Ho! Ho! Ho!

Anyone else up for believing that Santa can come in August? Well, Taylor Marie wanted to wear her Santa hair bow today and who am I to say no?. We have been looking forward to cooler weather and she thought this might be the next best way to get the job done.

In Need For a Trim

We started out our morning with Daddy getting his haircut at Dave the Barber in the Factory and ended the morning with the kids getting their first haircut at a "kid's" place. We have been going to our dear friend Mrs. Lori for our haircut. Mommy is growing out her hair and the kids hair, so we haven't had a cut in SO LONG! With all the heat lately and the kids starting school, we decided this morning for a trip to a hair cutting place. (It also helped that we had a buy one get one 1/2 off coupon).Here is my sweet muffin cup getting her hair trimmed. I love how her hair curls up all over the place. I think she is just down~right adorable!
Here is my buster boo bear getting his hair trimmed. His hair looks so good longer around the top I think. He is getting to be such a sharp looking boy. Not just my sweet baby boy anymore. Now, this picture cracks me up. We are in the parking lot and I ask them to stand next to my sharp looking Caddie for an "after" shot. Looking at this picture it looks to me like Gavin is posing behind his sister like a bodyguard. It says, "You mess with her, you mess with me!". I sure do love these precious babies!

Would You Like Fried Rice with that?

So, we got the call from Grammie and G-Pa Friday for dinner. If you know us at all, we are always looking for a good dinner out of the house. (Hince why Chris and I are not very good at losing weight!) Grammie reminded Chris that he was going to be treated to a free dinner because he was the only one to properly place the needle and draw blood while she was in the hospital.
We love Shogun's in Cool Springs, so we packed up the car and went. Here is a picture of us at the table. I was sitting next to Gavin, so for those that judge (you know who you are), he wasn't flanked out there all by his big boy self. As you can see, a hibachi grill and I are tight! The kids love the shrimp, Chris loves whatever comes his way and I am a fillet girl! From the previous posts, you know that Grammie is the one who makes the awesome surprises with her sewing machine. Here you have yet another example of her handy work. She informs us that she has a surprise for the kids, so we proceed to her car. The kids are on full alert for something spectacular and Grammie doesn't disappoint. She takes out the Spiderman pillowcase with GAVIN embroidered on the side, and a Lightin' McQueen and 'Mater pillowcase with TAYLOR MARIE embroidered on the side. (Yes, for those wondering why that type~Tay did request something in that fabric. She loves the movie!)
Needless to say, we came home shortly after and they we already undressing and redressing their pillows. Grammie loves to make scrub hats you know and since her lovely son has a big 'ole head, she is always trying something new. Here is Chris' newest hat and a great shot of him with his dad. We had a wonderful night! Thank you Grammie and G-Pa!

Is It Fall Already?

Look at my precious Boo Bear! Isn't he just adorable? I am so excited for him to start soccer this fall. He had his first practice on Tuesday. We really like his new coach and his new teammates.
Since I love soccer, I am really excited he is learning gross motor skill, getting his energy out, learning how to share responsibilites with other team members, and getting in shape all at the same time. Chris and I are learning the ropes with not speaking up when we notice him doing something "not correct". We keep looking at each other saying, "The coach will notice and he will correct him." To remind us of our "place". Case in point: The pictures shows the coach stretching while sitting on his hiney and holding out his right arm. You can see that my child is sitting on his green soccer ball while holding out his left arm. Paying attention? Why yes, we are, we are just not listening to what he is saying.
Now, there is my Tay Tay. She is the most patient little one on the sidelines. She either sits on the sidelines or gets up and dances. You can see Gavin in the background doing a drill while Tay is turning around and around.
Yes, that is the lovely TN grass we are standing on. Franklin is on a mandatory water use restriction due to the lack of rain and HIGH HEAT. Today was well over 106*F. The heat index was at least 115*. I promise you the "grass" is more like pine needles. You can't sit down or fall down or else you will have cuts on your legs and arms.
All this to say, "Is it REALLY Fall already?". School is back in session and Metro is running 1/2 days due to the extreme heat. This weather has taken a toll on our outside activities.

Who Says You Can't Fill Your Day With FUN?

