Miscellaneous Moments

Well since I'm behind in posting pictures I decided to throw several things all in one giant blog and kill a few birds with one stone!

Courtlyn turned two on August 2nd. I cannot believe my little baby is speaking in complete sentences and making her own choices - she wants to pick out her own clothes and decide what is on her plate!
Her favorite breakfast is Pop-Arts ( pop-tarts ) and she likes to wear her bathing soup ( bathing suit ).


Taylor and Hannah. Notice my little neices tiara....she is the princess she thinks she is =).

Look how serious she is. She can be so intense and then fall over laughing. Shes so cute!

We went to the fair Friday night and met up with one of my BFF, Lucy and her husband Chuck and little boy, Carter. In this picture they are stripping corn and grinding it into cornmeal. We decided now was as good a time as any for them to learn a trade and support us when we get old. They LOVED to play with this - it was pretty neat!

Daddy and Courtlyn on the Carousel. Daddy had a hard time holding her on the horse. She kept throwing herself backward and laughing hysterically.

Taylor and her BFF, Abby jailed with Carter and Courtlyn. Court kept hiding behind the two foot mouse - she said she lubbed ( loved ) her.

We put Courtlyn in the pumpkin ride with Abby and Taylor. Court kept hanging her head out the pumpkin window and crying. One minute she would smile like she loved it and the next minute she was reaching out for Mommy or Daddy and crying so sadly. Daddy intervened and told the guy working the ride to make sure he stopped it on Courtlyns car when the ride ended so she could get out first. I think the experience hurt Daddy more than it did Courtlyn~

Yeah ~ 9 year old girls are sure something! Never a dull moment when these two are together!

Courtlyn is now taking gymnastics. She has such a good time and as you will see below, the Foam Pit is her VERY FAVORITE PART!

On the obstacle course :

Learning how to do a front roll over :

Learning to balance while rolling:

Climbing throught the rolling hole:

THE FOAM PIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Look at her hair!!!

She jumps in over and over and over. NO FEAR!!

Props to my pal Lucy

A big thank you to my old school BFF, Lucy for keeping me talking on the phone tonight which helped me make it through one whole hour of treadmill torture.
Okay....thats dramatic I admit. It wasn't that bad but if it wasn't for her I would have probably succumbed to boredom at 40 minutes. Possibly 35.
I definitely am going to need a good pair of running shoes if I keep this gig up. I welcome any shoe recommendations since we all know running/jogging/fast walking is completely new to me. I mean really, we are talking about the girl who whines like a two year old when her husband parks too far down the Walmart aisle on our way in to pick up Ding Dongs and Frozen Pizza.
Which are now considered "Special Treats" in my dietary repertoire.
By the way, everyone try the Luna Sunrise Blueberry Bar. I highly, highly recommend this little yummy treat. If you are a Weight Watcher fan just know that is only 3 points. Makes a tasty breakfast treat. I've tried the Strawberry and Lemon Zest too which are also three points but the blueberry blows them away.
Official Standings* :
The Bronze - Strawberry
The Silver - Lemon Zest
The Gold goes to - Blueberry
*** The Olympics do not officially endorse this opinion - just little ( hee hee ) ol'me who knows good food!
Thanks for all your words of encouragement guys - it's been motivating and much appreciated!

My Ultimate Goal

Okay guys. I've had ENOUGH. I need your assistance and I'm clammoring for your support and bold face honesty in accomplishing a goal that is likely to take me down with it.

I am looking to look like this :

Ok so minus the blond hair and camo pants but everything else is a go..... well, I might go blond if I accomplish the rest just to see my husband's reaction =).

Now being as I am edjumacated in Dietetics we all know that I know perfectly well WHAT to eat. And as you all know me you know that doesn't mean squat. I like to EAT. And I like to tell you all about the wonderful new food I try so I can relive the moment and in my head cash the calories in twice.
SO - since we know I know better let's just skip that part and go straight to the "Hey as your friends who like to know we can share a seat with you if we need to could you please drop the doughnut? and the Venti Caramel Frappucino? and the Moo Shu Chicken? When I say " Hey guys, you wanna go out for ice cream?" You all say " No way Cottage Cheese Chicken Flesh Thighs - how bout going for a jog?"

I am 30 - I feel 50. So I'm attempting to do something about it. Last night I put the kids to bed and put my tennis shoes on. My dear cute husband says " Where are you going?" And I say "Outside to run on the treadmill." And he dang near faints.

Then I jog and run for 30 minutes - and I about faint. But I was SOOOO PROUD of me! I am going to make that a staple in my life. I'm hoping I run right out of Jamie and right into Jessica.

More to be revealed...... or less depending on how this goes........

Our Family Vacation

WILDERNESS AT THE SMOKIES

We had a limited amount of time to take a family vacation this year so we decided to try out a new resort in Sevierville, Tennessee. We went to "Wilderness at the Smokies" which has a waterpark on site~ While they are still expanding we had a wonderful time.
The current waterpark is not very big but it was plenty big enough for what we needed it for!
It was very nice to be able to go right upstairs to our room if we needed to during the day at the waterpark. The server at the hotel restaurant said once they finish the resort completely, it will be the biggest waterpark in the United States. We will definitely consider going back once it is completed.
The kids had a BIG time and never noticed how small it was. It kept them completely occupied. We have discovered that Courtlyn is quite the water bug. She would have stayed at the waterpark every second of every day. Taylor had a good time going down the three waterslides. Her daddy and I took a few turns down the slides ourselves. Kids at heart, we are. And don't think for one second that Courtlyn got left out........


