The Heslep Family

Pay it Forward

2011-01-12T14:14:00.002-06:00

Ok...so I have been seeing all of this "Pay it Forward 2011" stuff on facebook. I wasn't really sure what it was all about until I looked into it on a friends page and then she also posted it on her blog. The whole original idea was that you promised to make something homemade for the first 5 people that responded to your facebook post (whether it be some sort of craft or baked good).

In return, those five people had to post it on their facebook and do the same for 5 people.

So in keeping with stealing this whole idea, I decided to bring it over to my blog. Instead of just 5 people, I am going to make something for 12 people. That's right. 12. One a month. I already have 3 willing participants, so the next 9 people (I don't think 9 people even read this!) to leave me a comment with your address will be added to my calendar. The only catch is, when you receive your stuff, you have to do something for someone else.

If everyone did something nice for someone different each month, and that person did something nice, what would the world become?

We all know how much fun it is to receive, but I want to have fun giving too!

Snow Day

2011-01-10T11:19:00.001-06:00

Finally Fall

2010-10-08T20:22:00.007-05:00

Randomness

2010-07-25T14:28:00.005-05:00

Since it's been awhile since I've blogged, I don't know where to begin! For now, I'll just post some pics and promise I'll do better with keeping up! (sorry, but these are not in order!)

One weekend we took a little "day trip." We just checked out some local sites and visited some flea markets. You can just see the excitement in Ty's face!

Ty and Noah at their big brothers' play.

Fourth of July at home

Another weekend we took a little trip to Hot Springs. We played putt-putt golf, rode go-carts and bumper boats, visited some bath houses, and shopped....and shopped...and shopped some more!

Yes, you can call me a bad mother. I have NO pictures of Ty actually playing baseball this year. I snapped this one after we got home from his last game! He played in Conway this year and loved it! His team wasn't the best...but they got a trophy for best sportsmanship!

Happy Memorial Day!

2010-05-29T11:22:00.003-05:00

I hope everyone has a wonderful {and Safe} Memorial Day weekend!

Clay is working today, so the boys and I are going to spend the day at the pool. Tomorrow we're going to the lake, and then cooking out on Monday!

What a great weekend!

For Sale

2010-05-26T22:20:00.007-05:00

I recently started making wreaths for a few friends and selling some at a local flea market. So I thought,

"why not advertise on my blog?"

So...if you're in need of a super cute or totally funky wreath for your front door, I'm here to help!

These are just a few that I took picutres of, but I can make one customized just for you to match your decor.

What else you been lyin' to me about?

2010-04-25T18:51:00.006-05:00

Easter 2010

Let me just tell ya...Easter was not the same around here this year. The boys think they're too old to be dressed in coordinating outfits (which they probably are). For goodness sakes...they wouldn't even stand together for me to take a picture of them, thus the seperate pictures above.

But, that's not it.

I'll have to start by telling you a little story....

One day last November Hunter came into my room early in the morning while I was getting ready for the day. The first thing out of his mouth was...."Santa's not real, is he?"

Crap.

I am NOT ready to have this conversation. He's only 9. That's not too old to believe in the big guy in the red suit, is it?

"Well honey, what do you think?"

"Well, I don't see how one man can deliver all those presents in just one night. But, there are so many movies with Santa in it, he has to be real. I now he's not though."

Then the tears started to flow.

What a great way to start the day.

The next day rolls around and Hunter and I are eating lunch. He looks over at me and says, "What else you been lying to me about?"

Really?

"Well, Hunter, what do you think?"

"I guess the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and Leprachauns."

Leprachauns???

Really? Since when were they real?

"Yep, you got it, sweetie. Sorry."

"I don't understand why all you adults have to lie about all that stuff!"

After threatening him with his life if he told his brother, I didn't hear anything else about it. It actually went pretty smoothly.

One down. One to go.

So Easter rolls around. Since Hunter is too big to believe in the Easter bunny, it wasn't the same putting their baskets together. I did it anyway, but just wasn't as thrilled as I usually am.

Then comes the kicker.

Ty stayed home from school with me one day because he was sick. I was in my closet picking out my clothes, and Ty comes in there to ask me a question. All of a sudden all I hear is,

"The Easter Bunny isn't real!"

...and Ty goes running out of the closet.

Crap.

Not even thinking about it, I had "hid" the baskets in my closet because the kids never go in

there. Until now, of course!

So I go and console Ty, and surprisingly, he wasn't that upset. I guess he just had to get over the initial shock and then he was over it.

Needless to say, Easter will never be the same in our house. I have no babies anymore.

They grow up way to fast.

Zumba Craze

2010-04-16T15:35:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to invite everyone out to the women's health fair at Conway Regional tomorrow. They are having tons of booths and free health screenings, and even Zumba demonstrations!!! So, if you ever thought about doing Zumba, here's your chance to check it out for free! We will be demonstating from 11:00-12:00 tomorrow in the Women's Center at the hospital.

If you can't make tomorrow, they are having another health fair Wedensday, May 5 at CHDC. We will be demonstrating Zumba at 10:15 that day.

Even if you're not interested in it, you can come and watch and laugh at me! I promise you'll be entertained!!!

One more Zumba plug....On May1, Advanced Physical Therapy is having a "Zumba-thon" from 8:00-12:00 to raise money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. The registration fee is $25 per person. That's 4 hours of Zumba (but it's for a good cause)!

Birthdays, Birthdays, Birthdays

2010-04-09T08:20:00.002-05:00

It's hard to believe that just two days ago, my "baby" turned 10 years old! Boy, time sure does fly! It is so amazing to sit back and think how fast your children really do grow. I feel like I've barely blinked my eyes and he's half grown! I am so proud of the young man he's become. He is so smart and talented (and not to mention handsome!)

Happy Birthday Hunter!

Today is Clay's 31st birthday. Wow...he's OLD!!!! :)

I am throwing him a surprise party tonight so I have a busy day ahead of me. I'll try to post picutres of all the weekend festivities as soon as I can.

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

Check it Out

2010-03-25T09:16:00.002-05:00

I wanted to let everyone know that my friend Nicole is having a contest on her blog for a $25 Target giftcard! Who couldn't use a giftcard to Target {a.k.a. The Best Store in The World!}???

So go check out her blog and meet one of the most God-fearing, insprational people I know!

http://chaoticarkfamily.blogspot.com/

Time Flies When You're Having Fun...

2010-03-23T08:14:00.008-05:00

Seriously...that should be new motto. I can't believe it's been three whole months (and a couple of days) since my last post.

I'll try to catch you up in a flash

First of all....Christmas. I had surgery two days before Christmas, so we spent the entire week with my parents. (Yes, I am a grown woman, and yes, I still need my momma to take care of me when I'm in pain) I couldn't have made it that week without them. Since I was recovering and heavily medicated...I didn't have a camera for taking pictures of the boys opening their presents. My dad snap a few pics, but he still hasn't sent them all to me. Maybe I'll get them before next Christmas!

A couple of weeks after Christmas, Clay and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary! It's hard to beleive we've been married for that long, I don't feel like I'm even old enough to have been married for that many years! I am so glad to be married to him though...he is the best hubby in the world...he's my best friend and I couldn't live without him.

These are the gorgeous flowers Clay sent me on our anniversary

So let's see....after that came Ty's birthday! He turned 7 on January 30. Wow....my baby is 7. That IS hard to believe! We didn't have a big party, which turned out to be a good thing since we were pretty much snowed in on hs birthday! We did manage to have a couple of kids over and had dinner at his favorite place...US Pizza and then went bowling.

After Ty's birthday came MY BIRTHDAY!!! UGH!!! Yes, this year was especially difficult for me, I turned 30!!! When did that happen??? I remember when I thought 30 was old...who am I kidding...I still think 30 is old and I don't want to be old!!! In his efforts to make my birthday as painless as possible, Clay planned a little surprise party for me.

I'm sure there's more I'm leaving out, but that's all for now. The boys and I are on Spring Break this week and we are going to get out and enjoy this beautiful weather!

Good Intentions

2009-12-21T21:35:00.005-06:00

I am aware that last week has come and gone and I did not update my blog as promised. I do have a good excuse though...I promise!!! Actually, right after my post last Tuesday, I ended up going to the emergency room. Several doctor appointments and a week later, I'm scheduled to have my gall bladder removed tomorrow morning.

I've spent the last few days tying up loose ends and trying to get everything ready for Christmas before my surgery.

I'll leave you with a few pictures from the last month and a promise that I will try to do better with my blogging in the new year!

Hunter & I went to the Arkansas vs. Mississppi State game with some friends (MSU fans!) Clay had to work, so Hunter was my date for the day. We had a great time!

I think he got it right!

I had to buy a new tree this year because we didn't have room for my old one. You can't really tell from the picture, but it's actually black. I know what you're thinking...but I love it! Even Clay likes it!

The boys baking cookies...how cute are they!?!

I think this was the beginning of the downslide of my diet this month!

We had some new family pictures taken for our Christmas cards this year. I had such a hard time picking...I loved them all!

Is It Tuesday Already?

2009-12-15T21:17:00.002-06:00

So Saturday I left a post saying that I was going to get caught up on my blog that day....well, seeing as how it's already TUESDAY, I guess that didn't happen.

Seriously, I don't know what my deal is. I've just had a serious lack of blogging motivation lately.

I've been spending too much time studying for finals...Christmas shopping...helping out at the kids school...Christmas shopping...decorating...wrapping Christmas presents....did I mention Christmas shopping???

This week...I promise. It will get done!

Attention Please

2009-12-12T10:39:00.001-06:00

Today is the day that I finally decided to catch up on my blog. Yes, I have a months worth of blogging to do in one day...but I'm going to do it.

Stay tuned....

Showin' Up the Old Men

2009-11-15T22:20:00.005-06:00

Yep, that's what Hunter did this weekend. Opening day, he kills one at 8:00 and then another at 8:45. Not too bad....especially since Daddy or Papa didn't get one!

