Dad's Going to Need Another Leg....

...Come May...we are expecting again! The boys are very excited...and we are too! I am 11 weeks along and have a due date of May 27th. One more to add to the fun, or chaos, or whatever you want to call it!

I can picture a third here...can't you?

Happy Halloween!

From Optimus Prime and our big NERD!

Oh my...

50 years and counting...

September 14, 1960, my parents exchanged vows. Today they celebrate 50 years of marriage!

Happy Birthday Anniversary...as Maddox would say! We love you!

First Day of School - 2010

Maddox is in Kindergarten this year and Gavin is in Second grade...all grown up! They started on Monday and it has been a good, but long, week. I really dislike school starting on a Monday...I'd vote for at least a Wednesday. Maddox has been a bit grumpy when he gets home, but it's an adjustment.

I wonder if Maddox's hand signal is a sign of what he's going to be someday! (Actually, he is imitating himself from his first day of pre-school, he didn't quite have the thumbs up thing down, or he was just being silly and that's what he did. He thought it was funny, so I guess it's his signature move now.
Mrs. Potter and the entire school body starting off the school year with a prayer...so glad that the boys are a part of this school!

Excuses, excuses...

Gavin will find any excuse to get a chance to drive the Ranger at Grandma and Grandpa's. It's funny how quick these fun jobs can get done. Looks like it's a win/win situation for everyone involved...

Happy 30th Birthday Kelly!

I don't usually do birthday posts anymore, but since this is a special one...I think you deserve some recognition! Happy 30th...your best years are yet to come!

See...looks like your twenties haven't treated you too bad! Happy 30th Birthday Kelly! We love you lots!

Happy 10th Anniversary!

That's right...10 years ago today Larry and I tied the knot...crazy how time flies!

Thanks to my niece Rachel for the delicious and super cute Anniversary cake!

She has a website if you'd like to check it out... http://www.trendycakes.webs.com/

Funny to think about how we started out in our little one bedroom apartment in Mt. Zion...not that our house is much bigger, but still, funny to think about! We miss living there, but are thankful to be closer to our family and friends, both old and new! I wander what the next 10 years will bring!

Our "first" date...17 years ago

Day 2 - Sunday, June 13th

So, we started our day around 6:00am. We packed up and ate with The Marshall's and then headed out around 7:30 am. We were dreading today a bit...knowing that we needed to make some tracks in order to get to our destination, which we really weren't sure of...didn't need to be to Orlando until Noon on Monday, but didn't want to have to have too much of a drive on Monday morning. The drive through the rest of Tennessee was really a nice drive...lot of hills and rocks, and waterfalls...made the part seem to go pretty fast. We got to Atlanta before long and the traffic was busy, for a Sunday at least. However, there are many lanes and it went really smooth. Larry drove all day...I kept thinking I would drive a little to give him a break, but it seemed that he was having fun. I-75 has 3 lanes, so he was enjoying it. I napped off and on, maybe 2 hours all together. The boys finally fell asleep around 3:00. Maddox just fell asleep...Gavin had to be told to. One day they will realize the value of a good nap. We made it to the Florida border shortly after they fell asleep. We weren't sure how far we wanted to go, but we thought we wanted to get pretty close as long as they boys were cooperative. Again, they have been excellent. I know some people will not drive...due to having their kids with them. Honestly, I have to brag on them. They have been awesome...don't get me wrong...they had a spat or maybe two...but, so minor. Maddox likes to mock everything that Gavin does...it makes Gavin angry...you know the rest of the story. That's honestly all I can think of that happened. Pretty nice! Maddox ended up sleeping for two hours and Gavin for an hour. About an hour after Maddox woke up we were getting close to Ocala, FL...where we were thinking might be a good spot to stop. We filled up with gas and Larry checked out a hotel. He came out and decided that he was up for driving into Orlando as long as we were. We all agreed to go for it. The only thing was, that we didn't have reservations for a hotel, so we were winging it again. We arrived in Orlando around 7:30. So, we spent 12 hours today on the road...minus two stops...one to eat at a rest area and another to go to the bathroom and fill up...it went surprisingly quick. We found a very inexpensive hotel, right in the hoppin' spot in town and settled in. We went for a walk...as it was a really nice area and there were all sorts of eating joints...and we saw the upside down house (Wonderworks) that Jordan had told the boys they HAD to go to! It was open til midnight...so, we decided to go eat at Houlihan's and then head over to Wonderworks...why not....we're on vacation. If the boys are up til 1 am...it's ok, right? The thing was, we knew that this place would be packed during the day. It was the best, hands-on, children's museum type place that we had ever been to...and we've been to several. I'm not sure that we would have even considered going if it wasn't for Elaine mentioning it to us. So, thanks for the recommendation guys!

