Bonfire Fun

This year we decided to have our friends over for a bonfire night. We had such a great time with the McLendons, Wallaces, Poythresses, and Frachiseurs. Anna Caitlin and Drew worked so hard getting together all of our Halloween treats and decorations. We made spider cookies and graveyard cake. It all turned out so cute!!



We started the night roasting our hot dogs over the fire. The kiddos thought that was SO cool. Drew roasted his for about 2 minutes and then ate it cold straight off the stick. Next, we roasted marshmellows and made smores. You can never go wrong with those!! We ended the night making Halloween cookies.



It was SO cold that night that we were all bundled up. We had such a great time that we may have to make it an annual party!!

Fun Times in the Fall

We had such a great time this fall!! It is one of our very favorite times of the year. We did not make our annual trip to Burt's this year because the weekends were so full. We did go to Petit Creek Petting Farms one weekend. The kids had a great time playing in the jumpies and petting the animals (at least Drew liked that part). The highlight of the trip was the hayride where we got to feed...CAMELS!! Anna Caitlin and Drew both loved the camels! We had fun, but nothing compares to Burt's. We will have to go back there again next year.


We also went to Cagles Corn maze with Ms. Mandy and Chappy. It was raining and freezing cold, but SO much fun!! Anna Cailtin loved the corn maze. She was the one who led us through to the end. There were biblical questions that helped you find your way, and the kiddos did great!! Ms. Carol teaches them so much!! After the corn maze, we went on the hayride. It dropped us off at the bonfire where we got to roast marshmellows. Drew loved the marshmellows, but he did not care to roast them before eating them. Anna Caitlin wanted to roast them and them give them away...she does not like to eat them :) We ended the night at The Varsity!! Can't ask for a better ending to a fun day!

Joshua's Dedication

Joshua was dedicated on October 4. We were so excited to present him to God in front of all of our family, friends, and church family. A long time friend, Lee, performed the ceremony. He asked us to pick a verse that we would like to dedicate to Joshua. We chose the following :

"Raise up a child in the way of the Lord and even when he is older, he will not turn from it."



We hope to raise all of our children to know the love of their heavenly Father. We have so many wonderful people in our lives who are such great examples of His love.

After the dedication, we went to Aspens for lunch with Mama Judi, Papa Johnny, and the Rivera family. What a wonderful and special day for our family!

Saturday in Athens

Football season is finally here!! Jonathan and I took Anna Caitlin and Drew to Athens to watch the Dawgs take on South Carolina. (Baby Joshua spent some quality time with his Grammie and Granddaddy). Anna Caitlin has not been to a game since she was about 18 months old and Drew has never been to a game. They had a great time tailgating and playing with Macenzie, Abbie, and Cameron. We took them all through North Campus and then downtown.

Right before we left for the game, Anna Caitlin said "Mommy, why do we go watch a bunch of people hit other people and throw the ball at each other?" Love it!! As soon as we got into the stadium, poor Drew was disappointed. He was under the impression that he was going to actually get to PLAY football with the Bulldogs. As soon as he figured out he would just be watching, he says "I done watching the Bulldogs. I ready to go home now." Nothing that a little bit of pizza, popcorn, and ice cream wouldn't fix :)

We had a great time at the game and even brought home a VERY close win. Poor Jonathan carried Drew the whole 3 miles back to the car. Lots of fun on a beautiful Saturday, but something that we will not do again until next fall!!

Look What I Can Do!!

The past four months have been very busy for baby Joshua. He has learned to sleep through the night (yay!!), hold up his head, smile, and even giggle. Now, he has added a few more things to his list of accomplishments. Baby Joshua has learned to roll over!! Now, every time you put him down, he rolls over immediately. He gets a little bit frustrated when he rolls over and gets stuck on his tummy. He is not a big fan of tummy time!! Check out how good he is doing...

We went for our four month well check this week. Baby Joshua is 26 1/2 inches long and is 14 lbs and 1 oz. He is in the 95% in heighth and weight. The doctor said that we could start introducing fruits and veggies, so of course, we thought we would go for the good stuff first. Joshua had his first taste of applesauce yesterday and he LOVED it!! He started grinning and kicking his legs with his mouth wide open, waiting for the next bite.

I can't believe how fast he is growing up. Pretty soon he will be sitting on his own and crawling. I wish that he could stay little for a little bit longer...

Anna Caitlin Goes to Kindergarten!!

Today is the day I have been dreading for the past year. My baby girl's very first day of Kindergaten. It has been a long year preparing for today. I have gone back and forth many times on whether to send her to her home school or to take her with me. After ALOT of talking, deliberating, and praying, I finally decided to bring her to school with me. I am SO glad I made that decision. It is so nice to have her right down the hall where I can check in on her any time. There are so many wonderful people that I work with who keep an eye on her also.

Anna Caitlin was so very excited about starting school. We have been counting down for at least the past 11 days to her first day of Kindergarten. Last night we got everything ready, which was alot of work!! We had to pack school supplies, label some, leave some unlabeled, pack a lunch, get a snack, fill out paperwork for ASP, and pick out clothes. (That does not include everything we had to get together for her brothers!!) When I was tucking her in, she had a huge smile across her face.

At 3:00 AM, I hear little footsteps coming in my room. "Mommy, is it morning yet?" I sent her back to bed and went back to sleep. When I went to wake her up this morning, she was looking around in her bed for her notebook. She showed me the picture she drew of her school at, yep you guessed it, 3:oo in the morning. I mean a flag, school bell, windows, clouds, sun, the whole shebang. Who knows when she went back to sleep...

Anna Caitlin went right to her room this morning with her new teacher. It was definitely harder on me than it was on her. I showed alot of self control and only peeked in on her about 3 times, which I thought was pretty good for the first day :) She was all smiles when I picked her up this afternoon and said that she loved Kindergarten. Of course, her very favorite part was recess and running around the track. I am so glad that she had such a good day. I know she is going to do great in school!!

Our Last Official Weekend of Summer

I cannot believe it, the summer is really coming to an end. My baby girl starts Kindergarten tomorrow. We spent all day Saturday on the lake with Shanna, Brent, Macenzie, and Abbie. We had a great time out on the boat. The kids loved swimming and jumping off the boat.

Shanna had this great idea that we should go waterskiing. Now back in the day, I was a pretty good waterskiier. But, I have not skiied since before I was pregnant with Anna Caitlin, so at least 6 years ago. Shanna went first and did really well. Came up on the first try and was jumping the wake from side to side. I went next. I came up on the first try and did okay, but my legs were burning from about 30 seconds into the ride. I don't know how long it has been since I used those muscles. The good news is that I did not fall and let go when I was ready, which was fairly soon. Jonathan went last. He took a HARD spill on his second try and called it quits for the day. We are both SO sore today, but at least we know we are not too old to ski. I think we may teach Anna Caitlin and Macenzie next summer.