The Snowden's

Beating the heat!

2011-06-16T08:15:00.000-05:00

This is what we have been doing every afternoon when the kids wake up from their naps. We spend about 45 minutes playing, slipping and sliding in the water because it has been so unbareably hot here! I took these pictures yesterday, so enjoy! I know Ethan's not in any of them but he was kinda hard to photograph yesterday.

While he wasn't looking

2011-06-14T11:28:00.002-05:00

Our house, lately, has become a construction zone. Long pieces of molding and trim lie in the hallways while big sheets of sheetrock are propped up against our walls as our "fixer-upper" home is having to be quickly "fixed up". The kids are taking it in stride and even using it to their advantage. I found Logan outside the other day playing in a pile of sawdust left behind by Brian's table saw (table saw not turned on or plugged in at the time, for those concerned). He had no idea that I was sitting by him and taking his pictures, but instead caught up in a world where Thomas the Train was splashing through the "dirt".

As I looked through these pictures, I couldn't help but think of the movie Toy Story. Logan playing so sweetly, in his own little world, and everything in his imagination seeming to be so real! And then I look down at Thomas and see the smile on his face. The smile that is always on Thomas's face and it just seems to come full circle. Does that make sense?

Here's Thomas sitting patiently, buried in a pile of "dirt" waiting for Logan to push him through it to make it all fly up in the air!

It just looks like Thomas the Train is having just as much fun playing in the sawdust on a hot day, as Logan is. These two friends go on lots of adventures together and I so desparately wish I was privy to every detail! What fun it is to be a child!

How we spent the holiday weekend

2011-06-02T08:05:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was a holiday weekend with Memorial day being yesterday and we did what most people down in the south do on Memorial Day weekend....swim. For those of us that are fortunate to live in the south, Memorial day is the official kick off to summer and from that day on it will only get hotter and hotter. And fortunately for us, my parents live on a lake that is perfect for jumping, splashing or floating in. I am determined to get Mackenlee to swim this year, if it kills me. Last year she didn't want to jump into the lake, and if she did it wasn't really "jumping". As you can see, this year she wasn't afraid after I showed her how. Logan, however, has never had a problem jumping into the lake.

We spent a lot of time floating on the rafts. No chance of laying on and working on my tan when my kiddos were wanting "boat" rides. Oh well, maybe next time.

We also spent a lot of the weekend looking at what seems like thousands of campers. Not that we are really big camping people but Brian recently got a new job in which he is going to have to live in Birmingham for a few months and then we will all be moving back to our home town so he can build the new power plant that they are building in Kemper county, Mississippi. Since the long stay hotels are quite expensive, we have opted to go the camper route. But we do actually want it to be nice enough to go camping in after he is finished living in it. We would also like it to be nice enough for me and the kids to come up and visit him while he is in Birmingham. I am already looking forward to trips to the zoo and to Alabama Adventure!

After spending the night with my parents Saturday night, we drove home Sunday morning so Brian could work on the house. We went on another short trip to look at yet another camper.

A little side story here.... We get in the car and head towards Thomasville, AL which is about 45 minutes away from where we are at. We found this camper on craigslist, I believe and it sounds great! 1999 Coachman 30' camper with the bed layout the way we wanted and everything. "Great Condition" the guy said so we loaded up with directions to the guys house in hand. His house is right across from Dirt Cheap, so I had a feeling that this was it since Dirt Cheap is my favorite store. We see the camper from the highway and pull into the driveway. We look up and a huge sign hangs above the garage "Have your Palm Read". I look at Brian with this "really?!?" look on my face. I was not impressed. We look at the camper, it reaks of cigerette smoke and sewage. The carpet needs replacing immediately and it seemed that the toilet needed replacing as well. So apparently the guy was in mid sentance when he said it was in "great condition". As in "It's in great condition for something that needs a lot of work!". Also, shouldn't this guy have known that we weren't going buy the camper?? I mean, they were psychics! ha!

After our adventure to Thomasville we went to our church for some singing fun and then a "Pounding" for our new music minister where we had hamburgers and hotdogs and where the kids played on the playground until they could hardly move. We had a great time officially welcoming Bro. Don and Kim to the church.

Monday was spent with friends as well. We had a big cookout at Foscue Park and the kids played football, chase, or just played in the dirt. Either way it was H-O-T, hence all the bright red faces on these sweet children! Also, looking at this picture makes me realize how blessed I am! I have known most of these kids' mamas since we have moved to Demopolis and I am so glad that I can call them my friends. It has also been so much fun watching these girls grow up! They are so much fun to be around and are such amazing young ladies!

After the cookout, we went home and grabbed our swimsuits (and I had to pick up Brian and Ethan since they couldn't go to the cookout) to go swimming. I have an awesome friend who loves to share their pool and we are so glad that she likes to share! My kids have loved going swimming over there and they have always had a great time playing with her children.

Logan apparently didn't want to go when it was time, so he came after me with a water gun.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend and I hope that you actually took the time to thank a soldier or remembered a fallen soldier. For if it wasn't for them, we would not have this great country that we live in with all the freedom that we have! Thank you to all of those that have served in our military, past or present. I am so greatful for your service!

A new milestone!

2011-06-01T16:20:00.002-05:00

I just had to stop by and show you all what my little girl did today! She decided that she wanted to start swimming! Mackenlee hasn't had any swimming lessons because she has been afraid to go under water. She would scream and yell and protest and most definitely did not want to go under water. Today, she borrowed her friend's mask and started swimming! I am so proud of my girl! In this video, she is swimming to her friend! Thank you, Alyssa, for being such a supportive friend and helping her learn. You are such a sweet friend to Mackenlee!

Twisted Thursday

2011-06-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

As everyone I am sure knows, on April 27th a massive amount of damage was done in the state of Alabama by several tornados that ripped through the state. Tuscaloosa was one of those cities that had a lot of severe damage.

One of the teachers at Mackenlee and Logan's WEE School thought up of this wonderful idea to raise money for relief efforts for Tuscaloosa. She planned and brought to life a bass tournament that had lots of fun for the kids as well. She got a big slide, cotton candy machine, sno cone truck, hamburgers and hotdogs, hay ride, and lots of door prizes.

After the kids' doctors appointments yesterday, we came back home and picked up Brian and headed down to the city landing. The kids spent most of the time playing on the giant slide. When they finally got a little thirsty, we got them sno cones and then Logan went to admire the firetruck. He was in awe of it. The number one thing that he wants to be is a "firetruck man". Seriously. He has been praying for that every day for the past year. "God help me be a piretruck man". I really think that was the highlight of his time at the river last night!

Future Power Co. employees

2011-05-31T08:37:00.000-05:00

It was a slow day today in the power industry at Greene Co today (due to the holiday weekend that is upon us and a golf tournament) so I took the kids out to see what their daddy does all day. They were anxiously awaiting our trip out to the plant so they could tour the place and see exactly how power is made. Not sure if they understood any of it (or really if Brian shared how it works. Knowing him, though, he probably did) . Sorry the pictures aren't great. These are from my phone since I didn't want to take my good camera out to the nasty coal burning plant. Our first stop was to daddy's office where the kids got to see a piece of coal that they burn. Mackenlee was facinated at the fact that the coal was created from the dinosaurs. Logan just thought it was neat in general. ha! Apparently I interupted Mackenlee in the middle of her busy work schedule. She is my future little engineer. She thinks so much like her daddy, that it's scary! She is like a girly, pink lovin', lipstick lovin' clone of him.

Brian took the older two all around the plant. The kids say that they rode the elevator (Logan's favorite part) and went to a really loud area and went to the roof (both were Mackenlee's favorite part). Brian took a picture of them on the roof.

It appears that once they got back to the office, Mackenlee had some more work to finish up before we could go home. Logan had to sit and supervise.

Ethan chased laser dots around on the ground. Silly baby.

And the best part of the tour was the hard hats that the kids got to take home. Logan even snuck out with Brian's safety glasses. If he gets his way, he will be wearing those for the next month. The boy loves sunglasses. Probably because he looks so cool in them. hehe!

After the tour, Brian came home with us (like I said, slow day in the Greene Co power industry) and we went to pizza hut for lunch.

Camping

2011-05-30T21:24:00.000-05:00

We went camping last weekend. Let me start out by saying that I don't camp. My husband likes to camp but my version of camping involves a Hilton with a nice fluffy bed, and room service. I am not big on bugs, sweating, and no sleep. Yet we packed up our camper and drove it to Foscue Park here in town, unpacked everything and set up.

We were suppose to be out there begining Friday night but at 4:45 my daughter woke up with a high fever, complaining of her stomach and her throat hurting. I was about 20 minutes away from home when I got the phone call telling me that and the doctors office closes at 4:30 so to the ER because there is no place that I can take her in town on a Saturday. She tested positive for strep yet again and then we went home and started our medicine. She woke up Saturday morning feeling a lot better and no fever, so we loaded up the camper and she took it easy with minimal playing and lots of time inside the camper with the air conditioning and a DVD player.

When we got there, Ethan was very interested in everything about the camper. He "helped" unpack and set it up while the other 2 went to check out the playground that was literally right beside our campsite. We brought their bikes, bubbles and anything else that might keep them entertained outside but the playground was lots of fun. It was really nice to be able to sit at our campsite and watch the kids play then go stand in that sand!

Logan had found a phone at the playground and had to make an important phone call. He was calling Poppa and talking with him. Silly Logan.

We ate dinner (hotdogs cooked in the microwave with chips) inside in the air since Mackenlee needed to cool off a bit and then we went outside to do s'mores on the campfire.

The kids loved those! Ethan didn't really know what to do with all the mess they made so after half of his first one, he opted to eat just the graham crackers. Mackenlee and Logan each got a turn to help daddy roast the marshmallow for their s'more and then they made them themselves.

After s'mores, the kids took one more trip around the circle on their bikes. Logan saw Mackenlee's bike and spent about 10 minutes trying to climb on it. He would climb on, fall off the other side. Climb on and flip the bike over. Never crying, he would just get back up, set the bike back up and try again. Finally he got his balance just right to where he sat on it without flipping it over. And then he started peddling!! My son, who could barely reach the peddles actually rode the bike by himself. He is one determined little boy.

Sleeping that night was not as fun to me as it sounds. The kids went to sleep pretty easily but as soon as 10:00 came around (when the campsite closes it's gates) Ethan started to wake up and cry and that happened for a while. Brian moved to the side of the bed that I was sleeping on and said "I thought it would be easier on you to help the kids if we just switched spots." That comment made me a little upset because I didn't want to be out there to begin with and then he was making me take care of the kids??! Mercy! I forgave him and tried to go back to sleep and then Logan woke up several times with coughing fits. Not nebulizer or inhaler. I couldn't wait to see 6:00 on my phone (that's when the gates opened again and i could get out!).