It was about 970 miles to get here....700 of which we drove today...not bad at all! We've had a late night tonight...and everyone's asleep but me. I'm ready to join them, just really trying to get everything posted. I'm sure that I'll leave out plenty, but I know all my days will be a blur once we get much further into this vacation.

- It is really pretty here...the boys are loving all the palm trees. Gavin really wants to bring one home with us. He says he'll dig it up in the winter and bring it inside so it can live. Yeah right!

- When the boys fell asleep on the way today, they were both covered with their Grandma Blankies, heads and all...I was going to take a picture, but wanted to make sure they were both asleep and then I forgot about it. Too cute though.

-At Wonderworks, the boys loved it all, but especially the Ropes maze and most of all the 4D Canyon Coaster simulator.

Tomorrow's plan...to head to SeaWorld and maybe Aquatica. We have tickets that are good for 7 consecutive days. We check into The Dolphin Resort at Disney also, so we are looking forward to that as well.

Just a few photos for the day...

The boys where we stopped to eat lunch at a random Georgia Rest Area

Wonderworks...also known as...the upside down house (during the daytime)Inside Wonderworks...seeing how long they could stand water at the temp. it was when the Titanic sank....Mom was the toughest...34 seconds!

Our "little" astronaut

The ropes maze...I didn't get to do this one because I had flip flops on...it was a large maze up in the rafters of the room. The boys were really brave...they were high and it wasn't made only for kids!

Update on Pepper...I received several texts today about Pepper and his missing status. The last he has been seen is Friday night...Mom did not know it would be this easy to get rid of him (which is what Larry was hoping for) They're thinking he made his way back to our house...Larry says that if he has made his way back to our house then he deserves to be an inside cat when we get home. My Dad is hoping that Pepper comes back so he can bring him back to our front doorstep before we arrive home and Pepper can be inside FOREVER!

New Update...while we were at Wonderworks Pepper came to the gliding door...from this point on Pepper sleeps and eats in the garage...I think there is a story about him being under the bed in here somewhere too.

Florida Bound 2010 - Day 1- June 12, 2010

So, while we were away last year I tried to blog daily to keep everyone, mostly family and friends, up to date on what we were doing, etc. This year, I decided to do the same thing...only I waited til we returned to start posting so here it goes...read it if you wanna.

This morning we headed out for our trek to Florida...we planned on leaving at 8:00, but really weren't too concerned about leaving early. We didn't need to be in Orlando til Noon on Monday. Why hurry? We pulled out at 9:30am...we saw Kelly and Jeremy as we were heading out...stopped and talked with them and then we were on our way. As we were leaving town...Larry tells me he wasn't really sure what way we needed to go. We are NOT big into planning, but knew we had a map and would make it one way or another.

As we made it to the Evansville area Larry and I were talking about some of the big cities we would be going through. He thought his Dad had told him just to drive straight through one city rather than bypassing it...Nashville, he thought. I said to him...are we even going through Nashville? He looked at me and said...I don't know! We laughed so hard at the fact that we didn't even know if we were going through Nashville. The city his Dad was talking about was Atlanta...I heard him say it. I immediately remembered that Elaine, Brent, and Jordan were going to be in Nashville this weekend for a softball tournament. We ended up stopping there...and staying...we didn't make it very far our first day, but it was worth it. The boys swam with Jordan...we spent some time downtown Nashville...it was filled with people due to CMA festival going on...and it was HOT, but we did get to check out some shops and all in all it was a good time. We can now say we've been downtown Nashville. We ate at Calhoun's, the best ribs in town, or maybe the country...and headed back to the hotel room. The thing is...the family who had an adjoining room with Elaine and Brent decided to head back home and their room was already paid for, so we ended up getting free room and board.

Gavin's favorite thing of the day was, get this, DRIVING!

Maddox's favorite was swimming with Jordan and jumping on the beds!

Our only other stop for the day was just across the Tennessee border at a rest area to eat some lunch. This is Maddox after eating at Calhoun's...his tummy was FULL!

Jordan is a country music lover...and was really bummed by the fact that there was a CMA festival going on in the city we were in...and we weren't going! We walked past the CMT building and thought we oughtta at least snap a shot...as I sat in the middle of the sidewalk to get this shot...pretty sight, I'm sure!
Meet our catsitter...isn't she a natural! The report as of this evening, is that Pepper has not been seen in 24 hours...Larry will be excited...and the boys will not be...I think Grandma is a bit concerned about her grandsons' reactions.

We plan to get an early start in the morning to make up for our short driving day...which was very worth it!

Balloons Sent to Heaven...With Love!

On Monday...the boys and I went to the doctor to hear the baby's heartbeat...10 1/2 weeks along...there was none...

Thanks to an amazing family...friends...and all around awesome support group...we will get through this! Love to all!

