New Baby! :)

Ok, I know this is a little late, but CONGRATULATIONS! to my very best friend Brooke and her wonderful hubby Aaron on their new little baby, Gage! He was born August 21st. He's ADORABLE!! A very snuggly little guy and couldn't be any cuter!

Just had a bath in this one, he wasn't very happy about being cold and naked, but the picture is still cute! :) And I'm sure he'll be very smart and do things young, and early, because he's got his big brother Gannon to show him the ropes! I can't wait to watch him grow up!! I'm sure him and Drew will be good friends just like Jordyn and Gannon have been! Congrats, guys! He's precious!!

The BIG Fair Post!

Alright...here goes nothing. Lots of pictures on this post because I didn't feel like trying to break it down into multiple posts. Also, these are in no particular order, just however I randomly uploaded them. I did the good, fun parent thing and took my kiddos to the county fair....TWICE! :) They loved EVERY minute of it, and I have to admit, when they're happy, Momma is happy!! I love doing things they enjoy because nothing shows you the meaning of life quite like watching your own children LAUGH and SMILE!! I live for that!! Anyway, go make yourself a lemon shakeup and grab a funnel cake or corn dog, and sit back and ENJOY a minute or 2 of the FAIR!

Backseat drivers....cruisin in the big rig!

Jordyn and her future husband - I mean FRIEND, Jackson! ;)


You can't see this very well, but that's Jordyn and Jackson in the front of that helicopter.

Siblings hanging out on the Ferris Wheel. I love that they're just casually talking and not even watching the world go by! lol

Oh...hey...that's my mom!!

Drew playing a fair game....although this is the only game picture we have (Thanks Bri) they played a TON!! We have lots of inflatable toys, and good ole fair STUFF that I'm sure will be around forever....or the next 20 minutes or so, anyway.... LOL

Can't see this one real well either, but what a BLAST!! We all 3 loved this 5 second slide once we spent 5 HOURS getting situated to go down the slide!!

Merry-Go-Round with Mommy! Drew LOOOOVVVEEEDDD this ride!!!

Merry-Go-Round with Grandma Rhoades! Mommy went once, almost got sick! Kids wanted to go again, so we called for backup and good ole Grandma took one for the team! :)

Ridin along in my automobile.......

My BROTHER beside me at the wheel......

Up Up and Away

Big Man rode this one alone...that's Jordyn and Jackson in the helicopter following him.

I can't believe he rode fair rides at all, let alone by himself!! He loved them!!

Jordyn petting one of the horses - Shorty! We never did get a chance for them to ride the ponies this year. There's always next year, and the next, and the next.......

Ode to a 16 month old...

Hey everyone, my name is Drew. I'm 16 months and 4 days old today. I'm getting really tall like my Dad and really CUTE like my MOM! I like play with my sister and my beagle dog Lacey. I love my uncle Brian and like to wake him up in the morning. I like all kinds of foods and sometimes even try to eat things I'm not supposed to eat....my favorite is dog food. Lacey shares, she doesn't mind. I really love to make people laugh and

SMILE!!

I will do all kinds of things to make people laugh. I will make funny noises, put things on top of my head, and even

PLAY WITH MY FOOD!!

I'm also getting very stubborn though. I really DONT like it when my Mommy tells me "No, No Drew!" or "Andrew Michael, NO!". She's usually pretty nice but sometimes I just smack her in the face anyway. Sometimes I even hit my sister. My Mommy says "Drew, NO HIT!". It makes me feel bad and makes me get a sad look on my face. And now everybody keeps trying to make me walk everywhere! I don't WANT to WALK. I am fine just crawling. I get where I want to go, and usually under the radar. I can usually get a few good splashes in the potty or throw some bottles in the bathtub before they catch me. But now they are always holding my hands and trying to get me to walk. I don't get it....I can go anywhere they can. I can even

CLIMB STEPS!!


I guess maybe someday I will walk just to get them off my back. I will have all kinds of new tricks up my sleeves by then....Shhh....don't tell my Mom!!

Flashback Friday!

Happy 1st Birthday to NOAH, Happy 8th Birthday to LACEY, and lets all take a minute today to think about and pray for the families and friends of those lost 8 years ago today. We are all SO BLESSED and I hope not one of us EVER forgets that! Believe me, I know a little something about TOUGH times here lately, but I CANNOT nor do I WANT TO imagine what those innocent victims or those close to them went through on that day. God Bless AMERICA!! Now...on a lighter note..... FLASHBACK FRIDAY!!! ;)

This picture of Jordyn was taken May 27, 2007. She was just over 19 months old... I think it's just precious! For one, I love, lOvE, LOVE babies in white onesies!! AND, she could already READ! WHO says my baby girl is not a GENIOUS!?!? HAHA!!! I do just adore this picture though....sittin in her room 'reading' by herself!!

Thankful Thursday

I came up with a new posting idea... Thankful Thursday. I'm going to try to feature someone or something in my life that I am thankful for on Thursdays. I can pretty much promise I won't do it every week, but I'm going to try. I think it'll help me stay grounded and in touch with what is important in my life; I also think it will help all of you get to know me a little bit better. I know thats what you all want! ;)

Without further adieu, I present todays post!

I am thankful for...

My brother, Brian! As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am now living at my brothers house, along with the kids 50% of the time, and our dog. He's been extremely accomodating and made his house feel like our home right away. I appreciate all he has done for us and since he's putting the roof over our heads right now, I thought he'd be my premier post!

Thanks for everything Brian...you're DEFINATELY my favorite brother! :)

Wordless Wednesday

Jordyns First Day of School~ Ever!!

Well Jordyn started preschool last Monday. She was very excited that morning until she realized I was taking her to the babysitters first. Then the war started!! I got her there, and she calmed down as soon as I left. Then she was so excited that the bus was coming to get her. And as it turns out, luck was on our side AGAIN! (BAD luck, that is!) The bus was to be there by 9 am. At about 20 after 9 I got a phone call from our sitter saying that the bus hadn't been there yet. I called the school and was told they didn't pick her up because they didn't have her emergency medical form. The funny part of that was that they knew WHERE she was to be picked up at, but didn't have the paper........UMM that info was on the same paper! The emergency med form was the same form that had the bussing info! ANYWAY, I had to leave work, go pick her up and take her to school. Once I return to work I had a voicemail from the transportation director that OOPS they had misplaced our form. They actually did have it, (DUH!) but it had slipped through the cracks! Well Jordyn did make it to school, and did LOVE it, as I knew she would. It was just a minor inconvenience, but I can't understand why our luck seems to generally be bad luck these days!! ENOUGH already! :) Anyway, here are pics of J the morning of her ACTUAL first day, and getting on the bus on her second day of school but first day being picked up by the bus! I can't believe how big my baby girl is!! Going to school already....WOW!!! I'm so proud of my little Jayderbug!

All grown up waiting.....and waiting.....and waiting..... for the bus! LOL

Heading out to the bus...these aren't very close. I had our sitter take the pics and she wasn't sure how to use my camera and didn't zoom.

She has informed us that her favorite part of school is riding the bus! She loves it!