We are going camping again for Brian's birthday. I doubt me and Ethan will be sleeping out there but we will definitely be coming out there to play and to fish. Maybe this next time will go a little smoother. Next time we will use an air mattress. My bones are less forgiving than I am.

End of an Era....

2011-05-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

I have always thought that graduation from pre-school is silly. I mean, it's not really that big of a step. The whole cap and gown and pomp and circumstance. It has always seemed a little much. These children aren't being sent out on their own, to make a life for themselves or move away from home to further their education. They are simply going to kindergarten. Going from a private pre-K to the public system.

Yet, there was just something about seeing my first born up on stage with all of her school friends, singing Friends Forever, that made me realize that she has grown up so much over the past year. She has matured so much is really turning into a young lady. She is complete fearless jumping into kindergarten with both feet. She is beyond excited and can't wait to make that big step, into the school system. My little girl is a young scholar. She definitely doesn't get that from me. I did just enough to get by and thankfully I have enough sense that doing just that got me good grades. But Mackenlee loves to figure things out. Look and see how things work. Add. Subtract. I can't wait to see how much she is going to grow and learn through the next year.

Mackenlee, we love you very much and so proud of the young lady that you are turning into! You make us so proud!

Lollipop

2011-05-18T13:13:00.002-05:00

"On the good ship, Lollipop

It's a sweet trip to the candy shop!

Where the bon bons play,

on the sunny beach

of peppermint bay.

Lemonaid stands, everywhere crackerjack bands, fill the air,

And there you are, happy landings on a chocolate bar, See the sugar bowl, Do a tootsie roll, in a big bad devil's food cake

if you eat too much, oh, oh, You'll awake, with a tummy ache!"

On the Good Ship, Lollipop - Shirley Temple

Our little garden

2011-05-11T21:00:00.000-05:00

This is our second year at the attempt to have a garden and so far things are turning out great! Last year we grew tomatoes (tons of them), eggplant, bell peppers (epic failure) , banana peppers and jalapeno peppers (tons of these too!) and this year we have cut back a little. We are doing Roma tomatoes, pickling cucumbers, squash, eggplant (forgot to take a picture of those because they are being taken over by the squash and their big overbearing leaves) and strawberries. So far the strawberries are my favorite! I wanted to do those last year but we waited too late to plant. We have pretty much only been able to eat one at a time, and it has been mostly the kids eating them. But the 1/2 of one that I got was really sweet! I was so proud! Sadly, a bird has gotten a few of them. Mackenlee calls them "Berry Birds" from watching Strawberry Shortcake and Logan gets really upset when he sees that a bird has dined on one of his berries. He will come up to me with this stern look on his face and say matter of factly "a bird ate MY berry!!"

Our squash are doing magnificently! I didn't realize how much room they would take up. Our poor little eggplants aren't getting any sun because of these things. They are really pretty plants and have really large, pretty yellow/orange flowers. The squash themselves, well, they kinda look like a phallic symbol. It took a while to actually get a shot of them without having to make this blog post rated PG-13. Ha! We have several that are close to being ready to pick and I can't wait to have grilled squash fresh from our garden!!

Our cucumbers are doing wonderful as well! They and the squash really took off while we were gone last week. We left on a Saturday, stayed in Texas for a week, and came back and it was like a time warp. These things had quadrupled in size in just a week!! We have several cucumbers on their way!

Our tomatoes are also growing like gangbustas. We have tons of tomatoes that are growing bigger every day. I am so ready for them to turn red but I may end up picking a few green ones so we can have fried green tomatoes one night. That is one of my most favorite things to eat during the summer.

All the kids are really enjoying the garden. They check it every day and love to give it water and pull any weeds that may have dared to grow in their garden. This was such a great way to get the kids to eat their veggies last summer. They helped grow it, they picked it and they enjoyed eating it! I hope that it will work out the same way this time! I am hoping I will have some posts about what we will be canning soon.

Soccer time!

2011-05-11T11:04:00.000-05:00

Soccer season started a few weeks ago and this is Mackenlee's 3 season to play. She absolutely loves it! Our spring season is more of a practice season, so (at least for the U6) all the kids are grouped together and not put on teams. They do all sorts of drills and then there is a scrimmage at the end of each practice. She loves it and she seems to be pretty good at it. Kicking the ball has always seemed natural for her. Even when she was little, she perferred to kick balls rather than throw them. Mackenlee has missed the past two practices due to us being on vacation but she is looking forward to this Saturday when she can get back onto the field.

This Saturday is going to be a busy day for us, which seems to be the norm lately. Along with soccer, we have 3 birthday parties to go to. Hopefully all the soccer, and partying will make the kids sleep in a little Sunday morning!

My Jeep lovin' boys!

2011-05-10T10:06:00.003-05:00

These are my boys. Logan...

and Ethan...

The pictures of Logan were taken last May when he was 24 months...

These of Ethan were taken today. He will be 18 months old this month.

I just love my Jeep lovin' boys!

Horsen' around

2011-05-09T08:52:00.001-05:00

After arriving home at 10:00 friday evening, tired and worn from a long drive home, we all slept in a little on Saturday morning. Well, Brian and I tried to sleep in. There is no such thing as sleeping in if you are under the age of 10 in our house, unfortunately. We did manage to wake up slowly, cook breakfast and then unload the car. Mackenlee had been invited to a birthday party and we needed the car cleaned out so I could take her to it. While me and Mackenlee were at the party, Brian and the boys spent some quality time with our pups, playing in the back yard. So much quality time, in fact, that when Brian went to put Ethan down for his nap, Logan went running to gather up his puppy and his silky and said "I wanna take nap too!!!" Brian probably needed to record that because I am sure that is the only time he will ever say it.

The birthday party was at her friends house out in the county and they had gotten some horses from a friend to do pony rides. Mackenlee had a blast riding horses, jumping on the trampoline, playing in the playhouse, eating pizza and birthday cake and riding horses again with all of her friends. Needless to say, she was exhausted and took a long nap when we got home. We have had a very restful weekend and the kids are ready to get back to wee school to see all of their friends!

last leg of TX vacation

2011-05-07T21:38:00.004-05:00

Wednesday morning we got up and loaded up the car and said "goodbye" to the beautiful city of San Antonio. We traveled north for a couple of hours and ended up in Waco to visit Brian's bother and family. All the kids were so excited to see each other. The girls slept in Molly's room and the boys slept in Wes'. Well, all but Ethan. He slept in the pack-n-play in the room with us. Actually he slept part of the night in the pack-n-play and then got in the bed with us.

Thursday morning, we got ready and went to MK and Wes' end of the year school program and saw MK graduate from pre-K. Mackenlee really liked listening to the kids sing their songs and then eating sandwiches and cookies for lunch. After naptime, Mimi, Pop and Gran arrived at the house and we all celebrated by having a sprinkler party, with pizza and cupcakes.

We headed back home on friday but not before a trip to the playground around the corner from Matt and Meredith's house. The kids played hard and all of them pretty much fell asleep before we got out of Waco. We left around 11:30 am but didn't make it home until 10:00 pm. We got caught in traffic right at the stateline from a horrible car accident and moved 5 mph for 1 hour. It seemed to take forever to get across the state of Louisana and I don't think I have ever been so excited to see the Welcome to Mississippi sign! When we crossed the mighty Mississippi River going into Vicksburg, I was amazed at how flooded the river was. The picture doesn't really show it that well, but the river looks like a delta right now, rather than just a river. And Vicksburg is not near the mouth of the river!

We are glad to be home today, and have spent the majority of the day resting after a birthday party with Mackenlee this morning. I told Brian it would be a long time before I get into a car and drive 12 hours again with 3 kids! Sorry for the ton of pictures but enjoy looking at them. We had a great time in Texas but really ready to get back to every day life and see friends.

"Remember the Alamo!"

2011-05-04T16:00:00.000-05:00

Day 3 was spent in downtown San Antonio and we spent most of the day there. From 9:30 to 4:00! Our first stop was the Alamo where we promptly bought jackets for the kids. (Didn't pack long sleeves or pants because the weather channel said we didn't need to. Don't always listen to the weather channel.) It did warm up after a while, but with about 20 mph winds and a temp of about 58, it was C-O-L-D! I just noticed that I uploaded this pictures completely out of order and I don't really feel like redoing it. So just bare with me! hehe!

We visited HemisFair park where we found a huge playground that the kids had a blast playing on. Mackenlee made friends with several kids there, and she played and played. Logan and Ethan spent their time swinging!

We also went to the Tower of the Americas. We decided to not go up to the top so instead we just looked at all the waterfalls surrounding it.

Now, back to the Alamo. This is a live oak tree that was transported here as a full grown tree. It was the first full grown tree that was ever transplanted! It was planted there in 1914 and, like I said, it was full grown when it was transported. Brian said it was about 40 years old, but not too sure. Either way, that's one old tree!!

Mackenlee posed for me in front of the waterfalls at the Tower of the americas.

We spent a lot of time at the Riverwalk where we did the riverboat tour. We all loved it and was very informative!

At 2 different times, this is what we saw. Logan has been fighting allergies all week, with ear pains and all so we have seen him fall asleep a lot over the past couple of days. He actually took 2 naps yesterday and slept the whole time we were at the tower of the americas. We had to wake him up so he could see the playground.

Ethan fell asleep while swinging. He ended up missing out on ice cream because of his little nap. After playing on the playground we decided to head back to the Riverwalk and go to the Marble Slab and get the kids a cup of ice cream. After dining on chocolate with m&m's (Logan) and strawberry with marshmallows (Mackenlee) we headed back to the car and went back to the hotel.

Traveling and eating out with 3 small kids can be very difficult so I was so excited to see that the hotel that we are staying at offers FREE food every evening from 5:30-7:00. Food that the kids would be eating at a restaurant that we would be paying 5.99 a plate for. Things like chicken tenders, mac and cheese, hotdogs, etc. And for us? Well, we have been dining on baked potatoes, tacos, and nachos. Sure, it's not the fanciest place to eat out. But when you have 3 small kids and the food is quickly served, the dining area is not crowded, it makes for a VERY pleasurable eating expierence and we are able to save that money to do more fun things! Next we head north up to Waco to visit Brian's older brother and family for our niece's pre-K graduation before heading back home Friday. So far, this has been a great vacation!

