Halloween 2015

We had Jack14 (Star Wars Lego Character, Yoda and a bat!

We had friends at our house for chili then headed out in the rain to Trick or Treat. Luckily minutes after walking out, the rain stopped and we had a great time. Jack LOVED trick or treating and even said, "Treat" every time someone opened the door. 

See all the photos from the night and our other fall adventures here.

Peter Pan at the Ballet

We took a trip down to TPAC for the ballet. I decided to give the boys a little culture and test it out with Peter Pan, a favorite story of Joey's. We got dressed up and headed downtown with our friends. It was a crap shoot whether they would sit and enjoy the ballet. Luckily, they loved every minute of the show. Joey literally sat on the edge of his seat asking questions and pointing out details the entire time. We had a little snack at intermission and were able to watch the entire show without incident. It was a very nice experience. What show is next?

Sledding 2015

Oh boy, winter 2015 has not been kind to us. We had our first snowfall in January. We went out early for some sledding and by noon it was 50 degrees and melted! PERFECTION! But alas, February did not go so well. It has been cold and we had an ice storm. The ice storm did provide some slick slopes and a fun ride but it was really too cold to enjoy for long. We did not leave the house for 5 days, by choice because it was cold and dangerous out. It did provide some pretty pictures.

Click here for photos

Fall Festivities and Halloween

We love this time of year. The weather is beautiful especially coming off a hot end of summer. We hit a couple farms and had a lot of fun with friends. We picked some pumpkins and played with the animals. Halloween cooled way down and we froze while trick or treating but we were with good friends so it did't bother us. We had a fun filled October! Check out the pictures here.

Apple Picking- 2014

We went apple picking for a little fall fun. It has finally cooled down so we wanted to squeeze in apple picking before it was too late. The apples are ripe starting in August but it is just too hot so we made it out on the last day of picking. It was perfect out sunny and cool(er). It was a great day; Joey and Jack picked one apple each- sat down and ate them. Jake did all the work! He picked and picked and even climbed trees to get the good apples! We picked two bags of apples. It was a great time. After picking we sat down for a picnic lunch. As we were cleaning up to leave Joey decided to climb on one of the metal wagons' handles, next thing we knew Joey was screaming and blood was everywhere. We had to rush to the dentist because Joey knocked his two front teeth back into his mouth. He bit through his bottom lip as well and the tears would not stop. I rushed the entire hour drive to the dentist while Joey screamed the entire way. He was brave once we were there and the bleeding stopped. We have since found out that the two front teeth are "dead" and will have to be pulled. The fun day ended on a sour note but 3 boys and the oldest being 5- not too bad for our first "emergency!"

See the pictures of the fun part of our day here...

Easter 2014

More Photos

A New Family Member

Look who followed me home from the park! I saw this sweet little kitten get dropped off at the park. It just broke my heart so I called her over and she came running and followed me home. She is the sweetest little thing. At about 20 weeks old she is a playful kitten but house trained. She is loving and gentle. The boys fell in love right away and were so excited to hear we could keep her! We are all a little smitten! After much discussion we finally agreed to call her Jetta- a mix of Jedi and Jada. She has the prettiest coat and lovely green eyes. 

Thanksgiving 2013

Uncle Robbie and Aunt Jane came to Nashville to visit us this Thanksgiving! The boys were very excited to be able to spend some time with their uncle! The high lights of dinner were the smoked and fried turkey and hot chocolate in my paternal grandmother Meme's china tea cups.

Click link for Thanksgiving Pictures

Pumpkin Patch

We headed out to Gentry Farm for some fall fun! The boys got to take a tractor ride, play in corn, go through a hay maze and picked pumpkins. Check out the pictures, click below.

Pumpkin Patch

Bowling!

Today we took the boys bowling! I thought this would be a bit of a disaster but Josh thought it would be fun and he was right! We had a great time! Jake has been going through a bit of a scared phase (typical for his age). Thunder is really bothering him right now so Josh thought that connecting thunder and the sound of bowling pins might take some of the fear out of thunder. So we headed out to give it a try. Jake excited to get started. The bowling alley had these terrific ramps which really helped the ball get to the pins a lot faster than just rolling it down. We had the bumpers up too. Jake did not get bored or frustrated he loved it! Joey even got in on the action. He loves balls so we thought he might get a kick out of rolling the ball. Josh and Jake had such a good time they played two games!

 

 

 

Blueberry Picking

Today we braved the heat and went on a blueberry picking adventure with a few friends! We were lucky to have had some rain this month and the blueberries were plentiful! We had so much fun picking but mostly munching on the blueberries we picked! Joey jumped right in and picked his own. He did not add his to the bucket but rather they went right into his mouth. Jake and I just enjoyed watching Joey "be a farmer." After picking a bucket full we had a picnic lunch. We used our blueberries to make blueberry pancakes for breakfast. 

 

 

 

 

 

Family Baseball Trip

We hit our first baseball game today! We went to the Nashville Sounds game. It was miserably hot but we got some seats in the shade and tried our best to keep cool. Jacob was really into the food found at baseball games! He enjoyed a hot dog, popcorn and the infamous ice cream in the plastic baseball helmet. After eating all of that he was ready to go home! Boy after my own heart! Joey did well with the heat. He stayed cool by holding onto Mommy's beer.

Thanksgiving

We had Johnna and Brad come down and visit for Thanksgiving! It was a great long weekend! We went to the dig, dig park, ate some yummy food, Josh and Brad fried a turkey and we just visited! The best part was all the playing we were able to do with the boys!

Chocolate Factory Tour

This is how you should look when you leave a chocolate factory!

This afternoon we headed out to Olive and Sinclair for a tour of their factory. Olive and Sinclair is a small chocolate factory in Nashville. They are actually the only chocolate factory in the south! The owner was a pastry chef that started making his own chocolate and this is not ordinary chocolate! Boy, if you can't tell by Jake's face this chocolate is delicious! He gets his cocoa beans from the Dominican Republic and Ghana. They sample throughout the process to ensure the proper taste. Each batch has it's own unique qualities. They have amazing flavors but my favorite is cinnamon chili! Jake liked them all and when I asked which he liked the most he just said, "More!"

You can find these candy bars in Whole Foods across the country. We highly suggest them, but be warned they are a bit pricey!

No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem

Music city is rubbing off on Jake.

Flooded Basement

This is what the basement looked like halfway through the Great Nashville Flood. When it was all said and done the water heater was totally covered.