The Ford Family

Family

2012-02-12T16:14:00.001-05:00

Well it's taken about 2 1/2 months to get a family picture. I'm a little disappointed we don't have one from when Elias was younger, but I finally got around to getting this one.

Isaac Is Three!!

2012-02-01T22:14:00.000-05:00

We had a fire fighter party for Isaac's birthday. They were supposed to rescue the little people from the burning house. It was more fun racing cars from the roof.

Pin the fire helmet on the dog.

Run through the ring of fire.

Eat

Blow!

Ok so here is the cake I made. I was a little disappointed in how it turned out...but it was red.

Other side.

Thank you everyone for your gifts! Isaac loves them all!

Isaac got a really cool Hess truck and car from his Great Grandaddy and Judy. He is waiting to put the batteries in.

His actual birthday. He got a donut with a candle for breakfast.

And presents from mom and dad!

We are so blessed to have Isaac apart of our family.

Lots of January Happenings

2012-02-01T15:31:00.000-05:00

The Stringfellows were back at our house for a wii Dance Off. Justin borrowed Just Dance from a coworker. I believe Justin danced every night (some by himself) for a whole week. We had a blast with Erik and Erin.

Aren't you supposed to ALL do the SAME thing at the same time???

This is a little better....

Happy Birthday Mom!

She turned 13...or was it 31?? Dad made her a killer cheesecake! Loved the berries and chocolate chunks on top! Olivia and Isaac made her a pen/pencil holder...as you see there in the picture. I think she had fun....she even joined in the singing! Love you, Mom!

Olivia started preschool! She was a lot more excited than this picture shows. She goes Thurs. & Fridays 9-1. She likes the games best.

This is also the first day of Olivia's preschool. Isaac jumped right in and found his favorite toy (toilet plunger??) and was sitting around the circle. The program is through a nearby high school so there are quite a few high school "teachers" in the class as well as the main teacher.

Found Isaac here at the top of the stairs one night. Also found him sleeping in my bed when I woke up in the middle of the night. Creative sleeping...I like it.

We dedicated Elias at church last weekend. We thank God for him and will do the best we can to raise him according to the Bible and to love God with all his heart.

Elias did his share of talking while up front.

Olivia wanted this picture in here. I just love sleeping pictures....

Olivia made some clay animals from her project box.

A First....

2012-01-27T19:39:00.001-05:00

....and I hope a last?!

I know kids leave coats, gloves, hats, backpacks, lunchboxes, and an occasional sweatshirt BUT HOW DO YOU LEAVE YOUR DRESS AT SCHOOL???!!!

"I told one of my teachers to put it in my lunchbox, but she didn't."
"Why did you take it off?"
"I was hot."

Turkey Fish Play

2012-01-21T13:45:00.001-05:00

Cooking a Turkey: Lesson 193

Found a 16 pounder for 76 cents a lb after Thanksgiving. Kept it in the freezer for awhile. When it says "thaw in fridge on tray"...it means it. I had to clean almost the whole fridge because turkey juice leaked everywhere (although it was in a bag and I didn't think I would leave it in the fridge as long as I did). After freezer, fridge, and oven, this is how it looked. Not bad. I used salt, pepper, butter/cooking spray. I thought I took out all the giblets...however once I started "plucking" the turkey, I found the neck was still inside. Yuck.

After leaving it ON A TRAY in the fridge again for days, I decided to take one of my few breaks with all kids sleeping and attack the turkey. I sure didn't want all this trouble to be wasted and let the turkey go bad in the fridge. As I sat for way over an hour pulling this thing apart, I felt like someone lost in the wild, starving, and doing anything to survive... It got a little gross after awhile...especially with some of the sounds that were made while pulling certain pieces off.

Finally! My plate of meat. I got 6 2-cup bags of cut up turkey to freeze and some to leave in the fridge to eat on. Someone else can tell me if that is good or not... It didn't seem like a TON of meat, but maybe it is?? I've made turkey tetrizini and some other turkey/rice casserole dish. Tastes like chicken. After it's all said and done, I would have to say that everyone should cook their own turkey at least just once to get the whole experience. However, I am not convinced that all the work that goes into it is worth it. Maybe I was so slow because it was my first turkey?? But, the sense of pride and accomplishment still linger.

I'm not sure what this face is saying....

Family game of Go Fish. (we also really like uno, wack-a-mole, candy land)

I can play too!

I can play with my eyes closed!

Cutie pa tutie....in mom's professional opinion...

Playing outside with the horns they got from a birthday party we went to for Justin's co-worker.

Playing in the DUSTING of snow we got. Just enough to warrant a nice cup of hot chocolate when they came inside!

Christmas

2012-01-09T15:27:00.000-05:00

Christmas was very relaxing this year as it was just the five of us. However, we did have Christmas with G&G before they left for Germany. Olivia wanted to help Grandpa open his trash picker upper. He is his neighborhood's liter patrolman.

We also had Christmas when Nana and Gramp visited. No real good pictures, but I thought this was fun.

This was Christmas day with the Ford five. Justin read the Christmas story before we opened presents.

I'm hoping this is the LAST water bottle I have to get him. He has lost 3 of them so far...one of which was my favorite...giant one from the hospital when Olivia was born...great memory! Yes, I have forgiven him, I'm just still working through it. Since he works in a bunch of different high schools, if he leaves one at a school it is always gone by the time he gets back to that school to find it.

What a big day!

This was Isaac's favorite gift. It's a dog guitar. Really cool actually. I highly suggest it...there's a whole band series at Target.

Olivia favorite was the giant box of crafts and the shopping cart. I think she uses it more like a baby stroller, but does manage to get some food items in it as well.

How cool.

I just couldn't decide which picture was more cute...

I'm so excited to start my painting project. Justin got me all the supplies I needed. I'll post it when I'm done.

The best gift: Jesus.

Just Pretending...HA!

2011-12-28T18:38:00.001-05:00

Scene: Eating dinner at the table. We just finished eating and are enjoying some of the candy from the gingerbread houses we recently made.

Isaac: (Picks up the whole house and bites off a piece)

Dad: Hey, that's my gingerbread house.

Isaac: Well.....I'm just pretending it's mine (while chewing).

Dad: Oh.....ok.

Gramp and Nana Visit

2011-12-27T12:06:00.000-05:00

Gramp and Justin took I&O to Lowes to make an engine for their train car they had made the week before with Justin.

They put on Christmas stickers to make it a Christmas Train.

Cheese!

Nana with Elias being fed candy by Isaac

Gramp with Elias

Nana made Justin's favorite sugar cookies with the kids.

They even got a little jumping in...

Thanks for coming! We had a great time!

Other Fun Stuff

2011-12-27T11:53:00.002-05:00

Here they are decorating the tree. All the ornaments were in the middle of the tree. They both wanted to use the "ladder" for every one they hung. We did a little rearranging after they went to bed.

Cute pose

I like this one because O looks like such a big sister...except not much taller.

We went to a bday party awhile back. O&I got to ice skate for the first time. I've never seen these walkers for kids. I laughed really hard watching, but the kids loved it. Isaac wore his tennis shoes and was all over the place.

Olivia, Oliver, Isaac, and Joshua taking a break from playing at a park. My friend now has an 8 week old and I have Elias, so our next trip to the park will be even more fun filled!

Enjoying one of many thousands of pieces of candy this Christmas season. Interesting way to eat them, don't ya think?

This was our first outing after Elias was born. We went to Bass Pro and did all the Christmas activities. We did not visit Santa this year because of the long wait.

Isaac's second black eye. This one came from bouncing around on a couch at Bass Pro and landing his face on the corner of the wood arm of the couch. OUCH!

We did manage to see Santa at the library.

They also had Christmas crafts and snacks.

SECOND ANNUAL GINGERBREAD HOUSE DECORATING with our friends Erik, Erin, and Elaina.

The houses. We went with the "snow covered" house this year...except Erik.

Cowgirl, Princess, and Fire Fighter giving a show for us. They were singing...not sure it was all the same song, but they were all singing their hearts out!

First family walk with 5, plus 2 dogs. Aw. (we are watching my parents' dogs while they are in Germany)

We made some caramel popcorn. I wasn't impressed. It was much better when one of my friends made it for me last Christmas!

This was the first time they have played the wii. They were racing cows. Olivia was cracking up. Justin and I were laughing at them. And Isaac tried real hard.

One of our dinner time activities: Spoon Hanging

This is the rat Justin is in the process of catching. So far he has run off with rat trap, licked off the peanut butter, and nibbled the nut. The poor bird Justin caught would have eaten all of it however...

More of Elias

2011-12-23T15:42:00.002-05:00

Last family of four picture. T's water broke. Getting ready to leave for hospital.

Little guy with mom and dad.

