Welcome Back

To those of you who check in on us.....we're back- I've been a blooger slacker. So much is going on-Here are some pictures of what we've been doing...

Andy's entire family at our baby cousin's baptism. (big accomplishment to get everyone together-everyone lives in different states!)

7 great grandkids and their Bubba, their great grandmother from Colorado

Our new cousin/neice-Allie. This is my brother and sister in law's first baby.

Drew's field trip to the pumpkin patch with his Kindergarten class-we all had a blast-kids and parents!

Sy and Dasha are two of our really good friends. Andy coached each of them in college and last year they moved across the street from us. They are following the Lord's call to move to Iceland, where Sy is from. He's going to play basketball there and Dasha will be having their first baby in May. We're going to miss them!

The girls and Dasha-last Wednesday we took Dasha to the airport. Reese loves her Dasha!

Happy 2nd Birthday Reese!

Happy 2nd Birthday Reese!

Hope everyone is having a relaxing Labor Day weekend. We kicked off the weekend on Friday with the first official high school game. Saturday we took a trip with some friends to the aquarium. It was really crowded but the kids had a blast. That night we went to some friends and watched the Alabama game...it's officially football time and you can feel it in the air in Alabama-Alabama and Auburn shirts, flags, you name it, it's everywhere!

Reese celebrated her 2nd birthday Sunday at the park. We had a great time, but were definately HOT. But Reese LOVES swings and slides-so we endured the heat and were thankful for the covered pavillion and ever so slight breeze. Now the night before, Andy and I stayed up till 1am (and Andy had to preach the next morning) putting together her new kitchen. (there were at least 8,000 screws-again, the things we do for our kids!) But, in the end, it turned out super cute and she's been cooking up good stuff on it.

As for the theme of the party-we went with butterflies. Her cake was a cupcake cake in the shape of butterflies. Gift opening was a blur-between Drew and Reese and others tearing in to them,....I just hope we made it home with her gifts! Some of her favorites were the Barbie tricycle, the kitchen and stuff to go with it, and chap stick. My favorites....the fall clothes! We ended the day with a trip to Maggie Moo's for another friend's birthday and played in the water spout area for kids. We all got a good night's sleep last night! Here's some pictures from the party and weekend

Rewind...

What's been going on.....



One of our dear friends being baptized by his Dad-What a blessing!



Reese's favorite book, Sam I am as she calles it-she loves to "read" it to us






Reese trying to get into the water fountain. We had a great time at the playground and eating at Cheeburger Cheeburger with Jenn's mom, Mrs. Deb.





Happy Birthday Andy! Andy, Drew and friend, Sy at dinner. Sy and his wife Dasha are some of our dear friends that will be moving to Iceland in October (where Sy is from). He's going to play semi-pro basketball there. They live across the street and Andy actually coached each of them when he was at UAH. We're going to miss them so much!

Reese helping Aunt Amanda at her baby shower. Baby Allie will be here in the next few weeks!

Drew's playing flag football & loves it! Cheerleader Reese!

First school project-stick horse. Blue is Drew's favorite color thus, the blue hair.

Well, I'm a few weeks behind.... The start of school has brought lots of excitement! Reese turns 2 on August 31 and we're getting ready for her party at the park. She loves swings and slides. With Drew in school, Reese and I have enjoyed our girl time on the days that I don't work. It's hard to believe August is almost over. You know what that means....Football!!! I love it!

Kindergarten

Drew asked Dad to put "jelly" in his hair and spike it (just like Dad)
Reese and Drew acting silly before we left
Drew and his teacher
After school ice cream (a very messy experience on a hot summer day in the car )
Drew and DeeDee


Yes, you read it correctly....my baby started KINDERGARTEN today. My, my how time has flown by-He had a great first day (except for Mom taking pictures but so was every other mother!) We walked him in then Reese and I went to the library for a parents breakfast-yum!





