Just Playin'

My mom has been here this week to visit while she had some time off, so Ryan, Ash, and Davis have been over to eat dinner with us several days.We couldn't eat at their house because they are now "homeless." Not really, they sold their house much more quickly than they were expecting and will start building their new house very soon. They are going to be living with Ashley's parents while they build, so hopefully they'll come over for dinner quite often. Davis and Carson love playing together and just like Carson, Davis thinks his "Nyney" hung the moon.

Cameron and Ryan decided to try and pull down a big limb we've had hanging for a while now. Luckily, they got it down without hurting anyone. The kids were outside playing so I decided to take a few pictures since I haven't in forever. Sydney challenged her Uncle Ryan to some basketball. She is such a smack talker!

Of course, the boys had to play too!

Davis got to ride Carson's tractor and he was so happy. It's hard to get him past the garage when he comes over if he sees the tractor. I think he has a birthday coming up and a little birdie told me we might be having tractor races in the cul-de-sac soon.

Just a fun time playin' on a nice summer night with the family! I hope everyone is enjoying their summer as much as we are. It's quickly coming to an end. Sigh.

Sydney's Surprise!

Since the beginning of July Sydney has been baby-sitting Carson during my LAST graduate class. No I do not leave my eight year old home alone in charge of my two year old while I head to Conway for class. My class is online, so I'm home too. I do have to log in at a specific time and participate in class discussions with a headset and microphone. Cameron and I decided Sydney was responsible enough to watch him during that hour and a half, especially since I'm in the other room if they need something. She has been AWESOME!! They have never really needed me for any problems and have a great time together. Carson thinks his sister is the coolest person in the world.

A baby-sitter isn't free, right? Sydney and I talked about how she wanted to be "paid" for keeping Carson and we decided to redo her bedroom. She and I starting planning a few weeks ago, bought her new bedspread/sheets, and sold some things from her room in a garage sale. Needless to say her room was chaos, books on the floor (since we sold her bookshelf), new room stuff piling up, etc... She was getting a little anxious to get everything done to say the least. Cam and I, well really me since I had to do a lot of talking to get him motivated, decided to do her room while she was gone last weekend to surprise her. After a couple of very long days and late nights it all came together and she loved it. It looks so cute and we loved getting to surprise her. I have to thank Mimi and Nana for the little things they added too. Of course, there is never a surprise without the two of them in on it.

See for yourself...

We painted her room bright blue and it looks so much better than the bubble gum pink she had before. She wanted some zebra print with her bright colors so I made her name in zebra letters and covered some picture mats in zebra to go in frames over her bed. We decided to put verses that we'd like for her to remember and live by as she grows up in the frames. There are still a few things we'll add here and there but it's finished for the most part and we're so glad she loves it.

Old Mc Donald had a farm, e-i-e-i-o

We took a little road trip Saturday to pick Lola (our dog) up from Nashville. She went down to stay before we went on vacation and probably hated to see us drive up to get her. She is in doggy heaven down there with tons of land to run around on, ponds to swim in, and other dogs to play with. We were supposed to babysit Davis for Ryan and Ash Saturday night so we just loaded him up and took him with us. I'm not sure if he's ever been to a farm so he got to do some pretty cool stuff, at least for a little boy. Uncle Cam took him to the pond to catch a fish, I think more for his enjoyment than Davis'. They rode the tractor and the gator to see the cows, and they played with tractors at Lolli's house. Last but not least, we got to visit with Mimi, Nana, and PaPaw since they drove over to have dinner with us. Thanks for coming guys! They boys only slept about 30 minutes on the trip down and neither of them batted an eye on the way back. Despite their lack of sleep, they were very sweet and had a great time together.

This looks like trouble in the future.

Carson introduced Davis to Annabelle. She is Lolli and Pop's calf they are bottle feeding because her momma had twins and wouldn't take care of her.

Apparently Davo can't drive tractors with his tongue in his mouth. Is that not hilarious?! I didn't notice it when I was just watching him, but when I looked at these pics I couldn't help but laugh.

Kicked the Habit...

If you know this sweet boy very well, then you know he has always been VERY attached to his pappy (pacifier) and his mine (blanket). I figure we can live with the blanket for a while longer but he was beginning to look a little big for the pappy. We went cold turkey last Tuesday and I'm proud to say we've been pappy free for a week tomorrow. He asked for it a few times at the beginning but seems to have adjusted well. I have to admit there were a few M & M's involved. I figure if it works for potty training it should work for this too, huh?! And potty training...oh my...that is something we're going to wait a bit on. I've tried a little but he has absolutely no interest. Everyone says that boys are harder than girls and I definitely believe it. My sweet girl pretty much did it by herself a little before she turned 2. I'm sure we'll get it down when the time is right. We're just thrilled that we've kicked the pappy habit for now.

Chef Sydney

Sydney and I are addicted to the Food Network. I think they brainwash you somehow because I would have never thought watching someone cook would be so interesting. Since we're on this food craze, she decided she wanted to make dirt cake for dessert tonight. We picked up the ingredients during our Kroger trip today and she made it all by herself. I helped crush the Oreos in the food processor but the rest was up to her. It turned out great...I know Mimi and Nana will be so proud!!

Getting it all together...
Mixing...

Filling...

The finished product.

Pops on the River '09

We had a great, lazy 4th of July this year. Cameron went golfing with some friends during the day while the kids and I played at home. Sydney and I got caught up on some Cake Boss and Little Couple episodes we'd missed. Yes, we love TLC reality shows. After dinner we went to Cold Stone for some ice cream then down to the river to watch the fireworks.

I hate to say it but they really weren't great this year. There were some really pretty ones but it didn't seem to last very long at all. We had lots of fun anyway!

I thought this was precious!! Carson was a little startled when the fireworks began and when Sydney put her arm around him to comfort him, he did the same. He later moved to my lap and kept saying, "Watch 'em, watch 'em Mommy!"

Looking forward to a lazy Sunday afternoon as well. Hope you all had a great 4th of July weekend.

Lots of Love