Grandma and Grandpa

Grandpa

At home with Isaac

Resting with Olivia before bedtime

I & O helping to change diapers

Waking up to eat

Getting ready for the big stretch

After a nice meal

Friends came to visit

THANK YOU everyone who brought a meal for us. It was SUPER helpful and all of them were very delicious!

TP Tower

2011-12-21T21:16:00.000-05:00

Dad: Isaac, go get 2 or 3 rolls of toilet paper to fill up the holder...(as dad points to the holder).

Isaac: Ok. (looking at the holder then running off excitedly to help).

Nice to know I have a son who loves to go above and beyond.

Lesson Learned...until next time.

2011-12-13T14:08:00.000-05:00

This one is not 100% PG, but pretty funny....

So we get a funny response to an email from one of Tami's friends about breastfeeding and leaky boobs. To be silly I wrote a text to her husband who probably didn't know she sent the email. This was what I said in my text:

"So where did K read that cranberries and boobs go together? Tell her thanks for the warning."

About a minute later I get a call from him......only when I answered, it wasn't him! It was some guy in his late teens-early 20s (I'm guessing) telling me that he wasn't who I thought he was.

After laughing a bit with Tami we realized that was probably his old number before they moved a couple years ago.

The Lesson.....well, there are a few so I'll let you take away what you'd like.

Elias James Ford

2011-12-07T16:35:00.003-05:00

Born Monday, Dec 5 at 8:33pm; 7lb 3oz, 21-1/4 inches

The kids LOVE holding him!

Day 1.

More to come...

Grandpa's Birthday, Still Pregnant, Baby Shower, I &O, Plus Some

2011-11-19T14:33:00.000-05:00

Just because.

Grandpa's birthday. Can't believe everyone was looking!

Isaac and Olivia made Grandpa a birthday cake door hanger that ended up being a birthday cake necklace. They also made a "Grandpa". You might have to click on the pic to make it bigger so you can see their creations.

Playing in the neighbor's leaves. Isaac got me.

Isaac trying to help me get my 36weeks prego picture. Tuesday I'll be 38 weeks. 2 more weeks to go!

This is Olivia's first "letter" to someone that she has written entirely by herself. I was totally impressed. In case you can't read it, it says: "Thank you for mine and Isaac's letter. I had (a) fun with you Mary Anne! Come over another day. Olivia"

This is a picture that Justin arranged. It took a long time! It's a lot of their favorite toys, plus some not-so-favorites just to be fillers. The plan is to turn it into a big puzzle and be able to see the kids and their toys at age 2 and 4. Family fun reminiscing in future years. Also like an "I Spy" puzzle. Good idea Justin!

A couple of my friends threw me a baby shower the other weekend. It was lots of fun, but unfortunately, I forgot my camera. So I took a picture of the cool diaper cake when I got home. I can't wait for Diaper Changing Season again!

The Rest of October

2011-11-04T14:06:00.000-04:00

We went to the circus with a couple from our small group. Isaac and Olivia both liked the trapeze-ists the best.

I thought this was a good shot of Isaac...and family.

Ft. Dickerson Park. The kids had fun with all the running, leaves, and cannons.

Sweetness.

Other sleepover pictures with Elaina. They fed their babies and changed diapers before going to bed. Elaina fell asleep pretty quick. Olivia came downstairs about 45min later and said she couldn't sleep on the floor, so back to her bed she went. (Funny, she sleeps on the floor all the time at G&G's house.)

O was helping Elaina brush her hair while she brushed her teeth.

To get candy, we went to a church's trunk or treating event with some friends. We rode a school bus from the parking lot of a grocery store to the church, Olivia was so excited because we think it was her first time riding a school bus. She wanted a picture. She was a ballerina, Isaac a firefighter.

They had games for the kids. They are hunting for candy.

We rode a hayride. Isaac has really taken a liking to our friend Erik. Isaac even likes to send him letters in the mail.

They got to sit in a fire truck and climb around in the back. Would have been cute if Isaac would have worn his fire hat and held his fire extinguisher. Oh well.

They sorted through all the loot first thing the next morning. On Halloween, we went to another church's festival and got more candy. This time Olivia was a princess, Isaac still a firefighter.

Here's an apple update: just in case you forgot this pic that Justin took...very pretty, but after 1 day, hard as a rock.

Here are the same apples and same carmel. In case you ever need to know, it does work to chip off all the hard carmel with a knife, remelt the carmel, ADD WATER THIS TIME, and redip the apples. They were MUCH better to eat. Not such a cool picture though.

Caramel, Pumpkins, and Apples OH MY!!!

2011-10-30T20:44:00.000-04:00

Olivia had her first sleepover this weekend (more pics of that to come). What a great day because we carved a pumpkin and made caramel apples!

Drawing the face.

What's in there?

Pumpkin guts! Eeeewwww!

Neat picture.

Ta-Da!

Now for the caramel apples. Yummmm!

What good helpers!

What a pro!

Neat picture.

Side note....Did anyone know that you have to add water to the melted caramel? Sheesh....that stuff turned hard as a rock. Maybe that's why it's so stringy. Hehehe! Neat lookin' though! :)

Our Blessings.

2011-10-25T20:10:00.002-04:00

Isaac - 2yr 9mo.

Olivia - 4yr 5mo.

Clinch River Float

2011-10-25T20:06:00.000-04:00

Ron (Tami's dad) and I (Justin) went floating down the Clinch River about 20 minutes north of our house this past weekend to see the leaves....most of which seemed to have fallen off the trees since I had seen them a couple weeks ago. Darn! After a quick decision to change our get out point (note to self...don't do that again) we ended up doubling the time we were on the water....wups.... At least it was pretty and relaxing.

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-19T14:25:00.001-04:00

This past weekend we went to a pumpkin patch with some friends and their small group. A few photos from the fun...

This is Elaina. Both of the kids absolutely love her. And they all get along so well. Plus Elaina is a trooper for taking all the tackles Isaac has given her...we're still working on that.

A tip on how to feed animals for free: Look in the grass and pick up all the dropped food from everybody else. You can get quite enough to satisfy the "I want to feed them" desire.

Isaac kept yelling "I FOUND ANOTHER ONE!" He was excited.

Apparently most of the good orange ones had already been taken...so we ended up with 3 green ones and 1 smallerish orange one. Nice change on the back deck.

These were all the kids in the group. They had made the t shirts the week before. My friend Erin was super kind to make I & O one since she knew we were coming to the patch.

Family Photo. 7 weeks till tiny tot comes out by the way.

There was a really cool slide down a big hill. The kids went down over and over again.

And we went down a time or two ourselves!

Kids got to play in a corn box...MUCH better than sand.

Just a big tractor tire.

Finally, a random tooth brushing photo. Too bad they didn't get in their pjs first. Isaac likes to watch Olivia and brush how she brushes. She's a great teacher!

Mem-reez.....At The Corner Of My Mind......

2011-10-15T19:28:00.000-04:00

This is the first time Isaac has played in the dirt with cars. The garden is a great spot. And since I (Justin) moved the trampoline over the garden to discourage the dog from walking in it, the shade is an added bonus. The sentimental value of this moment is that he's playing with the same cars I used when I was 7-8yrs old. I used to play under the deck of our house in Oregon, MO. Cool....

2011-10-14T11:52:00.001-04:00

We went to a local Civil War Reinactment last weekend and arrived just in time to see the two battles. The first was a fight that occurred just west of town on Kingston Pike (a road I drive often). The second was a battle for Fort Sanders (a hospital here in Knoxville).

Union troops marching to the fort on what was Kingston Pike.

The Confederates caught up to them. It was interesting trying to explain this to Isaac and Olivia.

This man is the son of an actual Confederate soldier!!! They announced his name, etc. There aren't many sons and daughters of Civil War soldiers still around!!! Cool stuff!!!

This was cool just b/c I happened to get the fire coming out of one of the cannons. There were a few people around me with several thousand dollar cameras trying to get this shot (shooting in rapid-fire mode) and none of them got it. Haha! Oh, forgot to mention that all I had was my point and shoot.

This was the beginning of the second battle we watched that occurred at the actual Fort. Apparently, before the Confederates attacked the Fort, they shot cannons for several minutes. Didn't help much in the end; they still lost....bad.

Here are the Confederates trying to get into the fort. According to history, there was a BIG ditch in front of the fort that really slowed the attacking soldiers and you can see what happened to them in the below picture. Yikes! To signal the end of the fight, one of the soldiers played taps. It was pretty cool. A local farmer agreed for some historical preservation group to build a replica of the actual fort on his land a bit east of Knoxville and then for the past 4 years has agreed to have the reinactment there too. Pretty neat. Most reinactments don't have neat forts/structures like this.

