Leisel at 7 months

Our 3rd annual trip to Murray's Mill

Leaves in a little boys pocket. There are probably rocks in there too.

a little model of Murray's Mill.

We went to Murray's Mill (old timer festival) at the end of September. It was rainy, but we still enjoyed it. Ken's sister and her husband came along for the trip. We also went to the mountains during the peak of the leaves. It was beautiful...once again it was rainy...it's been a pretty rainy season...I've got some good grass coming in our yard..I'm sure you really want to hear about that.

Where to begin?

Caleb on his field trip to Patterson's Farm with some of his classmates. I don't have too many photos--Ken went with him.

It's been such a long time since I've blogged, I am not even sure where to begin. Ken still doesn't have "a job", but has been pursuing home building. He seems to be headed in that direction--which seems to be a process. He is quite detailed, so is very good at it.

Caleb is loving Kindergarten. He gets into some trouble every now and then, but is doing well...and has made some good friends. Caleb is reading and loves to draw. He has become quite the little artist. He has been to the fire department and to Patterson's Farm. Ken was able to go to both of them, since he has "time". I put that in quotes because it doesn't seem like he has a lot of time like we thought. He seems to stay pretty busy--which is very good.

Toby's first day of pre-school.

Toby's first day was a day after we got back from our wonderful trip to Memphis. Unfortunately it will also be the day I came home and saw that Ken was home and told me he had been canned. Yep after we went on a nice little trip that you will review Ken's boss fired him.
We are actually enjoying him being home. I'm getting a lot of help and I am able to do lots of classes at the Y. For those of you who think we should drop the Y, I have opted that for cheap entertainment....It's cheaper than cable TV--which we don't have. I'm loving Zumba and weight lifting classes and power cycling in the morning with my friends/neighbors. I'm thinking of doing body building--maybe I can make some cash doing that.....or maybe I could gain a bunch of weight--get on the Biggest Loser and lose it all...for cash. Or maybe I will play Bunco every night. I don't know, we are looking at all our options....maybe we'll start a honey bee business...

Thank you. Thank you very much...

Toby slept good on our road trip out to Memphis. He had this blanket over his head as he napped. The kids did well on our trip to memphis. It was work, but we did it.

Both the boys got squirmys...um yeah....don't really get it, but they were CRAZY about these little worms.

We are finally at Graceland. We had a great time and saw some very strange people too.
Here is good ol' Graceland. It's funny...I go to a church named Grace Covenant and I went to college at a school named Graceland....oh yeah and one of my neices has the middle name Grace...We've decided to name our estate Gracias. Muchos Gracias. (Get it--Thank you...Thank you very much) (in spanish).

Front Living Room.

Elvis' parent's room.

The Dining Room.

The Kitchen.

The TV Room. This room had mirrors all over it.

This is the Billiard room....all in fabric.

The Jungle room. I guess Elvis used to do recordings in this room...because there is carpet on the walls.

One of Elvis' jumpsuits and his billions of gold/platnum records.

The Lisa Marie. The sinks had gold flakes in it!!!

Elvis' pink Cadillac. The car display was the most impressive. We weren't allowed to take pics with the flash. Well it's pretty dark in the building, so Caleb made a complaint to the Securtiy Guard...she was kind enough to look the other way and let him use the flash. I'm not sure we got that great of a picture. At least it's not blurry.

He had a blue succer.

A happy E-pa.

The incline railway in Chattanooga, TN

Just so you can celebrate this is our 100th post on this blog. Yippee to 3 years of memories that have catapulted into the future and now recorded as the past. Life is too darn short.

See the incline? See it! This really was a glorified buss ride...although we did get to see everyone's back yard as we went down the mountain.

The Lost sea

We met my parents in Memphis, TN for one weekend...On the way we stayed in Chattanooga and went to The Lost sea. It's a cave with a lake in it. We really had a great time here in the cave. No bats are in the cave, but some rainbow trout live in the lake. They were brought in about 20 years ago...If you are ever in the Chattanooga area I recommend stopping here.

On the Boat.

A stalagmite? That sounds like cave talk doesn't it?

if you see the devil--you must have done a bad thing last week. This is called devil hole.

The tunnel into the cave. This is man made and painted yellow because it helps your eyes adjust to the dark cave.

6 months

Sliding Rock and Looking Glass Falls

For Ken's birthday we went to the mountains where there is a really cool rock slide. Toby loved it. Caleb just hung out by the rocks and Leisel and I took pictures. It was pretty neat. We also went to Looking glass falls, which was in Last of the Mohicans at one point. Very beautiful.

Caleb is 6 years old!

