20 YEARS?!?!?!?

Brian and I have been strolling down memory lane lately. He recently got invited to his 20th class reunion. I laughed when I saw the look on his face until I realized that mine is next year!!! So, frequently we can be heard uttering the words "when did we get old?" We still feel like the silly college kids who met and fell in love. But, in reality we are "old." Just ask our kids. They will tell you that anyone who says things like "because we said so" HAS to be old and out of touch!! Oh no. . .we ARE getting old!!! Where has the time gone?

Brian then. . .

Brian now. . .

Say a prayer, please!

Vacation Bible School starts tonight and runs through Thursday night. This is my last official act as Children's Director. I resigned my position effective July 31st! Gotta admit. . .I am looking forward to Thursday night!!!! :> Please pray for all the volunteers, participants, and for my sanity which seems to be running low right now!! But, I should have some fun pictures to post!!

The County Fair

The kids and I are back from our trip to Indiana. It was a busy 3 days - jam packed with fun activities and lots of memory making experiences for the kids!

On Tuesday night we headed to the fair. Elizabeth did not like the pigs and wasn't sure about the cows. But she did finally get brave enough to pet a sheep. She wasn't exactly dressed for the county fair either. Check out her dress, sandals, and purse!! What a hoot!

All three kids chowed down on some cotton candy. They love that pure sugar!!

On Wednesday we went to visit Mamaw and Papaw Wellman. After a few hours of Tic-Tac-Putt and a card game or two, we headed back to Mamaw Burton's for a cookout. Jacob found the big dirt pile and spent a lot of time climbing and sliding down it. Can you say FILTHY?!?

Then of course came the sand box! Oh well, what's a little more dirt on layers and layers of dirt?

Zach had fun messing around with Uncle Jimmy. The love to aggravate each other!

When it was time to walk Mamaw Wellman to her car, Lizzie said she wanted to do it. That made Mamaw's day!

How do you get all those layers of dirt off? A bubble bath in Mamaw's "big tub" of course!

That night, the boys spent the night with Aunt Kelly and Uncle Cain. Uncle Cain stayed up until 1:30 a.m. playing video games with them. The next morning, they all took turns driving the golf cart.

Zach met and fell in love with Scooter the kitty. He begged to take it home, but we decided that it needed to stay at Aunt Kelly's and catch mice!

Thursday afternoon brought bowling with Aunt Kelly, Uncle Cain, and Uncle Chris. It was a good time, and Jake is already begging to go back soon!

Zach did pretty well - he beat me the second game!!

And Lizzie - well she pushed the ball down the lane. But her favorite thing was "drying her hands." It was pretty funny to see her push the ball and then run back to dry her hands. Her hair would fly from the air!

Then it was off to the fair for one final night. We watched a little of the Beef show and checked out the horses. Cousin Kaitlyn loved the horses.

Zach liked them too.

Jacob thought it was cool to be up there, but was ready to get down after a few seconds!

And why wasn't Lizzie on a horse? She practically scaled me when it was suggested!

Shew. . .what crazy, busy fun!

Headed to Indiana!

The kids and I are headed to Indiana for the 4-H fair. I will post pictures and update when I get back! They are excited to see the pig, sheep and beef shows!!

Vacation!

We are home safely from our vacation to Virginia. We had a wonderful time visiting with our dear friends, the Dysons. We have vacationed with them for six of the last seven years - Lizzie's birth took the place of vacation in 2005! It is always a good time when we are together!

Here are just a few pictures and highlights of our trip.

Brian tries to unwind after a 13 hour car trip with a grumpy three year old by playing GuitarHero.


We visited a great Italian restaurant. The food was incredible and Elizabeth ate more than her share. While waiting on dessert the kids learned how to balance spoons on their noses! Thank you, Jeff!!


On Tuesday, we all headed to Busch Gardens.


Zach and T take time for a quick picture break!

The first ride of the day was a water ride. Brian and the boys are in the front row! They loved it so much we had to ride it twice! Elizabeth liked waiting at the bottom and getting splashed by the water!

