Fun with the Fort Family

PEYTON'S SCHOOL CHRISTMAS PROGRAM

2009-12-15T20:34:00.006-06:00

The 1st grade students at VLE had their Christmas program tonight. They all did really well. The teachers and other staff members that put this together did an awesome job!! I am such a proud mama!!!! Be sure to scroll down and turn off the music on my playlist to listen to the video!!!!

SYDNEY AND ZOIE'S CHRISTMAS CONCERT

2009-12-06T22:13:00.004-06:00

My twin nieces (who look nothing alike) had their Christmas concert tonight. Loved it!!! Make sure that you scroll down and turn off music on my playlist before watching videos.

TRUNK OR TREAT

2009-11-01T21:22:00.002-06:00

We had an awesome time at Trunk or Treat last night at FBC Vidalia. Our family and the Mcmullen family had our vehicles decorated as "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." We actually won best original theme!! All of us were so shocked! We had no clue that there were going to be prizes! There were lots of people that came by! Someone estimated that there were between 700 and 1000 people! What a great way to show love to so many people that may not know the Lord!!! Thanks to everyone who made this a fun, safe, family oriented atmoshpere!!

BALLOON RACE WEEKEND

2009-10-20T12:11:00.004-05:00

The weekend of October 16th, the Great Mississippi River Balloon Races were held. My family looks forward to this every year. Alan and I usually take the boys on Friday night to see the Balloon Glow and the Fireworks. This year, however I worked ALL WEEKEND (counting the money that was taken in at the Balloon Festival) , so Alan met up with some friends of ours (the Buckles family) and it seemed that they had a blast!!! I hate that I missed all of the fun, but I did enjoy working at the festival. It was really LONG hours and a LOT of work, but in the end I can say I really had a great time. I am glad, however that it is a whole year before I have to work like that again!! (From Friday night at 5 through Sunday night at 7 I worked about 33 or 34 hours!!) Because of the wind the balloons only got to fly on Sunday, but at least the Festival ended with a beautiful sight of balloons in the air!!!

2009-10-11T23:24:00.004-05:00

My boys, nieces, and nephews were so sweet to serenade me on my birthday!!! They each performed different acts and then they all did the final act, their "Grand Finale" together. I love, love, love them!!!! Make sure you scroll down to my playlist and turn the music off before watching this video.

My great niece Rylee. She is precious! Love her!

NO MORE BABY HAIRCUT!!!

2009-09-30T21:06:00.002-05:00

Today Alan took Christian and Peyton to get haircuts Alan had threatened me for about 3 months now that he was going to get Peyton a new cut. I would say no and he would leave to go to the barber saying "Just wait til we get home. you will see!" Then they would come home with the same style as before, the perfect bowl cut. Well today was the same way, they left with Alan and Peyton saying they were coming back with a big boy cut. Imagine my surprise when Peyton ran through the door sporting a new style. I was heartbroken. Peyton kept asking if I liked his new haircut and as I picked my jaw off of the ground, I told him yes, I loved it. I immediately went to my bedroom and cried. His cute bouncy haircut was gone and now my baby had become a young man. Just so that you know, I asked God to forgive me for my little white lie to my son and asked him to help me get through this milestone in his and my life. I know I will come to love his new cut it is just going to take a while for me to get used to it.

FOOTBALL SEASON IS HERE

2009-09-14T21:48:00.002-05:00

Football season has officially started now, and ny husband could not be happier!!! Friday nights he enjoys high school ball, Saturday mornings he proudly cheers on our son, Christian, Saturday afternoon and evening he watches as many college games as he can, especially the LSU Tigers, Sunday all afternoon and evening he is glued to the Pros his favorite being the New Orleans Saints, and of course he loves Monday night football. There are even some games on Thursday nights!! That leaves Tuesday and Wednesday football free...wait no Christian has football practice on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, so that leaves Wednesdays free from football!!! From now til February his free time will be consumed with football, but I can't complain since I knew what I was getting into and I married him anyway!! I swore that I would never marry anyone who loved sports as much as my dad, but what can I say...except that I married some one worse!!!! I should have known better when Alan came to pick me up for our first date, my Dad was watching 2 tvs each with a different ballgame on and had a radio wih yet another ballgame on. Instead of going to the movies as planned, we stayed and Alan watched and listened to the games with my dad. My dad has loved him ever since and I have to say so have I.

CHRISTIAN AND PEYTON'S 1ST LSU GAME

2009-09-13T22:32:00.004-05:00

Yesterday Alan, Christian, and Peyton went with Buddy (aka "Coach Buddy) and Drew to Baton Rouge to see the LSU Tigers play the Vanderbilt Commodores. About 2 weeks ago Alan and Buddy got together and ordered the tickets and they mistakenly told the kids. For 2 weeks I have heard "How many days til we see LSU?" Friday night they could not go to sleep due to their excitement. You would have thought it was Christmas Eve night. I overheard Peyton whisper to Christian while they were laying in bed, "Do you think we will meet the REAL Mike the Tiger?" I love seeing my kids so happy!!!! Because of the 80% chance of rain, we had to buy all of them ponchos. It is a good thing we got them because all during the 2nd quarter they had to watch the game in the rain. i sent my camera with Alan so he could capture the boy's first trip to Death Valley. When they got home and I checked the camera, I had a few good pics that Alan took, but most were blurred or cut off pics that the kids took. They were proud of the ones they took, so I will post a few of theirs on here too!!! They seemed to have a blast and LSU of course was victorious over Vanderbilt with a score of 23 to 9. Thanks to our good friend Buddy who came up with the idea to go to this game!!! NEXT...Superdome!!!!!

RYLEE'S 3rd BIRTHDAY

2009-09-01T12:14:00.005-05:00

Rylee turned 3 on Saturday and had her party at Duncan Park Sunday afternoon. The weather turned out to be beautiful. She was so precious. When she started opening her presents, she began tearing off little pieces of paper at a time. At this rate it was going to take forever for her to open all of them, but she eventually got the hang of it and tore off bigger pieces. She would open one, look at it, and then immediately grab another one. She got lots of nice things, including some really cute clothes. I can't wait to see her in all of them. I know I am partial since I am her great aunt, but I believe she is the most BEAUTIFUL girl in the world!!!!

GOD ANSWERS EVEN THE SMALLEST OF PRAYERS

2009-08-26T15:19:00.003-05:00

The other night I was sitting on the couch trying to think of an excuse to get out of doing the dishes. I was extremely tired and just did not feel like doing any housework. I said a silent prayer to God that he would give me the strength to get up and get things done. After I finally realized that they dishes were not going to clean themselves, I got up and decided to turn on some music to listen to while I worked. As I was doing the dishes, I was listening to Chris Tomlin and Casting Crowns. Immediately I got into the music and I forgot that I was doing the dishes. I finished with the dishes, and I started washing clothes. Before I knew it I had washed everything in the laundry room! Talk about motivation!!!! I have never felt that good after doing housework!!!!! This just goes to show you that God answers even the smallest of prayers!!!!

