Chaney Crew

Chris, Heather and Coleton are expecting...

I just wanted to post a few pictures of our cousin Heather, who is about to pop, (Sorry Heather) and the Baby Shower. I hope that her family will be able to read see them also. We are so excited for Baby Brooke to get here. Gavin and Coleton have been each other's better half for four years and now Gage is waiting for his better half! Heather is going in Monday, April 24th at 5:00 a.m. I know that she is ready!

Born Monday, April 24, 2006

Brooke Elizabeth Haight arrived today, Monday, April 24, 2006 at National Park Medical Center. She weighed 7 pounds and was 18 and 1/4 inches long. She is beautiful and tiny! She has hair! Unlike the rest of our children! Granted it is not much but it is more than the others! Mommy and Daddy are doing well. They look a little tired, but more relieved to have things done! Big Brother Coleton is doing great! Sometimes he slipped and called Baby Brooke - Baby Gage. Here are some pictures for your enjoyment! Hi to Heather's family! She really misses you guys and wished you could be here! ( I know you are coming next week! Yeah!)

Shirley Parish, R.N., B.S.N.

Shirley, Nana, Mom was pinned on Thursday evening with her R.N., B.S.N. We are very proud of her for going back to school and finishing her degree! She is an amazing and couragous woman! We love you and are so proud of you, Nana.

YEAH!!!!!!!

Mommy graduated from Henderson State University on Friday, May 12, 2006. Nana graduated with her! It was a very nice day and packed graduation! Here are some of the people that were there - Ba, Aunt Kassy, Mema, Gram, Pa, Barbara, Chris, Heather, Coleton, Brooke, Gavin, Gage, Daddy, Sara, Gary, Josh, Ashley, Uncle Tinker, Aunt Paula, and Stacey. I hope that I did not leave anyone out! Thanks to everyone for the wonderful gifts, love, and support. Without all of you I would not have been able to finished! The REAL world here I come!

We went and visited Granny and Papa the other night. They always enjoy the boys when we visit. We do not get out there as often as we should but life is so crazy! These pictures are priceless!

Growing up too soon... :(

This horse belongs to Coleton Haight. He got it from his Unlce Sean, Aunt Lisa, and Cousin Bryon. This thing is huge! Gavin and Coleton look little compared to it! I actually got on it and could ride it!

Not one but two...

We went into Gage's room to get him out of the crib Saturday morning......We walked in........and there was............Gage......and......GAVIN! It was so cute. They were playing with each other. Gage was talking to Gavin (or trying). I had to grab the camera!

A couple of couch potatoes!

We were couch potatoes today! Here are a few pictures of Gavin and Gage being lazy! Doesn't Gage look like at BIG boy?

Coleton, Gage, Brooke, & Gavin.

Gage is now 5 months old and Brooke is 1 month old. This is the first time they have had pictures made together. They have been together many times before now but we never had the camera handy and both of them awake!!! We took a few pics of the two of them together and then threw the big brothers in the picture. Gavin and Coleton swapped sibling sides. They are all so cute. Gavin and Coleton have grown up so close. I hope that Brooke and Gage will do the same!
The picture of Gage and Brooke holding hands is so cute. The weird thing is that we have a picture of Gavin and Coleton doing the same thing!

Happy Anniversay!

Yesterday was our 5th Wedding Anniversary! Five years - WOW! When I look back on the time I wonder where it went, but then I look around and see two children and degrees and I remember! I hope the next 5 years are as great as the past 5. Thanks Ray, Gavin, and Gage. Without my boys me life would not be complete!
Love-Mommy

Who is growing faster Gavin, Gage, or George?

These pictures were taken around the time that we moved. Gavin and Coleton are giving George a workout or is it the other way around! George is really getting huge! Gavin just loves him and they really play well together! Brooke and Gage hung out while everyone moved and packed! Thanks everyone for your help and hard work!

We bought a house!

We bought a house!!! How exciting to have careers, kids, cars and now a home! We bought the house from my parents. It is a 4 bedroom/2 bath. They did not need a house this big with their kids grown, plus they wanted to be closer to golf. The house is very nice. We are doing a lot to it. Not fixing things, just making it our own. I will post some pictures of the boys rooms. We did them first. The living room is our project now. We bought new furniture which should be in the first of July. I cannot wait to have wonderful family get togethers here. It is such a great house. We were very lucky to get it! Thanks Mom and Dad!

Gram's birthday was July 9th. The family met and went out to eat at the Panda! Gram loves the Panda! It was such a nice gathering! It was nice to see everyone. I took a few pictures of the dinner. Enjoy!

On the road to Memphis!

We decided last minute to do a "summer" vacation! Ray, Gavin, Gage, my sister - Kassy, and I left Thursday morning (Aug. 10th) to go to Memphis, TN. Our check in at the hotel was not unitl 3:00p.m. So we went to Graceland upon arriving in Memphis. Graceland was so much fun! We toured the mansion, automobiles, and airplanes. Gavin and Gage did really well. I took pictures but you could not use your flash so we will see how they turned out. On Friday we went to the Memphis ZOO. The Zoo was awesome! I think that Ray, Kassy, and I enjoyed it more than the boys. The Zoo is huge! They have Polar Bears, Sea Lions, Peguins, Panda Bears and etc. It was beautiful! We went shopping later that night at a huge mall that had an indoor carosel. Gavin wanted to ride it so badly so we promised hom on our way out. We got there right before closing, or so we thought, but she had just started her last ride. Gavin cried and cried! But the lady let him go into the ride and walk around all the animals and sit on a few. I even took a picture. It was so sad! On Sat. we went to Mud Island Museum and the River Walk. This was very cool! This is a must for the entire family. The River walk to a replica of the Mississippi River from start to finish. People walked through the river and the kids swam in it! The Museum gave the long history of the Mississippi River with life size replicas of steam boats and iron clad battle ships. This was a very neat attraction. I would go back in a heart beat! We went to Bass Pro Shop in Memphis. Of course Gavin loved it there. We spent way too much money!! We also played putt-putt one night and of course Ray won but Gavin was right behind him. I think Gavin had like 4 hole-in-ones. Of course the other times he had 6 over par! We had a lot of fun. We swam at the hotel and rested. Gage was perfect. He did great in the car and through all the dragging we did with him! We ate at some really great places - Corky's, Joe's Crab Shack, and Bahama Breeze. Bahama Breeze was the BEST! On Sunday we went to see our niece and nephew in Mississippi. We had not seen them in two years. They were huge and so glad to see us as we were them. The Vacation turned out great and it is nice to know that you have great places to get away near home! I will post some pics later!

A visit to Camp Charleton

Happy Birthday Daddy! He turned 24 on Sept. 5th. Sunday we went up to Camp Charleton where Gram and Pa host at the camp grounds and stayed the night. The family was coming up Monday for Labor Day. Gage, you had a lot of fun crawling around on the beds in the RV. You played Hide and Seek with Gram and Gavin. On Sunday you played with Brooke. You two are going to be close, just like Gavin and Coleton! Gavin, you had to swim on Sunday and also on Monday. The water was freezing! The picture of you and Coleton in the water is funny because both of you were shivering and your teeth were chattering. I think parts of your bodies even turned blue! This place is off of Lake Ouachita, it is a creek or stream that flows through. The water is FREEZING, especially when it is not 100 degrees outside! We had a nice gathering on Monday. Uncle Bryan and his family were not there. Neither was Uncle Ron. We missed all of them! There was a cake for Daddy's, Amanda's, Ron's, and Darrell's Birthdays. We had good food and really good conversation. Here are few pictures for all to see. Hope you all had a good Holiday! The one of Gage and Ray is sweet!

My Boys

I cannot believe how big the boys are. Every day amazes me!! Gage is all over the place. He walks, well runs, so well! He is talking and understanding what we say to him. He is growing into that toddler that I thought Gavin was. Gavin is about to be 5, how sad is that? I cannot believe that my baby will start kindergarten next year! It is very sad for me to think about. Ray's father once told him, "Son, one day you will turn around and be forty and wonder where all the time went." This is actually happening, no I am not forty but with my babies growing up and my birthday. Adulthood is really kicking in. :)

We held Mema's birthday party this weekend at a party place in Malvern. She actually turns 8 tomorrow. We had tons of family there. I could not belive the turn out. All of the Bazzells were in from Texas. All the kids had SO much fun playing together. There were tons more family from the Pine Bluff area and also from Texas. It was like a big family reunion. Mema is into Betty Boop, so we had Betty Boop things around for decorations. Here are some pics that Chasity Wallace took. She is great, if you need a photographer use her!! I also have a number for a lady that makes the best cake.