Day 2 of San Antonio Vacation

2011-05-03T20:04:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was spent at the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch. If you ever get a chance to go to a drive thru safari, do it!! I mean, don't hesitate. Don't wonder if it's a waste of money. Just do it! It was such a fun expierence and well worth the money (that really wasn't that expensive). Once again, we had packed a picnic lunch and headed out around 9am. We got to the ranch around 10:00 and we stayed until after lunch. We were given 1 bag of food and bought 3 more bags (1.00 a piece) and was told we could drive thru as many times as we wanted.

The animals were free roaming and literally came up to the car. Just like this little guy. He wanted a snack and he looked like he meant business. Sooo, we gave him a snack and moved on.

Brian told the kids to not make a sound, throw food out or anything at this big guy. We didn't want him giving us the same look as the "smaller" horned guy above...

I pulled a Britney and rode around with Ethan in the front seat, in my lap. He really loved being able to look out the window and see all the animals walking up to the car or grazing by the side of the road. If we have discovered anything from this vacation, it has been that Ethan is our most passionate animal lover. He is so much fun to watch while interacting with these animals.

Oh, and he wasn't being shy in the picture. It was unseasonably cold yesterday (in the 50's) and VERY windy!!

Now, these guys were my favorite! They knew the drill. Car drives up. Walk up to car. Get a treat. So they did it. You see that big guy up front? yeah, he took a tour of the inside of the car. ha! So neat that we had a Zebra stick his head in my window! Brian freaked out, Ethan (who was in my lap) giggled and reached out to the fella. I will admit, I was a little concerned because I just read a sign that said "watch out! We bite!" as we were entering the Zebra area. He didn't bite us and I am sad that I didn't get a picture of his head in our car.

Ethan did drive us around for a little while. Brian wanted to feed the animals too, you know...

Brian told the kids to not call the Llamas over either because they spit. I told him that I didn't think they were going to spit on us so he threw them some food. They really weren't even interested in us.

And this ostrich. He (or she) was a baby and very interested in what we had. He walked up to us and got his little treat. Poor thing, is so ugly he's cute!

After we finished with the drive thru, we went to the petting zoo and played with all the goats. To sum it up we saw kids feeding kids. Kids chasing kids. Kids brushing kids. Kids petting kids.

We had a great day yesterday at the ranch. The kids came back to the room and took long naps. After dinner we went swimming and they slept well last night! I will post pictures from today sometime tomorrow!! Have a great night!!

San Antonio

2011-05-01T20:46:00.002-05:00

After driving literally all day yesterday to San Antonio, we spent the majority of the day today splashing and watching big whales splash at Sea World. We splashed in the newly opened Sesame Street Bay of Play (basically the biggest splash pad you have ever seen), Mackenlee rode her 1st and her second roller coaster! She rode the log water ride (I can't remember the name) and like it all the way to the end when she bumped her nose on the front of the log when we went down the last hill. The second roller coaster was a lot more laid back. It is the Shamu Express and she really liked! She told Brian that she was really excited because she got to ride a water ride and a roller coaster all in one day.

While we were there, we sat in on 2 performances. The first was the Baluga Whale show and the second was, of course, the Shamu "Believe" show. Both were a ton of fun and the kids loved watching these big animals jumping and splashing. But I don't think anyone enjoyed watching these whales more than Ethan. The picture of his face pretty much shows how his face was during the entire show. We kept hearing "ooohhh!!" and "wha' tis' it?!" with lots of pointing and clapping. This baby loved the shows and was mesmorized by these animals.

Tomorrow we are planning on packing up a picnic lunch and heading to the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch were we will drive thru the safari and feed animals such as zebras, ostriches, giraffes, etc from our car. I am thinking the kids are going to L-O-V-E it! They have a petting zoo at the end of it that the kids will visit. Hopefully I will get to post pictures from tomorrow adventure tomorrow night

Sorry for the ton of pictures on this post but I couldn't leave off the ones from the Shamu show. It's always good to see just how beautiful God can make His creatures!! And these truely are some of the most beautiful!

Logan Turns 3!

2011-04-17T20:05:00.004-05:00

Logan will turn 3 on the 23rd and we celebrated Logan's 3rd birthday yesterday with lots of friends and family, construction style! Logan has been talking about his "struction" party since January and was so excited for this day to arrive. I had been searching the internet for different party ideas when I stumbled upon Kara's Party Ideas and I found a few things to go on there! If you are looking for any type of party idea, go there. She's amazing!

The first thing that I wanted was some sort of backdrop to the cake table. I finally decided on making some road signs. I just used some big cardboard boxes and cut them to shape. Spray painted them for the main color and then used stincils to paint the words on. Brian then stapled them to a 2x4 and hung them on a T-post and stuck it in the ground. As you can see by the speed limit sign, Logan turns 3 this year!

For our party favors, we handed out tool belts from Lowe's with "tool" cookies tucked in one of the pockets. I made the cookies, both phillips head and flat head screwdrivers, saw, wrench, and a bulldozer. I also made the "Thank you for Coming" party tags and just used the strings from the apron to tie the tag on. I tucked them inside 2 orange buckets that I picked up at Hobby Lobby.

The food was so much fun to think of! We had pretzel rods (lumber), chex mix (nuts and bolts), black and white M&M's (gravel), cheese balls (wrecking balls), and marshmallows coated in sugar crystals (safety cones). I got a little help with the food names on a post that I found when I was just googling the idea. I would post the link, but I can't find it! All this tucked in a stackable tool tray and a red paint tray that I purchased at Lowe's.

We placed the forks and napkins in a tool belt (lined with a napkin inside) and the napkins were secured around the forks with zip ties. I thought that added such a cute little detail. Brian thought I had gone nuts. ;)

The cake was a yellow cake with chocolate icing. I made it and decorated it using pieces of fondant to make it look like the cake had been "dug" in. the Cat truck was bought at Wal-Mart and I filled the dump truck with Reisin's chopped in half and with chocolate rock candy. This was a 4 layer cake with alternating yellow and orange layers on the inside. This cake was so much fun to make!

The candles were safety cones that you can purchase from Birthday Express. They are so cute and added the perfect touch to his cake!

After cake and snacks, Logan opened his presents and absolutely loved everything! I had a friend make his little outfit, both the shorts and the shirt and he loved the dump truck on his shirt. I can't wait for him to be able to wear it again.

One of his presents was a real set of tools and he could wait to open them when we got home. He opened them up, but on his goggles and got to "work" helping his daddy work on his playhouse!

Shark Tooth Creek

2011-04-12T16:10:00.003-05:00

This week our kids are on spring break and we are packing it with lots of fun! Today we drove to Aliceville, AL to spend the day at Shark Tooth Creek sorting through rocks, and water looking for incrediably old shark teeth. We walked up and down the creek, digging through pebbles in ankle deep water and collecting little (well sometimes big) teeth and putting them in our little plastic bag. Afterwards we road back to the pavillion and had a picnic and, let me tell you, these kids ate, and ate, and ate! After lunch, we went up to the playworld and played on the awesomist (is that a word?) playhouse I have ever seen. Maybe I can get Brian to build Logan the same awesome playhouse! Logan and Ethan were passed out asleep before we pulled out of the driveway and all three took good naps this afternoon. Enjoy the pictures and if you want any info on Shark Tooth Creek, feel free to email me!

Playhouse update!

2011-04-11T08:24:00.002-05:00

This weekend was the second weekend that we were able to work on the kids' playhouse and it is coming along so quickly! Not too much left to do and I am praying it won't get ruined in today's storms. I cannot wait until it is finished and it has it's little dutch door and flower boxes under the windows.

I do need some ideas for decorating the inside, though. So any suggestions would be great! Although we are building this for Logan's birthday present, it does need to be unisex since we do have a little girl that will be spending lots of time in there as well!

Inside this 8x8 playhouse there will be a loft in the back with a ladder. I am thinking a soft cushion the length of the loft for them to sit on and 2 big pillows. There will eventually be a small kitchen "downstairs" probably under the loft area. We have some left over laminate flooring (the kind that looks like hardwood floors) that Brian is wanting to put in it and left over beadboard that we are thinking of using as the interior walls.

I am not sure how much work will get done on it this weekend because we have Logan's birthday party and the Historical Society's Easter egg hunt this weekend. I am hoping that we can work on it some, though! I am ready to see this playhouse is going to look like when it is finished!

The Writing's on the Wall

2011-04-04T20:33:00.003-05:00

What on earth am I going to do with these kids?? I mean, who taught them that it would be ok to paint on walls?

and do so without a care. No concern. No apologies.

and an obvious lack of concern for their clothing. I mean, geesh! They could have at least worn some old play clothes. I guess another way they are acting out their rebellion.

oh, and such sassy looks....

Maybe I should stop photographing my kids doing such scandilous things and get to work teaching them about respect for property.

What on are they up to?

2011-04-03T16:39:00.002-05:00

What are these 2 up to? Why, building Logan's birthday present, of course! Stay tuned, because I will be posting pics of the progress on Logan's playhouse. Hopefully it will be done by his birthday, April 23rd!

Springtime

2011-03-31T10:00:00.001-05:00

The other day, Mackenlee was outside playing when she found the spindels of the staircase railing that we had taken down. She asked if we would hammer them into the ground for her so she could make a tent, and so we did. She spent hours outside playing in her tent and even helped us make one for Logan. It is so nice that we are able to get outside and play some!

Sneak Peak!

2011-03-30T09:57:00.001-05:00

Here's a sneak peak of Logan's birthday party! Everything seems to be coming together and I am so excited!

Introducing my newest niece...

2011-03-29T10:35:00.001-05:00

Ella Michelle

7 pounds 19.5 inches

3/24/2011

Blue Angels

2011-03-27T22:45:00.002-05:00

This past weekend me and my parents took Mackenlee and Logan to see the Blue Angels fly at NAS Meridian and it was soo much fun! Of course, we don't do anything without doin' it right. My parents had VIP passes to the sponsor's tent since they printed the posters, etc. for the event so we got to enjoy excellent parking, free food and drinks and all the beer we could drink (that is if we wanted to introduce my kids to that. We opted out of that freebe). It started out pouring down rain as I was taking my youngest to his other grandparents house for the day. It worried me that they were going to have to cancel the show because of the massive storm that blew through, but by the time I got back out to my parents house, the skies had cleared and it became a beautiful, very windy, day to watch the Blue Angels. Enjoy the pics from this weekend!