While they were out hunting, Ty and I hit the road and went shopping. We went to Holiday House and then I think we hit every store in the Commons! We managed to buy a few Christmas presents and the rest of the decorations for the Christmas tree (I'll have to tell you about that later...we're going to do something a little different this year). We were exhausted by the time we got home Saturday night.

This is how Ty entertains himself in the car. He takes pictures and videos with my phone. lol

Clay gave me an early Christmas present Friday night...I haven't taken any picutres of it yet, so I'll tell you all about later!

Happy Veteran's Day

2009-11-11T12:20:00.003-06:00

Veteran's Day is a special day set aside to honor the millions of men and women who've served their country in the military. All over America people who care gather together to honor veterans, those men and women who served to protect our land, sacrificing their own dreams to preserve our nation, keeping America the land of the free for more than 200 years.

My Papa served in the military from 1943-1946 during WWII. He was a military policeman. While I have always been very proud of him, I have to stop and think on days like today, what life must have been like for him during that time. I think about all of the things he had to sacrifice in order to protect our country.

This is a picture of me and the boys with my Papa last year on Veteran's Day.

I think Veteran's Day is my Papa's favorite day of the year. He gets to dress up in his military uniform and talk and reminisce all day about his experiences in the war. And he also gets to be on t.v. Every year channel 11 goes to Ed's Bakery where my Papa and all his buddies have coffee every morning and interview them and talk about what Veteran's Day means to them. It is a great honor for him and he loves it!!!

Just an interesting side note I found:
This holiday was not always called Veterans Day, it was established in 1919 by President Woodrow Wilson as Armistice Day because World War I ended on the 11th hour of the 11th month of 1911. It wasn't until 1945 that Congress changed the name for this holiday.

How Long Has It Been?

2009-11-07T00:28:00.017-06:00

I have become a major slacker these days in the blogging department. I have a good excuse though...I mean I AM taking 20 hours...that's 7 classes right now. It's not like I have an abundance of free time on my hands!

Actually, because I have been so busy with school lately, we haven't done anything exciting. Other than going to school daily, I also had to have 22 hours of outside field experience, not to mention the countless (25...of course I counted them!) papers I have had to write. I am happy to announce that I am now officially finished with my field experience and I only have 2 more papers to write this semester. (Then I can breathe for a few weeks!)

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Let's see...where to start...

A few weeks ago Clay and my dad built a box stand for Clay and the boys to hunt out of. It's one of the nicest box stands I've ever seen! I guess that's good though, because apparently someone has the idea that I'm going to be going hunting with them this year! :) He even bought me (yeah, right) my own gun!

Here's Ty and Hunter with their cousin, Billy Wayne. Just fyi...Billy Wayne just turned 6 this summer (yes, that means he's younger than Ty and bigger than Hunter!)

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A couple of weeks ago we had a house guest for a few days...

Archie stayed with us for a week while mom and dad went on vacation. Needless to say, Archie and Charlie did not get along very well. Charlie is used to ruling the roost around here and he did not appreciate having to share the attention with someone else! I think Charlie got more exercise that week than he has his entire life! That dog chased him all over this house. We loved having Archie, but I think Charlie was ready to see him go!!!

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Here's a picture of Ty with his friend, Niles, at their Halloween Party at school

After the Halloween festivities...just me and my Momma's boys

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Clay started back at the Fire Department full time a few weeks ago. That's taken a little adjustment getting used to again. He loves it though and that's all that matters! He had to work on Halloween...but the good news is he got to go in his first fire that night! He was so pumped...he even has a scar to commemorate the experience...the ceiling fell down on him and cut the side of his face (he's fine).

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I decided to take the boys to mom and dad's neighborhood to trick-or-treat this year. We only ended up going up and down their street, and the boys had to stop off once and dump their candy becuase their buckets were overflowing! Needless to say we have been on sugar overload this week!

The Evil Warlock and Wolverine

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And on one last final note...I went for my third check-up last week since starting my weight loss journey and I lost another 7lbs. Woo-hoo!!!

It is so nice to be able to get up in the morning and put on anything I want to and it actually fits (and looks good)! I haven't felt this good since before I had my kiddos. I'm not trying to brag about my success, becuase Lord knows I have failed many, many times, and I still have a loooong way to go. I just want to encourage anyone that is in the same boat I was in and let them know if I can do it, they can too!

(Sorry if I sounded a bit like a Jenny Craig commercial!)

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-17T21:28:00.000-05:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

What a Wonderful Weekend

2009-10-13T14:13:00.004-05:00

The weather this past weekend was absolutely perfect! As someone who despises hot weather, I was super excited to get up Saturday morning to temperatures in the 50's. Love it! Clay went to the deer woods for the day, so the boys and I decided to take advantage of the cooler weather. First we went to ArtsFest downtown. They had several booths set up promoting different "arts." They had rock sculpting, painting, crocheting, pottery, and some others. The only thing Ty wanted to do was pottery. He had to have his try at the pottery wheel. He did a really good job! Hunter was going to go next, but after he saw how dirty Ty was, he opted out of that one!

They even got to make something with some dry clay. It was a lot like play-dough. They could make whatever they wanted and take it home. Ty made a cup and two pumpkins and Hunter made a jack-o-lantern. They couldn't wait to get them home so they could dry and then paint them!

After ArtsFest, we headed to V-Town for an open house at the volunteer fire department. We enjoyed lunch, the boys got lots of goodies, went through all of the firetrucks, looked at the Air Evac helicopter, and of course....

The bounce house! Doesn't this look like brotherly love to you?

When we got home, this is what we found in the yard beside our house. These cows have been getting out almost everyday. They belong to the boys' friends that are always over at the house. Usually, their friends will chase the cows back into the fence. Well, the friends weren't there, so Ty took it upon himself to do it. I so wish I would have had my video camera charged at that time. It was the funniest thing you've ever seen, watching Ty running after the cows, "mooing" at them. Then Hunter decides to join in, and one charges toward him and he thought he was about to die. I was luaghing so hard, this was the only picture I ended up getting.

After corraling all of the cows, we headed to this sweet little girl's birthday party. The boy's had a blast! (even if it was at a cheer academy!) After the party, we headed to my grandparent's house for dinner.

We rounded out the day by watching the Hogs game we had recorded from earlier in the day. Do you know how hard it is to go through an entire day trying to avoid hearing the game or hearing anyone talking about it??? Well, we managed and good thing because it was a great game.

Wooo....Pig Soooie.....Razorbacks!

Just as some proof...occasionally I do let my children participate in messy activities inside the house! (Notice this is only Ty. I had to wait until Hunter left. There is no way I could have let both of them try to paint at the same time. It would have been everywhere!) Hunter's jack-o-lantern is still unpainted and will have to wait until Ty goes somewhere! =)

It's Finally Here...

2009-10-01T22:06:00.010-05:00

Fall that is!!! I am l.o.v.i.n.g. this weather! Fall has always been my most favorite time of year...I love the colors, the smells, the weather, and of course the decorations. I couldn't hardly wait until September 22 to break out my pumpkins, fall leaves, and mums!

Of course September 22 wasn't only the first day of fall, it was also the first day of the fair and the parade. This year was a different experience for us. I have taken the boys every single year to the parade, but this year, they were supposed to walk in the parade with their boy scout groups. Clay ended up having to work and I had class, so the boys couldn't walk with their groups since we couldn't be with them. Clay is a member of the volunteer fire department where we live, so some of his friends offered to let the boys ride on the firetruck in the parade with them. Well of course they loved that idea! My boys would much rather "ride" in the parade than "walk" in it! (smart kids, if I do say so myself!) I was in such a hurry that day that I forgot my camera and when I was dropping them off, I had left my phone in the car, so I couldn't even get a picutre with that. Am I a horrible mother or what!?!? My kids' first time in the parade and I don't even have a picture to commemerate it!

Later that week, the first grade at Ty's school had their annual "Birthday Party." Since the kids can't bring cupcakes or goodies anymore to celebrate their individual birthdays, the first grade has one huge birthday party so they can celebrate everyone's birthday for the entire year. It's just like a regular birthday party...balloons, streamers, banners, cupcakes, ice-cream, goodie bags and games. I'm the head room mother in Ty's class, so I got to do all of the decorating and planning. Clay was off that afternoon, so I made him come help me decorate (you know he loved that). Who else was going to help me hang the streamers from the ceiling though? You know I'm too short (even standing on the desks, thank you very much!) The kids had a blast. We lit a candle on everyone's cupcake, sang happy birthday and then they got to dig in! When they finished with their snacks, I had set up a pin the tail on the donkey game and birthday bingo. Again, I was so busy that I hardly got any pictures. Just a few while the kids were eating. I wish I could've got the pictures of them playing pin the tail on the donkey...it was so funny!

In other news, I took my Praxis I test this past Saturday and........I PASSED!!!! Yay! Just one more thing I can mark off my list! I have an interview next month to get into the College of Education and then I can focus on getting d.o.n.e. !!! Midterms are next week and I couldn't be happier. It's hard to believe that this semester is halfway over! Just four more semesters to go. Woo-Hoo!!!

Also, went to the doctor for my two month check up yesterday...only lost 5 1/2 lbs. this month. Not too extremely happy about that. He assured me that this was just a "plateau" month and I should make up for it next month.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! Get out there and enjoy that beautiful weather like we're going to!

GO EAGLES!!!!

Nesting???

2009-09-22T08:25:00.005-05:00

Ok folks...I don't know what has gotten into me lately. If I was pregnant, I would call it nesting, but I'm not...so I'm not sure what it is. When I got home from school Friday afternoon I had an urge to clean out my closet. I've cleaned out my closet many times before, but nothing like this.

If it was too big, too small, or hadn't been worn in the past year or so, it got tossed. I have such a hard time getting rid of nice clothes that I think I may wear again one day, but it had to be done. We have a very small closet where we are living now, and my clothes were jam packed together and the rod was sagging in the middle and about to break.

These are all of the empty hangers when I was finished. There are Seventy...yep, I counted them. And there were only four there when I started.

