Yay For Getting Away

About a month ago, we enjoyed a long weekend away at my dad's MOST favorite location... Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge.  We had a great time!  I've reached the conclusion that one of the best things about going on vacation is, for the time you are gone, you aren't staring at laundry and housework that must  be done.  Now, it's a different story when you return home from the trip, but for the few days that you are gone, ahhh... it's just so nice to have a break from it all, not to mention the round the clock childcare assistance :) 

Group pic,minus Mom, on balcony of cabin

  We enjoyed driving through the mountains and picnicking along the way.

My dad could TOTALLY never go to the beach again, but he is such a good sport to take his family every summer :)  It was time we made him happy and went where he enjoys going most!

We had fun celebrating Hayden's 5th birthday with a boiled shrimp dinner, his favorite, along with birthday cake and ice cream!!!

Kenadie was sound asleep in the car in the next pic!

A little candy with cousins never hurt anyone :) Berkley dreaming about the day she gets to enjoy a sucker!

Air brush t-shirts are a MUST when you visit the mountains!  T-rex for Hayden, Ironman for Henry, butterly for Kenadie and an elephant for Berkley :) 

Aaron, the good sport to sleep up there one night with Hayden and Kenadie!  It was very high up!!!  And, a little bit of my motherly instincts felt like it wasn't right :) but we did it anyway!   Aaron slept on the end nearest the very steep ladder.  Needless to say, I didn't rest very well this night, but the kids enjoyed every second!

See, I told you it was WAY up there!!!  I'm not going to elaborate here that my somewhat cautious 3 year old, who had been told not to and who obeys Mommy and Daddy quite well, climbed to the top all by herself while only her very cautious cousin was watching!!!  We were notified when she got down!  Seriously, she could have broken her neck, and she almost lost ALL priveledges for the remainder of the trip!  If there was ever a time that Kenadie deserved a spanking, it was now!  Boy did we give her grace!

Hands down, this is the best pic of the trip!  Gotta love the sun shining so bright that not even the adults can grin and bear it :)  I take that back, Dad's doing pretty good :)

Dad, I'm so glad you love the mountains and your family so much!!!  Thanks for a wonderful trip!!!  I promise we will go back, you just say when :)

Fabulous Fall!!!

And fall just wouldn't be complete without a trip to the pumpkin patch!

The day was just beautiful, a little hot, but fun nonetheless!

Kenadie loved playing in the corn, while Berkley DID NOT love the ducks!  Just wishing I had taken this picture from the ducks perspective.  On the other side of this sweet little head were tears when they started quacking in her face...  I'm sorry, Berkley, but it was kinda funny...  Just a little :)

Racing her little ducks...

Aar-on, [air-uhn], noun. Male given name meaning walking compass.

I'm pretty sure that if I had taken Kenadie and Berkley to the pumpkin patch alone, Aaron would have made me sign a legal document stating that we WOULD NOT go through the corn maze, for the safety of his family, of course!  Just hoping Kenadie and Berkley got a little of their daddy's sense of direction :)  It's only fitting that someone who enjoys working with numbers would also have a GREAT sense of direction at ALL times!  If traveling any uncharted territory--ALWAYS take Aaron with you! 

My Little, Big, Pumpkin

See for yourselves, but for some reason in all of these pictures, Kenadie looks way too grown up! I don't know if it was the location, the lighting, the outfit... or maybe it's due to the fact that she is QUICKLY approaching her third birthday, sigh, which by the way... my hands are COMPLETELY PINK from my efforts at making her birthday party as memorable as I can :) Stay tuned for that... party this weekend :)

So, this past Saturday, we made a visit to the local pumpkin patch.A maze just her size...
and she made it through!
Playing in the corn. A favorite for sure!
Without hesitation, she flew through this tunnel! NOT typical Kenadie!

The following picture is the one that just jumped out at me the most that she looked so growny :( Again, I'm going to blame it on the outfit or something, or maybe the subdued expression on her face??? :)


Which three pumpkins are going home with us??? Decisions, decisions...
This one has definitely made the cut...