Both of our children love the water. This is good for us, because we love to be on the beach. We are a family full of sun lovers. I am so glad that I can share that great time on the beach or in the water with my children.

Here are a few pics from Mother's Day when we went to the lake. We had the best time. Gavin and Ray buried Gage. They are so cute, the pics will make you laugh.

Great Times.

A lot of our moments with the boys together include them yelling at each other because someone took a toy from them, etc. So when we get a chance to snap a the most ADORABLE picture, we do not pass it up.

They just sat there while we washed cars over the weekend.

We love to have great company, food, and drinks. So, Saturday the Haights came on over for a great afternoon and evening. We bought the boys a little pool that has a slide and the kids loved playing in it. I would have never got in because there was almost more grass in the pool than water. YUCK! It did not seem to bother the kids once. Brooke did not care for the cold water that much but that did not stop her and Gage from bonding outside the pool. They are just as close as Coleton and Gavin were at that age. Chris pushed all the kids down the slide. Gavin and Coleton begged to stay in the pool forever. The sun was down and we were ready to come in but they wanted more water in the pool because they had splashed it all out. The boys LOVED it. The pics are really cute.

and then back to Arkansas too soon.

We had a wonderful vacation in Florida. We had a condo right next to the gulf and friends, Gary and Sara went. The trip down was a little longer than expected! We had rain delays and traffic delays. :( The boys did great through it all!! We got down there and unloaded and went straight to the beach! It was so beautiful and nice! Day two we went to the beach three different times coming back to the condo in between to rest and eat. Day three we did the same thing. We ventured out that evening and got some fresh shrimp to grill. The food was great! Day four we went to the beach and swam in the pool at the condo, that afternoon the guys went on a fishing trip and then girls with the babies went to outlet mall! Needless to say Gavin is set for school and Gage is set for whatever! The bargains were unreal. Day five we went to the beach (No it does not get tired to get up and go the beach every single day!) and that afternoon Sara and I went parasailing at 800 feet in the air. It was the most amazing thing and so peaceful! I would do it again in a heartbeat. We came back to the condo and got ready to eat at Captain Dave's on the gulf which was right beside the condo and we also took family pictures on the beach. We promised Gavin that mommy could make magic and put a light in the pool this one night so we could swim. So the four of us swam and Gary and Sara took a stroll on the beach. Day six we had to come home :( We got up that morning and spent the time on the beach and then took a quick dip in the pool before loading up and heading out! It was such a wonderful vacation! The boys had the best time. Thanks Sara and Gary for great company and help!! BTW, it only took $1200 for our family to do this ENTIRE vacation!!! That is the kicker to end the great week!

We visited Alabama this summer and had a great time. The boys played great with Dale and Keri's girls, Kallie Beth and Kami Grace. They were the best buddies. Aunt Elsie and Uncle Raymond had a pool and we swam and swam. The boys never wanted to leave the water. On the way home we stopped and visited Korey and Lauren. They have grown up so much! We miss them dearly. Thanks for the great cousin time everyone!

Well we always knew that we were crazy and this just proves it. We decided to go with Bryan & Amanda to the Little Rock Zoo last weekend. We got there and got out. The babies were strapped in the stroller and we were ready when we decided to really have a great time and drive on up to Memphis and go to the Zoo there. I know!! We had a blast the Zoo is SO much better there! We made good time and had taken a picnic lunch. So we sat out and had lunch. It was so nice!! The kiddos were having a great time. We got in the Zoo in time to see the Polar bears being feed! We got to see Panda bears, kimodoo dragons, peguins, and other stuff that is not in AR. The outdoors there is wonderful and lush! Just like a forest or jungle!! It was so wonderful. Then we went downtown and had THE original Corky's Bar-B-Que. It was so good! We had a great time and cannot wait til next time!

**I have to tell the story about the monkey that is leaning in. The mom was showing off the baby monkey. It was so little and cute. There were a TON of people at the floor to ceiling windows looking at it. The dad swings down and gets on the stoop closest to the window and it being protective and telling us to back off. It was hilarious! I could have won a million dollars on funniest home videos!

Granny & Papa have been married for 60 years. We had a little get together and it was so nice. We just ate the food and visited with everyone it was really nice! I will post some pics later!

I cannot describe what a wonderful family weekend we had!! My brother came in from Jonesboro this weekend and brought his girlfriend from Wisconsin. She flew in to see him and to meet us. We planned a day at a local pumpkin patch. It was my mom, dad, brother, girlfriend (Ginny), sister, boyfriend (John), grandmother, Ray, Gavin, Gage, and I. We went through the pumpkins, took a hayride, rode the tire swings, went through a petting zoo. We had a GREAT time. It was SO nice having everyone together and just enjoying the company. Then we came back to our houses and grilled steaks (Thanks mom and dad!) and had all the fixings! It was a great meal and social time!! Ginny is so sweet! She is from Finland and came here as an exchange student in high school. She then came back to go to college here. Her and my brother met through track. (They are both excellent atheletes!) She is just perfect! BJ is going there for Thanksgiving but she is coming here for Christmas! Also my sister's boyfriend is a doll! He loves my kids and Gavin adores him! They played forever last night. When they left Gavin thought they were coming back, so when he got up this morning he said "John did not come back!" It was cute! Here are some pics!!

Ray made me come outside the other day and this is what I found. He said that it is time to have Gage's haircut because he can swing like a big boy!! Looking at the pictures I do agree with Ray. He is growing up too fast! I have made a compromise on the haircut; when he turns two he will have his first haircut. :(

Oh and not to forget Gavin and the fact that he is helping his little brother along! They really do play well together and Gage has learned things a lot faster!

Jenni is BJ's girlfriend. She is in college in Wisconsin but is orignally from Finland. She is spending Christmas with us this year and it has been a lot fun! The 23rd is her birthday and we had a little cake for her at Mema's. Here are a few pics...

As most of you know our Pa was sick with cancer. He had ups and downs throughout his battle. On 1-14-08 Pa went to be with Ray's dad. This has been the second hardest thing that we have ever done. (Next to Clarence) Gavin was at the age of understanding and he did ok with it. He tells us that he is with Pops. We are just trying to be there for Gram. Please keep us in your thoughts.

My mother is very ill and has been in the hosptial for the entire month of Jan. She is going to a specialty clinic in Ohio asap. Please keep her in your prayers and thoughts.

I came home from a long day at class to roses and a cake. I had to put on the birthday hat and the boys sang happy birthday to me. It was very nice. Here are a few pics.

We had a snow day today... so we are at home trying to catch up on some cleaning, grading, and anything else that needs to get done!! The snow is really coming down now, this morning is disappointing not to see a blanket of white! It is white now though! I think I may take the boys out to play and get some pics... I have a video of Gavin on his heeleys but I am not sure how to down load it... Maybe I will figure it out...

Here are a few pics outside...

We are so sad, yesterday we had to tell Ray's brother bye for a whole year! He is leaving to serve in Iraq! We are very proud and thankful to him and the entire 39th for what they are doing for us. We had a nice gathering at Beano's pizza in Hot Springs. (That is where all the pics were taken) Our nephew Kaiden had to go to children's that night so Kayleigh stayed with us! It was so sad because Bryan was on leave and Kaiden had to be in the hospital...Then there was Kayleigh and poor Amanda! It was just heart wrenching. Kaiden had a bacteria infection in his stomach and is getting better. We are having a good time with Kayleigh but want brother and mom to be able to come home soon!! We love everyone and already miss Bryan dearly.

Kaiden did get out of the hospital. He is doing better but keep him in your prayers.

Also Bryan is on his way over there. Please keep him and his company in your prayers.

We hope everyone has a Happy Easter. The boys are ready to hunt some eggs.

Gage got up and ran to the table to see what was there this morning. He even knew which basket was his... We got the boys beach stuff this year. I found these hooded towels that are like ponchos! They are so cute. The boys are wearing them in the pictures. Gage got a huge basket of toys and Gavin got a snorkel and fin set. Gavin knew exactly what it was for... Florida!!!!!

The boys and I had such a wonderful day yesterday! I am usually complaining because they did not listen or they acted terrible, but yesterday was different. They listened and acted great! :) I know that they can be good, but it seems to fail me when I need it most. I took the boys to the zoo and to the Build-a-Bear workshop in Little Rock. We took a picnic and ate in the back of the car before going into the zoo. We spent about 2 hours going all over the zoo, taking our time. Gavin wanted me to read everything to him. It was perfect. We tried to ride the train, but it was not functioning properly so after boarding and taking off we had to get off 10 yards from the station! We did ride the caroseul which was build in the 1920s. They loved it!