You would think I would have stopped there. But, to the contrary. I woke up Saturday morning with an overwhelming urge to rearrange my living room. Which led to a massive cleaning of the enitre house. You know when you move furniture that hasn't been moved in awhile and you see all the dirt and dust under it??? Well, that just pushed me over the edge. I moved every piece of furniture in our house to sweep and mop under it (we have stained concrete floors throughout our house), cleaned baseboards, took down blinds and curtains and cleaned them. And did I mention that while I was doing all of this I had anywhere from 8-10 kids running in and out of my house? Oh yes, that has become an every Saturday occurence now. My two boys, four brother and sisters from next door, another brother and sister from down the street, and occassionally, their two older sisters.

Anywho...that's beside the point.
You think I would have been worn out from all the cleaning, but I started in again Sunday. Sunday afternoon after church I decided to clean out our desk and reorganize. Now that was a chore. Trying to decide what could be thrown away and what needed to stay. I feel so much better now though. Don't you just love the way you feel when everything is organized???

Just Like Daddy

2009-09-12T11:13:00.004-05:00

As if I wasn't having a hard enough time with my boys being so "grown-up", I walk into the bathroom the other morning and find this...

He was so proud of himself! This has become a part of our every morning routine now!

This is totally unrelated, but I just had to share my new purchase with you...

How cute are these??? Everyone knows I can't pass up a cute pair of shoes...no matter how much I really don't need them. But they're rainboots that look like cowboy boots!!! Everyone needs a pair of those, right???
And just so you know, I've been doing my rain dance this morning so I can wear them today!

Whew....slow down!!!

2009-09-05T13:37:00.012-05:00

This week has seemed like a whirlwind. We're finally back in the groove of school. Along with that, comes lots of busy afternoons! I feel like we're hardly ever at home!

The boys have played just about every organized sport that they could have by now, football, t-ball, baseball, soccer....so this year they're looking for something different. They both joined boyscouts this week, and they are super excited to jump right into that, but they also want to try bowling!!! Yep, we found out that there is a youth bowling league. Both the boys love to bowl and thought this would be perfect for them....that was until Hunter found out that they meet every Saturday morning at 9:00am for thirteen weeks!!! That boy likes to sleep in...I'm not sure if he's gonna give that up or not! The league starts next Saturday, so I told him that he had until then to decide if he wanted to play or not.

One night this week (not sure which one...they all have sorta run together this week!) we finally got Ty to ride his bike without the training wheels! Woo-Hoo!!! The boys play with the kids down the street just about everyday, and they all ride their bikes, except Ty. He usually rides on the handlebars of one of his friends' bikes. All I could think about was him falling off, so I told him he HAD to learn to ride his bike. So off the training wheels went, and there he went down the road (with a little help)! I can't believe I don't have a baby anymore!

Last night we took the boys and my brother to the football game in V-Town. There's nothing like the first highschool football game of the season...it's so much fun! The boys are finally at an age where they love going and hanging out with their friends and watching the game. So now we can finally watch the game too and not worry about the boys!

Right before we left to go to the game, Ty discovered that he had a loose tooth! I don't think I have ever seen that kid so excited! He's been asking for the past year when he was going to loose a tooth..all of his friends have lost at least one tooth by now. Well, he wiggled and wiggled that tooth all night, and while we were at the game, he had his friend, Natalie, pull it. That's just one more thing to remind me that I don't have any babies anymore!

The boys had their friends stay the night with us last night after the game. So needless to say, I'm exhausted!!! I have swept my floor 4 times already today!!! They just keep going in and out and it's about to drive me crazy. I think the rain has finally stopped for the day, so they're going to have to keep it outside for now! :)

Just a little update....I went back to the weight management clinic this week for my four week check-up, and I've lost 17 lbs!!! Woo-Hoo!!! I guess this really is working...but after all, I haven't had a diet coke, cheese, or chocolate in 33 days as of today. It should be working!

I Wish I Was a Girl...

2009-09-01T08:28:00.002-05:00

We're now going on our second week of school. The first week (3 days) went great. The boys got up early, took showers, and were ready to go early every morning. They came home everyday and told me all of the exciting things they did that day. That all changed last Monday. When I dropped the boys off, Ty started crying. He said he missed me when he was at school and he just wanted to stay with me. I explained to him that I had to go to school too, and that he would be fine until I picked him up that afternoon.

This has gone on everyday since then. Actually, somedays, he starts in at night. He won't even play with Hunter after school, he comes and snuggles up beside me and cries about missing me and not wanting to go to school the next day. This absolutely breaks my heart.

I'm hoping this is just a short phase. I've been home with him since he was a little over a year old, and even last year when he started Kindergarten, I worked at his school, so he got to see me anytime he wanted to. Maybe it will just take him some time to get adjusted.

Just a funny little side note, Hunter was talking this weekend about joing the boy scouts. Ty heard everything Hunter was saying about it, and decided he wanted to join too. He was asking me all about it. I told him they would have meetings every Tuesday while I was in class and Daddy would take him and Hunter. Then, with tears in his eyes, Ty said, "I wish I was a girl so I could be a girlscout then you would have to go with me to my meetings!"

Gotta love that kid!

Wonderful Day for the Zoo

2009-08-24T19:47:00.015-05:00

It was such a gorgeous day Saturday, we decided to take the kids to the zoo. We had the best time. After the zoo, we went to eat dinner at Carino's. All I can say is yummo!!! It was delicious. After being on this "new lifestyle" for the past three weeks, it was good to eat something that actually tasted!!! Ty was obssessed with the bread they bring you. We went through three loaves, and I'm gonna say he ate 75% of it. Needless to say when his food came, he was already full. Oh well, it was good for lunch the next day.

After dinner we headed home, and somehow I convinced Clay to make a slight detour to the Promenade at Chenal. I've been hearing about the new DSW shoe store, and I've been dying to go. It was Heaven!!! I could have spent a small fortune there, but seeing as how we had bought six pairs of shoes this past week, I was banned from buying anymore. Oh well, it was still fun to look. If you haven't been to the Promenade, you should definitely go. It is such a fun atmosphere. It's a lot like the Landing in Branson. They had a band that was playing live music, lots of stores that you would normally find in the mall, and an Imax theatre. We're going to try to go back this coming weekend and take the kids to see a movie.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

My little monkeys

What my little monkey's are usually doing

My three guys

Clay said this looked like me & him!

Isn't he beautiful?

Ty being his goofy self

My favorite animal...preferably on a belt or shoes!!! :)

This was called a dik-dik. Basically, it's just a tiny deer. Only weighs about 13lbs. he was so cute!! The boys just wanted to take him home.

Glad I got this picture, they're usually not this sweet!

Me and my honey

Right at home

Hunter was taking a picture of me and Clay, and Ty put his hand over the lense, if you look close, you can see my "mean" face!

Back to school

2009-08-19T08:57:00.010-05:00

Well, we did it. We made it to school on time, (early, in fact!) and no incident to be reported! Maybe just a few tears when I got home. I know, I know, you would think I would be used to all of this by now, after all this is my fifth year to do this, but it's still hard to let your babies go.

Of course I had to take pictures of them before we left, and then walked them to their classes and took more pictures...I think they were ready for me to leave!

I can't believe he's already in 1st grade!!!

He looks so big...hard to believe he'll be in middle school this time next year!

Hunter with his teacher, Mrs. Davis. I absolutley love her. I got to work with her last year and we became good friends. She is an awesome teacher. Hunter is going to have a great year!

Ty with his teacher, Mrs. Lichtenstein. She is such a sweet, sweet lady. Ty is going to love her!!!

Ty with his friend, Noah. They had to hang their backpacks beside each other!

Sitting at his desk for the first time...right on the front row...just where he need to be!!!

So I just had to share this with you. Monday night we took the kids to buy their new tennis shoes for school. I always let them pick out whatever they want. So Hunter picked his out first, and Ty saw them and wanted the same pair. (You can see them in the pictures above) Then as we were about to leave, Ty spotted these...

He HAD to have them...he said they were the kind of shoes that they wore in "The Sandlot." So we got his size and he tried them on and immediately he started running around the store. He was so happy, he said these shoes made him run super fast. So of course I couldn't say no. I can't deny my baby if he wants to run fast!

While we were there, of course I had to look at shoes. I mean, I can't just walk into a shoe store and not look, right? I spotted a pair of Sperry Top Siders that I have wanted all summer. I've never bought them because really, all I wear during the summer is flip flops anyway, and I'm too cheap to spend that much money on a pair of shoes I'll hardly ever wear. Clay tried to convince me to get them, but I didn't. Well, my sweet, sweet husband went back when he got off work the next day and bought them and another pair of Yellowbox flip flops for me.

I LOVE these shoes!!!

Just What I've Been Looking For

2009-08-18T20:38:00.003-05:00

Last weekend our community had their annual Bargains Galore on Hwy 64, which basically is miles and miles of yardsales. So the boys and I got up and about early (by early, I mean 8:00am...you know I don't stir about any earlier than that!), went to pick up my mom and set off. We had so much fun!!! I even taught the boys a little about negotiating. They did great for their first time, they came home with 2 Playstation games, a board game, 2 metal airplanes, and an Indiana Jones hat for $6!!! After a FULL day of yardsaling, all I came home with was this...

...Can you say YAY!!!! I have been looking for an antique school desk for a long time. Everytime I come across one in an antique store or flea market, they are either in really bad shape, or they want anywhere from $50-$100. I found this lil' beauty right before we were about to head home. They were only asking $25 and I got them down to $15!!! A great bargain, I think! Ever since I knew I wanted to be a school teacher, I wanted one of these desks for my classroom. Right now it's just a fixture in the boys' bedroom, but hopefully one day soon it will be in my classroom!

What's Missing?

2009-08-16T14:58:00.002-05:00

Three teeth! That's what! I know it's hard to tell from the picture, but poor Hunter had to go have three of his baby teeth pulled last week at the dentist.

