Halloween fun!

The last few years Kalee has wanted to be a Genie for Halloween. But, being the stellar mom that I am, I always put off shopping for a costume until the week of halloween! This year I was WAY ahead of the game...I think we bought her costume as soon as walmart put it on the shelf! She loved it and looked super cute - as usual!

Kalee's school fall festival was a couple weeks ago - the weather was beautiful and she had a blast with the activities. Best of all, for me, the Hanley's were in town, so Shellie, Cierra and Rachel got to go with us!

Rachel even got in on some of the fun!

I can't believe it is almost Thanksgiving! This year has flown by so fast. We are going to PA for Christmas and I am counting down the days...We are going to have a new nephew by the time we get there, and I am looking forward to snuggling a newborn!

Andrew comes for a visit!!!

Steve, Betsy and Andrew came up for a week around the end of August and we had such a great time! The week flew by way too quick for Rich, Kalee and I and we were defintely sad to see them leave. Crystal and Charley came over for a couple days and joined in on the fun. In the pic below the boys had gone out so us girls decided to attack them with a water gun and the hose when they came back. Our plan to get both guys out of the car didn't work out so well, but at least we got Rich!

Until he stole the water gun from Kalee!

Kalee and Andrew - aren't they beautiful?!

Uncle Stevie and daddy had lunch with Kalee at school one afternoon - she was thrilled!

Betsy and Andrew playing in the ball pit - fun times!

We went kayaking one afternoon - and got to ride in a limo bus to the drop off point...Kalee thought that was awesome and would have LOVED to ride around town all afternoon - forget kayaking!Andrew enjoying the river...

Charley and Crystal had a little spill and fell out of their kayak and Charley had 'enough' after that! She was so tired, too, and started nodding off near the end of the trip. She was so adorable - her life jacket was the perfect head support! :)

Charley and Andrew had fun watching...

RC car races! Boys and their toys...Steve put the smack down on his bro! Poor Richie - I think he did finally win a race or 2.

Hopefully this video will play - so sweet!

Labor Day weekend in Destin!

Kalee and I took a quick trip to Destin over Labor Day weekend - we had so much fun! We stayed with my childhood best friend, Carmen, and her family. On Saturday we kayaked in the Bay to a sandbar known as Crab Island and searched for hermit crabs. The water was so beautiful...and Kalee and I both LOVE to be out on the water, so it was a perfect day! Kalee and Carmen had fun finding all these hermit crabs.

They have food and drink barges in the middle of the sandbar...and then Kalee spotted the "ice cream boat"...so OF COURSE we had to have a cool snack!

Saturday evening we decided to hit the beach. Carmen had heard that the seaweed was really coming in, but we figured the girls wouldn't mind...and they didn't until it was time to leave. I figured it would be clumps of seaweed (like at Cocoa Beach), but no...this was like pureed seaweed...little tiny pieces EVERYWHERE. I had to wash Kalee's hair 3 times to get it all out - so gross!

Waiting for our turn to go...PARASAILING!Flying through the sky! Kalee LOVED it!

Sunday night we went to ride go-karts...at the end of the 3 minutes Kalee looked at me and said "this was the best part of my day"!

While we were parasailing we scouted out the parts of the shore that seemed to be seaweed free - and enjoyed a BEAUTIFUL morning at the beach on Monday, before we hit the road.

We could have stayed at the beach all day! I can't wait for our next Destin trip!

First Day of School!

Well, Kalee's first day of school was a success! She didn't get the teacher that she wanted (thank the LORD!!! because momma did NOT want that teacher!), so she was a little disappointed on 'meet the teacher' day. She has since decided that her teacher is pretty awesome, so now she is happy!

I can't believe Kalee is in 3rd grade. Time is just passing by so quickly - I really don't like it! 3rd grade seems to be the year where you get to join different clubs and become more involved in different activities, so it should be interesting! I feel like I do a poor job of keeping up with daily life...throw in some extra's and I will really be in trouble!

Kalee is going to play Soccer this year. She opted for soccer in place of cheerleading - not sure she is going to be happy with that decision (especially when all the running starts!), but I gave her plenty of chances to change her mind! This will be her first time playing soccer since she was 5 - and the rules of the game are completely different than she remembers - but I'm sure she will be awesome! She had a lot of fun at soccer camp over the summer - and didn't complain once about having to run around in the heat for 3 hours, so I think she is cut out for it. Sure takes after her daddy!

Uncle Joe and Aunt Cindy - thanks for your message - I felt the hug! I hardly remember a time without Jade, too. Seems crazy that 10 years went by so fast.

Stacey - thanks for your message too!

Jasper is doing great - settling right in. He really is a perfect puppy - and we've only had 2 accidents in the house - one that was more out of spite than an accident! He had been chasing Midnight for about 10 minutes, back and forth across the living room. She had a bone that he wanted. Normally she has been giving in to him and letting him take whatever he wants, but that night she decided not to share. SO, after 10 minutes he walked over to HER bed and peed in it! He got in trouble, but I couldn't stop laughing!!

