Goodbye 2010 -- Hello 2011!

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Happy Cooking at Whole Foods!

Pancakes in your PJ's party with 15 friends! What a fun way to celebrate. You asked me to make aprons for all your friends. I was so happy you wanted me to make something for you that I forgot how insane it would be to try and sew 15 aprons while preparing for a party and for Christmas! But somehow, we managed to get it done and they were adorable -- just like you!

Waiting for all the friends to arrive . . .

After the pancake course, the yogurt parfait, you then tackled smoothies . . .
And here is the entire crew (minus one friend who had to leave early and your brothers!) . . .

Happy 7th Birthday Virginia!!

Happy 7th Birthday to my precious girl! You love your little brother and teach him so patiently. You are a thoughtful friend. You are fiercely independent and strong willed. You admire your big brother. You are stingy with your hugs but always know when we really need one! You love to read and go to the movies. You are a total girly girl and I love you!!!

Meeting your big brother minutes after you arrived . . .

Happy 1st Birthday!

Happy 2nd Birthday!

Happy 3rd Birthday!
Happy 4th Birthday!
Happy 5th Birthday!
Happy 6th Birthday!
Happy 7th Birthday!!! Enjoy those newly pierced ears big girl!

WAR EAGLE, Ole Miss style!

So this year, we chose to go to the Auburn/Ole Miss game in Oxford. I had never been to Ole Miss and had always wanted to go. Brent explained to Ford that Ole Miss is known for its beautiful girls, so he was quickly on board too! :)

After a crazy start caused by me leaving the tickets on my kitchen counter and not realizing it until we were almost an hour from home on a Friday night during 5 o'clock traffic, we had a great trip! Thankfully, my mom started driving towards us with the little kids and the tickets and we didn't have to go quite as far!!! We still made it to Sikeston, MO in time for some throwed rolls at Lambert's!

The Grove -- tailgating taken to a whole new level! It was Halloween weekend and all the kids were in Halloween costumes and every tent was passing out candy. How fun to trick or treat in The Grove!
War Cam Eagle!!! :) Cam Newton's parents were two rows in front of us as were Nick Fairley's family members. Ford was ecstatic!

Thankfully, it was a good win and my boys had a VERY happy day!

The Happiest Place on Earth . . .at Halloween

We braved Disney World again -- and this time, even Jeb went! It was the middle of day 2 before he would let a character anywhere near him. We simply put him on the rides we wanted to ride and never asked how he felt about it. Poor guy! His first ride was Test Track at Epcot where the car reaches 65 mph and takes a huge curve -- he is one brave fellow! Virginia is our daredevil -- she road Everest 3 times in a row. Literally got off and got right back on. Crazy! She also braved Tower of Terror and cried a few tears because the Rock-n-Roller Coaster was closed (her daddy shed a few tears over that also!). Ford, as always, is our steady one. He likes a little adventure but prefers to stay low to the ground. He is a big fan of Test Track and Thunder Mountain Railroad.

The Pumpkin Patch

We took advantage of an early release day and drove to Eckert's for a little pumpkin and apple pickin'!

We took a little hay ride out to the orchards. I didn't quite consider that 3 kids could pick A LOT of apples -- and how do you tell them that you can't buy them all. FYI, apples are MUCH cheaper at the grocery store!!!
But the very favorite part was spinning in this big red apple -- and almost making mama throw up! :)

Happy 9th Birthday Ford!

Ford celebrated his 9th birthday on August 28th. I'm not sure how 9 years have gone by so quickly!! He spend his actual birthday shopping for a catcher's glove with the money all of his aunts and uncles gave him. Very exciting stuff! On the day before his birthday, I took pizza and cookies to his class. His 3rd grade teacher (who is awesome!) really enjoys celebrating birthdays. Her special touch is a birthday spanking -- she even puts a pillow in the child's chair to help cushion their fanny after the spanking. So . . . happy 9th birthday Ford!

Mema vs. Jeb and the winner is . . .

Mema and Jeb recently had a slide race at the park . . .

On your mark, Get set, GO!

And the winner is . . .
JEB!

Random picture that I love . . .

This was taken outside of Lester's . . . a favorite Sunday lunch spot of ours. The kids were posing with Stan Musial and it just shows them being lots of fun!

Our final summer swim . . .

Things have been nuts around here so I'm trying to catch up on all that we have been doing since school started! We spent almost every single day of the summer at Shaw Park pool. The kids loved swimming with so many of their friends and I loved visiting with so many of my friends!! Somehow, I never manage lots of pictures at the pool. Here are a few iPhone shots, taken on Labor Day weekend, showing how we spent our summer . . .

Jeb is officially a fish. By the end of summer, he was jumping off the side of the pool and swimming all around without any help! Such a BIG boy!

Virginia is all about handstands, flips and all sorts of jumps . . . she loves the water too!
And not to be outdone by her older brother . . . Virginia conquered the platform too!

