Barnett family

Zoo Light Safari with Cousins

2011-12-22T18:43:00.001-08:00

We had a GRAND time at the zoo tonight with cousins. A word to the wise: it is good to go on a day when there have been tornados and flash floods. We practically had the place to ourselves!

What a cute, sweet group of kids! (And, wow----couldn't Owen and Paul pass for twins?!)

Santa...

2011-12-21T14:51:00.001-08:00

In their combined 15 years, we have been to see Santa two times. As I watched them having their picture taken today, I was so grateful for the passage of time since the last photo was taken. Notice Paul in his pajamas (now just little boy clothes covered in chocolate and dirt)...he and I had come straight from the "doc in the box" to meet up with Daddy and the other 2 boys.
They might be dirty and a little ragged-looking, but they are healthy, sweet, fun, smart boys---and for that, we are so grateful!!! : )

Making Christmas cookies

2011-12-17T15:12:00.000-08:00

We made Christmas cookies today for both Luke's class and our family. The boys enjoyed baking them, icing them, and most of all----eating them!

Caleb lost his first tooth!

2011-12-10T15:09:00.000-08:00

Wow! How did this child get old enough to lose a tooth????!!!!

(The problem with his nose is due to a literal nose dive out of the top bunk. Incidentally, that is unrelated to losing his tooth.)

San Francisco---DAY 3

2011-11-22T16:59:00.000-08:00

Our good friend, Kevin, took us to Muir Woods on our third day. Though I did not fair too well on the drive there or back (wow---reminded me of the road to Hana), it was well worth it.

Here's a link that tells more about this beautiful part of our country: http://www.nps.gov/muwo/index.htm

Chris & Kevin

We pit stopped so I could catch my breath while fighting car sickness. This is on the side of the curvy, curvy road there and back.

San Francisco---DAY 2

2011-11-22T14:43:00.000-08:00

This was my favorite day as I got to not only see cool places but I got to catch up with my sweet friend, Leana. She had the whole day planned for us while Chris was at his conference.

First, we went to the Academy of Sciences for a fascinating morning filled with an albino alligator, butterflies in the rainforest, amazing fish in the aquarium, black matter in the planetarium (which has stirred great conversation between Chris & Luke, the family philosophers), and so much more.

I thought this (above) was a cool sign about the differences between tap and bottled water. In short, drink tap water! Then, (below) are Leana and I goofing off in the gift shop trying to distract Caleb and Luke from the "greedy galloping gimmies!"

Next, Leana took us for a drive. She showed us the Pacific Ocean (Caleb's first time to see it!!). The boys got quite wet (and cold), but they had a blast running around the beach.

Then, she showed us the Golden Gate Bridge (and Caleb fell asleep).

Then, she took us to the Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory which Caleb was happy to wake up for! It was delicious!!!

Then, she drove us down Lombard Street with all its twists and turns.

Then, she showed us Danielle Steel's huge house.

It was truly a PERFECT day---with easy parking, good food & drinks, fun sights to see, and, best of all, lots of great conversation.

THANK YOU, LEANA!!!

San Francisco---an AWESOME city! DAY 1

2011-11-21T18:58:00.000-08:00

We had an AMAZING time in San Francisco this past weekend. Caleb, Luke, and I went with Chris who needed to go for a conference. Here we are on the first day....walking around the city (the first picture---with the Christmas tree---was taken around 6 AM when we first started walking).

Here we are after an hour or so and we start encountering hills.

And, here we are an hour after that.....with more hills.

(Caleb is saying, "When can we stop, Mom?!)

But there is lots of cool architecture to see and we still haven't found Chinatown which we really wanted to see......
Then, around 11 AM.....with the help of lots of nice people who giggled at how many times we'd passed it.....we found Chinatown. As promised, it was well decorated and had lots of shops with things the boys would like.

Among the highlights, we saw Porziuncola Nuova---the National Shrine of Saint Francis. Here are better pictures than I could ever take: http://www.shrinesf.org/index.html

After weaving the streets for 7 hours, we stopped for lunch then headed back to the hotel for naps. Around 3 pm, we got up and headed back out for Pier 39 where we enjoyed the shops, the seals, and a good dinner.