More house renovations

2011-02-22T20:07:00.002-06:00

A couple of weekends ago, I convienced Brian that he needed to take down the railing/banister by the front stairs after we had rearranged furniture. It was very easy for Ethan to get to the railings and possibly (although as big as he is, very unlikely) fall through it. We were glad we went ahead and tore it down because it didn't take hardly any effort at all to remove it. (kinda scary). What was put in its place was a half wall. It's not completely finished yet, so I don't have any pictures of the "after" yet but the kids enjoyed helping their daddy assemble the framing for the new wall. I will post some pictures of the finished wall after it's been painted!

Happy Valentine's day...

2011-02-14T09:26:00.002-06:00

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY TO YOU!!

before/After: boys' bathroom

2011-02-07T13:58:00.003-06:00

Before:

After:

I am soooo thrilled with how this bathroom has turned out! Since this picture was taken, The trim has been added on the floor. What you can't see that's not done is the tile shower surround. I want to get a wall cabnet for towels, but that's pretty much it! I love it, but more importantly, the boys' love it!

Milk and Cookies for a 5 year old

2011-01-29T19:48:00.004-06:00

Mackenlee has been five for almost a month now, but we just had her party! It was suppose to be in our church's gym (you know since January is suppose to be COLD) but I checked the weather when I woke up this morning and was delighted to see "71 and sunny"! So we opted for the church playground, instead. All the kids had a blast and the outdoors went wonderfully with the colors of her party!

This party was fairly easy/inexpensive to put together. The big signs were made from an old packing crate that Brian brought home from work. The cookie jars were a lucky find at Dirt Cheap for a 1.00 a piece and the drink dispensers came from Dirt Cheap as well! (Have I ever mentioned how much I love some Dirt Cheap??). The cookie jars were filled with 6 different wonderful homemade cookies and the kids got to choose from white, chocolate and strawberry milk to go along with their cookies.

The cake was also made my me. I am actually pretty proud with how it came out! But enough with the typing! Enjoy the pictures!!

Birthday party sneak peak!

2011-01-21T13:11:00.002-06:00

Next saturday is Mackenlee's 5th (wow, still can't believe it) birthday party. We are celebrating by having a Milk and Cookies party! I am so excited and have tons left to do. I can't wait to see everything all put together. I will post full details of her party with pictures afterwards. Enjoy the "sneak peak". :)

Do you know?

2011-01-13T08:00:00.000-06:00

What this... has to do with this??

Last Friday, we spent our afternoon raking leaves in the front yard. A couple of weeks ago, we had a storm system come through and it was really windy. And with all that wind came all of our neighbor's leaves! Good for them, but bad for us! ha! We just got around to raking them up. Mainly because we were suppose to have a bunch of snow come and I wanted it to stick to the ground rather than to a bunch of leaves. So we all went outside and raked, and played in the leaves! But what does Logan's blue Croc have anything to do with those trashbags? Well, if you know Logan at all, you know he CANNOT keep his shoes on. This particular Croc was found outside the next morning and I am almost positive that it's mate is somewhere inside one of those bags.
*sigh*

hay 4 Sale...

2011-01-12T08:00:00.000-06:00

. . . but if these horses have any say about it, not for long! ha!

(Sorry for the poor quality. This picture was taken while going down the road at 55 mph. don't worry, hubby was driving. )

winter wonderland ... kinda

2011-01-11T08:00:00.000-06:00

A "winter storm" was suppose to come through our area on Sunday night and dump 1-3 inches of snow on us and lots of ice. Well, this is about all we got. Nasty sleet and freezing rain all day long. The kids were disappointed that we didn't get any snow but we had Mackenlee's 5th birthday to keep our minds occupied! We decided to bring our dog, Daisy, in last night since our back yard is covered in cedar trees and I didn't want one to snap from the ice and fall on her house. She LOVED being inside. Granted it took a lot of work to get her inside. You see, we have a small Maltese that follows Brian every where he goes. So, when I asked Brian to go bring Daisy (a Britney Spaniel) in, he expected her to behave like CJ, our Maltese, does. Wrong! Daisy ran out of the gate and down the street. He went chasing after her, calling her and even getting the Expedition cranked and de-iced. At that time, I stepped outside and glanced at our neighbors house and said "there she is and called her to come here. Of course, she ran straight to me! I was able to pick her up (all 40 pounds) and carry her in the house. It's really sad when you have to carry your 40 pound dog into your home. You see, Daisy is afraid of our stairs. Like it really freaks her out! I'm not too sure why, but she took one look inside our front door and bolted. Silly dog. Once I was able to get her indoors and upstairs, she was perfectly fine and enjoyed being inside for a while. After the adventure of almost losing my dog, I was glad to have a low key day today. We are, on the other hand, very excited about WEE School starting back tomorrow for the older 2. And they are excited as well!

Happy Birthday, Mackenlee!

2011-01-10T08:00:00.001-06:00

Today, my baby girl turns 5. I absolutely cannot believe it!! Where did the time go? 5 years ago today I checked into the hospital at 6:00 am in the morning, scared out of my mind of the impending C-section. Little did I know that I should have been a little more concerned about how that ~~tiny~~ big bundle of sweetness was going to rock my world. 5 years later, she is all girl! LOVES pink, changes clothes 5,496 times a day, loves to wear makeup, and is a big time drama queen! Although it is challenging at times, I would not change it for the world! Happy Birthday, Mackenlee!

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas...

2011-01-06T20:50:00.004-06:00

For the first time EVER in my lifetime, it snowed on Christmas day!!! And not only did it snow on Christmas day, but it also snowed the day after...most of the day! If you look closely in these pictures you will be able to see some flurries. Now, this is the south so of course we didn't have snow piled up on the banks of the roads but it was fun to let the kids play in the falling snow and not have to deal with any of the "annoyances" of snow. The kids were on the mend from the flu but me and Brian were still pretty sick. So we got to sit and watch the kids enjoy it from inside or from the front porch. Logan didn't care to much about it. He was outside long enough to say "yeah, I played in the snow" and then he ran inside murmuring something about it being "col owetide" and went to go play with the hot wheels you see in his hands. (It also could have something to do with the girly hat that was placed on his sweet head, who knows.) It looks like we may be experiencing more of this winter weather next week! Mackenlee will be so happy if it snows on her birthday. I hope you all had a great Christmas!

(Molly Katherine, Mackenlee, Sierra)

(Sierra, Mackenlee, Mia, Molly Katherine)

Our Christmas Story...

2010-12-28T19:18:00.002-06:00

This is what our kitchen countertop looks like right now...

Christmas ended up being quite eventful, in some good ways and some bad. Me and the kids had been sick all week with a "cold". None of us went to the doctor, but we all had horrible coughs, chills, and some major sinus issues. By Christmas Eve, Brian was feeling pretty bad, but we all thought we were on the mend. Until 2:20 a.m. Here's our Christmas day Story...

"It's 2:20 a.m. and I am suddenly awoken by the sound of a loud thud. My heart jumped out of my chest when I looked out in the hallway and saw my husband laying there on the floor, barely talking but telling me that he is incrediably exhausted and to call an ambulance. I jump out of the bed, run turn on the lights and search for my phone. In the mean time, he passes out. (he does have a tendancy to do that, so I knew once he passed out that it was going to be ok...kinda). He comes too as I am dialing 911 and asks "did you call an ambulance?" I told him I am in the process of dialing and he said not too. Whew! I was in such a panic. There was no way that I was going to let the ambulance take him off to the hospital with me but there is no way that I could have left my kids either. The other thought that was going through my mind was that our Christmas plans just came down crashing. Watching the kids see what Santa brought wasn't going to be fun and we had plans of visiting family all day. Thankfully, Brian was able to get back up in the bed and go back to sleep pretty quickly and he slept for a good 5 more hours. We were able to play with the kids Christmas morning and we ended up going to visit with our families. "

We both ended up going to the doctor on Monday and Brian tested positive for the flu. I am pretty sure that is what me and the kids had the week prior. All thanks to our littleist one, Ethan, who had it the week before. I, on the otherhand, managed to turn my flu into bronchitis. I guess that's what I get for not going to the doctor when I actually start feeling like death. I think I am a little offended that the doctor perscribed the "flu" patient perscription cough medicine, but the one that turns blue from coughing because of a minute long coughing fit gets OVER THE COUNTER cough syrup!! What?!?! Either way, we are starting to feel slightly better. We both are less pale looking, so hopefully tomorrow, we will be tons better!

last minute gift idea

2010-12-21T19:09:00.002-06:00

With only 4 days left until Christmas and lots of last minute gifts that need to be bought, why not get that person a unique gift? One where he/she can help someone else in an underpriviledged country. Global Hope gives you the option of buying and then printing off a gift card so your recieptient (or yourself) can give a water filter, school supplies, share of a deep well, goats, etc. to those in places that need them most. I just had the priviledge of purchasing half of a goat for a family thanks to MckMama! She had a give away and I WON! I was so excited because I never win anything and I was going to get the chance to spread God's love by helping someone truely in need. Please consider this for stocking stuffers, family gifts, or for the person who already has everything. What a great way to share Christ's love for us!

Christmas cookies!

2010-12-15T13:49:00.006-06:00

Mackenlee and Logan had their WEE School Christmas program last night and it was about the cutest thing I have ever seen. All the kids did such a wonderful job and I must say that I have the cutest little sheep and shining star ever. The 4 year olds dressed in costumes from the Navitity scene and Mackenlee was the Shining Star. She was my shining star in every sense of the word! She did a great job. Logan's class came out wearing little white jogging suits and wearing little sheep ears. He was about the cutest little sheep I have ever seen. He kind of reminded me of Mr. Tumnus from The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

After the program, we were able to go to the classrooms and see what the kids have been working on for the past month. And they have been busy little bees! My Christmas tree is now decorated with more handmade ornaments. We had refreshments last night after the program and I took some of my decorated cookies. They must have been a big hit because by the time I got up to the table, they were all gone! I think the snowman is my favorite. Which one is yours??

While I was making the cookies for the program, I went ahead and made cookies for the kids' christmas parties at school today. I let them pick out the cookie cutters that they wanted me to use for their class. Mackenlee picked out the blue ornamant cookie and Logan picked the christmas tree with the 2 presents. The stars were going to be for the kids' classes. I was going to do half and half for the classes. But opted at the last minute to do just one cookie for the whole class, incase the kids might argue over who got what type cookie.