We left the zoo and headed to Park Plaza Mall. The Build-a-Bear workshop was super cute! The boys picked their animal and then stuffed it and put a heart in it. The picture shows the boys rubbing their hearts. They picked out clothes and dressed them. Gavin has a puppy named Lightning dressed in a baseball outfit with cleats. Gage has a puppy named Gus dressed in ASU Indians (for Uncle B) with red cleats. We also bought an extra Army outfit (for Uncle Bryan). It is a very neat thing!! It is expensive if anyone is wodering, but well worth it atleast once!!! We can add accessories to them!!

Mommy had to study today with Ms. Chasity, but we took a break and took you boys to see "Horton hears a Who." It was very cute!! You boys did so good! There were a ton of daycares there, so the lines were very long! Mommy had to good back three times before she could get popcorn and a drink!

You boys have also been playing with your dogs from Build-a-Bear workshop! We kept their little houses (the boxes) and you both will put the dogs in there and tote them around. You wanted to take them to the movie, but I said no! We are having lots of fun! (It will definately be a wild summer!)

Today was a little boring and crazy all at the same time! Grady got out of the fence and we had neighbors complaining so Ray ended up having to come home and take care of that. I had to go to class at Henderson, because they were on Spring Break last week. I had a major test that I needed to study for too. We got some lunch and went to the park and ate and then played for a long time! The boys had a great time! I got some pretty cute pics! Then Gage went over to Mema's, so mommy could study and Gavin went to stay the night with Nana and Ba. I got a lot of studying done and the kids did not have to stay in the house all day! :)

Thursday we went to Chuck E. Cheese. The boys always love to go there! We went with Lily, Levi, and Misti, and also Kayleigh went with us. You all listened and did very well! I was so impressed! I was a little worried about having three kids, but it was very nice! You all had a lot of fun and had tickets to get something before we left. Aunt Amanda and Kaiden came over to have dinner that evening and pick up Kayleigh. The food was good and so was the conversation. :)

We got up early this morning and went down to see Sara and Gary. We hoped Dad would be off, but he had important things going at work, so it was just me and the boys. We got down there a little after 9:00 a.m. (This is early considering the drive is an hour and 1/2) We ate breakfast and visited. Then Mommy and Sara got busy on Teralee's things. Gary got his niece, Kyleigh, to come and play with you guys and you had a ball. You played outside and watched movies. We went to lunch and pretty soon the time had passed and it was time to leave. This was the sad part, I know that we will see them again, but I still never want to leave them! I am not sure how many times that I have said that I wished we lived closer together, but with the baby coming... I really think about it a lot. I did not want to go, but I had class on Saturday and I needed to get home to study. I had such a great day doing mommy things with Sara and just getting to talk and be together. I know that you boys had a good time with your Uncle Gary! We already miss them!!

*Gage got into the cupcakes!!
*The boys kissing Teralee!
*Kyliegh and Gage painted the door! Good job!

We had severe storms go through last night. They were bad enough that we had the boys in the bathtub. They were alredy asleep in their beds, so I put blankets in the tub and pillows. I first moved Gavin in there and he did not even open his eyes. Then I got Gage, and he stayed asleep too! I could not believe, so they spent all night in the tub while Daddy watched the storm (outside most of the time - dummy!) and Mommy watched the TV. We are out of school today because of flooding. Here are some pics I took this morning... Gavin and I discussed the tornado this morning over a game of "Guess Who?" while bubba slept. Gavin asked me if I slept in there also? His expression told me that I was too big and how did I do that! :) It was a very nice morning with him! I will never forget it! We also wrote in our journal about it!

Gavin and Gage get a kick out of hiding from Ray. In the pictures they hide under pillows on the bed. Of course, they are not quiet! Look at the bottom of one of the pics and you will see Ray's hands reaching through to pull someone out. Then, there is Gage just stripped from hiding! :)

Here are a few pics that show some attitude.

I always though Gavin was rowdy and crazy, but compared to Gage he is really kind-a calm! (ha!)

We went to visit Aunt Kassy and her man Scotty in Camden at Scotty's house. They grilled steaks for us which were so delicious! We had a baked potato and some cookies! It was a nice and relaxing time! I wish we could have stayed longer, but there is always next time.

Mema turned 81 on Friday! We took her to eat at the new favorite little mexican place in Malvern. They sang to her, we had a cake, and she laughed the entire time! It was great!

We planned a small little family get away this past weekend. It was so much fun! Gavin had cut Six Flags tickets from his lunchables at school and brought them home. I got to thinking about how fun the boys would be at this age at Six Flags, so I had my mind set that I wanted to go! We thought about going to a Rangers game, but thought not such a good idea with Gage. Gavin would have loved it! (He is really into baseball right now!) Then we discovered that Kung Fu Panda was opening on Friday night! Perfect! So I booked a hotel real close to everything, asked the clerk about a movie theater and mapped out directions and everything.

Daddy took off on Friday, and we headed out about 10:00 a.m. The drive was great and smooth. We got there about 3:00 p.m., checked in, and headed to the pool. Gage has only been in the water a total of 1 hour this summer, so we had to convince him that he was a little fish. Man, when he figured it out he was gone! Very independant, both of them!

We headed up to get showers and went to the mall where the movies where! What a mall!!! It had a carousel and an ice rink. We ate, walked around, and rode the carousel. The movies were awesome! 20 something theaters, if not more! We had to sit on the front, but it was great! We all loved the movie! We headed to bed for an early morning!

We got up and waited for the trolley to Six Flags the next morning. The boys liked riding the "red bus." We got there when they opened at 10:00 a.m. The traffic was light and not to crowded.. yet, I thought. Ray and Gav jumped on the bob sled while Gage and I did the tea cups. We all rode the seahorse! Yes even Gage! Gav and I then went to ride the Titan! It is like the tallest thing there! I did not realize that at the time or I would not have put my baby on it for his FIRST roller coaster! We got on everything was ok until we went off the top and Gavin started bawling!! I felt so helpless, I could not even hold him!!! Everything ended fine! He sad he was scared and did not want to do it again, and I thought oh no there goes the day, he is going to hate everything! I was so wrong! He rode the Shockwave and Judge Roy Scream and a few more. He was too short for a few, but he found a friend in kiddie land that he rode a ton of stuff with while Gage took a cat nap! All the while it was not crowded! We rode more rides all together! (a bunch actually!) I was really surprised at everything that Gage could ride! We had a great time! We left the park at 3:00 p.m. It does not seem like that long but when there are no lines; we rode almost everything that we could!! 5 hours is long enough for babies and ride after ride after ride! We went back to the hotel: swam and got pizza! We got up and came home the next morning!

I will never forget the trip! It was one of the best ones we have ever done! I will always remember the boys and how fun they were! Love you guys! Thanks Ray for taking off and doing this trip for me! :) Love you too.

Well, the title is literal. Since I have summer school in the afternoons, I am trying to do as much with the boys during the mornings as possible. We have been to the library a few times. Once was to see the mobile dairy. Gavin was so interested in milking the cows! We have been swimming a few times also. Last Friday Kayleigh went with us to the lake. This morning Aunt Kassy and Uncle BJ went with us to the pool. Our neighbors have been over playing with us and us with them! Summer days are the best! Tomorrow we are going to see a movie for a dollar. They play old movies for the kids in the morning on Tuesday in Benton. Then, we are meeting daddy for lunch. Will summer ever slow down? I don't think so! :)

We had a wonderful father's day. We got up and gave Ray his gifts. We picked him up some crocs and plaid shorts with four shirts to coordinate. Ray loved them! Gav was with me when I bought the shoes and that day we went and had lunch with Ray. I was not around and Ray asked Gav what we had been doing that day. Gav told him got stuff for momma's cheer girls, went to Wal-Mart, and got you some crocs! :0 He threw his hands over his mouth in shock! I did not find this out until after Ray opened them! I wanted it to be a surprise so bad! The boys kept this little secret from me. It was very cute to hear the story from Ray! We went and had lunch at Colton's with Ba, Nana, Mema, Aunt Kassy, and Uncle BJ! We were so excited to see everyone!!! It was a great lunch! We went to Lowe's and shopped a little then went over to Pops and Pa's graves to add a hook and some wind chimes. The boys helped with the chimes. I got a great pic of Ray with the boys on his dad's grave. I cannot wait to get a print of it. We hope you all had a great father's day.