Our sweet boys walked ALL DAY---for miles and miles. They are fun little travelers!

We love Tannehill!

2011-11-12T18:24:00.000-08:00

We had a great Saturday hiking the trails of Tannehill...it was a beautiful fall day!

Veterans' Day Program

2011-11-09T17:29:00.000-08:00

Halloween

2011-11-09T17:26:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I didn't get any pictures of the boys dressed up, but they had a grand time trick-or-treating as Batman, Bumblebee (the transformer), and Jenga Fett (from Star Wars). Here we all are just before dressing up and trick-or-treating.

We love Rickwood Caverns

2011-10-23T17:49:00.000-07:00

We love going to The Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament

2011-10-23T17:45:00.000-07:00

We love Ruffner Mountain!

2011-10-23T17:42:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday, Paul & Caleb!!!

2011-09-10T12:53:00.000-07:00

We had a grand time celebrating Caleb (5) and Paul (3) today!

We thank God they were born!

A genuine Red Sox fan

2011-08-12T19:15:00.000-07:00

This just melts my heart. I hope Luke always has positive heroes he is not too cool to contact. And, I hope this guy writes him back!!!

Random family shot.

2011-08-06T13:19:00.000-07:00

Chris officially started at St. Paul's this week. When they asked us for a family photo, it was quite sad to admit that we didn't have one without us in bathing suits! So, here was a quick fix to that problem. Not the prettiest backdrop, but hey---it's all 5 of us and we're actually looking in the same direction! : )

Summer love in the Barnett house

2011-08-02T18:18:00.000-07:00

There has been a lot of brotherly love this summer.

Caleb loves Bubba, and Bubba loves Caleb!

This week, Chris and I celebrated (a little late) our 11th wedding anniversary which was great fun. But the big, grand finale, amazing summer romance in our house this summer was a huge surprise........

We didn't even know our guppies were in love!!! Imagine our shock when we discovered that Cody (whom I thought was a boy but Luke assures me has always been a girl) and Youkilis had 4 baby guppies. The boys were mesmerized! Congrats to the new parents, Cody and Youkilis Barnett! Long live the guppies!

The last hoorah of Summer, 2011

2011-07-28T17:56:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at the beach with Sweetie, Aunt JoAnna, Uncle Bert, and Cousins Reese and Owen. The kids all loved playing in the ocean and swimming in the pool. Paul was a real sport with his broken leg. He found his own way to have fun---he laid on his tummy and played in the water for a couple of hours each day. It was a great trip!

Happy birthday, Sweetie!

2011-07-21T20:21:00.000-07:00

Paul's Broken Leg

2011-07-17T09:09:00.000-07:00

Well, our first (and hopefully last!!!!!) broken bone. On Friday, our boisterous Paul had arms raised to the sky and was shouting something about dinosaurs as he jumped from the coffee table to the floor (as I said, "No jumping on furniture!"). He landed on both knees and managed to break his tibia (a "spiral fracture" just above his right ankle).

He chose a purple cast in honor of Buzz Lightyear and has been stopped on two different occasions from coloring his other leg with marker so it will match. He'll get a short cast this coming Friday and will then be in that one for 2-3 weeks more.

He has learned to scoot quite well. In fact, last night he woke up hurting around 1 AM. I ran upstairs, picked him up and brought him down to sleep in our bed with us. The second he realized I was putting him in our bed, he woke up enough to say, "I do not want to sleep with you guys!" So, I took him back up and put him back in his bed. Thirty minutes later, Chris grabbed my arm and said, "WHAT IS THAT NOISE?" Of course, I couldn't hear a thing until it was upon us. Paul had mysteriously dropped himself from his bed, shimmied down a flight of stairs (?!?!), and scraped across the kitchen floor (the sound that woke Chris up) to get in bed with us. When we asked, "What are you doing?" He said, "I changed my mind."

"Rascal," "character," "active," and other such words used to describe little boys do not fit for this child. The jury is still out on how to label him.....

Barnett beach trip...

2011-06-18T18:44:00.001-07:00

Lots more pictures to share but here are the highlights...

