the Carden's house!!! Bruce and Suzi Carden are some friends we have made from church, and their kids are the same age as our's...and our boys love their kids. They invited us over to grill out tonight, and we had a great time!! Carson didn't have school today, and will not have school Tuesday either due to the power outage from the wind storm. Davy didn't have to work today either...his office was without power too!! So, we will see what tomorrow will bring!!!

Here are some picture of the kids tonight!! The Cardens are coming over to play at our apartment tomorrow for a little while, so the boys are toooooo excited about that!!! I will have to take more pictures tomorrow from our playdate!!




Cody is 6 - he is fixing to - or already has turned 7...his party is this weekend!! Kacey is 3... she turned 3 in April!!

They are Donna and Glen Carden's (from North Jackson) 1st cousins. And it gets even more crazy!! They use to live in Jackson - they went to FHU - and they are good friends with Christy German - Tom German's daughter!!! It is such a small world...it is a little scary sometimes!!! They are great people...and we have enjoyed getting to know them!!!

Our First WIND STORM....70 mph winds

On our way home from the game - we noticed that the winds were really beginning to pick up!!! Davy had promised the kids Burger King, so we were driving around looking for a Burger King - only to find everything without power. The Red Lights were literally hanging by only a wire swinging back and forth...there was NO RAIN...just HIGH WIND!! We went on back to the apartment to find that we were without power too (I know - I should have known that, but I wasn't thinking!!). We opened doors and windows, and played board games for awhile...and around 6:45 the power came back on at our apartment. As of 10:00 tonight...the news reported over 600,000 people are without power in our area!!! Carson's school is canceled due to all the damage!!! Ya know...we have been through a lot of storm issues in West TN, but I will have to say this is our first experience with a WIND STORM....and man it really did some damage!! Our apartment complex has a good bit of roof and siding damage, so I can only imagine what the traffic in and out of our complex over the next couple of weeks will be like!! But the good news is...we are all fine....and we have power!! Our prayers go out to those who have major damage!! I did hear on the news that a subdivision where we were looking at a house had a good bit of damage....hope the house we liked wasn't damaged!!!

The Boy's First NFL Game....Bengals vs. Titans

Today, we enjoyed a great family day at the Bengals football game!!! Davy got 4 tickets to the ballgame, so we took the boys to the game. The Bengals were playing the Tennessee Titans today (the Titans KILLED THEM...go Titans!!). We all got dressed up in our Bengals attire, and headed to the game!!





Davy's company had tickets in the Club Suite - which was very nice, but we still had to pay for our food...which I didn't know about until we got there - so I didn't bring my bag full of goodies!!! We had a very nice inside food area with all kinds of fancy food - then our seats were right outside the door. The boys had a ball watching the game, and then at halftime a band came out and played...they thought that was really "cool"...as Carson said!!





The winds were terrible during the game....reports stated that the winds were close to 70 mph....these pictures show the trash floating in the air...on the field....everywhere!!! We really had to hold on to the boys walking back to the car due to the high winds!!!



We had a great time today enjoying the excitement of the boy's first time at an NFL game....you can only imagine what they wanted to play when we got home....that's right - FOOTBALL!!!

Barrett's First Day of Pre-school!!

Today, my little baby went to pre-school!! Barrett is going to Lord of Life Pre-school 2 days a week for 2 1/2 hours a day. This is not a Mother's Day Out, but a real pre-school!! I was really excited about the school's program, and more excited that he got in this year. It is very hard to get in this pre-school, and I wanted him to be in (for sure) next year for the 3 day a week pre-k. So, one of my friends told me to go ahead and get him on the list for this year, and he would be a "for sure" for next year. I got the call Thursday that he had gotten in...and I was so excited. It will be a great experience for him, and will allow me to volunteer at Carson's school too. Barrett was a little upset at the beginning of the school year because he wasn't getting to go to school, so now he thinks he is pretty cool - just like his big brother

I had his cute little shirt and shorts picked out to wear today, and he let me know real quick that he was not going to wear that to school today!! And as you can see....he picked out his own outfit (of course the OLDEST thing in his closet). I decided not to fight that battle with him this morning!!!


Doesn't he look cute!!! Even if the outfit is UGLY!!!
We did the same little special things with Barrett today that we did with Carson on his first day of school!! Barrett was so excited to be the "Center of attention".

My baby loved school today!!! I had to beg him to tell me goodbye this morning! Some of the kids were screaming and crying, but not my little one....he just walked himself in there like he had been there for years!!




