Halloween 2010

Boys, this Halloween was so fun!  Jay decided that he wanted to be "Jason" from the Friday the 13th movies.  He got a hockey mask and a bloody knife that was pretty cool.  Cody and Riley both decided that they wanted to be Ninjas. Mommy took you boys over to Grammy and Grampy's house to trick or treat with your cousins.  I was soooo sick, that I didn't even go with you guys this year.  We have pictures every year of you boys and your cousins in your Halloween costumes on Grammy's porch swing.  They are so funny to look at and see how little you all were.  Now you are all growing up!!  Just love you boys!!

Mommy's 36th birthday!

Happy birthday today to Mommy!!  Boys, I hope and pray that one day you will look back on your childhood and see just how much love that your mother has for each of you.  She is so amazing...so self-less.  She puts my needs and your needs so far ahead of hers...from the largest thing to the very smallest.  I cannot even begin to tell you how much that she truly loves being your mom...it was what God made her to be.  He put her in our lives because He knew that we needed her, and I thank Him for it. 

Jay, you wrote the sweetest thing in mommy's birthday card...you said that there would be an empty spot in your heart if Mommy wasn't here....so sweet!  Hopefully, one day you boys will realize how much of a sacrifice that we made to allow mommy to stay at home with you and not have to send you to daycare or a babysitter.  She wanted to raise her on boys, so we made it happen....but that came with a price...but seeing the young men that you are growing into, it was well worth it!  Happy Birthday, Mommy!  Thank you for all that you do for all of us!

Western Day at Jay's school

Today was Western Day at Jay's school.  As you can see, Jay and Jen dressed the part.  They each had cowboy hats.  Jen had a bandanna and boots, and Jay had a western shirt.  This week, Jay was on the news at his school.  He is one of the students that was picked to make announcements (Lunch menu, weather, etc).  This morning, he started by saying "Howdy Partners, welcome to the Wild West Jackson Intermediate School.  He really loves being in front of the camera.  Everybody says that is his element.  They finished up the night with a "Western" dance.  Jay rode a mechanical bull a couple of times.  He said that the first ride, he stayed on for 17 seconds, and the second ride, he stayed on for 22 seconds.  He seemed to have a lot of fun.

Fall Sports 2010

  Boys, we are having so much fun playing fall sports this year.  Jay and Cody are playing football, and Riley is playing baseball.  Jay and Cody's teams are both called the Red Panthers, and Riley is playing for the Braves.  We are having to either go to a practice or a game just about every night....sometimes more than one.  But, it is so much fun seeing you boys playing ball and having fun.
  Jay is playing offensive line...either right guard or left tackle.  You are just about the biggest boy on your team, so you can really open up some holes for your running backs to run through.  Your coach, Chris Giroux, has commented many times about how good of a blocker that you are.  This is your 3rd year of playing tackle football, and you have really came a long way from where you were last year.  You have made tremendous improvement.  Mom and I are so proud of you!

  Cody is playing linebacker for his team, and he is also the backup center.  This is your first year of ever playing football, but you have caught on really well.  You are making tackles and bringing the other team's runners down to the ground.  You have some very intense coaches, Barry Vickery and Butch Wilson, and they don't take no slack from any of you boys.  Your team is really good!  Mom and I are very proud of you, too!

  Riley is playing pitcher for his team.  He is one of the youngest players on the team, but he can hold his own with most of them.  You are hitting and fielding the ball very well.  You LOVE to play ball....doesn't really matter what kind of ball it is, you just love it, and EVERYBODY sees it.  You are by far our most competitive little boy.  You just don't love to play, you love to win!  We are so proud of you, too!

Labor Day "Camping" Trip

Boys, every Labor Day, Grammy's family goes camping for 3 days up in the mountains between Hayesville, NC and Franklin, NC.  This year, we went up for a few hours on Saturday.  I guess that this was our first "camping" trip....even though we didn't stay overnight.  They had about 7 or 8 tents set up at their campsite, and they had a big fire pit going.  They were right on the riverbank as well.  The water was so cold that I put one foot in it and got right back out, but it wasn't too cold for you boys!  You guys went right in it and had a blast.  You skipped rocks, floated in tubes, and did all kinds of crazy stuff in the river.  You put marshmallows on the ends of some long sticks and roasted them over the fire.

I was talking to Grammy's daddy...everybody calls him Paw Paw.  He said that his family used to own the land that they were camping on, and he told me a lot of the stories about how they used to run around and play on it when he was a boy.  He said that there was an old mine up there right beside the land and that there were said to be someone's body buried up in that mine.  I think that he's told that story before to scare the younger kids.  He told me about seeing bears and cougars roaming around that area before, too.

We had a good time for the few hours that we spent up there...especially Cody, I think.  Maybe we will do the "camping" thing again one day soon.