the three musketeers...

many of you know, we have 2 very close family friends. the such family and the shipman family. the moms (me, kella, and kim) all went to lander together and we all have kids just about the same age, that all love to play together. so, kella decided to brave the first big boy sleep over after john thomas's birthday party. she invited drew and tyler shipman over for the night. they had a blast! they stayed up late, and watched movies and played! there is no telling what kella's house looked like after that night! here's a few pics kella shared with me....how sweet are these guys? i think this is the first of many, many sleep overs!

before and after....

jump, bounce, and rock and roll....

being the social butterflies my children are (wonder where they get that?!?), we are invited to lots of birthday parties. we dont mind, its great fun! most recently, we attended John Thomas Such's 5th birthday party at Pump It Up in Greenville. it was a blast! the boys ran around and jumped, bounced, and climbed whatever they could....including the rock wall! it was no surprise to me, that noah was all about the rock wall. he is mr. determination, and is fearless. so, we thought, what the heck...lets see if he can do it! and sure enough, he did it! he didn't make it to the top, but he gave it his all....i'm so proud of him!

pillow talk and soul man

i honestly could just eat my kids with a spoon some days. others, well...lets not go there. but here are are some examples of those days that just melt your heart....

every night, noah likes for me to lay in his bed with him as he falls asleep. its very sweet, although sometimes, i try to rush just so i can get downstairs to have some peace and quiet. one night, i was laying with him, and he drifted off, so i headed to my recliner for some reality tv therapy. it wasnt too long after i got settled, that i heard noah's little voice on the monitor. irritate that he wasnt asleep, i marched upstairs and went into his room...here's how the conversation went:

"Noah, whats the problem?"

"Lay with me Mommy"

(sigh) "Ok, but only for a minute"

"Mommy...where's daddy?"

"At the gym"

"Where's Sundae?"

"Asleep"

"Is she in her kennel?"

"No, she is on the couch"

"Mommy...where's Drewie?"

"Asleep in his bed"

"Mommy....I thank God for you"

"I thank God for you too...I love you!"

needless to say, i was a puddle. i think i snuggled with him for a good 30 mins...

now drew...everyday, i tell him the same thing..."Drew-take your shoes off and hang up your jacket" i repeat this everyday....at least 3 times before he actually does it. On this particular day, Drew walked right in, and took his shoes off, and hung up his jacket. I just stood there in awe. i didn't even have to ask him to do it! so, i said to him...."thanks drew for putting your shoes and jacket away". he looks at me, and with out missing a beat he said "your welcome, i'm just a good person." he cracks me up!!

i miss greenwood...

In 1996, i packed my car and headed off to Lander University in Greenwood, SC. The little town drove me nuts at first. there wasn't much there, and its an hour from any "metropolis" area such as greenville or columbia. i can remember when the "super wal mart" opened my freshman year of college...that was excitement!! i lived in the dorms that were actually off-campus, and conveniently located across the street from one of the college night spots! (i dont think i have to say much else about that!) we made the best of that little town...the food was great, there were a couple little bars we would "frequent", and life was simple. john actually moved there right before my senior year. he worked for the police department in town, and he liked it too! everyone he worked with was young and very pro-active!we used to have lots of cop parties and had a blast! he still till this day says he got the best training of his career in greenwood. when we got married in 1999, we stayed in greenwood....we had a little 2 bedroom apartment and our rent was like $450 a month! we hung out with friends, and had a great time! however, we started to think we needed to get out of the fishbowl of greenwood, so in 2001 we made the move back to the upstate. easley was john's choice...and we love it here...but sometimes i miss greenwood...



i don't know if its the town i miss or just those days....we go back on occasion and visit old friends. in particular Steve and Jill McGee. they were our best friends in greenwood. steve worked with john at the greenwood police department (like john, he's a detective now) and jill and i went to lander together, and were in the same sorority - gamma phi beta. jill's now a teacher in town. we were like peas and carrots back in the days! they now have a son, Max, who is turning 3 this week.

thus, the reason for this blog...we went to max's birthday party yesterday. it was like "going home" again....so peaceful. although there wasnt enough time to grab a bite to eat at Migs (are favorite), it was still great to go back...even if it was just for a few hours. i miss jill and steve and every time we leave, we say "we have to do this more often"...but schedules, work, kids, and life get in the way....



so, i'm a little homesick today...i wish sometimes we would pack it all up, and head back down there! don't worry, we aren't selling the house just yet...but man....if we could, it would take a lot to stay!

my only question is will our life be as simple as it was back then? one can dream, i guess!!

here's a picture of me and jill from the party

...

easy like sundae morning....

so, i think everyone knows that we got a a dog. well, we were suckered into a dog actually. her name is caramel sundae brock...but we just call her sundae. she is such a sweet puppy. its taken some work, but she is finally housebroken! it was actually easier to potty train her than it is to potty train noah! however, she has her own issues we are trying to resolve! she loves to nip at the boys socks and pant legs....innocent enough, but its the chain reaction that drives me nuts! when she gets into this nipping mode, she makes the boys scream and run around...she isn't hurting them, they just think its funny b/c them screaming and running results in her barking and running...do you see the trickle down effect? about 10 mins of this chaos, and i'm about to scream!! needless to say, by the time they boys go to bed, she's ready to sleep too! so, sundae thinks my lap is the perfect napping spot. i cant complain...its pretty sweet. and heck, she will be the only "daughter" we'll ever have...so i figure i better enjoy her puppy-hood as long as possible!! it wont be long before she will get sassy and start talking back!!

In case your wondering, she's a Doxel...thats a Dachshund and a Beagle Mix!

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/doxle.htm

zing, zang, zoom!

every year, we have a tradition of going to the circus. we always go opening night, and my entire family goes...that 10 of us...me, john, drew, noah, my parents, my sister, her husband, my niece morgan, and nephew kenny. so, we bundled up and braved the cold night to continue our tradition. the theme for the circus this year is zing, zang, zoom! the night was full of magic! i spent more time watching my sweet fellas, than watching the show. i love watching their little faces light up! noah wanted "candy cotton" and loved the elephants! drew munched on popcorn and enjoyed the entire show!

the boys wearing the wizard's hat that came with the $12 cotton candy...noah called it "candy cotton"

watching the circus together

may the force be with you....

the boys (& john) love star wars...mommy could really care less. however, on friday nights, there is a star wars cartoon (i think its called clone wars) that comes on @ 9:00pm. this is really past their bedtimes, but they love to watch it, so we let them stay up as a treat. noah is so funny because he likes to hum the theme song. drew likes to watch all the crazy characters with funny names i can not pronounce (or spell)! well, this week, we decided to let the boys pull out their new sleeping bags and "camp out" in the den. they had a blast eating popcorn and snuggling down in their bags. they were soooo cute, i tried to snap a picture...wouldn't you know, my camera was no where to be found, so i had to settle with john's blackberry. the picture quality isn't the greatest, but you get the idea...