For teacher's gifts this year, I made these absolutely delicious cookies called Magic in the Middle. I found the recipe off of The Girl Who Ate Everything's blog during her 12 days of Christmas Cookies blog post. They are chocolate cookies with peanut butter in the middle. The cookies taste like a Reece's Peanut butter cup. Except way better, because when I tried one they were still warm. These cookies are insanely good, so if you feel like baking you should definitely try these! The containers? Well, I got them at our wonderful Dirt Cheap for less than a dollar a piece!! They are from The Container Store and originally around 6.00 a piece, I believe, so I think I got a great deal. I also bought several for Mackenlee's Milk and Cookies birthday party that is coming up. I can't wait to start decorated for that and then share with the blogging world! My vision is so cute and I hope it turns out just half of what it looks like in my head. But, until in case I don't get a chance to post again before Christmas, I hope each of you have a wonderful and Merry Christmas!

What???

2010-12-09T20:57:00.002-06:00

Are you having problems coming up with a great "dirty santa" gift for that office party? here is an idea. or maybe not. Is this company for real??????

1

2010-11-30T09:13:00.003-06:00

Today, my sweet baby boy turns 1. I keep going back and forth between being sad and pure joy and pride! I am so thankful that he is healthy and happy and we are so proud to have him as our baby boy.

This past Saturday we celebrated his birthday with a tailgating party for the MSU/TSUN (previously known as Ole Miss) Egg Bowl. Ethan was decked out in his MSU outfit and really enjoyed his cake, and opening his presents. It took a while to figure out exactly what I wanted to do for his cake. I didn't want it to be the typical football field cake or just a football field. I wanted more contemporary. More of just the colors rather than "football". Then I saw This cake that my friend, Cat, had for her son's party. I love how it was "football" but didn't scream "football". Does that make sense? So I came up with the design and on black friday, while everyone else in the US was shopping, I was at my parents house baking his cake. I can tell you that it was a lot less stressful that being out at Toys-R-Them or at Wal-Mart. His little smash cake? Well it was a cowbell, of course! And he ate a good bit of it. We had to take the thing away from him because he would have made himself sick. He wasn't happy about that. After opening his presents and playing, he passed out.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SWEET BOY! We love you very much!

The kids went to Starkville for the afternoon and all they brought home were a bunch of beads!

2010-10-24T09:37:00.000-05:00

Brian and I both graduated from Mississippi State way back in 2003 and we had to opportunity to take our 3 kids up to the campus on Friday night for the homecoming parade, pep rally, and family fun. We were fortunate to have season tickets for a few years after we graduated, but we haven't been to a game in about 3 years and we have seriously missed the excitement of Mississippi State football. Our school has not always been known for it's awesome football team, so it's really saying something when I say that I have literally been a DIE HARD MSU fan my entire life. (Mainly because my daddy would have kicked me out the front door if I ever dared mentioned the word "ole miss" within earshot of him). The kids were so excited that they were going to get to see Bully, the cheerleaders and the band. Mackenlee is now obsessed with becoming a cheerleader when she is a grown-up. I personally think she would be a cute one! Just look how much she adores Bully! We collected lots of beads, to the extent where I questioned if we were at MSU or at Mardi Gras, ran around in the Junction, cheered with the cheerleaders and the football players, and then went to Abner's to eat dinner. It was a great night and we all had a lot of fun. It is amazing how much the city has grown since we were there just 7 years ago. Mackenlee left begging to go to the football game. I am so happy that my baby girl is so interested in my football team!

Oh, and I almost left out the best part!!! I got to meet and take a picture with our head coach, Dan Mullen! It was the highlight of my night! We ended up winning the football game Saturday night, but it was a close one. The one thing our Bulldogs know how to do is keep their fans on their toes. Our team has been pretty good this year, with us being nationally ranked (#24) after last weeks amazing win against Florida! We are now 6-2 and that is an awesome thing, because we haven't been that in a LONG time! Way to go Dawgs!!

Pumpkin Patch take 2

2010-10-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday, we had the opportunity to tag along with the homeschool group, here in Demopolis, to a pumpkin patch in Mississippi. We arrived there at 9:30 and toured the pumpkin patch for 2+ hours. We had brought a picnic lunch so we were set to play as much as we wanted and not have to worry about going to get something to eat. What a beautiful day our God gave us for our fieldtrip! It wasn't too hot or too cold and there was not a cloud in the sky. Absolutely beautiful day! I am not sure how many kids came, but there were a lot! Good thing they had lots of room for all of them to run and play! We have never been to this pumpkin patch and it was a lot of fun. We had a hayride pulled by a John Deere tractor (insert an excited gasp from Logan here) that took us to the pumpkin patch where each child got to pick out a little pumpkin. After picking our pumpkins, we went back up to the pavillion where there were space jumps, duck races (a BIG hit), corn maze and a petting zoo with ponies! Right before we left, all the kids got popcicles to cool off. What a great end to a great time! We all had a great time and Logan and Ethan slept all the way back home. Below are some (ok a lot) of the pictures that I took!

Last game this fall

2010-10-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

This past Tuesday was Mackenlee's last soccer game of the season. Although we hate to see the season end, I am so glad to have my Tuesdays and Thursdays back! We had a little soccer party at the end of the game and Mackenlee and I brought cupcakes! Aren't they cute?

You will notice that Logan brings his bag of cars to the soccer fields too. He takes them everywhere and this is how he spends most of the time on the sidelines.

Ethan proved that he could stand for a while. And he knew no one was holding him! BIG step forward! haha!

Mackenlee did this during halftime. She said she didn't want any water and just wanted to play some more. Poor thing!

After the game, they all shook hands like sweet player! What a fun game!

Brian passed out the trophies after the game. The kids were so excited about it! Mackenlee has actually slept with her trophy since she has gotten it. She LOVES it!!

Brian and his first soccer team! What a great season, guys!! And great job Mackenlee! What a good soccer player you have turned out to be! Can't wait to play in the spring.

playing trains...

2010-10-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

Does anyone else's livingroom floor look like this? Logan puts a whole new meaning to the word "traincar". He has an engine followed by literal cars. This little boy is obsessed with any type of car. He carries them in bags, baskets, buckets, backpacks, basically whatever he can get his hands on that will hold his extensive collection of Hotwheels. He sleeps with them and every morning, he takes about 5 minutes gathering up all the cars out of his bed and putting them in his bag to make it up the stairs and to our bed. Although I hate stepping on these things, I kinda hope this stage lasts a while.

Wordless Wednesday...Walking Rita Addition

2010-10-20T21:28:00.002-05:00

5

2010-10-19T09:09:00.000-05:00

I cannot believe it. Scratch that. I refuse to believe it. 5 years ago this month, we started introducing the world to a whole new generation of Snowden's, and ALL girls, at that! That's right. Natalie, Meredith and I were all pregnant at the same time, with girls and within three months there would be 3 more additions to the Snowden family. We were all beaming with excitement over the fact that we were about to have our first born child, let alone it be a little girl! Fast forward 5 years and they are starting to turn 5! NOOOO! These sweet little babies have now grown to be witty, smart and beautiful young ladies. There is not an ounce of "baby" in them anymore as they are learning to read and getting ready to start kindergarten next August. There have been several more new additions since then, but these 3 girls, as a whole, have a special place in my heart. They are the ring leaders, each one of them bringing a different form of greatness to the table, and I pray that all three of them will grow to be remarkable Christian women.

Happy Birthday, Sierra! We love you and the young lady that you have grown up to be!

Happy Fall

2010-10-18T15:53:00.006-05:00

We went to a local pumpkin patch a couple of weekends ago, and before we left I took advantage of my mom being around and got her to snap a family picture of us. I don't think we have ever had one taken with Ethan in it so it was way past due. I am in love with this picture! The kids participated so well and were eager to have their picture taken. I was shocked! Most of all, I am now happy to have a current family photo that is frame worthy! (Cat, I may be getting in touch with you for a frame. gotta get Brian in on it though!)

Having 3 children with two of them under 2 years apart means the difficulty of getting a good picture of the three of them together is borderline impossible! This is the best that I could do. Logan was throwing a fit. I had to bribe him with going to the grandparents house in order for him to appear to not be screaming his head off. Ethan sat in this position all of 2/10's of a second before he crawled off. The only child that was willing to participate was Mackenlee. She's my little camera hog. Hopefully we will get some cute pictures tomorrow when we go to the other area pumpkin patch with the homeschoolers! I can't wait! What a fun morning it's going to be for all the kids going, and there are going to be a BUNCH of kids going!

~Have a great afternoon! Sarah

Painting Pumpkins

2010-10-18T12:00:00.002-05:00

A couple of weekends ago, we got a visit from Meredith, Molly Katherine and Wes. They drove all the way from Texas to come to Sierra's (our other niece) 5th birthday party. We tried to spend as much time as we could with them while they were in MS. Sierra's birthday party was at Lazy Acres Plantation, which is a pumpkin patch/Christmas tree farm, close to our home. We had a lot of fun at the party, and eventually, I will get around to posting pictures from the party. We go every year and LOVE that place and this year they have made some big changes to the layout of the pumpkin patch and the activities that they provide. It was a blast and I think the kids had fun too! ha!

We went over to Brian's parent's house on Sunday and painted the pumpkins that we picked out at the pumpkin patch. What an artistic bunch we have! Molly Katherine decided to paint her's with stripes and then changed her mind and put her hand prints all over it. It looked pretty neat when her masterpiece was finished. Mackenlee saw what Molly Katherine was doing and did her own handprints on one side and a rainbow on the other. Logan was very meticulous and painted the stem ever so carefully, and then put dots all over his pumpkin While Wes painted stripes on his (I believe, he really wouldn't let me get a picture of him so this is the best one I got). All 4 of them were beautiful masterpieces that the kids were very proud of. Most of all, we really enjoyed visiting the the Texas Snowden's! Enjoy the pictures!

Hotel Mishap

2010-10-17T20:05:00.003-05:00

On Wednesday of last week, we all loaded up in the car bright and early in the morning and headed to Birmingham with Brian. He had a boring business meeting and me and the kids had a (what one would think) a fun day planned at the zoo. We had packed a picnic lunch and we got to the zoo about 9:30. We enjoyed our time there, seeing all different types of animals, petting some, and then riding the train. The fun stopped immediately as we were loaded up in the car. That's when Logan decided he needed to teetee in his pants. Lovely. So, I changed his clothes, breaking all indecent exposure laws, and loaded him up in the car so we can go check in to our hotel. After picking up Brian from his meeting, we ended up having a wonderful meal at Logan's Roadhouse and then we settled back into the hotel for the night. We "thought" since the kids literally walked the entire zoo, that they would be exhausted. Wrong. They played and played until about 8:00 and then we tucked them into their beds. After an hour of trying to get them to sleep, they finally calmed down. Well, Logan apparently didn't sleep that well because he was spinning like a helicopter all night long. So much, in fact, that he fell right out of the bed, hit his adorable face on the night stand, leaving this "lovely" mark on his face. Of course, my mother's instinct picked up as he was mid-air and I jumped over Brian to get to him to make sure he was okay. The rest of the night, Logan kept lifting his face and gently rubbing his face. I could tell it was bruised and every time I woke the rest of the night I would think "oh my, what if he needs surgery on his face from breaking his cheekbone!" I was soo worried that he had broken a bone. Thank the Lord that once morning came, I was able to tell that he did not hit his cheekbone. This boy has got to have a bunch of guardian angels watching over him because with as many falls as he has taken, we've never had a broken bone.

