Where a kid can be a kid!

Where would you like to go to celebrate your 7th Birthday? This year Kendal requested Chuck E Cheese. We have always done our birthday parties at home. They are a lot of fun but a lot of work. I offered Kendal another home birthday party but she was insistent that she wanted a Chuck E Cheese party. We finally agreed as long as she limited the guest list and we booked our first Chuck E Cheese party. It was GREAT. Bayley and Kendal were just about as excited as Kendal was and all in all everyone had a great time. Bayley decorated Kendal's star cake this year and did another great job. Kendal loved being the center of attention. They did a whole Birthday girl program that included being crowned, receiving a medal, being sung to, and finally a trip to the ticketblaster. For 30 seconds Kendal stood in the ticketblaster trying to grab as many tickets as she could. It ended up she collected more in her crown that was sitting on top of her head than she did with her hand, but regardless she racked up some major tickets. I do believe there was a bit of a miscalculation or maybe it was just birthday girl treatment but it ended up that she had enough to tickets to pick ANYTHING she wanted. She walked away with a bouncy ball, a blanket and a stuffed animal. A great ending to a fun day.

Here are a few facts about Kendal at 7 years old:

• Kendal loves animals. All she wanted for her birthday was a pet. I kidded with her that we had a couple of presents for her and she was totally upset. She said that if there was more than one present that must mean that she wasn't getting a pet. We did get her not one but two dwarf frogs. They are the perfect pets for our family. They only need to be fed twice a week and their water changed once every 3 months. We will see how we do. The kids have enjoyed watching them and I think Adison loves them just as much as Kendal. Kendal has named them both Lulu because you can't tell one from the other. We also got Kendal a 2 hour horseback riding lesson for her birthday. She is very excited, so I hope she likes it!




Kendal is our competitive child. She is always up for a race and loves to win, but will keep trying if she doesn't. She is loving softball this year. We didn't move her up to the higher age group and as a result she is one of the better players this year. She loves to impress and loves to practice. She announced the other day she would like to play in college someday. She is determined enough that it might just happen, especially if she sets her mind to it.


Kendal loves to write and would love to write a book someday. She writes us short stories all of the time. I hope that love of writing remains. She also is really starting to enjoy reading. She has come a long way this year and I can see her being a lot like her big sister Bayley....rarely leaving the house without a book in her hand. I love that my girls love to read.


Kendal is a very sweet girl. We love her very much and can't believe how quickly she is growing up. She gets along very well with her older sister and younger brother and she adores her baby sister, who loves her sometimes.

Happy Birthday Kendal!

Spring Break 2010 Pictures

This Spring Break we went to someplace we had never been before as a family, Gatlinburg Tennessee. Jeff had been there a couple of times growing up, but since we have been married he hasn't been back. I have heard a lot of great things about Gatlinburg, so we were really excited. We didn't tell the kids where we were going until we got there, which added to the excitement. I think they had a good time. Here are some pictures of our 2 1/2 days of fun in Gatlinburg. We didn't spend much time in the hotel room and stayed pretty busy from sun up to sun down. Adison warmed up to the idea of sitting on the carousel horse. At first she didn't want anything to do with it. I love how she is waving to her Daddy!
Note to self: do not go all out the first time on the bungee run. I ended up with a major case of whip lash. It totally whipped me back. I was sore for a couple of days.

Bayley and Kendal had a great time ice skating. Trey also gave it a try and after 2 times around was crying and sure that he was a complete failure at ice skating. I tried pointing out that he wasn't the only one holding on to the railing most of the time. Maybe we will let him try again in a couple of years.

Kendal enjoyed the carousel, but I think most enjoyed the Alpine Slide portion of our visit to Ober Gatlinburg. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of us on the slide or on the sky life, but Bayley, Trey, Kendal and I had a great time going up and down the mountain. It was pretty chilly outside, but fortunately we had brought our coats.

I love Adison's face in this picture. Jeff and her missed a good portion of our visit to Ober Gatlinburg while Adison took her afternoon nap in the car. She did get to go to the zoo and see the bears which she thought was pretty cool.

One morning we went to the aquarium there in Gatlinburg. Jeff and I really like it and thought it had a lot of really cool fish. The kids had a good time too, even though Kendal decided to be funny in this picture.

I would have to say that the one of the favorite things we did (and most expensive) was the Dixie Stampede. The kids were mesmerized by the show and enjoyed the huge amount of food that we were given to eat during the show. After the show the kids got to go and get autographs and touch the horses. It was a very fun night! In fact, they asked if they could go again the next night...always a good indicator of fun.

Our attempt at a family picture at the Dixie Stampede.

The girls on the lazy river at the indoor water park. We stayed at a resort that had a indoor water park. We spent most of the day on Tuesday at the water park and the kids had a great time.

Trey and Jeff were buddies on the lazy river.

Monday night after we arrived we headed into Gatlinburg and went to the Ripley's Believe it or Not museum. We enjoyed seeing all of the weird stuff and watching Trey scream at the screaming box.