Caleb is crazy about Bacugan...Don't ask me what it is...some kind of Japanese game. Maybe someone could fill me in on what it is exactly. He had a great week celebrating his birthday and loved every single one of his gifts.

Caleb eating his birthday dinner. We had corn chowder and grilled cheese. That's what he wanted. On Caleb's actual birthday we went to Legoland--although we don't have any pics of him there. I'm not sure how that happened...maybe it was because we spent half the time in the bathroom. Every time we turned around someone had to go to the bathroom or needed a diaper change....I am not exaggerating either....seriously...it's almost comical-but not.

Caleb is a great helper at home. He does a good job of picking up his things and helps me buckle Toby up in is Car seat. Caleb does a lot of things around the house-he unloads the DW silverware, he picks up his toys, helps put his laundry away, carries things for me, cleans off the table, puts his dishes away after eating, gets his own chocolate milk warmed up...(for some reason my children prefer their milk warm)...He is very sensitve. He cries every time at the end of Ice age when the baby goes back to it's parents and Loves Movies. I think Caleb will be a very responsible kid. He is already a little bossy to Toby, but is a great big brother to Toby and Leisel.

We love you Caleb and have enjoyed seeing you grow.

Caleb turned 6 August 18th and had a birthday party at FunStation. He had a great time. I can't believe he is 6. A third of his time with us is almost over!

Leisel in sickville

Poor Leisel had snot coming out of her eyes...Doesn't she look miserable? She had an ear infection...her first one. Leisel was sleeping through the night until this came up. Now it's hit and miss. She is such a good baby. I am amazed by her contentedneess. She just wants something to chew on and she is happy. She gets comments every where we go. People think she is soo cute and big. She just goes with the flow.

She is OUT!

Pretty girl!

5 months old

Leisel is actually 6 months old tomorrow, but these photos are when she was 5 months old.

A Day at Lake Norman with Ken's family

Ken's brother from Missouri came out with his family. We had a great time...I'm sure they are exhausted since they drove 16 hrs with 5 people. We took a day trip on Lake Norman. It was very relaxing and a beautiful day. It was about 85 degrees. The water was the perfect temperature and everyone had fun Tubing--even Toby and Hank. Leisel didn't swim, but she had her first boat ride. We could easily get Boat fever.

Independence Day

Hangin' out for summer.

The neighbor kids on our deck. We have outside Movies with the projector. It's been quite a hit.

Leisel has been such a great baby. She just goes with the flow. She sleeps through the night and smiles a lot. She is truly a "joy" to our family. The boys adore her...for now.

Miss Leisel had us scared this summer. The Dr. noticed the folds in her legs weren't identical so we had an x-ray done. We were told she would need a harness or brace, but when we went to ortho Dr.(same one as Caleb's) she told us she was perfect and had no hip displaysia.

We went to Monkey Joe's with our neighbors.

We think it's easier just to hang out in our back yards.

Leisel at 4 months old

More birthday celebrations

Toby opened gifts and had more cake for his birthday. It seems he celebrated for a week. Hopefully we aren't setting a precedence for future birthdays....however, I'm sure that is exactly what we are doing.

Tweetsie Railroad

We went to Tweetsie Railroad for Toby's "real" b-day. The boys loved it and Leisel did great--not to mention we escaped the really hot weather in Charlotte. The weather in the Mountains was only 84. It was a beautiful day.

Lots of (cough) smoke (cough).

The Ferris Wheel.

Father's Day.

Out of 500 photos I finally narrowed it down to about 7 entries for this blog. I am now done. Be glad I didn't put 500 on here. I think I got 50 though.

Papa with PJ their newest addition.

Toby & Hank.

Andy and Ken.

All the cousins. Collin, Caleb, Leisel, Toby, Josie, Henry

Josie and Leisel.

the plane ride back to NC.

Toby's 3rd Birthday

Leisel at the beginning of the Birthday Party.

Toby Had a birthday party with family. He wanted a Nemo party. I thought it would be hard to find the themed stuff, but I found it at Party America and I spent way too much on all that party stuff. He LOVED it though. We had Chicken because he loves chicken legs. The first 3 years has been great. Toby is a different kid than Caleb. We love the differences between the two. Caleb is such a great helper and has a lot of inititive (maybe too much at times). Toby loves Trains, and isn't into TV. He has a great smile with dimples. He loves to twirl people's hair and suck his thumb when he is tired. He loves cooked broccoli, cucumbers, candy (not desserts), and is such a cuddler. He isn't dramatic (he can whine), He takes injuries with stride...gets over it quickly.
We love you Toby.
Opening presents.