What is The Farmer's Market without friends? We had a BLAST on Saturday with our friend Elijah and cousin Ella at th market. As you can tell it was another beautiful(oh, yes, hot as usual)day, so getting up early to do our shopping was a must.
Following our shopping trip, we went to our dear friend, Conner's birthday party. As you can see Gavin and Tay had another BLAST! We were at Pump It Up in Brentwood, and the kids were on an adrenaline rush! Tay couldn't stop moving around and I swear Gavin's hair looked like he had just gotten out of the pool he was sweating so much! Chris had to enjoy the Super Slide with Tay, even though he was about to slide right on top of her.
Ceanna and Tay were just so adorable with their "funky" socks, I had to take a picture. The two of them are so precious!
Our friends from the morning activity were invited to the party also, so needless to say, we had an entire day of fun!
One of the great things about moving back to the town you are from, is the odd chance you might run into a very dear friend you lived down the street from.
I have been so blessed for God to have placed in my life, not once, not twice, but many times the opportunity to run into Kelly R. as my dad calls her. She was (and still is) a very near to my heart friend. We lived so close to each other that we could walk to each others house and when we got older, we rode our bikes there and back.
Now, Kelly has two boys. The oldest, Conner is Gavin's age. They youngest, Will, is less than a year old. Pictured with Kelly is her son Will and her mom, Mrs. R. I love this family and we are so thrilled that our children will now have the same opportunity to form a friendship such as ours.
Now for the birthday boy and Gavin's photo. They are so precious together! I just love this picture!

High School Girlfriends

Well, if my glasses would have not been broken, it would have been a more comical picture. No, the fuzzy photo will do for comic relief.
From left to right: Holly, Mandy, and then myself. I am the BIG pregnant one.
These girlfriends have been there for me since high school. Yes, I know, that means for more than 13 years now. I love these girls! We have all been through our FAIR share of events. The other interesting fact is that we are pretty different from each other. In the case where opposites are supposed to attract with your spouses, I would have to say it applies to my dearest friends and not to my spouse. You see, Holly never wants to have biological children, Mandy wants them later in life, and I couldn't wait to get started on my four. That is just one example.
Another great thing about these girls is that we NEVER have competed for anything. We all had different ideas of what our dream guy should look like. Case in point-the photo or our men. They didn't know each other before meeting their future bride to be, however they totally understand the need for us to get together and they now get along great! Even though we don't "hang" in the same crowd now that we are adults, we sure do like getting together and laughing out loud. Photo of guys from left to right: David (other half of Mandy), Chris (my better half), and Derek (our war hero and Holly's other half).
To us, true friendship is when you can pick up where you left off without explaining why you didn't call sooner. We have NEVER been upset at each other for not calling on a birthday or shoot even sending the gift on time. I love that when we do call we are nothing but happy to hear the other ones voice. That is a great friend. Never judging the other because through all the years so much has happened that we are happy just to have the other ones friendship without strings. I love you guys!
P.S. Kaci, you too! If you and Clay could have been here, we would have welcomed you with open arms.

Cousin Camp

I am now going to take the time to post about our trip to South Carolina for Cousin Camp. We were there from July 1st to the 3rd.
This is a very near and dear post for me. You see, Nonnie and De-Dah are so very special to me. Nonnie (the one holding her blue purse sitting on the end of the front row) and my grandmother, Baca, were first cousins and best friends. They had a very special relationship and were raised as sisters. When Baca passed away, Nonnie took me in as one of hers. She is so very special to me!
Now back to what is cousin camp. Cousin Camp was formed when Nonnie and De-Dah's four children starting having children of their own. Their rule is: as long as you are potty trained you can stay as long as you like.
Back when the kids were younger and I wasn't married, I started to help with cousin camp. When I met Chris, he started helping with the camp. Now that we are married with children, we attend cousin camp. It really is a great thing!
When their grandkids were younger, it was a week long event. The parents would "drop off" their kids on Sunday and "pick up" on Saturday. What a treat to have a whole weeks vacation!
Nonnie would have the entire week planned out! She had prepared every meal, trip, nap, everything down to the last detail. Now that her real grandchildren are much older, the week has become two or three days and the trips are for the older ones. It is hard to plan cousin camp when the children have a hundred other camps to attend. Nevertheless, we had a blast driving to West Columbia, SC and being surrounded in love. It has been awesome to watch the children grow and embrace my children.