Outside The Peddler in downtown Gatlinburg waiting on dinner. Which was YUMMY.

Courtlyn and Daddy hanging out with a float?

Well yeah! They put it to good use!

Taylor's float got plenty of use!

Time and Time Again!

My cute family watching the Fireworks in Pigeon Forge

Taylor single handedly help up the Wonderworks Museum.

( Which is upside down! We really liked hanging out here~ )

Taylor and Courtlyn in a Spacecraft

Taylor attempting to climb the Rock Wall

Taylor and I experiencing Hurricane Force Winds

Courtlyn showing off her new Princess Bathing Suit and her Cheese Face!

Daddy and Taylor trying to lift their own weight

My beautiful babies on the Fourth of July

Summer Is HERE!!!

Taylor participated in our Church's Pinewood Derby for the first time this year. She didn't win but it was fun just getting to participate. In this picutre she's hanging out with two of her closest buds, Morgan and Abby. Her other big pal, Kailey was there somewhere but unfortunately missing from this pic =(

Courtlyn is very independent and is now dressing herself with a pretty good success rate. Even though yesterday was one of the hottest days of the year, she decided she wanted to wear her winter coat over her summer outfit! She was so cute!

The other day we were at Nana's and Courtlyn disappeared for a minute. When she resurfaced she was donning Nana's houseshoes. Her new thing is parading around the house in everyone else's shoes. She enjoys my heels the most and walks better in them than I do!

Our friend, Stephanie gave Courtlyn this ball cap and she LOVES it. I'm quite amazed but she wears it all the time! Isn't she CUTE!

Taylor and Abby played their last soccer game this Saturday. It was HOT! This is a pic of the girls after they dumped water from the cooler all over themselves!

A Night out with My Daddy and John P.

Me, Dad and John....just hanging out ! Dad and I had an unbelievable opportunity last week to meet our lifelong favorite musician/songwriter that ever walked on earth. No exaggeration.

For those of you who've known me forever you know what a die hard John Prine fan Dad and I are. So you know I mean it when I say that we were completely and totally beside ourselves in the picture above.

John Prine held a benefit concert last Tuesday night at The Belcourt Theatre for Gilda's Club of Nashville to raise money for Cancer Awareness/Support. I bought us both a ticket to attend the concert and the Meet and Greet afterwards. The tickets were a little pricey but I tell you what - I would have paid double if they'd asked me to. It was for a great cause and I got to touch, talk to and breath the same air as my musical hero. And please notice above that he is touching me too. =)

The concert was AMAZING. Dad and I were some of the first few people in line so we got to choose our seats. We chose the 4th row back square in the middle...they were honestly the best seats in the house.

I'm well aware that most of you reading this have never heard of John Prine. Well let me tell you that you are missing out big time. There's never been another songwriter in history that can hold a candle to his story telling ability nor match the amount of heart he put's into his music or his concerts. My advice would be to look him up and take a listen. Look up "Hello In There", " Sam Stone " , " Angel from Montgomery", "Picture Show" or "Unwed Fathers".

Listen to the words....really listen. He's trying to tell you something.

Here lately I've come to realize just how fragile life is. How quickly it changes right in front of our eyes. How fast our babies grow up. How very unexpectedly tradgedy and devastation can move into our lives and change everything. And again how wonderful things happen every day. How life changes for everyone and affects us all in different ways. In the past couple of weeks I have witnessed so much change. Some wonderful and full of hope and new beginnings. Some sad that make us question life and it's purpose. I have watched my sister-in-law, Dee graduate from college with Honors and start a brand new life for her and her daughter. I have begun to prepare myself to say goodbye to my very best friend, Sarah as she heads off to a brand new start a thousand miles away. It's an amazingly hopeful and refreshing new beginning for her but a truly sad time for me. I have watched my wonderful friend, Magan get engaged and start preparing for her wedding and marriage. I am happy that she is so happy. I have been floored with the unexpected news that another friend of mine has been diagnosed with cancer. It makes my heart hurt that she is scared and unsure of what is to come. It knocks the breath out of me. I have stood by my husband as he begins a new career. And this change alone evokes so many emotions and feelings.....happiness, pride, fear, and worry. In just a few weeks, I have seen great happiness, unwavering commitment, gut-wrenching fear, unfathomable heartbreak, hopeful giddyness, shining courage, and unsurpassable love. I am a very lucky woman to have each of these people in my life - to share their life changes with them. Good or bad. Easy or hard. Life changes with every breath, with every day, with everyone of us. Life is a gift and I am thankful that my life is intertwined with all of you. I am grateful that we have a just and loving God who is there for every change and for every situation. The fragility of life is something we should all try to keep in perspective. There will be ups and downs and in-betweens. How quickly it can go from one to the other is something we should all prepare ourselves for. And in the mean time remember who to give thanks to for all we are blessed with. Whether it is cancer, marriage, careers, or just everyday life, God is good and is always there to help us navigate our path. I ask that you all keep my family in your thoughts and especially in your prayers as Chad begins his new career with Metro. It is the dawn of a new lifestyle for us - we look forward to it all and are excited for what is to come. However, I cannot help but be worried about my husband and his safety everyday as he leaves our home. Thank you all so much for being there and for helping me maintain my sanity. I love you all very much! God Bless you all =)