If I remember right, there were something like 2,000 Confederates VS. a few hundred Union soldiers during the 'real' battle. The Union side won. There were only around 500 total reinactors at this event.

The reinactors were all very thankful for the spectators coming to watch. I had several thank me for coming. If you've never been, they're pretty cool. The only downside for us this time was that we didn't get a lot of time to walk the event site to talk to the reinactors, see demonstrations, do the wagon ride, and explore the Union/Confederate campsites. Maybe next time.

Please Pray....

2011-10-12T20:46:00.001-04:00

My daughter, Olivia........has become.......a pothead. When they're young you're trying to get them on the pot and when they're old, you're trying to keep them off the pot.....this parenting stuff is tough!!!

Update: The Latest Baby News!

2011-10-03T20:40:00.000-04:00

Today we went to the baby doctor and got an ultrasound. We didn't pay for it, but our doctor said we could look at a 3D of the baby. We didn't get any really good pictures before he moved, but here's a sample. His heartbeat is normal (140). During the ultrasound we got to see him yawn. That was pretty neat too. Can't wait!
No.....no name yet. We didn't decide on Olivia or Isaac until after they arrived either so this is par for the course so far.

Rain, Mud, Bird Feeders

2011-10-01T13:30:00.000-04:00

Last Monday I was looking for Isaac and Olivia to get them in the car for swim class. They had not been responding as I was calling for them. I found them here, totally engrossed in watching it rain with their Clifford dogs. Aww...

So since it rained, the next day we (meaning Olivia and mom) played in the garden. We made a mud pond. Isaac didn't care for the mud too much, so he played ball on the trampoline.

We made vegetable soup. We poured in brown sugar, salt, broccoli, and an actual real tomato. We topped it with the meatballs that you can see sitting there.

Luci couldn't figure out if it was a toy or something to eat, but she wanted it. She ended up bobbing for (and obtained) a tomato in the mud puddle.

The cleaning up was a chore, but totally worth it.

Ever since J took Olivia to Lowes to build a fire truck (Lowes and Home Depot have very cool build-it/take-it free workshops for kids on certain Saturdays each month), she has been wanting to build something. There is a reason why I said she had to wait for Daddy to help her. I just couldn't see how to build a bird feeder from these left over fence pieces.

They measured, marked, hammered, and J sawed and screwed. (The chair that Isaac is standing on is new by the way and he LOVES it. He's even slept with it...multiple times. Best $1.87 spent in a long time.)

I held one piece of wood in place.

The almost finished product. They will add a perch for the birds and possibly decorate it somehow, although Olivia said she saw on a show that birds don't like the smell of paint.

Up close shot. Since I started this entry real shingles have been added to the roof.

First Round of Putt Putt

2011-10-01T12:48:00.000-04:00

One of the 'many' perks of being a teacher here is the once a year free day for all the Ripley's attractions in Gatlinburg. This year we took the kids to their first round of putt putt and the aquarium.

The place where pigs can fly...

He's not upset or tired. Once he got the ball in the hole, he would go lay down over it, look at it, and then pick it up.

Olivia did a great job and wanted to do it by herself. We liked this hole because we could wack the bunnies.

This time when we were at the aquarium, the kids were more fascinated with the turny spinny thing we stood on instead of the sharks. Still a very fun family day.

Mr. Fix It

2011-10-01T12:47:00.000-04:00

After his car repair license, Justin is going to get his appliance-fixer license. Our dryer has been squeaking and making funny noises for a while now. He decided to order a repair kit, grease up some parts, and see what happens.

The result.....the sweet purr of a fine tuned machine. Beautimous.

Thanks J!

New Things

2011-09-21T13:59:00.000-04:00

Isaac and Olivia have taken up frisbee. One of them is a natural.

They did a whole load of laundry for me the other day. They loaded it, started it, watched it slosh, put it in the dryer, and started that. All I had to do was keep stacking the wet laundry up so they could reach it. Oh, plus I had to fold it. We'll work on that next!

This is Olivia's trick-of-the-night in the tub.

Kids are taking swim lessons 2 days a week. Olivia is excited because she goes in the water w/o mom or dad. They both really like going.

This is her new feat for this year. She says she's going to "go all the way under 1,000 times" each swim lesson. And she does.

Isaac will not do anything while the teacher is watching him, but doesn't stop when she turns her back. His favorite thing is to jump off the side. He wants me or J to back "far far away" so he can jump to us. No problem. He's in mid-flight.

So Long, Farewell

2011-09-21T13:34:00.000-04:00

What's left of the garden....a few tomatoes for the birds. It will now become digging ground for the kids, plus a great place to hide their bugs. Olivia already asked to go in it next time it rains.

Hiking Trip

2011-09-14T14:56:00.000-04:00

Family hike trip last weekend at Big South Fork National Park. The visitor's center we stopped at said there was an air show also going on closeby, so we stopped there first. Kids really liked seeing all the planes so up close.

It's like she got run over by a plane or something. She's been doing this in various places lately....not sure why.

Random bench we found in the woods. Thought it was awful fancy for being so woodsy.

We threw sticks in the water on one side, ran to the other, and watched them come out. I was a little nervous with the ease of jumping in and the fast moving water, but the kids did great. Everyone stayed dry....and safe.

Throwing lots of rocks in and seeing the different sized splashes they made.

Walked on a boardwalk trail by the river. There were a few sandy spots like this one to play in.

We ate evening snack in the van and watched the cricket Justin had caught jump around in the bug house.

What's In A Name???

2011-09-13T20:56:00.001-04:00

A buddy of mine from Missouri sent me a list of possible names for our son, to born around Dec.6, who still doesn't have a name. I thought this was a nice start. (Thanks Peterson!)

Umberto- because your kids initials would be IOU.
Caleb- because your kids initials would be O I C.
Trey- because hello... baby 3
Elliott- because all of your kids names would begin with vowels... although that applies to Umberto also.
Justami- get your ghetto on and just smash your names together.
Tamin- because I just got my ghetto on and threw up another lazy suggestion.
Yoshi- because he's the best driver in all of Mario cart.
Crusader- in homage to your alma matter.
Kentron- ghettoing the names of your dads... plus is sounds cool and futuristic.
If you end up having a girl instead you MUST name her Sharita! Same logic as above but delightfully the most ghetto of them all!
Heathcliff- after Bill Cosby from the tv show.
Frank- because his name would be Frank Ford (say it fast). 'Botta' or 'Drova' might be a cool middle name to go with Frank.
Chevy- isn't it the obvious choice. I know you live in Tennessee... but please not Peyton!
Luke- because... you are his father. (Mechanical breathing sound)
Jacob- guess it just goes with isaac.
Arizona- because then you'd be raising Arizona.
Cain- same logic as above.
Heck- ditto.
Ruckus- I think this logic is a gold mine.
Sam- if he grows up to be a musician you can say 'Samsung a song.'

Well that last one was a little lame. So what ever name you saddle him with, just remember it has to be better than apple or rain or some other hippie/movie star kids name.

Anyone have any other ideas???? Hahaha!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUSTIN!!!

2011-09-08T15:13:00.001-04:00

Justin found $10 Braves tickets we couldn't pass up. We decided to make it an over-nighter for his 33rd birthday. Here we are excited for the get away.

We ate lunch at Piedmont Park.

We saw the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. This was his birthhouse.

This is where he is buried with his wife. On his side it says "Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty I'm free at last." On Coretta's side it says "And now abide Faith, Hope, Love, These Three; but the greatest of these is Love." I didn't realize he was buried on water.

We also stopped at Stone Mountain, world's largest piece of exposed granite. The carving is of Jackson, Lee, and Davis of the Confederate States of America. We did not stay for the laser light show. We went out to dinner instead. It was a good choice!

We walked around Cenntenial Olympic Park, built for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Pretty.

We went to a Historic Oakland Cemetery and ended up finding Bobby Jones (real famous golfer for those of you who are like me...). There was some interesting history in the cemetery.

At our Atlanta Braves vs Dogers Game. Braves came back and won in the bottom of the 9th. Super exciting!

Our seats. They seemed closer than what this picture shows.

I must say I was impressed with the availability of bathrooms around Atlanta! One I found even did everything for me (almost) and talked throughout the whole event!

We celebrated with Isaac and Olivia the day after we got home. They wanted to make Daddy blueberry pancakes for breakfast.

Watching them cook...and being silly all at the same time.

Later, we had the neighbor's over for heath ice cream cake. Justin wanted to know at what age he gets to stop blowing out candles. humm...NEVER! I love birthdays!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUSTIN! I LOVE YOU!

Just pictures.

2011-09-06T15:56:00.001-04:00

These are my no-theme pictures.

This is Isaac getting ready to take a walk with the fam. He calls this thing his "Gideon Stick" or his "Shooter", often yelling "For Gideon and the Lord!" through it. He made it at church one Sunday and it has now become a favorite toy and sleep companion.

