Father Daughter Dance

A friend of ours invited us to go to a Father Daughter Dance at their gym. When I mentioned the idea to Addie she ran upstairs and put on her dress up dress and said she was ready to dance with daddy. She was sooooo excited for this dance, we painted her nails and did her hair and got her all ready.

This picture makes me smile. Ben loves his frying pan, he has been sleeping with it this week. Addie was trying to curtsie.

Jon and Addie all ready for the dance.

The pearl necklace Addie is wearing is the same necklace that my Dad brought home for me when he traveled overseas. I have had the necklace since I was just a little older than Addie. It is also the same necklace I wore on my wedding day.
Such a sweet couple.
Daddy was tickling Addie to get her to smile.

A picture with my sweet girl, I am so proud of the little girl she is growing into.

Ben Ben saying good bye to Daddy.

Addie and Ben Ben saying good bye. I love how much these kiddos love each other, even when they are making each other crazy.

Garrett did not want Daddy and Addie to leave. He loves them both so much. Addie is so sweetwith Garrett, always trying to make him laugh. Garrett LOVES his Daddy. Thankfully Garrettdidn't cry when they left, he just waved bye bye.

I went to find Garrett after taking a few pictures and this is what I found. Garrett is so ready to be one of the big kids.
Ben was having so much fun playing.
Yes, this pictured ended badly. Ben whacked his brother in the head. Thankfully we have put away the metal bat so it didn't hurt Garrett.
Garrett had fun eating dinner that night. I don't know how he managed to get one noodle on top of his head. And then it was bath time or as it is known in our house "Time for tub-tub"

Addie and Jon had a great time at the dance. Addie's favorite part was the dancing and seeing the horse poop (they had a horse drawn carriage ride for everyone).

I'm Back

I am SOOO excited to be able to post these pictures with my new to me camera. My last camera was broken at the beginning of January and it has been so hard for me to not have a camera to capture the crazy moments that happen with Addie, Ben and Rett.

After a fun morning at Ikea we took the kids to CFA or Chick Fil A as it is otherwise known. The location we went to had a couple doing face painting and balloon animals. Here are the kids showing off their goods. Addie got a dolphin painted on her face and a flower balloon and Ben got a football painted on his face and a laser gun balloon.

Then when we got home Mr. Barry, our neighbor, was spraying down the street, Ben decided he needed help. Mr. Barry is so great with our kids, he even gave the hose to Ben, but the little stinker decided to spray us so that didn't last very long.

Jon wanted to try out the new camera too. Would you believe that I got carded while buying Nyquil today? The cashier at walmart made me show her my id to confirm that I was at least 18 years old. She couldn't believe it when she found out I am almost 30!

Addie loves her Daddy so much. They were watching a special news segment on Tim Tebow.
Our Sunday School class has been amazing during my hospitalization and in the following weeks. Here is Gare Bear enjoying another delicious meal that our friends brought to us. Thanks Mike and Suzi!
Another shot of our precious Gare Bear. He had a terrible night last night. He was up crying from 1-4 am. He seemed really uncomfortable and I couldn't seem to help him. I ended up laying on the floor in his room while he slept on me for a few minutes at a time, then he would wake up and lay his head on his pillow for a few minutes and then back. He finally ended up going to sleep after he got a drink of water. He was so tired he was talking in his sleep, it was precious. Even though I didn't get much sleep last night how can you be upset when he blows kisses to you when he sees you? We are hoping for a restful Sunday so we can start our busy week!
Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

The Last Arkansas Post

All of the kiddos ready for church. I love taking pictures before church, everyone always looks so nice.

April and SaraBeth.

Waiting for lunch at Cracker Barrel.

Addie was 'playing' checkers with a little boy. It almost came to blows.

Our last sunset at the "Farm"

These two girls are just so sweet.

I LOVE Addie's expression in this picture. I feel like I can hear her laughing.

I'm not sure you had more fun throwing rocks into the lake.

April and her little man, Nathan.

Ben did NOT want to leave. He was completely happy standing there throwing rock after rock into the water.

We had such a wonderful time in Arkansas, thank you Landes family for a great time!

Happy New Year with Fireworks!

We rang in the new year with fireworks. The girls were a little unsure about the fireworks at first.

They started to get a little more brave with the sparklers. The first time Matt lit one for her she dropped it, oops!

Ben loved his sparkler.

All three of the big kids having fun.

Bennett really enjoyed his s'more, can you tell?

Addie enjoyed her s'more too.

Matt and April enjoying some quiet time around the fire.

Addie and April hanging out around the fire.

The biggest kids had a lot of fun with the fireworks too.

We picked out the tank for Jon, this thing was hilarious.

Rowdy was not a fan of the fireworks.

Arkansas, the shopping trip

I had posted about my Arkansas Shopping trip on my shop blog. Here is the picture of all my finds for the day.

The whole shopping day was so much fun, and I got some great pictures of our adventures. The boys stayed home for a nap and April, SaraBeth, Addie and I headed out on Saturday after lunch.

As we were driving April said that we were going to drive by some zebras and camels. I didn't believe her until we drove right past this exotic animal farm with zebras and camels. Addie was so excited to see the zebras, one of her favorite movies right now is Racing Stripes.

Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures from the thrift stores we went to, I was too busy shopping with my arms full of goodies. I did pull the camera out when we headed to the grocery store, and yes I felt like a tourist. These carts took me back to my childhood. I don't think I had seen one since I was a kid. The girls loved riding on the bottom of the cart.

I love their sparkly shoes.

I don't think I have ever seen so much variety or so much supply for chitlins before.

The big debate the whole weekend was who got to ride in which car seat. There was the big girl booster seat and there was the baby car seat. This picture shows how happy SaraBeth was that she got the booster seat.

This picture shows that Addie was unhappy with her car seat. They did switch back and forth when we would stop, but that did not make them any happier when it was their turn to sit in the baby car seat.

Our next stop for a Sonic Happy Hour treat did help improve everyone's mood over all.

Addie having her first Sonic treat, it was a strawberry slushy.

SaraBeth with her strawberry slushy, and of course the girls were happy to watch BOZ on the way home.

They both crashed pretty hard on the 45 minute trip home, you don't get anywhere quick when you live out in the country.

The new sign was finished and hanging up.

Matt and his kiddos headed down to see the sunset.

Nathan, the little man and his boots.

Ben was ready to ride.

More pictures to come!