Santa?

The boys cooperated and sat in Santa's lap tonight! I talked it up all day and they did it! Dax was a little hesitant about sitting with him until I put Kepler with him. Santa sure DID NOT make a big impression on Kep, he saw his friend Hunter there and that's all he cared about. It's just kind of a joke because those two boys act like crazy people when they see each other... It's really sweet. Kevin asked them who they saw tonight and of course Kep's reply was Hunter (not Santa)!

Side note: I love to decorate, Christmas, just plain ole every day... With the boys it has been non existent. I used to love rearranging, just moving stuff around, it was happy times for me! - I have a degree in Interior Design (should have majored in something different now... another story) So in school it was looked down upon to say that we, who graduated from an accredited school in ID yada yada, should be called a interior decorator. But I am loving some decorating right now. Christmas decorating right now and my tree to be exact. No pics to show but just showing some Interior Decorating LOVE! HA!

Gun safety class

Well, I should say that their daddy needs to start a class for them. This is their small arsenal. All they do is shoot at each other. Kep is very proud of these and is asking Santa that he bring him a another one. Maybe I have already mentioned that.

Thanksgiving in Mississippi

We all had a great time with the family on Thanksgiving weekend. It was a house full of kiddos, food and laughter. We have so much to be thankful for.

That's Kevin's granddaddy in the top middle picture shooting at Kepler and Madison and Ansley (our cousin's) in the bottom right let me put makeup on them ~ beautiful little divas!

Happy Thanksgiving!

My two turkeys!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everybody! And Roll Tide Roll for a perfect season!

A lot more of them

Kepler, Ashleigh, Brandon and Dax

If you keep up with our blog you will remember Brandon! He made it home safely from Iraq and we got to see him tonight. Do you see the gun in Kep's hand, it is with him pretty much all the time these days. Someone asked him what he wants Santa to bring him, he said a gun for turkey hunting.

Ashleigh and Brandon are moving home and we are SO EXCITED about it!!! They stopped by after looking at houses today and got to stay for dinner. This was the first time for the boys to see them and Kep and Dax made instant friends! (I should say they saw Kep when he was 6 weeks old so it had been a while) I am so thankful for these 2 friends and happy that we will get to see a lot more of them!!

Beat Auburn Pep Rally!

Kep's first picture with Big Al.

Dax didn't want to get close to Big Al but loved watching him. ROLL TIDE!!!

An update

I was tired of seeing us when I pulled the blog up so I posted a new picture of my two favorite people! Just a side note - I love fall and I am so sad that the leaves are beginning to fall and the color is going away. But it is still beautiful everywhere! Also - yay Alabama! Crimson Tide... Someone asked if Kevin and I were speaking this week. Yes, it's not that big of a deal to us! As our tradition goes, we are excited about going to the game this weekend! Kepler and Dax say Roll Tide, Go State and Kepler as sickening as it is says War Eagle - thanks to my Auburn friends. He gets told "that's not a nice word, we shouldn't say that" when he says it! He just laughs because he knows I don't like it.

4th picture - I was tagged

I've been tagged to do the following:

1) Choose the 4th picture folder on my computer

2) Choose the 4th picture

3) Explain the picture

4) Tag 4 other people

This is from some pictures that were taken of us for our Christmas card picture 3 or 4 years ago. This one didn't make the card. The picture/card said, Have a Merry Christmas and a happy cotton pick'n New Year! That was kinda fun!

And I tag...

Amber

Julie

Anna D.

Ginger

6 years today!

And Oh my goodness how time changes things and how quickly it flies by. A then and now picture for you. Three boys, many lbs.( :) ) , and I couldn't be more happy and blessed!

Happy Halloween!

Well, this was the most fun I have had on a Halloween since I can remember! Us and our monkey and little pumpkin started out trick or treating with some friends in the neighborhood and then back to their house for some dinner. Tara and Barry were so sweet to have so many people in and around their house all night. His mom was the one in the casket and would scare the people / kids when they came up to get candy and it was hilarious. They had their front yard set up like a grave yard. I know it sounds a little morbid but it was fun. Kevin had his mask face thing on and the boys were so funny with him. They couldn't figure out why he sounded like daddy but didn't look like him. Kep's friend Hunter came by at the end of the night and they were like real monkeys - those two are so cute together. Nothing better than family, friends, laughter, and food!

what a mess!