It all started a few weeks back when he went to have his routine teeth cleaning. They decided then that he was definitely going to need braces to fix his poor little teeth, so they needed to go ahead and start the long (expensive) process. He had the three canine teeth that he hadn't lost pulled. When these permanant teeth start to grow in, we'll have to go back and have either some or all of them removed. Then when all of that is finished, we should be able to get braces.

I was a little nervous taking him to have these teeth pulled because Hunter takes after me when it comes to pain....we are big sissy's!!! He made himself sick thinking about it all day. As soon as we got to the dentist office they gave him some "happy gas" and all his worries went out the door. He was so funny! After the doctor finished giving him all of his shots, Hunter said, when are you going to give me a shot? He didn't feel a thing! He was too preoccupied trying to lift his hands and feet...he thought it was funny that they felt so heavy!

I wonder if they sell that "happy gas" to Mommy's???

What do I do now???

2009-08-12T14:00:00.002-05:00

Last week my mother-in-law called me and said that she wanted to take the boys and do something for the day before they started back to school. Ok, great I thought. The whole day to myself! So, she came and got the boys around 8:30 this morning.

I then proceded to clean my house and finish the laundry. Everything's done in the house, so I thought I would go get a mani & pedi (something you can NOT do with 2 boys). I thought after that I would do some shopping. But for what??? I don't want to buy myself any clothes until I lose all the weight I'm trying to lose, and last week I took the boys shopping for school clothes, so they don't need ANYTHING. Can you believe I'm saying this??? Me??? No shopping??? I know, I'm as shocked as you are...so I headed home.

So here it is, just 1:30, and I don't have a thing to do. It's completely silent here. I don't like silence. I know most of you are thinking I'm probably crazy about now, but I miss my boys!!! As much as I complain about how wild my kids are, I don't know what I would do without them. Yes, if they were here, I would be able to hear the Disney Channel and PlayStation in the background, and Ty throwing something at Hunter because he wouldn't give him his turn at whatever game they were playing, then Hunter chasing Ty down the hall trying to throw something back at Ty, and eventually, landing on the couch in a full blown fight. All to make up and do it again in 15 minutes. But that's my life. That's the life I love. I would take all the ruckus any day over silence.

Changes

2009-08-10T10:24:00.003-05:00

After going back and forth for awhile, I finally decided to make it official and resign from my job at school so I can go back to school full time. I really enjoyed the classes that I took this summer and I'm ready to dive in and get it done. It should only take me about 2 years, or maybe 2 1/2(I'm thinking about getting certified to teach special education) to finish. In the grand scheme of things, that doesn't really seem like a long time to me. I know it will fly by. Thank you for all of your encouragement. And please keep Clay in your prayers...I don't know if he can make it that long playing "Mr. Mom"!!! :)

Day One...

2009-08-04T08:00:00.000-05:00

Today is day one of my new diet....oh excuse me...I mean my "new lifestyle". Yep, for the 163rd time in my life I am going on a diet {new lifestyle}. But, I am positive that it is going to be different this time. This time, I have a little help. I am going to a weight management clinic. I had to sit through a two & half hour seminar yesterday morning telling me what I could and could not eat, how much I could eat, when I could eat, how I should exercise....and so on and so forth. And did I mention that I can have absolutley NO DIET COKES!!! I think that alone is enough to drive a person insane, but I AM going to do it. Cold turkey. I actually gave my brother all of the diet cokes I had in the house last night so I couldn't "accidently" drink one. I know it's not going to be easy, but this is the time I'm going to do it. I am going to stick with it. That's why I'm telling you guys. I want you to hold me responsible when you see me in the drive-thru at Starbucks ordering a Grande Mocha Frappuccino....or at Sonic ordering a large Diet Coke....or at Dairy Queen ordering a Cookie Dough Blizzard....

My OCD is in overdrive

2009-07-28T15:36:00.006-05:00

Those of you that know me, know that I am a neat FREAK. I'm totally OCD when it comes to cleaning and things being in order. I've been that way since the day I was born. Yes, even as a child, I hated messes. If you got a toy out to play with, you had better put it up before you get anything else out...and most of the time I would take it away from you before you were done with it because I couldn't stand anything being out of place. Everyone said that would change when I had kids. Well, it didn't. Actually, it probably got worse. My poor kids don't make messes. They know Momma will have a melt down and just pick it up. I've totally ruined them. Especially Hunter. He is now the same way. He hates it when he and Ty have friends over and they make a mess...he stresses out the whole time. I usually try to avoid the situation when I can and just make the kids play outside. Today of course, it was raining, so I let the kids play inside. This is the result:

I'm sure to most of you , this probably isn't that bad. But to me, Oh it makes my stomach hurt just thinking about it!!! I've got to get off here so I can go clean now!

Friends, Food, & Fleamarkets

2009-07-22T17:00:00.011-05:00

We had another fabulous weekend this past week. We had dinner with some friends Friday night and played some cards. It was wild times, let me tell ya! Our sweet friend Shannon made Swiss Steak for us. I had never had it before and it was absolutley delish! For dessert, I made a brownie trifle. I meant to take a picture of it becuase it was so pretty!!! And let me tell you, it tasted just as good as it looked. I about made myself sick eating it!

It was such a beautiful day Saturday we decided to take a drive and do some flea marketing. We loaded up early Satruday morning and hit all kinds of flea markets and antique stores down Highway 65. We ended up driving all the way to Harrison, stopping in little towns along the way. We had the best time. Even the boys loved it. They love looking through the flea markets looking for unusual things.

We're trying to enjoy as many of these days we can before school starts. Can you believe it's only 4 weeks away!?!? It makes me so sad. I'm not ready for it to be over yet!

The boys in downtown Leslie

I thought this old Pepsi Machine was pretty cool...and the drinks were only .40...you can't beat that!

Me and my sweetie

I thought this was a really neat storefront

Can't you feel the brotherly love?

What's a road trip without some greasy food from Daisy Queen?

Clay trying to force feed me an onion ring. Yuck!!! I hate onions!

I'll take my ice cream, thank you!

...All I ended up with after a long day of shopping. But isn't it cute!?!

And the winner is....

2009-07-17T13:33:00.004-05:00

Yes, I know I'm a loser. I ask you for your opinion, I ask my family for their opinion, and then I still do whatever I want to do. In my defense though, it's not near as dark as I had originally planned on going. It's really a light brown with a few highlights. I L.O.V.E. it. Clay on the other hand, does NOT. Tomorrow will be a week since I had it done and it's really lightened up alot since then. Since Clay didn't like it, I made another appointment for next week to put some more highlights in it. I don't know though...I think it's a nice change. I absolutely love the cut. It's just a little shorter than before...but it is so much easier to fix now and I think it looks more polished.

Nothing else very exciting going on here this week. We've been to the pool a few days and went to the library one day. They are having a really neat exhibit at the Faulkner County Library right now put on by The Museum of Discovery about the Mayans. It's really neat. The boys loved it. I'm not sure how long it's going to be there, so if you have kids, you should go check it out soon.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Table for Two Please

2009-07-14T12:00:00.004-05:00

This past Friday, Clay told me he wanted to cook dinner for me. In the almost 10 years we have been married, he has NEVER made dinner for me. Sure, he's helped out, but never made a complete meal just for me. He even took care of getting my parents to watch the boys for the night. It was so nice!

He had got a recipe from one of his friends and wanted to try it out. I have to say it was one of the best meals I have ever had! It was delicious.

I am so lucky to have such a wonderful husband that wants to take care of me.

I'll post the recipe below if any of you want to try it out. I'll warn you though, it is pretty expensive to make. We could have gone out to eat twice for what it cost to make. But, it's a great meal, and tastes just as good warmed up later! (I think I ate it 3 days in a row!)

Tortellini with Gorngonzola Cream Sauce

Topping:

1/2 C. dry white bread crumbs

1/4 C. freshly grated Romano cheese

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. basil

Sauce:

32 oz. whipping cream

15 oz. Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

20 oz. cheese tortellini

6 oz. grilled chicken

For topping: Mix all ingredients in medium bowl and set aside.

For sauce: Simmer cream and Gorgonzola in heavy saucepan over medium heat until cheese melts. Cook until mixture is reduced to a thin sauce consistency, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Add grilled chicken. Cook tortellini in boiling, salted water until just tender. Stir occassionally to prevent sticking. Drain thoroughly. Preheat broiler. Add tortellini to sauce and stir until heated through. Transfer to a large, shallow, heat-proof baking dish. Sprinkle enough crumb topping over pasta; cover lightly, Broil until top is lightly toasted.

Blonde or Brunette?

2009-07-09T15:10:00.004-05:00

Ok...so everyone that knows me knows that I love change. Especially when it comes to my HAIR! My hair has probably been more colors and more styles than anyone else I know. I have an appointment in a couple of weeks to get my hair cut shorter. Yes, I said shorter. I love my hair, but I think I would love it even more if it were a bit shorter. So, not to waste my appointment on just a haircut, I think I need a change of color. This is where I need your help. I can't decide wether I should go darker or a bit lighter. My hair is just too blah for me these days. I need to spruce it up a bit. Leave me a comment and let me know which you like better!

BLONDE???

BRUNETTE???

Our Fourth of July

2009-07-06T13:46:00.008-05:00

We had a busy Fourth of July weekend. We started out the day Saturday at the Clinton Library. They had a Moon to Mars exhibit the kids wanted to go to. Afterward, we walked around in the RiverMarket for awhile and took the kids to the Arkansas Game and Fish Museum. From there we headed straight to Nana and Papa's for a cookout and then we rounded out the weekend last night at our friend's house with a huge fireworks display. We had a great time....but I am TIRED! We slept in this morning until almost 10:00! I've got to say it was nice!

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Hunter & Ty in front of the Library

Hunter thought he was way to big to pose for this picture, but I made him do it anyway! Needless to say, he was not happy with me!

Ty the Buffalo at the Game and Fish Museum

What's this??? Clay's actually smiling!!!