What an awesome way to end his career at Jonesboro! Uncle B traveled to Des Moines, Iowa to compete in the NCAA track and field event! We are so proud of him! He went in as 26th (??) and finished 15th! Way to go B! We are so proud of him! He will be the last athlete from ASU as an Indian to ever compete because they have changed the mascot! We also are adding someone to the family! BJ proposed to Jenni after running the mile! (his last event) How awesome! The democrat had an awesome article! He was on the front page of the sports in color with a huge write up! We are so proud!

Here are a few pics from Mom's camera...

Malvern is the brick capital of the world, so our festival is called Brickfest. We decided to really participate in Brickfest this year. There is a lot of stuff for the kids to do. We have been going for years but not really participating. We did the brick car derby. Ray helped the boys build their cars, and I helped them decorate them a little. Gage had a Spongebob car, and Gavin was Speed Racer. Gage's car was really fast and went through four heats. We thought that he was going to win. Gavin's car was not so fast, but he did really good a losing. I was surprised and thankful! We went to the Magic Show at the library with Sierra and Preston (our neighbors). It was a lot of fun! Then we went to the festival, and the boys did the best dressed brick contest. Gage's again was Spongebob, but Gavin's this time was Mater from Cars. They were SO cute! Gavin helped a lot on his, and it paid off because he got 1st place! He was really proud! Gage got 3rd. (He should have gotten 1st.) Gary and Sara spent the night on Friday and went to the festival on Saturday with us! I will post about their visit on the next one! Anyhow, Brickfest was a lot of fun, and I plan on having the boys involved in it every year!

Uncle Bryan is in for two weeks. He has been doing "soldier work," as Kayleigh has taught Gavin to say. We were so excited to share him coming in at the airport this last week. Here are some pics as we waited, and when he arrived!

The Chaneys came over to the Chaneys for dinner! ha! I knew that would make you laugh! We invited Bryan and Amanda over for dinner, and then we were going to buy fireworks for the biggest show in Arkansas. (Not really, but Ray thinks it should be. I think he thinks he is a professional firework person shooter offer??) :) We had great food and conversation. Just ask Bryan or Amanda about it. :) The kids played and had a great time! We almost bought the firework stand out... ha! Then we went to Wal-Mart. (of course, what is a day without Wal-Mart??) It was a very interesting visit to say the least. Some of the pics say it all! Gavin had the camera and took pics of everyone's behinds... ha ha Gav! I will not post those in fear of someone trying to pass them off for money! ha! I know, I will stop writing. I am having fun with this post. I guess it reflects the great evening! Hoping for a few more before he sets off again! Love you guys!

We kicked off the 4th with Uncle Bryan at a big gathering. He was fortunately in from serving in Iraq for two weeks, so we got to spend this great day with him! It was very special! Becausing he is fighting for our freedom, and we celebrated our nation's independance day with him! Everything was great! The weather did not cooperate just the way that we wanted, but the firework show did not get rained out! We had a blast playing with a ton of kids and visiting with everyone! There was a house full there to see Bryan and give him lots of hugs! The food was great! There was just about anything that you could have wanted to there. It all ended with the daddys putting on the "pop" as Gage calls it. I could not think of a better way to spend the 4th!

Can you believe that I did not get one picture of Ray with his brother? I have some of Bryan. They look like surprise shots that were taken by Ray or Gavin. I don't think he would want himself on here stuffing his face! ;)

Finally Bryan got his Outback. He was supposed to go before he left for Iraq but did not get the chance. We took everyone out tonight and had a great time! We had not been to Outback in a long time. It was great! All the kids were really good. Bryan got a military discount. (really it should have been for free. You know?!?) Anyways, we got a lady to take a pic of all of us outside. I think that it turned out really cute!

Our "real" vacation was back to Destin this year! We stayed at the same condo as last year. This year Sara and Gary had little miss Teralee, so they were unable to go. (Sorry guys!) We asked the the Horton's to go with us. Misti is my good friend that I work with at school. They have 2 kids - Lily and Levi. We decided to head out about 12:00 a.m. on Friday night/Saturday morning. I think that it was perfect! The kids slept almost the entire trip. We were aiming to get there a little before check in at 3:00, and maybe head on down to the beach or whatever. We took our time and made some longer pit stops. We were almost in Destin when it started raining. :( We all thought oh no because we had heard that the forecast for the week was going to be rainy. YUCK! We got there early and unpacked; the rain left, so we headed to the beach. It was nice being there early and having that day to do something. Every morning we headed to the beach and spent 4-6 hours there and then would be done for the day at the beach. On the first full day, Sunday, we got up, and it was so pretty. We took everything to the beach, and I mean everything! We had blankets, the canopy, toys, toys, chairs, beach bags, buckets, towels, ice chest! When we were through, we left some of our stuff at the beach, and thought we might come back later,.Well, it started raining while we were at the room. We ran down there and gathering the blankets, canopy top, and chairs. We were nervous about the rest of the week and the rain, but it cleared off that day and we never had another shower that heavy again. We spent the afternoons taking naps, playing on the playground, tennis courts, or in the pool. We grilled out every night and had a great time doing that. At night we would go and look for crabs on the beach or swim some more. We did go shopping one day and run around for a few souvenirs. The boys got airbrushed shirts this year. They are so cute! It was such a nice and relaxing vacay! We love Florida!!

Ray and I were talking about it, and since Gavin has been born we have only missed like 3 out of the 7 summers to go to Florida! We took some family pics on the beach. They are on Misti's camera so when I get them I will post them!

We attended a family reunion a while back in July. Kassy and Scotty came and brought Scotty's kids - Jacob and Anna. It was our first time to meet them! They were so precious! Gavin loved playing ball and in the pool with Jacob! We cannot wait to get together more and go on trips together! For those of you that did not know Kassy is getting married! We are super excited! ;)

We eat at this little Mexican resturant in Malvern about once a week. The staff knows our drink order by heart! It is good and cheap and pretty fast! BJ is in so we all got together for dinner Wednesday night. It was me, Ray, Gavin, Gage, Kassy, Scotty, BJ, Mom, Dad, Mema, and Aunt Sandy. We had a great time eating and talking!

We had a family loss last week. Grady our black lab died. Gavin freaked out! It was so sad. Our other dog, George the golden retriever, has been sad and depressed. We took him for a walk last night.

We took the boys with Kayleigh to Chuck E. Cheese the Friday night before school on Monday morning. We had a great time eating pizza and playing games. Gavin and Kayleigh were great! Gage had some issues. First, he climbed on the skeet ball TWICE! It is one of those moments when you fill sorry for that parent. (HA!) So he was in time out for the rest of the evening.

Kassy & Scotty

We had a great time meeting our future brother-in-law's family at Kassy and Scotty's engagement party. It was a little luau. Scotty cooked some meat, and it was great! I decorated a little to make it special for them. It was a very fun time!

BTW they were getting married in Galvaston, but with the hurricane everything was flatten, so plans have changed a little, and Lake DeGray is going to be the place for the ceremony.

Gavin is quite a little helper. He can help with clothes, dishes, sweeping... Just about anything. He also loves to make his bed, so he and Gage made their beds the other day. Gage is really not a help yet. He is more like a pain... ;) Atleast a pain to Gavin. Notice him standing in some of the pics... too cute!

The weather has been so nice lately. We like to call it "football weather!" :) Ray played with the boys outside the other day. We so should have enrolled Gavin in soccer. He is really good at it! I hate that we missed the fall season! I am going to have to check into the seasons for it. I have also thought about enrolling him in takwando. I am not sure if I want to deal with him getting in trouble at school for doing the moves. ;)

BTW school is great for him this year! Our big first grader!

The other night I walk into the living room and find every one of my boys on a computer!!! Ray had his work laptop out working, Gavin was on his computers playing his games, and Gage was on the "toy" computer doing his alphabet! What was even funnier was that I had been on the computer in the spare room doing homework!!! This proves the age that we are going through. Wonder what it will be like in 10 or 15 more years??