Goodbye to my Sweet Jade...

My sweet Jade, as a puppy... One of my favorite pics...Jade loved to climb up into Kalee's chair and sun herself during the cold winter months!

All 3 of our dogs...Jade approved of the new puppy and got a kick out of barking at him and Midnight as they tousled.

I spent my evenings this week giving Jade extra love...don't know if it made her feel any better, but it helped me :)

I don't know how I talked Rich into it (actually, I didn't...I just e-mailed him a pic of the dog and asked if I could have him!), but we decided to get a puppy.

We rescued this boy from Animal Control. We found him right on time, as he had already been there longer than they usually allow. Kalee named him Jasper - we wanted to pick a 'J' name, for Jade, and Kalee came up with it all by herself! He is the perfect puppy...no crying at night, no accidents in the crate (or the house, for that matter), sits on command (most of the time) and is just downright lovable. Midnight is having fun playing with him...I think she would have been really lonely without Jade.

I am so going to miss my Jade...miss her greeting me at the door EVERY time I walked through it...miss her following me EVERYwhere I went...miss hearing her settling into her bed at night. She was such a sweet dog.

Summer fun with Charley

Grammie T and Charley spent a few days at our house this week - we had so much fun. Charley is such a delight and has so much personality!

I had to work, but Rich and Grammie T took the girls swimming one afternoon. Kalee is one lucky kiddo - her daddy has taken her to the pool at least 3 days a week this summer. She's got a "Florida" tan going on!The girls entertained us with their dancing skills. The first night Charley was at our house she and Kalee danced for almost 30 minutes. It was such a silly time!

Playing in the sprinkler!

Signs of Summer

Kalee really wants to camp out with Rich, but it has been H-O-T here, so she was thrilled when she saw the tent that daddy made for her in the living room!

Playing in the sprinkler...a summer favorite!

What a start to the summer!

We have had quite a busy start to the summer...and I am exhausted! I won't complain too much, because we have had a lot of fun, but I am ready to catch up on my sleep! This past weekend my cousin, Rebekah, got married. My bro and sis-in-law, along with my cousins and Uncle Joe and Aunt Cindy all came up to GA for the special day - I think this is the first time all the cousins have been together in one spot in a few years. We had a good time (although quick time) visiting - my favorite part of the day was this great pic that Chase took with me. Such a sweet boy!

The beautiful Bride!Grammie with all her grand and great-grand kids. Such a lucky lady! :)Rich and my gram... The new "OUTLAW" group - welcome to the family, Scott!

Kalee and Chase...being a little silly.Family, family! This pic is from Kalee's last day of 2nd grade. I CAN'T believe the school year is over already - and really can't believe she will be in 3rd grade next year. Life just isn't fair!Warming up for her last softball game. Kalee with her coaches, and team. Dickens Builders, 2010.Crystal and Charley came over for Kalee's last game and we decided to go strawberry picking afterwards. It was a lot of work to pick the strawberries this year - but they were good! Love the pictures of these 2 sweet girls together! For Kalee's first trip of the summer she went over to Aunt Crystal's for 5 days - and had a blast.Kalee and Charley with their 'silly bands'. Kalee may just have gotten Charley hooked on them. :)Rich golfed with my dad and a couple friends (Trey and Trace) in UGA's Fellowship for Christian Athletes Tournament. They didn't win, but they had fun. I asked Rich if he said "Go Gators" to UGA's head coach, Mark Richt (in the pic - center), but he didn't...scaredy cat! We headed to FL on Thurs, May 27th, for our vacation. We met my friend Alison and her kids for breakfast on Friday morning. Love my pic with Annabelle.

We were in FL at just the right time to be able to attend Andrew's Homecoming Celebration 2010. 2 years ago Andrew FINALLY came home from the hospital after spending the first 6 months of his life there. So glad they took such great care of him and so thankful that he is doing so well!!!

On Monday we went to a family picnic at Vince and Sue's. Kalee enjoyed spending a few hours with all her young cousins on Rich's side of the family!

We also spent a few days at Anthony's pool. Kalee had lots of fun playing with friends and cousins and I enjoyed relaxing in the Florida sun with my friend Alison!

We had a great time in FL, but left feeling like we didn't have enough time to visit with everyone...the point being that there is never enough time. We were there for 10 days, but I could have used a few more! Thanks to the Hanley's for housing us the entire time...10 days is a long time to crash at someone's house - thank goodness we're close like that! ha!

Kalee stayed in FL for a week after Rich and I came home - thanks Jessica, Vince & Sue! It got off to a rocky start (she freaked out in a big way when we left her - which is totally unlike her), but thankfully, Uncle Steve and Aunt Betsy came to the rescue and calmed her down. She had a great time playing with her cousins and I'm so glad she got to spend time with them!

The day we left to come home my Aunt Snooks (my dad's sister-in-law) passed away. She had been battling cancer for the past 6 months or so. I'm so glad we got to spend a few minutes with her while we were in FL. She was the GREATEST aunt...you always knew you were loved. I'll miss you much, Aunt Snooks!