Fall fun

This was from this afternoon. I hope the weather was as great there as it was here! We were invited to join in on a family get-together way back in the woods! It was so much fun. Kepler was in heaven playing with his friend Chloe!

Precious

Me: God loves you Kepler, and God loves me.
Kep: Where's God?
Me: God is in mommy's heart.
Kep: God in my heart too.

I love talking to Kepler and love hearing him talk like a big boy. This was one of our conversations a few nights back and I wanted to share some of it.

Happy Birthday Pops!

Pops turns 60! Happy Late Birthday! Hope your party was a great one tonight! Sorry we couldn't make it - we were thinking about you. We love you.

Lucy...

is the cute little dogs name. The boys loved her and played chase. My friend Amanda and I went to see her sister Tiffany and her new house and we took the boys with us and spent the night. Lucy is Tiffany's baby dog. Tiff, it was so nice to watch Auburn lose with you Auburn fans in Auburn! Love your house and thanks for having us!

Zoo trip

We went to the zoo with our preschool ministry from our church a few days ago. This was Dax's first trip and he was a trooper - in the stroller all morning while I chased Kep everywhere. Kep thought the animals were nice but the freedom running around with his friends was even better.

Brandon and Ashleigh

Brandon - "This is me and two of the other lawyers that I pay claims with. The guy in the sheik outfit is one of the local lawyers that we work with."

Brandon -"These are some kids that we ran up to us one day when we stopped to look at some buildings."

The 1st picture was at this place called ducks - food was great, sorry Ashleigh that we are cut off. Atticus is their dog from our old dog Cutter, don't they look alike! Kepler is wearing his presents from Ash -excuse the paci- and Dax just wish he could have gone with me in my carry on!

This past weekend I finally got to and visit my friend Ashleigh! The last time we saw them was when they came to MS to see Kepler at 6 weeks old! Ashleigh and I have been best friends since college and now our husbands are great friends too. Her husband is deployed in Iraq BUT, will be home in 13 days and she is so excited. Brandon is a Captain in the Marines. He is a lawyer and actually went to UA law school and then decided (a little against what Ashleigh wanted) to join the Marine Corp to be a SJA (Staff Judge Advocate) – same as a JAG with the Navy – for those of you who know that better.
I think a lot of Brandon – first of all because he is such a great friend to us, because he's such a good husband to Ashleigh, AND because he is serving our country. While I was there on base with her I decided to “interview” her one night so I would know what I am talking / writing about! So I hope some of you find this as interesting as I do.
So, as far as ranking goes… the officer side is required to have graduated from college - then he went to officer candidate school (Kevin and I got to visit them there and that was close to D.C.). After OCS he went to The Basic School (TBS) (side note, everything they say is abbreviated, like go to bathroom – GTB – kidding, but it is ridiculous, Ashleigh even said so too). After that they went to Rhode Island to Naval Justice School to study Military Law. And now they are at this base where I went to stay with Ash. At OSC he was 2nd lieutenant then 1st lieutenant at NJS and then promoted to Captain the first year they were there where they are now. He wanted to be able to have the whole experience while he served in the Marines and decided he wanted to be deployed. He’s been gone since the early spring.
And the rest is some things that I learned about while I “interviewed” her!
~ what he does there – pays claims to Iraqis for destroyed property, loss of life, occupation of homes (she said some ridiculous amount of money that he has actually given these people) He goes and meets them with another marine and pays them this money.
~ he counsels Marines on rules of engagement following the Geneva Convention
~ he is also in charge of the detainee facility. He’s there when they are brought in and has to be there when they are released. Also, he conducts investigations when things happen to Marines – she said he has already investigated three very bad situations – I won’t go into.
~ a MRAP is a mine resistant ambush proof vehicle. I guess that’s what they ride in everyday.
~ he lives in Uday’s (Saddam Husseins’s son) old resort that was bombed out. The lake in front of their house/ hut is where they found and pulled out thousands of Iraqi bodies.
~he has to attend the city (a well known city) counsel meetings and meets with local Sheiks - basically helping establish their laws.
~ and no alcohol is allowed there (I didn’t know that) and has to use a port a jon for a bathroom
So as Ashleigh and I ate fabulous meals and did some great shopping her husband was zillions of miles away serving our country. I say that to be funny, but All of this because we are proud of you Brandon and with Ashleigh we welcome you home(a little early)!

