Halloween Party

Here are a few pics from the Atkins halloween party on Sunday.

Turkey Hunter, Train Conductor, Medusa

Happy Birthday Toot Toot Beth

Yesterday was my sister's birthday! I've posted before about her and what she means to me but I wanted to take another minute to emphasize how much I love her!



Back in 1982 when she was born, I'm sure I wasn't a happy camper to now have to share my house with her. I vividly remember a time before she was born when I tried to sit in mom's lap in the rocking chair and there wasn't much lap left due to the baby taking "my" space. Little did I know how important this baby would be to me.


Over the years, I had many frustrations hearing her say "Bec Be won't play with me" or "you're not the boss of me!" These phrases I heard for MANY years. We both have changed so much over the past 25 years. She has become my best friend. I talk to her everyday (at least once a day) and she's the person I call when I need to talk, vent, cry, or laugh. She is my "go to" person for many things, especially if something were to happen to me and Hayden needed a loving home. We are lucky that we have great family that would definately take care of him, but Beth is so much like me in the mothering sense that it is conforting to know that his life would be filled with love (and tractors)!







Happy Birthday Beth! We love you!!!!!!

Circus

Yesterday we took Hayden to the Shriner's Circus. It was small but just enough to keep his attention for the majority of the time. Here are a few pics of the things he liked most.

The tigers are gorgeous. They were so big and so cooperative. I loved this picture of the one tiger licking the other one's face.

The motorcycle was by far pretty cool. It was awfully windy so I'm sure this poor guy was a little nervous as well as the girl that was hanging below him.

This one is sort of blurry. The wind was so bad a times. This little monkey was very mischievous.

I think the elephants were everyone's favorite. They were so cute!

Here they are laying down...It was amazing watching such large creatures lay down and then get right back up.

Zoo

We had a great weekend! We visited the Atkins "zoo" yesterday after lunch and the kids loved it. Brian's uncle has a little "zoo" at his home and we haven't had a chance to meet the new members until yesterday.

Here's cute pic of Addison riding Arthur the Camel. She wasn't afraid at all. Hayden on the other hand, scared to death. He barely let me get close enough to pet it.

Here's Hayden bottle feeding George, the pot-bellied pig. He was too adorable. The kids loved chasing him around.

This is the Pikachu (not sure about the spelling). I don't remember his name but he is adorable. They are very nocturnal and softer than any animal I've ever touched. He loved Brian.

Here are more pictures from our fun day!

It's Been A While

We've been busy lately with odd and end things going on. I haven't taken many pictures but have a few from my camera.

First was a birthday party for Haylee. Her prince and princess theme was adorable. It was held at a gym so the kids loved jumping on the trampoline and running/climbing their way thru the course.








Here is a pic from the grocery store a week or so ago. He loved the fire truck.

This is at Toys R Us. He loved riding the tractor with Bob the Builder.

Freebie

Visit this site for a chance to win one of these...(Beth, this means you!!!)

Enjoying the Weather

The weather here in TN has been absolutely beautiful for the past week (compared to the 103 degree temps and no rain for 2 months). On Saturday, Hayden and I took a trip down to our friends house, the Lehmans. They have a levey that they built for when the river bottoms flood for duck hunting. I knew Hayden would love it down there with possible sitings of deer, ducks, frogs, and anything else that might appear.

Brian was down there as well working on building up a new section of the levey with his hunting buddies. Hayden was excited to see the tractors but was a little upset that he couldn't ride on them. He was excited that he got to ride on the 4-wheeler for the first time :) Notice his hat is turned around like Daddy's!

Labor Day Weekend

It was great having a long weekend. We did some things and also a lot of nothing. Mostly Hayden and I played in his barn with his animals and favorite matchbox cars. Boy does he love those things!


We took a trip to Books-A-Million since it was so hot outside. Hayden knows exactly where the Thomas Train table is. He will play on that thing for hours if I'd let him. It's a nice break for him to play with some other kids other than me on the weekends. Maybe Santa Clause will bring him this table for home so he can invite his friends over to play :)

This is another crazy picture of him wearing an old pair of my sunglasses. You'll notice that he turns them upside down so they fit him better. He's so silly!

We also went to Poppa and Nonna's house for a bit. Hayden loves to play on Poppa's "tractor".