He is already asking when he gets to go back, so we will see how he does Thursday!!!

UUURRRGGG.....What will I do with him?

So today Barrett and I did our normal "Friday Special" - Starbucks and Wal-Mart. Normally, this is a fun time for just us - but today was not! I don't know if it was from all the sugar in the donut at Starbucks or what, but he was EVERYWHERE!!! If anything was within reach of Barrett - he had it in the basket....This picture shows how Barrett spent most of his time "riding" in the basket....



Tonight, we went to Mongolian Grill for dinner. One of our friends from Jackson came into town - so we all went out to eat. It was a really neat place. It is kindof a stirfry sub-way style place. You picked all the stuff you wanted to stir-fry and they cooked it on a big grill. The boys enjoyed it. The music was really neat too!! They played all the fun songs from the 70's, 80's, and 90's.

A day at the Pool!!!

We enjoyed a great day at the pool today with "Baby Ayla"!! Barrett enjoyed showing her All the "dos and don'ts" of the pool!!!





Well, after we finished swimming and napping it was time for a Popsicle..Barrett and I had an agreement - if he would take a nap....he could have a popsicle. Well...he barely touched his, but Ayla on the other hand....LOVED her's...


I thought I had hidden this, but those two found it...so they enjoyed making lots of fun and interesting creations. And yes, Barrett is outside in his underwear - True Rednecks...I know - I just pick my battles, and that was one I was going to fight at that moment!!!

What a DAY.....We did a lot!!

I am so very proud of Carson today (well I am every day, but today I was extra proud). I had worried that we might have another "going to school" issue this morning, because of the long weekend and the Bighams being here. But....I am happy to announce that he did GREAT!!! He got up this morning...ate breakfast...got dressed...and not a single word about going to school. I wanted to take him this morning and pick him up, because it was going to be REALLY hot - but he didn't want me to. In fact...when we got up to the Club House to wait for the bus - he went over to his little friends! When the bus got there...he just ran to get on the bus - I stopped him to give me a kiss goodbye and I think that embarrassed him!! I think he has finally adjusted to school!! He is really growing up fast...it makes me a little sad, but yet I am thrilled to see him branching out and exploring what is out there. I don't know what his teacher's trick is...but it worked and I thank her for that!!!

On another note....

We had so much fun today!! Jennifer, Alan, Ayla, Barrett, and myself went to Sharon Woods Park today, and enjoyed playing on the playground and in the water. It was very hot out there today...I would have to say it is hotter right now than it has been all summer. The park has a wonderful water pad, but it was broken today...of all days!!!

The kids had a blast playing...here are some pictures of their day at the park!!






I had to share this picture with everyone...Barrett stood on this rock - and at the top of his lungs he sang, "I'm the King of the Mountain!"



Then of course we had to have some sort of drama out there today....Barrett refused to wear his crocs while RUNNING through the little ROCK creek, and he fell (it looked like he was sliding into home plate!! He was "Drama Queen" for about 10 min. over it - he was telling everyone (that would listen - even people he didn't know) about his hurt knee!!



After Davy got home...all three had hair-cut appointments (and Alan got his cut too!), so after the LONG 2 HOUR experience...we went to Moe's for dinner. On Tuesday's they have "Kids Eat Free" with an adult purchase, so we went there!! Ayla and Barrett were soooo funny. I shared some of my cheese dip with Ayla (she had never had any on a chip). She LOVED it!! She was licking (I'm not kidding) the bowl...and then would lick her lips





Carson was busy chillin with the "big" boys (Davy and Alan), so he set at the other end of the table. Barrett pulled one of my old tricks (thanks to mom sharing with them how to hide their food when they didn't want to eat it). He wanted a cookie, but we told him he had to finish this dinner first.....well....all of a sudden the food was gone (like in 5 seconds gone). He said he wanted his cookie because he had finished his meal...I knew there was NO WAY he had finished it that fast!! I also noticed that the wrapper and all was gone, so I asked him where the wrapper was and he said, "It's gone!"...I knew then he had tried to hide it (thanks mom!! j/k). So, I found it...and wouldn't you know - I found all of his dinner!!

Here is a picture of what was in his lap....

When we got home from dinner...we had Ayla's (late) birthday party. We were unable to make it to her real party, so Jennifer bought a cookie cake, and we celebrated together here. They had a ball celebrating Ayla's birthday with her...and so did we!!!