We had an incredible week at Grayton Beach State Park. We stayed in a cabin with no tv or internet access. Though we were worried about that at first, we were impressed by the way our kids rose to the challenge of enjoying each other, us, and their surroundings. We played UNO, Luke read 4 books (!!!), Caleb found insects and grasshoppers, Paul practiced using the potty again and again, Luke and Caleb discovered that it hurts to grab a cactus, and we ate lots of popcorn while discussing various Pixar movies.

Paul, the BABY of our family for the past 2.75 years, wins the prize for BEST SENSE OF HUMOR. He not only learned to use the potty on this trip, but he entertained us all with his hilarious poses. Here is my favorite one (though I'm having trouble turning the photo.)

Caleb and Luke are amazing in their ability to run, fight waves, build, dig, hunt, swim, and dive for hours upon hours. I got tired watching them but they truly love the ocean.

Another funny face from Paul. (This one is Caleb & Luke's favorite.)

I do love that this picture documents Paul's "funny" tooth. Notice HIS bottom left middle tooth is fused with the one next to it. He is one unique fellow!

Fun at the Lake

2011-05-31T13:00:00.000-07:00

Summer begins.....

2011-05-31T12:55:00.000-07:00

We dress up.....

We go to the pool...

And Nana & Pops travel....

It's official. Summer is HERE!!! : )

Caleb & Paul in their school program

2011-05-14T12:40:00.000-07:00

Paul apparently did not want to participate.

Meanwhile, Caleb was an amazing Joseph.

Precious! : )

Chris is 35!!

2011-05-14T12:37:00.000-07:00

Here's to Chris & Paul celebrating another birthday together....

Chris---in his new, man-ly chair

A happy Easter....

2011-05-14T12:34:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Easter. Here are some pictures of the boys and their cousins. And a quick note......their shirts really were tucked in just MOMENTS before these pictures were taken. I just need to be quicker with the camera, eh?! : )

Some more, just for fun....

2011-05-14T10:55:00.000-07:00

Luke is 7!!!

2011-05-14T07:23:00.000-07:00

We had a fabulous time celebrating Luke with his friends. He had a Star Wars / Easter party complete with Darth Vader decorations and an egg hunt. What a wonderful group of boys!!

Spring Break, 2011: Day 4: The park with cousins & solar system project

2011-03-17T14:15:00.001-07:00

We met cousins at the park this morning to play....

Then, this afternoon, we finished Luke's solar system project.

Spring Break, 2011: Day 3: THE ZOO

2011-03-16T11:52:00.000-07:00

We had a super time at the zoo today with friends.

Spring Break, 2011: Day 2: Planting & walking

2011-03-15T14:01:00.000-07:00

Today, we've planted petunias, begonias, and a tomato plant. We hope to be those people who dole out tomatoes to everyone this summer! We've also had a good time hanging out with Bubba.

Spring Break, 2011---Day 1: McWane Center

2011-03-15T09:47:00.000-07:00

Cubs baseball begins......

2011-03-06T13:54:00.000-08:00

A fun time at our first Mardi Gras

2011-02-28T15:11:00.001-08:00

We took the big two boys to New Orleans for the "pre-Mardi Gras" Mardi Gras. We met up with some Louisiana friends we had met in England and had a blast catching up with them.

Our boys loved playing with Austin. They were all equally goofy.
Enjoying beignets.

Hanging out at Cafe Du Monde.

Ice storm 2011

2011-01-17T09:31:00.000-08:00

We had great fun sledding down the icy hill on one of our two "snow" days out of school.

Emalyn is one!

2010-12-27T11:45:00.000-08:00

Here are pictures from Emalyn's first birthday...

Introducing Bubba....

2010-12-07T17:57:00.000-08:00

Long story short, we said "goodbye" to George and "hello" to Bubba.

He is 11 weeks old, roughly 7 pounds (smaller than all our babies!), and is a bundle of joy.

Welcome home, Bubba!

George is settling in....

2010-11-27T18:53:00.000-08:00

He is an affectionate dog.....getting love from Luke

....and more love from Caleb.....

...and more love from Chris.......then, back asleep! What a low maintenance, sweet-natured new family member!!