Guitar lessons after dinner one night.

Olivia's 'princess friend'.

I thought this was sweet. Can't wait to add a third!

O & I decided to go hiking up a 'very cold mountain' one day and insisted they have the right attire on for it.

One night while cooking dinner, I turn around and see that Isaac has built this tower from the pantry. Olivia ran up just for the picture.

This is one of my prego pic updates. I'm 25 weeks in this pic.

This is showcasing Justin's ladder he built for the kids to climb so they can get in/out of the trampoline by themselves. Very useful for Justin and I!

I found Luci here. Sleeping? or just trying to look out the window? Either way, not too normal for a weimaraner I wouldn't think.

Aunt Tara, Uncle Will, and Logan Visit

2011-09-06T15:16:00.000-04:00

Watch out. This could be a long one. My sister, and son Logan, came to the States for a long visit...close to 2 months. Husband Will was only here about 1 1/2 weeks. A few highlights:

We played in the rain. (Also took a walk and saw a rainbow)

We played at a splash pad.

This is a special pic because my friend Katie is in it with her kids (too bad mine decided they didn't want to take a picture). Tara, Katie, Susan (Katie's sister), and I grew up together. We missed you Susan!

We played chalk.

We played with bugs.

We played in more water.

And we played in bigger water.

And played at the art museum....which is much more fun for little kids than one would think!

We played at the park.

We played trains at the bookstore.

We played at G&G's house.

We went to the Gatlinburg Aquarium.

We saw cool sharks, giant crabs, and a huge sea turtle, but all I got was this picture. Batteries ran out and had to steal these pics from my sister's blog!

Olivia LOVED having Logan around. She made sure he was safe everywhere we went!

We played on the trampoline. This one doesn't show it, but Logan also really liked running through the sprinkler spray when we put the sprinkler under the trampoline and let it shoot through.

It was super fun to have Tara here. We are showing off our prego bellies. She is also having a boy and due at the end of December.

We are SO glad you guys got to come for such a long time and have so much fun! We can't wait for you to visit again and have little Connor to hold!

Lullaby

2011-08-05T22:26:00.001-04:00

I would have never thought that I would be singing what I have sung the past 3 nights to Isaac and Olivia. I sing their requests before bedtime, but usually things like Jesus Loves Me, God Is So Good, Silent Night. The other night out of the blue, Isaac said he wanted me to sing the cheeseball song. What he meant was On Top of Spaghetti (usually a car song for us, not a bedtime song). When Olivia asked what I sang to Isaac, she said she wanted the same thing. We're going on 3 days strong. For those who want the lyrics...or somehow have never heard the song:

On top of spaghetti, all covered with cheese

I lost my poor meatball when somebody sneezed.

It rolled off the table and onto the floor

And then my poor meatball rolled right out the door.

It rolled to the garden and under a bush

And then my poor meatball was nothing but mush.

It grew during the summer and became a big tree.

And then I had meatballs whenever I please.

Cake-er-rama

2011-08-04T12:37:00.001-04:00

I made a few cakes for a friend. Here are the final products. Yes, I spelled the last name correct!

Family Trip To The Lake

2011-07-31T13:34:00.002-04:00

Yesterday we played at the lake and had a picnic lunch. We went in the mid-morning so there weren't many people and the heat wasn't so overbearing......yet. When we left, I think Isaac was out before we got out of the parking lot.

Great sand for sand castles!

Can you beat watermelon on a hot day?!

Odds & Ends in July

2011-07-31T13:17:00.000-04:00

After our trip to Missouri, Issac and Olivia had a couple fun experiences on trampolines. Nana came up with the cool idea of getting them an early Christmas gift of a trampoline. Thanks Nana! We.....I mean, the kids LOVE playing on it! Justin couldn't stand seeing it in the box once we got it home so he put it together soon after with some help from Tara (Tami's sister).

Some veggies from our garden. Isaac and Olivia love to help Dad! We have fun giving lots away to friends and neighbors.

If you push the car just right on the driveway, it turns around and comes back to you like a boom-a-rang!

Olivia is having fun on her tricycle.

Having fun at dinner time. Watching your kids have fun is about as good as it gets. Am I getting old....crap!

Cousin Logan giving Luci a refreshment and playing at the pool with Isaac and Olivia.

Isaac and Logan hanging out with Luci.

"Tee-Ter-To-Ter bread and water..."

Who dat? Compliments of Olivia Photography Inc.

Justin's Protege

2011-07-29T22:26:00.000-04:00

Olivia really enjoys taking pictures and video of various things around the house. Here are a few from her latest shoot. Give her a buzz for order information.

Loving brother Isaac.

Logan, a favorite doll.

Self portrait of the photographer.

My personal favorite...picture of the photographer spanking her brother. All in love of course.

Baby Update!

2011-07-29T13:21:00.000-04:00

We just got back from the doctor today for the 'half-way there ultrasound' when they do a ton of measurements. Everything checked out and the report was a healthy baby! Praise the Lord! We were told he weighs about 15oz.; right on schedule. Now.....for a name....

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Foot & Toes

MO Visit

2011-07-14T21:11:00.001-04:00

We took a trip to Missouri to see Justin's family and had a great time. Here's the week in a picture nutshell. We did lots of things and saw lots of family.

Olivia, Aleah, Isaac, Nate, and Karsen eating breakfast in St. Louis at Aunt Katie/Uncle Greg's house.

While in Columbia, we visited a cool park. The kids really liked the super long slide.

The kids looking at something in the lake at Lake of the Ozarks (Justin's parents' cabin).

Isaac's first fish!

The first fish Olivia's caught ALL BY HERSELF! All the kids caught a lot of fish (could have been the same few caught over and over again, but hey, it was exciting). Nate was a big help. He baited the hooks with worms and dehooked the fish and let them go back into the water.

More fishing.

Story time in the cabin.

Family wave runner trip. Both kids really liked it. I was suprised to see how fast Isaac wanted to go the first time he was on with Justin. What a sport!

Hot (more like 'cool') tub fun.

We also spent a day in California MO at Justin's Aunt/Uncle's farm. All the kids got to have a ride on Sparkle. (Cowboy Isaac, dad for safety, and Robert (J's cousin) the guide)

Olivia really liked it. She always wants to ride ponies when we see them, except this time it was free!

Interestingly enough, the kids really liked this double swing, a lot.

The guys got to do some shooting. Justin is in the white.

Here's a turkey. Big mamma jamma.

The kids also had fun on the trampoline. I was suprised how much Olivia liked to be bounced. We ended the day with Uncle Art, Robert, and Justin setting off fireworks for us all.

Thank you Uncle Art and Aunt Val for a super fun day! The kids are still talking about it.

We also got to see all of Sharon's (J's mom) side of the family for a nice dinner, I just didn't get any pictures. It only took 12 hours for us to drive home in the Civic! We stopped at Cahokia Mounds just east of St. Louis. The week went by super fast.

Backup: Father's Day, Boys, and the 4th

2011-07-14T16:26:00.001-04:00

Happy Father's Day to the best dads (and Kent) in the world! We love you and appreciate you!

Family pic while waiting to get the ultrasound to see if we are having a boy or girl. We got some cute video of Isaac and Olivia talking about it. IT'S A BOY! No name yet though.

I and O have a book called You Can Do It Sam. Olivia decided she wanted to do what was in the book...bake cakes and take them to the neighbors ALL BY THEMSELVES. So we made the cakes.

They got to lick the bowl, just like Sam.

And then they took the cakes to our neighbors and rang the doorbell ALL BY THEMSELVES (unless Isaac was too short to reach and then I rang it and ran off to hide.) One of the neighbors sent Olivia a "Thank You" card for the cake. That was a cool affirmation for her act of kindness.

Just a few random pics of the kids. Flour fun and them watching TV together. Aww.

Summer-ness

2011-06-20T22:16:00.000-04:00

This was our garage sale. He he. I forgot pictures of the actual sale, but this is what Isaac and Olivia did to keep entertained and cool. Yes, there is water in their buckets.

We got a bigger pool this year. They absolutely love it.

They called the babies their "backpacks", you know, like Diego's rescue pack. But then Olivia decided she like hers in the front better. More mommyish I suppose.

We went swimming at my parents lake. It was fun!

I just thought this was cute.

They both went fishing, Isaac for the first time. He wanted to quit after he didn't catch anything right away. Olivia was persistent, but unfortunately they just weren't biting.

There we are.

Picking flowers with Grandma.

Some flowers and pretty smiles.

Justin and Isaac got a haircut. Justin did both. Every time Isaac gets his hair cut I think he looks like a new person. And older.