WHAT NOT TO WEAR

2009-08-24T18:17:00.002-05:00

Normally by the time Peyton gets out of the bathtub in the mornings, I have his clothes and shoes laid out for him. Well today I had not put his shoes on his bed so Peyton decided on his own that he wanted to wear his boots. As you can see, Peyton was very proud of himself. I had to be the bad mom and tell him that he could NOT wear those boots with those shorts. We almost had a breakdown. I almost gave in, but I just could not let him walk out of the house like that. By the way he combed his own hair too...PRICELESS!!!!

OUR 13TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

2009-08-10T21:05:00.002-05:00

Today, I have been married to my best friend for 13 years. Wow, where has the time gone? It has been quite a ride, but this ride is not one I am ready to get off of. I love Alan so much.(eventhough he would LOVE to have the kids play baseball all year long!!!) We have gone through our share of hard times, but God has always seen us through and has even pushed us closer ogether. We met at church and church has played a huge part of our lives ever since. I know we would not have made it through all of these years without the guidance of our heavenly Father. I am so blessed to be married to such a great husband and father. I look forward to many more years together.

RECAP OF DISNEY TRIP

2009-08-05T09:35:00.007-05:00

We left for Disney on Thursday July 23rd. Our first stop was New Orleans, where we stayed the night with Alan's aunt and uncle. We went to bed at 9 knowing we had to be up by 4 a.m. so that we could be at the airport by 6. The kids were all excited and did not go to sleep right away. It was like Christmas Eve night, too keyed up to sleep. There were NO problems waking them up when the alarm when off. We were all ready to start another dream vacation at Disney World!!!!

THE PLANE RIDE

We made it to the airport, checked in our luggage and went to our terminal and waited for boarding. This was Alan's and the boys' first time to fly, and I had only flown once way back when I was only 10. Christian and Peyton were almost as excited about the plane ride as they were with seeing the Mouse (ok maybe not that much, but they were excited!!!). There are no assigned seats on Southwest so we were able to sit where ever we wanted. At the beginning of the flight Alan sat with Christian and I sat with Peyton. The boys both sat by the window. Everyone told us that the best part of the flight was the takeoff, and we were not disappointed!! Christian and Peyton could not believe how fast we were going!!!! When we reached a high enough altitude and the captain turned off the seatbelt light, the boys both decided that they had to use the restroom. Of course I think they were just curious, but needless to say we got up and took them. When we returned to our seats, I sat with Christian and Alan sat with Peyton. We all oohed and ahhed as we looked out the window at the beautiful clouds. The view was breathtaking. as we descended the captain made sure that we saw Epcot and Magic Kingdom. It took Peyton a bit but he finally annouced that he spotted "THE GOLF BALL". When we landed we did not have to get our luggage because it was sent straight to our room, so we went striaght to the Magic Express Bus area and got in line for our bus to take us to our resort. We were finally there and were happy to be "WELCOMED HOME" by our Disney family.

EPCOT DAY 1

Our first park to visit was Epcot. We arrived around noon and stayed until 9. We rode our 2 favorite rides there (Mission Space and Soaring) and just enjoyed being at Disney. We had reservations at The Coral Reef Restaurant for dinner that night and it was FABULOUS!!! Atmosphere was wonderful and food was top notch. Alan and I had the steak and it was probably the best steak I have ever had! There is a gigantic fish tank that covers the front of the restaurant where scuba divers swim in the tank with the fish. The boys loved watching that. After dinner we rode a few more rides and then headed back to the hotel. It had been a long day and we were all exhausted.

ANIMAL KINGDOM AND DOWNTOWN DISNEY DAY 2

We got up early Saturday morning and went to the early magic hours at Animal Kingdom. For those of you who are planning on going in the future staying at a Disney Resort is the best way to go. All guests staying at a Disney Resort get to take advantage of extra hours at the parks. On certain days different parks are designated to open early or close late for Disney Resort guests. The lines at the rides are not nearly as long and you can ride your favorite rides over and over without the wait. Upon our arrival at Animal Kingdom, we headed straight to Expedition Everest our favorite ride there. We rode it about 3 or 4 times in a row, then headed for the water ride. WE got drenched!!! We hade reservations at 10 to eat breakfast at the Tusker House to eat with Mickey, Donald, Goofey, and Daisy. We walked around a bit in the sun to try to dry off before we went to eat. We also rode Dinosaur for the first time, but I was not too crazy about it. Breakfast was great!! We stuffed ourselves and took lots of good pictures. After eating we went to see the Festival of the Lion King show and enjoyed every second of it. It is the best show out of any of the parks, except Fantasmic, at Hollywood Studios. We then left Animal Kingdom and went back to resort to freshen up and then left right back out again headed to Downtown Disney. This was our first time to go to Downtown Disney, and is was nice, yet not our favorite part of Disney. The kids went to the pin trading store which is the largest one of all of the parks. They could have stayed all day at that store alone. My favorite store there was the Christmas store. I could have bought so much there if I had the money and the place to put it. After spending abot 3 hours there, we went back to the hotel to rest a little bit then headed to magic Kingdom where we ate supper and road Splash Mountain 5 times in a row while most of the guests were watching the parade and fireworks. It was a great time to ride as we got to see the fireworks as we were coming down Splash Mountain!!!! We finally got into bed at 11:30 that night!!!!!

MAGIC KINGDOM DAY 3

We woke up early again to make it to the early hours at Magic Kingdom. We stuck to our agenda and rode our favorite rides before the park actually opened to all non resort guests. We ate breakfast around 9:30 and then continued on our trek to all the rides. We had just got off of the Buzz Lightyear ride when the bottom fell out. It rained sooooo hard. I thought I was being smart when I bought all of us rain ponchos from the Dollar Tree before we left home...NOT!!!! The ponchos were so thin and were very poorly put together that they did not work hardly at all. Peyton thought that they were trash bags. HA!!! We waited the storm out for about 30 minutes and then headed to Hollywood Studios. Immediately when we arrived there we headed straight to our FAVORITE ride of any of the parks.. THE TOWER OF TERROR. We were going to fast pass it so we could come back later to ride it without a wait, but a lady handed us some fast pass tickets that her family decided not to use. We wlked right on it!!!! It was still raining so we decided to watch The American Idol Experience at 4, 5, and 7. The 7 o'clock show was the finale show, and it was the best. There was really a lot of good talent there. For those of you who will be going soon and like American Idol, this is a must see. If you only have a chance to see 1 show, go to the 7 oclock show because it is the best of the best. We had reservations at the Hollywood and Vine. While it continued to rain outside we filled our bellies inside. By the time we finished eating it had stopped raining. We rode a few more rides (Rockin Rollercoaster and Toy Story,etc) and waited on time for Fantasmic. Since our dinner reservations also gave us prefered seating at the Fantasmic Show, we did not have to fight the crowd for good seats. The show was fantastic!!! After the show was over we headed back to the room after another long day at Disney!!

HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS DAY 4

Day 4 was the early hours for Hollywood studios. We had lots of fun at Hollywood. We rode all of our favorites (Tower of Terror, Rockin Rollercoaster, and Toy Story). We stayed busy all day until about 2 and then we headed over to Epcot to eat at the Garden Grill. This restaurant slowly revolves around 4 different scenes. While you are eating Mickey, Chip, Dale, Goofy and Donald all come to your table for pictures and autographs. The kids (young and old) LOVED IT!!! We watched the Illusions Fireworks show and then went back to the hotel for much needed REST!!!!
MAGIC KINGDOM DAY 5

This just so happened to be our LONGEST day at the parks. We left our room at 7 a.m and did not return until 11 p.m. We took full advantage of the early hours and spent all day riding all of our favorite rides. We ate at the Crystal Palace for breakfast and that kept us full until 7 pm when we ate supper. We watched the afternoon parade and had great seats. We found a table directly in front of the bridge into frontierland and rested our feet and had the perfect view!!! We walked around and watched a few of the shows and then went to the railroad station on Main Street and claimed our table on the balcony for the parade of lights and the fireworks. Peyton fell asleep while Alan and Christian rode the train around the entire park. After the fireworks we left and headed straight for our beds. We had been at the parks for over14 hours!!!! I don't think our heads hit the pillows good before we were out!!!

DAY 6 CHEF MICKEY'S, POOL, AND HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS

We got up Wednesday morning and headed to the Contemporary Resort to eat Breakfasr at Chef Mickey's. It was loads of fun with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Pluto all wearing rheir chef hats. We stuffed ourselves with great food including Mickey shaped waffles. After visiting the gift shops, we headed back to our room for a much needed nap. We got up and took the boys swimmimg and to the arcade at the hotel. Around 5 we headed to hollywood Studios to take advantage of the late magic hours. We were able to ride Tower of Terror 6 times in a row without any wait at all!!!!! We love extra magic hours!!! About 11 we headed back to room ro get a good night's sleep before our last day at Dusney.

DAY 7 MAGIC KINGDOM AND EPCOT
Early magic hours for our last day was at Magic Kingdom, so we made sure to get there to ride our favorite rides one last time for this year's vacation. We left about noon and went back to the room to take a nap, The boys went to the arcade and then we all went to the gift shop to buy souveniers before we headed back to Epcot, We had reservations at San Angel Inn at 7, but when we got to Epcot there was a bad rain storm. It rained soooo hard. We waited by the buses until it slowed down some. We debated on going back to the hotel but we did not want to miss our reservations, So we walked in the rain to Mexico in the World Showcase and ate our supper. Then we went to China and got a famous mango Smoothie. We had heard so many good things about them and just had to try it. Very good...delicious!!!! We watched the Illusions firework show again and then said goodbye for the last time this summer.

DAY 8 FLIGHT HOME
Our flight home was a lot worse than our flight to disney. There was a lot of bad weather, so there was lots of turbulence. The captain told us that it was going to be a rough ride. We could look out the window and see it raining below us. When we landed there was a bad thunderstorm. We had to wait about an hour before they unloaded our luggage. We were back on Louisiana soil but not for long...Next stop Baseball tournament in Vicksburg, MS. No rest for us. Is it bad to wish for a vacation from vacation??? In all seriousness, we had a terrific vacation and are already trying to decide if we want to try a Disney cruise next year!!!!!

PICS FROM DISNEY!!!!

2009-08-02T19:49:00.013-05:00

Here are somw of the pics from Disney. I have a lot more to upload, but I will have to finish tomorrow...Enjoy!!!! I will just add to this post so check back in a few days to see the newer ones.

DISNEY HERE WE COME!!!!

2009-07-22T22:38:00.003-05:00

Well it is finally time for us to leave for Disney!!!! Bags are packed and everything seems to be in order. For the next week we will be having a blast with Mickey, Donald, Goofy and the rest of the Disney family. We are so excited!!!! I have not posted pictures in a while, but I promise when I get back I will go into picture overload!!! Please pray that we have a safe trip!!! Talk to you guys when we return!!!!!!!!!

By the way, I hope you don't mind the Mickey music on my playlist. I can't help it. I am in Mickey mode full force!

HOW MANY MORE DAYS???

2009-07-19T18:53:00.002-05:00

Every day for about 6 months, Christian and Peyton have asked me "How many days til we go to Disney World?" We have been keeping track of it with our Countdown to Disney counter. I have been so busy with ball lately that I have lost track of time. Don't get me wrong I knew it was coming next week, but I looked at the counter and it said 4 DAYS!!! Wow!!! I am not ready. I have so many things to do. Even though I have been planning and researching for 6 months, I am starting to feel unprepared. I know that by Friday, when I am sitting on the plane, I will feel better, but right now I feel so overwhelmed. This week is going to be very stressful, with work, ball practice, and packing, but I know that it will be worth it all. I am so thankful that I am going to be able to share this wonderful time with my family and will cherish the memories forever!!!!

HEADED TO STATE TOURNAMENT IN DERIDDER

2009-07-17T09:28:00.002-05:00

Christian's 9 year old all star team made it all the way to state!!!! We will be leaving today around 11 am headed to Deridder, LA to see Christian and his team play in their 1st state tournament. We are very excited!!!! They will play today and tomorrow to see if they advance to the final round Sunday. These boys have come a long way and had to fight their way to this tournament. I am so proud of them. PLease wish us luck and pray for safe travelling graces to and from Deridder this weekend.

THE INNOCENCE OF CHILDREN

2009-07-16T09:50:00.003-05:00

About a week or so ago, we were driving home from ball practice and Peyton started singing a song that was on the radio. One of the lines in the song is "Cold beer on Friday night". I was shocked!!! I was thinking oh know!!!! My child is singing about beer!!! I told Peyton that he did not need to sing that song anymore and I immediately changed the channel. It did not seem to bother Peyton as he just went right along to something else. Alan and I did not make a big deal of it, thinking he would just forget about it. (DENIAL!!!!) Sunday afternoon both Christian and Peyton each had a friend over to play and they were really having a great time when I heard Peyton singing that song again. I panicked. Okay, now I really have to have a conversation with him and tell him why he can not sing that song. I said, "Peyton you do not need to sing that anymore, because God does not like you singing about beer. Beer is not good for you." Peyton looked at me with a confused look on his face. "Why does God not like Cole Beard's song?" Alan and I looked at each other and grinned. A light bulb went off. Peyton was singing about his friend Cole Beard not about cold beer. Alan and I do not drink beer so he probably does not even know what beer is. Other than root beer, he probably has not even heard the word Beer. This just shows how innocent that children are. It is the adults that make a lot of things "bad". In children's eyes evrything is right with the world. Oh how I wish we could all be as innocent as a child!!!!!!

