Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving... we drove to see our Arkansas family. We had such a great time and hate living so far away!

The four kids!!!

Blake, Abby, Great Grandpa Joe, Jacob and Dylan

Cousins playing football!

Abby and Maceyn.

What a goofy boy Jacob is!

Jacob the football star!
Abby and Jacob decorating our tree!

Our Christmas countdown Santas!

October/November

Both Blake and Dylan were in plays in the fall... Dylan's was "The Mikado." Steve, the kids and I went up for Dyl's play. We loved seeing Dyl in this comedy. Here is Blake and the cast of his play "The Anatomy of Grey." One of my best friends, Nikki, was able to come see the show... so that was extra special for me. Abby and some of our other friends came, too. Blake's mom was here with her friend, so Blake had a big crowd! This cast won first place in their regional competition, third in the state competition and Blake won All Star Cast!
Here is Mr. Jacob rock climbing at the Bonaire Bonanza... very brave!

Here are Abby (cheerleader), our friend Andrew (Power Ranger) and Jacob (ninja) on Halloween. It was actually VERY cold that night and poor Jacob had pneumonia, but the doc said he could go if he walked!

Here are Abby, Jacob and their friend Kyra on our front porch with our scary ghosts!

Abby's Birthday

Abby had her party at a place called Johnny G's... it has rides, games, bouncers and those tunnels up in the air the kids can crawl through. She had a wonderful time! Abby waiting to open her presents...

Very excited to see all her gifts!

Abby riding in the "Flying Dragons" with her friend Megan!

Opening her Littlest Pet Shop toys at her "family" party!

We had a hayride with our Squadron... here is Abby enjoying herself and Jacob being Jacob!

Blake's First Car

Steve and I surprised Blake with a car today!!! Now, all we have to do is get him a license... Here is a pic of his 2001 Volvo

Trip to Chattanooga

Last weekend Steve, Abby, Jacob and I headed up to Chattanooga (Blake and my mom opted to stay home for some peace and quiet). Chattanooga is a beautiful city right on the banks of the Tennessee River and surrounded by beautiful, green hills/mountains. We headed up Friday and just bopped around town to check out the sights. Saturday, we went to the Tennessee Aquarium and we really liked it a lot more than the Atlanta Aquarium mostly because the design was really nice and it was less crowded. It had a beautiful butterfly garden on the top floor that we all really enjoyed. We got to pet stingrays and they had a beautiful jelly fish area that was amazing. We also loved the huge tank with the sharks! We took in an IMAX movie that I liked, but Abby, Jacob and Steve did not seem to be as impressed. Sunday morning we went to the Creative Discovery Museum. The kids had a blast exploring dinosaur bones, electricity and the Curious George display. After the museum we went on a Duck Tour... an old WWII amphibious landing vehicle (goes from land to water) that tours the town and the water. The tour was a little slow for the kids... Jacob fell asleep. Abby got to drive in the water so it became the highlight of her vacation. We really enjoyed Chattanooga and are looking forward to taking other trips up to Tennessee!
Abby & Jacob in front of a HUGE turtle shell...
a beautiful butterfly in the butterfly garden...

the kids playing in the "park" in front of the aquarium...

Tired Mama and the kiddos....

a big turtle waving hello...

Jacob diggin' for bones....

and exploring the power of air...

Dr. Copeland at her "clinic"...

Ab driving the Duck...

The Duck

Catching Up

I really can't believe how much time has passed since my last blog. We've been really busy with the kids and I starting school. Luckily, Steve just received his MBA(We are all so proud of him)... so, that is one person not in school.

I went TDY up to Boston w/ some girls from work. We learned some and had a great time seeing the sights and even got to catch a Red Sox game. The only thing missing was Steve and the kids!




The Boston Public Garden
The Kennedy Library

The view from my room... LOVED IT!

First Day of School

Mr. Jacob ready for his first day of Kindergarten. I had a tough morning because he is not as aware of his food allergies as Abby is... the school nurse helped me feel a little bit better. He was so excited to finally get to go to Big Kid school. They had an open house last night and we got to meet their teachers. Abby liked showing Jacob the ropes.

The princess ready to be a first grader. She woke up ready to go. We all enjoyed blueberry pancakes before we left for school!

Abby and Jacob ready to go!

Blake... it is hard to imagine he is now a Junior! Last night we went to his open house... it was fun to see him catch up with friends he had not seen all summer. He has a tough schedule, but he seems to be ready for it!

Cruisin'

We had a great time on our cruise. We went to the Bahamas, St Thomas (with a side trip to St John) and St Maarten. Abby and Jacob LOVED Camp Carnival (where they focus on kids). Everyday Jacob would wake up and say "What are we doing at Camp Carnival today?" Blake and Dylan took advantage of everything the ship had to offer. They went to all of the shows, the trivia contests, deck parties, backstage tours, etc. They had their own room and loved having the freedom to come and go. I was able to finish an entire book (yippee) and Steve had fun at the casino. It really was the perfect vacation! The islands were awesome. We took a 45 minute boat ride from St. Thomas to St. John and went to Trunk beach. The sand was SO white and the water was absolutely beautiful! The kids ran right in like it was pool water. We thought the Bahamas were ok, but we fell in love with the Virgin Islands. Of course, we are already thinking about when we can take our next cruise. Here are a few pictures.

The family at Cape Canaveral!

Abby on the waterslide on the ship.

Trunk Beach on St. John


Abby and Jacob in the Bahamas.
Our ship.

Frog towel animal.

Princess Abby painted up like a pirate!

Catching up...

I can't believe how far behind I am on my posts!!!! June flew by and before we knew it July was upon us and things began to get busy. Blake returned from his mom's and Dylan came to see us for a visit. Dylan had a great adventure this summer going to the Grand Canyon on a class trip. The pictures are awesome and it reminded me how much I LOVE the Grand Canyon. When Abby and Jacob are older I would love to take them there. Meemaw, Grandpa and Uncle Dustin came for a visit and we had a great time, although their visit is always too short. Here are a few pictures of what's been going on... Dylan and Jacob at Sticky Fingers (one of Dyl's favorite places to eat). This was during Meemaw and Grandpa's visit. Kristine came with us, too!

Dylan making stained glass butterflies with Abby and Jacob.

Jacob lost a tooth... his new one was already growing in behind where the baby one was. So sad... my baby is growing up.

Grandpa and Blake showing their muscles!

Jacob swimming...

Abby learning to dive at swim lessons!

Blake Update & A Few Pictures

We are all very proud of Blake... he finished the school year with all A's!!! GREAT JOB, Blake!!!As soon as we know how Dylan did we will update the blog! Unfortunately, I don't have any pics of Blake :-(

Here are some pics of the little ones:

Abby's end of school year ice cream party... Jacob & Abby on the way to Jacob's graduation...