Happy 6th Anniversery

2011-06-06T11:50:00.000-04:00

Justin and I had our anniversary on Memorial Day and had a wonderful date. We grilled out with my parents, test drove some cars, motorcycles and hippos, hung out at Concord Park with a lake and watched some boats, had a lovely dinner at Lakeside Tavern, and watched a movie. Six years has flown by, but they have been filled with lots of adventure. Happy anniversary to the one I love!

Cupcake Cake

2011-06-02T16:09:00.000-04:00

One of my friend's let me make the birthday cake for her son's 3rd birthday party. It was a Diego party at a splash pad and very fun! Here's the creation.

God Gave Us Three!

2011-05-18T14:22:00.000-04:00

We would like to introduce you to the newest member of our family! This is our first ultrasound taken last week. Tami is about 11 weeks along and due on December 6! Woohoo!

We'll go back to hopefully find out the sex in about a month. We are all very excited! Please pray with us for safety for Tami and a healthy baby throughout the pregnancy.

Happy 4th Birthday, Olivia!

2011-05-18T12:59:00.002-04:00

Here are some (a lot) pictures from Olivia's birthday. She had a princess party. The girls got to put on earrings, braclets, and fingernail polish. They also decorated picture frames.

This is the group pic. They took home an individual picture with Olivia. Thanks Justin for taking the pics and Dad for printing them!

They played 'Pin Cinderella in her Castle Room'.

Here's the cake I made.

Let's eat!

Opening presents.

Some Party People.

These pictures are a little out of order, but ah well.

We went to Dolleywood on Olivia's birthday. Justin took the day off. They were riding rocks while we waited for Justin to ride the roller coasters.

They both got to drive old fashioned cars, and LOVED it.

Quack quack!

Ferris Wheel.

Daddy daughter.

The fam.

She got her birthday doughnut on her birthday morning!

This is not such a good picture, but it was hilarious. Justin hid her presents around the house/garage. They had to come get clues before they found each present. This is them listening intently.

Praise the Lord for My Hero!

2011-05-17T20:16:00.001-04:00

I know I need to post some pics of Olivia's bday and party, but I just have to say a HUMONGOUS THANK YOU to Justin! What a hero! As we were praying, talking, tucking kids in bed, etc....Olivia was playing with 3 quarters (didn't realize this) while she was laying down. Somehow two went into her throat and got stuck. Justin is such a great thinker under pressure! He stuck his finger her mouth, felt the things, hung over her bed and wa pow! Out came the quarters! So Praise the Lord! and thanks Justin!

Happy Birthday Tami!

2011-05-06T21:03:00.005-04:00

On my actual birthday, Justin surprised me (left for 'work', came back 10min later with my presents and a diet coke ringing the front doorbell) and took the day off. We went to the zoo. Isaac and Olivia got to feed the camels. They really have big lips.

This is 'Georgie', the coolest monkey at the zoo. We played with him for about 15min or more. He stayed right at the window with us the whole time.

Here we are at Olive Garden for dinner.

Here are my parents walking TO the Chalk Walk in Market Square with Olivia. We all went here after my birthday dinner.

This is me, showing my best chalk drawing capabilities.

And finally, we have my favorite chalk drawing of the evening. It was tied pretty close with a fox and the hound drawing.

It was a great birthday and I'm glad to be 32! Thank you family for making it special!

Outside

2011-05-04T22:37:00.000-04:00

These are some random outside pictures I thought I would share.

The kids were outside "helping" Justin plant the garden. I looked out the window and this is what I saw. (I was cooking dinner by the way, not intentionally avoiding the garden.)

Then I saw this. When I asked what was going on, Olivia said she was whispering to Isaac to run fast if the wolf comes. Too funny!

These are the most amazing 'suck pops' (heather) ever! Chocolate pudding, cool whip, and oreos...you can't go wrong. You can check out Justin's Rants and Raves blog for the detailed recipe!

I love this picture....mostly because of the boots I guess (thanks Katie). We were playing with sidewalk chalk after church. She was drawing Easter eggs all over the driveway and I was hunting them.

I took the kids on a 0.4mile hike the other day. Doesn't seem like much, until you have 2 little ones who want to be carried down the big hill half way through the hike and then of course UP the big hill, all the while being by yourself. Lesson learned. However, Olivia REALLY liked taking pictures of everything she saw. This catipillar was a life saver around 0.2mi.

Not sure if you can see their faces, but Olivia's wasn't happy. But I was so proud of them for finishing the loop!

Random picture. He makes me smile, alot!

Underwear

2011-05-02T13:34:00.001-04:00

This deserves a post all its own! Isaac is wearing big boy underwear! WOO HOO! I haven't ventured out of the house with them on, or during naps for that matter, but he has successfully used them all weekend for #1!!!! And, yes, Olivia loves helping to oversee the event (to an extent of course).

Happy Easter

2011-04-25T13:41:00.000-04:00

We colored eggs. 2 dozen goes by super fast!

Hard at work.

We did the hunt.

Full buckets.

We had a nice hearty meal at Cracker Barrel with my family. (no pics, darn) Justin took off to Washington DC for a school conference. We had a great Easter and are so thankful that Jesus takes away our sin...as far as the east is from the west...

The Horse

2011-04-25T13:09:00.000-04:00

A couple weekends back, we went to the UT vet open house. I wanted to share this huge horse. I've never seen any horse like it. Do you see how tall it is??? That girl leading him was a tall girl. He's a work horse...obviously.

Here's the same horse in his stall. His back was actually taller than Justin, let alone his head. Olivia was a little uneasy about the picture. The horse had breathed on her from his nostril and blew her hair all over.

This was the smallest horse. They got to pet this one. I think Luci might be bigger than this horse.

They also got to take their stuffed animals to the vet. Olivia is helping to give her fish a shot.

Isaac's monkey got some stiches and a bandage.

Just Another Quack In The Park

2011-04-23T22:44:00.001-04:00

Today was supposed to be in the mid-80's so we all hopped in the car and took off to the park. It was nice out, but a bit breezy. I think they went down this twisty slide a million times. The Easter Bunny showed up and let the kids have a piece of candy. Isaac really liked that and kept the Easter Bunny on radar the whole time we were there.

Justin snuck up on a baby duck in the pond and snatched it up for the kids to see. Tami laughed her head off. Isaac and Olivia thought getting to hold it was super cool.

There was 'one' really low swing that was just right for Olivia and Isaac. Justin taught Isaac how to play superman on the high swing.

Home Time

2011-04-13T14:20:00.000-04:00

A lot of days, home days are absolutely great. Here's some pics...

Isaac is at Olivia's Salon. Just getting a trim.

They are playing "sleep" with their babies.

Isaac is going to work. He's all dressed up and ready to go (see the bracelets and anklets that Olivia put on him??). He's even got his lunchbox that Olivia packed for him. (This is what Justin uses for his lunches....being the reason they call a cooler a lunchbox.)

Olivia's puppies are having shoe races. Looks like pink is winning.

Go Butler!

2011-04-04T12:48:00.004-04:00

Our neighbors went to the University of Butler and therefore, during this March Maddness (see Justin's Rants and Raves Blog for more details...ha ha) we have become Butler fans. They asked for a cake to celebrate while watching the game with family in town. Sure, no problem! Well, it took a little longer than I expected, and I learned quite a few things along the way, but here's the picture...I wanted to write Final Four across the top, but decided against it due to my shakey hand on the basketball court.

Besides making a cake, we also went to the zoo this weekend. There is a 220lb 23ft long python on loan at the zoo for the summer. Blek!! (Heather, I knew you would love this one.)

How I Started The Day Thursday...

2011-03-31T21:48:00.004-04:00

If you were wondering, this is what happens when you make a smoothie for breakfast and leave it on the hood of your car when you leave for work. The hose is how you'll have to clean it off. At least it didn't hurt the paint. Hehehe... The worst part about the whole thing is that you'll have to end up having a cup of dry Cheerios instead so you're not late.

Happy Birthday, Luci!

2011-03-27T10:52:00.002-04:00

We had a party for Luci. She turned 5 on March 26. My camera ran out of battery, so I didn't get a picture of her eating it. She's too fast.

She's the best dog ever and a great walking/running buddy.

The Door

2011-03-23T14:40:00.003-04:00

Olivia found some play keys and decided to see if they would open Isaac's door that she locked. They didn't. And I then realized that Isaac had the only "key lock" doorknob in the whole house. So Isaac spent the day in his pj's and took a nap in downstairs in our bedroom.

Justin came home and saved the day! Although he couldn't take the doorknob off, or use a credit card, he made the comment about wishing he could go thru the window. Lo and behold! I just so happened to open all the windows first thing in the morning! So that is the avenue we took.
Here's Olivia happy to be in Isaac's room. Needless to say, we took a family trip to Home Depot and bought Isaac a new doorknob. Now all I need is a butterknife to open an accidental locked door.