ALL STAR TOURNAMENT IN MONROE

2009-07-11T16:36:00.004-05:00

Christian's all star team played their district tournament in Monroe this past week. They started on the 4th of July and finished it out in 3rd place on Friday the 10th, which advanced them to the state tournament in Deridder. I am so proud of them. The first game at State will be Friday the 17th and the final game will be 3:30 on that Sunday. Now the boys are all geared up and are ready for a week of practice. No rest in store for us for a while. Good luck boys, I hope you do well!!!!!

T-BALL TOURNAMENT

2009-06-29T19:08:00.007-05:00

Peyton's team played in their 1st tournament this weekend. They did really well considering there were lots of new rules they had to learn. They came in 3rd place out of 5 teams! The kids had fun which is the most important thing. The parents had a blast too, eventhough it was extremely hot! It is amazing that our boys played so well in the heat.

IT'S A STRIKE!!!!!

2009-06-23T21:01:00.004-05:00

Peyton is playing his last year of t-ball this year, but Alan has had him practicing pitching since the beginning of the season. He says he is getting him ready for when he plays in the minor league. He still has 2 years of pitching machine to get through first.

I guess all the hard work is working cause it is obvious that this one is a STRIKE!!!!!

Father's Day

2009-06-23T20:17:00.003-05:00

We did not have big plans for Father's Day this year. After church we went to La Fiesta with my Dad, my Mom, and my sister, Nancy, and then we went home and...took a nap!!! I think the nap may have been just as good as a gift as the LSU cooler and shirt that we gave him. We used to take a nap every Sunday afternoon, but since ball season there seems to always be something going on. After a loooong nap, Alan decided to take the boys to the ballpark. You would think that they get enough of baseball, but I assure you they don't. They played around for awhile, and I stood around snapping pictures.

Eventhough Alan's day was not filled with a lot of excitement, I know that Alan enjoyed it very much. After all he got to do his three favorite things, eat, sleep, and play baseball with his boys!!!!

THE REAL MEANING OF BASEBALL

2009-06-17T08:56:00.004-05:00

We are now in post season full force. Both Christian and Peyton have had practice every day this week so far. We will be going to Monroe for tournaments 2 weekends in a row starting on the 26th of this month. I can't believe how much dedication all of these boys on these teams have. I can hardly sit in the shade and watch them practice without feeling like I am having a heatstroke, and these boys run around for about 2 hours in this heat and act like it is nothing to it. I gulp about 2 bottles of water each practice and they drink a few sips halfway through practice then rush back on the field to practice some more. These boys have learned the meaning of teamwork. There were times that they were sick and did not want to miss a game because they did not want to let their teammates down. They have become friends with the players on their teams and these friendships are the kind that will last a lifetime. I love to see the smiles on my kids faces after a good night of practice. I can see the look of accomplishment and satisfaction on their faces. They may have dirt from head to toe but it gives me great joy to steal a salty kiss from them before they rush in to take a bath. Thank you God for blessing me with these 2 wonderful kids that teach me so much everyday.

CHILLIN AT THE POOL

2009-06-13T23:18:00.002-05:00

Today we went to our friends Charlotte and Robby Buckles house. The kids swam almost the entire time we were there, which was about 4 1/2 hours. They got out for a few minutes to eat, but I don't think they ate very much. They took turns doing flips in the water while Charlotte and I took turns trying to capture the perfect jump on camera. Between the jumping and the water gun fights, Charlotte and I got soaked several times. It seems that we were directly in the line of fire. Charlotte's sisters Amanda and Emily were there too, and I believe that they had a few shots fired at them also. It was a wonderful time and I hope we do it again real soon.

CHRISTIAN MAKES ALL STARS

2009-06-13T10:23:00.002-05:00

Closing ceremonies were last night and at the end they announced the all star teams. Christian made the 9 year old all star team!!!! Way to go Christian, I am so proud of you. The sub district tournament is July 4th in Monroe. We are looking forward to watching him play. Good luck boys to a wonderful post season.

MY SICK LITTLE BOY

2009-06-10T20:12:00.002-05:00

Peyton has been running fever since Monday. I was going to take him to the after hours clinic last nite, but he started feeling better. He even played a little bit with Christian. He went to bed last nite about 10 and I did not hear from him until about 5 this morning. He came and got into bed with me and I immediately knew he was still very sick. I took his temp under his arm because he was so groggy and it was 103!! Which really means 104!! I was really scared. I waited for the doctor's office to open, and called them, and they told me to bring him right in. The doctor checked him and told us that he had a severe case of strep. He gave him a shot and called in a prescription and sent us home. When we got home Peyton went right to bed and wanted me to lay down with him. I ended up in the bed until about 2!! He did not want me out of his sight. Poor thing. I feel so helpless. I pray that he feels better soon and that no one else in our family gets sick.

MINI GOLF

2009-06-09T19:25:00.004-05:00

After the tournament on Saturday, we decided to stay another night and take the boys to play mini-golf on Sunday. We met up with the Buckles family and had a great time. The boys sped through the course, while our adult "kids", (Alan and Robbie) took their time. I am not sure who won, I do not think they kept up with the score, but I know everyone had fun. I wish that we had a mini-golf course here in town.

BASEBALL TOURNAMNET

2009-06-07T20:26:00.004-05:00

We spent the weekend in Clinton, MS at Christian's baseball tournament. It was a long weekend, but it was worth it. Our guys came in second place!!! They played Friday night and won 18-8. Saturday they played 3 games. The first game they won 7-5, the second game they won 11-10, and the final championship game they lost 15-1. They played awesome every game, but the last one. I am not sure if they were all just tired or just nervous, but it seemed everyone made mistakes that last game. The first 3 games, they made plays that would make the pros proud. Everyone hit the ball, and they all worked so well together as a TEAM. I am so proud of them.

END OF SEASON BASEBALL PARTY

2009-06-02T20:11:00.003-05:00

After Christian's baseball tournament on Saturday, we rushed back to town to make it to Peyton's end of season party. The moms played a game against the boys. The boys were the champs!!!! The moms dis not have a chance. I am so proud of these boys for a very successful season. They won 16 games and lost 0!!!!!!! With the help of a few willing mothers, the boys drenched the coaches in ice!!! thanks Coach Buddy and Coach Ronnie for a great season!!!

BASEBALL TOURNAMENT

2009-06-02T19:26:00.002-05:00

Christian had his first baseball tournament this weekend. There were 5 boys from his league team, 4 boys from the Natchez league, and 1 boy from Monterey on the team. They did not practice together at all before the tournament, so we were not sure what to expect. The first game the boys were intimidated by the new rules. They lost 23-3. The next game they did a lot better bus still lost 10-3. This put them # 4 seed. The first game of the single elimination part of the tournament they won which put them in the championship game. They ended up coming in second place. We were all so proud of them because they played so hard. Next weekend we play in Clinton.

