Monster Jam

We took the kids to see Monster Jam in Columbia and they loved it. They were so excited and it was so worth it just to see their faces when the trucks jumped in the air. It was very loud though and we didn't exactly come prepared. I wish we would have brought ear plugs like the Rolands. Thanks Aunt Amy for giving yours to Natalie. I think she enjoyed it much more after she had her ears plugged.Nat enjoyed it (I think) but was not excited about the loud noise and made sure she was very close to her Daddy.It was a little loud.Thomas and Uncle JohnSarah and Aunt Amy

Natalie and her "boop"

My future scholar - notice the book is upside down.

"So much for looking at this boop. I want to eat it. That watermelon looks so good"

Anytime Natalie sees food in a book she smacks her lips and pretends to eat it. I think it is too funny.

Snow - you can't see it but it's there!!!

We saw a few flakes of snow. The boys enjoyed running around in it and tried to catch flakes on their tongues. It snowed off and on all day but not one flake stuck. Oh well, at least we got to see it falling from the sky.

Enjoying some hot chocolate after a cold day

Happy Birthday Sarah!

Errrr. I wish I could figure out how to get my camera to stop taking blurry pics. Is this a cutie pie or what?

Playing tails (an updated version of tag)

One more stop

The boys continously reminded me that they still had presents to open at Granny and Chief's house. Paw Paw and Grandmama Rose came from Nashville Sat. so we waited until they arrived to open presents. Girl talkNatalie and her Paw Paw (I wish you could hear her say it)Granny and her "Sugar Baby"Uncle BarryYee-haw Natalie loves her cowgirl boots even though they are about 4 sizes too big. Notice her pink pistol and pink holster too. Too cute!

Ryan sporting his new cowboy hat.Cale finally got some boots that he doesn't have to squeeze into. He had been wearing his Uncle Barry's boots which just didn't seem to fit Cale's wider foot. He also got the hat and chaps.

In the corner of this pic you can see Natalie's adorable tricycle and the boys got a real zip line which is now between 2 trees in our yard and the boys absolutely love it. Thanks Granny, Chief, Paw Paw and Grandmama for a wonderful Christmas.

Christmas in Abbeville

We headed to Abbeville the day after Christmas. The kids were excited to find out they had more presents there. We got to see everybody and had a great time visiting. Apparently I didn't take many pictures though.

Merry Christmas!

The boys were so excited that it was finally Christmas morning. I think they asked me everyday in the month of December if it ws Christmas yet. When it finally arrived Bart and I woke up about 7 and patiently waited for the kids to wake up, which they never did so we eventually woke them up about 7:30. Maybe we were more excited then they were. We read a children's book about Jesus' birth since I figured they would get more out of that then reading from the Bible. Then we went to see what Santa had brought them. I wish we could have gotten a picture of their faces when they walked into the living room. Their faces lit up with excitment. Ryan got a drum set, Cale got a guitar, and Natalie got a rose petal cottage play house. They also got a racetrack, playstation games, playdoh, moon sand, board games, clothes, shoes. Natalie got a Baby Alive learns to potty (I guess Santa was thinking this might help with potty training), a puppy, jewelry, boops (books). That's all I can remember right now. We had a great day just hanging out in our pjs until noon. Nina and Daddy Daddy came by to see what Santa had brought and Granny and Chief came by a little later. They gave us a nice ottoman that I can stuff full of toys. Helping Daddy put the race track together. Notice how Natalie has to be right in the middle and very close to her Daddy. As you can see I still haven't exactly figured out the camera.

That afternoon we rode to Harleyville to see Grandmama Dixie and Pappy where there were more presents to open. Wow! What a great Christmas.

Christmas Eve at NIna and Daddy Daddy's

So these pics were taken with my new camera that I had just taken out of the box. Apparently I don't know how to use it yet because they didn't turn out very good but you can get the idea. We had a great time Christmas Eve opening presents, eating yummy food, and just being together. This is their new big room. They knocked out a wall between the den and the dining room so now it is one huge room for our huge family.Daddy Daddy reading from Luke 2. This is a family tradition. For as long as I can remember we have always climbed into mom and dad's bed Christmas morning (even before we looked at what Santa brought us) and read the Christmas story from Luke. It helped us remember the real reason for Christmas and really built up anticipation too. A tradition I will continue with my family.