NASCAR Races!

2011-03-23T13:32:00.005-04:00

Justin's Mom and Dad came for a visit over the weekend and took us to the Nascar races in Bristol, TN. It was super loud and lots of fun. This is a picture of the stadium when we first got there.

This is where we sat.

Here's a bunch of cars zooming fast. Actually, I think it was slow because they were behind the "slow car that makes people go slow for car/track clean up".

It was fun to watch how fast the car crews worked to get the racers back on the track. This is Carl Edwards, the Columbia Missouri racer we were cheering on. The knoxville racer Tevor Bayne was racing too.

Here's the winner. Kyle Busch. He did some cool spins at the end.

Here's what the winner got. Plus some money. Here's some more of the visit. We hiked thru House Mnt. and saw some fun stuff.

Isaac and Olivia were riding a horsey to town.

Just sittin.

After lunch on the deck. I think this is the first time Gramp and Nana have visited and it didn't rain a drop.

Isaac in a bucket.

Shark Attack

2011-03-15T10:07:00.003-04:00

Justin has finally convinced me after almost 4yrs. that I need to get rid of some of my teacher things....seeing as it takes up a major part of our storage space in the garage. So I'm going thru all my boxes and come across one with some of my science things. As I pull out this thing from a bag, I see huge shark eyes staring at me. AHHH! Some of the juice it was in had leaked out of the jar, which in my opinion made it look even more like it was going to come out of the jar and bite me. I also found shark teeth, bird's nest, bird scull, dried beetle bugs, and bones of a rat stuck on a glue trap. Yes, I guess it was time to clean out some of my things.

Our neighbor John hunting seeds with Isaac and Olivia. Olivia is sure that we are going to grow a tree in our yard. I'm not so confident of this.

Cute picture of Isaac playing in the neighbor's yard. Justin wore that hat when he was a little boy. Aw.

Color time. Justin is drawing the garden he hopes to plant soon. What a visionary.

Febuary pictures

2011-03-02T13:04:00.008-05:00

Friends over enjoying the alligator teeter totter that the kids got from Gramp and Nana. Thanks!

Olivia and static balloons. This particular day the balloons were sticking everywhere, even on the walls. Twas fun.
Justin needed a haircut, so he let the professional do it.
Then he let the expert do it. Yes, being of the same gender makes you an expert.

We had a fire one night. Isaac likes marshmallows NOT in the fire, Olivia likes them warm, but not burned. I like them on fire. I'm not even sure if Justin had one. The kids got to bring out their flashlights. I wish I had had one so I could have seen the Luci poo I stepped in. Darn.

We are on an elephant kick. Here are some of the elephants they/we have colored. And we've read lots of elephant books too. I think our next pet is going to be an elephant.

Justin had pudding with the kids while I was gone on an overnight visit with a friend staying in Gatlinburg. I think somebody liked it.

Defining "quish it".

2011-03-01T21:31:00.004-05:00

Man do I wish I had a recorder for this one... Ok, I (Justin) am with Isaac and Olivia by myself today and just before leaving the library about 10min from the house, Isaac obviously has a dirty diaper. Just to make sure, I ask him and I get the confirmation.

As we approach the car to leave, "Isaac, Daddy will change your diaper when we get home. We'll be there real soon, ok."
"But I have a poooopoooooo," in a semi-whiny voice as he reluctantly climbs into the car, "I want to change it right theerrrrre," pointing to the front seat.
"I know, but we're real close to home and I'll change it right when we get in the door."
"But I'll quish it," as I'm assisting him in getting into his seat.
"It will be ok. We'll be home really soon," as he's sitting.
"Ohhh, I quished it," he reports in a disappointed and somewhat whiny voice.
I'm holding back some hard laughter at this point.
So we're on our way home and after about 3min of silence, Isaac repeats, "I quished it, Daaaaaad."

So we made it home and got the quished mess cleaned up. I was pretty pleased however, after hitting WMart, Hobby Lobby, and the Library; that was my only diaper/bathroom 'duty'-request from either of them. I was also reminded about making diaper access easy when dressing your kids. I'll avoid a onsie, coveralls, and a sweatshirt next time. That can make diaper changing a real chore....unless you discover the buttons up the legs of the coveralls BEFORE you're done! Sheesh.

Is It Worth It??? ...Uh...Yup.

2011-02-28T23:51:00.004-05:00

I really can't count the number of times that, during conversation with my two kids, that Olivia has made comments that reflect the wisdom she's gaining from all the time and effort my wife, Tami, is putting in as a stay-at-home-mom. (Thanks Babe!) I truly wish I had a book of all the Godly things Olivia has said over the past year.

Just this evening, my son, Isaac, was practicing the word "no" at the dinner table. Like a good, loving big sister, Olivia took the opportunity to obviously respond, "Ok, Daddy", at the next opportunity and I jumped on the teachable moment. I rewarded Olivia with some positive praise and told her how good it was to obey her mom and dad and left it at that. Meanwhile, Isaac was enjoying repeating everything Olivia said, except with a "no" in front of it; a wonderful attention seeking behavior let me tell you. It was pretty darn funny, but not a good laughing moment if you know what I mean. Olivia decided to interject her own wisdom by telling Isaac that he would be "blessed by God" if he obeyed God, Mom, and Dad. Wow....preach it girl!

A Family Word Collage

2011-02-12T20:49:00.008-05:00

The Slide

2011-02-08T17:51:00.003-05:00

So after experiencing the speed and force exerted on the body, it was determined that the children would indeed NOT be using the slide for sliding purposes. However, race car track races and baby doll sliding were permitted.

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY TO ISAAC

2011-01-31T13:32:00.005-05:00

Isaac turned TWO last Saturday!...which is great because any time events are talked about on a day of the week, Isaac's answer is always "on Saturday". So when he said his birthday was on Saturday, he was right! We had family and a few of Isaac's friends over to celebrate. They played balloon volleyball (as in this picture), tennis ball hunt, and pass the ball to a friend and drop it in the bucket. It was definitely fun to watch.

He got fishing gear from Grandma and Grandpa. They love it, especially since they went jug fishing with Dad last summer.

Here he is blowing out his birthday candles. Our party was "ball" themed since he likes balls so much (sleeps with a football and plays 'soccer' a lot). I made the cake for him, he helped a little.

Here he is opening presents. You can't see him very well, but you can see all the kids that came. Thank you everybody for all the gifts you gave. They were all a hit!

Hugging Grandaddy as a thank you for the gift. Isaac showed lots of gratitude for his gifts. It was very sweet.

We went to Toys R Us later this week and he joined the birthday club. He got this balloon and a few other small gifts. He took the balloon everywhere, even inside taco bell for lunch. Grandma was with us and bought these umbrellas for them. They went outside with them, even though it wasn't raining. I think they played with them out there for 1/2 an hour.

Here they are washing dishes. They have graduated to each of them having their own side of the sink filled with water. I thought it was funny how Isaac was washing...check out his feet.
We took them to a park for a picnic the day after his bday. They like to play restaurant through these playground windows. We use wood chips as money and food. It's amazing to see the kid crowd it brings as we play with them. Other kids jump right in and order too.

Olivia was pushing Isaac on the swing and he was liking it. Can you tell?

Happy Birthday to Isaac! We're so glad you were born!

Logan Visit

2011-01-22T20:09:00.005-05:00

These pics are a little out of order, but oh well. This is what Logan gave Tara for her birthday. Way to go boy!

This is the "other" clown. Showed up for Tara's birthday morning celebration.
Sharing grahm crackers at Sams. What buds.

This picture just made me laugh. I think he likes this toy at the mall.

Playing in the "kitchen". Looks like it's eggs for breakfast.

One is going to school. The other is off to fight fires. Or maybe they are just getting ready to race???

Olivia has LOVED playing with Logan so much. He's just another one of her "babies"...except he responds better.

We took a swim day. Everybody went under (some on accident) and Olivia learned how to swim by herself with a noodle! Can't wait for swim lessons this summer.

We definitely had our fill of tv. They like watching nickjr at G&G's house....including Logan.

And it was very fun to have you here too Tara! Travel back safely! Happy Birthday!

Mom's Birthday

2011-01-18T21:52:00.008-05:00

My sister is visiting from Germany for awhile and it's a good thing. My mom's birthday was last week and Tara got to dress up like mom always does for birthdays (yes, mom keeps this clown suit in the trunk of the car "just in case she needs it"). Tara and Logan were about to go in and wake her up on her birthday morning. The clowning has now become generational.

Here we are outside of PFChangs for my mom's birthday celebration. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! We love you!

Inside PFChangs. They love you too Mom!

We took Tara and Logan downtown to see the sunsphere where the world's trade fair was held. We miss having you here, Will!