The rest of the weekend, was about as adventurous as the night spent in the hotel. The children acted horribly the next morning. (probably exhausted from the looonnng night) and I was about in tears most of the morning. Also, I am pretty sure that I gained a stress fracture in my right foot from walking all day, pushing 60 lbs in a double stroller and then jogging that night on the treadmill at the hotel.

We are glad to be back home and back into a routine. We are looking forward to a fun week of WEE School, pumpkin patch field trip with friends, and school pictures to be taken on Wednesday!

I hope everyone has a great week!

camping...

2010-10-16T16:06:00.003-05:00

I'm not much of a camper, but my husband is. I heard stories of campfires, great "mountain man" breakfasts, fishing and great time with friends. I, myself, perfer a 5 star hotel with mints on my pillows and a turn-down service. But to each, his (or her) own, I guess!

this was my view from my backdoor last night. Brian and the 2 older kiddos are all inside playing sweetly and telling stories and knock knock jokes (Logan's new obsession).

Sweet little Ethan played outside until it was too dark (and cranky). He enjoyed all the outside time with his brother and sister. He helped set up the table for the big kids to eat at but he ended up eating inside, but I don't think he minded much. You know, as long as he had food, he was happy.

The big 2 enjoyed their picnic of turkey burgers and fries and a coke outside under the light of a lantern. You could look at them and tell that they were having a blast eating and sleeping outside.

After dinner, they all settled inside the camper as Mackenlee told ghost stories and Logan played with the flashlight and climbed up and down (and up and down and up and down). Eventually, Logan got a little afraid of the dark and had to come inside. With Ethan already in bed, me and Logan had a great time playing with his cars and trains on the livingroom floor until he was worn slap out! Mackenlee and Brian slept all night outside and came inside at about 7:00 this morning and we cooked breakfast. Mackenlee sure had a great time, but I don't think we will be doing a family campout until the boys are just a little older. Maybe it'll just be a daddy/daughter campout for the time being.

Naptime Limerick

2010-10-05T14:07:00.003-05:00

There is a boy that I know

Whose nap he wanted to forego

In his closet did play

With shoes in the way

but, asleep, he did eventually go.

Strepped to the couch

2010-09-30T17:35:00.005-05:00

Last night was a rough night for both Logan and me as Logan spent most of the night battling a fever. We couldn't get it to go down much, even with motrin, so he slept in the bed with me and Brian. I was awake most of the night because a) he likes to "follow" me around the bed, hense pushing me to the very edge of the bed b) he was like a fernace c) I was just plain concerned for him. I did sneak him down to his bed before Brian's alarm started going off and he slept until it was time to take the big sister to school.

After dropping Mackenlee off at school, we headed to the doctor's office in town where I spent most of the morning entertaining a sickly 2-year old and a sleepy 10 month old! (by the way, Happy 10 month birthday, Ethan!) We left the doctor's office with the knowledge that we, in fact, have strep throat. Well, at least that explains why he won't eat...at all. Sooo, what makes a 2 year old boy with a high fever and strep actually sit still for a while and even smile a little??

Why, playing games on Mama's iPhone, of course!!

Last trip to Clarkco!

2010-09-22T12:00:00.000-05:00

Last Friday, me and some friends loaded up in our cars and drove all the way to Clarkco State Park to play at their awesome splash pad for one last time this summer. Well, when we got there, we saw a big orange cone placed atop the post that turns the splash pad on. Stuck on to the cone was a sign that said "closed for repair". We were naturally a little disappointed but opted to go into the office to see if they wouldn't mind unlocking the gate to the swimming area at the lake. Of course, they obliged and for about 2 1/2 hours these kids had the best time jumping, splashing and swimming in the water. They took turns jumping off of the retaining wall, into the water, seeing who could make the biggest splash. Ethan crawled back and forth through the water and had a ball! When it was time to go, Logan's face pretty much expressed how my kids felt about leaving. Luckily, they napped all the way home! Enjoy the pictures!!

Mackenlee's first Soccer Game

2010-09-21T20:00:00.000-05:00

Mackenlee is playing soccer this year and she is having a blast! Her team is "Electra", her daddy is the coach, and they have yet to win a game but who's concerned with winning at 4? In the last game, she did score twice, but it was for the other team. She didn't care. She was on cloud nine!! On most games she is completely in "her element" except for when she's not. And when she's not, she's crying the intire game, with her cries getting stronger and stronger as the other team approches the goal. It's really sad to watch.

As you can see, Ethan spends his time at the soccer fields flirting with the girls. He really knows how to reel them in! ha! And what some sweet girls these are!

After the girls got tired of "babying the baby", Ethan got down and started practicing for when he can play soccer. He's been watching and knows that if you are going to survive in sports in this town, you have got to start young!

A Little Monkey Business

2010-09-20T19:10:00.003-05:00

***Sorry I have been a MIA this past week. Our modem for our DSL died and we had to wait for the replacement! We are finally back up and running! Oh, fast internet! My how I've missed you!

I spent some time Saturday going through a lot of Logan's old clothes and I came across this adorable sock monkey outfit! I thought "oh how cute would it be if Ethan could be a sock monkey for halloween!" So I tried the little outfit on him and was sadden by the sight of my slightly overstuffed sock monkey. I just knew he was going to be able to wear this for halloween, but turns out, Ethan is slightly bigger than Logan was at this age so it was a little snug on him. So, what did I do? I snapped some pictures of him in this little outfit before he grew another 6 inches over night!

Doesn't he look so sweet?!

Hail Dear Ol' State!

2010-09-05T09:30:00.002-05:00

Yesterday kicked off a special time of year here in the south. SEC Football. After a long, gruellingly hot summer, the first day of football brought a nice breath of fresh (cool!) air! I think you could feel the excitement all over as everyone was gearing up for their team to play! Brian had Friday off, so we took the kids to the park and tossed the football around and spend a lot of time running around. It was a lot of fun, I snapped pictures, and the kids were introduced to football. Hopefully sometime this year, we will get to introduce them to the tradition that goes hand in hand with college football, tailgating.

Living in a town where it seems that 98% of the population is obsessed with that team that were the National Champions last year can be a little hard at times but this week should be pretty good! Alabama won yesterday, so did Auburn (I believe) and, most importantly, so did MSU!!!

Up next, Auburn Tigers!

Cheesecake Cookies

2010-09-01T21:33:00.003-05:00

ok, lately I have been obsessed with this lady's blog. As I was drolling over all her recipes (and wondering HOW she stays so thin at the same time) I stumbled upon this recipe, cheesecake cookies. My first thought was "wow, you can't get any better! A combination of my 2 favorite things! Cheesecake and cookies!" and then I read where she added white chocolate chips to the dough and that made me have to try them even more! So, I drove to our local Wal-Mart and picked up a couple of items needed and then came home and got busy baking! Boy, I was not disappointed! They are pretty rich, but not as sticky sweet as they sound. Well, enough procrastionation! Here's the recipe!!

Cheesecake Cookies
1/2 c Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 c Butter, softened
1 c Sugar
1 Egg
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 c Flour
about a cup of white chocolate chips (she didn't give a measurement, I just added until it looked good)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter together. Gradually beat in sugar, on medium speed, until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and salt. Wisk together baking powder and flour in a small bowl and, mixing by hand or at low speed, add to cream cheese mixture. Stir in white chocolate chips. Drop rounded tablespoons onto baking sheet and bake from 12-14 minutes, until bottom edges barely turn brown. Don't overcook!
This recipe made about 2 1/2 dozen for me so it's plenty to share! I hope you all enjoy them, and check out the blog that I got the recipe from! She has some amazing recipes on it!

The Cousins say "goodbye"...

2010-08-25T14:13:00.002-05:00

This past Saturday, we had a going away party for Brian's older brother, Matt, and his family. Matt, Meredith, Molly Katherine and Wes are now in Waco, TX where Matt has accepted the position of head Pastor at FBC Waco. We are so excited about the new adventure that God has placed in front of them and can't wait to hear all about Texas! (like, is everything really bigger in Texas?)

We all had a wonderful time together Saturday night. The kids played together very sweetly and it was great to have some adult conversation! For the occasion, I baked up some cowgirl boots and cowgirl hats for the girls, Thomas the Train cookies (Wes loves Thomas) and some Baylor Bears football helmets (Baylor is located in Waco and is also where Matt got his doctorate).

Matt and Meredith, we wish y'all the best in Texas and we can't wait to Skype!

Meridian Moonlight Run

2010-08-18T14:32:00.008-05:00

On Friday the 13th I participated in my very first 5K. At 10:15 at night. I have never thought of myself as a runner but me, Lindi, and Sarah all signed up for this 5K and hit the pavement and started getting ready for it. It had STORMED all day in Meridian and in Demopolis, including some crazy lightening that was all over the place. But, as luck would have it, by 8:00 everything started to clear up and by 9:00 the weather was perfect. It wasn't too hot or too humid!

As we were picking up our packets we kept seeing people dressed in costumes that consisted of scary guys with faux staples in his head, fake blood and creepy clothes and we were all wondering "what's up with that guy?" It finally hit me after the 5K that it was Friday the 13th. Duh. But still, I wanted to make sure that I was running behind that guy. I didn't want him chasing me!

Right before we started the race, we posed for a picture. You know, just in case we couldn't stand (or move) at the end of it to get a picture of us. We were all a little unsure of how well we would do. Whether or not we would be able to run it all or finish. Thankfully, we all were able to finish, and as far as I know, we are all still able to stand and move around.

This is a terrible picture of me, but this right after I crossed the finish line. It took 2 days but I finally got my time and it was 32:51:9! (I actually placed 6th out of 16 in my age bracket). I know that's not place worthy, but I am happy! The week before I had pulled (or what ever you do to it) my iliotibial band in my right knee because I was running on some very old shoes. Well, I got some new shoes and they helped and my knee was getting better but I didn't want hurt my knee anymore and it was pretty sore the whole day, so I wore a brace to make sure I had plenty of support. I also tried to not overdo it. But next year, I want to place!