FROM THE HOUSE

So Ray is working hard on the remodel of the kitchen. I will add that it is looking awesome. He thought he would have it complete this weekend, but as it draws to an end there is still a little to do. Fine by me, but Ray is a little disappointed! I will post pics once it is complete. So how are you supposed to entertain and feed children when the kitchen is closed. I never realized how much time we spent in the kitchen! So Friday I took the boys to the Homecoming ballgame. The girls were beautiful! Then Saturday Lauren went with me to take the boys to Play Time Pizza. It is a fairly new place in Little Rock. It is kinda like a Chuck E. Cheese but WAY better!!! I was so impressed! We will be taking the boys back! We stayed away as long as possible, but I had homework due, so I had to come home and finish that up! Then Sunday we got up and went over to Mema's. We had lunch and the boys napped. Nana got out of the hospital yesterday, so she came over while Ba went to help Ray a little in the kitchen. We stopped by the park on the way home. The weather was perfect, then on to the house to eat and bath. It was an exhausting weekend for everyone, I think! ;)

Ray took this shot...

Here they are the pics of Ray's amazing transformation! The four pictures at the bottom are pre-remodeling! I cannot believe the change!

We had Christmas with Gram on Saturday night! She cooked delicious spaghetti and salad! The boys were in heaven! That is their favorite meal! We ate and then the boys got to open presents from the family. Gram did a glass ornament that the boys had to break to get their present($)!! Of course they loved be destructable! After we went into Hot Springs to look at Christmas lights. There were not very many lights to speak of! Downtown was gorgeous!! They had all kinds of trees in the park! Maybe we will get to go and look before Christmas next year; everyone may have already put them up! :(

So Friday was our last day "off." (Well we have been out of school for two weeks, but we have not rested and laid around one of those days!) I needed to catch up on school work but instead Nana called to see if we wanted to go and visit Aunt Kassy in Camden. I felt that since I do not get to see my sister that much I really needed to go and take the boys. So I loaded up the boys that morning, stopped and got Mema, and then stopped and got Nana, and we were off! Gage got sick about half way there... We think it was car sickness. The road is not a very straight one! He was fine when we got there; thank goodness! I had to clean up the mess! Yuck! We visited for a while and play rock band which Ray and I love! Kassy, Mom, and I (well Gavin too) played! It was so much fun! We have to get one of these! Uncle Scotty came home for lunch! They cooked brisket! It was GREAT! We spent the entire day down there and really could have stayed longer! It was such a great time!

Ever heard that saying??? Well I really do believe it. So Gavin and Gage's toy room was reformed. We put the tv on a wall mount and took out some oversized furniture. We spiced the walls up with a few posters and road signs! It is pretty cute. Well in the moving they found old halloween costumes - ninjas! They put them on and went to - FIGHTING! Of course it is all fun and games until someone gets hurt which was my baby boy. Gage got a monster busted lip! :(

Spring break is nice, but we don't get to spend it with Ray. He only has so much vacation time, and we still have the whole summer off too! I thought it would be great to take the boys to the zoo on Sunday! #1 Ray got to go. #2 I did not have to take them alone! :) Here are some pics from a nice family day! It was absolutely gorgeous!

The boys favorite animal was the monkey! Imagine that - they are like little monkeys! They also got to "pet" the elephant! Very cool!

Last week we had a visit from BJ and Jenni. They were down on their spring break planning their wedding. We got to see them everyday they were here! It was great! Here are a few pics of them playing the wii. (BTW, I have got to get some pics of the boys playing the wii. We had a family night of bowling the other night. It is so fun! I won! :) But Gavin beat Ray, and Gage was not far behind Ray!)

We also went to Pops and Pa's graves. I love the new blue and white flowers we picked up. There were some really good pictures.

Also Daddy turned 52! I got a quick pic of them blowing out the candles! Happy B-day! We made dinner and had strawberry shortcakes for dessert!

=)

The boys beg to go outside everyday when we get home especially if the weather is nice. It has been nice and HOT this week! ;) I got some pictures of the boys enjoying their hobo joe and playing with their bubbles from Teralee. They are growing too fast!

Well school is winding down (not fast enough though!), so hopefully I will be able to give my attention to other things. May has been a very busy month! Gavin is still playing minor league! He is doing so good! He started playing pitcher and is doing an awesome job! He is alo doing very well and school! He has loved first grade! Ray and I finished up our college courses, then I signed up for a mini session for 3 weeks in May! ugh!!! It is almost over... Gage is just being well... Gage! He is a ham and a cutie! I had a nice and relaxing Mother's Day Weekend! Mema is about to turn 82! Oh and I got my hair cut! I will post pictures later!

Yesterday was my mema's 82nd birthday! I think she knew it was her birthday only because everyone kept telling her that! :( She has a little dementia and tends to be on Gavin and Gage's level a lot... Well we took her to Hot Springs to Olive Garden. Everyone was there - Mom & Dad, Aunt Sandy, BJ & Jenni, Kassy & Scotty & kids, and my bunch. It was so nice to have everyone together! Gavin and Gage loved having Anna and Jacob there! It had bee a while since we had gotten to see them. Mom made a carrot cake, and I made a strawberry cake. They were both yummy. It was a great family dinner that I will cherish forever! Who knows when everyone will be able to get together like that again...

Walt Disney World - FL

Okay so we took our first (meaning only Ray, me, and the kids went) family vacation this last week to Disney World in Florida! I am here to tell you that Disney World is amazing and can be fun! (I have heard so many that hate it!) Yes, it was crowded and hot, but did that stop us?!? NO!!! We did everything and loved every second of it! Our kids were perfect, not really, but considering the heat, walking, etc... THEY WERE PERFECT! It was the hottest it has been in Florida this last week, imagine that! Gavin went for the the first time at the age of 7, Gage the age of 3 1/2, and Ray age of ... 26! This was my second visit! Everyone said that Gage would not have fun; we were taking him too young... etc... WELL they were all wrong! Gage did GREAT! We took a stroller and a "leash" (Ray and I hate them!) just in case we needed them for him, but he did NOT use either the ENTIRE trip!! Gage and Gavin held our hands everywhere we went and WALKED!!! I think that I am going to break up the post and trips into days. I think that would be eaiser to do with all the pictures that I took, plus I can kinda share how we made it work for us!

We left on Friday day morning and headed to Alabama to visit and stay the night with Ray's family. We got up really early on Saturday and drove to Clearwater Beach to stay the night. My parents took me and my siblings here when we went to Disney. It was only a little over an hour to get back to Orlando. We got up on Sunday morning and went to the beach. (My kids would not know what to think of a summer without a beach!) We started headed to Disney, but we were getting there really early, so we happened to find a place called Dinosaur World that had lifesized dinosaurs (not real), and we toured the park. The boys loved it! Ray got in FREE for Father's Day too! We got some lunch and headed on to Orlando. Sunday is where our Disney journey began, and I will start a new post for that! =)

Magic Kingdom

Disney really is a magical place. We were able to check in early and get a start on the Magic Kingdom. We had dinner reservations at the Crystal Palace at 7:45, so it was perfect to go and ride some rides and see some characters. We did several rides that we had chosen on the map. We saw Cinderella's Castle, Donald Duck, Ariel, and Mickey & Minnie Mouse!! The kids loved the rides: Dumbo, It's a Small World, Haunted Mansion, and Mad Tea Party! We ate with Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, and Eeyore! It was just amazing! We stayed late that night and saw the parade of lights and fireworks! I have goose bumps just thinking about it! The parade was absolutely beautiful and what a firework show it was!

Hollywood Studios and back to the Magic Kingdom

One of the nice features of staying on the Disney complex is going early into certain parks - Extended Magic Hours! (I know cool name for it! ha!) We took advantage and went Monday morning before 8:00 to Hollywood Studios. Gavin and I jumped on Nana and Aunt Kassy's favorite ride The Tower of Terror! Gavin did NOT like it! It climbs and then drops you over and over again. I loved it! We then went and rode another roller coaster - something with Aerosmith... Gavin liked it better. We did not have to wait in any lines, and we had the whole day! We went to a playhouse disney show. It was puppets, and the coolest show!! Mickey and friends with the Clubhouse, Handy Manny, Pooh, and Little Einsteins! The boys loved it!! The expressions were priceless! I will never forget the first time we took them! That day we also saw the Power Rangers, Mike & Sulley, and Indiana Jones. I actually got picked as an extra for the show!! I know! I am nuts, but Gavin thought I was so cool! Again all worth it!!

We went back to the hotel for a nap and then went back to the Magic Kingdom! There is just so much there to do! We also had dinner reservations at Liberty Tree Tavern. Good food! We saw Pluto as we entered! He was pretty funny! We also walked right into the celebration parade! It was so awesome! There were so many characters there! We rode a jungle cruise and pirate of the carribean ride. Also saw the Swiss Family Robinson house... Oh and took a magic carpet ride with Aladdin! Believe it; it is true! Anything is possible at Disney!