This afternoon he gave me the play by play of the day. He even said his little "girl friend" tried to hold his hand-funny! The only part of Kindergarten that he doesn't like is that his "best buddy" is in another class. (that will only happen how many times in life?!) After school we went up to the big school to see Dad and tell everyone about our day. Then, we topped it off with a trip to Sonic for some ice cream. Reese enjoyed all the excitement too- the bubble machine was on as we walked into school. Bubbles are so fun to play in!





We also have a friend of ours, DeeDee,coming to school with us. Andy and I have the joy of being some of the many "extra" parents for him this year. He is a sweet, smart kid that lives in the inner city. There will be some tough times, but we pray that his experience and the opportunity at our school will help him grow spiritually and intellectually.

Another topic...

Have you read The Shack by William Young? It was amazing. I have not been much of a reader since I've had kids and usually cringe at the idea of reading a book. But, Andy told me I had to read it-I'm so glad I did. I cried the entire time and the book was truly a worship experience. It's a must read!

Meet Weston

Savanna and Drew playing on the computer
top left:Caroline, Weston, Reese-having an in depth conversation about Weston
above: Proud Dad Clancy

left: Stacy and Mandi

Since Mandi's not a blogger-I told her I would post some pictures of the family. On Thursday, July 24 Mandi gave birth to Weston. He was 19 1/2 in. and 6 lb 4 oz. On Sunday, we went to meet Weston and spend the afternoon with them. He's a sweet baby-very content and handles the noise of siblings well. Drew, Reese, Savanna, and Caroline were wild and crazy. It was great to catch up with Mandi and Clancy! Here are some pictures from the day.

The latest adventures

Us in front of the lake-it was so hot!
We stopped at the chapel and rested a bit

Casey and me
Drew in the rocket's shower
Andy and Scott ready for the Space Shot
The whole gang at the end of the day
Drew (in the middle w/hat) riding the kid version of Space Shot
Reese and Drew


Since I began working with FCA, one of the perks has been being able to go on some great couples getaways. Last weekend my parents came in town to take care of the kids and Andy and I went to Callaway Gardens for the retreat. I had never heard of it -what a great find! It's in Georgia. (Courtney, I saw signs to Palmetto and thought of you!) It's beautiful-butterfly gardens, bike trails, walking trails, beach, golfing, and much more. Andy and I spent Saturday afternoon biking and watched the Florida St. circus. (yes, you heard me right-FSU had a circus act that performs there in the summer) After biking the trails, I am now wanting a bike. If you have any bike buying tips, let me know!





This past weekend, our good friends Scott and Casey from TN called and we planned a trip to the Space and Rocket Center for the day. We had a good time....Reese enjoyed running around, Drew thought the rockets were cool. Has anyone rode the space shot before? You strap in and all of the sudden, you are shot up in the air-it's been a long time since I've rode a "thrill ride" . We ended the day with a fabulous meal at Rosie's-the absolute best mexican place to eat. Thanks Scott and Casey for making the trip!





Drew starts Kindergarten in 2 weeks. He tells everyone he sees, stranger or not, that he's 5 and going to kindergarten. Reese's new favorite things are going to the big girl potty, singing abc's and counting to 10. (then clapping and saying yeah, so everyone knows she's done)

Birthday Parties

4 cousins on the 4th


The girls. See my pregnant friend on the right? She had her baby the next morning...what a trooper!
Check out our outfits....not planned, exact shirts, different colors. Don't we look like sisters?

The kids played hard at Kids Kingdom!
Drew blowing out the candles.


We have been celebrating milestone birthdays the past few days... I turned the big 30 and Drew turned 5. We spent the 4th of July weekend in Tennessee with Andy's family. On Sunday, we stopped in at Otter Creek for church. I got to catch up with Rebekah, Brad, Abigail, and Sydney-so good to see them! It was birthday Sunday for the kids and Drew managed to get on stage for the mass church singing Happy Birthday.