Here we are at a park in the area.

I had to put in another park picture because this is the coolest attraction at the park. Tara and I are on it, Logan is there watching us, and I don't know anyone else in the picture.

Here's a family pose, Grandpa taking the picture. My mom and dad got a new dog recently. VERY sweet dog. Her name is Josie. Luci was too nervous being in public to really get to know her. Hopefully they will be friends this weekend when we get to dogsit!

Here we are just walking. But the fun thing was Olivia and Isaac taking turns holding Logan in the double, I mean triple, stroller.
Isaac does such a great job!

I Choose Life

2011-01-13T12:46:00.005-05:00

Ok, for those who couldn't take it any longer....IT'S ALIVE! (except for the small yellow/brown leaf in the front) I knew the thing couldn't die. We've even grown mushrooms in there! Justin has had this plant since before we got married. It's truly an amazing plant. Nothing kills it.

This picture if from New Year's Day in St. Louis. Greg's job was to cook the hot dogs in the fire. Apparently it was too hot, so he rigged this contraption up. ...with scotch tape no less.
Notice Justin's tool of choice. -Thank you men for cooking the dogs!
Isaac and Olivia packed in a box. They were alive.

This fish is full of life! Don't you see the one in Olivia's hand? They were in the "boat" catching fish....after they had decorated the boat of course. Isaac is amazed at Olivia's big fish. Can you tell?

And finally, here is their lively band. I thought you might enjoy.....or not.

To Die OR Not To Die...

2011-01-03T10:43:00.004-05:00

Ok, so we get back from our 11 day vacation to Missouri over Christmas and I notice the one real plant in our house about dead and so I give it some water. This morning I (Justin) pass it again....

Justin: (In a somewhat hopeless voice) "Whoa, I don't think it's going to make it."

Tami: (In an optimistic voice) "Oh, ya, it's perked up a bit from yesterday."

Thanks Tami for always making lemonade.

(In the meantime....does anyone need a perked up plant?)

Merry Merry Christmas

2010-12-28T14:03:00.007-05:00

Here are a few pictures of Christmas from our MO trip so far....

Isaac comes down the stairs at Katie's house and says, "Look at me!" I think this is a record. 13 headbands....or is that 14?

These are the stockings that Justin's parents have hanging. One for everyone! Wow! That's almost as many headbands Isaac had on!
Olivia opening her pillow pet. Isaac got a bumblebee.
Christmas at Gramp and Nana's house.

37,500 lights on this "Magic Tree" in Columbia. Totally cool.

This is Christmas day. We were at Justin's Grandma Donna's house. Olivia stayed out a long time and played. Isaac slept.

Christmas day at Grandma Donna and Bob's house. We didn't get near everyone in the picture. I think we counted 27 people!

Olivia and Aleah got new babies in wagons with dogs. Olivia loved getting another baby. We're running out of baby names...any ideas?

They kinda look like a bunch of deer in headlights, don't you think? Justin made a loud noise to get their attention all at the same time.

Isaac was taking a nap one afternoon. One of his latest things is mittens on his hands, and socks for puppet shows. He wanted the mittens on before he went to sleep. They stayed on the entire nap.

I didn't get any pics at Justin's Grandma Blankenship and Don's house. Olivia got another baby there. She was very excited again.

This is Christmas at our house before we left for MO.

Isaac was Luci surfing.

They were laughing at one of Olivia's presents that makes funny singing sounds.

They were very excited to finally get to open "the big one". The funny thing is, they were at the store, in the cart, when we bought the basketball hoop. We're thinking that this might be the last year we can buy their Christmas presents in front of them, and them not know it.

This is the cake I made for our small group Christmas party.

1st Annual Gingerbread House Making

2010-12-21T14:37:00.008-05:00

We had our friends over for dinner and a gingerbread house making. Erin had the icing recipe and made the houses the night before. As the kids got to "glue" on the candy pieces, I believe that Isaac ate 1/2 of what was intended for his house. Olivia worked really hard and long on it. We are looking forward to the 2nd Annual Gingerbread House Making. Thanks Erik and Erin for coming over! Total fun!
Just beginning.

Isaac with the gel squirt.

Even the guys did one. Awww....

Happy to show off her house!

All done!

From left to right: Isaac, Olivia, Tami, Erin, Justin, Erik, Elaina.

Snow Tidbit

2010-12-15T15:53:00.004-05:00

Here's the final product after almost 20 minutes, I think???? I found out that Isaac CANNOT wear his sleeper pjs under a snow suit and wear shoes at the same time. He wanted to wear this hat. After awhile outside, he put on a warmer one. And the pants are not ideal, pink. The joys of hand me downs. I'd invest in more if only it snowed more.

Just a dusting of snow, but still fun. We got about 2 inches a few days later, I just didn't get any pictures then.

Seemed like you stepped in the snow and there was nothing but grass left. Olivia still wanted to make a snow angel. Cute face, cute suit. Thanks, Aunt Tara! (We finally got to use it after 2 yrs of hanging in the closet.)

After the second snow, the kids had hot chocolate for the first time. It was actually warm chocolate, but they both said it was very yummy.

This was another day we made haystacks with one of Olivia's friends. Isaac couldn't keep it out of his mouth.

Closer to Christmas

2010-12-06T13:29:00.004-05:00

The kids had Christmas with my parents this past weekend since they will be leaving for Germany and we'll head to MO this year. They got some flaslights they love, but they are super sonic bright. We'll see how long it takes before one of them gets it taken away for shining it in someone's eyes. Isaac already took it to the mall with us today.

Olivia LOVES her new baby from Grammie Judy and Grandaddy. The name goes back and forth from Maggie to Strawberry (There are some magnets...maggie... in her that hold the pacifier to her mouth and there's a strawberry on her shirt). Olivia told me today, "I think I love strawberry as much as I love Logan". That's amazing since it's only been 2 days and Logan has been the baby of the year. I think Olivia will be a great mother some day!

This was pre-Strawberry/Maggie, but Logan is the one on Olivia's lap in yellow. Isaac has Miles, Circo is in the middle. Who knew I'd have so many babies to keep track of.
The kids helped decorate the trees this year. I love how having little kids changes Christmas time. It's so amazing and fun.
Isaac found some new monkey bars.

This was a beautiful sky Olivia pointed out to us while at Grandma/Grandpa's house.

While in Dandridge over Thanksgiving, we visited my step uncle. Olivia and Isaac got to find an egg that had been laid. Amazingly enough, the egg did not break even with both of them trying to hold it at the same time.

They got to feed the goats.

And finally they got to feed the chickens. And Justin walked away wanting to live on a farm. Thanks Dan!

November

2010-11-26T12:28:00.005-05:00

Here they are helping dad carve the pumpkin we got from the pumpkin patch.

Here's the final product.
Kids have enjoyed stacking our homemade blocks. Isaac likes to "bam" them.

We had a picnic lunch with our friends.

They thought this was SO cool.

Yes, I took this one. I think it's just spectacular!

Our neighbor next door let Olivia/Isaac/friends play in their leaves, pre raking. After they woke up from their nap, I told them Jon raked some leaves for them. They were VERY excited when they saw them, "TWO PILES MOM!"

Thanksgiving was cool. Lots of food. Football. Games. Stayed in Dandridge. And yes, we had some Christmas before Thanksgiving. We went to the convention center for lots of Christmas trees, lights, activities for the kids. Here's a few pics.

Trash Talk & Chinese Checkers

2010-11-22T11:25:00.005-05:00

Last night I was so impressed by my wife's trash talk that I had to write a quick blog to share. For those of you who know Tami, trash talk isn't a part of her normal conversation, so I was shocked and proud all at the same time. :)
----
Justin: Hey, let's play a game.
Tami: (without missing a beat) Ooo, you sure you want to do that?
Justin: Why?
Tami: I don't want you to cry before bedtime.
----
And yes, I lost.....nice job babe!

Halloweeny

2010-11-08T18:09:00.003-05:00

Our church had a Pirates/Princesses theme during service for the kids. The kids had fun there, although I didn't get anything piratey for Isaac, so he just wore red. Someone thought he looked like a firefighter. Halloween night we took the kids to another church that had games for them to play and win candy. Isaac wore the same thing. Maybe next year he'll be something more than himself.

They got cotten candy. Sticky galore.

We ate dinner.

They had no idea why they were standing behind a piece of wood.

We ended the night with the annual trick or treat next door. Funny. I think Olivia wore the same princess dress last year, except it drug on the floor.

Random

2010-11-08T17:54:00.003-05:00

Here's a picture I just thought was cute. They were at the top of the stairs being silly....although this pic shows them being sweet.

Olivia likes to help give Luci a bath. Not sure if Luci likes it or not.

Don't know why they like pacifiers so much. But they sure are funny with them.