We had a very busy couple of days and came home exhausted, but it was totally worth it. I don't think it is a place I would want to go every vacation, but every once in a while it would be fun to head back. Friday we went and swam with friends at our local Rec center and then spent the rest of the weekend watching basketball. It was a great week. Now it is back to the grind.

February is a Short Month!

My matching girls


My 4 matching KidsThe Sunday couch picture

Their favorite way to pose

One of these kids is not happy to have their picture taken?

So February came and went in a flash. We have been busy and I have been procrastinating blogging, but before March has come and gone I figured I better get a few things down before I forget.

Bayley finished a successful season of basketball. She scored a couple of times, hung with the boys, and said she might even play again next year. I am so glad that she had a positive experience. Honestly I was a lot worried when I saw the make up of her team and the league and that it was mostly older boys. But she really surprised me with how tough she was and how she didn't back down at all to the challenge. They didn't pass her the ball as much as she would have like, however the boys on her team were so cute when she scored....they cheered like she had just hit a game winning shot. I thought it was awesome. By the end of the season, numerous coaches let Bayley know how much she had improved and how much potential she does have. We will see what the future brings, but she now knows she can do a sport and have fun doing it. She still is taking piano and coming along very nicely. She likes it, but doesn't like to be pushed too much. Our new compromise to make practice a priority is that she doesn't get dessert that night unless she practices her piano. The key to Bayley's desire is found through her stomach and desire for sweets! She is also still taking ballet. She hasn't really made any friends in her class this year, so it hasn't been as enjoyable as she would have liked. However, she is very excited about her recital in June.

Bayley was the flag bearer for her class during her trip to the American Village.

Kendal also had a good time playing basketball. She is still trying to figure out the rules, which is hard to do when you don't play by the "real" rules in basketball. In her league they weren't allowed to steal the ball from the other team or guard outside a certain area in the key. So after watching a game with me on TV she was sure the teams were fouling and breaking the rules by stealing the ball and gaurding outside the key. She is feisty when she wants to be and is very determined. She practices a ton and loves to be competitive. I'm sure she will even enjoy basketball more once she is allowed to play by the "real" rules. Now that basketball is over, she is gearing up for softball. She has a great coach this year and is the oldest on her team. I think she is excited to be a leader and to be one of the best players on the team. They take their softball serious around here, so I hope it is a great season. In school, she has really caught the reading bug and is doing a great job. She has started chapter books and loves trying to keep up with the best readers in her class. She loves to be challenged and I love that!

Kendal on the court!


Trey is gearing up for his first season of T-ball. It should be interesting. He is excited though and hopefully will have a positive experience. He is still doing preschool twice a week and looks forward to learning and spending a couple of hours with his friends. He struggles sometimes with being the only boy with three sisters, like when they were matching dresses in the pictures above. He was sad and felt a little left out, but we did our best to color coordinate his outfit and make him feel a part of the group. He does love his sisters...sometimes a little too much, just ask Adison!

Adison is the "baby" of our family in every way. She is a bit spoiled and knows it! She loves attention, especially when it is positive and is a bit of a show off sometimes. She has started to say a few words like ball, thank you, please, mom, dad, dog, nose, eyes, but she still longs to be able to communicate with words better. It's hard to believe she turns 18 months this month. She is my buddy and is a trooper running errands and running kids with me most of the time.

Grandma G came to visit during her winter break and the kids loved it!



A real snow day in Alabama! The kids were out at 7 am checking out the white stuff!

We're BACK!

Literally and figuratively we are back. It has taken a couple of weeks, but I am finally getting back into a routine. We made it through back surgery and Jeff is recovering well. The pain that was originally there and the reason for surgery is gone and he now is just dealing with slight post-surgery pain and looking forward to getting back to work and continuing to rehab.

We both now have a new perspective on dealing with pain and the slow recovery process that surgery entails. The first day he attempted to walk at the gym he was getting passed by old women. It was pretty humbling to say the least. We joked that he was getting smoked by old women. He has progressed nicely and last week was able to walk a brisk 3 1/2 miles around the track. There are still a lot of things that he can't do, but there are a lot of things that he can now do that he wasn't able to do just 3 weeks ago, like drive. I don't know if he missed driving as much as I missed him driving, but I am definitely glad that we have another set of wheels in the family again.

As for the rest of life, it keeps moving on. The girls are in the middle of basketball season and both are doing well. Now if you ask them, Bayley will say she doesn't like it and Kendal will say that she loves it. However, Bayley is hanging quite while with the 4th through 6th grade boys that she is playing against. She is a great rebounder and a great defender. I have been very impressed with her effort and know that if she decides to try again that she will only get better and probably like it even more....even though I am pretty sure that she would never admit liking it. She does however definitely like the concession stand that awaits her after each game. Kendal is getting the hang of the game. She has scored a couple of times and definitely gets excited when she is on the floor. Basketball takes up our Tuesday nights and Saturday mornings, but it sure is fun watching them play.

Kendal shooting a free throw

Bayley playing with the guys!

Kendal showing off her cute smile! She won't be toothless much longer.

Trey continues to enjoy preschool. He loves to write and will attempt to copy just about everything he sees and does a pretty good job at it. He can be the best of boys and the worst of boys all in the matter of minutes. He definitely is struggling with the I want it now and I don't care what you say attitude. I know eventually he will figure out who is boss...and realize that it is not himself.