Member Night

We love going to the zoo! On member night you get to go after the zoo closes to the public and ride the carousel for FREE! On this night, Chris, Matt and Shelly were busy. This meant that Fluffy, Giggy and myself were feeling up to the task and ventured out to the zoo.
We had so much fun with Ella and Fluffy and Giggy! As you can tell with Ella's excited face.
Gavin was just as excited (although he doesn't have his excited face on)! He never gets to ride the carousel because his parents can not justify spending that much money for a 30 second ride. However, when member night rolls around ~ We are all about the Free ride!
Taylor Marie was going through the short turnstile when she bumped her head. So, in this picture, she is getting over the pain and about to enjoy her ride on the giraffe.

Come Sail Away

Papa, Nannie and Kay Kay invited us down to their lake house for Papa's and my shared birthday weekend. Here are the pictures of the fun that was had.
Gavin learned to love Jet skis, Gatorade, fishing and wearing a life jacket (it had Scooby Doo on it).
Taylor Marie learned to love the sun, her little bathing suits, riding the boat, fishing and sitting at the dock of the bay watching the time roll away...ooo.
Did I mention that Chris loves the lake? I really think he would live on the lake as long as it was within thirty minutes of Vandy Children's for call. He loves the jet skis, the boat, the dock for fishing and well, really everything!
I am more of a beach girl, just because I know that there are not any snakes in the ocean. I say that because we saw one there and it taught me NOT to fall off the jet ski.
The children played to their hearts content and could not get enough! I had snuck into their rooms to take pictures of them napping. Of course, Tay woke up and posed for the camera while Gavin was off in dream land somewhere.

Sweet Angel

This sweet Angel's name is Ella Grace. We sometimes call her Ella Bella. She is such a treat to have around! My brother Matt and sister-in-love Shelly, are the proud parents to this precious little girl. She is VERY well loved by all and we all can't get enough of her smiles and laughter.
Ella is now 15 months old and we have loved watching her grow up into this adorable person with LOTS of personality.

Paging CRNA Reid

Gavin wants to be just like his daddy, therefore Grammie was asked to make a Thomas the Train scrub hat just for the Boo Bear. Needless to say, Taylor Marie got in on the action with Grammie sewing her a headband.



The kids and I LOVE to visit this HOT looking CRNA at Vanderbilt Children's! Do you know who he is? P.S. He's taken!

Blue Bear Comes to Franklin

Our dear friends surprised us with a visit on Monday. The infamous Blue Bear made a special trip to Franklin and we had to see him. Needless to say, it was a long overdue visit and we felt the overwhelming need to make a special trip to Knoxville in the near future.
A little history on this friendship that is so special...God is so good! We purchase a house in Spring Hill back in March 2004. Tommy and Jennifer were already living in the house across the street with the red door (see picture). Well, needless to say, we struck up the best friendship and have fallen head-over-heels for this family. God placed us in the right house at the right time and I know he put them in our lives for a reason! You see, I didn't know I was preggers with Tay (aka S.T.~courtesy of J and T) and they were incredible in helping us with Piggy Toes and Tay Tay. All while we were living across the street.
As you can see from this picture in our old garage, Jennifer was always willing to lend a hand with the kids and secretly was wanting to start expanding her family. Needless to say, they have been such great friends and we never hesitate to call each other. It is not the same as going across the street for a cup of sugar and staying an hour to chat, however you take what you can get.
Selfishly, I wish that Tommy would graduate from his Dr. degree and move back to Nashville, but I know that is a long shot. I really do need Jennifer back in my life in a major way. She keeps me grounded. Not that I ever get a big head or think I can control anything or everything...it's just that she knows me. You know, like that back of your hand knows you. Like I said, God knows that I need her in my life.
Here is a photo of Tommy with the kids. Tyler is only 8 months younger than Taylor Marie. His coming into the world was anything less than eventful. That will have to be whole 'nother post.
Can you say that my children like to pose for the camera?