Another cake I made for my Dad. Personal size.

Justin ate the middle out of my cake before I had a chance to ice it. I decided to put it to good use. Carrot hole.

Hiking Galore

2010-10-23T21:14:00.003-04:00

In early October, we went hiking on this trail, but DID NOT go the entire mileage. We were on a time crunch so just hiked an hour up and then down.

Here Justin is scaling a cliff. He's about 50 ft high. Ok, not really, the ground is in the bottom left corner.
We took this hike today to the top of Mt. Cammerer. We went 11.2miles round trip. 3hrs up. 1hr on top. 2 hrs down. Very steep in some parts. Lots of uphill. But if the 85 yr old man we passed with a big pack on his back could do it, so could we! And it was fun.

There was a tower at the top that rangers used a long time ago to watch for forest fires.

It had very pretty views all around up there. We could see super far.

The Circus

2010-10-23T20:36:00.003-04:00

Some friends of ours gave us free tickets to the circus. The kids' eyes were glued to all the action the entire time, even though it ended at 10pm. I couldn't get them to turn around for the picture.

Olivia REALLY liked the ponies.
Here's the fam in the big UT basketball arena. Lots of people.

The elephants were fun to watch. They are so big, yet have such great balance.

Cake Class

2010-10-23T20:20:00.002-04:00

Here's week 1. Don't know why it loaded sideways, but I'm not going to redo it. You get the idea. I didn't make the icing with quite enough sugar, so it ended up in the trash.

Week 2. We were told to practice putting icing on in a certain way and then add pizzazz. Way too much icing for me/Justin, although the taste was much better. However, some of these went in the trash too. I didn't take a picture of the orange lady bugs and green spotted cyclops cupcakes I decorated when I got home. They were cute....and we fed them to our small group.

Week 3. This was the last cake done. I decided to make it the same theme of our small group lesson: disciplining children. This was a double layer chocolate cake filled with a chocolate layer in the middle. Very yummy.

Same cake. Side view.
It was a fun class.

Bush Wack

2010-10-23T20:08:00.003-04:00

Here's one of the ginormous bushes we had all summer overtaking the sidewalk. Every time it rains, the things grow about 3 inches. Justin's diving in to do the chop.

Here's the final product of the bush wack.
And here's the sidewalk with no overtaking bushes. Now, we know they will grow back because we did it earlier in the summer to the ones on the other side of the front door area. However, we might should have done it just a wee bit earlier in the season, because now it's cold and they might not grow back till next spring. Whoops. At least they will be easier to decorate with Christmas lights.

Balloon Festival

2010-10-23T18:38:00.002-04:00

We went to a Hot Air Balloon Festival the first weekend in October. We went with another girl and her daughter from our small group. Driving into the parking area, we saw the balloon launch taking place. Isaac shouted, "BALLOONS!! MOMMY, BALLOONS! MOMMY, BALLOONS! MOMMY, BALLOONS!" etc The excitement was to the hilt.

Here we were waiting for the balloon glow. After we took this picture Olivia asked to see it on the camera. When she sees it, she asks, "Why is Isaac drinking out of my cup?" "....Hummm....I don't know. Funny thing."

This was part of the balloon glow. They "lit-up danced" to music. It was cool to watch.

Homemade Musical Instruments for Kids

2010-10-13T12:19:00.002-04:00

I was looking for some simple guitar songs to learn so I could play for Olivia and Isaac. I stumbled upon this link that had some homemade instrument ideas.

http://www.storytimesongs.com/instruments.html

Counting

2010-10-02T08:45:00.004-04:00

I couldn't pass this up. Totally mad me laugh....he looks so intense....or is he mad I didn't get him starting at "one" the first time????

More Birthday Happiness

2010-09-24T11:07:00.002-04:00

William you might like this one. Our small group had a surprise birthday party for Justin and Duane, the guy waving, last Wednesday. Happy Birthday again! (Hopefully, this is the last birthday entry! Ha Ha)

Mini-Zoo

2010-09-21T19:31:00.006-04:00

We went to the Little Ponderosa Zoo the other day. Isaac REALLY liked this monkey. He kept yelling, "HIIII MONKEYYYY!"

I liked this lama the best. We had a staring contest.
Olivia liked feeding the goats the best.

And this was the most hilarious BAA I've ever heard.

Picasso

2010-09-21T19:19:00.004-04:00

Body Paint. It's a wonderful thing. Here's the beginning.

Who do you think did this one?

I think she had some help too! But, I see the love.

They are beautiful. All in the eyes of the beholder I guess.

This was clean up time. It was funny cuz Justin told Isaac to hold on to him so he would fall over when he washed his feet. Isaac held on with a big hug this time. Aww. Justin had paint all over his forehead.

This is another day of painting. Wood and paper this time (plus a little on the feet and hands). Then they decided to use markers. They shared so well and were being such great friends. I thought it was cute. I told Justin I thought it would be cool to hang that board somewhere in the garage....from now until forever. Somehow moms think it's so much cooler than anyone else in the world.

This one is just another funny. I know I've put other pictures of them in the cage, but this one was special. They weren't just playing in the cage. They had been playing in the living room while I cleaned up in the kitchen. I called out, "Ok. It's time for bed (meaning nap)." When I walked out of the kitchen, this is what a saw. They went to "bed" (which is what we call Luci's cage).

More Birthday

2010-09-21T19:15:00.003-04:00

And then... a week later, Justin showed up late to the family dinner at Don Pablos. So Will (brother-n-law) decided to tell the waitress it was Justin's birthday. As the team of singers came out clapping with hat in hand, Justin looked around and said, "That better be for someone else". His face was priceless! He wore the hat well! It been a happy birthday month! Love you Dear!

"I love you daddy."

2010-09-17T11:40:00.002-04:00

It's a bit mushy, but I had to share my feel-good dad moment with you all. Yesterday, while clipping my Isaac's fingernails, he looks up at me and says, "I love you dadddy", for the first time. He's still pretty clingy with Tami if he's got the choice between her and I, so it was pretty cool to hear those words.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUSTIN!

2010-09-12T11:28:00.006-04:00

Justin is now 32! Woo Hoo! His parents came for a visit over Labor Day to help celebrate the big day. Here's a few pics.

The Cake.

Justin grilled big, fat steaks. Very Yummy!

He laughed at a few of his presents....I wasn't quite sure what kind of "tools" he wanted. We made a return.

The neighbors came over for cake and ice cream on the deck. Thanks Scircles!

We went downtown knoxville to the Boomsday festivities. The kids liked the fire truck the best. They climbed all over it.

Then, a week later we were eating at Clint's BBQ with my family. My mom/sister secretly asked the live band to sing Happy Birthday to Justin. They even had the cool hat and glasses ready. Beautiful!

Folly Beach in Charleston

2010-09-12T11:05:00.007-04:00

My sister and her husband, Tara and Will, flew in from Germany a couple weekends ago. We decided to make it a mini-family vacation to pick them up in Charleston with my parents. There were lots of waves and strong currents in the water at Folly Beach. SUPER fun! Olivia had fun watching her legs jiggle in the waves as they flew her off her feet.

Olivia and Isaac kept asking to hold their cousin, Logan. It was fun for them to have a live baby.
Just a cute picture of Isaac resting at the hotel pool. He had been tapping his feet to the music that was playing. Yes, the ocean was on the other side of the pool fence. Way awesome.

Kids on the pier.

I'm so glad you guys finally made it back to the States!

Play Time

2010-08-21T09:32:00.004-04:00

Isaac went to his first football game. It was hot, but he really liked watching all the action. "BALL!" "HIGH!" "FALL DOWN" were some common phrases with much excitement. Olivia really liked watching the band.

I watched one of Olivia's friends one day and we met some more friends at the splash pad. Here they are right after we got out of the car.

This was something new for Olivia. Wetting her hair upside down. The kids got lots of laughs out of it.

We had lunch and then played on the playground some more. I think everyone had a fun time.

Olivia was so excited that she can now reach the pedals on her tricycle. I've had to take 3 videos of her already riding circles around Isaac. He likes to push all the buttons on the big wheel.

Have you seen Olivia?

This is Olivia and Isaac playing "sleep". They use pillows, blankets, bears, and water and take turns tucking each other in. I don't know why they like to play it, but it allows me to get ready faster with them in the closet!

Justin's NEW Photography WEBSITE !!!

2010-08-13T11:32:00.003-04:00

Check out my new photography website. Some of you might have pictures posted from a previous shoot. I'm still working on a few parts of it, but it's pretty much together.
http://www.justinlfordphotography.com/

Summer

2010-08-12T13:04:00.003-04:00

Luci Dog.

Eat where?

Splash Pad Extravaganza.

Faces

2010-08-01T20:13:00.007-04:00