Republicans & Democrats

With all the election stuff going on lately, it got Kyleigh thinking about a few things. The other night we went to see Grandma Connie and while we were there Kyleigh had a question for her. The conversation went something like this...........

Kyleigh - Grandma Connie, what is the difference between Republicans and Democrats?
Grandma Connie - Well, Kyleigh, Democrats like to spend, spend, spend.....and Republicans like to save, save, save!
Kyleigh - Oh ok, then that means that I'm a Republican and Marleigh is a Democrat!!!!!

I couldn't help but LAUGH OUT LOUD....literally!!! It was soooooo funny! I just never know what that girl is gonna say. She is sweet, a bit sassy, and a lot funny!

I'm Baaaaaack!!!!

Hello Blogging World....I have decided to return to you! It has been a year since I have posted anything, but I think I am ready to return now. We have had an incredibly difficult year, but we are trying to move on the best way we know how. First, my Dad passed away on November 22, 2009. That has been really hard for me. He was the BEST!!! I have missed him terribly. Then on February 13, 2010, Jacob's grandfather (Pa) passed away. He was such a great man and we have missed him too. Exactly one month later, March 13, 2010, Jacob's older brother, Stephen, passed away. He had battled leukemia for 9 months. We have really missed him too. On the same day that Stephen passed away, we found out that we were expecting baby #4, which was a big surprise to us. But on April 15, I found myself in the ER having a miscarriage. All of this happening so soon for us was a bit overwhelming, to say the least. But, we have tried to pick up the pieces and move on...the best we can. So needless to say, I've been out of the blogging world for a while. I have missed updating my own blog and checking out every ones blogs...so I think I am ready to join you again. Happy Blogging....Again!!!

Help Wanted!

There is an immediate opening for someone who thinks that they can
CLEAN up after

and TAME the wild hair of

this sweet little boy!
A cosmetology degree is not required, but any experience with BED HEAD will help! The pay will be lots of hugs and kisses and non-stop entertainment all day from the little guy! And when your done, bring him to me so that I can snuggle and cuddle with him. Only serious inquiries please!

Posing and Popsicles!

Kyleigh and Marleigh are posing right after they got their haircut. Kyleigh got a trim, but Marleigh really got a HAIRCUT!! It was a little shorter than we had asked for, but she LOVES it! I think they are both adorable!

Here is little Ethan enjoying a popsicle right after waking up from a nap. If you look closely, you can see he still has the BED head....BAD!! It's funny and cute, until we have to go somewhere....then we have to take some water and a comb to it.

My silly kids! They make me laugh and smile all the time! I love them to pieces!

I Turn Around For ONE SECOND.....

and this is what I find...ALL THE TIME! My little man is a mess, A MESS, I tell ya! But, he is the sweetest mess! He loves to climb on things he shouldn't, crawl in places he shouldn't and try to squeeze himself into things that he KNOWS he cannot fit in....and he loves it! He sure does keep us on our toes these days and since the girls are back in school now, he has half the day to make a mess all by himself. He is the funniest, sweetest and most adorable little boy in the world! I LOVE YOU ETHAN!

The First Day of School! (a month late)

So here is the first day of 3rd grade for Kyleigh and 1st grade for Marleigh! They were really excited about starting school, so they got up really early that morning. They had already picked out their "first day outfits" and they were ready in a flash. So we headed off to school to find their classrooms, but we stopped on the way to get a biscuit for breakfast...yummy! When we got to school, it was like a mad house. People were everywhere. There was a big "mob" of people trying to get in. It took us a while to get in, but when we did, we decided to take Marleigh to her class first. On the way, we had to stop and see her teacher from last year, Mrs. Glenn. She ran up and hugged Marleigh and told her how cute she was and then made Marleigh promise that she would come see her everyday on her way to her new class, since it is right on the way. Marleigh agreed, and then we were off to 1st grade. Her new teacher is Mrs. Byars and she seems really nice. At Meet the Teacher, which was a few days before, all the 1st grade teachers were fighting over getting Marleigh in their class. She wasn't already assigned to a class, so then all the teachers were saying, "I'll take her" and "No, I want her in my class!" It was kinda funny, but Mrs. Byars got her. Then one of the other teachers (Mrs. Garrett) came up to Mrs. Byars and said, "Hey, I wanted Marleigh in my class!" Mrs. Byars just said, "Sorry, but she's mine!" It was funny! Marleigh is such a sweetie that everyone wants her in their class. Anyway, so we found her new class, said good morning to Mrs. Byars, gave each other big hugs and we were off to 3rd grade. Kyleigh also wanted to see her teacher from last year, so we swung by to see Ms. Kickery for a second and then we had to go to her new class. Her 3rd grade teacher is Miss Jax. She seems really nice too. Two weeks after school started, she got married, so now she is Mrs. Drier. Kyleigh sometimes calls her Mrs. Washer and Dryer. It's funny! She got nervous when we got to her classroom and didn't want me to leave. It took me a minute to talk her (ahmm...bribe her) into staying. So we hugged and I promised that I would be back soon to pick her up. Then I went home where I found Jacob and Ethan still sleeping. Silly Boys! So, here are a few pics of the first day. They are showing off their new outfits and "Supergirl" bookbags and just modeling and showing off for the camera. These girls are soooo silly! They LOVE posing for the camera...can you tell? They could have posed all day, but I had to break up the photo shoot, so that they wouldn't be late for school. Kyleigh is pointing to a balloon that has her name on it inside her classroom. They both had fun on the first day and they both like their teachers, so everything is looking good for 1st and 3rd grade so far.

