A Month in Review in Pictures

I had full intentions every week of sitting down and updating the blog because I really wanted to keep it up to date through the month of October as I knew that we had a lot going on, but good intentions didn't get me very far. So I am just going to do a review in pictures and throw in a few stories here and there.

We had a very busy month with something planned every weekend. The first weekend was Clemson Homecoming, the second weekend I went to UNC with two friends to watch CU vs UNC which was tons of fun, the third week Pratt was in DC for most of the week and we had a wedding that weekend, the fourth week was the Arts and Seafood Festival in Bluffton, and then we had Halloween this weekend!!! Whew, that kind of makes me tired just thinking about all the fun we packed into one month.

Our pictures start with the Arts and Seafood Festival Weekend.....much to our great surprise, Pratt had that Saturday off so we started the morning with a little family trip to Cahill's for a pumpkin hunt. After some fun running around in the hay maze and time of contemplating the perfect pumpkin, we made our purchase and headed out to run some errands before heading to downtown B-town for the festival.

Check out the pose-you can tell they just had school pictures

A little love goes a long way

The festival was a lot of fun and we had a great time. Shelby and JP's school did a little carnival for the children and we spent most of our time there.

Shelby doing a puppet show for me

Pratt multi-tasking

Monday night we carved our pumpkin. Pratt did a great job, don't you think?

JP and Campbell swinging on the swings at Hampton Lake

Friday some friends on mine had their parent-teacher conferences so I agreed to watch their children. After I realized that I would be outnumbered 6 to 1 I got a little panicky, but it ended up being great! All the children played so well together and the older ones did great including the younger ones and watching out for them. We ended staying at the playground for 3 hours.

Saturday was a very busy day. The morning started out really early for Pratt as he got up to go to the store to buy the ingredients for his chili that he was making for the ever-so-competitive chili cook-off at our church's fall festival. Then we went to Hampton Lake for the Tiger Bass 5k. This year they were raising money for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life. Some of my friends and I all wore purple for the race in honor of my mom and Johnny Ussery. It was my first run and it was sooo much fun!! Katie and Erin were great running partners. They really challenged me to keep up and thanks to them I stunned my husband by finishing the race in just over 27 minutes.

Later that day we went to the fall festival at our church. It was a great time and there was a huge turnout. There were all sorts of games for the children to play, bounce houses, a fire truck and ambulance, a performance by the Bluffton School of Dance, two cake walks, and a chili cook off. I am sure that there are some things I am missing, but it truly was the best fall festival yet!! We had planned on not staying the whole time, but the children were having so much fun that we ended up staying the whole time, plus Pratt couldn't leave without knowing how his chili did.

Shelby as a cow

And the winner is........

Pratt won the cook-off!!!!

After that we raced home, bathed the children, put them to bed and got ready for a party that some friends of ours were having. I don't have a great picture of my partner in crime and I from the party, but Leslie and I dressed up as the first and second runners up from a beauty pageant. We wore pretty dresses, had a sash and crown and then smeared mascara down our face to make it look like we were crying because we lost....we looked great! (if I do say so myself)

I don't really know who Pratt was supposed to be, but everyone else did and that is all that matters.

Last night we had a great time with our neighborhood friends. Before trick or treating we had a pizza party and then loaded up the hay ride to make our rounds in the community. The children hit the mother load with candy and had so much fun. It was a blast watching Shelby and JP this year. They finally figured out the concept and went crazy running from house to house.

Me and my honey riding on the back of the golf cart

My limit was finally reached and I crashed into bed last night. What a fun month!!!!!

Two quick stories-Meme has purchased the children a really nice playground for the backyard and they are so excited. Shelby tells me repeatedly that when we get our playground she isn't going to watch tv anymore, she is just going to be outside all the time playing on the playground.

We got a puppy this month too. Both Shelby and JP are so excited. When we told them that we were getting a puppy Shelby asked me if we could go lay in her bed and talk about what we are going to do with the puppy. It was so much fun to see her excited about it because she isn't a huge fan of dogs, but hopefully she will take well to Daisy.

Little Eyes are Watching

One morning this past week Shelby came across one of Pratt's doodle pages. She was finished getting ready for school and was getting ready to watch some tv when she discovered it sitting near the remote control. This immediately sidetracked her and she came to me and said, "Mommy, what is this?" I told her that it was her daddy's doodle page and she said, "I am going to copy it." Without another word she found a piece of paper, a pen, and sat down to replicate what Pratt had drawn.

It is a great reminder that no matter what we do or what we say, our children are watching intently and ready to do anything we do. Kind of makes me stop......

The Bus Stop and Clemson Homecoming

We finally got it together this year and have an established carpool with two of our neighbors. It is one of the greatest things ever!! At first, I have to admit that I was a little hesitant about the idea...turns out, I am somewhat of a control freak and the thought of letting someone else be in charge of getting my children to school on time and picking them up on time was a lot for me to swallow; but after intense counseling and some mild drug therapy I was able to let it go...okay, maybe that was a slight exaggeration, but it was hard.

Shelby and JP waiting for the bus

JP, Addi and Shelby waiting for the bus

The funny thing about that picture is that Addi's mom, Jessie, is the "bus" driver. She was the only one with a car big enough to fit all 5 children in so she drives the children to school in the morning. Addi sometimes runs over to our house to catch the bus with Shelby and JP.