Thanksgiving--fun at both grandparents' houses

2010-11-27T18:49:00.000-08:00

Welcome home, George!

2010-11-22T17:16:00.000-08:00

More pictures to come! : )

Our new baby, GEORGE

2010-11-21T17:51:00.000-08:00

An AWESOME night!!

2010-11-19T20:38:00.000-08:00

We had a super time with Camy tonight. What fun it was to hang out and see what she and Cliff do behind the scene with the stars. And, as always, it is fun to catch up and plan future times together. Love and miss you, Cam! : )

The Turkey Trot

2010-11-07T16:10:00.001-08:00

Our sweet, little saints

2010-11-07T10:25:00.000-08:00

In honor of All Saints day, our church organized a kids' presentation in which all children from age 4 through 4th grade dressed up like a saint and taught the parents about him/her.

Though Luke has taken off part of his costume---his England shirt----here he is as St. George (most likely the name of our future dog). Luke stood up at the microphone and said outloud to a room full of parents (with me mouthing and motioning like a crazy mom from the back) that St. George is the patron saint of England and boy scouts. Legend tells us he slayed a dragon to save a princess who was to be sacrificed to the dragon. He was a brave Christian and reminds us to be brave in our faith. Luke's birthday is the day we celebrate St. George.

Caleb, mortified for about 10 minutes by his costume, lit up once on stage and simply but boldly stated, "Hola. I am St. John of the Cross." St. John of the Cross is a poet from Spain who was kidnapped and tortured but grew stronger in his suffering.

"Boo at the Zoo"

2010-11-07T10:21:00.000-08:00

We had a super time with Pops at Boo at the Zoo this year. All the boys dressed up in their costumes and trick-or-treated the zoo workers. We also got to see a special Scooby Doo play in which they incorporated several animals, which was really fun. In the end, Scooby discovered that it was the groundhog who had stolen his own shadow!

Soccer

2010-11-07T10:19:00.000-08:00

We've had a great time with soccer this year. Both Luke and Caleb have scored several goals which is always extra fun. Here, Chris and Caleb are trying to corral Paul as we watched the end of Luke's game. Paul was certainly a force to be reckoned with this season!

A perfect fall Saturday

2010-10-02T18:02:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th birthday, Caleb!

2010-09-19T18:02:00.000-07:00

A weekend to remember....

2010-07-28T18:27:00.000-07:00

We celebrated our 10th year of marriage this past weekend. It was a relaxing, fun, memorable weekend in Sea Island, GA. We are so grateful to our parents for keeping the kids so we could spend this time together. We ate great food, took long walks on the beach, Chris played in the ocean while I slept in a chair on the beach, and we were pampered by hotel staff that treated us like royalty. The weekend was--as our marriage has been and will hopefully continue to be--an incredible blessing.

A wonderful day at Alabama Adventure!!!

2010-06-06T16:25:00.000-07:00

A million thanks to Demi and family for our first of MANY fun days at AL adventure. We stuck to the water side of the park today and had a blast. Here we are, just getting started.

Chris, Luke, and Caleb on the log ride...

Paul watching as the "big guys" come down the splashy slide.
We swam in the wave pool, the Salamander Bay, Castaway Island and the lazy river.

3 sweet boys

Chris and Caleb barreling down one of the slides at Castaway Island.

It was a wonderful day, and though the kids are exhausted they're already asking, "When can we go back?" Thanks again, Demi!!! : )

Paul playing Choo-Choo

2010-06-03T17:52:00.000-07:00

After the end of year kindergarten pictures for Luke, and the end of year 3-K pictures for Caleb, I figured it was time for some documentation of Paul. Here he is playing with his train set just before bed. Though this video does not really show him talking much, he has hit that "vocabulary explosion" stage where he is really learning to talk. He is so cute, and he is such a joy. I love to watch him play!

A preview of the Barnett/Newton Beach trip...

2010-06-01T12:05:00.000-07:00

We had an amazing time in St. Simon's Island....where the Spanish moss in huge, old Oaks makes the town gorgeous.

My sweet grandmother, Nanny....

2010-05-26T14:51:00.000-07:00

Some kindergarten pics from throughout the year...