Finally....Some Summer Fun!!

Okay, so I have been stuck in the house all summer long with three kids. We had all been soooo excited about our trip we had planned to go to Montgomery, Alabama to see Lynetta and her family. We always visit Lynetta during the summer....we usually drive all the way to Louisiana, but since my little man, Ethan, did not like riding in the car, Lynetta and I had decided to meet halfway...which just happened to be Montgomery, Alabama. My kids were sooooo excited, as was I, to finally be getting out of the house. But, at the last minute, we had to cancel the trip because my Dad ended up in the hospital that week. So, the girls and I were devastated to say the least...but we knew that we needed to stay here and spend time with Dad. So that weekend we were all down in the dumps, thinking that we should be in Alabama having the time of our lives. So, at this point, I just need to get away...if only for a weekend...I just needed a change of scenery. Jacob is telling me to just wait a few more weeks, as we have a Myrtle Beach trip planned soon. I tried as hard as I could, but I finally told him, WE HAVE TO GO SOMEWHERE! I NEED TO GET OUT OF THIS HOUSE! I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL THE MYRTLE BEACH TRIP....I NEED TO GO NOW! He must have gotten it. So, just when I am about to go completely crazy (which wouldn't really be that far for me) Jacob's peeps...Granddaddy and Nana...completely saved the day. They let us go for the weekend to Surf City/Topsail Beach to stay in their camper. HALLELUJAH!!! We were sooooo excited, the weekend could not get here soon enough. Of course, the girls and I were ready first thing on Friday morning and Jacob had planned to get off a little early, but of course, he was swamped that day, and we didn't get off early like we had planned. So after waiting all day for Jacob to get off work, hours of traffic jams on 40, detouring, stopping to get supper (cause we are all starving at this point), stopping in Mt. Olive to get the keys, we FINALLY get there about 9:30 at night. But, at this point, we don't care what time it is....WE'RE OUT OF THE HOUSE! AND WE ARE LOVING IT. We just rode around with the windows down, looking at the lights and scenery. Ethan was loving the wind blowing in his little bit of hair he has. At this point, all of our worries and stresses of life are gone...no bills to pay, no bedtimes, nothing but fun with the family. I LOVE it. So, after all it took to finally get there, it was ALL worth it. We had the best time.

Here are just a few pics we took of the fun stuff we did. The girls loved this shop that had the big alligator out front, so we had to get a picture.

We went to an arcade where we had a lot of fun. Kyleigh hit the jackpot on one game and got 100 tickets...She was soooo proud of herself!

Summer Fun......Continued

Since I still don't know how to blog, I somehow just posted half of our fun. So, here is the other half. The girls went sand mining at the Docksider. They loved it and they both got a lot of "treasures". Thank goodness, cause I did not want to have to buy another bag...they both got enough, and they were thrilled with the "treasure" that they each got. They were loving it.