Pumpkin Pictures

The pumpkin patch was closed when we got there - due to the rain - SO we had it all to ourselves. Kinda nice, but I bet we will be back there with the crowd again before the end of October. Dax wasn't really happy about not getting to play in all the puddles of water and Kepler loved running around. Speaking of Dax he had a 15m check up and is 24lbs. 9oz. and 32 1/2" tall! He is getting so big but is still letting me hold him like he was a baby and I love it! Happy Fall Everyone!

Beach in September!

I know this is too many pictures but you can click on the picture and it will come up bigger for you. Just make sure to hit the back button and not the close or red x at the top right.

I just had too many cute pics not to put them on here for everyone to see. We had a really really really good time at the beach. The boys were great and loved every minute. We were there at the end of September and the weather could not have been better. The boys were even a little cold some days when they got out of the water. We stayed and the best place for kiddos! Lazy river, splash area with a slide and they had a zero entry pool! It was great. Thanks mom and dad for the trip and for giving me some time off!

parade

It was the high school's homecoming this weekend and they always have a parade. We took the boys and they loved the candy most of all! Sunday morning I guess Kevin or I never heard Kepler get up, so he quietly went to the kitchen and came back to wake us up with a partially eaten sucker he got out of the drawer he's not to be in!

Let's make this clear...

as most of you can tell, I am no writer! Please forgive me for the "they had fun" and "such a pretty day to be outside" and, well, you get the point. So many of you friends out there are such good writers and I love reading your blogs, but I know good and well you come to mine for just the pictures! It will always be this way;) I blame this on my creative and non-reading mind! Oh but I am reading to my boys in hopes they can be a better blog writer one day! Ha
(I have been meaning to post this for a while) So keep coming back - not for my terrible posts - but the pictures!!!!

paint party

There are several stay at home moms here and I am so thankful for that. We went to a friends house last Friday and played in the paint. I brought home a couple of "paintings" they did! Amber is so creative and brave to have had us all there with the non washable paint! She cut out shapes from potatoes for them to stamp on their pictures. She has two boys close in age as my two. Thanks Amber! We had a great time.

Oh, that cute little boy with blond hair in the pool, does anyone else think he looks like Kep!

Can you wear this many?

Kepler can never have too many hats. He really loves them. Today, he wore one of his cowboy hats outside all day. He really did put all these hats on in this picture and stood very still for me to get the camera! He's a mess.

County Fair

It's County Fair time again. It was a gorgeous night for being outside. I got a few good pictures and spent way too much money. We had to have a corn dog though! Kep and Dax had a good time and saw some of their friends.

Poor Kep rode a kiddie train ride, he was so excited and did really good for about 3 rounds (see center pic) and then started just squalling. I hate to say this but it was kinda funny even though I wanted the man to stop the ride - I didn't make the man stop the ride - he needs to learn.

Dax had to be held the whole time, due to the fact he would literally run off from us. Is this screaming / pitching fits... is this a phase? will he grow out of it? Or am I just going to have to keep spanking this child - any advice?

Other than all of that it was a great time! ha Scroll down, I've posted more..

A B C

Funny...
My mom was sitting between the boys in the car the other night and Kepler was trying to grab her reading glasses. She wouldn't let him have them and she tells my dad and I "he's M A D at M E" and Kepler says " A B C" in a not so nice voice! He's learning early.

It's your birthday...

We celebrated Kevin's birthday last week - I shouldn't say celebrated - we did nothing - he went fishing...

Happy Late Birthday Daddy. We love you and mommy says she couldn't do life without you!

OREO

this was just too precious not to post...

JoJo's Visit

It's so sad that we live a good ways away from Kevin's mom and dad and that we just don't get to see them much. Kepler always asks about his JoJo and she finally got to come visit with the boys and spend some time with them. Thanks JoJo for coming to stay last week. I managed to get 0 pictures of you and them. Maybe it was because I was never at home!?! They had a blast and miss their JoJo and Pops! - I couldn't have done it without you!

A Farewell

We love our dog Cutter and will miss him very much. He developed a tumor in his bladder and got very sick. It is so hard and sad to lose a pet and a little friend like this. Please pray for Kevin tomorrow. He has had his hunting pal and friend for 10 years.