Gage's words after everything we did, "Mom and Dad that was SO awesome!"

Epcot and Magic Kingdom (again)

We were up EARLY on Tuesday. We had breakfast reservations at Chef Mickey's. It was too cool. Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto, and Goofy all came to our table to say hey! The food was great - buffet! Little Mickey waffles! =) Gage and Gavin loved it! We were so close to the Magic Kingdom we decided to go in and do a few rides in Tomorrowland. Space mountain was closed, and Gavin was bummed because he wanted to ride Ba's favorite ride. I remember loving space mountain too. We saw Stitch and Pinnochio too. Then we headed over to Epcot by monorail. Personally I do not think that Epcot is for small children. There is a character spot that had a line longer than the Mississippi river, so we did not do that. Epcot is educational and such... well a 7 and 3 year old are not into that at Disney. We did ride a few rides and saw an awesome Finding Nemo ride. We did see Daisy and Stitch again. We took a boat ride on the water too. It was nice, but not our favorite!

Animal Kingdom

I do not remember going to the Animal Kingdom in 1997 when we went to Disney World. Mom does not either, so I looked up when it opened. It opened April of 1998, so it was not there the last time I went! Crazy how things like that change! We loved the Animal Kingdom. It is different than other parks because the animals are REAL! They do not use plastic lids or straws. The straws were we used were made of paper to protect the animals! :) There is a lot of walking in the Animal Kingdom! We got there at 8:00 a.m. The first thing we did was a safari ride. YES, a real one! We got on the truck and went out into (Disney's) 800 acre African savannah! It was so awesome the animals that we saw... lions, giraffes, elephants, rhinos, hippos, some deer things... ;) We did a 3D show with A Bug's Life - Flik. It was very cool! The Festival of the Lion King was awesome! We saw all kinds of characters that day! Goofy even walked us up to his tent being we were first in line to see him! Someone said the parade was awesome and that we needed to stay for it. Gavin would not ride the Mt. Everest roller coaster with me, so we decided to ride a Kalhi River Rapid ride. It said, "You will get soaked on this ride." AND we did! Gage got to ride that one too! So we sat down for about 45 minutes in the shade, soaking wet and waited for the parade. That was nice. Gage took a nap. Gavin found made some new friends. (I know shocking right?!?)

We had dinner reservations in Downtown Disney that night. We will never book that place again! It was okay food, but nothing for the kids really. I thought it was from Pirates of the Carribean... nope! Anyways, we did a little shopping while there. The boys were itching to buy what they wanted. We told them they could buy the last day, so they needed to start a list! (Great tip by the way! They did not ask for anything!) We knew we were not going back Downtown, so it was perfect to pick a few things there. It was an early morning and a late night this day... I know you are supposed to rest of vacation, well here is another tip... You do not really rest at Disney! There is so much to see! The thing we did was try to break up the day and come back for a nap or lounging. That was about it for rest! Ha!

Back to Hollywood Studios

Breakfast reservations at Disney's Play and Dine in Hollywood Studios started our morning. We knew we were going to have to go back to Hollywood because we did not get to ride everything! We ate with JoJo and lion. Also some Little Einsteins! Very cool! Wish we could have seen Handy Manny! We got a fast pass to the NEW Toy Story 4D ride (which was awesome!!!) and went to see some characters. We saw Mr. and Mrs. Incredible, Buzz and Woody, Lightning and Mater, Characters from UP, and Sorcerer Mickey. All of them were very, very cool! We went back to hotel for lunch and naps. We set alarms to get up and go to Blizzard Beach waterpark, but we did not get up! The boys settled for the pool instead! I kept telling Gavin that we were not at Disney World to swim anyways! =)

Last day

So we had a seven day pass, but had really gotten everything done (well everything that we wanted to do) and were kinda tired, so we made Friday our last day. We got up EARLY and went to the Magic Kingdom. We saw Mickey pull in on the train with a family from Arkansas to start the magic. We took pics in front of the castle again. We went straight back to rides. We did the Mad Tea Party, Peter Pan, and drove the cars with no waiting. We got fastpasses for Buzz Lightyear and went to see Mickey. We took a family pic with Mickey and Minnie. Then we rode Goofy's mini rollercoaster TWICE. Of course Gavin loved it, but Gage did too! He was tall enough for that one! We were on the look out for Goofy to sign Gavin's hat, but we did not see him! Oh no! (We HAD to see Goofy before we left!!) Ray and Gav went to ride a roller coaster, so Gage and I rode Winnie the Pooh. We were done by 11:00 a.m. but still no Goofy. We went back to hotel. Gage and Ray took naps; Gav and I swam.

We had dinner at Ohana's. The boys did a dance; Ray and I even got out there. The food was good. I wish Lilo and Stitch had been there. I will remember about food reservations next time though! Get the character ones!! Our dinner was early, so I talked Ray into going to find Goofy while we were out. (If not we were going to have to get up on Sat., go find Goofy, and then leave... ugh!) I remembered that Epcot had a character spot where Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald, and Goofy was... They were supposed to be FOR SURE there! So we took off to Epcot on the monorail. We got to see Goofy and stayed for the fireworks show at Epcot! It was almost better than Magic Kingdom! Totally amazing show! It is a must do in Disney!

It was the most amazing experience! I cannot wait to take my kids back in a few years! Their expressions and attitudes were so awesome as Gager would say! I think that we spent $3500 over the course of 9-10 days: hotel, gas, food, souveniers, etc. Disney is totally affordable! We hoped you like all our pictures! We know we sure do!

July 11, 2009

Weddings are so beautiful! Don't you think?? I used to take pictures all the time at weddings and loved being apart of them! My little brother got married a few weekends ago, and I had the honor of taking pictures at his wedding! It was absolutely beautiful and perfect! They were married at family farm with approx. 130 of their closest family and friends! The building was complete and magnificent. BJ has found the perfect bride! Jenni is just the sweetest girl. Here are some of my most favorite pictures from the wedding.

Wednesday night Kassy and Scotty had us down for dinner. We went with Mom and Dad, and the boys took their bags to stay the night. They were excited to stay but also sad that Jacob and Anna were not going to be there. School was canceled the next day for me, so I went back to Camden the next day. We planned a day of different things for the boys. We went to an old civil war house in Camden. It is called the Chidster house. I was just amazed! This house was built prior to the war, went through the war, and is still there. (When I have more time, I will tell you the story of the house!) I encourage anyone to go and visit! We also went to White Oak Lake where we paddle boated and had ice cream! It was such a great day! We are going to Old Washington in a week! Love you sissy!

To those of you that live in Arkansas, have you ever thought about all the history that our state has? I always picture my vacation out of the state. I have never stopped to really think about what my family could do right here in Arkansas. This summer has been a little different. I really want the boys to appreciate things that are not just amusing to them, so we have been doing a little bit of everything. Earlier in the summer we visited the Diamond Mines, White Oak Lake, the Chidester House in Camden, and some battle sites. We have also spent a lot of time at Lake DeGray and Catherine. Tuesday we planned a day with Aunt Kassy and Nana. First, we went to Hope and visited President Clinton's boyhood home and museum. It was so amazing! Gavin loved the politics, and Gage loved the train depot where the museum was located. Then we went to Old Washington. We did not get to tour everything; we arrived a little too late, so we got to pick two places plus the courthouse. The boys LOVED the blacksmith shop! I have to say, so did I. I remember going as a young student; it brought back so many memories. We drove to everything while there. It covers a ton of blocks! I don't remember driving to everything when I was younger though! After leaving Old Washington, we met Sara and Teralee for dinner! It was a great end to a great day!

Today we went to Hot Springs and visited Tiny Town. A friend I teach with owns it, and his father built the town. The boys loved it! They were able to press buttons to make certain things move in the town. We spent 45 minutes and the room is really not as big as my living room. The town is in the middle, and you walk around the town on the sides. As we pulled away from downtown, I realized I have never been up in the mountain tower! Oh well, I guess I will just have to make plans to go! :)

The last weekend before school started our niece and nephew, Kayleigh and Kaiden, stayed the night with us. The kids got to play, and we all watched a movie together before bed. The next morning we got up and went to church then we went to the park for a birthday party. We are going to have to do this more often!

My Granny, my dad's mom, turned 80 my second day of school this year. We had not seen all the cousins in a while, so I decided to get a little party together. Mom got a cake, and I made homemade ice cream. YUM! Granny loved having everyone there! Only a few cousins were missing. The family is pretty large with everyone married now, so it is hard to get EVERYONE together! It was a nice day to visit and catch up!