My New Running Buddy

2009-07-02T21:29:00.002-05:00

Yep, you heard me right....running. Go ahead and laugh, it's ok. I laughed too the first time Clay asked me to go running with him. I've always wanted to run, but didn't think I could do it. We've been running about 1 mile a night. Needless to say, I'm about to die by the time we get done. Hopefully by the end of the summer I'll be up to about 3 miles!:)

Home Sweet Home

2009-07-02T21:24:00.002-05:00

Well, we finally got moved. It's not much....but it will do for now. We moved all weekend long and finally got everything situated last night. Just in time for me to do a little studying for my finals tomorrow. That's right, after tomorrow, I am done with school for the summer. Time to go to the POOL!!!

Preoccupied

2009-06-26T15:49:00.002-05:00

We're still here...I've just been so preoccupied with other things lately, I haven't even had time to think about blogging. We are FINALLY moving this weekend!!! YAY!!! Along with all of the packing I've been doing, I've also been writing papers, creating presentations, and trying to study for my finals next week. I am so ready for the next week to be over with! I have lots of posts to catch up on, so once everything has calmed down, I'll get them all posted.
Hope everyone has a great weekend! (and if you're bored, you can come help us move!:) )

{Happy Father's Day}

2009-06-21T15:54:00.003-05:00

Happy Father's Day to the best Daddy in the world!

Life as Usual

2009-06-16T07:08:00.009-05:00

Well, we're slowly getting back into somewhat of a routine. We're going on our third week of summer break and the boys are having a great summer so far! Since I'm in school during the day, I have a young lady from our church that comes and watches the boys everyday for me. I did NOT want to put the boys in daycare, so this was the perfect solution. They can sleep as late as they want and play with all of their friends in the nieghborhood.

Speaking of neighborhoods, we will soon have a new one. Things are still on track for us to close on our house at the end of the month. Needless to say I have been a busy little bee trying to get everything packed. I spent all weekend cleaning out closets and cabinets in the kitchen. What a job!!!! While packing I realized we were in desperate need of a yard sale. I am not taking a bunch of things with me I don't need. So...if you're in the area this coming Saturday, we will be having a huge yardsale!

Other than that, nothing really exciting going on in our lives right now. I feel like I've been so busy lately, I haven't even had time to take any picutres to share with you guys. I will share one picture that Clay took of me Friday afternoon. Friday (during all the storms) I went to the salon to have my hair high-lighted. That's it...just high-lighted....well, two hours later I come out with EIGHT INCHES less hair!!! I don't know what got into me...just needed a change I guess! I wasn't sure I liked it at first, but I ~love~ it now!

I'll leave you guys with a quote from Ty. As he came into the kitchen and saw Clay and I kiss, he said, "Ewwww....get a room!"

Hope you guys have a great week!

I have what!?!?!?

2009-06-09T10:46:00.004-05:00

Last week I started feeling really bad. Like worse than I have ever felt before. I went to the doctor and she said I had a UTI. Ok...I can deal with that. She gave me a prescription and I went home. Over the weekend it got worse. I thought I was going to DIE. I called the doctor back yesterday and told her what was going on and she told me I had Shingles! Shingles??? That's what older people get. Not 29 year olds. She said it is usually brought on by stress. Ah-ha! Anyone who knows me, knows I stress. About E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. I mean why would I be stressed? We just sold our house, we are trying to find a new place to live, the one place we did find won't be available until 1 week after we are supposed to move out of our house, I have to try to find time to start packing in the midst of me returning to school, the week we have to move is the week I have my finals....and on and on. I know as God-fearing Christians we are not to worry and we should take faith in God that he will take care of us.

Phillipians 4: 6

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

I know everything will work out the way it is supposed to. I am already starting to feel a little better due to the medicine the doctor prescribed me. We may get to stay in our house for a week after we close so we can move straight into the other house we found. And I have faith that everything will work out with school and my finals.

Blog Award

2009-06-05T16:23:00.005-05:00

A big thank you goes out to From Suits to Diapers for giving me my very first blog award for having an Attititude of Gratitude. I would like to nominate the following blogs for this award:

{See rules below}

Mathis Family

A Day in the Life of Hayden

{The Rules of Accepting and Sharing this Award}

1.Put the logo on your blog or post

2. Nominate at least 10 blogs that show an attitude of gratitude

3. Link to your nominees within your post

4. Comment on their blogs to let them know they've received this award

5. Share the love and link to this post and the person who nominated you for the award

6. Tell us how you've come to have an attitude of gratitude

I know I haven't always had an attitude of gratitude. I have been trying really hard lately to change my perspective on things. I have everything I could ever possibly need or want. I have two healthy, beautiful children that are full of life. I have a wonderful husband that works hard to provide for his family without always as much as a "thank you". I am blessed by being fortunate enough to go back to school to persue my career as an elementary school teacher. I have wonderful, caring friends that are always there for me no matter what I may need. I know that everything I have has been given to me by my Savior, and without him I would have nothing.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

My Hubby Rocks Too!

2009-06-01T17:03:00.009-05:00

Ok, so awhile back everyone was posting these "My husband rocks" posts. At the time, I thought, what could I say that would be any different from everyone elses'??? Like most of you said your husbands do, mine also works hard to provide for our family and has allowed me to stay home whenever I have fancied. (which has changed from time to time! :) ) But lately, we've been taking time to focus on each other.

A few weekends ago, he took it upon himself to get his parents to watch the kiddos so we could have the day to ourselves to do whatever we wanted. He let ME choose whatever I wanted to do. So....I chose to spend the day going to flea markets and antique stores. I love doing that sort of thing, but usually go alone or with the boys. Clay has NEVER been with me. I thought it would be a long day and he would complain the whole time, but he didn't, not even one bit! As a matter of fact, he actually enjoyed it and suggested we start doing that together once a month.

Then the next weekend, he decided that I needed a new Spring/Summer wardrobe so he took me shopping. I didn't even ask him to. He saw that I was having a hard time finding warm weather clothes to wear and he wanted me to have some new clothes to start school in. Come on ladies...how often does a husband offer to take you shopping and buy you whatever you want with no strings attached? I know mine hasn't in the past! That's why this was such a wonderful surprise and why he rocks even more!!!

This past weekend, we decided to do something together as a family. I suggested that we go hiking. I love to go hiking, but Clay isn't that into it. As a matter of fact, the last time we went hiking together was about 10 1/2 years ago before we got married. Even though I know he really didn't want to, he said he would go wherever I wanted. So...Saturday we drove up to Petit Jean Mountain and hiked down to the waterfalls. It was a beautiful weekend and we had a great time.

Here's a few pics I took from the weekend

And that's why my husband rocks!!! Love you Babe!

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-28T17:06:00.008-05:00

This past Memorial Day, we headed up to Wooly Hollow for a cook out and some fishing with friends. We had a great time visiting and watching the kids try to bait their hooks. We didn't have much luck in the fishing department, but they had a good time anyway. After that, we headed to my parents house for another cook out. Needless to say, we were worn out by the end of the day! Hope everyone had as great of time as we did!!!

Ty with his bait....they had to do it themselves....there was no way I was going to touch that thing!!!

Hunter's first cast

The first catch of the day

Just call me Betty Crocker...I made a homemade lemon cake and a cheesecake to take to Nana & Papa's....Yummy!!!

Thanks for the Delicious grilled chicken Papa!!!

The boys with Nana's new puppy, Archie

Busy Bees

2009-05-25T10:10:00.013-05:00

We have been super busy this past week. With it being the end of the school year, it seems like we've had something to do every night. Last week Hunter's class presented a program on Greece. They had been studying Greece as their last unit of the year, and decided to showcase it by putting on seven plays and displaying their powerpoints they put together. They did an awesome job! Especially when you consider these are a bunch of 8 and 9 year olds...I couldn't do some of the things they are doing when I was in high school!

Hunter played the part of Thesus in one of his plays

Here is Hunter as the narrator in another play

Hunter showing off his powerpoint to his Nana
__________________________________________

Ty had "Beach Day" last Friday at school. They got to wear their swimsuits and hang out outside all day playing in the sand, swimming pools, and slip-n-slides. The kids had a blast! I think they should have a "Beach Day" once a week!

Ty and his buddies acting silly

Ty and Cooper

Ty with his 4th grade buddies

This is how they ALWAYS act!
_________________________________________

Last night we went out to dinner with some friends and then headed to the movies to see "Night at the Museum 2". Between us all, we had 10 kids between the ages of 1 and 15. Are we crazy or what? I thought it was going to be a disaster, but they were so entranced by the movie, we didn't hear a peep out of any of them! It was a super cute movie. I would recommend anyone with kids go see it!

As many of you know, we have our house up for sale. Things have really been picking up for us lately. They have showed our house 6 times in the past week and a half and we've had 2 offers on our house this week! Keep your fingers crossed for us that one of these will work out!

Today we're headed to Wooly Hollow to go fishing and have a cook out with some friends. (So, I'm sure I'll have some more pictures to post later!) Hope everyone has a safe and happy Memorial Day!

Kindergarten Graduation

2009-05-18T20:53:00.008-05:00

I still get a little teary-eyed thinking about Ty graduating from Kindergarten, so to save my self from another melt-down, I'm just going to share the pictures with ya'll instead of talking about it. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Ty with his Principal, Mr.Ratliff, and Teacher, Mrs. Simon

The whole graduating Kindergarten class

Look at those cuties!

Now that looks like trouble

Goofballs

These two are a mess!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!!!

2009-05-14T19:30:00.010-05:00

After all of the rain we've had the past couple of weeks, we have been going stir crazy!!! Last Saturday the sun decided to peek out for a couple of hours and we took advantage of it! We went on a little drive out to Woolly Hollow State Park. The boys had never been there and they had a great time playing.

We also had a sweet little girl's birthday party to go to. They had a horse there giving the kids rides. The boys had a blast!

After countless pony rides and too many cupcakes to count, we decided to call it day and head home.

{Happy Mother's Day}

2009-05-10T14:09:00.007-05:00

I hope all of you mother's out there are having as wonderul of a day as I am! I am so blessed to have two of the sweetest (most of the time) boys in the world! They got up this morning and made me a bowl of my favorite cereal and a homemade card. That means more to me than anything else....I'm sure all of you out there know what I'm talking about. I love to see what the boys come up with. Clay had to work at the firestation today, so the boys were on there own this morning coming up with something.I thought they did a great job!

