Meeting Dexter!

Well, I know this update has nothing to do with my kiddos...but I had to add this one in the book!  Today, we went to the Ole Miss/ Tennessee game.  Ole Miss came out with an awesome win!!  On our way back from the Grove, Manley and I ran into "Mr. 282 rushing yards/ 4 touchdowns" himself... Dexter McCluster.  Of course, we wanted a picture with him on such an awesome day!  It was an unexpected visit, but we were both so excited to get a picture with him.  He is incredible...and faster than lightening!  :)  So fun to watch him play!!!

I almost cropped Manley out... ha!

Sweet man, Drew!

 

Michael and Logan

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff!!

Tonight I had one of those nights!  I am sure if you have kids, you can understand the night- where you are trying to get the kids in bed, but they are wired.  You brush teeth, but they are jumping around, trying to chase each other as you are trying to brush.  One child has their pjs on, the other is missing a shirt.  Just pure craziness!  Well, tonight was one of those nights.  My kiddos were being so silly, it was 8 o'clock which is their bedtime... and they were acting as if they had just inhaled sugar and could stay up for days.  I was doing my absolute best not to lose it and get them IN the bed..."trying" being the main word in that sentence.  As I walked into the kitchen, I heard someone messing with my ipod station... I was about to get really upset, but then I heard a familiar song.  We listen to it alot while we're in the kitchen...one of my favorites!  Ava had turned on Darius Rucker's "It won't be like this for long".  If you haven't heard it, you need to!  I have never felt that a song instantly talked to me the second I heard it play, but in that moment, I knew the message before the first word was sung!  I felt so strongly that God was sitting there shouting those words to me... Carrie, there are not always going to be little teeth to brush... there won't always be little feet running around your house... these little bodies that you are having to dress for bed will not always be so little.  One day they are going to grow up and you will miss these days!  Needless to say, I took the message to heart, grabbed my camera & snapped pictures of my "babies", and laughed til' my side hurt.  It's one of those nights that will forever be etched in my memory!  :)

 

 

Trick or Treat!!!

                      

Trick or Treat!!

Halloween 2009! So much fun packed in one short night! We had a house of three excited children... and I think we heard "when will it get dark" more than 5 times! We had a fun little "Lilella" as she called it. She sure was a beautiful Cinderella! I think Lily would have worn anything just to be able to go out and get candy. She was so, so excited! Parker wanted to be something scary, and settled on a skeleton that had a pump to put fake blood inside the skeleton.  Such fun for an 8 year old boy!!  Ava wanted to be...well if you know Ava, you can probably guess what she wanted to be. I knew when I heard the words "I want to be Taylor Swift for Halloween" that it was going to be fun, but in the back of my mind...I knew I was also in for some trouble. I guess I know my sweet Ava all too well!! Goodness, she was so excited! She watched the video from "Love Story" so many times and she kept talking about about what she wanted to wear and how she was wanting to do her hair. I guess hearing all the talk about her "long" hair and how she wanted it to look just like Taylor's, I didn't address it too often. And when the actual day came, I sure wish I had!! Oh my, the things she wanted me to do with her hair. My sweet girl had so many visions of her "locks"... things that were virutally impossible. It made me feel so bad one minute and the next, so frustrated beyond words. But then a great thing happened!! 6:00 came... it was time for the hayride...and she was off! From that moment on...she was in heaven and it turned out to be a great time with the neighbors! Such a fun night, but definitely a night I will not soon forget! ;)

She loved to be Cinderella!  Loved twirling in the dress...

She's getting SO big!

Parker really wanted to be something much more scary than this, but we made a deal... he could buy the thing that had fake blood in it, and I could have a night without scaring Lily beyond words.  She does not like masks... and most were just too scary for a two year old!

Talk about getting old... I was just looking at pictures from when he was Pooh and Zach was Tigger...where have the years gone??

Miss Taylor herself

Love these little faces!!

Farm Day

Today, Ava had "Farm Day" at their school.  Such a fun morning!!  The kids dressed up like farm girls and boys...they all looked so cute. 

I laughed when I got there because I heard three funny stories about Ava and her "boy" friends!  A little boy's mom told me that he just loves Ava.  And I realized I already knew this because every time I go in there with a camera... he wants a picture with Ava.  So sweet!

Another mom told me that when she met her little boy at the walker line, he told Ava "don't forget to call me Ava, my number is ...!  Too funny!!

And the last story, made me smile!  This little boy has asked his mom over and over if he could walk Ava home from school.  He said "I'll just make sure she gets home okay, then I'll ride home!"  So stinkin' sweet!! 

I love the innocence of a child!  Before too long, these boys will not even want to sit by girls, but now, they are all great friends!  So sweet!  Ava loves Kindergarten.  She is making so many new friends, and always has a smile on her face whenever she comes home from school!! We are very blessed with such a wonderful school, and many families that are such great friends !  :)

Fun Times!

I think anyone from Blue Ridge Park would agree that we had the BEST neighborhood growing up!  I know everyone has memories from their childhood that make them smile.  And mine are just the same.  They make me smile thinking about each one of them.  Volleyball in the cove every Sunday, watching Ranger games, cookouts, walking on the Murphy's fence, making shadow shows in the Noelker's backyard, calling Sarah to "play" daily, cutting through the Spinosa's backyard, walking on the Swicker's grass and hearing that "tap, tap" on the window when they saw us, seeing all the snowmen, christmas trees, soldiers, etc in every yard for Christmas (just depended on what street you lived on), playing "SPUD" in the cove.  We had the neighborhood to remember, and all of these memories make me smile.  All of these dear people are not only neighbors, they are family!! 

This past weekend, my parents had a little reunion get together!  There were several people that weren't able to make it... and they were definitely missed, but there were also so many that were able to come.  It was so much fun to catch up and of course, share stories from days of the past.

Our soccer girl!

Well, I think we have a soccer girl on our hands! It was definitely easy to see that Ava loved the sport because whether she was the goalie or running down the field...she had a huge smile on her face. When it was time to practice and at every game...the little miss was ready to go!! We signed up with Coach Todd's team this year, and she loved every minute of it. She was also able to play with her best buddy, Riley, which was a special treat. This was such a special team and such a fun season! Can't wait for spring soccer to roll around!

Getting ready for game time!

She loved that she was #3...because "we have three kids in our family!" 

Sweet friends!  Riley and Ava

Fall Fun

I LOVE Fall! It is, without a doubt, my MOST favorite season!!! I love the pumpkins, the changing colors, being outdoors, feeling a cool breeze versus the humid air. Love it all...but one thing that makes Fall even better is being able to do so many fun things the family. Walking through pumpkin patches, finding your way through corn mazes, going on hayrides, "booing" friends, painting pumpkins, trick or treating...I could go on and on!

This weekend, Manley and I took the kids to Cedar Hill Farms in Hernando, MS. It is such a fun place FULL of things to do for the kids. A great time was definitely had by all! :) Parker loved shooting corn...always one of his favorites. Ava loved the pig races (especially getting picked to be the leader for the blue pig)! And Lily LOVED the animals. She was quite hilarious getting close to their faces, talking to them so sweetly. Ava was also such a treat to watch with the sheep. She started to sing "Mary had a little lamb"...It was so precious! Such a great day...the only thing I don't think the kids enjoyed was my love for picture taking!! Ha!

With my favorite people!

My three pumpkins...

Lily talking to her new friend...

My little animal lover!

With my sweet girl!

On the hayride

I see you Lily!

Hanging out on top of the haystack!

With my sweet man!