Many of you know that my brother married Jenni this summer, but you may not know that he moved to Wisconsin with Jenni for her to finish college. They left right after the wedding in July which was hard because we had them here all summer. Thanksgiving was going to be the next time we saw them, so we decided to use the Labor Day weekend and visit them. Mom and Dad went with us as well. The drive was long - over 12 hours. We left on Friday right after school and drove all night. We arrived around 5:30 a.m. and took a NAP! BJ had to work Saturday evening, so we wanted to get up and going to have some time together. We went to the Millers brewery. It was very neat! BTW, Saturday was also Ray's birthday! Happy Birthday to him, right!?! Three free samples of beer! ha! Later we went to the park which was right beside Lake Michigan. We rented a surrey (basically large bike) and rode around. The boys loved it! It was cool beside the lake. Gage complained about being too cold! For dinner we went to California Pizza which is like Larry's here in Malvern. We had cheeseburger, hawaiian delight, meat crazers, etc. It was fabulous! For dessert - The Cheesecake Factory! Yummy! BJ and Jenni also had a cake for Ray! :) Sunday we got up and went to the Jelly Belly jelly bean factory! It was too cool! Then we did some shopping in the outlets! FUN! The men and Gavin played golf in the afternoon, and the women and Gage went back to the park. Mom rented a bike, and Gage and I rented a bike that was similar to the Batmobile! Ha! It was so fun! We hated the time was so short, but atleast we got to see Milwaukee AND BJ and Jenni. Thanks for having us!

We have been super busy as usual. Our weeknights are pretty full with homework, cheer, and ballgames. The weekends have been sort-a relaxing because we are getting to pick what we do. The boys have spent a lot of time with Ray in the deer woods. Gavin is pretty excited about hunting this year. Ray and Gavin's conversation the other day went like this. Ray - "We are going to have to pack us a lunch for next weekend." Gavin - "Why?" Ray - "Because we are going to be in the woods all day!" Gavin - "What? What are we going to be doing in the woods ALL DAY?" Needless to say Gavin has a little bit of learning to do about hunting. Gavin also had some friends stay over a couple of weekends ago. They were a lot of fun! Gage is growing into a little man! He is just so smart and so tall! The weather had been so beautiful! We are ready for the rain to leave!

Sometimes both boys want one of us which is nice for the other one, but on this morning Gage did not want to go hunting. His other option was to go with mom and watch girls dance. He went with mom! =0)

We love the fall weather, but we haven't really seen any in Arkansas so far! I cannot believe all the rain we have had! We made a date with the Stewarts to go to the pumpkin patch last weekend. Plans changed when Teralee got sick, but we decided to go because the weather was gorgeous for ONE day. Aunt Kassy and Nana went with us. The farm is not far from the house, and it is the cutest place. There was everything! Hayride, tractor ride for the kids, pumpkin patch, hay slide, petting zoo, and tons more. We put the boys in their boots and let them run! We even ran into Crissy and the boys and a special treat Lisa and Samuel! It was so beautiful and turned out to be a great day!

We had not seen Granny and Papa in quite some time. The boys really enjoyed the visit. They "showed off" all their tricks and got to eat all the candy and snacks they wanted!

Aunt Kassy brought Jacob and Anna up to visit today. We met and took pictures to give out for Christmas at the river. It was a nice, beautiful day! For lunch we went to Larry's Pizza! It was Jacob and Anna's first time! The kids had a big time. Of course we ate too much, but it is SOOOOOO good! After that we went to the park to play before Anna and Jacob had to go home. The kids played so good together! So sad we live so far apart and don't get to see the kids more! Love y'all!

Yippee Horray! It is Kaiden's Birtday!
At the Chaney farm
fun was had!
Nothing could slow him down!
What a birthday;
so blessed!
Kaiden had a cupcake,
plus one or two.
YeeHaw!
Jump on a horse,
ride around,
and have the best birthday in town!
Love you lil' man!

Thursday evening my aunt and uncle hosted Thanksgiving dinner. Mom was still in the hospital, so she and dad were not able to make it. BJ and Jenni had went back to Wisconsin, and Kassy and Scotty were celebrating with his family. Despite not really being with our close family on Thanksgiving, Gavin and Gage had a big time playing with their cousins! It was great food and great to see everyone! I always look forward to the deer meat! :)

A couple of weeks ago the doorbell rang. Gager opened the door to find a package. It was a book titled Elf on a Shelf. The book was in a box that looked like a little elf was supposed to come with it. Well I started reading the book to Gavin, Gage, and Daddy, and we found that there was supposed to be an elf with the book! We had to give him a name, so Fred was what the boys came up with. We still did not know where that elf was! The book told us that Fred was sent by Santa to help keep watch during the holidays. Fred stays with us during the day and then at night reports back to Santa with the good, bad, and ugly. He uses his magic powers to fly to Santa at night then in the morning he will be in a new spot. The boys started searching the house high and low for our little Fred. It wasn't long before he was spotted in the kitchen on a shelf! There are some rules to follow with our house elf. #1 Fred does NOT talk to children only to Santa and parents. #2 Little boys and girls cannot touch him, or he will lose his magic powers! If he loses his powers, he won't be able to tell Santa if you were good and what you want for Christmas! YIKES! Needless to say the search is on every morning for Fred. He has been in the bathroom, toyroom, and even the Tahoe! I kinda like having the little guy around if you know what I mean! ;)

Tonight we attended the Christmas parade downtown. The kids were pretty excited about the firetrucks and police cars. We saw our Mema in The Crossing's bus and our niece Kayleigh with the girl scouts. Gage thought he saw DonDon, but it wasn't really him. The boys got lots of candy and we FROZE! We had layered our clothes, but man is it cold out there! It was a lot of fun; Santa was even at the end!

Fairy wings and
princess crowns
can make a party
but
what could be sweetier
or more precious
than Fairy Kayleigh
at her fairy birthday party!

We love you Kayleigh! Happy Birthday!

This break started out busy! The Saturday before Christmas is always the Parish Reunion, my dad's dad family. There were ten brothers and sisters. Three have gone to be with the Lord, so there are seven left. One of my daddy's cousins was in a terrible automobile accident, so his mother (my papa's sister) could not be there. That left six siblings: my papa, his two brothers, and three other sisters. The next generation (my dad's) has a TON of cousins. Each of my papa's siblings had two to three children each, so THE FAMILY IS HUGE! We took a sibling photo and the next generation of cousins (note there are several missing!) We also took pictures of papa with his sons and his sons with their chilren with the grandchildren. I love the picture of myself with my boys, my daddy, and papa. Great memories!

Wednesday the boys, my mom, my mema, and myself headed to Camden to visit with Aunt Sis, Jacob, and Anna. Uncle Dub even came for lunch. We had some trouble on the way down, but finally made it there in one piece. The kids played and played, and we ate a ham that mom and dad had cooked for lunch! YUM! It was nice and restful. I even played a round of gold fish with those cheatin' kids! :) When it was time to go, mom came up with a brilliant idea! Gavin stayed the night with Jacob in Camden, and Anna came back with Gage to stay the night at Nana and Ba's. Fun times! I bet those were some interesting conversations! ;)

I don't know about you other moms out there, but I cannot stand for either of my boys hearts to be broken, especially the baby. Well I wanted to blog about this because I don't want to forget it. My boys are four years apart. Mainly they get the same things, but they have started asking for different things, especially this year. So when Gage came home from Miss Lissa's with the first gift of the season. I knew we were in for a fight. It was a glo-doodle. Gavin wanted it so bad, but Gage did not want to share. I had an idea. I explained to Gavin that he was going to get something from someone that he was not going to want to share, so I was not going to make Gage share this toy. Being seven almost eight, he understood and was cool because Gage did hand it over every once in a while. I explain to Gage that Gavin is not going to share with him also. So you are thinking - Okay MacKinzy get to the point. Okay here is the point. We are at Granny and Papa's house opening gifts. The cousins have drawn names, so you don't know what you are going to get. Gavin got a remote control truck, and he was so excited. Gage got a race track, and he was excited. PROBLEM: Gavin can open his and play. Gage cannot. There are too many pieces, etc. So Gage wants Gavin's. BIG PROBLEM!! Those crocodile tears start rolling with Gage saying I want to play with Gavin's toy. I have to remind that poor baby that he did not share, so Gavin does not have too!