2010-05-26T14:40:00.000-07:00

Caleb's teacher made this....

2010-05-24T17:44:00.000-07:00

What sweet pictures! He has had a wonderful time in school this year!

Luke reading to Reese and company...

2010-05-23T18:07:00.000-07:00

Two recent memories...

2010-05-17T19:08:00.000-07:00

We were so happy and thankful to celebrate Chris' 34th birthday WITH HIM after he had been away from us so long!
Here is Luke with his teacher at the kindergarten musical. All the boys were dressed as weeds and the girls were dressed as flowers. I could begin a great discussion about this (with all 2 of my "readers") but I will refrain! : )
It was a cute musical and the kids seemed to have a good time.

A Wonderful Day at Alabama Adventure!!!

2010-05-06T15:56:00.000-07:00

A million thanks to Demi and family. We had a super day at AL Adventure....today, we spent all afternoon at the water side of the park. We plan to go back (VERY) soon (MULTIPLE TIMES) and check out the other side of the park.

We rode the log ride.
Paul hanging out in the stroller.

3 sweet boys!

Chris and Caleb coming down a slide.

Just as we arrived.....very excited!

Christopher's Wild Adventure

2010-05-01T06:33:00.000-07:00

Chris flew to England on April 14 to be part of a Kierkegaard conference. He was due home on April 19. However, the volcano in Iceland had other plans! He was one of many stranded travellers in the world, but thankfully he had good friends to stay with in Oxford.

To get him back home, we decided "a bird in the hand is better than two in the bush," and with that, we booked him a ticket on the Queen Mary 2 cruise ship. This is where he worked on the boat.

This is what his hallway looked like.

View from the boat.

Chris' room.

He docked in Brooklyn on Thursday morning, and got home to us Friday morning. It was a wild adventure, indeed, and we are so thankful to have welcomed him back home on his 34th birthday!

Luke's 6th birthday

2010-04-23T05:48:00.000-07:00

More from the party....

2010-04-23T02:58:00.000-07:00

Harry Caray and the boys

2010-04-13T18:14:00.000-07:00

For those who do not know, I am in class 3 nights a week. One of those nights, we have a baby-sitter come and stay with the boys because Chris is commuting back from work in Georgia.

The other 2 nights, however, Chris hangs with the boys. I'm not sure who generally has more fun. But, in the video below, it is quite obviously Chris who is having a grand time. He swears he'd only had half of a beer......

Our sweet, little White Sock!

2010-04-01T18:18:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday, Maralyn!

2010-04-01T18:17:00.000-07:00

Highlights from STAYcation 2010

2010-03-20T13:22:00.000-07:00

Though there are many highlights from this fun-filled week together, we only broke out the camera when the sun FINALLY came out. We spent all day outside Friday and Saturday in celebration of the gorgeous sun!! We are READY for spring!

Hanging out with Caleb...

2010-03-16T17:07:00.000-07:00

A fun, snowy day...

2010-02-12T14:57:00.000-08:00

Precious...

2010-02-12T14:54:00.000-08:00

A Very Good Day...

2010-01-24T17:49:00.000-08:00

My mom and aunt moved Nanny to a new apartment this weekend, so we got to hang out with Nanny while they worked. Though her memory is very poor, she is still spunky! She and Luke played Uno, War, Crazy Eights, and Go Fish. It was great fun to listen to Luke explain the rules as they played.

I tried to teach Nanny Suduko, which was fun for a little while. Then Paul had a better idea. He walked over, put this bear in her lap and made her laugh again and again.

Then, to make it a VERY good day, Paul took his first nap in his NEW crib---on loan to us from our good friends, Henry and Svea.

Having this nap, allowed Paul the energy to stay up late enough to eat a good dinner, and read a book with Daddy rather than thrash around and repeatedly climb out of his "half-a-crib." In short, we are extremely thankful for this new chance at good sleep habits! THANK YOU, Henry & Svea!

Basketball and dressing up...

2010-01-23T18:50:00.000-08:00

Luke's having a great time learning to play basketball!

When he's not playing sports, he's hamming it up with his brothers...

Early January...

2010-01-23T18:36:00.000-08:00

I'm catching back up on the blog....