So, since we left the camera in the car the first time we went to the beach, lucky for you guys, you don't get to see all the bathing suit pictures of us....even though the kids were too cute. Ethan looks sooooo handsome in his swim trunks and shirt that Aunt Lynetta gave him for his birthday....Thanks Aunt Lynetta, we finally got to put it to use, and he was oh so adorable. So on that day, the daredevils of the family...Kyleigh and Jacob...when out to play in the waves, and the weenies of the family...Marleigh and me....stayed near the edge where the water would just splash our feet. However, Marleigh did get brave one time and went a little further out, but soon got pounded by a wave, and got up looking like Cousin It! There was soooo much hair everywhere, you couldn't see her from the shoulders up. HA! I ran out and rescued her and she was pretty much done with the waves from then on. It was pretty funny. So she stayed with me and Ethan the rest of the time. This was Ethan's first time at the beach, and he loved it. His favorite part of the beach is......the sand! He loved to dig in it, play in it, run his fingers in it, pick it up and throw it and even eat it. He wanted a snack, so I was feeding him some mini marshmallows, and he was covered in sand...and when I say covered...I mean COVERED! But he has this new thing, where he wants to pick up his food and put it in his mouth all by himself. I was trying to feed him since I didn't want him eating sandy marshmallows, but he got soooo mad, and he decided that he would rather eat sandy marshmallows or none at all. So there you have it, he is stubborn just like his Daddy...hahaha! He got a little curious...he would see the waves, run to them, and then when they would come close, he would turn around and run like crazy! It was funny to watch. Everytime, I thought...this time he is going to let the water touch him, but no. He was soooo funny trying to run on the sand. He must have gotten some workout that day and of course, he fell asleep as soon as we got in the car. It was a fun day at the beach with the family!

One Final Note

This is one of my favorite pics of the whole trip. We went to the beach one last time before we headed home. We told the girls we were just going to walk on the beach and get our feet wet...one last time. They were trying to get as close as they could to the wave, then they turned around and ran like crazy to try to get away from it. Marleigh didn't get too wet, but by the time we left, Kyleigh was soaked from the chest down...so much for a dry ride home...but I guess that's what you get for taking them to the beach without their bathing suits. Oh well, we didn't mind, and neither did they. So then it was time to head back home...back to our normal, busy, hectic, and chaotic lives that we lead. Needless to say, ALL the kids slept all the way home. So, to sum it up...We had the BEST time. We all needed a little break from our everyday lives, and this was just perfect. When we got back home, and recovered in a few days from our beach hangover, we were ready to get back to normal. We got everything we needed to start school, and now the girls were ready! So, once again, THANKS to GRANDDADDY and NANA for making all this possible. We are lucky to have you in our lives. We will never forget all the fun we had and all the great memories we made.

Well the girls wanted a bigger TV. Ok, so Daddy wanted a bigger TV. Not bad way to watch them Tar Heels though.
Go Heels!!

Ethan Enjoying His First Birthday Cake!!

Ok so obvious this is not my car..but with a little more time mine can look like this so enjoy!!!

I just had to post these pics of cutie little Ethan. He got this wayyy cool onesie from his Aunt Netta and here he is showing it off. It says my mommy rocks! How cute is that. Gotta give mom some credit, huh! THANKS AUNT NETTA! YOU'RE THE BEST AND I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!

Marleigh's First Day of Kindergarten

Marleigh was sooooo very excited to start school. Her teacher is Ms. Glenn and she seems really nice. Marleigh really likes her a lot. She did so good, she walked right in the classroom and sat down like a big kid. She wasn't scared a bit. What a brave little girl I have. So she was fine, I on the other hand, didn't fair as well. I came home and pouted the rest of the day and worried about everything. Will she do good? Will she like it? Will she make lots of friends? Will anyone pick on her....THEY BETTER NOT! Can she get her own lunch? Is she even tall enough to see over the counter in the lunchroom to know what her choices are for lunch? Can she open her own milk? Did I give her teacher all my numbers to reach me, just in case? Okay, so you get the point...I am NUTS!! I waited ALL day long, until it was finally time to go get her. So me and mom loaded up, sooooo excited to go get her. When I pulled up to the carpool line and saw her standing there with Kyleigh, I teared up again. She's just too little to be in school...at least to me anyway. She has been my baby for so long, it's hard to see her grow up. But, little Ethan is here to take the baby position now, so I guess I have to let it be. Thank Goodness I have him to keep me company during the day. So here she is posing for the camera on the BIG day. What a CUTIE!

Kyleigh's First Day of 2nd Grade

Okay, so this is wayyyyy late, but it's better late than never, right. This is Kyleigh's first day of second grade. She was sooooo excited.....that is until we got there. She started a new school since we have moved and she was a little nervous at first. By the end of the day when I picked her up, she said that she loved her new school. THANK GOODNESS! I don't know what I would have done if she didn't like it. Her teacher is Ms. Kickery and she is sooo nice. Kyleigh tells everyone, "My teacher is Ms. Kickery and she's like the nicest teacher in the whole school!" It's kinda funny. She is doing so good and she loves that Marleigh is in school with her now. I hope things stay this good. Only time will tell. I love the way she is posing all over the place. She would have taken pictures all morning if I'd let her, but we had to get to school. What a cute girl. She has to be the cutest 2nd grader in the whole school.

This is a cute outfit. It says Mommies Lil Buckaroo!!! How cute!!!!