Trey striking a pose!

I am loving Adison at this age. She is so much fun and so funny. She makes the best facial expressions. She knows what she wants and is pretty relentless at letting us know exactly what it is and when she wants it. She still isn't talking very much, but who needs to talk with 5 other people willing to help you out at any given time. Being the youngest in a busy family has made poor Adision have to adjust her schedule to ours more than we adjust ours to hers. Because of this, last week we finally drove her to exhaustion. Jeff was feeding her dinner, when he left the room to help one of the other kids and returned to find her passed out in her high chair...a first for one of our kiddos. She is trooper though and does a good job of being pretty flexible most of the time. She definitely has acquired her older sister's sweet tooth. She loves desserts just as much as Bayley....those two are going to have fun together.

Exhausted!!!

Just a few of her expressions! We love this girl!

Despite all of the goings on, I have very few pictures to show for it. February is bound to be better, right?

The girls trying to make the best of our icy snow day a couple of weeks ago. There wasn't really snow, just ice. The got out boogie boards and cardboard and had fun sliding down the hill.

Where to begin???

It has been a crazy week. Hopefully I don't leave very much out, but here are the highlights.

We had a great Christmas at home. We had planned on having Grandma and Grandpa G come for Christmas Eve, however due to illness they were unable to make it. We missed them, but enjoyed our time together as a family. Christmas Eve we had our traditional dinner of breakfast for dinner and then we read the Christmas story as a family. Jeff organized the program very well and the kids enjoyed all of the singing. They hung in there pretty well despite all of the excitement of Santa coming tomorrow.

We started our Christmas morning at 6:30 am. We had to wake up Trey and Adison, but Kendal and Bayley had been awake for a while. The big surprise this year from Santa was Trey receiving a lump of coal. After months of threatening and months of him calling our bluff, Trey's naughty behavior caught up with him and all that was on the couch by his stocking Christmas morning was coal. We were anxious to see his reaction, but he kind of surprised us. I guess we prepared him pretty well that he might be getting coal, because he was just excited that he got a few things in his stocking. Santa did leave him a note that he had left a few presents on the back porch for Trey if his parents decided it was all right for him to have them. He has promised to do better and I hope the memories of coal stay present in his mind. Bayley's big gift was a new bike. Kendal was excited about her new vanity and Adison got a new ride on toy. We had fun opening presents together and spending a quiet day at home. I didn't get a picture but the kids were so excited that we had snow flurries on Christmas day. A white Christmas in Alabama is very rare, so they were pretty excited.





After Christmas is when things started getting crazy. The Tuesday after Christmas Jeff was scheduled to have back surgery to take care of a herniated disc that has been causing him pain for the last couple of years. We were anxious but ready to hopefully return him to full health. Monday he went to do pre-op stuff and that is when plans started falling apart. His quick appointments took a couple of hours, his phone crashed, my child care plans fell through at the last minute, and finally we got a call late that because of bad weather in the Northeast his insurance pre-approval had not gone through. I'm not one to give up on plans very easily, but at 9:30 Monday night we finally decided that it would probably be better to wait and reschedule the surgery for a couple of days later.

Tuesday morning we found out why things had fallen apart the day before. Jeff's beloved Grandma Eloise Thornton passed away on Tuesday morning. If Jeff had gone to surgery as scheduled it would have been highly unlikely that we would have been able to make the trip to Indiana to be at the funeral. We definitely recognized the Lord's hand in our change in plans and as a result Wednesday we headed to Indiana to be with Jeff's family for Grandma's funeral. The funeral was very nice and a great tribute to a great woman. We enjoyed being able to spend time with the Thornton family and reflect upon the good times we had spent with Grandma. Bayley will never forget her yummy angel food cake. I think Kendal and Trey will remember visiting her in the nursing home and the dog that was the home's permanent resident. I know Grandma loved having the kids around and I will always remember how happy she would be when we would arrive to see them. July 2010


Saturday we left Indiana and headed to Georgia to spend time with the Griffeth family. Grant and Alyssa were there with their two girls Olivia and Madeline who we do not get to see enough. It was fun to see how much they have grown and get to put a personalities with their cute faces. Spencer and Leigh and their kids Spence and Jaidyn also spent the day with us on Sunday. It was a lot of fun having such a big group of us together. As we keep adding kiddos to the mix it definitely gets a bit more crazy! Crazy but fun!! We enjoyed playing games and catching up. It will definitely be fun to have everyone together this summer at the Lake.



Monday morning before leaving town we made a quick trip to the dentist. As you can tell by Kendal's smile we needed some dental intervention (j/k). Kendal lost her two front teeth on consecutive days giving her a new look.
No really, Spencer was kind enough to squeeze us all in for cleaning before we left town saving us a trip back to Georgia later this month.

The rest of this week has been spent preparing for Jeff's surgery. Right now I am sitting in the waiting area killing time while I wait for word on how things went. We are excited that this might be his answer to his back pain and look forward to a positive outcome. Hopefully next post I will have good news to report!