These 1st 2 are some of my most favorite pictures ever.

Luke, playing Caleb's new guitar, is serenading Paul while he's in the bathtub.

Everybody seems to be in either the "Paul looks like Caleb" camp, or "Paul looks like Luke camp." Here, there can be no debate....
One of these kids is clearly doing his own thing! : )And, lastly, I turned 34.....or as a high school senior put it, "officially double" her age! Ouch!

More Christmas...

2010-01-20T18:44:00.000-08:00

Christmas is coming...

2010-01-20T18:35:00.000-08:00

Christmas cookies

2010-01-20T18:26:00.000-08:00

Luke's first visit from the Tooth Fairy

2009-12-19T06:34:00.000-08:00

Luke was so excited to lose his first tooth, and Caleb thought it was gross!

A fun hike on a fall day...

2009-12-19T06:23:00.000-08:00

Wax in hair...

2009-12-19T06:11:00.000-08:00

This post is to someday remind myself just how to get wax out of hair in the event (Lord forbid!) that it ever happens again. The internet says to use vegetable oil, which is probably the way to go on a person who can understand what is going on and sit still for more than 30 seconds. However, for a baby, I recommend lotion because vegetable oil gets everywhere when tantrums occur! It was a 3 hour procedure getting the wax out but, in the end, everyone survived! (And, thankfully, the wax was not hot when it was dumped on his head!)

The Turkey Trot

2009-11-02T18:11:00.000-08:00

Luke ran the 1-mile Turkey Trot with Chris today.

We were all so proud! Caleb toasted Luke with a big cup of Gatorade.

Halloween, 2009

2009-10-31T18:32:00.000-07:00

We had a great Halloween. Here we are carving our pumpkins.

Getting ready to go for the big night out...

Ironman, Spiderman, and The Dragon

Getting ready to "trick-or-treat" with cousins...

Some recent, random pics...

2009-10-25T19:41:00.000-07:00

Luke, playing t-ball (called "baseball" around here!)
Caleb feeding Paul (probably rocks!) during the baseball game

A preview of Halloween to come...

Yes, he's learned to remove the air conditioning grate and stick various things in (this time, GOOD NIGHT MOON)---all while looking so sweet!

An afternoon walk......what we do best.

A fun day at Oak Mountain...

2009-10-04T05:36:00.000-07:00

It's been one year since we were last at Peavine Falls. This time last year the waterfall was nothing more than a small trickle.

It was lots of fun but certainly hard work getting 3 little kids up and down the falls. We took turns with Paul and the backpack, and Luke & Caleb did amazing climbing up and down.

Video of Luke & Caleb at Peavine Falls

2009-10-03T17:32:00.000-07:00

Caleb's birthday celebration TAKE 1...

2009-09-19T18:01:00.000-07:00

These are all of Caleb, in his classroom. The birthday celebrations began here, and his teacher kindly got some shots for us.

Caleb's birthday celebration, TAKE 2....

2009-09-19T18:00:00.001-07:00

Friday night, we celebrated with the grandparents. Sweetie, Nana, & Pops ate a delicious fish dinner (thanks to Chris, the "best cooker in the world"----so named by Luke) with us and we finished off the last of Sweetie's amazing cupcakes.

Caleb's birthday celebration, TAKE 3...

2009-09-19T18:00:00.000-07:00

Last year, we had to cancel Caleb's b'day party because the morning of the big day we awoke to Paul and a 104 degree fever. We were then in the hospital for the next week. So....this year, we had to cancel again!! But, thankfully, it was for rain and nothing so serious.

We still managed to have a good time despite the rain and missing our friends.

Here's the amazing BUZZ LIGHTYEAR cake Sweetie got for us.

"The cousins" in their costumes.

An amazing Labor Day...

2009-09-07T17:27:00.000-07:00

These first 3 pictures were taken at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament. ( http://www.olamshrine.com/ ) or ( http://www.co.cullman.al.us/Press/attractions_shrine.htm )

It is part of the Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Hanceville, AL, run by the Poor Clare Nuns.

These last 2 are from the Ave Maria Grotto ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ave_Maria_Grotto ) in Cullman, AL. It was truly amazing......