ME AND MY GUYS

2009-06-02T19:20:00.001-05:00

LIKE FATHER LIKE SONS

2009-05-18T20:52:00.009-05:00

Christian and Peyton love to go to work with Alan and me. So today when I told them that I was taking them to their Dad's work to stay until he got off they were ecstatic. They were so excited to put on their new aprons that Alan had gotten them a few weeks ago. I don't know who was more excited, Alan or the boys. I do know, however that I love all of my boys sooooo much!

KENNY CHESNEY CONCERT

2009-05-17T22:59:00.007-05:00

Friday night Alan and I went to Bossier City to a Kenny Chesney concert. We had a great time. We do not get away by ourselves very often, so this was a special treat for the both of us. We both took off of work at 1:00 Friday afernoon, and we checked out Christian early from school. Peyton stayed and spent the night with his friend Drew Brown, because he did not want to miss his friend, Cody's birthday party. We left town at 2 headed for Coushatta, LA where we dropped Christian off at Alan's mom and dad's house. We stayed a few minutes there visiting and then headed on our first "date" night in a very long time. In the car on the way to the concert, we found ourselves talking about nothing but our kids. We had not even gotten to the concert yet and I already missed my kids!!! I found myself checking on Peyton every 30 minutes or so. Leaving Peyton in Vidalia, whi;e we were so far away is not something that I normally would do. However when we got to the concert we definately had a great time. The first act was Lady Antebellum. I do not know a lot of their music, but they put on a good show.

Next on stage was Miranda Lambert. She was very energetic and fun and I really enjoyed her performance. I am not sure why but I was not expecting her to be that good.

And finally the last act...Kenny Chesney. He really put on a show! No wonder he won entertainer of the year so many years in a row. His grand entrance was from the ceiling. The Century-Tel theater was dark and then all of a sudden you hear his voice singing, and you look up and he is coming down fron the ceiling on a giant swing. As Christian would say, It was so cool!!!

Here is a video of one of my favorite kenny Chesney songs. It is not very clear but you can at least hear some of it...

LOVE NOTES

2009-05-12T22:42:00.005-05:00

Our lives are very busy these days. We go to work/school, come home, go straight to the ballfields and do not get home until late. Tonight was no different than any other ballgame night. We did not get home until 8:30 and the kids were in bed by 9. Alan and I started watching The Biggest Loser on DVR while I folded a load of laundry. After getting Alan to pause the show, we went to our room to put up the laundry. This is what we saw...

In case you can't see the pictures very well, these are love notes from our 2 sweet boys that say that they love us. They put them on our pillows and then went to bed and went fast to sleep. Aren't my boys the greatest?! I love them soooooo much! I can't wait to wake them up in the morning and tell them how much I love them.

TBALL GAME PICTURES

2009-05-12T21:15:00.003-05:00

HOMERUN FOR PEYTON!!!!!

2009-05-12T20:55:00.003-05:00

Tonight's game was another great game!!!! Peyton got 2 homers and a double. They won 22-13. Here is a video of Peyton's 2nd homerun tonight. I love the smile on his face at the end. For those of you who have never had the opportunity to see him play, this is how happy he is every time he gets on the field!!

(MAKE SURE YOU SCROLL DOWN AND STOP THE MUSIC ON MY PLAYLIST BEFORE PLAYING THIS VIDEO)

5 GENERATIONS

2009-05-10T20:04:00.003-05:00

We are so blessed to have 5 generations in our family. My grandmother, my mom, my sister, my niece, and my great niece were finally all at the same place at one time, so I took the opportunity for this great photo! (thanks Tracey and Tara for allowing me to take this picture!!!! They usually NEVER let me get a picture of them,)

MOTHER'S DAY

2009-05-10T19:24:00.003-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to all of you mothers out there!!! I had a great day with my family. We went to my parent's house after church. We ate dinner and visited and the kids had a blast on the slip and slide!!!! I usually have to buy about 2 a year, because the kids in my family are so rough on them. This video shows how much fun they really had! As you can see, they almost slid right over me!!!!

Remember to scroll down and turn off the music on my playlist before watching this video!!!

PLAYING IN THE RAIN

2009-05-03T17:34:00.003-05:00

We barely had time to get in our Sunday School class this morning when the bottom fell out. The lights starting flickering and all of us rushed downstairs. Luckily we all made it downstairs safely before the lights went out completely. The wind started blowing really hard, it hailed, and it came a downpour of rain. it was obvious that the devil did not want us to worship this morning. It did not last long, however the electricty stayed out so church was cancelled. After getting Christian and Peyton from their classrooms we headed off to Natchez to try to go to church there. The first church we went to was cancelled also because of no electricity so we headed to another, Stanton Baptist. On the way we found out that there were lots of trees down there too, so we turned around and came home. When we got home we realized that we did not have any damage to our house and we were thankful. After helping our neighbor remove a few big limbs, we let the kids play a few minutes in the rain. As you can see they had a blast. They did not get to play but a few minutes because it started lightning again.

WATCHING THE GIRLS...

2009-05-02T15:01:00.004-05:00

Today we went to the girls softball fields to watch my nieces Sydney and Zoie play. After their game (they lost 7-5) Peyton's friend Shyvlie had a tball game. Peyton had been begging me to take him to see her play. He really got into cheering for her. He got right behind the fence directly behind her as she batted. Isn't this so cute?

RELAY

2009-05-02T14:42:00.004-05:00

Last night was a perfect night for the Relay for Life. There were lots of people that came out to support this great cause. Here are some pictures of the night...

HAVE I LOST MY MOTHER OF THE YEAR AWARD?

2009-05-02T10:15:00.004-05:00

Thursday evening Peyton told Alan and me that he did not have to go to school Friday. When I asked him why, he told us that only the teachers had to go. He did not have a note so I figured he was just trying to pull one over on us. I called my sister to see if my nephews had a note about there being no school on Friday, and she said they did not have a note. Alan called Peyton's teacher but she was not at home. I could not figure how Christian's school would have school and the Lower would not, so I got Peyton up as usual on Friday morning and took him to school. When we pulled up there was a line of other parents dropping off their children, so I told Peyton that it seemed that there WAS school after all. He still was saying that his teacher said there was not, so I dropped him off thinking that I have a pretty determined little boy. I knew that he wanted to go with me, because I was going to be working at the Relay site all day. I dropped Christian off at his school and headed across the bridge headed to my work. My phone rang and it was Peyton's teacher telling me that Peyton was NOT supposed to be at school. It turned out that is was Kindergarten Round-up day and that all of this year's Kindergartners did not have school. I turned around and headed back to get him. I felt TERRIBLE that I did not believe him. When I walked into the office to get him he shouted, "I told you I did not have to come to school!!!" I was so embarrassed. My heart sank. The principal told me that she had sent a note home. Peyton finally admitted that he had lost his folder with his note in it on the bus, and he was afraid he would get in trouble for losing it. After I assured him I was not mad we fot in the car and headed to my work.

Eventhough I felt as if I was the worst mom ever, it ended up being a great day for Peyton because he got to go to work with me and help me with some of the Relay duties. I will believe him from now on, but with this episode does this count me out as MOTHER OF THE YEAR?

