It's Cool to Play in the Pool!

Zoo Pals

2 Little Girl's Day of Fun

We have had quite a fun filled day today. Katelynn came over this morning to spend the day with us. We all headed out to a place that has a petting zoo and other animals. It was so cute watching the girls feed all the goats. The goats sure did enjoy it. Brianna was typical Brianna. She saw one animal and then said, "Ok, Whats next?" Oh yeah, and she complained the whole time about it being too hot. She felt much better when Papa bought her and Katelynn an ice cream. It was melting faster that they could eat it, and can you believe that neither of the girls got it on their clothes! After the zoo, we went to McDonald's for lunch then came home for the girls to play in the pool. They really enjoyed themselves. I hope ya'll enjoy the slides.

WE MADE IT

WE GOT TO NY YESTERDAY AFTERNOON. WE LEFT FRIDAY MORNING AT 9:00 AND GOT HERE SATURDAY AT 2:00. BRIANNA HANDLED THE LONG CAR RIDE PRETTY GOOD. I THINK HER FAVORITE PART WAS STAYING AT THE HOTEL. SHE LOVED RIDING UP AND DOWN THE ELEVATOR TO GET ICE AND SNACKS. SINCE WE GOT HERE YESTERDAY, BRIANNA HAS BEEN BUSY PLAYING WITH HER COUSINS. SHE JUST DOESN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH HERSELF. KATELYNN IS SUCH A SWEET LITTLE GIRL, ALWAYS THINKING OF OTHERS. NICHOLAS AND RYAN ARE TYPICAL BOYS, ALWAYS FIGHTING. LITTLE CHRISTOPHER IS JUST ADORABLE. HE LOOKS LIKE THE GERBER BABY. WE HAD A SLEEPOVER WITH ALL THE KIDS LAST NIGHT. THEY HAD FUN. BRIANNA IS STAYING THE NIGHT OVER AT KATELYNNS HOUSE TONIGHT. I DON'T THINK SHE IS GOING TO WANT TO COME BACK HOME. WE MISS EVERYONE IN SC, BUT I REALLY THINK BRIANNA MAY NEVER WANT TO LEAVE.

13 Things We Are Taking On Our Vacation:
1. Maps-doesn't matter how many times we have driven to NY, we always have to refer to the maps when we get to the city.
2. Music CD's-Can't find any good stations in Virginia. (That's my chance to break out Bon-Jovi)
3. Portable DVD Player-There's no way Brianna could go a 14 hour car trip without some type of amusement.
4. Activity Bag for the Car-Can't depend on the DVD player to keep Brianna occupied the whole trip.
5. Drinks & Snacks-So we don't have to pull over every 1/2 hour to get something.
6. Brianna's Toys-Not too many because Nana will have plenty for her to play with, but we have to bring her Princess crown and jewelry.
7. Camera-Ya'll know you can't go on vacation without it.
8. Batteries for the Camera-Just in case.
9. Mosquito Spray-I know we will be outside a lot and I hear that mosquitoes in those parts love "southern" blood.
10. Pillow & Blanket-Will make it easier to snooze while Brian is driving.
11. Medicines-Can't leave home without Brianna's allergy medicines. She might be allergic to some of those Yankees!:-)
12. My Dixie Girl T-Shirt-How could I resist?
13. A Prayer to Get us There Safely

Brianna's New Dress

Brianna wanted everyone to see her new dress. She just loves it. I took Brianna to her new school today to visit. She really liked it and after speaking to the lady in charge, I feel much better with our decision to send her there. She said that all the kids have a great time and that Brianna should fit in well there. So, today is the day that I am going to start packing for New York. I thought I should try to start putting clothes in the suitcases while they are still clean. The next 3 days are going to be soooo busy. I think the thing that I hate the worst is trying to remember everything. You all know how it is to get halfway there and realize that you forgot something. I hope that my father-in-law has found somewhere for me to sleep by now. I just know that he is counting down the days till my arrival. (Kevin, since you are so old, I will help you out....Its 4 more days!) I really think that it's the highlight of his summer:) We are all so very excited to go visit. We have had a lot of stress in our lives recently and could really use this chance to get away and spend some quality time with each other. If we don't drive each other crazy first!

