Katie. Kitty's. Kraziness.

(Yes! She stuffed her dress with tissue paper - all by herself).

"Look Mom! I've got milkers!"

Driving us crazy to Boppa's house Don't fret- we are on the driveway!
Hiding with a kitty
Cheese!

Typical Katie :)

2 peas in a pod - Emily and Carolyn

How John spent his time

Sweet Home Tennessee

As promised... pictures of our 'cabin'... Most definitely where we'll stay again, when we go.Obviously it costed a tad more than our motel.. but if you figure out the $$$ save from NOT eating out,.. it comes fairly close. That's not including- being able to have your 22 mos old run around, not being trapped with-in 4 walls of a small motel room (smack-dab in the middle of the city), having a playground, sand-box, kiddie pool, swimming pool, acres of grass/shade trees to walk run amongst, having a place that feels like 'home' - if you add ALL that up... its WAAY worth it... much better than any motel. Because all that is PRICELESS.
A kitchen stocked with the essentials.. just add your own food



I could get used of 'camping' this way... central air, indoor plumbing, semi-spacious living quarters...

Music City

Once again, poor John had to endure at least 13 hours sitting in the van. And once again, he did EXCELLENT!! This was actually taken on the way home.... a dear friend gave him that guitar.. it was annoying loud, but it kept him entertained. We also spent many hours chasing after his ball.- John Henry-
A not-so-great picture of downtown Nashville The 2nd building on the left is known as the 'Batman' building Driving thru downtown made me ever so thankful that we live in a little country town!!

Not sure what kind of tree this is, but they lined the street we were staying on. We wore a path in the sidewalk going for walks during the day.

Cracker Barrel was next door to our motel.. so they became very acquainted with this charming boy. Who loved this rocking horse. (but Dad and Mom didn't love it enough to buy it and pack it home for him) Don't worry- he survived :D

Plans changed while we were there... and we had to stay longer. (just when Mommy was counting down the days to get back to the other kids....) Thankfully Daddy decided to check out the campground down the road. So for the remainder of the trip we stayed in a log 'cabin/lodge'.... Ahh.. almost Home Sweet Home. We had grass, shade trees, playground, sand, kiddie pool, not to mention our own 'house'. It made those extra days away from home a little more bearable. I'll post our 'camping' pictures next... also pictures of Tubby swimming.

Something to hold you over...

Boppa and Gma have a few cats at their house. And I think every cat had kittens at the same time. So the kids were in kitty heaven. Once the kittens left their mother were discovered by the kiddos...they got all the attention they could ever want TLC, and lots of it. (think 9 grand kids + many little kittens)

For the longest time, Katie wouldn't 'hold' the kittens. She'd 'walk' them... just like this. Now she's always packing a kitty around if she's at Boppa's house. Tubby walks around like this- Actually he usually runs like this, with that same mischievous smile on his face-
Until the kitty has had enough
And runs for his dear life the porch

Ahh..the perks of living in the country with plenty of fresh air, space and animals to play with!

I forgot about this one... I tho't he had climbed out of his pack-n-play.. but only to find out Daddy put him in Benji's bed instead that day for his nap. But he was still proud he was able to walk out on his own. (And naturally, he smiled right after the camera snapped)

In between my list-of-things-to-do-after-a-long-trip I AM working on our trip pictures...

I'm baack!!!

Maybe I should clarify.. we're back from our trip. It may be awhile before I get pictures posted up on here. (I have a few loads of laundry to catch up on... and lets not forget I went 1-1/2 weeks with out 3 of our 4 kids.) I have lots of lost time to make up!

And now I'm off to do what John did the best on this trip... sleep!

It's not possible!

There is no way, that in 2 months my baby will be 2 years old!! But today, Tubby is 22 months old. Where in the world has the time gone? I'm gonna take a wild guess, and say I spend it chasing after this cute boy (along with his 3 siblings)!!!! He's full of mischief, big smiles with a shoulder shrug, hearty laughs, gibber-jabber, spunk and energy!

-Tubby-

Also... we are wishing Great Gpa T a very Happy Birthday today!!

More bday celebration!

I was lucky this year and had 2 birthday parties (yes, I know, I'm very spoiled loved) One back home with my family, then another with my in-laws at Joe and Heather's house.

All I can say is.. this is Tubby.. Welcome to my world :)He thrives on attention. Give him a minute of your time, he'll give you a show!

The kids were SO eager to rip open my presents. I was thrilled with my gifts, but the kids weren't too impressed. Especially my ice cream maker that didn't have any ice cream in it!

So now I'm 29 yrs old. Not that I feel any different than I did when I was 28. But it's just one more year closer to that big 3-0! Then I'll almost as old as my sister-in-laws. Well, not THAT old, but at least we'll all be in our 30's!

Someone has her thinking cap on

(Its a shower cap, courtesy of Gma Joyce) We obviously don't use the brand of paper towel that you only need to use 1 sheet for the entire job...

Warning- cupcakes!

I made cupcakes for the 4th of July. John and Daddy were my helpers taste-testers. Even if they were only allowed my 'in-the-oven-way-past-the-timer' cupcakes. I also realize that if you are not the Mom or Grandma to this adorable boy, you will get sick of seeing him and his cupcakes. But that still didn't stop me from posting all these pictures! :)

4th of July

We spent our 4th of July at Boppa and Gma's house. There was plenty of food, fun, family and fireworks (which I didn't get any pictures of). Along with pesky bugs!

We also celebrated Boppa & Gma's belated 33 anniversary.

A familiar sight-- Katie by Boppa's side as usual. John is begging G'ma to pick him up.. only to get at the cake!!Yummy 4th of July cupcakes!
Benjamin playing guitar with his Uncle Joe.
Fire-bug Jacob..keeping the fire going
Carolyn's pic of the campfire...

have I mentioned I love digital cameras..so I can erase the 100's of pic my kids try to take? :)