BASEBALL UPDATE

2009-05-02T09:59:00.003-05:00

APRIL 30TH
Peyton's team won 20-9. Peyton got a homerun, 2 singles, and a double. This team works so well together. Everyone who sees them for the first time can't believe that this is a tball team. I am so proud of them.

Christian's team lost 12-4. Eventhough they lost I think it may have been one of the best games they have played. Christian pitched a great game. This was the first time he has pitched more than one inning. He pitched the whole game except 6 batters in the last inning. He struck out 7 batters in 3 1/2 innings and walked only 2. (I guess all that practice that Christian did NOT get in the house did not hurt him much) He hit a homer and a double. He has really improved since the beginning of the season.

BASEBALL SCORE UPDATES

2009-04-28T21:34:00.003-05:00

THURSDAY APRIL 23RD
PEYTON - 19-6 WIN
CHRISTIAN - 11-10 LOSS

MONDAY APRIL 27TH
CHRISTIAN - 10-9 LOSS

TUESDAY APRIL 28TH
PEYTON - 25-6 WIN

SPLISH SPLASH

2009-04-26T22:05:00.019-05:00

Today after church, Peyton went home with his friend Cole. They went to the ballfields in Ferriday, and they were there all afternoon. When I picked Peyton up at 7:30 this evening, he was covered head to toe in mud. His shoes had so much mud in them, I think they each weighed 50 pounds. He obviously had a great time. When we got home Alan fixed his bathwater while I put his clothes and shoes in the washer. I walked out of the laundry room to this sound...
(to listen to this video, be sure that you go down to my playlist and turn off the music)

THE REASON I RELAY

2009-04-22T21:55:00.005-05:00

Most of you that know me, know that I am a big participant of the Relay for Life event that takes place every year on the riverfront. I am the team captain for the United Mississippi Bank team. Every year I see thousands of people walk the track in honor, in support, or in memory of friends and loved ones. I am there to see the tears in their eyes as the luminary service begins and the list of names are called out or displayed on the screens. Every year I am touched to see all of the dedication and hardwork all of the relayers go through to fight this horrible disease we all know as CANCER. This year I am going to be walking in memory of my Aunt Sandy who lost her battle to cancer this morning. Unfortunately, I did not get to know her that well because she has only been in my family for a little over a year. She married my Uncle Victor who I love very very much, and I know he was deeply in love with her. This disease defeated her, but I hope that one day through our efforts and the efforts of other relayers all over the country, there will be a CURE for this disease. Please come out on Friday May 1st to the Vidalia Riverfront and join all of us Relayers fight this terrible disease.

If you want to make a donation to the Relay for Life's fundraising efforts for the American Cancer Society you can go to www.relayforlife.org/misslou . My team is the United Mississippi Bank team. You can also contact me via my email address. (vickie.fort@yahoo.com) or just come spend some money at the Relay. There will be plenty of tents set up that will be selling things, and there is always great FOOD!

Hope to see you there!!!!

BRIBERY IS THE KEY

2009-04-20T21:34:00.002-05:00

Tonight Christian finally got a hit. When I say hit, I mean a homerun. For those of you that do not know, Christian has had a hard time this year with the transition from the pitching machine to the kids pitching. Last year he got on base every time he got to bat except twice. This year he has either walked or struck out every time. Tonight he struck out his first time to bat. His next time up to bat I went to the fence and told him that if he got on base by HITTING the ball, I would give him 10 bucks. Well needless to say, I should have done that at the beginning of the season!!! He hit the ball so hard it almost hit the fence!!! I am so proud of him. I knew he had it in him, he just needed a little incentive. He also made a terrific catch at short and then tagged second making a double play! They ended up losing 7-6, but it was a great game. I think Christian has gotten his confidence up and he will excel the remainder of the season.

Peyton had another fabulous game. He hit 2 homers, a double, and a single. He made a lot of great catches at first base. He even ran from 1st to 3rd and got someone out!!! His team won 27 to 16. This team never ceases to amaze me. They are trully learning the game and are getting better every day.

TONIGHT'S BASEBALL SCORES

2009-04-16T23:57:00.002-05:00

Peyton's team won 21-7. This t-ball team is the best I have ever seen. They play like they are pros!!! Peyton hit 3 homers and made a lot of great catches at first. After the game his coach took the whole team to Pizza Hut. Christian had a game in Ferriday at 7:30 so Peyton rode home with his coach, Buddy and stayed there until we picked him up after Christian's game.

Christian's team won 10-5. Christian struck out his first bat, and walked his next time up to bat and stole second base. He scored one run.

They both have games Monday. Christian's is at 6 and Peyton's is at 7.

RELAXING ON THE RIVER

2009-04-16T15:26:00.002-05:00

After we were done with our picnic and flying kites, we walked to the River walk and took in the breathtaking view. Isn't it beautiful?

PLAYING HOOKEY WITH MY BOYS

2009-04-16T15:07:00.003-05:00

Today I took off of work so I could spend some quality time with my boys. They have been out of school this week for spring break. We decided to have a picnic and fly kites on the riverfront. We had so much fun. The wind was not too strong, but it was just right for flying kites, and the riverfront is the perfect spot!!! I am so blessed to have two wonderful kids, and am glad to have this opportunity to take off of work to play with them.

SCORES FOR THE DAY

2009-04-13T22:05:00.003-05:00

Peyton's team won their game 31-8. Peyton got on base every time including a grandslam in the 3rd inning. He made lots of good defensive plays at first.

Christian's game was a close one, but they pulled it out in the last inning. Christian walked both times at bat. In the top of the last inning Christian caught the ball at short and tagged 3rd which kept the other team from scoring and moving ahead ( the other team had the bases loaded)!!! We scored again in the bottom of the last inning making the final score 7-6.

Our next games are Thursday night.

PEEK-A-BOO

2009-04-13T22:00:00.002-05:00

Riley had fun playing peek-a-boo with the baby in the mirror!! How cute is this?

EASTER FUN

2009-04-13T18:14:00.003-05:00

We spent Easter at Alan's parents' house. Eventhough it rained and they could not hunt eggs outside, the kids had a blast playing with their cousins inside. Needless to say, the house was full of little kids squeals and laughter all weekend. We do not get to see Alan's family as often as we would like, so we were very happy to spend Easter with them. At one point we told Mackenzie to stand next to Peyton to see how tall she has gotten, and Peyton said "Look, she reaches my heart!!!" That statement says a lot for all of us. No matter how far away they are or how little we get to see them, I hope they all know that they still reach our hearts.

THURSDAY NIGHT BALLGAME UPDATE

2009-04-11T14:28:00.003-05:00

Thursday night, both Christian and Peyton had ball games. Peyton's was first. His team played AWESOME!!!! Peyton hit 2 homers and a single. They won 34-12. Christian's team played well too. It was a close one which makes an exciting game. Christian walked both times up to bat and scored both times. His team won 9-5!!!!