Man! Anyways, here are pics from Christmas Eve of Gage, Gavin, and Ray putting together that race track before we go to bed! :) Finally a happy baby! (Check out Gage's faces! Do you think he was really happy?!? Oh no! Gavin was helping! I swear; I can't win for losing!)

Our Time Together

More than the last one!

Let's see... A week ago we had an ICE day. The boys had no desire to go out and play! Mainly because there was nothing on the ground to really pick up.

Well, I watched the ten o'clock news, and there was a chance that we might get a SMALL something! That SMALL something turned into ANOTHER day out of school, but this time it was pretty and atleast looked like we should have been out of school.

The boys were ready to go as soon as they woke up because I told them it may go away soon. It had started raining here. We got bundled up with three layers, a good thick jacket, and our rainboots and headed out! By the time we got outside the rain had turned to either freezing rain/sleet/hail. We all got an umbrella and took off anyways. We played in the front yard. The boys tried to make snow angels. They rolled down our hill in the front. Then we took off walking to the train tracks where they had a snowball fight.

It was so fun! I enjoy these moments with my boys. As I took pictures, I was thinking about pictures for their senior pages! :( We really missed having Ray at home today! :(

We are all in our warm pjs now with the clothes drying and a fire going! =)

Our nephew Jacob turned 11 a couple of weeks ago, so we celebrated with a Harley themed birthday! Mom was sick, so her and dad could not make it. We took the boys and mema down for the party and of course the food! Ha! It was a feast and Jacob seemed to have gotten everything he had asked for! Love you Jacob!

Ray finally got to buy a boat! The weather has been just right to go out, relax, and fish a little. The boys were too cute in the boat! We took a pinic out and found a spot to fish. I think most of Gage's food ended up in the water! Gavin was like a pro, casting and reeling, over and over. Great memories!

Ray and I did not make it to Anna's party, so I do not have any pics to post! But the boys went with Nana and Ba to the party. They all had a big time like normal! The balloon drop was a big hit again! Happy Birthday Anna! Sorry we missed it!

Aunt Virginia's 80th Birthday

Mema's sister turned 80 this year, so we took a road trip to Texas to celebrate. Mema is not in the best condition. Her dementia is getting really bad. It just breaks my heart because it was just like yesterday she was keeping both my boys, and now she can't even remember to breath. :( But we wanted to make the trip with her even though she probably doesn't remember a thing. It was a lot of fun seeing all my cousins and their children. The kids had the best time playing. My aunt hosted us for two big meals around the party. It was a house full! 21 total and not everyone was there! We stayed in a hotel with Aunt Sis's family and Nana & Ba. It was fun staying up late and chatting! Once again the kiddos had the best time! It was short, but nice to see everyone! There may not be another one with Mema either, so it will always be special to me.

Running back and forth, missing one kid's game to see the other kid's... the life of a parent! It has been a very long and interesting season. From rain to events, there was always something else getting in the way of my babies' games.

Here we come... a summer with no classes and just time to spend with my kiddos! I am so very excited to have completed my MSE in Reading! It was a tedious journey, but one that was WELL worth it! I could not have finished without my wonderful husband and supportive family and friends! Thanks all!

Happy Birthday to Mema! When you say your prayers at night, will you say a prayer for my sweet little mema? :) She is just a precious little thing that has lost her memory, God love her! I am so happy she is here to turn 83 yet sad. Her memory comes and goes, and it just sends me into a tizzy! I worry about my mother worrying about her too!

Any who... We had a nice little spaghetti dinner with birthday cake! She, of course, was excited to see my boys! :)

Aunt Jenni and Uncle B stopped by a few weekends ago on their way to a track meet in Dallas, TX. We were all SO excited to see them!! We got to swim with them, eat with them, and spend some time with them. They also got to see one of Gage's t-ball games! Fun times!!

This is a little bit of everything I haven't posted about!

We have had a lot of fun this summer! BUSY, BUSY, BUSY! I am not sure we ever just had a day to be lazy! We were always planning something with someone to visit... I don't know how I ever coached cheer! I have missed it a little, but I have had the best summer with my boys! We have camped, took swimming trips with friends, and played with Uncle B and Aunt Jenni in these pics! Whew! That is not even the tip of the ice berg!

Headed west into Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah then back...

WARNING: THIS IS LONG!

We took an eight day road trip to the Grand Canyon! Some words to describe the GC: breathtaking, amazing, huge, incredible, unimaginable, HUGE, beautiful, unreal, extraordinary! Okay so to back up and start from the beginning...

We (my family of four, my mom & dad, and my aunt & uncle) left on Saturday, July 10th at about 5 o'clock in the morning. We headed to Texas to borrow an eight passenger vehicle from my mom's friend. After switching the cars, we headed through TX into New Mexico! The scenery really started to change! Not sure if they call the mountains or what... They don't look like our mtns. They look like a mesa or plateau or something like that but like mtns. too because they are huge! And they were everywhere! We stopped our first night in Tucumcari, NM. We stayed in a retro hotel on the Historic Route 66. For dinner, we ate at a diner that had been there forever! The food was yummy! Then we sacked out to get up early for another day of driving! :)

Day 2 - We got up, got ready, loaded the ride, and hit the road again. We stopped at an auto museum on Route 66. Very cool! The boys saw "Mater!" Saw some other cool things on the way to the Painted Dessert and Petrified Forest! Amazing! I was thinking oh my... I can't believe the GC is going to bigger than this! We took several hours and drove through the entire park. Got a lot of cool pics and the murals and logs. We ate on Route 66 again, but this time the food was not good! Headed for the hotel where the boys swam before bed. Had to get to sleep early - The Grand Canyon was in the morning!! :)

Day 3 - Got up, got ready, loaded... You get the picture! Headed for the Grand Canyon - the south rim. Saying we were going to the south rim is important because we went to all sides of the canyon: south, west, and north. People say that once you have seen it, you've seen it. NOT TRUE! The sides were all different!! When we arrived at Desert View, I could not believe that we were there and that it was so big!! It looked fake!! I was a little scared because there are not rails around it! Some places that have ledges for pictures or lookouts have rails, but my boys could easily have slipped through, AND that would have been horrible! So we were all over the boys to hold a hand and stay close!! We went in the watch tower there... TOO COOL! Then we drove through the park stopping at almost all the lookouts for the different views and to get pictures! After we had seen everything we were going to see on the south rim, we headed toward Nevada for our only pit stop that lasted two nights! We drove Route 66 to Nevada then went over the Hoover Dam and parked at our hotel!

Day 4 - We are in Las Vegas, NV! WooHoo! Dad and I took a helicopter ride today that landed on the Canyon floor for lunch! :) I know right?!? It was amazing! The ride was very bumpy but well worth it!! The view was amazing! It was insane to be looking up at the Canyon from the Canyon floor. We were on an Indian reservation when we landed. They allow the company to do that... (I am sure for a price.) After the ride, we met Ray, the boys, and mom to take a tour of the Hoover Dam! It was VERY cool! You get to see how they built it and actually go down under into a tunnel and everything! The boys loved it! We had dinner and then drove the strip to see the Vegas lights! Very cool!

Day 5 - Had to leave the hotel after two nights... The boys did not want to because we had a pool and a McD's! We headed north into Utah for a brief moment then back into Arizona to visit the north rim of the Canyon. WOW! The north was green! There were trees where there weren't any on the south (or very few in comparison!) The lodge on the north side was very cool! I would love to go back and stay there when the boys are much older. We could hike the canyon or float the river... Anyways back to this vacation. Dad, me, and the boys were the only ones that would walk out to the ledge where there were rails, so we got some pics of that! Very PRETTY! Then we headed to our hotel for the evening... Oh along that road we came across the Navajo Bridge... It is one of the few bridges that cross the Colorado River. (Hoover Dam is another one.)

Day 6 - We headed to the Four Corners where Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona meet. It was a LONG drive and guess what - the monument was CLOSED! Can you believe that!? I was a little mad! Oh well, we tried. Onto the hotel for the evening... This day was a little boring! We stayed south of Albuquerque, NM for a surprise the next morning!

Day 7 - HOT AIR BALLOON RIDE! Yes, we were able to talk Ray and Mom into going with us! All six of us went. We got up EARLY and headed toward the mtns. The boys were so excited! The balloon was an alien head! Pretty cool! The ride was so smooth and peaceful! The landing was a little bumpy but not too rough. We were served breakfast and then headed to gather our stuff from the hotel to hit the road again! We drove all the way to Dallas, TX where we stopped to stay the night with my other aunt and uncle.

Day 8 - A nice home cooked breakfast from my aunt and uncle then we headed HOME! =)