Georgia on my mind

Bryan has been traveling A LOT lately. For the past 6 months or so he's actually been gone more than he's been home. So, I asked him if it would be o.k. if we tagged along on one of his trips. Surprisingly, he agreed.

After making it home from the road trip with Dad and Bre I got in bed at around 1 am. At 4 am Bry was waking me up so we could hit the road for Georgia. Ugh! We were actually suppose to leave at around 3 but I guess he felt sorry for me.

Anyway, the next few days were spent with me and the kids exploring Atlanta while Bry worked and then we would all have dinner together. On one of the nights we saw the laser light show at Stone Mountain. He also took part of Thursday off and went to the aquarium with us.

There are a few memories from the trip that stick out in my mind. Like when we went downstairs for breakfast one morning. I left the 3 kids at the table and went to the buffet line to get their food. I look over and the two little ones are running across the hotel lobby and Bay is trying her best to catch them. She said before that, they had her down on the floor and were beating her up. People at other tables were laughing but also telling them they shouldn't beat up their sister. It was a little embarrassing.

Another memorable moment was when we went to the botanical gardens. They had a really cool kids area, but you have to walk through all of these other areas to get there. We finally make it to the entrance and I am taking a pic of the kids before we walk in and the sky opens up and it starts pouring! We run inside this giant caterpillar head to keep dry, not knowing there were all of these random holes where water could get in. So we make a run for this little Indian hut. After standing there for a while I decided to put their bathing suits on them and just enjoy the gardens in the rain. I was determined for them to enjoy themselves! So I change the little ones and I'm holding up a beach towel so that Bailey can change in the corner of this little hut. Luke announces that he has to go potty. I tell him to wait just a minute and I will take him. Bay finishes dressing and I turn around and say "o.k. buddy, let's go find a potty." He says "It's o.k. Mommy, I'm already going pee pee." To my horror, my son is standing there "watering" a very beautiful plant beside the hut! Bryan suggested we buy him a t-shirt that says "I peed at Atlanta's Botanical Gardens." Ugh.

Anyway, the rain stopped after a little while and we ended up having a great time there. After a couple more days of sight-seeing and hotel living I headed back to Memphis without Bryan. He informed me on the second day there that he had to stay later and he would fly back. This may not seem like a big deal to most people but to me it was terrifying. There was a time not too long ago when I wouldn't even drive on the interstate. I would go out of my way to avoid turning left. I was so scared of driving!! So add that to driving from Georgia to Memphis with 3 kids in the car and I was a nervous wreck! What if they're all asleep and I have to go potty? What if I run out of gas in some place that has no gas station? What if I get lost?

Luckily, none of that happened (Except the gas thing, that almost happened. There are NO gas stations in Butthole, Ms!) and we arrived home safe and sound at around 9 pm. I was so relieved to see my house and to press the garage door opener.

The garage opened slowly and revealed what looked like the remains of a break-in or a tornado. Apparently, my dog got out and tore up a ton of stuff in my garage and then pooped all over the place. I couldn't even get my car into the garage it was so bad! Why did I think adding a dog to my chaotic life would be a good idea??

Bry says this is her Miss July Calendar pose. :)

I told them to be pose like sculptures.

Bry took us to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. I could get in real trouble there!

Bry and Luke in front of Stone Mountain.

The kiddos ready to watch the laser light show at Stone Mountain.

This fish was cracking me up. It was like he was posing for the pictures!

This was pretty funny. The whale kept accidentally smacking Bay upside the head with his fin.

Road trip!

Last weekend I joined Dad and Bre on a road trip to Heber Springs, Arkansas. My cousin Lewis was getting married and it also gave us an excuse to visit with family that we haven't seen in way too long.

The 3 1/2 hour trip went by surprisingly fast. Bre would not shut-up the whole way there (or back)! She was either singing along to her i-pod (very painful to our ears) or talking about who knows what. I don't think I've ever asked someone to shut-up so many times in my life! Poor Dad. I think he was a little overwhelmed by us. He laughed a lot but I also noticed him going to his happy place a few times.

We finally got to my Aunt Lisa's house, which is a double wide trailer sitting on about 3 acres of land in the middle of nowhere. There were two people we didn't recognize sitting on the front steps. When Dad stopped the truck Bre asked "Dad, are you sure this is her house?" he said "Yep" and he quickly exited the truck. I said "Alright, but if I hear banjos playing I'm outta here!" It didn't escape our notice how anxious Dad was to get away from us. :)

Anyway, we had a chance to visit for a while before heading off to the wedding. Which, by the way, was being held at the Damsite. You have no idea how much fun we had with that! (Where you goin? To the Dam site. Alright, see you at the Dam site. How in the heck do we get to the Dam site?) O.k. maybe we were a little giddy about being without responsibility for a whole day but at the time EVERYTHING seemed funny to us.

The wedding was really laid back and beautiful. We enjoyed spending time with each other and with our extended family. Dad got to shake his groove thing on the dance floor. (I have video that I will hold for blackmail.) Then we headed home.

