New words

Ted takes Ward to school on the mornings he is in town (which seems to be less and less these days, but that is a whole different subject).  They usualy leave the house around 7:35 and Ted goes to work after dropping him off.  The other day, Ted had a meeting that started right at 8:00 so he told Ward that he would have to drop him off a little bit earlier than usual.  Ward's response: "Sweeeet."  Makes me laugh still thinking about that coming out of his mouth.

Oh and apparently it is "sweeet" if you get to school early because they get to play on the playground (if it is nice outside) and wait until the classrooms open at 7:40.

Pictures with Heather

Once a year (or more) the kids get pictures with a professional photographer.  I did it more often when they were little - and Sam will have his own session with her next month - but I get her to take pictures for our Christmas card every year.  And I love having really good pictures of the kids at each stage in life.  Heather Swanner stated taking pictures of Ward when he was 17 months old and I was about to bust out Ann Park.  I remember specifically not following doctor-ordered bed rest that day and meeting Heather at the Botanical Gardens for some special shots of Ward before his sister was born.  They are still some of my favorites. 

Well, on Thursday we went to Morris Avenue in Birmingham which is an old, cobblestoned street with a lot of charm (and colors) to get our shots for this year's card.  As usual, they are amazing and I know I will have a hard time sorting through them all to decide what images I want.  And I know that I will spend more money than I had planned, but pictures save those faces in time - faces that change so much.  And it is so sad to say, that I have a hard time remembering Ward at 17 months with just my memory alone. 

So here is a taste of what she captured.  Ann Park was a total ham and LOVED the camera.  I picked out their outfits but let them pick out their shoes and Ann Park picked out her headband.  Her little outfit perfectly captures her personality. 

Grey Rocks Oct 1-3

The famly went to Grey Rocks without Cher Cher and Papa the first weekend in October.  The weather was absolutely perfect and the kids had the best time, as usual.  Sam kept pointing at Cher Cher and Papa's and said "Care-Care"?  which was really cute.  They know so much more than we give them credit for!

climbing on the fence

the sweetest girl

getting so big!

climbing on the dogs

Such a daredevil

king of the world!

best ride in town

my boys

Checking out the deer feeder

howdy partner

Dove Hunt - Sept 2010

The kids had a great time at the annual Grey Rocks dove hunt.  Although it was extremely hot, Ward went out with Ted and stayed the whole time!  I think that he spent some of the time in the car with Papa, but he had a good time with just the boys.  He even picked up dead birds for daddy - a rite of passage that every boy must go through before they are able to hunt in our family!

Ann Park leared how to play the Wii hunting game and even gave Ward a run for his money?

Lovin on daddy!

I mean, could Ward be any skinnier?

Love me some Sam!

Ward at the dove hunt (ear muffs to protect his ears and snake boots just in case!)

Dead bird!

Long time No Post

I haven't posted in a while and I have a lot of catching-up to do on here - especially through pictures, which I promise to get to.  But Ryan sent some video of the kids riding their horse Lucy while we were in TN and I wanted to see if I could get the link to work.  They had the best time and gained so much confidence.  I could not believe that they rode without the lead rope and could even get her to follow their commands.  Of course, that speaks very highly of Lucy and Ryan as well!

The first two are Ward riding Lucy (with some nice commentary by me):

http://sharing.theflip.com/session/69d6819e91bf4ba3612adb338973fdba/video/20147261

http://sharing.theflip.com/session/c79b9780b75e07cd538179eb49a6982b/video/20148721

And here is one of Ann Park riding:

http://sharing.theflip.com/session/ccf8cb5b4de793135f426eeefdff6636/video/20149501

More to come so stay tuned!

This weekend

I have lots of pictures to post from the past couple of weekends, but I haven't downloaded them on my computer yet.  Ted has been out of town which means I am ready to veg out by the time I get the kids down and that has not included computer time in a while.  But I will get to them.

However, this weekend I am taking Ward and Ann Park to visit my sister Kit.  I have been looking forward to this for a long time (we booked it this summer!) and I can't wait to get up there.  The kids have Monday off school so we will head up late on Friday but get to spend all day Saturday and Sunday.  Kit has planned many a fun thing to do, including Dollywood on Saturday and the Dixie Stampede, which is like a rodeo dinner show.  I think that I am more excited than the kids.  I will get pictures, but hope that Uncle Ryan will get some too!!!  It would be perfect if Bean could be there, but we will all be together Thanksgiving weekend which is not too far away!