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FUN FUN WEEK - - - - ya, not so much.

My week started off pretty good. I had a busy Monday like usual. We had speech therapy and a few errons to run. The Sister Missionaries came over and did their laundry like they do every P Day and then they washed their car and the Elders came over to wash theirs. After I picked the boys up from school, We all played outside for a while. The Elders and Colton worked at getting the kickball and football unstuck from the tree. they through bricks at the balls for a good 10 minutes before they were successful at retrieving both balls. After that we had fun with riding down our "Mississippi Cliff" on kid ride on toys. I wish I had been able to get a few better pictures, but it was hilarious to watch the elders get in the little red car.

Elder Ceballos in the red car.

Elder Ceballos on the black truck this time, with Elder Hoffman setting

him up for his ride down the hill. Of course he didn't make it very far,

maybe 6 feet or so before he flipped forward.

Elder Hardin managed to squeeze into the red car as well. Off he went . . .

Elder Hardin completely flipped over and then rolled down the hill. We were laughing so hard.

Elder Ceballos takes another go at riding the black truck - this time he ran into

a tree stump and flew off the truck and almost toppled onto Colton.

Sister Allen rides the SAFE - lower to the ground - trike.

Sister Spencer was having a doozy of a time staying on the "bucket" of the trike.

We all had some great laughs.

On Tuesday Brooklyne had gymnastics. While she was there, I ran over to Hudson's Treasure Hunt real fast to get her the silver sparkly shows for her Halloween costume. While I was there I picked up a pair of black ballet flats that had small white polka dots. they cost me $2.10 - what a steal. That evening I took Tanner and Brooklyne to Planet Playground while Donald held soccer practice. I was running and playing with the kids on the wood playground. I was chasing Tanner, and I turned to go down some stairs. There was a warped board (unknown to me of course) right before you step down. Well, I never made it down those stairs, instead I was laying on the walkway on the structure pasted out from pain. After I came to, I called Donald since he was just over at the soccer fields by the park, he tried to help me get up and I pasted out again. A few minutes past by, and he tried to help me up once again - guess what - I pasted out AGAIN. After a few more minutes had pasted by I managed to scoot myself over to a bench that I could sit down at. The whole ordeal was rather painful and a bit embarrassing.

That night I thought I was going to have to go to the ER because the pain was so intense when I put ice on it ---- I was just in tears. I was crawling thru the house to try and get kids ready for bed. I was finally able to get some sleep, and I only woke up a few times from the pain. In the morning Don helped me to get to the bathroom. after I was done, and before I tried to stand up, I pasted out again - falling off the toilet - lovely. Don ended up staying home from work the whole day. It is a good thing too because we got a call from the school about 30 minutes after dropping the boys off, and Tanner had puked at school. Don went and got Tanner - but that ment I had to go to the doctor by myself because he was puking so much. I drove to the doctor, almost fell asleep there a few times. they took x rays - they thought it was fractured, but it isn't. after that, I rushed over to the school for Trent's 4th grade play - I wobbled in like an idiot, ha ha ha. I made it before his classes part - yay. then I went home and went to bed for the rest of the day. I am so thankful Donald was home because Tanner had thrown up several times. On Thursday I was able to get the kids to school, but Tanner stayed home. I found it challenging to keep tabs on Tanner and Brooklyne given my "crippled" state. They managed to get away with many things, but over all - we all remained alive and that is what matters, ha ha ha. Donald picked the kids up from school since my foot was hurting.

The 4th grade play was "STARS ACROSS MISSISSIPPI".

Trent's class focused on Jim Hensen.

The kids made some shadow puppets - Trent is the boy with the jar, his name is Kermit.

Trent was also COOKIE MONSTER!!!

I love how his costume kept falling over his eyes. In this picture the kids had a puppet that was their principle, Mrs. Germany, and she was talking about the State Tests, ha ha ha ha ha.

Trent standing next to Miss Piggy as the whole class sang a song.

Next to Miss Piggy is one of Trent's best friends, Alec.

So, yup, in a nutshell, my week started out great - then definitely took a turn Tuesday night. I'm not sure when I will be able to start running again, let along teach kick boxing. But for now, I am telling myself over and over again "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's learning how to dance in the rain".

p.s. Truth be told, none of this would ever have happened if Sarah O. was still living on my street. So, Sarah,,,,,, I am going to blame this all on you, ha ha ha ha.