The drive home was really fun. Bre and I were acting like kids so much that Dad actually had to get on to us a couple of times. That brought back memories! Once, while he was on the phone, Bre and I got into a wrestling match for some reason. We had each other in headlocks and we were acting like fools and he had no idea what was going on. He just continued to drive and kept talking on the phone. Which is really surprising since we were all sitting in the front seat of his truck! How did he not notice two grown people beating each other up right beside him?

Anyway, I am really glad we were able to spend the day together. I hope we find another excuse for a road trip soon. :)

Me & Bre taking a pic of ourselves.

Dad and his girls.

Such a lady. :)

Bre & Dad ordering some late night sonic on the ride home.

I'll say it again...

...If you don't want it on my blog, don't do it!! :)
Peyton wanted to try out Wii Fit while he was at our house. These videos are him hula-hooping and dodging soccer balls. We were laughing so hard. He barely moves his hips at all doing the hula hoop. The man has no hip action! And when you see him put his arms out like superman, he is trying to catch flying hula hoops. The funny part about that is that you don't have to put your arms out. You just have to lean towards the side the hula hoop is coming from. He got really into it though! So funny.
Unfortunately, I was holding the camera wrong so you will have to turn your head or your computer to the side to watch the first one. Enjoy!
During the soccer video, we could not stop laughing at how his hair was flopping around. He is such a goof. What would we do without Peyton (our comic relief)??

The Fourth

On July 4th we had the fam over for swimming and hot dogs. That night we let Presley and Luke do sparklers and snap pops. They LOVED them! Then Bry and Bailey went to Bre's house to shoot fireworks. I stayed home and put the babies to bed. That was fine with me because I really don't like fireworks unless they are being done by a professional. It may have something to do with the time someone shot a bottle rocket into my hair! Or maybe it's because my Dad and D used to shoot fireworks at each other when I was little and I had to hide in the car so I didn't get caught in the crossfire!

Anyway, here are a few pics from our day...

I told them to stand there so I could get a pic of them in their "fourth" wear. They started being so sweet and hugging each other. It was so precious!

My sweet babies. Luke and Pres

Presley, Luke and Bay

Bay and Luke
Bay has been begging for a hair wrap since Disney. I finally went online and learned how to do it. Of course, then Presley had to have one. :)

There's too many kids in this tub!!

Bry and Bay

You should have seen the splash this produced!

There's almost not enough pool for this family!

Grumps and Presley
Bre's friend Julia was in town so she stopped by for a visit.
Carson and Cameron slept the whole time we were swimming! They woke up hungry!

If you don't want it on my blog, don't do it!

Since starting this blog I am always being asked "Is this going to end up on your blog?" And the answer is "Probably, yes." So, my advice is if you don't want me to blog about it, then don't do it. This is the story of my life. I like to blog about the things that happen during my day. I really like things that are funny. I really love my kids, hubby and family. Those are the things you can expect to find on here. Why are they so surprised?
Anyway, I say all that because I am about to post a video of my husband that will probably get me in trouble. :) He loves to make us laugh. He does all types of silly things. The other night he put on a Presley's pretty yellow hat. He was sitting next to Bay on the couch watching TV and I guess he was waiting for us to notice it. Well, by the time we did he had fallen asleep. When I looked up and saw him, I ran for the camera. I love Bay's expression when she looks over at him. I also love his expression when he notices he's on video!
Enjoy! And babe, I love you. Even if you do where girly hats.

Introducing Lily Marie!

My beautiful niece made her way into the world today. Mommy and baby are both doing well and looking gorgeous! My Bubs is such a proud papa! I am so grateful for all of the precious, healthy babies our family has been blessed with!

Jo and her little angel!

My Bubs, a father of three! Wow!

Miss Lily was born at 12:39 pm. She weighed in at 6lb 14 oz and was 19.5 inches long. She has a head full of beautiful black hair and I think she looks like her big sister, Ella.

And now for a little showing off...

Me and my girl and Lily

Austin and Lily (she grabbed his finger and held on)

Our oldest girl and our youngest girl...for now!

Just another day at the Zoo

Going to the zoo has become one of our favorite summer activities. We go early in the morning so that we can get out of there before it gets too hot. Bre and I pack lunches and have a picnic so that we don't have to pay the ridiculous prices for food. They just added a "Birds and Bees" exhibit that the kids absolutely love! For a dollar you can get your own feeding stick and the birds will hop right on and the that just thrills the kids! Their other favorites are the polar bear and sea lion exhibits. They are fairly new also. I like it because it is air conditioned but it is also really cool to watch the polar bears swim around and play. I think my kids could go every day and not get bored with it! Here are a few pics of our fun day at the zoo...

The kiddos enjoying the bird exhibit!

Carson and Cameron like the zoo too!

Our little explorers!

Bay found an unusual spot to rest. :)

I thought I would include a little video for entertainment purposes. :) My girls LOVE to dance and they had the perfect opportunity at the bee exhibit where there was a little dance area. I have no idea where these moves come from, maybe their Daddy??:)