On Monday, we took a short trip to a small playground for Hayden to run some energy off. With the heat, he only lasted about 30 minutes but had a great time playing with other kids.

We're Back

We are back from our much needed vacation. Between the madness of work and home, we've managed to not have a real vacation in over 3 years. With Hayden being more mature and listening better, we decided to take a few days to go to Gulf Shores and then hit the Atlanta Aquarium on the way home.

We borrowed a DVD player and were set for the beach. I think Hayden watched Cars 3 times on the way down. It took us 9 hours and only had to stop for gas and a quick bite. We arrived around 3:30 which was perfect. It gave us time to load our stuff in the room and head for the beach. Here are a few pics of Hayden's first experience with the beach.

This is one of my favorite pics of his little foot print in the sand.

We stayed a few days at the beach and then headed to Atlanta to the largest aquarium. Hayden absolutely LOVED it! The crowds weren't bad with kids just going back to school so he was able to walk around and see everything. The animals were very cooperative and active for him to see. He could definately tell you the difference between a shark and a regular fish.

All in all we had a great time. Hayden couldn't have been a better behaved/mannered kid. He made this vacation wonderful.

Here are the rest of the pictures from our vacation. Enjoy!

Supporting Our Local Waterfowl

Saturday we went to the Delta Waterfowl banquet. This was Hayden's first year to go and to our amazement he was awesome! Here are a few pics from the night.

Hayden and Brian waiting for the youth drawing:

Brian hiding behind Hayden. You can see that he was hot from running around.

Toy Recall

Please check out this link for a listing of all toys being recalled and pass it on to your friends.

http://www.nbc11.com/news/13801531/detail.html

Fun at the Park

Saturday night after dinner, we took the kids (Hayden, Addison and Bryson) to the park to let them run some energy off. They had a great time. It's nice that the play areas are separated into Toddler and Older kids so that the little ones don't get run over. Here are some pics from the evening.

Click here for some pics!

On Sunday, Hayden and I went to Nonna and Poppa's house to play while Brian cleaned out the garage. Poppa made Hayden his own little play house with a window.

And wearing Poppa's boots...

Happy Birthday Nonna!!!

Today is Nonna's birthday! It's not just a birthday, but it's her 50th birthday!!!! Many people get a little annoyed when you express their birthday in years but this year is special. Nonna has so much to be thankful for and has accomplished so much in these years.

Here she is with her dad and brother when she was a baby

She's 4 or 5 here - I love this picture

Field Commander in High School

Wedding - February 17, 1977

Hayden and Nonna last year

She is not only a mother but also a grandmother. Nonna is very giving to anyone that needs her and will do anything for us. We are definately very blessed to have such a great mom (and grandmother). Happy Birthday!

School Pics

Go ahead...leave me a comment to tell me that he's the cutest thing EVER!!!

It's Been A While...

So we've been busy lately with Brian being in Japan for work. Here is a brief overview of what Hayden and I have been doing to keep busy...


We watched the fireworks at Brett and Amie's house on the 30th. They were wonderful. TVA does a great job on these and Brett and Amie have the perfect spot to watch them shoot from the river. As everyone knows, Hayden loves tractors. Here's a picture of Hayden and Caleb on one of many tractors at the Lehman farm.

Hayden and Robert Tipton:

Hayden driving:

Not the 1st but the 2nd slice of watermelon for the evening:

These are baby deer that were trying to cross the street yesterday in front of the car. I stopped to let them cross and it took them a good 2 minutes to feel comfortable enough to cross. Their mama I'm sure was watching from the other side praying they make it across.

On the 3rd, we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house for a cookout and to watch the fireworks on the river. Here are some pics of Hayden and Addison playing in the pool.

Hayden and Aunt Lacey eating Dilly bars.

Fast asleep after a hard day.

Today (the 4th) we went swimming with Toot Toot Beth. Hayden loved jumping in all by himself. Here he is counting 1, 2, 3... Beth and I were shocked that he wanted to jump in the pool by himself. I'm so proud of him. (I can't believe I'm posting bathing suit pics of myself - sorry about that!)

After swimming, we rode the big tractor with Uncle Michael. That totally made his day.

We hope that everyone has had a great 4th of July celebration with family and friends.

We love you daddy and can't wait for you to come home. We miss you!!! XOXOXO