Alabama fans on game day

Look at these little Bama fans! Kep and Dax say Roll Tide! Well, Kep can say it. Kevin is really not liking this at all. But every once in a while, just to make me laugh, Kep will say Go State when his daddy's around us. This picture was from Saturday morning.

1st haircut

I cut his hair for the first time - besides trimming his bangs out of his eyes. Kevin made a remark this weekend (I have to say I was waiting on that) that his hair was too long in the back and that people had mentioned that he looked like a girl - you wonder about those people that actually thinks he looks like a girl because you know good and well that a baby girl would have a big bow stuck in her hair! Anyway, I cut it and cut all the long curls.

Okay so this picture doesn't look like I cut much - but I did.

I am playing catch up, scroll down to see the 5 posts I posted today.

It was Labor Day weekend, I was...

any guesses to what song that line is from? Anyway we had a good one. Kepler got to see some skeet shooting, which he loved. He acted so grown up with his ear mufflers on and being careful as he loaded the skeet shooter. They let him pull the rope to fire off the skeet and you would have thought it was his regular little daily job. Dax didn't mind the shots either. I guess they are right about boys liking guns. Mine do - kind of scary. The bottom pictures are of them "helping" wash cars on Monday.

Do you want some?

HA! Roll Tide! (a few days late) Let's just hope they keep it going.

Happy Birthday Granddaddy

My dad turned 60 this weekend and we celebrated with friends and family. We think he had a good time! One of his friends gave him the "60" necklace to wear for the night. Happy Birthday daddy! I love you and I think you are the greatest.

Their first high school football game

It was so fun to go to a high school game. The season opener was against our county rival. I remember those fun days! Kepler and Dax actually enjoyed the game and were good little fans for the first half.

Dirty little guys

Their favorite thing to do these days is play in granddaddy's freshly plowed garden dirt. I think he plows it everyday just so they can dig around in it and get filthy. These are mostly the clean up pictures. Kep continues to love cowboy everything so when my dad took his boots off Kep thought he should wear them. He even grabs a rope and tries to lasso. Daxy pooh can go from happy to screaming in a second! - They say he is spoiled, I say he's just Dax!

Baseball Game

All of Kevin's tax division from work had been given tickets to a Baron's baseball game this past Thursday night. We took Kep and he got to see some baseball and bounce and slide in blowups!

13 and 1/2 months

Dax at 13 & 1/2 months

Kepler at 13 & 1/2 months, Granddaddy, and Dax the day he was born

To think that Kepler was this age when Dax was born makes me wonder how I survived. Two in diapers (still) and a baby that didn't sleep through the night until 10 months old. I know I just have 2 children but with them being so close in age has been hard at some times. Although I am so glad God gave us two boys so close together. It's fun times at my house right now. Both boys are sleeping in their beds and through the night! I am so spoiled because they wake up at 8 and both take a 2 hour nap. I hear the sweet little birds chirping when I wake up each morning - joking, but can't you tell I love my sleep. They are beginning to play well - well sort of well - together. I caught Kepler about to slug Dax in the head this afternoon with a plastic pipe, but other than the usual "Kep get off of him" they are playing together. Dax is giving Kep a little payback now and then and Kep is acting like the responsible big brother, saying "come on Dax" and "no, no Dax". They continue to amaze me and I am truly amazed that God has allowed me to be their mommy! Love to my 13 and 1/2 months apart boys!! Your mommy can't wait to see what tomorrow holds.

This is what happens when...

I'm not in the room they are. Notice the initiator in the background.

Lake Weekend

Love these girls! Our annual (try to anyway) trip to Lake Martin was this weekend - we started this in the way back UofA days. The weather was beautiful and we all actually got a little break and well needed rest. It was just the couples without all the kiddos this time. It was so good to see all of you this past weekend. I miss you all and really wish we all lived close to each other. L - R... Rachel, Julia, Susie - all which are expecting, me and Kelly. We enjoyed it Kelly!!! Sorry y'all, this is not the best pic but it is the only one.

Messy Mess

Church Picnic

We drove in for our church picnic on Sunday afternoon. Kepler had a ball and poor Dax just got eaten up by ants. With all of the kids there and the hotness of the afternoon and Dax being so ill, we left way earlier than we wanted to. We didn't get to "picnic" but it was worth it just to let Kep play after being in the car for 6 hours. I bet Kepler slid down this slide 20 times. He hung in there with all the other big kids like a pro!