Our Trip

It is taking me longer to blog about our trip then I expected. But I have finally done it. We had a great time. It was nice staying in a hotel from Saturday through Wednesday. I needed a break from everything. Dave's conference was in Knoxville, Tn which was about a 3 hour drive from here. So it was not a bad trip. The kids enjoyed staying in a hotel and going to all the fun places I took them.


Some nights they went to bed very easy...other nights I just told myself we were on vacation so I wasn't going to worry about what time they went to bed.


Mikey slept on the ground next to the girls bed and he did very well sleeping there. Now Jonathan was another story. Thank goodness we had a port a crib for him. He thought it was playtime since he was in the room with mommy and daddy. He finally went to sleep after we turned all the lights off.

Fun with Cousins

One of the highlights of our trip was we were able to spend time with family. Dave's brother Jimmy and his family live in Oakridge which is about 20 minutes from our hotel. So we were able to go to their house on Sunday, the zoo with them on Monday, Children's museum on Tuesday, and then to another museum on Wednesday. It is so nice having them live only 3 hours away from us. The cousins had a BLAST playing together. Our kids miss them already! We will have to get together again soon.

Left to Right - Jonathan (18months), Spencer (2 1/2), Evelyn (5 1/2), Madelin (10 months), Robyn (5), LoriAnne (3), Caitlin (4), Mikey (2 1/2)
A house with 8 kids this age = FUN ....oh to be a kid again and enjoy the simple things in life!

Knoxville Zoo

On Monday we went to the Knoxville Zoo. The kids always love going to the zoo. It was hot though and humid. So after a couple of hours of being there I was ready to be in air conditioning. We will have to go back to the zoo in the fall when it isn't so hot.

LoriAnne is so funny she wanted to have her picture taken in front of this tree.

Just kickin' back in the stroller while mommy pushes me around...

The kids enjoyed the elephants. We had a great view of them from where we were standing. I did not get many pics at the zoo because all I could think about was how hot I was....

Oakridge Children's Museum

On Tuesday we went to the Oakridge Children's Museum. Amanda and the kids joined us for a day of FUN.

The first room we went into had a castle and a space shuttle. Of course LoriAnne was in "Princess" Heaven. She loved playing in this room. So did all the kids.

I thought this was a cute picture of Jonathan. He has such a fun personality and is enjoying his independence.

Isn't Madelin the cutest baby! She is almost 10 months old. Such a cutie!!!!!

Caitlin and Spencer playing together. (Evelyn was at school...they have year round school). It was fun playing with these two. They are fun kids.

Robyn and LoriAnne playing together. LoriAnne will miss Robyn when she starts school in a couple of weeks. They have become good friends.

This museum has a kid size doll house. It is 2 story and lots of fun for the kids! Here is a pic of the front of the house.

LoriAnne answering the door bell and deciding to pose for a picture.

Caitlin and LoriAnne preparing some food in the kitchen.

Hmmm what should we have for dinner....

This last pic is Jonathan and Michael watching the trains in the train area. It was definitely their favorite spot. Jonathan kept yelling "mommy train...mommy train"

There were lots of other rooms and fun places in this museum for the kids to play. We all had a great time. I am looking forward to going back another time.

Last Day - AMSE

On Wednesday morning before we headed back home. We all went to the American Museum of Science & Energy. Amanda, Jimmy, & kids met us there. It was allot of fun.
One thing Robyn wanted to do at this museum was make her hair stand up but....she got nervous when she saw that some of the kids were getting shocked so Aunt Amanda offered to go up with her. Thank you Aunt Amanda! It definitely made Robyn's day!

Robyn having fun at the museum...

Jonathan thinks he is BIG stuff now that he is 18 months...

Here is one more picture of LoriAnne & Michael. We took more pics but nothing too exciting. So I just included a couple for this museum.

We had a great trip. There are more museums in Knoxville area that we still want to go to. So I am looking forward to more trips to visit Jimmy & Amanda and seeing more places.

Happy Anniversary Dave!

6 years of marriage
5 years of parenting
4 children
3 places we have lived
2 people in love
1 eternal family

This Sunday July 20th is our 6th Anniversary. Each year gets better and better. Dave is an AMAZING husband. He is the world's best dad. His children all love him so much. I am so thankful to be married to such a kind man. He treats me how every woman should be treated by their husband. One thing that always impressed me about Dave is how thoughtful he is and how willing he is to help other people. I love you Dave!!! Thanks for 6 wonderful years!!!!!

p.s. I am posting early because we will be gone until Wednesday. Dave has a convention for work and we get to go with him and stay in a hotel. I will blog again when we get back.