This description from wikipedia says it better than I ever could: "The stone and concrete models are the work of Brother Joseph Zoettl, a Benedictine monk of St. Bernard's, who devoted some 50 years to the project, the last three decades (1932 to 1961) almost without interruption. They incorporate discarded building supplies, bricks, marbles, tiles, pipes, sea shells, marbles, plastic animals, costume jewelry, toilet bowl floats and cold cream jars."

We agreed it is amazing how such a unique gift could be used for God's glory. People travel from all over to see this place. We heard a family speaking Russian and we heard someone else speaking Italian while we were there.

Random fun...

2009-09-07T17:19:00.000-07:00

Time for a haircut??? :)

Happy birthday to our sweet baby!!

2009-08-22T17:39:00.000-07:00

Rise and shine, Little Man! Here he is, waking up on his big day...

Here he is with his cousin, Reese, reading a book...

Sweetie with baby Owen...
Paul with Nanny...

We had much to celebrate today...we are so grateful for this HEALTHY, sweet, independent, energetic, cuddly, hungry, growing, demanding, happy, fun, ball-loving boy!

Fun at the lakehouse...

2009-08-16T14:58:00.000-07:00

Like Mother.....Like Daughter

2009-08-16T09:13:00.001-07:00

Video from the park

2009-08-12T17:43:00.000-07:00

Paul will be 1 in less than 2 weeks and is getting closer and closer to walking.....so, I wanted to document his crawling. I got down on the ground the other day and couldn't keep up with him--he's just so fast!

We had a wonderful afternoon in the park today (pictures in the next entry too).

Fun times after school...

2009-08-12T17:27:00.000-07:00

After a long day of waiting for Luke to get home, Caleb greeted him with a hug and asked, "How was kindergarten today?" Once we heard some stories from Luke's day, we headed outside to exercise. These days, Luke and Caleb LOVE to ride their bikes, and Paul loves being outside.

Here are some random shots of them in the park.

Luke's first day of school

2009-08-10T17:54:00.000-07:00

We all 5 walked together to take Luke to school today. What an exciting, anxious, and wonderful day! It's so hard for me to believe our baby is this old.

He had a wonderful time and can't wait to get back tomorrow.

In the meantime, Caleb says he's ready for kindergarten too! (But Luke said he probably couldn't handle all the hard work they had to do!!) What funny boys!

A great time at the beach!

2009-08-03T10:44:00.000-07:00

Chris & Luke totally bonded over their love of battling the waves. (I'm so grateful he's finally got someone to play in the water with----Chris, that is!)
In the meantime, Paul, Caleb, and I hung out on our perfect little set-up.

"The Guys" -- early in the morning on our walk.

Our 9 year anniversary picture (not 45, yet!)

Caleb does not like sand and/or sunscreen in his eyes (who can blame him?). Paul, however, ate the sand and licked the sunscreen. He had it in his eyes, ears, belly button, etc., and he LOVED it! Here they are hanging out under the boat in its shade...

And more beach pics....

2009-08-03T10:09:00.000-07:00

Fun times at Oak Mountain...

2009-07-26T15:11:00.000-07:00

We fed goats...

had near death experiences...
and were challenged by the goats (see the following post for the real story there!)...

It was a perfect day!

Free the goats!

2009-07-26T10:24:00.000-07:00

So, I can definitely laugh at myself now, but this was a pretty intense moment. My shaky voice gives away just how nervous I was (which is pretty embarassing now). Not to give away what happens, but I will say that, in the end, no animals nor humans suffered any harm (other than our egos!), and all goats were safely returned to the petting area.

Camy & Cliff's wedding....

2009-07-24T15:38:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful time in Nashville this past weekend at Camy and Cliff's wedding. It was so good to reconnect with old friends. Here's some of the old college crew...

Happy #9 Anniversary!

2009-07-22T11:38:00.000-07:00

A bit out of order, but here we are over the years (more than just the last 9) together....

in Birmingham, AL

on Croag Patrick in Ireland

on our deck in Oxford England

in Montgomery, AL

in Chicago

My handsome guys...

2009-07-11T19:20:00.000-07:00