I had a lot of fun with this group of people! I am so proud of all of us! And I think that we have inspired our husbands to participate in a 5K in the future.

Here is a picture of the 3 of us after we finished. We were all still able to stand! we were so happy! ha!

and congratulations, Elizabeth, on winning 1st place in our age class!!! That's awesome!!!

I am now training for the Run for Hope 5K on October 2nd in Meridian. I am hoping to improve my time a little. I think I have a new addiction. It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed spending a few hours with a great group of girls!

Butterflies and flowers

2010-08-12T21:34:00.001-05:00

This week I got a chance to try my hand at some cute "little girl" cookies for Brian's aunt. Carol Ann's granddaughter was going to be coming up to visit and she wanted some cute cookies for Robin to munch on while she was visiting. And this is what I came up with! I made 1 dozen cookies. 6 butterflies and 6 flowers (3 tulips and 3 daisies). I really enjoy decorating the cookies and find it hypnotic. I can't wait to do more, so if anyone would like to place an order, I will be happy to come up with a creation for you!!

At the Carwash

2010-08-12T18:02:00.003-05:00

We are getting ready to put our green Jeep Patriot on the market so Brian and Logan we out yesterday afternoon and washed the Jeeps. While Logan helped Brian for a little while, he soon noticed that his Jeep was looking a little dirty. So, off to give the "blue Jeep" a good washin'. He did a pretty good job too! He washed the windows, the hood, the wheels. It got "the works". After his Jeep was sparkling clean, he hopped in and drove away!

Flashback Friday!

2010-08-06T09:35:00.003-05:00

This Friday is a special "Flashback Friday". Monday August 9th, marks our 7th wedding anniversary and Tuesday the 10th is the the anniversary of the day we got engaged! Brian (actually I think it was Mark until Brian asked for it. Ha!) carried around the engagement ring through 2 parks at Disney World before he proposed to me on the farry that runs from Epcot to the Magic Kingdom. The picture below is at the dock at the Magic Kingdom.

Mark and Natalie bought us the bride and groom mickey mouse ears to wear the rest of the day.

Now, on to our wedding day. I had to have these napkins since we were engaged at Disney World!

And, of course, we left in Brian's Jeep! We worked so hard to get that thing clean. It was clean for about 2 hours! ha!

Happy 7th Anniversary, Brian! I love you more and more each year and I'm wishing for at least 57 more years!

Birthday ideas

2010-07-28T14:19:00.002-05:00

Ok, I have had Ethan's birthday party theme picked out for quite some time now. The Best little boy's birthday party idea hit me like a linebacker when Ethan was about 2 months old and I have been awaiting the day of that party ever since. (not that I am ready for my last baby boy to be 1, but I am really excited about this party! ha!). Ethan's birthday is November 30th and with me (and the rest of my family) being such avid Mississippi State fans, I thought how BRILLIANT would it be to have an Egg Bowl Birthday party for Ethan's first birthday! (who knows, this might become an annual thing. hehe!)

My only problem is, I am having trouble thinking of cake ideas and food ideas. I am going to attempt to make his cake but I want something besides a white sheet cake with an "M-State" logo on it. I am making little football and dogbone shaped cookies so I wouldn't want to do that for the cake. I would love a creative idea for the main cake! Please leave a comment with your ideas on cakes, food and decorations! I would love to hear them!

Sweet as Candy

2010-07-27T13:27:00.000-05:00

This little 7 month old (well, almost 8 months! ack!) has got to be the sweetest little boy on the planet! He's my hugger, my snuggler and probably one of the biggest "mama's boy" in Alabama and I am loving every minute of it. As you know, this sweet boy has an older brother and sister, whom I love equally and are just as sweet, but I think Ethan's personality is just a little softer and more tender than, say, his older brothers full power, gung ho, personality! (And thank goodness, because as much fun and unpredictable and exciting as being Logan's mother is, I don't think I can handle 2 just like him!).

Ethan is now pulling up on things, pretty much every chance he gets. I even went to get him from his bed this morning and after his morning nap and both times he was standing in his crib! It brought tears to my eyes. My little baby is growing up just a tad too fast!

And who can't resist those chubby legs in those adorable Babylegs!

Happy Birthday, Mimi!!

2010-07-18T20:41:00.002-05:00

Brian's mother (Mimi) had her "22nd" birthday on Wednesday (that's how many cupcakes I brought so we said that's how old she's turning) and we celebrated that on Saturday. After lunch, we all went over to Tim and Sherry's house and celebrated by doaning crowns and septors and gathering around the table and feasted on Mimi's flower garden cake!

For Mimi's party, I made these brightly colored cookies and cupcakes. They were a lot of fun to make and they tasted soooo good! In fact, I wish I had one right now...

But anyway, we all had a great time celebrating another year of Mimi. Thank you Mimi for letting us celebrate your "day" with you!

We are so lucky to have you as a mom, mother-in-law, and a Mimi! You wear all those crowns well!!

A Little Risky Business

2010-07-09T13:15:00.003-05:00

We are having a slow Friday, so in order to add a little fun to our day without getting out in the extreme heat, I put socks on the kids and let them slide "Risky Business" Style on our hardwood floors. Logan channeled his inner Tom Cruise (you know, before the nose job and Scientology) and slide and danced to the music playing. (Mackenlee did this as well and I got pictures of her but she is missing her pants and I don't want to put that out there for the whole blog world to see, so you are just going to have to picture it! ha!)

I mean, I can just hear Bob Seger in my head. "da da da dadada du! da da da dadada du! Just get those old records off the shelf!..."

One of these days, he is going to be so mad at me for putting these pictures out for everyone to see but I personally think that they would be perfect for showing his girlfriend on his first date...

...especially this one. Where he is doing his very best Elvis impersonation!

Wildlife at the Lake

2010-07-08T12:46:00.003-05:00

Whenever we go visit my parents, we see all sorts of wildlife. The kids love watching them through binoculars and seeing them in their natural habitat.

Which can sometimes mean so pretty creative acrobatics. The squirrels can get pretty creative when trying to get the nectur from the humingbird feeder. Whether it's stretching from the tree or hanging upside down from the hook, they do what it takes to get to that feeder!

Those Lazy, hazy, Crazy days of Summer

2010-07-07T13:41:00.005-05:00

"Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer those days of soda, pretzels and beer. Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer dust off the sun and moon and sing a song of cheer Just fill a basket full of sandwiches and weenies then lock the house up, now your set..... Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer"

Sweet Celebrations!

2010-07-01T10:28:00.002-05:00

This weekend is sure to be a busy weekend for everyone in our wonderful country. I know that our family has a weekend that is packed with lots of fun! My longtime BFF, Katie and her son are traveling into town today and I am so excited to get to see her and Cooper. With all the events planned, I thought that I could practice my cookie decorating. I'm going to be making some football cookies for Ethan's Egg Bowl birthday party (he was born Nov. 30th. Perfect for any MSU fan, right?).

I found this sugar cookie recipe that I decided to give a try. After several hours of standing over each cookie, piping and flooding the icing onto the cookies I called Brian in to look at them. I thought they turned out pretty cute and he agreed. We then picked out the worst ones and ate them and they were pretty good! I am going to tweek the recipe a little to make the cookie a little more softer and smoother, but other than that, they were pretty good!! I will be trying some more cookies tonight so hopefully, that will be THE recipe!

I hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July!

Blueberries

2010-06-20T22:02:00.005-05:00

"You ought to have seen what I saw on my way
To the village, through Mortenson's pasture to-day:
blueberries as big as the end of your thumb;
real sky-blue, and heavy, and ready to drum
in the cavernous pail of the first one to come.
And all ripe together, not some of them green
and some of them ripe! You ought to have seen!"

Robert Frost

Water baby

2010-06-17T09:10:00.003-05:00

Mackenlee sat in the pool, propped her little baby up and began to "water" her.

She said "If I water her..."

"...she'll grow!"

If that's the case, then maybe I should have taken away this cup from her. Because our only daughter is growing up way to fast.

ahh, Summertime!

2010-06-16T16:15:00.003-05:00

One of the best things about summer...

... are fresh-picked tomatoes right off the vine.

Logan is learning...

... this invaluable lesson ... (check out those killer blue eyes)

... at a VERY early age!

Peter Piper Picked a Pickled Pepper....

2010-06-16T07:59:00.004-05:00

Several months ago, Brian and Mackenlee planted several different vegetables in our square foot garden. They have had so much fun tending to it and taking care of it.

Last night, we picked some of the peppers (we bought the bell pepper because ours haven't done that well) and made pepper jelly. I have been wanting to make it for a week, now. We have never made any kind of jelly. As a matter of fact, the only other time that we tried to do anything pertaining to boiling sugar, was when we attempted pear preserves and our preserves went from almost boiling to being a solid burnt block of pear/sugar mixture in our pot. After all was said and done, we were left with a terrible smell in our kitchen and smoke.

But this recipe seemed a little easier so we gave it a try. Much to our delight, we didn't burn it! Now, it may not set like jelly is suppose to set but it's looking good so far. And if it doesn't set, then we can still pour it over a block of cream cheese and make a dip. Or Brian can use it as a marinade. But either way, our little jars are so pretty!

Happy BIG 3-0, Brian!

2010-06-15T22:21:00.002-05:00

Sunday was Brian's 30th birthday and we celebrated as much as we could. You know, we have to get all the major partying in early because, according to the younger crowds, once you turn 30, you are too old to party. Saturday night we went out to Mark's house for a birthday party. We all had a great time and the brothers got to blow out candles on their cake. Natalie only put 6 candles (three for each) because 60 candles might have been a reason for the fire department to come out (although, that would have made the night a little more interesting!).

On his birthday, Mackenlee and I made Brian a cookie cake. She had a great time helping flatten out the cookie dough into the pan and then putting the sprinkles on the cookie.

All in all, I think he had a great birthday! Happy Birthday, Brian! I hope 30 treats you well!

"My Diaper is full. Full of Fashion."

2010-06-10T10:34:00.004-05:00

"When I need to do number 2...

...I look like number 1."

"I poo...

...in blue."

"The coolest you'll look...

pooping in your pants."

of Splashing, pouring and adoration...

2010-06-04T21:25:00.007-05:00

This morning, my kids (well the older 2, at least) woke up at the CRACK of dawn and by 8:00, they had already been in time out twice. So once the sun came out, I hooked up their slide and pool and let them splash 'til lunch time. Ethan had his shots yesterday, so he slept in until after 9:00, something my older 2 could take a lesson on! The kids took turns jumping into the pool from the grass and landing on their bottoms, making a BIG splash. It would be Mackenlee and then Logan and then they would jump together.

