Ray turns Thirty-what???

I had failed to blog about Ray's 31st birthday, it was a real low key event with just our best friends and family. We cooked out and had a fun filled day out on the lake and then some games that evening on the deck. Oh yeah, and Sheana made him a fruit pizza with his name on it for his birthday! Glad someone loves him! Ha!

Friends, Family, Fall and FUN!!!

I must say that I am partial to the Fall season and seem to come 'alive' during this time of the year! I love to decorate for fall and Halloween and do as much as possible during this time of the year, aside from Christmas!!!

We have several October birthday's, so after Colton's we celebrate my neice's and then my mom's.We enjoyed a beautiful fall birthday party that was outdoors for my niece, Zhenya"s 2nd birthday, and let me say that was fun with all the little ones together. Bry hung out with a little girl the whole party (go figure)! While Colton and Avner were thick as thieves and then the princesses stayed side by side and enjoyed the food!

Then, we had fall break and Bryson took that literal and had a fall then a brake on his left wrist. He was "doing a first grader flip on the monkey bars for a GIRL, nonetheless!! Do you see a pattern here? Well luckily we were able to get a wet cast and move our stay at The Wilderness for a few nights so that we didn't loose the nights we had paid for. For our trip to the Wilderness of the Smokies for a couple of nights, I took my parents with us to help with the kids. We loved it! We played and I shopped a little, it was a nice getaway and we hope to go up there again soon! SO over all we had a great fall break!

Oh lord, Colton is 4!!!!

Oh lord, Colton is 4! I really cannot believe that my baby boy is four! Wow, it seems that we just brought him home and were trying to adjust from 1 to 2 babies. Colton is absolutely a special child in may ways. I don't say this lightly. Colton is reckless abandonment wrapped up with compassion and love. He is sort of like a sour patch kid, mean then nice! I love this child's spirit and he is such a challenge and blessing all at once.

Enough of the mushy stuff..
Colton wanted to have his party at Chuck E Cheese after we decided having it at Ray's grandmother's house wasn't going to work due to her having a recent hospital stay and a couple other obstacles we were facing. SO Chuck E Cheese it was...and on a Saturday! Well, I must say they make the party process pretty smooth and streamlined. No complaints in that department. However, Colton was a weee bit overwhelmed when it all started. He didn't want to get his birthday crown, medallion, or stand up in his seat to be recognized as the birthday boy. Moreover, we did get him to blow out his candle, that was progress. We invited family and our neighbor so it was a small group but was way easier to manage.

Oh, and Colton didn't want to get in the booth so Deedaw stepped up to the challenge! Ha. Well after hours there and a puppy trip next door, it was all and all a good party.

And Colton racked up on a ton of guns for his presents!!!??? Eekk!

A September to Remember!

To kick off September and Labor Day weekend, what better than to get away? Well, that we just did. We went to the mountains with my family for the weekend and to Dollywood. We were really fortunate and planned this trip on a whim and came across an amazing deal with this cabin right behind Dollywood, making it more than convenient to enjoy the mountains as well as the park while we were in Pigeon Forge. The kids loved the cabin, as well as the adults! Oh and my kids LOVE hot-tubs!

Also to help usher fall in, one cool evening we  I decided to get the fire pit and make a fire to roast marsh mellows. I'm still not exactly sure what I was thinking because for some reason I thought it was gonna be relaxing? There is nothing relaxing about 3 kids and fire....anyways...

Oh yeah and the house...is coming along!! Its the back addition; garage, with new master suite, Brin's room and powder room. Yay for Ray the husband, dad, carpenter, contractor, electrician, excavator, laborer and everything else he does for us to have the home we live in! We love you Deedaw!

All good things must come to an end...

As all good things must come to an end, so has this summer. We have had such an awesome summer. It has been filled with long, fun, hot days coupled with water, food, and friends. What more could we ask for?

To wrap up the summer we had a couple more water slide days, lake days, some watermelon, more play dates and cookouts!

Farewell summer 2011 and welcome fall ya'll.

My Babies started school !!!

My baby, big boy started Kindergarten!!! He was so excited to start school. I think I was just as nervous as he was as we where walking into the school but then we saw a lot of kids and parents we both knew and both of us were at ease!
Bryson looked adorable his first day, I may be a little partial! Brinley and Colton wanted to go but their school, mother's day out, hadn't started yet.
Moreover, big brother was proud he was going to big school and happily took pics with Brin. I walked him to class after setting in bus hall with him and honestly he was ready for me to go. Their were no tears, not even from me! Yay, mom! I am very pleased with the school Bryson goes to, it has been an 'Achievement School' three years in a row! Also, I know a lot of people there as well and that helps!

Finally, Brin and Colton started mother's day out. I was really sad and happy at the same time they were going, I guess it finalized the end of summer and also they had graduated to new teachers and classes after you work so hard at building those relationships over the previous year, it is just a little sentimental.

Oh yeah, I think Brin and Colton looked pretty cute too!!

Brinley Rae is 2!!

Who would have thought its true, Miss Brinley Rae' is turning TWO! Well, I believe it...she is scratching the surface of terrible two's and her being a PRINCESS doesn't help that at all! Anyways, we had a small little party for her 2nd birthday party celebration coupled with a water slide and cupcakes!

 It turned out to be a gorgeous and HOT day so it was perfect for the kids, not so much the adults, but the waterslide was a big hit (thanks to my friends Marie and David)!!

Brinley was slightly cranky at the beginning thus the grouchy pics and then the party was such a whirlwind she didn't really take it all in till she was playing all alone in the kitchen with all her new toys!

I must say this was one of our more successful birthday parties, yet.