Alabama camping trip

So back in June, I booked a camping trip near Little River Canyon, Alabama for the second week of October. Since we live in the south we avoid doing any camping in the summer so October would be the perfect time for a relaxing trip. We spent the weekend with our friend, Colton Campbell (you know, the adopted cousin, lol). We arrived Thursday evening after a 4 hours drive. The campground was a little run down, but was sufficient for our needs. Colton brought a trailer full of firewood and bikes for the kids. On Friday we drove an hour away to go canoe down a river. Sadly, the river was completely still and so it was just like paddling in a still lake. We did make do with what we had and had a good time. We enjoyed several rope swings and jumping into the very cold river. The kids had a blast and it was nice to spend that time out on the river doing something out of the "norm". Saturday was a "chill" day, until the van died, OY. After a few hours, and several prayers, we were able to get the car started, but it sure was not acting normal. So we decided to pack up that night and drive home for fear that we would get stranded out in the middle of no where in Alabama. We made it home Saturday night around 10 p.m. - exhausted, dirty, and hungry.

Although our camping trip didn't turn out quite as expected, we did have a good time and we are glad we had the opportunity. The weather was fantastic and it was relaxing and nice to spend that time away from our busy lives.

all set and ready to row down the river.

check out how BIG this life jacket was on Brooklyne, poor girl.

Colton, Trent, and Kolby ready to concur the river.

Colton on the rope swing.

Donald flying thru the air getting ready to brace the cold water.

Brooklyne and daddy after one of his jumps.

There goes Colton again.

Trent jumping off a big old log. The water was freezing and he freaked out a bit once he hit the water.

Kolby's turn to brace the cold water. He was a star.

Kolby trying out one of the rope swings.

. . . Trent's turn.

. . . Brooklyne rocks the rope swing.

. . . Tanner takes a go at it.

Kolby was stellar at rowing his canoe.

Donald takes a jump head first.

Colton has a stow away for this last jump. Check out the look on Kolby's face.

and they are off!

success!

Obsession of my Sassafras

Brooklyne is OBSESSED with dance and gymnastics. When school started in August and all three boys would be gone during the day, Donald and I decided that Brooklyne needed something to call "her own". OH MY GOODNESS, boy does she call it her own, ha ha ha. That little girl talks about dance and gymnastics almost as much as her brothers talk about Star Wars. Regardless of her girly obsession, it is really fun to see her loving it and having something that is "hers."

5 Down and 100 more to come

Tanner has survived the first 5 years of his life and that is definitely reason to celebrate. Tanner has been eagerly awaiting his epic 5th birthday because months ago he declared it would be a STAR WARS birthday since he will be a big boy. He started his morning off with a great banana muffin breakfast, fruit, and eggs, then headed off to school (pre-k). Daddy brought him McDonald's for lunch and I came in the afternoon with sprinkle cupcakes for the class. When he got home, he quickly declared that he would be able to play video games because it was his birthday. Guess what he wanted to play? - YUP, STAR WARS! We then had Pizza and bread sticks for dinner, the indulged in chocolate Star Wars cake. He felt like a super star with all the attention and gifts. He told me he wishes it was his birthday every day. Sadly, he must wait 12 more months before he can celebrate being another year older, - I'm fine with that.

Tanner was also really excited to share his birthday with is adopted cousin, Colton Campbell.

20 minutes of mesmerizing entertainment

So last night we we outside playing with the kids before dinner. Trent yelled loudly for me to come look at something. Low and behold he was watching a couple of bugs. I know that doesn't seem all that interesting, but it actually was. We watched and average sized wasp drag an enormous garden spider up the hill of our yard walking backwards the entire time. The garden spider was at least 4 times larger than the wasp, with a yellow body the size of a fat baby carrot, and it was amazing to watch this little bug drag the spider with such persistence. He got the spider up to the curb and dragged it into the street. Moments later my neighbor drove by and barely missed hitting or squashing the bugs. The wasp was able to get the spider two thirds across the road when 2 more cars drove by. the wasp flew away quickly. The spider remained in tact after the first two cars drove by, but sadly, the third car SQUASHED that fat big spider and left spider guts every where. I almost thru up in my mouth after watching that horrifying display of gut spilling.