Drum Roll PLease....

Take one last look at this GORGEOUS HAIR!

We just got back from Super Cuts. Robyn wanted to donate her hair to Locks of Love. Since there is a 10 inch minimum we decided to cut off 12 inches. Robyn was soooooo excited.

So here she is after her hair cut. She looks just as pretty with short hair...I just LOVE long hair but she donated her hair for a good cause. I am so proud of her!

Jump Zone...again :)

Today I took the kids to Jump Zone. The kids love this place. I hardly see Robyn and LoriAnne until the 3 hours there is up.
My 4th of July pics of the kids did not come out so I took pics of them today before we went to Jump Zone since they were wearing their 4th of July shirts.

I love these kids!!! Jonathan is looking too grown up in this picture. Where is my baby????

Here Jonathan is having fun at Jump Zone. They have things for kids of ALL ages.

Silly LoriAnne. She had Robyn push her around in this thing. She is lucky to have such a nice big sister.

Mikey spent most of the time throwing these balls. He loves having his picture taken.

I think this is the only good picture I got of Robyn today. She does not stop moving while we are at Jump Zone so all the other pictures of her are blurry. I sure wish I had some of her energy. She is a fun kid!

Yes, Tennessee Really Has A Beach!

We have found a beach here in Tennessee about 30 minutes from our house. The kids had a blast! We went with Sophia and her 3 girls yesterday. It is not like California beaches but it works for me and my kids. We will definitely be going there again!

Jonathan was not to sure about the sand at first. But once he got use to it he did not want to leave.

LoriAnne had fun spinning in the water and swimming around.

Do you see Robyn's smile on her face? She was smiling the entire day. She was in heaven. I think she is a California girl at heart. She absolutely loves the beach and any body of water.

Mikey loved playing in the sand and water. He has really come along way. A year ago he would of screamed if one piece of sand was on any part of his body. I am so happy that he had such a good time. He is such a sweet boy.

I am a BLOG SLACKER!

Ok so I just posted 4 blog entries...I still need to do one for the 4th of July but that will have to be another day. I have had a sinus infection and I have taken care of my children over the past couple weeks but that is about all. Does anyone want to help me clean my house??? I have had 4 tornados going through my home. Well, I had better get busy cleaning!!!! Feel free to come over anytime! All company is welcome!

Do I give in to her wishes?!

Do you see this gorgeous hair on this 5 year old!!!! Can you believe that she has been begging me to cut it much shorter! I am not sure I am ready for it to be cut shorter. Stay tuned to see what happens in the upcoming weeks...will I give in to her wishes?!

A New Bed for Mikey

We have officially moved Mikey to a toddler bed. I found a Firetruck Toddler Bed for him on Craigs List (did I mention I LOVE this web site!) for $20.00. I really wanted this bed for him since the boys room is a "Firetruck" theme room however I had not been able to find it on Craigs list for less then $100.00. I could not believe it when someone listed it for $20.00.

Do you see that smile on his face. He loves his bed! And because he is Mikey and does not do anything until we tell him to do it...he does not get out of his bed until we go into his room in the morning.

All tucked in and ready for bed!

Janet's Planet @ The Library

Today I took the kids to the library to see Janet from Janet's Planet on PBS. For some reason the girls were soooooooo excited to meet her. Both of the girls ran up to her and gave her a hug. Janet was great with them.

Here the girls are meeting their celebrity. It was fun seeing how excited they were!

Then Robyn insisted on having her picture in front of Janet's Planet's car :) Funny girl!

A Fun Saturday with the kids!

On Saturday I took the kids to the Discovery Museum in Murfreesboro. Dave stayed home and worked on projects without the kids getting in the way. The kids had a blast! This is definitely one of the best kids museums.

Of course I could not get a picture of them together smiling at the same time!

I thought this was a cute picture of Robyn & Michael.

This little guy is 18 months old today and all over the place!!!!

The kids were able to pet a chinchilla at the museum. I didn't know they had animals there.

They also were able to pet a snake. The girls are not afraid of too many things.

...and for the last hour at the museum the kids played at their favorite water table. Jonathan is always drenched by the time we leave.