Birthday Shout Out

While growing up, I was especially blessed in the "Friend" department. I hung out with the absolute BEST group of girls on the planet! We were known for sporting the best of 80's fashion - including the giant pouffy bangs, all talking at exactly the same time, & saying the word like.... like a lot. Two of my gal-pals were identical twins (boy did we have some fun with that) and just really special people. Some of my favorite things about them were:

1. They let me hang out with them despite the fact that they were "so totally cooler" than me.

2. They were (& still are) drop-dead gorgeous! Which meant we always got a lot of attention when we went places. And free drinks. And marriage proposals.

3. Half their basement served as a giant closet that I swear was the Mecca of cool clothes & shoes. And they SHARED THEM WITH ME! (I still get misty-eyed thinking about all the shoulder pads & blingy belts).

4. Ya know when you wear like thick, goopy lipstick and you like get that scumline thing around your like lip? They like always discreetly let me know when I like had that going on. Fer sure.

5. They loved Madonna & Prince just as much as I did.

Good times. Good times.

Along with being Beautiful, they were (& still are) Smart, & Witty, & Kind. And although this seems like it would be nauseating - they somehow pull it off.

So......

P.S.:

Our Thanksgiving '08

This Thanksgiving morning, Chance came into the kitchen and asked for Dad's socket wrench. Curious, we followed him outside and see that they are taking the training wheels off Kaden's bike and teaching her how to ride like a big girl!

I think she likes it.


We kicked the soccer ball around to Pene.

We watched Dallas play a little football.

We made our "Gratitude Tree".

And of course, we ate lots & lots of pie.

I am so very thankful for all of these small moments that to me, are what life & family & holidays are all about. And I'm especially thankful that I get to witness precious little scenes like the one below almost every single day of my life.

And the pie. I'm thankful for the pie.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

"Ohh, I wish I hadn't had seconds on the turkey."

Just a Typical Tuesday Night...

When standing at my kitchen counter cooking, my view is of the entrance to our kitchen from the hallway. Last night while I was cooking, Bailey says - "Mom - look!" Then, two of my children flew airborne through the opening. I thought it was funny, so I grabbed the camera off the counter and said, "Do it again!"

Thus, an evening of cheap family entertainment was born.




I decided it looked like so much fun - I wanted to try it.



Then, Jack gets home from work & complete with paint and dry-wall on him, had this to say about the situation:

Then, Mackenzie gets home and says "What are you guys doing?"

And then, because she shares the same looney gene pool we do, immediately has this to add:

Then Chase comes home with her friend Tybee

And, you guessed it.......

Sister Act

A true teenager (although she's 20!) - answering her cell phone mid-jump!

This is me re-inacting when Bailey jumped into the wall. It's OK to laugh at your child jumping straight into a wall, isn't it?

*Notes: Regarding my outfit - I was cleaning house all day so Fashion Divas - please do not judge me. Oh, who am I kidding. I dress like this 90% of the time. Nevermind. Also, we just recently painted, so we still need a light switch cover. (And tile. And the cabinets painted. And hardware....but I digress.)

Is he "The Man", or what?

"See ya!"

Mother/Daughter Day with Chase

Isn't she gorgeous? Chase looks cute, too - ha! I've always wanted to have a big plantation house with a wrap around porch filled with comfy rocking chairs, nestled on enough open land where I could have horses! I would sit on my porch, sip sweet tea, & watch the horses play. I am just smitten with them.
For one of our Mother/Daughter days, we went on a trail ride at the Lake with Chase's Girl Scout group.

Chase rode Dolly & I rode Dixie (Aren't those awesome names!)

Below: "The Three Blondes"

I think I'm saying "My butt really hurts. I'm loving this....wheeeee!"

So - ya know when you have a really rough day and you come home to this:

It makes me sooo glad to be a Mom.

(Me - "What are you doing Kadi?"

Kadi deadpans - "I'm SuperBunny.")

Halloween 2008

Mackenzie says "I'm not sticking my hands in that goo!"

My Hero

Here are the little darlings ready for trick-or-treating and you didn't even have to wait till Valentine's Day to see them!

Kaden has glasses!

Seriously, it has not been three months since I last posted - has it? That is just ridiculous! I pinky-promise I will try to do better.... In the meantime, Kaden got new glasses and I think they are super cute on her. They are kind of pinky-red color and she absolutely LOVES them! Apparently one eye is a lot worse than the other eye so her depth perception has just been completely off - poor thing. No wonder she could never catch a ball! As soon as we got home, we threw balls to her in the front yard and she immediately caught every single one - who knew?