Friday after we picked up Shelby from school we headed up to Clemson for our annual unofficial family reunion. This year Pratt got to go with us and we were so excited to have him!! Friday night we enjoyed our traditional dinner at Don Pablos complete with queso dip and then headed to the hotel to get some good z's for the fun day ahead. The first night Shelby and Pratt shared a bed because I thought that she would sleep pretty still and Pratt would be able to get some good sleep, and JP and I shared a bed because I knew that anyone sleeping with him wouldn't really sleep at all as he is pretty wild in his sleep. Well, turns out that neither Pratt nor I got much sleep that night because when you put someone in bed with Shelby she has to have her feet on you the entire night. She also had a bloody nose during the night because the air was so dry. Both children were wide awake and excited for the day at 6:30 so we got up and got going. After a brief meet up at Matt's apartment we went downtown to get parking and make our way to the stadium. Along the way we stopped at Bowman Field to check out the floats.

Jennifer, Shelby and Lauren in the mouth of the Tiger

JP and Shelby at the Taylor's tailgate

All JP wanted to see that day was the band. He kept talking about it and talking it about it all day. Finally the hour had arrived that the Tiger Band made it's march through campus so we ran to get a good spot when we heard them coming. I wish you could have seen JP's face. It was a mix between wonderment, awe, and terror. I don't think that he anticipated that it would be so loud. When all was said and done he said, "I only like the drums. All the rest was too loud."

Group Shot (mom, we can photo shop you in)

JP was so tired on the way back to the hotel

It was a really fast weekend, but it was super fun. The children did great and were on their best behavior. It is a special weekend for us because we know that every year we get see Aunt Sally and Uncle Jack. We also always have a wonderful time visiting with Uncle Matt, his roommates and their families!!! Can't wait for next year!!!!

This last picture has not much to do with the title of this blog, but I thought it was too cute. JP is really loving school this year and is learning so much. His teacher is really into healthy eating and the environment so he is eating a lot of food that he wouldn't touch with me and he is learning about rain forests and all sorts of other things in addition to his work that he is doing. Today he came home and made a rain forest for him and Pratt to go in and here it is......

His teacher is growing a rain garden next to their classroom and I am sure that they have been talking about it at school. It is so much fun to watch him and see him be so excited about school and talk about what he is learning.

Boys vs. Dirls (girls)

At lunch today I was asking JP about his day and who he played with on the playground and it went something like this:

Mom-"Hey JP, who did you play with on the playground today?"
JP-"I played with new friends." (This was a nice thing to hear since everyday until today he has told me that he plays by himself because he doesn't like anyone in his class)
Mom-"That's great! What did you play?"
JP-blank stare
Mom-"Did you play with your buddy Cassidy?"
JP-"Mom, Tassidy isn't a buddy because she's a dirl (girl). Boys are buddys and dirls are (pause), dirls are dirls."

Pictures from the Lakehouse and Tennessee

In order to get adequately caught up on the blog I am just going to post some pictures from our trip to the lakehouse and to Tennessee during the month of September. We had such a wonderful time on both of these trips and it is hard to believe that it was nearly a month ago that we took them.

Shelby and JP are totally in love with their cousins Reed and Grant. They had a dance party on Saturday night and during the day on Saturday they threw a surprise birthday party for JP.

Papa John, JP, Grant and Shelby at the Dance Party

Grant and JP waiting for the surprise birthday party

Reed and JP at the surprise birthday party

And the pictures from the Lakehouse. Shelby decided to choreograph a dance for Grammie and I to watch. She took Papa, Pratt, JP and Gracie into the other room, showed them what to do and then started the show. It was so cute. She stood at the door and told each one when it was there turn. It was a big hit and I am sure we will see a rendition on Broadway one day.

The Show

Shelby in deep thought at The Goat

JP not in deep thought at The Goat

That's my girl!

I love that smile

Reality Check

Today I had a moment. I was at the gym working out with my gym buddies and at the end took a moment to myself to finish up my workout when, wham!!! all the sudden it hit me...I am getting old! I have a house, a real house with a mortgage payment. I have two children; two children, not babies or just one child, but two children who are growing up and are in school 5 days a week! I am not in my twenties anymore, I am 31! Did I mention that I have a real house with a mortgage payment?!?!?! Oh my goodness, when did that happen? I must have lost track at some point because I don't remember it or maybe this is all a dream and tomorrow I will wake up 17 again.

Truth is, the time has gone by so fast because I love my life!! There are times where it is challenging and there are times where I want to act like a 3 year old by throwing a hissy fit because I am not getting my way about something, but all in all, I truly love my life!!! I love my husband more than the day I married him and I love my children. I love my friends and my community! What a blessed life I have!

Still Life by Shelby

About a week before Labor Day weekend Pratt was looking at his work schedule and discovered that he had the weekend off so we decided to take advantage of this rarity and head up to the lakehouse for one final swim of the summer. It was a great trip and we of course had a blast, and I will post more pictures about that later. Right now I want to take this opportunity to explore Shelby's fascination and love of photography. It started while we were in Belize earlier this year. She wanted to take pictures of everything so we let her use the camera a few times while we were there. For her birthday she got a children's digital camera and has been taking pictures ever since.

One day while we were hanging around in side for a little break from the sun and water she asked if she could use my camera to take some pictures. Later that night I decided to look through to see what she captured and was tickled at the amount of pictures she had taken and what she deemed worthy of picture taking. These are just a few of what captured her eye; there are probably about 20 more, but I couldn't fit them all in.

I may have to give her my camera and get a new one:)