Our Trip to the Choo-Choo

Cooper has come to really LOVE trains! Lexi too. We have discovered a really cool train near-by. So, on one of the prettiest days ever, we took a road-trip!

Cooper was VERY nervous at first, but once we got started, he LOVED it!! Lexi had SO much fun too!!

There was a dark tunnel... Lexi laughed and made "ghost noises". Cooper was scared, but never really cried... just apprehensive.

His real fear came out after the 15 minute train-ride. I tried to get the kids' picture in front of the engine. It made fake train noises. Cooper would not take his eyes off of the engine. Even though Lexi was there, reassuring him that it was OK.

Overall,... GREAT trip for the first time! We will DEFINETELY be going back. Added bonus: they sell snow-cones there!!

Shoes & Ducks

Lexi had the great idea to raise money by making magnets to help raise money for "shoes for orphan souls". This was ALL her!! It was a project that was presented to her through her Awana Cubbies class at Church. Through the help of our wonderful friends and fabulous family, she was able to raise $110!!! Her class raised a total of $181!! She is still getting requests to make more magnets, so since the deadline has come and gone, she will make a donation on-line at a later date!! She had so much fun making them!!

Cooper is CRAZY!! He is obsessed with animals (but only on TV)... not too fond of them in real life. He has adopted this duck towel from his big sis'... and he LOVES it!! He puts it on and runs around the house quacking and flapping his wings!! It is such a sight to see!! He was hard to catch for a photo opp... as you can see in the second picture, he is running while violently quacking!! OH SO CUTE!!

OK... Let's talk American Idol...

For those of you living in a black hole (or who have lives and don't dvr it)... here is who went home...

on the boy's side we had Will Maker and Gideon.

On the girl's side... there was Kinnik and Basketball Girl...

OK,... so I don't know all of there names and really not the spellings, but SERIOUSLY!!

Sad to see Will gone,... he was out Texas vote, but it was his time! Gideon totally gavr me the heeby-geebies but Lexi liked him... she still has her heart on Buckey... as for me... i LOVE Chris!! How come Kevin is still around?

Kinnik was fun because everytime she was on I got to sing "Hullaballoo Kinnik Kinnik". I'm sure the spelling isn't right, but it made for good times. Very talented, but we all knew she was gone.

Basketball girl... I thought she was OK,... Lexi didn't have an opinion about her, but Clarence really liked her... Just as long as Paris and Lisa aren't gone!! Also like the Brunette, but can't ever remember her name...

So,... until next week... As Ryan says.... "OUT!"..... yes, I know that was cheesy!

Our trip to S-town

To get a break from our suburban life, we headed to the country and went back to my home town for a quick visit. On Saturday, my mom got a fun idea and all 10 of us loaded into 2 cars, and went to Froburg's. It is a fruit and vegetable stand. The kids LOVED it!! We got to walk around the grounds and see orange trees and strawberry patches.





Grandma Cissy took some time from chasing the boys to stand by the orange trees with the girls.












Big Daddy found a sausage stand, and as you can see the
men were very interested!












Here is Clarence with Cooper and Jon with Cylas. I'm not sure who was having more fun... the dads or the boys?











We did a lot of playing outside. Here are the boys taking a break from basketball!!

The girls got the idea to be pirates...??? Not too sure where that came from!! But, they played with almost no fighting and they made "treasure maps". Here, Grandma Cissy holds the secret map while the girls give their best "Aarrgghhh!"

Clarence fired some chicken-fried-venison that was absolutely fabulous!! He also made some fried green tomatoes... the kids were fighting the adults for that last bite!! Big Daddy grilled shrimp... oh-so-delicious!! Grandma Cissy made her famous beef stroganoff... that didn't last long!! Jon grilled anything he could get his hands on! Needless to say,..

all weekend long, we ate and ate and ate and ate!!!

Luckily, we "exercised" by playing croquet. Here is Big Daddy giving lessons to Cortheye!

We got a visit from the ice cream truck and I learned that I am a half-decent poker player!! Probably because I was a lot riskier with

match sticks than actual money! Got to see Baby Ally!! Very beautiful!!

It was a GREAT weekend... we all got to relax and we had a very good visit!!

Silly Kids

My kiddos have so much fun playing around here and with each other. Things will drastically change next year, when Lexi attends Kinder. But, for now,... we shall enjoy these days, because they won't last forever!!

Lexi and Coop were fascinated (only this day and only this moment) with me tucking them in REAL tight... you know, "Snug as a Bug, in a Rug". They took turns doing it to each other,... and every single time they would crack up. And, in case you're wondering,... Lexi thought it would be cool to put a band-aid on her face... she said, "i like the way it looks!" So, after I convinced her that her "Nelly" moment was faux pas, she REALLY understood when she had to rip it off!!









Today,... they thought it was fun AND funny to sit on these two cars of Cooper's. Lexi got on the police car and Coop on the fire engine. They pretended to drive (even with siren noises) as they

scooted up and down the hall. They laughed and laughed!!