This is what the inside of their card said:

This is the first time that Clay and I haven't been able to spend Mother's Day together since we've been married. I've got to say that I don't like it! I wish he was here spending the day with us, but I know he's got to work. I guess I had better get used to the life of a fireman's wife! Before he left for work this morning he left me 9 long stem red roses on the bathroom counter. (One for every year we've been married) And then when I got in my car to go to Church, he had left roses petals and a very sweet note in my car. Do I have the best husband in the world or what!? I am so lucky to have three amazing guys in my life!!!

I just had to share this with ya'll too. Ty's class made a cookbook. Each child in the class had to give the recipe for their favorite thing that their mom made for them to eat. Here is Ty's recipe:

Macaroni-n-Cheese

It's in a cup. She takes the lid off. She puts water in it. Then she puts it in the microwave. Then she takes it out. And then she's done.

You gotta love this stuff!!!

Crawl, Drag, & Squirt

2009-04-25T19:10:00.006-05:00

This weekend the Conway Fire Department hosted a charity basketball game and a crawl, drag, and squirt competition for the kids. The kids that finished first in their age division get to do it again at Toad Suck Daze next weekend. So.....both of my boys get to do it again next weekend! They are so pumped about it. They had the best time.

After that, the basketball game started. It was the CFD against the Power 92 Jammers....(I'll pause for a moment to let you laugh)....Do I really need to tell you the outcome of the game??? The Jammers spotted the CFD around 80 points and we still lost by 32. Go figure! They all had a good time anyway.

Sadly, I was sick with an upper respiratory infection and UTI, so I didn't get to go and see all the fun. Hunter took the pictures of Clay playing, so of course in most of the shots, Clay's head is cut off!

On a brighter note, only 25 more days of school left! Woo-Hoo!!!

And so it has begun...

2009-04-22T19:58:00.004-05:00

Baseball season, that is. Oh yes, baseball season is in full swing around here. We spend 4-5 nights a week at the ballpark, not to mention countless hours at the batting cages. You would think I would be use to all of this chaos by now, afterall, this is Hunter's 4th year to play. But, this is Ty's first year, and this is our first year to have TWO boys playing ball. I had no idea how much more time it would consume with just one more playing, but boy, it sure does! Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade these days for anything else in the world, but it does wear on you after awhile! I love watching Hunter play, but I've got to admit, the little guys are just so much more fun to watch! You never know what they're going to do next. Plus, they just look so stinkin' cute in their little uniforms!

(I know these aren't really good pictures, but I keep forgetting my camera in the mad dash to actually be at the park on time! I'll try to get some better ones and post them later.)

Soon to be Hall-of-Famer

2009-04-13T16:34:00.003-05:00

Hunter's baseball team played in their first tournament two weekends ago and placed second in their age division. They won every single game until the championship game, where they lost to the Greenbrier Cardinals. I have a feeling next time they will be coming home with that first place trophy!

Way to go Vilonia Cardinals!!!

Happy Easter

2009-04-13T16:26:00.004-05:00

Yes, I know I'm a day late saying it, but it has been a crazy busy weekend. We didn't even dye our Easter eggs until Sunday afternoon. Slacker, yes I know! We had dinner with Clay's family Saturday night and then lunch with my family Sunday after church. Of course since it was raining, we didn't get to hide Easter eggs, but my kiddo's weren't really that into this year, so that suited them just fine! Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Guess Who's the Big 3-0????

2009-04-09T15:40:00.001-05:00

CLAY!!! That's who! Man, I can't believe he's that old...I sure am glad I'm not NEAR as old as he is! Happy Birthday Clay!

Happy Birthday Bubba

2009-04-07T07:16:00.002-05:00

It's hard to believe that Hunter is 9 years old today!!! I feel like he should still be a toddler running around the house in his diapers! Oh, how I long for those days! Now it's all about video games, baseball, and guns (toy guns of course!). He hardly has any time for his Mama anymore.
I am so proud of the little man he has become. He is so smart...so talented...an all around great kid! Happy Birthday baby...We love you!!!

Absolutely Worthless

2009-04-01T14:11:00.010-05:00

That's exactly what I've been today. Ty is at home sick....{sigh}....so I've been looking for something productive to do with myself while at home today. Of course I didn't know I was going to be home today, so of course the house was cleaned, the dishes were washed, and the laundry was done and put away. Now what??? After sitting at my computer for hours this morning {being completely unproductive} I decided to start a couple projects of my own. First I made an Easter wreath. No, it's not one a would hang on the front door of my home, but it is pretty cute on my side entry door!

As I was digging in my cabinet of goodies for the Easter ribbon, I came across some cute zebra print ribbon I had completely forgotten about. That's too cute not to use, so I kept digging for something to do with it. After finding a red tin bucket, and some rub-on letters, I knew what I would do.

I thought it would be cute to put on my desk at work and fill it with candy! Yummy!

So then I moved on to the boys room. It's been a work in progress for awhile now. I just keep adding and changing things up in there. I finally decided what to hang on my big empty wall in there today and this is what I finally decided on...

Since I was taking pictures of the boys' room, I thought I would share them with you and you can give me any ideas you might have!

Ok...now see this empty spot on the wall beside the window??? I really want to paint a tall pine tree on there. I just haven't got up the nerve to try painting on the walls yet. {April...I may need your help on this one!}

Oh, and as for the sticks on the floor, they are soon to be a curtain rod. I'm waiting on Clay to cut the antler's off of a deer he killed last year so I can use them as the brackets for the rod. I think it will be super cute when I'm done!

I'm addicted...

2009-04-01T10:38:00.003-05:00

To all of these inspiring, crafting, home decorating blogs I have stumbled upon. I found them last week while we were on Spring Break, and it's been hard to pry me away from the computer ever since. If you haven't looked at any of these, you should check them out. I have a few links on the right side of my blog. I'm sure I'll be adding more as find them. So of course now, I'm in the redecorating mode. I have ideas for every single room in my house...I'll be sure to start posting them as I finish. Oh yes...and now I have a reason to yard sale. So I'll be up and about at the crack of dawn on Saturday's from now on looking for beautiful treasures for my home.

R.I.P. Spring Break

2009-03-29T12:15:00.014-05:00

Another Spring Break has come and gone way too fast. We had all of these grand plans of what we were going to do this past week, but the weather did not cooperate with us. We spent most of our break sleeping in and playing with friends. I did manage to take a few pictures while the kids had their friends over.
Now we can look forward to Summer. Only 46 more school days left!!!

Ty and Keller

That's scary....Ty driving Carson around!!!

Sweet Emma and Ty

Hunter, Ty, and Madison

This is how Ty and Noah decided to wake Hunter up!

Keller, Ty, and Noah at JumpZone

Hunter & Carson at JumpZone

Catching up

2009-03-24T13:23:00.017-05:00

Since it has been so long since I've posted, I thought I would share a few pictures from the past couple of months. Nothing much exciting going on to talk about right now, but hopefully we'll find something to do this week that is blog-worthy!

Ty and his birthday waffles

Ty and his buddies at his birthday party at school

Ty & Keller at the Skating Rink

That must have been a good cupcake!

Hunter doing the Limbo!

Ty making out his Valentine's for school

Hunter and his Valentine box

Ty and his bud's at their Valentine party

Kelly and I at Ty's Valentine's party

Hunter at his V Day party...of course I don't get to spend much time at his parties...he's so neglected!!!

Clay did good this year...he sent me these beautiful flowers and chocolates attached for both the boys.

Silly sting fight

Ty needed some help getting in a good shot at Hunter

Clay's graduation from the Fire Academy on March 6.

We're still here...

2009-03-22T18:20:00.002-05:00

I know it's been almost 2 months since my last post, but I promise I'm going to get back into the swing of things. The kids and I are on spring break this week, so hopefully we'll have something interesting to post in the next few days. Keep checking back!

Happy Birthday Ty-Man

2009-01-29T21:03:00.017-06:00

Today is my baby's 6th birthday. It is so hard to believe that he is so grown up already. Words can't even begin to express how sad I am that he is growing up so quickly. I wish they both could stay my babies forever! Even though he's MORE than handful most of the time, I love him more than he will ever know. Happy Birthday little man!!!

Just a few hours old

His second Halloween

He carried this horse around everywhere

3 years old in Branson

Love the 'do!

First day of preschool

Say "cheese!"

He loves to play in the rain

My handsome little man

Distractions...

2009-01-19T11:22:00.011-06:00

Ok...so I know it's been almost three weeks since my last post. There really hasn't been anything too terribly exciting going on around here lately. I guess I'll start where I left off....

I finally gave in and started reading the Twilight series. (which explains my lack of interest in blogging lately) I started two weeks ago, and I just started the fourth book last night. Seriously, these are the first books I've read since I graduated high school. And actually, I don't even know that I read an entire book then, I always just skimmed enough to get by! :-) I just can't seem to put them down! Thanks alot Nicole!!!

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New years...came and went without too much excitement. We spent the night with the McLaughlins playing cards and guitar hero...I know you guys are jealous! We actually managed to stay until 3am which is the latest I've been up in years. This is the second year we've spent New Years with them, hopefully this will be a tradition we can keep for many more years. Of course with New Years comes resolutions. I usually don't make any resolutions, but this year I decided to give it a try. As many of you know,I've been taking a kickboxing class at the gym. I've lost 35lbs. so far. I've been in somewhat of a rut the past couple of months, so my goal this year is to loose 50 more pounds. I'm going to try to go the gym at least 4-5 times a week in addition to my class. Wish me luck! (I'm sure I'll need it!)

