I Can't Believe I Have a 14 Year-Old... Bring On The Gray Hair!!!

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Today was Sky's 14TH BIRTHDAY!!!!! And he is officially a high schooler starting next Wednesday! Phew... the time sure does go by way too fast!! Sky had a really fun day today, starting with a date with moi. :) After taking the littler boys over to a friend's house (thanks Shelly), we went to see 'The Dark Knight'... which, by the way, if you heard it's a bit scary... it is. Sky & I BOTH covered our eyes during a few parts when we thought it was going to get nasty and jumped a little, but it never showed anything. And yes... Heath Ledger played an amazing Joker!! This was the first time Sky & I ever went to see a movie by ourselves, Donnie is usually the one who takes him out... and now I see what he means, Sky is a talker at the theater!!! Hahahaha, he and Miss Koreen would be a deadly combo! :) When we got home, there was a surprise for Sky sitting on the front porch from Donnie... which put a HUGE smile on Sky's face (yes, he had already gotten the basketball hoop before Donnie left... but dad always spoils when he is away)! But the BEST part was when, after going 2 weeks from hearing from him, Donnie was able to call to wish Sky a Happy Birthday!!!! What an AWESOME surprise for us all!!!! :) The boys & I had a special dinner at home... then yummy cake after Sky & Kaden got back from scouts with the Call's. The only thing that would have made the day better, was if Donnie were able to ship himself home to spend it with us!!! Happy Birthday, Sky... we're SOOOO proud of the man you're becoming!!!

Another Day at the Park...

Friday, July 25, 2008

The little boys & I met some friends at Lakebottom Park today, which is always fun (Sky decided he's too old, and went to a friend's house instead). As you can see by Kaleb's face... it was pretty hot, but the kids still had a great time!! There are 3 different playgrounds, and us mommies had to pick up and move a few times in order to keep an eye on them... which wasn't so easy because we had blankets and coolers, and 2 were pushing strollers... but we were laughing.
















After the park, Kaleb had his 4-year wellness visit... so Kaden went to Lydia's house to play until we were done. At the doctor's office Kaleb had to get 4 shots, which were pretty painful. He tried to be brave, but cried a little and said, "Mom, why do you want to hurt me?" It BROKE my heart!!!! Luckily, the frozen mango with whipped topping drink he got soon afterwards and going through a carwash on the way home, somehow made it all better!

A Kaden Funny!

Monday, July 21, 2008

Kaden is a serious boy who acts like SUCH a little old man sometimes, and the things he says REALLY make us laugh! I had to keep Kaleb home from church yesterday because he had woken up in the middle of the night, his fever had gone back up and he was crying because his ears hurt... so Sky & Kaden went with one of our neighbors. As I was helping Kaden get ready, he started asking me all kinds of questions beginning with... "Mom, when you get old do you die?" I wasn't going to lie to him, so of course I said yes. He gasped, "So when I'm 20, you and Dad are going to die?" I told him we would only be 47 & 46, which isn't old AT ALL... but he wasn't the slightest bit convinced. I assured him that we'd be around long after he got married and had children of his own... to which his eyes grew to the size of soccer balls, and sadly he said, "You mean, I'm not going to marry you?" I think the poor guy suffered from his first heartbreak yesterday morning!

Our Poor Little Guy!!!

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Poor Kaleb has been running a fever since Thursday, and still hasn't been himself. We just got back from the doctor's office and he's back on antibiotics. He was really sick earlier this year... he was suffering from severe allergies and was put on 7 different medications, including a steroid inhaler (apparently quite a few people develop allergies here because of all the pollen in the air). I thought he was feeling better, so I stopped giving him his allergy medicine... a little too soon. So Kaleb is back on his Zyrtec and cough medicine along with the antiobiotics. We're bummed we missed a playdate at Lakebottom Park on Friday and a birthday party today... but hopefully our little guy will be feeling better soon!!

You KNOW You Live In The South When...

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

...you find an armadillo burrowing in your front yard!!! This was the second time the boys and I have found this not-so-little pest digging at something in our grass, the first time was this last Sunday after we had just gotten home from church and were walking in the front door. We're not quite sure what his interest is with OUR yard, in particular... but we need to find a way to scare him off for good, I don't think Donnie would take very kindly to our new stray. Any ideas????

Oak Mountain State Park

Thursday, June 26, 2008

This entry is actually quite old... but I was waiting for my baby brother to send me the pics, I conveniently forgot my camera that day. On Kaden's birthday, we drove up to Birmingham to see my brother, Mark, who was down in Huntsville for the week working on an engineering project for his master's degree from University of Illinois with NASA. We met him halfway and went to Oak Mountain State Park where we went on a really fun hike before going out to dinner at a yummy Italian restaurant. Mark will be down again next month, the boys and I can't wait to see him again!!!

Kaden's Very First Sleepover...

Wednesday, July 11, 2008

Kaden had his very first sleepover... and I'm surprised to say, it went really well! In fact, I think I had as much fun as they did. We had a great new family move into our ward, that we are so lucky to have living down the street. Kaden & Braydon have been practically inseparable in these short last few weeks. We had Braydon over for dinner, and he was so kind to tell me that my chocolate pudding parfaits 'did not look good.' Haha, so of course, Sky didn't mind eating his for him! The two boys ran around the house for a while playing Army soldier... Braydon is quite advanced with his military lingo, I was pretty impressed. We watched a movie before they settled down for the night, and after lunch the next day we went for ice cream at a very yummy creamery. All in all, I'd say it was definitely a success... the boys can't wait to do it again!!!

A Fun Day at Flat Rock Park!!

Monday, July 9, 2008

The boys and I went to Flat Rock Park with some friends from our ward... we had a picnic first, then let the kids play. I was SO proud of Kaden... he slid down the rocks for the first time! And of course, as ALWAYS, Kaleb got really dirty... check out the clump of sand in his ear, it was in his scalp too!!!

Happy 4th of July!!!!

Wednesday, July 4, 2008

We had a GREAT last few nights with barbeques on both Thursday and Friday night!! On the Fourth, we got together with 4 other families from our ward, a few of whom we are so lucky to have live in our subdivision!! All of the kids had a BLAST playing on the slip 'n slide, in the pool, with the water balloons, and jumping on the trampoline while being sprayed by a sprinkler... and us adults had SO much fun watching them and laughing. And we knew we were in for even more when the Fisher's brought out their box labeled 'fun.' One of the benefits of living where we do is we can set off our own fireworks... and believe me, we did!!! Not to mention, we could see about 5 other little shows going on in the neighborhood. It was an awesome night... there is nothing better than great company and great food! Although, I will DEFINITELY have to get to the gym Monday morning to work off all of those brownies I ate!!!!!













The boys & I would have loved for Donnie to have been able to spend the day with us!!! We miss you, babe... and can't wait until your first call so we know you made it okay!!!!! xoxo