So much going on, so little time...

The end of September brought much excitement for us. Kayla's school hosted a family fun day for everyone and it was hot and....fun. AJ was recovering from strep throat, but that didn't stop him from having a good time. There's nothing quite like a good sugar high.
On my birthday we went to the Bartlett Days festival. It was really interesting. We didn't get a chance to go last year. There were several hot air balloons. Apparently you can go up on little rides (on the rope of course) but we didn't do that. I guess it's something we'll consider next year. It's hard to grasp how really big and beautiful those things are until you're right up next to them. It was absolutely amazing. I only wish we could have gotten better pictures.




That same weekend the kids got to go sailing for the first time. Some friends of ours invited us down to the lake for the day. It was a beautiful day. AJ had a great time playing with sticks and rocks and jumping off of things. Kayla got to go on the boat first and then AJ got to take a little trip. I stayed back with Benny, but we had a lot of fun watching and taking pictures.


Benny's birthday went off with a bang. Papa Haywood came down for the occasion. We had a ton of people over to celebrate with us and we rented a big bouncy house for the kids to play in.....even the big ones:) Benny wasn't too sure about the cake. Much like his siblings, he doesn't like to get his hands dirty. It took a little convincing to get him to just dig into it. In the end though, he looked a lot like a little smurf. It took a shower and a bath to get him clean and I think the high chair tray still has a blue tint to it:)

The Great Bouncy House

Benny being shy while we all sing to him

He's checking it out

He's happy to have a utensil

Showing off his singing skills

Really digging in now


The boys all checking out the mess (and wishing it was them I'm sure).


Benny opening his presents


Tags are fun

Kayla's baton classes have been going well. She's going to be marching in a parade or two next month. Unfortunately, the class is only a whopping 45 minutes long and that leaves me with two little boys to entertain. Until it started getting dark so early, I took the boys to the park by the community center.


We took the kids to the corn maze at the fairgrounds. That ended up being a lot of fun for all of us. Our friends Mary and Kristen went with us. They had a "pumpkin patch" and a hayride. During the hayride gorillas jumped out and tried to attack. AJ is still talking about that. At the end of the maze they were blasting out some groovy music so we all got our groove on:)



We continued our October happenings with a trip the Fairy Tale trail, which we opted not to go down. We did, however, have another hayride and played lots of fun games. At the end, the kids got to make smores. The best part, the activities were all free. You can't beat that.

The next day (can you say BUSY weekend) we went to two of the fall/Halloween festivals. AJ was supposed to be a Power Ranger, but he insisted on wearing his fireman costume again. Kayla and Ben both went as pirates. I went as a mom.

The kids getting ready to go in.

More posing

James, the fireman

The costume AJ was supposed to wear

While we were so busy doing all of these fun activities, we were also busy moving into our new house. We're not fully settled, but we're getting there. The kids love having all of the extra space and I love having somewhere to send them:) Now we're just gearing up for the holidays. Before we do that though, we need to rest:)

Lots of new things going on here

Well, after Faye, Gustav, and Ike we're thankful we live so far inland. Faye dumped about three days worth of rain on us. Gustav only gave us one. Ike, despite being such a monster of a storm just gave us a light sprinkling and a whole lot of wind. Yesterday, though warm, was absolutely beautiful. This morning the temperature was a mere 59 degrees and I'm sad to say I had whining children telling me it was too cold outside, lol. I've got the windows open and it's so refreshing. It looks like we should expect some highs in the eighties later this week, but for now, it's absolutely beautiful outside.

The school year is in full swing now and we've finally established a routine of sorts. It involves lots of juggling of schedules, tired children, and very little time to shower, lol. In any case, the big kids seem to be really enjoying school and the Benster is loving his "alone" time with Mommy.

A few weeks ago Kayla's classmate hosted a class swimming party. I was simply awestruck at the size and beauty of the host's home. It was in East Memphis. The parents were very laid back and made us feel right at home. I hope we get an invitation back again someday. This morning, I actually saw the mother walking her daughter to school. She has two little ones she was pushing in a double stroller and she walked her two older daughters to each campus. Honestly, if she does that regularly, it's no wonder she's in such good shape. I'd have to say the funniest aspect of the swimming party was that AJ misplaced his shorts. He said he left them in the bathroom, but they were nowhere to be found when it was time to leave. We got a call last week telling us they had been located....under the sink in the cabinet. I don't really know what to make of that. The shorts have been returned though and now we know where to look in the future:) Here's a pic of the girls that made it to the party:

The kids and Daddy have joined a bowling league so we've snuck in a couple of Sunday morning practices. The bowling alley has an all you can bowl and all you can eat breakfast bowling on Sundays from nine to noon. I've got to say, three hours straight of bowling is quite a workout. Here's AJ bowling:
Yes, he just kind of runs over and throws it:) Gotta love it.

AJ has started soccer and he may have found his calling...if only he could find the ball. The kids had their first game and it's hysterical watching a bunch of four year olds chasing down a soccer ball. AJ is slowly but surely starting to gain some focus. He has great skills and he's starting to run faster, but he still just kind of runs up and down the field. Soccer must be the sport for girls. We don't have any on our team, but the three teams we've played have all had girls and they are just vicious players. I can't believe it. They're all quite tough and they don't let anyone steal the ball if they have it. Here are some pics of AJ from his first game:



We took the kids to the Annual Ice Cream festival to benefit the Ronald McDonald house. It was really a lot of fun for everyone. There were several companies there giving out actual serving sizes of their products. We could have eaten enough ice cream to last us a year, but....in one sitting that's kind of tough. There were a few activities for the kids. Kayla really enjoyed a ride they had there at Autozone stadium.