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So, the week after New Years brought a couple of changes. First of all, we put our house up for sale. It's time for a change. Secondly, Clay started a new job. He hired on with Conway Fire Department. This is something he always wanted to do and he finally got the chance. He left for the Fire Academy in Camden January 12, and will be gone for the next 7 weeks. I definitely know what it feels like to be a single mother! But, I am enjoying not having to cook! :-)

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On January 8, Clay and I celebrated our 9 year anniversary. I'm posting a couple of pictures from the first couple of months we were dating. What I wouldn't give to look like that again!!!

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Right now I'm in the process of planning Ty's birthday party. He will turn 6 on January 30. So, if I don't post again for another couple of weeks, you'll know why....just too many distractions! :-)

A Tidbit of our Christmas

2008-12-29T08:04:00.010-06:00

After all the running around we did last week, I'm glad to say Christmas is finally over. We had Christmas at my grandparents house last Saturday, then at my parents house Tuesday, Clay's uncles' house Wednesday, ours Thursday morning, the in-laws also Thursday morning, then Clay's Memaws' house Saturday. Whew! We have had a full week of it! I'm ready to relax for the next week. (and of course the Christmas decorations came down on Christmas day...I couldn't stand to look at them anymore!)

Christmas Morning

Trying to figure out which one to open first

Charlie....looking for his presents

They loved their Star Wars ships from Santa

Hunter got one too!

Christmas morning at Granny & Poppa's house

Screaming Banshee...I think this was his favorite present!

Another Star Wars Light Saber...and this one makes noise! (I'm ready for the batteries to run out on that thing!)

His first kill...

2008-12-26T14:54:00.003-06:00

I just had to share this real quick. Hunter got a rifle for Christmas and this morning he went hunting with Clay and my Dad. After only a couple of hours a doe walks up on him and he shot it! Can you believe it? His first time to ever shoot a gun on his own and he kills the first deer he sees! He didn't even have any help. I think we may have another great hunter on our hands!

(Sorry it's not a very good picture, but Clay only had his camera phone.)

Christmas #2

2008-12-24T08:39:00.007-06:00

Last night we celebrated Christmas with my parents. The boys were on pins and needles all day yesterday....they were about to drive me crazy asking "when are we going to Nana's house?" If I heard that once, I heard it a thousand times yesterday. The boys said they got everything they wanted, so I guess there's no need for Santa to come now! :) And by the way, thanks Nana for the Guitar Hero...we stayed up all night last night playing! (and I beat everybody!)

Trying to figure out which one is theirs

Don't you just love the smile on his face??

Can you tell he was excited?

Thanks for the rifle, Papa. He's ready to go hunting this weekend now!

A very busy week

2008-12-20T21:04:00.012-06:00

Being the week before Christmas break, we have been super busy...at school and at home. Of course we started out the week with two snow days, which was nice, a couple of class Christmas parties, a Christmas musical, pajama day, and finally Christmas dinner with the grandparents. I'm actually happy this week is over. I'm looking forward to sleeping in and not having a schedule for the next two weeks. Here's a few pictures from our hectic week:

Hunter & Ty with Trooper sliding on the ice

Eating the ice....YUCK!

Ty with the cookie HE decorated at his Christmas party

Ty & Cooper

Ty & Braden opening their gifts

Hunter had a small speaking part in his class play...he was an elf. It was absolutely adorable!

Hunter & Ty after the play

Hunter & Ty at Granny & PaPa's house...waiting on Santa

They finally got to sit on Santa's lap

I am not a scrooge...

2008-12-14T15:19:00.004-06:00

So everyone has been giving me a hard time because I don't let my kids decorate the Christmas tree the way THEY want to decorate it....so, I let them get their own Christmas tree. They got to pick out a real tree and all the ornaments they wanted to put on it. They even put them all on by themselves. There was some discussion as to where it would go, but we finally decided on the playroom. I think they did a really good job!

Christmas Lights, Hot Chocolate, & Marshmallows

2008-12-13T16:40:00.010-06:00

Last night we went with some friends to Hot Springs to Garvan Woodland Gardens to see the Christmas lights. It was absolutely beautiful! We walked through what seemed like miles of lights. Along the way, we stopped to roast some marshmallows and drink some hot chocolate. When we got finished, we were going to take the boys ice skating. They have a huge outside skating rink in downtown Hot Springs, but by the time we got there, they were closing. The boys were so disappointed. We'll have to try to find some time to go back there. I'm sure that will be lots of fun!!!

My Christmas Tree

2008-11-27T22:02:00.002-06:00

So I decided to change up my tree a little bit this year. Clay absolutely hates it!!! That's all I've heard about ever since I got it finished. He's calling it my "Peacock Tree". Seeing as he has no taste whatsoever...this really doesn't bother me! I didn't decorate the tree to please him anyway! Let me know what you think!

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T21:50:00.004-06:00

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. If you sit back and think about it, it's really a shame that we only take one day out of the year to reflect on the things we are thankful for. As a whole, we are a very blessed country. We have more than we could ever possibly need. I am so thankful for my wonderful family and friends that are always there for me when I need them! :)
Love you guys!

We spent our day at Nana & Papa's house, then on the Granny & Poppa's. (I am so thankful that all of our family lives in the same city!) We ate entirely too much turkey and dressing and even found some time to watch a little football. In between all of that, I finally finished up my Christmas tree. Now it's on to checking out the sales papers to see what stores I need to hit up first in the morning...ahhhh....4:00 a.m. will come way too early in the morning!!!

Hunter & Ty with Granny & PaPa (I think the sun was in their eyes! Sorry!)

1 Little, 2 Little, 3 Little Indians....

2008-11-23T19:38:00.017-06:00

I know I've been a slacker the past couple of weeks and haven't posted to my blog....so I'm going to try to catch up a little now. Last week Ty's class studied the first Thanksgiving. One day they dressed as pilgrims, one day as Indians, and then one day they had a "feast" like the first Thanksgiving. It was the cutest thing! The day they dressed as Indians, they asked me to come help paint their faces. Here's a couple of pics from that:

The kiddos got to pick out what they wanted painted on their faces...at least Ty picked an easy one...some of the other kids weren't as kind!

Little Indian Boys

The Whole Indian Tribe

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This weekend we took a trip to Starkville, Mississippi to watch the UA vs. MSU game with our friends, Dino and Shannon. Shannon graduated from MSU and they are huge State fans. This is the second year in a row we have went to the UA vs. MSU game with them. Even though the Hogs lost 31-28, we still had a good time. Instead of staying in "Stark Vegas", we went on to Tupelo to stay the night. We even had a little time to slip in a visit to Elvis' birth home. Thanks Dino and Shannon for a great trip!!!

The whole way to the game, we were joking about how people from Mississippi can't read. As soon as we get into the state, we see this sign. At least they know they can't read!!!

All decked out in their maroon and white

Clay and I in razorback red...I couldn't get one good pic of the both of us all weekend long..he tries his best to ruin every picture!

Gloating after their victory...

Of course Clay was not happy about the loss!

Elvis Presley's birth home

Shannon and I in Elvis' front porch swing

Happy Veterans Day

2008-11-12T15:57:00.006-06:00

Yesterday was Veterans Day, and the third grade classes at VPS decided to have an assembly recognizing some of their family members that were veterans. I think we had 13 veterans in all that showed up, including my Papa, which was the only WWII veteran there. Each of the students got to introduce their family member and tell what branch of service they were in and when they served. All of you that know my Papa know just how much this meant to him. He had a great time! I think we should all take the time to thank those men and women that have fought for our freedom so we can be where we are today. I know I'm proud of my Papa! :)

Hunter, Ty, Papa, & I

Hunter introducing his Papa

Me with my Mom & Granny (yes, I am the only blonde in the family...and you thought it was natural, didn't you!?!?)

Just call me Betty Crocker....

2008-11-11T18:01:00.005-06:00

..........Not really! I've never claimed to be a good cook, actually I've never even claimed to be able to cook. I'm not good at it, but I've come to terms with that. For some reason tonight my kids decided they wanted biscuits and gravy and sausage. There are some things I can cook that are half-way edible, but gravy is not one of those things. I let my good judgement go out the window and decided to give making gravy one more try. This is what I ended up with:

Yes, I know it looks gross and it doesn't even resemble gravy. It was about the same consistency as water. Luckily for me, they make these handy little mixes...

Needless to say we poured my "gravy" out and had this instead. It actually tasted really good...a lot better than mine for sure!!! This is what real gravy should look like:

From now on, this is my new motto:

Fall Pal Pics

2008-11-05T18:03:00.007-06:00

The 4th grade class that work with has been taking fall "Pal Pics" the past couple of weeks. For $1.00 the kids could have their picture made with some of their friends. This was one of the first real "projects" I've had since I started working at school. I got to decorate the backdrop for the pictures and helped in taking the pictures. You all know now why I love my job! This is the kind of stuff I absolutely love. Here's a couple of pictures of the boys:

The Boys and Me

Ty, Landen, & Luke

Hunter, Cody, & Chase

Ty & Kellar

Flag Football is Finally Over...Woo Hoo!!!

2008-11-03T21:01:00.007-06:00

Tonight Ty had his last flag football game of the season. They made it to the Superbowl and they came in runner-up in their division. Not too bad for a bunch of 5 & 6 year olds that have never played before! He may have been the smallest kid on the team, but he definitely talked more smack than anyone else out there! (I wonder who he got that from...) We are so proud of him!

Perry, Parker, & Ty

Ty...ready for his trophy

The 49ers: Perry, Parker, Zane, Caden, Kendall, Ty, Robert, & David

Happy Halloween

2008-11-01T16:42:00.010-05:00

I know I'm a day late, but...Happy Halloween! Hope everyone had a great and safe time trick-or-treating. We didn't go to very many houses this year...just a few family members. Actually, after only 2 houses, Ty was out. Here's a couple of pics:

Vampire Ty

Vampire Ty & Werewolf Hunter

Ava was afraid of Hunter's mask, so he had to take it off for the pic. By this time, Ty was almost out, and refused to have his picture taken.

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Saturday afternoon we had a family reunion for my Granny's side of the family. Here's a few pics from that:

All the sisters: Sylvia, Marvelle, Erma, Vonnie, Faydean, Laverne(my Granny), and Nittie

Me & April

Ty, Ava, Hunter, & Matt

Ty & Ava hugging goodbye...how sweet!?!?