Singing Happy Birthday.

Nemo Cake. Mom and I decorated it. It was yummy.

A Happy boy!

Horsin' around with U. Micah.


Leisel at the end of the Birthday Party.

E-pa and Memaw's garden in the back yard. My dad says he just planted stuff. Pretty isn't it?

Family and Friends we visited in the Midwest

Another train ride. We love to ride the train. It never gets old. The breeze on a hot day is so nice. On this day the train almost didn't make it up "the hill". It wasn't much of a hill, but it still was having trouble. We didn't have to get out and push, though.

Leisel right out of the bath. She loves baths. What baby doesn't...

The boys found the BIGGEST SLUG at Ken's Granna's home! Yuck!

Ken flew in from NC after being alone for 2.5 weeks. He came in right before Father's day and helped me fly back with the kids. (My parents helped fly me and the kids to Kansas)

We also saw Ken's grandmother (Maryjo) aka "granna". She is 89 years old and still lives on her own. She seems to be doing quite well. We had a very nice visit with her. She loves Zarda BBQ and I have to say I am a new fan as well. BBQ ain't the same here in the south.

A. Judy and Leisel.

We visited my Aunt Judy(my dad's older sister) and Uncle Rudy's home in Atchison, KS. They just celebrated 50 years of marriage...Amazing! My Cousin Lynn brought her two kids. It was great to see them, since it's hard to do as we get older and busier.

Reagan and Leisel.

My A. Judy and My Dad "E".

Connor, Regan, Caleb & Toby.

Lynn and Leisel.

We went to see my great friend, Colleen, whom I have known since we were 5. They just sold and bought a new home. Her 5 year old daughter Ashlynn took this picture. We had 7 kids total that day since Colleen watches two other children. It was a very chaotic day with 7 kids. We had a fun time though.

My A. Kathy and U. Dean came down for a visit, which was nice. (My Mom's younger sister)

We went to vist Beth and Micah's home. We made s'mores. The kids really just liked roasting the marshmellows and eating them. They didn't care for the graham cracker/chocolate/mallow combo. My sister sold her house to the first people who saw it and found one to buy during our 3 week stay. They are moving in July while my parents are leaving for Australia. Too bad we don't live closer so we could help them move! We are excited for them. Beth and Micah are also having another girl in October!

Our visit to T-Town in Kansas

The carousel ride was fun! Thanks E-Pa. Beth brought Addison down to Topeka and we all went to different places around town. It was Rainy for most of the week, but we still had a good time.

My tree climbers.

Toby is hanging on for dear life! Caleb acts like he is Tarzan (raised in the Jungle).

We rode the train at Gage Park in Topeka. Everytime I visit the train is broken or not open yet for the season. Luckily for everyone it was open while we visited. We love trains.

Cousins on the train.

Memaw reading to the grandkids.

We visited Memaw at her work.
Addy Sue reading a book on the train at the Museum.

My lil cowboy. Isn't he sweet?

We went to the Kansas Musuem of History on one day when it was rainy. Cousin Addy spent the week with us.

Leisel Loved this swing. It was a life saver.

Leisel was all dressed up in her Kansas Dress (The sunflower state)

These are my hydrangeas in front of our house in North Carolina. I just wanted to have a picture of them. I love to see the flowers growing and blooming each spring.

I sent Toby to his room because he was in trouble and when I went to get him out this is how he was sitting. How can you be mad for long?

3 months has gone way too fast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Leisel is 3 months old and I started taking continuous pics with this dog, but it's too smashed down....wish I would've picked something else to do the pics with. I tried Elliott...he was cooperative, but she wasn't.

Caleb's 2nd Graduation

Caleb enjoying his cake and punch.

Caleb and his friend Hayden.

Caleb graduated from pre-school for the 2nd time this year. He graduated last year, but we decided to wait to send him into Kindergarten. Caleb is going to Troutman Elementary next year and he is very excited. We are so blessed to live in a neighborhood where the kids watch out for each other...not to say they aren't mean to each other at times, but the families here are really great.. The pics aren't in order, but I've got so much blogging and so little time.

Savannah, GA

Me, Ken, Caleb, Toby Leisel, and My mom and Dad at the Pirates house in Savannah. We didn't get to do too much since we have 3 small children, but my parents did get a feel for the beautiful town. It's one of my favorite cities to see. Planned out very nicely with parks and Historical architecture.

Toby the little pirate at the pirates house-where we ate lunch in Savannah.

One of the many beautiful churches in Savannah.

In the ivy all in Savannah.

In the hotel in Savannah with Memaw.

We had a beautiful double rainbow outside our house one day. It was amazing!