Jessica & Diamond

For Jessica's 10 year portraits, I wanted something different... something that really captured her personality. She really does not like to have her picture taken, so I figured this would be a difficult task... but we came up with the idea to have her pictures taken with one of the horses she rides! She chose Diamond... because Diamond has a great personality and because paint horses are her favorite. One of Jessica's first words was "hoose"... when she was 2 yrs old, she would neigh at people who tried to talk to her. The first time she rode a horse, she was 18 months old. This is her... she loves, loves, loves horses. My friend, Tracy, agreed to take on the challenge of capturing these... and I am so happy with the results! Thank you, Tracy (http://www.reflectionimages.com/)... we love these! Here are a few photos... the first three below are my FAVORITES!

We've Been Busy...

It has been awhile since I blogged... we have definitely been busy. We celebrated Sydney's 3rd birthday (my niece) at the beginning of August...

The kids w/their cousins... Sydney & Rachel

Some have asked who Jacob looks like... here is the answer... my sister, Shelly!

What do little boys do with princess hopscotch? Build houses with garages big enough for their monster trucks, of course! Wild man came up with this one completely on his own...

The twins are thumb suckers... both suck only their left thumb. We decided it was time to break the habit this summer... here they are with their thumb guards.... MUCH to my surprise, they really did not put up much resistance!

30 days later... the habit has been completely broken (even at night!) and here they are with their prizes!
First day of school! Jessica started 5th grade at a new school (5th/6th grade only), and Jaycie started 2nd grade (with sparkly pink shoes)!

Jamie & Jacob started 4K... this is the last year we will have children in preschool (let me get my tissues...) The twins meet their teachers... Ms. Teri & Ms. Mona... they are "Friendly Frogs" this year!

Jamie & Jacob on their 1st day!

Jaycie with Mrs. Bailey (we LOVE her!) Jaycie was the first Terrific Kid in her class! We are so proud of her!

It is always fun to go "home" and catch up with friends... we still REALLY miss everyone!

Erika, Sam, Tammy, Janet, Jennifer, & Wilkie

Sweet girls... Haley, Madison, Morgan, & Jessica

We spent Labor Day weekend in Murrell's Inlet... we always enjoy visiting Huntington Beach State Park and spending time with Grandma Geri!

James & I found a new challenge... the Mud Run! This was done by the Marine Corp and raises money for marines and their families. The course was 4.2 miles... 32 obstacles... and lots of MUD! We had the GREATEST time! This is definitely something we will do again! Thanks Troy & Holly for completing our team... The Dirt Devils! Before and After pics....

Jamie & Jacob are playing soccer for the first time! They are playing with Upward and James is one of the coaches! They have the cutest team ever!

Notice Jamie's facial expression... this is so her...

when life gives her lemons, she pouts...

We are definitely thankful for cooler weather... this grew on it's own in our backyard. It would not have done this well if I were actually TRYING to grow it. James has cut it back several times, but it continues to thrive and we have gotten 4 gourds off of it (you can see one growing on the steps).

And one of our favorite things to do when the weather cools off at night is make s'mores over the fire pit!
Exciting news at our house... Jamie & Jacob have learned how to ride their bikes without training wheels! (Let me get my tissues again, no more babies here...) When we took off the training wheels, they immediately took off! Jacob did it first... and Jamie was NOT going to let her "younger" brother accomplish something she cannot do!

And... introducing our newest pet... "Puddle"... he is a yellow belly slider. Friends of friends found him in a mud puddle after a week of storms. He ended up in his own aquarium at our house (because James & I are suckers). I have suggested taking him back to the pond... but Jess insists he is a member of the family now... actually, he is a member of our zoo (4 kids, 2 dogs, 1 hamster, a beta fish, 4 water frogs, 2 clown fish, and now a turtle)... Fortunately, he is eating and doing well!

And to top it all off... we have had two visits from the tooth fairy this month! Jaycie knocked one of them out in gymnastics... thank goodness it was a baby tooth!

Camp Papa & Memommy

Jessica spent 10 days in the NC mountains at Camp "Papa & Memommy" (my dad & stepmom)! She loves, loves, loves going there!! They took her to the Biltmore, to Dollywood to ride roller coasters all day, to Santa's Land, & horseback riding... just for a little bit of "spoiling!" I don't have pictures from Dad, yet... but I know they had a wonderful time because she really didn't want to come home. The rest of us joined her for a long weekend and we had such a nice time... VERY relaxing! We had a picnic & played in the Oconaluftee River... and we went RAFTING on the Tuckaseegee River. Jessica has been before, but this was the first time for the other kids. The girls all LOVED it... Jacob wasn't feeling great and says next time he would rather stay home and play golf with Papa. Jaycie has her turn at Camp Papa & Memommy next week... the twins go the week after that! We are so thankful for all the time Papa & Memommy spend with the kids!!!

Memommy & Jacob in the Bamboo forrest.

James & I had Jamie & Jacob in our raft!

Dad & Ann took Jessica & Jaycie in their raft!

July 4th: Fun Times, Fishing, & A Family Reunion in NC

We spent July 4th weekend in NC with James' family... we did a day trip, played in the river, the kids fished, we had a family reunion, watched the fireworks on the river, and had tons of fun! Our day trip was to the Outer Banks to climb the Currituck Beach Lighthouse, visit the Wild Horse Museum in Corolla, & to visit the Grave Digger shop! It was a beautiful day!!

Getting ready to climb...

they all did it!

At the top of the lighthouse...

Jimmy, Anne, and the kids

Jessica's favorite stop...

Jacob's favorite stop...

Jessica, Grant, Jaycie, & Sage

We had a family reunion at Jimmy & Anne's house on the 4th! We had a great time... and I actually remembered everyone's name this time! Jessica thought it was neat that she had cousins she had never met! The kids played on the water and everyone else got to catch up!

Crazy cousins... Lisa & James

Jacob getting pointers from the boys...

The first generation...

Jimmy & his 1st cousins (& spouses)

Some of the 2nd generation...

Some of the 3rd generation...