Another TRI-umph!

Ford participated in his 2nd triathlon over Labor Day weekend.

He swam . . .

Biked . . .
And ran . . .
And best of all, he had fun! Love that he loves the personal competition!!

School Days, School Days!!

Back to school! Back to school! Back to school! We have had an amazing summer, but I thrive on routine and we haven't had one since late May. I have to admit, I was ready for the school bell to ring. Of course, Jeb doesn't start back until September 10th so I'm not footloose and fancy free -- yet! My won't next year be different when I drop all three of them off at Reed School in mid-August . . . a little bittersweet.

Ford -- 3rd grade

Virginia -- 1st grade

Virginia and Mrs. Donnelly . . . Virginia is still not totally sure about this whole new teacher each year thing! But thankfully, she got a big hug from her kindergarten teacher to get her started and she has several familiar faces in her class.

Virginia and Riley . . . 1st graders at last!
And now for our big 3rd grader . . .Ford with Miss Finan . . . he is hoping that since she competes in triathlons that she can offer him some advice for quickly getting socks and shoes on wet feet. He'd like to cut his transition time in his Labor Day triathlon on 9/6!
Brent and Ford . . . I love that he still lets us love on him!!
Here is to an amazing school year!

Momma's Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to be Cowboys . . .

Finally, after a few years of discussing it, we made the 2 hour trip to Sikeston, MO to enjoy the Sikeston Jaycees Bootheel Rodeo! We joined some friends from St. Louis and their family in Sikeston -- these are the same sweet friends that invited us to enjoy their lake house on Kentucky Lake back in June. To say we had an amazing time is an understatement! Virginia now wants to be a barrel racer and my boys are both going to participate in bull riding! :)

Here are some pictures of our night . . .

Bull riding . . .

Ford and Virginia with their Sikeston friends . . . me, Brent and Jeb sat in bleacher seats but the kids were in the box with their friends -- Ford is in the navy shirt surrounded by a bunch of adorable little girls in pink! :) Notice all the mud -- there was a major storm about 3 hours before the rodeo. Mud was EVERYWHERE!
This is a photo of why you don't want your son to be a bull rider -- that is a cowboy underneath the bull.
Family picture taken around 10:30pm (yes, my kids were still awake! -- and smiling!) while we were waiting for the set up for the Gretchen Wilson concert . . .

And is there anything more fun than having permission to jump on the beds?? This is why my kids like to go to a hotel!

We are officially hooked on Sikeston and will definitely be back -- great friends, amazing ribs and an awesome rodeo!

The Muny . . .

We are LOVING our time at The Muny this summer! It is a must do activity for anyone in the Lou! Yes, it has been hot, but so amazingly fun! This was taken just before seeing The Sound of Music . . .

These are a few of my favorite things . . . :)

Baseball Camp with Benes and Matheny . . .

Last week while I was out of it with eye surgery number 2 for 2010, Ford was able to go to a pitchers and catchers camp done by our friend and former Cardinals pitcher Andy Benes and former Cards catcher Mike Matheny. There is not much that excites an 8 year old boy more than professional athletes!

Ford with Andy Benes . . .

and Ford with Mike Matheny . . .
This whole baseball thing is starting to rub off on me!

My Triathlete!!!

Ford decided that he would like to try a triathlon -- don't most 8 year olds have that desire? Crazy! But there is a camp here at St. Michael's School where the kids spend two weeks of their summer training and preparing for the St. Louis Kids Triathlon. Well, he is now hooked and has registered for his 2nd on Labor Day! The triathlon is adjusted for the ages of the kids. Ford had to swim 100 yards, bike 1 mile and run 1/2 mile. It doesn't sound too bad until you realize you literally jump out of the pool, run to the bike and try to get clothes on your wet body, hop on bike, hop off bike and remove helmut and start running. Transitions are crazy and it is a lot of movement for an 8 year old body in a short period of time -- heck, it is a lot of movement for ANY body! I couldn't swim 100 yards if my life depended on it!

Ford finished 4th out of the 9 year old boys -- he isn't even 9 yet but they go by age by the end of the year. He did all that swimming, biking and running in 20 minutes and 14 seconds. If he could have gotten his socks on his wet feet, he would have shaved his time by 4 minutes easily! :)

Here are some photos of his great accomplishment -- I'm amazingly proud of his strength and endurance!

Brent and Ford waiting for his group to be called to the pool . . . he loved that they number your body. Kids love to draw on themselves!

Almost done with 75 yards . . .

Darn socks and shoes . . . we are going to practice putting socks on wet feet prior to the Labor Day event! :)

Second loop of the 1 mile bike course -- it was downhill as you took off but sadly, you had to bike back up the hill twice!

And running uphill just before the finish line . . . tired but doing amazing!

And finally, my stinkin' cute triathlete! He is inspiring!