And you're supposed to be???

2008-10-30T20:24:00.003-05:00

After I gave Ty a bath tonight, he informed me that he would put his pajamas on by himself. I know him well enough to know that something is up when he volunteers to do something like that, but I was tired, so I just went with it and let him do it. A few minutes later this is what he came back with....

Yep folks, he's wearing pajamas (with feet, no less), cowboy boots, belt, hat and his vampire cape. If I knew he was this easy to please, we could have saved a lot of money on a Halloween costume. I think we may have a winner for next year! :)

They finally look like boys again!

2008-10-29T18:16:00.002-05:00

After many comments about how my boys no longer look like boys because their hair was so long, we finally convinced them that it was time for a haircut. It didn't take much convincing on Ty's part, but Hunter was another story. He wasn't too happy about it at the time, but now he really likes it. And of course I like it too, becuase now I actually get to "fix" their hair! We've spiked it a couple of times, I even gave them a "faux hawk" one day! They are back to looking like my handsome little boys again!!!

Seriously???

2008-10-23T16:16:00.004-05:00

Yep...you guessed it...this is my child's lunch. Ty told me last night that he wanted to pack his own lunch, so I thought, ok...we'll see how he does. And this is what he comes up with...doritos, fruit snacks, handisnacks, candy corn, strawberry whoppers, and a half eaten poptart. This morning when I tried to take a few things out and put a sandwich in, he had a fit. This was just not worth it this morning, so I let him leave it all in there. (I did put the sandwich in there, though!)

Family Fun

2008-10-21T15:58:00.008-05:00

Sunday afternoon we took the kids to the airshow at the Jacksonville Airforce Base. It was the perfect day...we all had a really good time until the F-16's flew over. They were so incredibly loud. Ty does NOT like loud noises and this was no exception. He started holding his ears and crying that he wanted to leave. At least we had already seen every plane there (at least once!) so it was time to go anyway. Needless to say, next year we will take earplugs! :-)

Here it is...

2008-10-19T20:36:00.002-05:00

Well, here it is...I think it turned out pretty good. The boys had fun helping me take all the "guts" out of the pumpkin. Now they want to carve all of the pumpkins we picked this weekend, we'll have to wait and see about that!

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-18T19:26:00.007-05:00

We finally made our yearly trip to the pumpkin patch today. We went with my friend, Sarah, and her two boys. The kids had a great time. We went on a hayride out to the pumpkin patch to pick our pumpkins, and the boys also got to play and see a few farm animals. It was a perfect day to be outside! We are going to carve one of our pumpkins tonight, so I'll try to post a picture of that later. (If it turns out!!!)

Little 49ers

2008-10-14T21:05:00.005-05:00

A couple of weeks ago Ty started playing flag football. Ever since Hunter started playing, that is all this kid has talked about. He wanted to get out there and play like his big brother. Of course, you all know it's because he wants to tackle people. That's like his hobby. To his disappointment, they only offer flag football, not tackle, for 5 year olds. Thank Goodness!!! :) He is having a great time anyway! His team is awesome. They have only lost 1 game so far, and they're smoking the rest of the teams! Clay and his friend, Chris, are coaching his team, and I think they're having just as much fun! I have to say though, I'm kind of ready for football season to be over. Hunter still has practice every Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours, Ty has games on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Hunter has games on Saturdays. Between all of these games, we hardly have any free time.

Ty and Kannon after the game. See....rivals can still be friends!

Our First Victory

2008-10-04T16:53:00.006-05:00

As you all know, Hunter has been playing football this year. It has not been a good season to say the least. We have lost every game we've played. Not only have we lost, we haven't even scored 1 touchdown....until today! This morning the Eagles played the Heber Springs Cubs and won 20-12! We were so excited! We just knew this was the beginning of good things to come. We had another game this afternoon against the Greenbrier Panthers and we just knew we would stomp them too....but to our dissappointment, we lost 24-0. Oh well, we wouldn't want 2 victories in one day go to their heads!!!

Hunter is #42 He plays Safety (he has the black undershirt on)

He's gettin' ready!

Hunter, Ty and Cody after the game...I thought this was a cute pic!

Ty and Luke dancing to "I like to move it, move it" during half-time

Our Newest Family Member

2008-09-30T22:04:00.002-05:00

Last week at school, the boys' computer lab teacher told the kids about three little puppies she rescued from a brier patch near her house. They had been out there no telling how long with no food or water, they were covered in ticks and fleas...they were just about to die. She said it took them two and half hours to get these sweet little puppies loose. Can you imagine??? It makes me cringe to think how someone can do something like that to an innocent little puppy. She took the puppies to the vet and had all their shots, dewormed, and treated for the ticks and fleas...she just needed to find a home for them. My boys were the first to tell her that they were going to take one home. It took a little convincing on Clay's part, but he finally gave in. We went and picked him up last night, his name is Trooper. We think he is part Lab and part Border Collie, but were not 100% positive. It doesn't matter what he is anyway, the boys love him all the same!

Hunter, Cody, & Ty with Trooper

The Smell of Fall...

2008-09-24T19:11:00.006-05:00

Being the first of week of fall, the kids and I decided to decorate the front porch. I know it's a little early, but this is my favorite time of year and I always love to get all my fall decorations out. The kids and I went and bought some mums and they helped me get all my things out of storage and decorate the porch. They love getting out there and helping me. After we finished outside, we moved to the inside and I made my fall display on my china cabinet. Ty helped with that too...he always has to put in his two cents!!!

Progress Report Time

2008-09-24T18:59:00.005-05:00

Well, we're already half way thru the first nine weeks of school, so that means progress report time. The kids brought them home yesterday and I couldn't be any more happy. Hunter is doing so well this year...he is just so stinkin' smart! He has a 103.25% in Spelling; 100% in Social Studies; 100% in Science; 101.67% in Reading; 95.71% in Math; 93.62% in Grammar. I am so proud of him. Of course Ty, being in Kindergarten, doesn't get any "grades". It's just the basic he does his work...and he is really smart, he is definitely following in his brother's footsteps in that regard. On the other hand, there is this small little section on his progress report labeled "Behavior".......Ok, so you all know my child and know that this his not his strong point. There was a little check beside the "Needs Improvement". Well, DUH!!!!! I could've told you that! :)

A Few Highlights

2008-09-14T13:11:00.011-05:00

Ty & Ms. Jamie

Since I'm new to all of this, I thought I would fill everyone in on some highlights from the past few months. Ty graduated from the UCA Child Study Center last April. He had a wonderful year and he learned so much...plus he had a great teacher, Ms. Jamie. I think she made all the difference in the world. We're so proud of him!!!

Hunter & Ty at a pool party for Kellar

The kids and I had a very lazy summer. We spent our days sleeping in until 9:00 or 10:00 and hanging out at home mostly. We managed to take a couple of trips to Magic Springs and attended a few pool parties. The summer seemed to fly by!

Hunter & Ty's First Day of School

The boys started back to school on August 18. It's hard to believe that Hunter is already in the third grade. What's even harder to believe though, is that my baby started kindergarten! It doesn't seem like he should be old enough to be in school yet! :-) He is doing so great! He loves it...he comes home everyday with a story to tell!

Our Football Player

With the beginning of school comes football season. Since Hunter is in the third grade, he gets to play Pee-Wee football now. He is definitely keeping us busy right now. He has practice every Tuesday and Thursday night from 6:00-8:00 and then has a game every Saturday. Hopefully this is just the beginning of a long football career with the Vilonia Eagles!!!

Please be patient...

2008-09-13T21:00:00.001-05:00

Ok...Ok...so everyone has a blog these days except for me...until now! With a little persuasion from some friends (you know who you are!), I decided it was finally time for me to start one. I don't really think we have a very intersting life, and no one will probably want to read about what we do on a daily basis...but here it is anyway. Please be patient with me since I'm new to all this...I may need some help here and there! Hope you enjoy! :-)

The Heslep Family

Pay it Forward

Snow Day

Finally Fall

Randomness

Happy Memorial Day!

For Sale

What else you been lyin' to me about?

Zumba Craze

Birthdays, Birthdays, Birthdays

Check it Out

Time Flies When You're Having Fun...

Good Intentions

Is It Tuesday Already?

Attention Please

Showin' Up the Old Men

Happy Veteran's Day

How Long Has It Been?

Pumpkin Patch

What a Wonderful Weekend

It's Finally Here...

Nesting???

Just Like Daddy

Whew....slow down!!!

I Wish I Was a Girl...

Wonderful Day for the Zoo

Back to school

Just What I've Been Looking For

What's Missing?

What do I do now???

Changes

Day One...

My OCD is in overdrive

Friends, Food, & Fleamarkets

And the winner is....

Table for Two Please

Blonde or Brunette?

Our Fourth of July

My New Running Buddy

Home Sweet Home

Preoccupied

{Happy Father's Day}

Life as Usual

I have what!?!?!?

Blog Award

My Hubby Rocks Too!

Memorial Day Weekend

Busy Bees

Kindergarten Graduation

Rain, Rain, Go Away!!!

{Happy Mother's Day}

Crawl, Drag, & Squirt

And so it has begun...

Soon to be Hall-of-Famer

Happy Easter

Guess Who's the Big 3-0????

***Happy Birthday Bubba***

Absolutely Worthless

I'm addicted...

R.I.P. Spring Break

Catching up

We're still here...

Happy Birthday Ty-Man

Distractions...

A Tidbit of our Christmas

His first kill...

Christmas #2

A very busy week

I am not a scrooge...

Christmas Lights, Hot Chocolate, & Marshmallows

My Christmas Tree

Happy Thanksgiving

1 Little, 2 Little, 3 Little Indians....

Happy Veterans Day

Just call me Betty Crocker....

Fall Pal Pics

Flag Football is Finally Over...Woo Hoo!!!

Happy Halloween

And you're supposed to be???

They finally look like boys again!

Happy Birthday Bubba