Keep up the good work boys!!! I love you both.

EASTER EGG HUNT

2009-04-11T14:16:00.003-05:00

Wednesday night the church had an Easter egg hunt at the lower elementary. This is what happens when your little brother finds more eggs than you and your mom makes you pose for a picture. Even though this picture does not show it, they had a great time at the egg hunt. Notice the big grin on Peyton's face. He was happy with the eggs he found, he even offered to give some to his big brother!!! I could have posted a cute picture of the 2 of them smiling, but that picture took a lot of coaching, This one was how they both really felt, so I opted for this one!!!!

GRANDSLAMMER PEYTON

2009-04-06T20:50:00.002-05:00

Peyton had his first game of the season tonight(Saturday's games did not count) His team won 18 to 13. Peyton hit 2 grand slams!!! Way to go Peyton. I am sorry I did not get any pictures, but I left my camera at home on the charger. Peyton's next game is Thursday at 6 and Christian's is Thursday at 7:30. Hopefully it will be a little warmer then.

THE SUN SETS ON A WONDERFUL WEEKEND

2009-04-05T21:52:00.002-05:00

When we were driving home from Tara's Saturday night, we got to see this beautiful sunset. It really sums up our wonderful weekend. I thank God for allowing us to have such a great time this weekend and I pray for many, many more to come!!!!!

BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR TARA

2009-04-05T21:36:00.002-05:00

Tara turned 22 on Saturday. Wow, that just amazes me!! To celebrate she invited all of her family and friends to her house for a crawfish boil. After we finished opening ceremonies at the baseball field we headed out there. When I say out there, I mean wayyyy out there. She lives out in Anna's Bottom which takes us about 35 or 40 minutes and most of it is a dirt road. the boys were really tired so I figured they would take a nap in the car. WRONG!!! They were excited to play with their cousins. When we got there Alan headed straight for the crawfish and I headed straight for Rylee. She is a doll. I love playing with her. She saw me and said "Catch me Bickie." So we played the chase game. Boy I am in bad shape!! We all had a great time!!! The kids played on the trampline, the swingset and when they got tired of the sun, they went in to play Wii. About 7:30 we loaded up and headed home.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN

2009-04-05T21:11:00.006-05:00

Christian's first game was at 9 am. This is Christian's first year in the minor league and his first year to pitch. He did great on his first time on the mound. Eventhough his team lost the first game, they played really well.

Peyton's game was at 11:30 (the same time as Christian's second game). He did sooooo good!!! He hit 2 homers and a single and made a lot of great catches at first. His team won 17-7.

During the game we had to keep looking back and forth between Christian and Peyton's games. I am so glad that the fields are right beside each other. Christian's team won their second game 9-3. After the games we left to make a quck food run before opening ceremonies began at 2. We left the field about 3, but this was not the end of our very busy day!!!!

AN EARLY START TO A BUSY WEEKEND

2009-04-05T20:57:00.006-05:00

This Saturday was definately not a typical Saturday of sleeping in. It was opening day at the baseball field. Christian had to be at the Rec Center at 8:00 for team pictures. Before we headed out I had a photo session of my own of my 2 little baseball stars!

APRIL FOOL'S DAY MEMORY

2009-04-01T21:27:00.003-05:00

As you probably know today is April Fool;s Day. I am happy to say that I did not get fooled. As a matter of fact to my knowledge no one even attempted to "get" me. I do remember a funny story that happened on April Fool's Day about 3 years ago. We were staying at my parent's house at the time and Alan was working late that night and my dad was sleeping because he was due to go in to work at midnight. It was about 9 pm and my mom was in the kitchen. The boys and I were in their living room watching tv when I heard the most horrible scream I had ever heard. I ran to the kitchen and I immediately saw why she was screaming. A snake was creeping out of the cabinet. Christian ran to get my dad (who was in a deep sleep) and I heard him saying, " I am not falling for it! I know it is April Fool's Day!!!" Well my mom and I were hysterical. I proceeded to beg and plead for my dad to come kill the snake. When he finally realizes that we are not going to stop screaming until he comes to help, he comes to the rescue. By this time Christian and Peyton (who by the way think this is just too cool) are in the kitchen trying to save Mawmaw and Mama. My dad gets the snake (which has now made its way onto the counter ) in a trash can and takes it outside and kills it with a shovel. He casually comes back in says goodnight and goes back to bed. I on the other hand did not sleep for 2 or 3 days!!! I look back on this day now and laugh. I like to think that this was the best April Fool's prank ever... Who says GOD doesn't have a sense of humor?

PLEASE DON'T TAKE MY SUNSHINE AWAY...

2009-03-29T21:29:00.005-05:00

Well my prayers were answered!!! Just so that everyone knows there was no pitching practice in the living room this weekend. Alan took the boys to the baseball field Friday afternoon before the rain started. They were successfull on getting a couple of hours of practice in before the bottom fell out. It poured all night long, but Saturday morning I woke up to a beautiful blue sky. It was chilly, but no rain!!! I have never been more excited to see such beautiful day. Sunday turned out to be just as pretty as Saturday. About 4 o'clock we headed to the Riverfront so Peyton could practice with some of the boys on his t-ball team. There were only 4 of them to come so Christian got out there with them. They played until about 6. Before heading home Christian wanted to stop at his field to get a little pitching practice in.( which I am all for considering it was not in my living room). His coach just so happened to be there with his son so Christian and Peyton joined them. They played ball until 7:45!!!! I was getting tired just watching them. I wish I had a fraction of their energy. They have this week left to practice before opening ceremonies on Saturday. So God please answer my prayers again this week and PLEASE DON'T TAKE MY SUNSHINE AWAY...

YOU'RE GONNA DO WHAT?????

2009-03-27T09:53:00.002-05:00

Alan has finally flipped his lid!! I know it has been coming for a long time, but he finally lost it. Since it has been raining Alan told me the other night that he is going to move our couch in the living room to the side wall and move everything else out of the way so Christian can practice pitching in our living room. Yes, you read that right, in the LIVING ROOM!!! Now I am as much of a fan of my kids playing baseball as he is, but this is going way too far. I know our living room is huge, but I have visions of glass breaking or holes in walls. So far I have been lucky because the rain has started after the practices, but if it rains tonight before they get a chance to go outside to practice, I am in trouble. I called my dad to tell him how crazy Alan was and my dad took Alan's side. Can you believe this??? So I am calling in the recruits!!!! I know there are other people out there on my side. Please let me know that I am not the only one that thinks this idea is absurd. In the meantime please pray for sunshine!!!!!

BASEBALL SEASON BEGINS

2009-03-24T21:54:00.003-05:00

Well baseball season is here. This is absolutely my favorite time of the year. We will spend almost every evening at the baseball field from now until June. This means never being at home. It also means that most of our supper comes from a drive thru, and my house stays a disaster zone, but I would not trade these days for anything. Opening ceremonies are April 4th so stay tuned for scores and highlights of both Christian's and Peyton's games.