GETTING READY

It's going to be a busy week. Not only are we trying to pack for New York, but we are also working on trying to get Brianna into a Christian school that lasts all day. We have been so very fortunate to have my mother and grandmother help us watch and take care of Brianna these past 4 years, but we believe its time for us to give them a well deserved break. Heather has told me about Inman First Baptist. That is where she takes Carson. He really likes it there and she has no complaints. She has even offered to pick Brianna up when she picks her children up. I just hope she'll have enough room in that Honda of hers for 3 car seats! If not, I guess Brianna will be riding in the trunk:)
I really don't know how to thank you, Heather, for doing this. We definitely would not have made the decision to take her there, had it not been for your suggesting that you would pick her up. I didn't want her to have to stay there till 6:00 every night. So again, Brian & I say thank you. You truly are a wonderful friend.
So once the school thing is taken care of, we can start to get ready to visit New York. I have already been doing laundry for the past 2 days, with a little bit of help from my Grand-Mother. She does some folding for me while she's here with Brianna. I sure am going to miss that when she's not watching Brianna anymore. It's a big joke around here with us. Brianna will run to the clothes dryer and open it up and say, "Granny, Mommy left you some clothes to fold!" I will probably be doing laundry all week. As you all know, Brianna only wants to wear dresses. All her favorite dresses were dirty. Needless to say, I washed her clothes tonight. I also made a quick trip out to Sam's. They didn't have what I went in there to get, but I still ended up with something. A new dress for Brianna and a pair of sneakers for myself. I think its impossible to go into Sam's and not buy something. Anyway, that's been our day.

Saturday

Saturday started out with Brianna and I going out to find us a new bathing suit. We went to Kohl's and found Brianna one. I on the other hand was not so lucky. I don't think there's anything more depressing than trying on bathing suits. I know all you girls out there reading this knows what I am talking about. Anyway, I did finally find one. I don't love it, but it will have to do. We then stopped by My-My's and PaPa's. Brianna wanted to see the baby kitty and My-My. It's name is Peanut. She loves playing with that little cat. We had lunch there and came home. (Thanks for the fried taters, Daddy.) We spent the rest of the night outside. Like usual. I have a daughter and a husband that love to spend all their time outside. Unfortunately, being outside is not one of my favorite things to do. Nonetheless, I grin through it to spend time with my family. Yes, I know, I am such a good mother:) I cut the grass in the back yard and had help from my little helper. She helped me rake up all the clippings. She loves doing stuff like that. She must get it from her Daddy!

BRIANNA & BONNIE

HELLO AGAIN!

So, have you missed me? I've been busy the last couple of days. I don't get many chances to get on the computer. Brianna spends more time on it than I do, but if you were to ask Brian he'd say that I am on it all the time. I would disagree. We are starting to get things ready for our trip to New York next week. I spoke to my father-in-law, Kevin, yesterday. He said that he's still looking for somewhere for me to sleep. I guess he's forgotten that I am a "southern" girl. I can make do and take just about anything he can dish out. It looks like I will be spending some of my time there showing my mother-in-law, Pat, how to blog. Although, I am not a master at it by any means. Brian is planning on taking Brianna fishing and crabbing while we are there. She will get a kick out of that. Anyway, I don't really have much to say and I don't want to bore you to death.
In case you're wondering about the "Thirteen" list below, apparantly in blogging there's a thing called Thursday Thirteen. Every Thursday you make a list of 13 things. So heres my go at it. I didn't do mine till today. I fell asleep last night and didn't get it done. Hope you enjoy it.

13 THINGS BRIANNA LIKES TO DO

1. CATCH BUGS...ALL KINDS IT DOESN'T MATTER. SHE'S NOT AFRAID OF ANYTHING.
2. TENDING TO THE GARDEN WITH HER DADDY.
3. DIGGING UP WORMS FOR THE WORM FARM.
4. EATING ICE POPS.
5. GOING SWIMMING IN THE POOL.
6. WATCHING NOGGIN, SPROUT, AND BOOMERANG ON TV.
7. LINING UP HER TOYS...WHETHER ITS HER DINOSAURS, LIZARDS OR HORSES.
8. HAVING HER NAILS PAINTED.
9. READING BOOKS.
10. WORKING ON PUZZLES.
11. GOING TO THE STORES WITH MOMMY.
12. WEARING DRESSES.
13. SLEEPING WITH HER "BLANKIE".