Nonetheless, all of us just stood back and watched this bug excursion for nearly 20 minutes. We were fixated and couldn't stop watching. For anyone thinking that there is no entertainment in my little town in Mississippi - here is the cold hard truth staring you right in the face. I mean come on, bug guts are definitely eye popping entertainment.

SHOCKER, I know . . . Labor Day Fun in Destin, FL

Don't adjust your computer screen. Don't keep wiping your eyes. YES, it is true, I have finally done and ACTUAL blog post - equipped even with tons of pictures.

We were really fortunate to be able to spend the weekend in Destin Florida over the Labor Day weekend. Don and I really wanted to go somewhere for our 12 anniversary and it turned into a family beach trip. We were able to luck out on a great condo

deal right off of the beach because of the Oil Spill stuff. Of course Destin didn't

have any oil issues, but still people were more reluctant to book their vacations

for a potential oil contaminated area. This of course made it so awesome

condo's like the the one we stayed in much more affordable.

We left MS Friday morning and drove the 5 hours to get to Destin. we quickly checked into our condo (btw, we found it on vrbo.com), grabbed some late lunch, and headed for the beach. Trent and Kolby were a little displeased with the lack of "stellar" waves, but that didn't stop them from constantly trying to ride the waves. Tanner and Brook loved playing in the surf and in the sand. We stayed at the beach for a little over an hour, then readed back to our resort where we hopped in the pool for another hour of water fun. On Saturday, we got a late start (hmmm, something about Don and I really enjoying the care free time and the ability to sleep in and relax in the morning, lol) but headed off to the beach for a few hours before lunch. Then we headed back to the pool where we ate our packed lunches and played some more. After all that time in the sun and surf, we had mandatory nap time. That evening we drove along the coast line and finally stopped at a cool shack called The Crab Trap. Sunday we skipped church (yes, you read that right) and headed back to the beach for several hours. After lunch and nap time, we headed BACK to the beach and then finished off with the pool again. We quickly headed back up to our room so we could have dinner and a movie while watching The Chipmunks. Monday morning we packed up and checked out. It was really sad to have to leave, but that just means we had a really fantastic time. Before making it back to Mississippi, we stopped in Pensacola Beach for a few more hours of beach time. We finally made it back to our house around 9 p.m. after some intense stop and go traffic.

The weekend trip was simply perfect and I am so glad

we were able to spend it as a family.

Now check out our fun pictures from the trip. I know I posted a lot of pictures, but believe me when I say that I didn't even post HALF of them, lol.

Our master bedroom with a great view of the beach.

Kolby and Tanner in the "bunk room".

Trent and Brooklyne hiding in the pillows in the 2nd bedroom.

The kids were glued to the tv every morning. It was nice having cable for the weekend.

This is the view of the beach from our bedroom.

Kolby playing on the beach.

Brooklyne makes a sand patty in Destin.

Brooklyne getting some assistance while catching a wave.

She thinks she is the diva of the beach now, ha ha ha.

This is a picture of the resort we stayed at. It took 5 minutes from our door to the sand.

Kolby sacked out while reading on the patio.

Trent was diving to catch a fish, I think. ha ha ha

Donald had a great time playing at the beach - maybe even more fun than the kids.

Kolby really enjoyed trying to catch some waves.

Trent rides the wave to shore.

Kolby and Trent trying to catch some fish.

Brooklyne and Tanner loved playing in the sand.

I love being a mom, even if it means the kids like to climb on me at the beach.

Brooklyne and Tanner playing in the sand in Pensacola.

Trent and Kolby catching some fun waves.

Brooklyne, --- 3.5 years old.

Kolby, --- 7 years old.

Tanner, --- almost 5 years old.

Trenton, --- 9.5 years old.

Donald helping Tanner catch the wave.

Brooklyne and Daddy playing in the waves --- I think this wave won.

Tanner and I playing in the surf as we battled to see who was stronger, mom, Tanner, or the wave?

The jelly fish that was caught right where we were swimming.