Sunday night some of our dearest friends had a birthday party for me; to top it off, it was kid free so we were able to relax and enjoy each others company without getting on to any kids are break up any kid arguments. :) Signs of old age are setting in....the day after my birthday I forgot my phone (which I have to have for work) and Andy had to bring it to me

I've also been "revamping" my pictures on the walls....I seem to get tired of things on the walls after a while so, I've been doing some rearranging-it drives Andy crazy! :)

A few weeks ago Reese started sleeping in her big girl bed-she's getting so big! She loves her bed until we stop reading books and leave her to fall asleep. She's a social butterfly and doesn't like to be left alone. Reese also had her second hair cut last week-it was looking a bit "mullety" She's getting more and more talkative-so fun!

Monday was also an exciting day-my sister in law Cortney had her 3rd child-a boy named Micah and our good friend Melinda had her 3rd girl named Kenzie. Precious blessings.

Drew officially starts Kindergarten in exactly 4 weeks-my baby is going to school!

Good Times at the Beach

On Sunday, we returned home from a week at the beach with my family. My parents, brother and his wife, and our family all went together. Remember pre-kids when going to the beach meant sleeping in late and spending ALL day laying around on the beach with no responsibility? Not so much anymore. But we wouldn't trade it, right?

Drew and Reese had a great time. Drew enjoyed "riding the waves" on his Spiderman board and Reese enjoyed the water and filling her bucket with sand. We spent most of our time going from pool to pool to beach to water..... My brother brought the kyak (sp?) on the trip-the guys caught some good waves after the morning storm.

Dinner each night was an experience- Reese was still restless in the restaraunts and she, like her mother, is very loud... Her best came at Old Navy while shopping-she had a fit. I think the people thought she was crazy. Needless to say, they were glad to see us leave the store.

At night we enjoyed sitting on the porch playing intense games of memory and coloring, and catching crabs. (By the way, the crabs are much smaller and harder to catch than I ever remember). We only had one morning of rain and nobody came home with a bad sunburn.

Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Traveling....around the world

Just before Andy left for Africa
At the park with Barbar
Ice cream break
Jackpot at Chuck E. Cheese!
Dr. Coco and his assistant

On May 20, Andy and others from his school went on a mission trip to Ghana, Africa for nine days. One of Andy's basketball players is from Ghana. Bawa (his player) was so excited to take his friends to his homeland and meet his family and the people from his village. It was humbling for them to see just how little so many people had; even so they are happy. On the trip they did lots of traveling, handed out bibles, money, supplies and clothes, and worked/helped at an orphanage. Andy was ready to bring home a sweet kid from the orphanage-having kids, it was tough to see them in that situation. There were 47 kids living in 3 bedrooms and the drinking water looked like dirty lake water. The kids and I have loved hearing the stories....

While Andy was gone we stayed busy...the kids could sense that he was gone and they were very clingy all week. We stayed in town for the first few days to work and play baseball then, we were off to Andy's parents for the weekend. I was a bit sick so the extra help was great! We cooked out, visited our old church, and went to the park to feed ducks and play. The ducks were a bit crazy-one even bit my leg-thank goodness I had jeans on. Barbar kept the kids so I could go to lunch and hang out with a good friend-thanks for the break, it was much needed!

Then we took off for my parents house-more time at the park and a big day at Chuck E Cheese. Drew racked up on a game and got 125 tickets-he was excited. At the park Reese spent most of her time going to every swing to swing-she loves them!

Last stop-Memphis. My brother graduated from UT Dental school-way to go Dr. Cory!! We celebrated at a delicious Italian restaurant then spent the night at Uncle CoCo and Aunt Amanda's. Amanda and I spent our time planning the decor for the soon to be nursery for cousing Allie!

Andy's home now and last night went to dinner and we made the ever exciting grocery trip as a family-which was not smooth sailing. The past two days of hanging out as a family have been great-we missed Andy! Next week we're looking forward to working an FCA camp-have a good week!