AJ got to experience roller skating for the first time this past Friday. I'm sure it won't get many any awards, but it was so hard not to laugh. He started out unable to stand and ended up the night doing laps on his own. He almost took third place in the age group race. We got a cool video of him skating which definitely does more justice than the pictures. I just can't believe how much he's grown. He had so much fun and he was so independent. He just loved it. He's talked practically nonstop about when he gets to go again. It was a good $2.50 investment:)




Ben has added a new word to his vocabulary. STOP!!! I guess he probably hears that enough these days. Upon inspection, it looks like he's up to nine teeth as well. The biggest Benny news is that he took his first steps on August 30th. He walked to his big sister. Awwww! He's almost a pro now, lol. He's getting more and more confident with each new day. He's also learned how to climb off the couch and onto his riding toys. Talk about growing fast!!!

More news!!! We're moving. We found a house around the corner (literally) with about 700 more sq. ft. for the same as what we're paying now. It has a separate dining room and eat in kitchen and the best part....drumroll please....it has a giant room upstairs we're designating as a playroom for the kids. The yard is huge as well which is a plus and a minus given that we have to mow it. We're moving on the tenth of October and the kids are super excited. We went and picked out new livingroom furniture yesterday. We've only been looking for about five years so it's about time. We'll finally have enough furniture for everyone to sit on when we have guests over and the kids are going to have the old couch and recliner upstairs in their playroom. Here's a pic of the new house:


I can't wait to have more space and to finally not be tripping over each other and our stuff. This was really a perfect find for us and it couldn't have come at a better time. Of course I'm not to keen on the whole packing and moving part, but it'll be worth it. I've already promised the princess a Halloween party and she's talked about it everyday, lol. We signed a 21 month lease so that we won't be moving in the middle of another school year. Hopefully our next move will either be back up north or to a house we'll want to buy or both:)

That time of year again:)

It's been a busy busy week with both kids in school. Poor little Ben is just plain lost with only mommy to play with:(

Kayla had a great first day and first week. She's really thriving at St. Mary's and has made some good friends already.




AJ had his first day last Monday. His teacher is Miss Velma and I love her already. She just has the patience of a saint and she's so warm with the kids. AJ can't wait to go to school everyday. She sent home a very detailed calendar showing what they'll be working on and I really think AJ's going to benefit a lot from the program. He's already had "homework" three times, lol. Today was AJ's day to bring in snack. The teacher has a great snack bag with apples painted on it that she sent home for him to use to take the snack in. I know he felt so special being the snack person today. Miss Velma also seems to like taking pictures as much as I do so I'm looking forward to lots of pictures throughout the coming year.



We (I mean I) finally found Benny's swimsuit so he got to wear it for the first time. We took him out for his second adventure in the pool. He was not loving it so much. We ended up abandoning the pool for the slip-n-slide. Yes, we know we're goofy. Anything worth doing is worth doing as a family:) Aren't these the formative years that will have our kids in therapy someday???











Benny is obsessed with raviolis. He eats them twice a day now with just about any fruit I'll give him. Here he is showing his excitement at lunchtime:) Ravioli Power!!!


Here's his rendition of a pirate at lunch:



Don't you just love that strawberry blond hair. He's got the temper of red head for sure. He's mastered throwing tantrums and now knows how to arch him back and throw his arms up in such a way that makes picking him up impossible. He's also mastered standing unassisted. He can go from the floor to standing with nothing to hold on to. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before he's off and running. He really thinks he's hot stuff and waves his arms wildly and just giggles..."ha ha, look what I can do." At least the cats are learning to get out of the way:)

AJ has had a few funny moments recently. He's quite the chatty fellow on a regular basis....makes me think about that cell phone commercial where the mom gives her daughter a cell phone so she doesn't have to listen to her anymore, lol.

Last week James inadvertently backed the van into a truck (in the dark down a hill) and put a nice dent in the fender....not a scratch on the truck though. Well, AJ had a great idea for how we could camouflage it. He said we should put some tape on it and then no one would see it. When we inquired as to what kind of tape might hide it, he said "that gray kind you know." Awww, the innocence of a four year old.

Then one day we were out driving and out of the blue he asks me if his head would turn to gum if he ate an airhead. I tried to reassure him, but he's rather convinced that if you eat an airhead your head will turn into gum and blow up like a balloon. Apparently there is a commercial that states such.

We have a special term here for diarrhea: Flu Poo. Last Friday AJ had some flu poo (from an overconsumption of fruit and a fiber one bar) and he was afraid the toilet was going to blow up and he didn't want to go. Then he asked me for a corn chip so he wouldn't have flu poo anymore....we can thank daddy for that idea, lol. It just cracks me up when he says these things. Kind of makes all of those other crazy moments a little more bearable....like yesterday when he smacked his brother in the head with a ball and then a block. Sibling love I guess.