Then it was off to the bumper cars. Lizzie couldn't do anything but go in circles, but she thought that was great! She and Jake rode them over and over while waiting on the big kids to get done!


Zach and T can't wait to bump into Brian!!

Zach rode "Apollo's Chariot" three times! It was a wild roller coaster, but he loved it. Here is a picture of him and Brian after their second time around!


Jacob rode his first "big boy" roller coaster too! I couldn't get a picture of him in it because you could barely see his head poking out! He loved the Big Bad Wolf!!

On Thursday, we headed to a water park. The boys and T loved all the water slides. Thanks, Polly, for taking them on all of the slides! Lizzie and I hung out in the children's section all day! She is definitely not the daredevil that her brothers are!


Add to that. . .dinners out, putt-putt, worshiping together, movie night, shopping, video games and general hanging out! We had a GREAT time.

There was one minor bump in the road, however. On the way home from Busch Gardens, Brian rear-ended our friends in a work zone. So, we sat there for a while waiting on the Virginia State Police. No one was hurt, just scared. We drove a rental car home, and Brian will travel out in early August to pick up our van!

We came home praising God for great friends, an awesome time, and His physical protection during the accident!

VACATION!!!

We are on vacation in Virginia right now! I will post more and add pictures when I get home. We have a fun, but interesting, week.

The Rest of the Story. . .

Check out the post below for the beginning of this trip!

On Saturday, we headed to the park to meet Aunt J. Jim, Ryan and Taylor. We had fun swinging, playing and rolling down the hill!


Then, that night, we celebrated Lizzie's third birthday. She was all smiles!


She enjoyed all of her gifts - especially her princess towel!


That evening, Jacob discovered a new thing - pulling weeds in the garden. Much to his daddy's amazement - he actually really liked it.


On Sunday, after church, we headed to Brian's Aunt Kathy's house for a cook-out. We had a great time visiting family. The kids spent almost all day riding on and driving the golf cart! What a crew. . .


They stopped long enough for pictures with Great Grandma and Grandpa. . .

During which Aunt Kathy and Brian hijacked the cart for a little trip!

Happy Fourth!

Shew. . .this past weekend was a fun and crazy one. We visited family and friends, celebrated Independence Day, celebrated Jake and Lizzie's birthdays and had a family picnic with Brian's family. I took lost of pictures. Here are just a few.

The 4th started off with a trip to an Indian Burial Mound not far from Brian's parent's house. Here they are standing on it!


Then we celebrated Jacob's birthday a few days early since we knew Sunday was going to be crazy. Check out his cake. He decorated it with Dodo. He had lava red icing, 22 Star Wars characters, raspberries and gummy worms. What a design!! But it is what he wanted! I love this picture of him blowing out his candles!

Jacob got lots of nice presents - thanks everyone! He loved this sword!


He battled the smoke from the smoke bombs later that evening!
Zach, daddy and grandpa learned that they all share a love of explosives and fireworks. Boy did they have fun! Check out the big firework in Brian's hands!!


This is what Lizzie thought of the noise!Jacob enjoyed the sparklers but did not like the big loud ones.

Rookie Season

Jacob's rookie season of baseball is now over. Check out his cool medal.

What he liked most?

"Being on the blue team."
"Hitting the ball."
"Catching"
"The snacks"
"My medal"
"The end"

Wacky Weekend

Last weekend was a wacky busy one!
Grandma and Grandpa Ellis came to visit.

After Zach's game (see post below), Daddy and Grandpa took the kids fishing. They didn't catch anything but I think they had fun anyway!


Then we celebrated Lizzie and Jacob's birthdays! The enjoyed their yummy cake!

Jacob was excited about his new game!

And of course, the "girlie-girl" loved her new doll!

After church and lunch on Sunday, Brian and our friend, Bob, tackled the brakes and struts on his car. Shew. . .
They did get it done, and Brian says the car rides much nicer now! Yippee!!


Then, it was time to rest and sleep. And rest and sleep we all did!