After they've had enough splashing, we rinsed out Ethan's bottled and Logan and Mackenlee used it to fill up the bucket on Logan's tricycle and the cozy coupe

And of course they did lots of sliding.

And riding the cozy coupe through the sprinkler.

Logan enjoyed getting his hair wet...

Well, maybe not so much...

We rode tri-cycles in the pool...

And even though there was lots of chaos this morning, all three of my babies are most certainly....

How we spent our holiday weekend...

2010-06-01T14:34:00.001-05:00

Baby food 101

2010-04-24T23:24:00.005-05:00

I remember when Mackenlee was eating baby food, that her absolute favorite was the sweet potatoes with apples. My mission with Ethan is to never have to buy packaged baby food from the grocery store. I want to make it all and it is so incredibly easy! Our freezer is filling up with many different yummy fruits and veggies just waiting on Ethan to eat them. Ethan has had both sweet potatoes and apples with no side affects so while I was making some fresh applesauce and sweet potatoes, I decided to make a couple of bags of sweet potatoes with apples...and he LOVES them! Now I will share with you, just how easy it is to make your own baby food!

Sweet Potatoes with Apples:

Several red apples (I used Gala) several sweet potatoes

Peel and dice the apples and put them in a pan in about an inch of water and cook until tender. Be careful not to cook the apples to where they are the consistancy of applesauce. At that point they are over cooked. They will be ready when you can slide a fork through them easily. While preparing the apples, have the sweet potatoes in the oven at 400 degrees for 45 minutes, or until done.

After cooking the apples, place the apples in your food processor. Puree' them until smooth, adding water (perferrably from the pan that you cooked the apples in) until you get the consistancy that you need for your baby.

Once the sweet potatoes are done. Remove them from the oven and let them cool enough to handle. Peel the sweet potatoes and place the "meat" of the potato in the food processor. Puree' until smooth, adding water to thin to the desired consistancy

After the apples and the sweet potatoes have been puree'd, measure out equal portions and combine in the storage bag of your choice. (obviously, mine were left over breast milk bags! which work great, by the way!)

Now, put them in your freezer and your baby will love them when it's time for him/her to start eating their first bites of food!

Enjoy!

Can Someone Please...

2010-04-24T23:20:00.001-05:00

get this boy an iPhone?

Crawfish Time!

2010-04-24T20:09:00.003-05:00

1 point frozen peanut butter cups

2010-04-24T13:44:00.005-05:00

Since doing weight watchers, I have found it my mission to find yummy sweet snacks that are low in points but also satisfy that sweet tooth. I stumbled across this recipe for frozen peanut butter cups the other day and we tried them and I think they are well worth sharing! So here is the recipe:

1 point frozen peanut butter cups

1 small tub of fat free cool whip (I used sugar free because that's all I could find in our town, just 1 gram of fat.)
2 tbsps of reduced fat peanut butter
sugar free chocolate syrup
cupcake wrappers

Dump the cool whip into a bowl and add the peanut butter. Mix until well blended.

Line a muffin pan with the cupcake wrappers (makes 12 servings) and spoon in mixture equally into the cups.

Drizzle with a little bit of the chocolate syrup

Then put in the freezer.

Once they are frozen, they are like yummy frozen peanut butter ice cream treats!

ENJOY!!

Soccer has started

2010-04-24T12:46:00.003-05:00

Mackenlee is playing rec soccer this spring and having a ball! This spring they are having a practice league, which the kids practice for a little while and then have a two 10-minute half game. She is loving every bit of it and looks forward to soccer each week. Did I mention that Brian is also coaching? He is having fun being with Mackenlee (when she's not too busy playing on the other team...yeah, you read that correctly...she wouldn't be on her daddy's team.). What do Logan and Ethan do while Mackenlee plays soccer? Why pick flowers, find extra balls and kick them around, and take naps, that's what! We all have a great time each week out at the soccer fields and afterwards, great naps are had by all.

Mackenlee seems to be very competitive in this sport. She gets so upset when she misses the goal or has the ball taken away from her. So outside of her meltdowns in the middle of the field (which are pretty funny to watch) she has a great time and is catching on quickly to the "no hands on the ball" rules of soccer. Enjoy the pictures from her first week of practice!

Easter Fishing...

2010-04-06T22:08:00.004-05:00

We spent the evening of Easter with my parents out at Rainbow Lakes. We went straight down to the pier and went fishing and Mackenlee actually caught 2 brim, one being a little baby. We enjoyed hamburgers on the grill for dinner and lots and lots of running around done by the kids.

Side note: This picture of me and Brian is about half way through my weight loss. Not really sure how much more brian wants to lose, though. I am so glad that I am able to stick with weight watchers and hopefully meet my goal weight in the near future!

Easter Sunday

2010-04-06T21:53:00.003-05:00

We spent Easter Sunday at Brian's parents house. We all had a great time, with great food and great fellowship! The kids all had a blast playing with each other outside for most of the afternoon. My kids still have not caught up on sleep from Sunday! They played soo hard!

Down on the Farm...kinda...

2010-04-06T21:28:00.004-05:00

On Good Friday, we drove over to Meridian and went to the First Baptist Church of Meridian's Easter Egg hunt. The weather was BEAUTIFUL and we all had a great time! There was a petting zoo along with pony rides, inflatables and, of course, an egg hunt followed by a visit from the Easter bunny! Logan spent most of the time in the petting zoo tending to the animals. He made sure that they were all fed and watered and all loved on. So much so, that as we were leaving the petting zoo and getting ready to head home, he had to give all the animals a hug. What a sweet little boy with a huge heart for animals!

Mackenlee loved the little chicks, bunnies, and the ponies. She did enter the petting zoo, but live stock is apparently not her thang so she stuck with the sweet little chicks and bunnies. She loved them so much! She also really loved the pony ride.

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary...

2010-04-06T21:11:00.005-05:00

How does your garden grow?

With tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, eggplant, parsley and oregano!

The boy loves mud...

2010-03-17T16:31:00.005-05:00

playing around...

2010-03-13T13:19:00.002-06:00

Last week we went to our playgroup, as usual, and I snapped some pictures. I have become obsessed with getting different perspectives in shots and the playground is perfect for the practice! The swing set and and the volleyball nets made such an interesting picture. On our way home, we stopped by an old building right by the railroad tracks. Looks like an old whistle stop. Mackenlee loved posing infront of the door and by the wall. She's such a little ham! haha!

Swinging...

2010-02-26T13:53:00.004-06:00

Swinging...

up...

high..

and higher!!

A playground poem...

2010-02-24T11:14:00.012-06:00

It was a warm Friday morning
So we went out to play,

We saw friends at the park so we decided a while we would stay!

We were queen of the playground,

The taxi cab man,

Autumn loved the Slide

While Emmy and Anna swung,

all the while Alex shows Logan and Mackenlee his gun!

Sweet little Reagan was tired of me snapping

so instead I took pictures of sweet babes napping.

Mackenlee cheered happily as her friends play around,

While Reagan explores what is on the ground.

Logan sat and watched all the fun on the slide

and then it was time to say "good bye".

Flashback Friday

2010-02-18T21:41:00.005-06:00

In honor of the snow we had last Friday, I decided that I should do a flashback friday with all of our family pictures in the snow. I think it's neat that each year a baby was added to the picture. The first picture was taken at the Riverside park in January of 2008. I was around 25 weeks pregnant with Logan and we had a blast playing in all the snow! Mackenlee had turned 2 the week before it snowed. The second picture was in March of 2009. Logan was 11 months old and Mackenlee was 3 years old. This was Logan's first time to see snow and he had a ball playing in it! The last picture was taken last friday. Mackenlee was 4, Logan was 21 months, and Ethan was 2 months. This time, Logan really got a chance to enjoy the snow. He played and played until he was forced to go inside because he was soaked! Mackenlee and Logan played well together, collecting snow in a little bowl to do who knows what with! This was Ethan's first snow and he was only out in it for about 2 minutes and during those 2 minutes he hated the white things landing on him and tickling his face. So far, it has snowed 3 times in Demopolis just this year! All 3 times was within 1 week. It's amazing. I can probably count on 1 hand how many times it snowed while I was growing up but so far in Mackenlee's life it has snowed 3 out of her 4 years. I think I need Al Gore to explain to me how all this global warming stuff works.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

2010-02-13T10:38:00.005-06:00

Last Friday, we woke up to SNOW!! Mackenlee was so excited and Logan was too, once he realized what snow was. We didn't get as much as our friends in MS, but we did get enough to play in for a little while. It was pretty much all gone by the end of the day, but the kids had fun. What's amazing is that since these pictures were taken, it has snowed two more times! None of that hung around but it's pretty much unheard-of for it to snow 3 times in 1 week in central Alabama. Al Gore is really on to something with all this global warming talk! Maybe he should come hang out in Alabama for a while and he might change his opinion on this because it's COLD here! Mackenlee is now expecting snow at least once a year. Every year that it snows, we have taken a family picture. I will have to dig around on all of our harddrives to see if I can find the pictures and post them. It's gotten to be kind of a tradition. Mainly becuase it always seems to snow around the same time of year. So it's nice to see Mackenlee grow and the other's being added. I hope you enjoy the pictures!

Happy Birthday, Mia!

2010-02-13T10:08:00.007-06:00

On Tuesday, Mia niece will be 3 years old! Time has gone by so fast! It seems like it was just yesterday that we were celebrating all the big girls 3rd birthdays and now it Mia and Wes turning 3. thursday night, we all bundled up and headed to the carousel in Meridian for Mia's birthday party. We all had a great time, especially the kids. Her cake was cupcakes with carousel horse cookies in them and it was cute and perfect for the party!

Happy Birthday, Mia. I hope you have a wonderful day Tuesday! You are turning into such a sweet and beautiful young lady!

THE BIRTHDAY GIRL, MIA!!

Sweet Valentine

2010-02-13T09:36:00.008-06:00

Thursday was a party filled day for our 3 kids. Mackenlee had her valentine's day party at wee school and I volunteered to bring snacks. So that meant that Logan and Ethan got to party, too! Ethan didn't care too much. He just kinda sat back and watched all the kids run around but Logan was thrilled to join in! We started preparing the yummy treats for Thursday's party on Tuesday. We baked cookies and after they had cooled, we iced them. And then on Wednesday, we made the petit fours in 3 bright colors. We had a great time celebrating valentine's day with Mackenlee's friends and her teachers. We love WEE School!