"Ballgall" Games and "Flootballs"

Southern had their first home game this past Saturday, and I'm pretty sure my little cheerleader helped get them their first win!She was cheering from the time we got in the car to go to the game, to the time we were leaving! On our way, I asked her if she thought there were going to be a lot of people there, to which she replied "yes, and I can't count them all." She also told me on the way "Go Eagles, to the top! That's what we're going to say to the Eagles when we wins!" Walking to the game, or "ballgall" game as Kenadie says. Since she has hardly ever mispronounced words, I must make a note. When she's not calling it a "ballgall" game, it's a "flootball" game :) "Flootball" rhyming with "football", just add an L. Ha! And just like "badilla" for vanilla and "remener" for remember, I'm sure these cute mispronunciations won't last long enough :(

Here we are all nice and clean BEFORE we were covered in sweat! Gross!!!And one from last year...This is Kenadie's 3rd football season, and I can finally say it's EASY to take her and she really had FUN!!! Her first season we had bottles, baby food, diaper changes with NO real place to change her, and an often sleepy baby to contend with. 2nd season, last year, was diaper changes and a sometimes irritable almost 2 year old who had had enough of the football game just after the first quarter. Keeping in mind, her Daddy thinks we need to stay until the time clock says 0:00 :) Whew, we made it to her 3rd season and there are no diaper changes, all you really have to bring is her sippy cup and some pom poms, however, I had a WHOLE bag full of entertainment just in case, she LOVES popcorn, cheering, finding Seymour, visiting with EVERYONE around us, there's a little girl close to her age who sits near us... and the list could go on! She had a GREAT time and was FULLY entertained! Now, before I jinx us, I better stop talking about how wonderful she did or Friday's game just may be a flop...
Kenadie having a GREAT time! "Shake your pom pom with me. Can you shake it low?"Hoping she has just this much fun at Fridays game! Southern Miss---To The Top!!!

Welcome Sweet Henry

We have had such an exciting week, beginning with the birth of my precious nephew, Henry. He was born last Tuesday ~ proud parents Wes and Joy, along with big brother Hayden. I am happy to say, after spending 4 days in NICU, he is a perfectly healthy baby boy who was able to come home from the hospital yesterday. He had some oxygen issues, but is doing just wonderful. I had never been in the NICU before, prior to visiting Henry, but one thing is for sure... I learned how to properly clean my hands/arms to the point of being in pain :) I sure wasn't going to be the one responsible for bringing in any type of germs on my hands :)


On Saturday, we visited Mitchell Farms in Collins. The day could not have been prettier. Kenadie had SO much fun. The corn box and "pumpkin patch" were her favorites. Her latest thing is calling things "baby_____" if it's small in size and Mommy________ or Daddy_______ if it's big in size. So, according to Kenadie we took home a "baby pumpkin and a Daddy pumpkin". She was so funny with her pumpkin. It was like she knew it when she found it that it was "the one." She held it the whole way home, or at least until she fell asleep anyway. She was quite tuckered out from the mornings excitement. She slept the whole way home, then was moved into her bed when we got home to continue her nap. We then had to wake her up later that afternoon to go to the football game. This was a bit fuller of a day than I prefer, but I guess that's how it goes trying to squeeze all those fun activities in :)

Wes and Hayden joined us at Mitchell Farms





Kenadie's pumpkin

"Daddy pumpkin and baby pumpkin"

The fun didn't stop there. On Sunday, we went to see Elmo Live in New Orleans. Again, a GREAT time was had by all :) I was very impressed with the performance and Kenadie loved it!!! From the time we left headed to the show, all we heard was "where's Elmo?" We got there about 45 minutes early, so we decided to check out the souvineer stand. Now, I will admit, I just LOVE to buy things for Kenadie :) She doesn't even have to ask for something and I will think she "needs" it :) So, I thought she "needed" something to remember this trip by. I know, I know, you are probably thinking she won't even remember we saw Elmo by the time we get home, but anyway, it's still fun. I'm standing there trying to decide what she "needs" and nothing is just jumping out at me, so I ask her "What would you like to get?" She then starts pointing at pretty much ALL the items available and repeatedly says "I like this one, I like this one", over and over again. I look at Aaron, laugh, and say if it's this hard to pick something out, we must NOT really need anything, and so we left with nothing, and I am happy of our decision because that would have been just one more thing to get thrown down and forgotten about after maybe a week :) If you have a child that likes Elmo, you definitely won't be disappointed in the show :)