Dress Up!

Day at the Playground

Thank Ya'll

When I started this Saturday, I didn't think at that time that I was going to get this whole "blogging" thing, but I must say that I am quiet proud of myself. I really appreciate all of your positive comments. I'm glad that ya'll are enjoying it. It's fun to do things with all these pictures that I have. As many of you know, I enjoy scrapbooking. I have done a scrapbook for Brianna since she was born; so you can only imagine how much time and money went into that. It seems like it takes just as long to drag all of my supplies out as it does to actually make a page in the book.(For those of you that scrapbook, you know what I am referring to.) To blog, all I have to do is sit at this computer for a few minutes and put a couple pictures on a page. Don't get me wrong, I am not giving up scrapbooking. Blogging is just a little bit more convenient for me at this time, and like I mentioned earlier, I thought this was a wonderful way for all of you to see things in our lives that you otherwise would have missed out on. I hope that I will continue to be fun and creative so that you may enjoy yourselves as you visit with us on this blog.

Brianna & Her Barbie Bike

We found out today that we will be going to visit our family in New York next week. With things so up in the air at Brian's job, we didn't know for sure if it was going to work out. It looks like we will be leaving next Friday. We can't wait. And I just know that my father-in-law is just "dying" to see me. (I'm just dying to see you too, Kevin). Brianna has really missed them since their last visit here for her 4th birthday. Looks like we will be there about a week. Granny Reeves is going to take care of our cat, MyMY is taking care of the fish, and my friend April is going to watch Bonnie for us. April, I hope you know I just love you for this:)
Anyway, this "blogging" thing can be addictive. My husband and my child have gone to sleep the past 3 nights and I have stayed up to work on this. I think its worth it though. I am so glad that Heather got me into doing this. She still has to teach me some things, but overall its not too bad. I really enjoy doing it so that you all can get a glimpse into things that you normally don't get to see.
I have put some new pictures on here: A slide show of Brian and Brianna planting sunflowers earlier this spring and a picture of a toad that Brianna had found tonight. She goes outside every night with her daddy looking for camel crickets and lightening bugs. I was sitting at the computer and the next thing I knew, she was running in the house saying she caught a baby frog. Her daddy let her bring it in for a little while so she could hold it and watch it jump around, then it was time for it to go back outside. I'M SO GLAD SHE DIDN'T WANT TO KEEP IT!

SUNFLOWERS

Look What I Did Sunday!

A Very Busy Day

We started the morning with a 9:00 visit to church, followed by a trip to the grocery store. Once home, Brian asked if we wanted to go to Paris Mountain State Park. We packed up a picnic and headed out hoping to beat the rain. We walked trails and saw a snake at the bottom of the waterfall. Brian said he thought it was a water moccasin. After our "hike", we thought it best to go ahead and have our picnic before the rain got us. There were alot of geese in the picnic area waiting for our leftovers. Brianna had fun feeding them. We really did have some fun! And in case you are wondering, the rain just missed us.
Later we went to Morris & Shirl's house to see the new baby goats. It was so much fun watching Brianna chasing them around the barn. And the baby chicks, we can't forget them. Brianna has to hold them everytime we go down there. We barely made it out without Brianna "stealing" one. If Shirl had anything to do with it, we would have a henhouse in our backyard already.
I put a slide show on here so that you guys could see all the fun Brianna had today. Enjoy!

New To Me

I am not quite sure I know how to do this. My friend Heather says that it's soooo easy. Let me tell you, I am a little bit intimidated. I will try though, with alot of assistance from her. I am creating this blog so that our friends and family can keep in touch with the many things that our little girl Brianna loves to do. We have family in New York that miss out on alot of moments in Brianna's life. I thought this would give them the chance to see some of those. Brianna has been a very busy little girl today. We went out to yard sales this morning. She found some TY Beannie Babies. One is a dinosaur, the other is a bunny rabbit. She also picked up her new baby cousin, Macy, a little kitty. I found a fireplace screen in excellent condition and got a great deal on it. Its getting dark outside and Brianna and Brian are catching lightening bugs. She's really good at it. Its so cute to watch her run around the yard with that net in her hand. I guess I will go join them (if the mosquitos don't eat me alive).