Fun for all ages...

Today was a perfect day to pull out the Slip and Slide...the boys and Tyler, our neighbor boy, enjoyed it. I guess Larry liked it a little bit too!

Birthday Memories

We had Maddox's birthday party at our house on Saturday evening. Originally, we planned on having it at the campground and having a "camping party". Therefore, I decided to create this Smore Cake...knowing that Maddox had no interest in the Smore, but something more along the lines of Spiderman, Batman, dirtbikes, etc. I thought this looked easier and I didn't have a pan for what he wanted...I knew I'd spend forever trying to cut out a cake and decorate it. Instead I ended up spending forever decorating this Smore cake. It was different though...and he still loves me even though I didn't fulfill that wish of his. What a bad mom that makes me sound like, huh! Larry even asked him the next morning, after I had made it, if he liked his cake. He sadly shook his head no....then, I asked him later because Larry had told me about his reaction....he tried so hard to shake his head yes...and make me think that he liked it, but there was no hiding it. He did not really care for his Smore Cake. In the end...we didn't have a camping party after all due to rain and he didn't seem to mind his cake at all! Thank goodness!

Thanks for your help Taylor!

Kurt and Taylor

This kid spent 90 % of the time going down on his butt rather than his belly...crazy kid!
It's a hit with Gavin too
Thanks to everyone for your phone calls, messages, and gifts. Maddox sure like all the attention!

Maddox is 5!

Happy Birthday Maddox...it's hard to believe that you had a bit of a rocky start. But, look at you now!


Look at your little chest working so hard...

Ready for a burp after being fed by syringe...still getting oxygen from that tube...

Meeting Gavin...it was soon after this point that we wondered what we were thinking having 2 kids, well another child so soon after Gavin. Ornery...to say the least! However, it was all for the best! Just before your Spring Concert 2010
Where to begin...you never cease to amaze us. There is never a dull moment with you around. You are all boy, yet still love to be loved on when there aren't a lot of people around. You would play video games all day if we let you...you're quite the bike rider...basically you do everything your brother does, just in a different way. There aren't a lot of things that you two have in common, yet you're not a lot different either...that's a tough one to explain! You have quite a throwing arm...baseball should be interesting this year. An imagination is something you've had from day one...give you some army guys, cars, etc. and you'll play and imagine and create your little heart out. You are a mover and a groover...you can shake those hips like nothing I've ever seen before from a boy your size. Let's not forget about your hurkeys and now double hurkeys...we can thank Aunt Kelly for that one. Yet, you are your Daddy's son, so anything is possible :) We could do without the whining, but we're working on that one. You are NOT shy and are quite open about everything...there isn't a topic that you'd shy away from...and sometimes I really wish you'd keep your thoughts inside, especially in public, but you really do mean well! So, we wanna keep you that way...love you very much. I keep begging you to just stay little...and it doesn't seem to be working. You're determined to grow up right before my eyes! This is your "Golden" birthday. Turning 5 on the 5th...how fun! You are just dying to try out your new Slip-n-Slide from Taylor and Kurt. I have a feeling you'll get to try it...how can we not let you...even though it's too cool. Daddy took the day off to spend with you and fix our sump pump, and he has yet to fix it. You're being super patient though...lots of new things to play with from this weekend. You are one lucky boy! Hope you have yet another best birthday EVER! Love, Mom

A weekend in St. Louis

We headed to St. Louis on Saturday morning for PBR (Professional Bull Riding) and our first stop was the Children's Hospital to see this little guy. Ladsen is one super sweet boy...his Mom is a good friend of ours and since we were in town, we thought we'd see how he was doing. He had surgery last Tuesday and was able to come home on Sunday morning.

The boys had time to swim before heading out for the night...this was common attire at the hotel this weekend. Boots and swim trunks...sexy!

I just realized that I have no photos of PBR to post. I didn't take my camera...

However, I have photos of the boys and their buds, Parker and Patton.

Gavin wanted to stop at the arch for a bit...

Larry wanted to take the boys skateboarding at Plan Nine at the Mills. They did a little skateboarding for two hours. Gavin had a a couple falls, but no broken bones thankfully!

Maddox did a lot of belly and butt boarding...I guess that's what you'd call it!

Gavin's 1st Sleepover...

This year for his birthday...all Gavin wanted was to have his classmates over for a sleepover. Here they are...all 4 of them. They had a good time...and were konked out by 11:00pm...and up at 6:30am. They ate...and ate...and ate again. They played lots of legos and wii! Lots of burping...I couldn't have asked for a better group of kids!

Pizza and breadsticks for supper

Ice cream

Popcorn and a movie

Gavin and Ethan have a trace of their powdered donuts left on their lips.

Thanks boys for staying with us...it was a memorable time!