PTO Family Fun Skate Night

Refreshments
Avery - I still can't believe that Ryan caught her on her feet!
Tayloran being a great big sister to Addisyn
Addisyn & Me
We had such a great time tonight at the Family Fun Skate Night. The PTO puts this on as a fund raiser. The girls were so excited. Addisyn had gotten to skate one other time at a bday party. She was fired up. Tayloran isn't bad at skating, especially considering the number of times we have went. Avery - well, skating just doesn't seem to be her thing. She was on the floor more than her feet. There were 2 boys guarding those who fell on the floor. They would blow their whistle, and I think about 90% of the time there would be Avery sprawled out on the floor. I am laughing out loud as I am typing this. (Mom, I am turning into you! I always hated it when you laughed when I fell. You laugh when anyone falls.) I couldn't even help Avery up because I was laughing - and trying to hold onto Addisyn's hand. I hope Avery doesn't have to go to the dr anytime soon. She will be bruised up tomorrow. Tayloran had a couple of friends out of her class, so that was great for her. Ryan was a wonderful husband and accompanied us on this trip to watch Braelyn. They sat at a table with the girls basketball coach. Braelyn could watch the skaters, and Ryan had somebody that he knew to visit with. This man's name was Seth Tate. He had a daughter that could have passed for my cousin Pam's daughter Aubrey. Aubrey, if you are reading this - I met your twin tonight!!!!! She is in the 2nd grade! I was hoping Ryan got a picture, but no luck. He did catch a few shots of us skating! Enjoy!

Makanda = Deliverance

At Makanda
Ryan testing out the ice cream from the General Store
Braelyn cashed out from the long trip!
La Fiesta - tayloran looks like she lost the fiesta!
We decided to take a little road trip today to check out Makanda and Giant City. It was a beautiful day and the leaves are starting to turn a little. Ryan wanted to reminice about rapelling off the cliffs. We drove thru the park and then stopped at Makanda to see the "General Store". I thought it was going to be a huge place, but it was really small. they had some homemade goodies and ice cream. There were a couple of other shops - an incence store ( with some other things I do believe), a beautiful jewelry store, and a Smelly Hippie t shirt store etc. I fell in love with the jewelry store, and bought my mom a beautiful gift for her bday. I plan on giving it to her tomorrow when she visits, so I'll have to take a picture of her wearing it. I'm afraid if I wait till her bday, that I'll keep it for myself. The jewelry store also had a guest book. People had visited this place from all over the US - tn, reno, nv, rockford, il. I am still amazed that people can find this. It was out there!!! We finished off the day with a hair cut for Ryan, and a trip to La Fiesta here in town. A wonderful day was had by all!

The water's warm, right, Ryan?
Throwing Tayloran
A flying Addisyn
Avery's turn! Saturday Afternoon Swim party!
Daddy's Swimming!

The girls have been waiting and waiting for Ryan to get into the pool. He hasn't been home long enough at one time to take a dip. Today he decided to "brave" it. He jumped in and couldn't believe how cold it was. He still can't believe that the girls have been swimming in it every day. He didn't last long, but the girls all got launched. I thought I'd be a sport and get in to. I am a very warm water swimmer, and it was warm enough for me right when we filled it. However, after sticking in a foot, I chickend out. Too cold for me!

Brownie

This is the cat who showed up at our Brocton house two weeks before we left. This was the front door cat. He is so friendly. After Princess Cocoa disappeared, we decided that Brownie could make the trip to Benton. We moved him to GG's and he vanished for two days. When I went back to pick up the girls, he was back, and made the 2 hour trek. He has loved life in Benton, and spends the hot days under the pool deck. He is waiting every morning at 7:00 am for his vittles. He thinks that when the door opens he should come in, but I told him he needs to keep the critters away outside. We've had a few ask about his whereabouts, so here is our new beloved cat, Brownie. Guess what! He's actually Male!

Swimming in September

The girls have had so much fun with the pool. It was pretty chilly here all last week, but they were in it every day. Addisyn is like her mother and one jump in is usually it. She is a warm water baby. Braely takes it for about 10 min. and then wants to be wrapped up in a towel. It is a great energy burn off for the girls after sitting all day in school. They are looking forward to their early out tomorrow. They are planning on swimming all afternoon.

Braely is freezing!
Braely has finally learned how to swim with the swim vest!
Avery loves to hunt for the rings and sticks.
Addisyn preparing to jump!
A Miller with some "hang" time.
the butterfly that has survived from a florida trip 3 years ago.

Thursday School

One of the secretaries at school helped us find somewhere for Addisyn to attend preschool. There is a church down the road that has " Thursday School". Addisyn was all excited that she was finally going to meet friends her age. She marched right in like she had been a hundred times before. This was very shocking, as she was a cling on all last year when I dropped her off at preschool. There are 7 kids - 3 girls and 4 boys. She had a great time, and was excited that they let them RUN inside the house ( aka playroom). She can't wait to go back to Thursday school. I guess that you can attend when you are potty trained. Do you think they would want Braelyn??????

Saturday Football

THE WHOLE FAM
In a few years she woudn't wear this. The "BIG" hits right accross her rump!
Avery, Addisyn, Tayloran, Avery
The team!
Great Ranger Fans!
Miller's Chicks
Daddy and the girls ( mom cut off Addisyn's head)
Today's football game was at West Frankfurt. It is about 15 min from here, if that. It looks like a nice town, with 4 furniture stores on the main drag. Mom and I thought that we would need to come exploring here another time!!! The football game didn't go so well, but it was a great afternoon to be outside. The girls had a great time coloring and having snacks - lots of snacks.