Rylee playing baseball

2009-03-21T23:59:00.007-05:00

Before watching these videos, scroll down to my playlist and stop the music.

AFTERNOON WITH FAMILY

2009-03-21T22:12:00.006-05:00

This afternoon we went to my parents house. My dad put steaks on the grill while all the grandkids played ball. My niece Tara came over a little later and brought her daughter Rylee. She is so precious. She is 2 but listening to her talk you would think she was 5. She really puts on a show. We all stood around while the older kids (Sydney, Zoie, Christian, and Peyton) attempted to teach her how to play baseball. After we ate our steaks the kids decided to have a spelling bee with Pawpaw. Pawpaw would give each of them a word to spell and if they got it right he would give them a dime. They had so much fun!!! Pawpaw really knows how to keep them entertained...lure them in with money!!!

Rylee kept herself entertained with a dinosaur piano and a sucker. She may not have been able to spell to get money but she knew how to sweet talk Pawpaw into giving her a few dimes anyway.

LAST MINUTE PRACTICE

2009-03-20T19:06:00.005-05:00

Tomorrow Christian and Peyton have bsaeball tryouts. Everyday this week Alan has taken them over to the ballfield to practice. These are the pictures of tonight's last minute practice before the BIG day!!!

SILLY PICS

2009-03-18T20:48:00.002-05:00

These are some silly pictures that I took a few nights ago while we were eating dinner. I am so lucky that they get along as well as they do (at least most of the time, anyway). We had finished eating and I decided to capture the moment and they were all for posing for the camera. This does not happen all the time now that they are older so I have to take advantage of it. Sometimes when I ask them to smile I get the FAKE smile but these smiles are 100% REAL!

VISIT WITH FRIENDS

2009-03-16T20:37:00.003-05:00

Yesterday we went to a Start, LA to visit our friends Jason and Kylie and their children Natalie and Tristan. Because of our busy schedules, we have not been able to visit them in quite a while. It was so nice to see and talk with them. Alan and Jason have been friends since they were kids. Now our kids are good friends. Even though it has been a while since they have seen each other, they were quick to pick up where they left off...playing, laughing and talking. We were really excited to be able to hear Jason preach. God has given him a great gift and we are so happy that he is sharing God's word with others. . It was a great day and I hope it will not be another 6 months before we get to see them again. We are trully blessed to have such wonderful friends.

COUNTDOWN TO DISNEY

2009-03-14T10:23:00.003-05:00

We are all excited about our disney trip this year. We don't leave until July 24th, but it is all we have been talking about lately. I have been on the Disney World website almost every day trying to get ideas and tips to make the most of our time there. We will be there 7 nights. Last year we drove and that was torture on the way back. Sitting in a car for 13 hours was hard for Alan and I so you can imagine how difficult it was for an 8 and a 5 year old. We were all exhausted. This year we decided to fly. I am the only one of us who has been on a plane before, and that was about 20 years ago! The kids are really excited about flying; Alan however is not so happy about it. He is glad that it will get there in only 1 hour and 45 minutes, but the flight itself he is nervous about.

Above are some pictures of our last Disney trip.

KIDS SAY THE DARNDEST THINGS

2009-03-11T22:50:00.002-05:00

After church tonight Peyton asked me and Alan if he could take a movie to church next Wednesday. We asked him why and he said that he did not like the movie that they played at church. When we asked him what they played he said, "You know the one where food talks and sings." I said, "Veggie Tales?" He said "Yeah I don't like that, Can I take Spongebob?" Alan told him that Veggie Tales was a Christian movie and Peyton immediately looked at Christian and said "Veggie Tales is your movie? I don't like your movie!"

THE THIRD TIME IS THE CHARM

2009-03-11T22:36:00.002-05:00

About 2 or 3 times a week Peyton brings home an AR book that he is supposed to read and then he takes it back to school and his teacher tests him on it. Since Peyton is only in Kindergarten he is not able to read the book by himself so Alan, Christian, and I each take turns reading it with him. This has turned out to be pretty routine for us. He does not let any of us get out of reading it. Christian loves reading to his little brother. This also helps him improve his reading skills.

AM I SMARTER THAN A THIRD GRADER?

2009-03-11T21:35:00.002-05:00

I found out today that I am in fact NOT smarter that a third grader. I could not help Christian with his math homework on my own today. Thank God that I have a great friend that is a third grade teacher (thank you, Amanda) and for the internet!!! I felt so ashamed that I did not know what the difference between sliding, turning, and flipping , and what symmetry is. I don't remember 3rd grade being so hard. The hardest thing I remember about that age was deciding what I was going to wear to school (which that is not a problem now thanks to uniforms). Evryone should be proud of me however because I learned alot tonight. For those of you who are in my shoes, there is a lot of great programs out there on the internet that will help you not look so stupid in front of your kids. I had to take a crash course in 3rd grade math so I could help Christian tonight. Cross your fingers that Christian gets a good grade on his homework and better yet that he comprehended what we did. Also say a prayer for me... I still have 9 more grades to go with Christian and Peyton is only in Kidergarten!!!!

BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

2009-03-09T20:36:00.000-05:00

It was a close one, but our team did not quite pull it off. The score was 18-14. I am so proud of them. Christian scored 10 and Peyton scored 2. We now have 2 more trophies to add to our trophy case. After the game the team went to Sonny's Pizza to celebrate a great season. The kids had a blast!!! Christian was down after losing the game, but video games and pizza are a great pick me up. I am so proud of them. Next up... baseball!

FUTURE MICHAEL JORDANS?

2009-03-08T22:46:00.000-05:00

Christian has been wanting to try to do a slam dunk since he saw the NBA slam dunk contest on tv. Alan and I keep telling him that he has to grow just a little bit taller... Well he proved us wrong!!! He even showed his little brother how to do it.

Practice, practice, practice

2009-03-08T22:44:00.000-05:00

A BEAUTIFUL WEEKEND

2009-03-08T22:14:00.000-05:00

The weather this weekend was wonderful!!! We have not had such a beautiful weekend in quite a while. It was so nice outside that we spent most of the weekend outside. I had plenty of housework to do but who can stay cooped up inside when there was so much to do outside. On Saturday Alan practiced basketball with the kids trying to prepare for the BIG game Monday night. Yes, Christian and Peyton's team made it to the playoffs. Wish them luck!!! After practicing basketball, they went straight to baseball. I love watching my kids in all they do, but my absolute favorite is baseball. Tryouts are the 21st of this month and they will be outside every day after school as long as the weather permits. I love that they would rather be outside playing than staying in front of the tv playing video games. I wish I had a portion of their energy. After church on Sunday we went to the baseball field and played for several hours. I have to say that I got plenty of exercise chasing all the balls that were hit in the outfield!!! Peyton was fast to tell me that I could not catch. He told Christian to throw it soft to Mom!! I guess I am the one that needs practice.

Now about the housework.... I guess I need to get started