Attack of the Bumblebee!

We had some dear friends over for dinner a week ago...All the kids (9 total between our family and theirs) were outside playing in the jumpy house and the sprinkler...All was well until Elsie comes flying through the door screaming, "a bee attacked me."  I thought to myself, Elise is so over reacting and she is going to over dramatize this whole thing...Well I was looking at her and all of a sudden her lips and nose started to swell...I quickly realized that this really did happen and my poor little girl was really in pain...Elsie was just boo-hoo crying and she wasn't calming down...Elsie looked at me and said, "Mom can I call that bee a baby?"  I said "sure honey if that will make you feel better."  If you have ever heard Elsie call her brothers a baby before it is quite funny...With all the passion in the world, Elsie said "you are a baby."  I laughed so hard I thought I would die...Elsie said a few times and I guess that is all she needed to recover from this tragic incident...So watch out bees, Elsie is allowed to call you names!

Elsie Turns 3!

Well , on July 24th our little girl turned 3 years old...I can't believe how she has grown...

Elsie wanted a TinkerBell birthday with a Yellow cake and Chocolate Icing...and of course Chocolate Ice Cream....

This girl loves her chocolate...Elsie was so excited for her party...We arrived home from a full day at church and the party started...Grandma and Papa were able to come too...Before we had a chance to sing to Elsie, I heard a very sweet voice singing,

"Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to myself, Happy Birthday to me." Do you think this girl

was excited for her birthday or what? It was too cute...So that was my clue she had waited long enough...We had cake and ice cream

and then for the presents...Grandma and Papa got Elsie a talking Jessie Doll from Toy Story...and Mommy and Daddy got Elsie her own bike...A pink big wheel...I think the birthday was a success...We are so thankful that God has allowed us to be her parents...May God

give us wisdom to raise Elsie up to be a Godly young lady...Thank you Lord for the gift of a daughter!

Summer fun with the cousins!

Well, Tyler, Jack, and Tamanna were able to stay about 3 1/2 weeks for a visit this summer...Grandma and Papa took them back to GA yesterday...We already miss them and loved having them...We did everything from Silver Dollar City, July 4th celebration, Grandpa Bill's 90th birthday celebration, making homemade vanilla ice cream in a bag, Cars 2, and Jump Mania!  Wow!  What a fun packed summer...We will all miss the kids...We love you Tyler, Jack, and Tamanna!!! 

Elsie's Healthy Choice!

My sweet girl, Elsie, wanted to have salad for lunch...I thought to myself, I better make this a fun event for her...

So we picked fresh lettuce from the garden, sliced carrots and radishes, added some cheese and croutons...Voila!!!!

A yummy salad for lunch...Elsie actually ate a good portion of her salad...So fun to watch her grow and experience new things!

As Elsie says "Are we going to Silver Dollar Silly?"

Another fun filled day at Silver Dollar City. We met Grandma and Papa and the cousins at SDC today. So much to do in so little time. And so the day begins...We arrived around 11:30am. We try our best everytime to arrive by 10 am and we cannot see to get there much before 12 noon.

The amazing Wallendas Family Circus was there today at SDC...Very neat show...Paul asked Elsie "which act was your favorite Elsie?" and she said "the loud one."

We realized that she was talking about the drums. To hear Elsie comment on the drums when we just witnessed such amaing acrobatic expertise was interesting...

Next we headed to Half Dollar Holler...this is a new area they have for kids at the park...complete with a carrosuel and Rabbit's Playhouse...So fun to have something else that Elsie can do!

Next it was Riverblast, Tom Sawyer's Riverboat ride...Papap and I were waiting on deck for the kids to come so we could shoot them with waterguns, but they had to wait a long time...So after Ryan inspected all the leaves on the trees we were off to the Nursing station yet again to warm a bottle.

In between all of this Tyler would sneak in a few death defying roller coasters...He and Papa had fun hanging out!

Finally the time came for all of us to ride the Lost River of the Ozarks...I had 4 little pumpkin heads that were elated with me going. I told the kids that "I wanted to get wet from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet." That stirred up quite a bit of excitement...Jack said "well, Aunt Shelly, then you need to sit here and hold the steering wheel this way." It's the little things in life that mean so much!

When it was all over Corey said "Mom, was that so fun?" I hugged him and said "Yes Corey, with you it was super fun." The smile he gave said it all.

Thank you Grandma and Papa for making it possible for us to go to SDC and build such great memories...Season Passes sure make GREAT Christmas presents.

Ryan's getting big...

Well, finally I can report that as of yesterday Ryan weighs 14 lbs 15 1/2 ounces...We are 1/2 ounce away from 15 lbs...What a long haul the last 8 months have been...I pray that he keeps gaining and growing...Ryan is such a joy and I love him more than words can say...He LOVES to swing too!  Both of these pictures were taken swinging!

Meeting the Neighbors

For months now, the kids have been wanting to make cookies and take them to our neighbors. I think we read a book that talked about neighbors and so the kids were quite intrigued by what that meant.

So finally June 11th was the day.

I let each kid pick out a recipe that they wanted to make.

Corey picked out peanut butter cookies with a chocolate kiss, Shane decided on Citrus Shortbread, and Elsie chose a Paula Deen recipe ( a girl after my own heart): Ooey Gooey Chocolate cookies.

Let the fun begin...Saturday morning we started bright and early baking. After "many" hours in the kitchen and many taste tests we were finally finished.

The finished product included a pink heart napkin lined plate and lots of cookies. There were nine plates to deliver in all.

All of us piled into the car and off we went. A couple of hours later we arrived home. After a full day of baking, delivering, and visiting, I think the kids were quite happy. A fun lesson in being kind to others.