ISSUES

Braelyn has been potty training, and doing quite well. The other day the girls thought that she had had an accident on the carpet going down the stairs to the basement. I assured them that this was not the case, but couldn't figure out what it was. Later that evening, I happened to look up at the ceiling and was shocked. It looked like "pop" dripping down from the ceiling. After 2 hours of the plumber being here at $70/hour, it was decided that the toilet upstairs wasn't set right. We have a hole in the ceiling, but the problem was small, so we won't complain!

Park

Addisyn
The little poser!
Braelyn Alizabeth
On the go!
Avery, Addisyn, Tayloran, & Braelyn
The weather here has really cooled off. It has went from the high 90's to high 70's. The girls and I took this opportunity to head out to the park at the edge of town. It's so nice having everything within just a couple of minutes from the house. Those of you who know me well will fall over when I tell you that I've been on the same tank of gas for almost 2 weeks. Here are Addisyn and Braelyn enjoying the park in the morning, and then all of them enjoying the park after school.

Family Dinner

I wanted to try to get a "nice" picture of us all enjoying dinner together as a big, happy family. Here it is!!! I'm not sure I would call it nice. I'm not sure anyone was very photogenic for this shot!

A day in the life of Braelyn

Braelyn - the child who never ceases to amaze me!

Covered in diaper cream
Caught microwaving markers

looking so angelic with her baby, blankie, and yes a paci!

Yes, I do take pictures of my other children. It just happens to be Braelyn who is capturing the spot light this week. I guess I am just trying to reinforce my previous post on how ornery she is. Today she comes down the stairs and Addisyn tells me that Gma needs me. I walk into the kitchen to find Braelyn looking like Santa Claus. After some investigation, I find that she has been into some diaper cream. Great! Later in the day, I found her trying to microwave some markers! Howeverk just when you think you can't take anymore, you see them sleeping. Awwww! there she is sharing her pillow and her blankie with her baby doll! She looks so angelic.

Speedy, Carla, and Amaya

Avery, Tayloran, & Amaya
Addisyn, Avery, Tayloran, Amaya, & Braelyn
Mason, Braelyn, & Addisyn
Speedy, Carla, & Amaya
This is a little out of order, but during our moving time, our WONDERFUL friend, Speedy and his family were home for a visit. Talk about terrible timing. He had even managed to stay at a friend's house in Oakland so that we would all be close for 1/2 of their visit. Amaya is 6 months old, and this was our first time to get to see her. Ryan and I always thought that our kids would be great playmates. We are hoping that they move back to the area soon. Here are some pictures from the time we spent with them.

Potty Training

I had been waiting until the big move to potty train Braelyn. She doesn't talk very much, so I was kind of using this as an excuse to push it back. However, she wasn't getting any younger, and she hated having a wet diaper. We have been at it for 2 weeks tomorrow, and she's been doing excellent. We have only had one accident this week and that was at the bank - in the middle of the lobby! It serves them right - it should not take 1 hr and 15 min to open a checking account! You can feel for me - an 79 year old, a 4 year old, and a potty training 2 year old! That one hour seemed like 4!

Friday Night Football

Benton Rangers!!! Go Rangers!!!
Tayloran and Addisyn in their "Benton wear"
Avery and Braelyn
Friday Night Football. The football season started off with a home game against Nashville. We are loving the fact that we can just walk across the street and be at the game! We were actually almost on time!!! HA! I will have to blame this on Ryan's dad who got stuck on the interstate due to an accident. My mom, Ryan's dad, the girls, and I had great seats in the "red" section. We are impressed as the ref actually has a mike and you can hear what call is being made! Very helpful if you are clueless like me! You would think that after 11 years of going to fball games that I would be somewhat knowledgeable! not! I've always viewed these games as total social outings! Well, this year, since I know only Traci and Marrilyn ( clods wife and mother), I might actualy pick up on some things. Oh, wait, I am still entertaining 4 kids in the seats - maybe next year!

Braelyn - will I survive her being 2?

Braelyn - what can I say? She is everything that the other three have not been. All you moms - have you ever thought something about someone else's child, and then it happens to you? Everything that I've ever thought has been rolled into Braelyn. Braelyn is a ball of energy that is into everything, on top of everything, etc. So, while I was unpacking, I decided to give Braelyn and Addisyn a "HUGE" as in a very wide pad of paper. After a few minutes, I hear Addisyn say, "You look like a dog." I decided that it was time to come investigate. Braelyn had had a wonderful time! She had green marker everywhere. She even has it on her eyelid and in the corner! Mental note - even if it bought me a few minutes of unpacking time - probably not worth it! Did I mention that she even drew a line all the way across Addisyn's forehead! Also, if you are wondering - these were not washable! It took a lot of bleach, and after 2 weeks, the green markings on her scalp are gone!

New Pool - Hurray!

Braelyn - hanging out on the stairs where it's safe!

addisyn, tayloran & avery
the three amigos
Ryan and I debated on whether to wait until next year to open the pool. However, after talking to a few people, we decided to take the plunge! We have been told that most times the pools down here are open until about the middle of October! we're keeping our fingers crossed. I will say that it has been great entertainment for the girls. They are home by 3, so they've had plenty of time to swim. I hope I don't change my mind when the 1st water bill comes!