HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAILLE!!!

I cried on my way in to work this morning. A Rascall Flatts song came on the radio, and it just hit me…. my baby girl…. my first born… has turned 10 years old today. It seemed like only yesterday, my life completely changed and I became a new mommy – terrified, yet excited. Anxious, yet eager to see what this gorgeous baby girl would grow to be. And as she has grown, she has turned into a truly amazing daughter. My right hand, always willing to help with whatever I ask. So caring and nurturing, always making sure everyone is happy, especially her baby brother. I see a lot of me in her, where she is completely independent, and determined. I also see a lot of her dad in her, where she is a pleaser, and sensitive. She is an all-around, wonderful person. Thank you, God, for giving me such a magnificent gift. I will continue to do my best to show her how much she is loved and cherished. She is indeed, a very special little lady. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SWEET GIRL!!! I love you with all my heart.

STATE FAIR!!

We went to the state fair, and it was HOT!!!! Not a cloud in the sky. It was even too hot to enjoy any fair food!!

Haille & Trentin rode the smaller rides with Axten!!

Thank goodness for the ride bracelets, because Axten wanted to ride over and over and over....

HAPPY 9TH BIRTHDAY TRENTIN!!!

Trentin wanted to go to Chuckie Cheese for his birthday. What? No Incredible Pizza?!?!? That really surprised me!! Chuckie Cheese has the new Ticket Blaster, which, Trentin says, was the only reason he wanted to go there. However, once we got there and ordered our food, we found out that only people who book parties are allowed to use the ticket blaster. We didn't book a party, so BEWARE!!! We finally talked the manager into letting Trentin use it, but it took LOTS and LOTS of convincing.

Here is the Ticket Blaster Trentin just couldn't wait to get into. With Jason's help, he ended up with 1,200 tickets!!!

Trentin is really into Legos right now, and wanted a Lego cake. Thanks Grandma for making a delicious cake!!

SCHOOL YEAR 2010-2011!!

School has begun already!! As always, the summer has flown by!!

Haille is in Mrs. Mock's 4th grade class this year. But Mrs. Mock is currently on maternity leave for the first few weeks of school. She planned it right!! LOL

Trentin is Mrs. Compton's 3rd grade class!!

OUCH!!!!

This is what happens when you try to do a flip off a high dive, and land directly on your back. Poor Haille!!! I can't even imagine how bad it hurt. Nothing was broke, although she was pretty sore for a while.

BASKETBALL REUNION!!

We went down to Jason's hometown, Dillsboro, for a reunion with his high school basketball team & coaches. They played together for years and years, and during Jason's senior year, they were one game (or two?) away from winning the state championship. Pretty impressive!! I got to see a scrapbook the coach's wife put together of pictures & newspaper articles about the team. Alot of the articles were about Jason in particular, which was pretty neat!! He was a great player!! Good enough for a scholarship to college!! I wish I could have copies of all that stuff for him to keep. It is always so much fun to talk to Jason's old high school friends, and hear their stories of the trouble they got into!!!

KINGS ISLAND!!

Before school started, we promised the kids we would take them to Kings Island. Aunt Tiffy, Grandma & PaPaw wanted to come too!! So we decided to pick a day during the week, thinking the park wouldn't be over crowded - a Tuesday. It wasn't too bad, but we still had to wait about 20 minutes to ride some of the newer rides. A BIG thanks to Aunt Kim & Nana for spending the day with Axten!!! He had so much fun with you!!!

Trentin was in charge of the map!! He could NOT wait to ride the Diamondback!! It's all he talked about on the way to Kinds Island, and the weeks prior.

In order to ride the Diamondback (and most of the bigger roller coasters) you needed to be 54 inches tall. Trentin is 52.5 inches, and if he didn't get to ride the Diamondback, he would be absolutely devastated, which would have ruined the whole day. So we cheated: Grandma wears the exact same size shoes as Trentin, and it just so happened that she was wearing her exercise "toning" shoes, with huge soles!! Those shoes, compared with Trentin's rolled up socks under his feet, but him well above the height limit, so he got that wonderful wristband that allowed him to ride all the rides!! He got to ride the Diamondback, TWICE.

10 YEARS.......

As I sit back and think, there's only one word that comes to mind..... WOW. 10 years. We have made it 10 years. 10 YEARS!!! When I imagined being married as a little girl, I had this vision of a loving, caring husband, kids running around, kind of like a fairy tale. Reality is.... I am truly living that life!!! I can honestly say I am still as happy and in love as I was on that hot afternoon 10 years ago. Granted, I've learned that being married isn't easy some days. Like everyone, we do have our share of problems. We have our ups & downs. But in the end, we always manage to come together and work through whatever obstacle we face. The great days BY FAR outweigh the bad ones. And even the bad ones, aren't really that bad. I have something in my life that I know is certain: Jason will always, ALWAYS be there for me, and I will forever be there for him. In the mix of kids, work, home, chaos, we always find each other at the end of each and every hectic day. Those are the moments I treasure most of all: cuddling on the couch, watching TV until we're both sound asleep, or laughing until my cheeks are sore, and tears running down my face. I have truly found my partner in life, my soulmate, and I cannot imagine being without him. He is absolutely amazing, and I love him more and more each day, each week, each year that flies by. I just hope he realizes how much he means to me. So here is a little tribute to the most important person in my life.....

Last night, after I picked the kids up, I needed to run to Kohls to pay my bill. The kids were eating some chips on the way there......

HAILLE: I'm thirsty.

ME: If you guys behave in Kohls, I will stop and get you a drink.

HAILLE: We're going to Kohls?

ME: Yeah.

HAILLE: Does Kohls have soda?

TRENTIN: Nope, they only have bills.

ME: (laughing)

After we go into Kohls, the kids were very well behaved, so as promised, I stopped by a gas station to run in & get them a drink. Haille wanted Mountain Dew (of course!!) and Trentin wanted a Coke. Trentin ran in with me, and as I paid, he grabbed the drinks, and ran out to the car, holding them under his armpits.....

TRENTIN: Look, Mom!! I've got soggy pits!!!

HAILLE: EEEWWWWWWW!!!!

ME: (laughing)

I swear, I love his boy more than I can say.

JUST BECAUSE IT'S TOO CUTE!!!

When I go into the boys' room to wake them up in the mornings, chances are I find them like this......

BROOKS & DUNN!!

My favorite part of the summer is the concerts we go to. The most recent - Brooks & Dunn - was their last concert tour, ever!!! Kinda sad because I love their music, but we had an absolute blast!! And they always put on an amazing show. When they play 'Only in America' they bring a few troops on stage, and it gets me teary every time!!