Good ol Sunday afternoons

Ella Jane is growing so fast. In this pic she is 1 month old. As you can see the kids are amazed by her. I am very impressed with how gentle they are with her (so far).

Fun w/ black and white pics

Aren't they cutie pies?

Welcome Little Ella Jane

Pete and Jessica are now the proud parents of a precious little girl.Meet Ella Jane Stickles

Born November 21, 2008

Weight -6lbs. 3oz. 20 inches long

Proud Daddy Proud Nina and Daddy Daddy (grandchild #6)

Congrats Pete and Jessica!!!

Oh my gosh!

So the other day I was in the boys room doing the everlasting job of trying to keep it clean. I kept hearing Natalie say "Bubba" which is what she has started calling Ryan and Cale. I thought nothing of it and kept doing my job. Well after a few minutes I walked into the hall to find Natalie here.

She was on top of the computer desk pointing to pictures of her Bubbas. Since I already figured I had gotten mother of the year award for this I decided to leave her there for another second and grab my camera to take these pics. She just turned to look at me and said "Cheese."

My boys were never climbers but I have caught Natalie on top of the table, climbing on chairs and end tables, and now our computer desk. Oh and she was also very gracious in helping me clean out all the cubby holes and throw everything on the floor. What a stinker.

Fun in Nashville

We went to Nashville the week before Thanksgiving to visit the family. We had a wonderful time and even had a pretty good driving trip considering we had 3 little ones strapped in the car for a LONG time. I was very impressed with how smooth the trip went. We had a very relaxing time watching football games (loving the fact that Carolina got smashed by the Gators), eating yummy food, playing monopoly, and just visiting.

Coloring with Grandmama RoseRylee and Ryan and their favorite spinning chair.Ryan did not want to take a picture.Getting some lovin from cousin Hillaryplaying a very long game of Monopoly (we finally ended in a truce)We went to Opryland Hotel to see all the beautiful Christmas lights. I didn't get many pics of that. It's tough keeping up with 3 very excited children.We ate lunch at a restaurant that had a huge aquarium in the center. It was full of big sharks, eels (yuck), huge stingrays, and other really big fish that I don't know the names of.We had a great visit. Thanks Mrs. Rose and Paw Paw for putting up with us.

Happy Halloween!!!

We had a great Halloween this year. The boys are finally at the age where they get the whole trick-or-treating thing and love getting their pumpkins filled to the rim (and even filling their pockets) with goodies. Natalie enjoyed herself too but she didn't want her goodies in her pumpkin, she wanted to eat her candy right then and there. We saw the tantrum come out several times when we wouldn't let her have candy.

We went to Elloree for their annual trunk-or-treat and then we went trick-or-treating a little in Cameron. The kids were very worn out when we got home but loved going through their things to see what goodies they had gotten. Of course I loved picking out my favorites too. Natalie's just to little for some of that stuff you know. (that's my excuse for stealing her candy)

Captain Jack Sparrow
Diego the Animal Rescuer
Raggedy Ann
Little Bo Peep Chef Thomas
Ryan said Resue Pack wanted his picture taken too.The Grumpy Ol Mayor (Daddy Daddy)These are the only grandkids that would get close enough to the Grumpy Ol Mayor to have their picture taken.

Halloween craft

The boys loved making these papier mache (no idea if that's spelled right) pumpkins. They enjoyed being able to make a mess without getting in trouble. It was a fun project that they could do pretty much on their own.

Playing in the Yard

Yes the lawn mower is actually moving in these pictures (at a snails pace w/ no blades turning) and boy did they think they were big stuff driving all by themselves.

Just a little static in the hair.

Natalie has started saying cheese every time she sees me with my camera, so that is what she is saying in these pics. Not exactly the smile I was looking for.

Fair Fun

Orangeburg and State Fair Pics

The boys loved riding rides, petting the animals, and watching the tiger show. We all loved the corndogs, french fries, cotton candy ice cream, and candy apples.

Lowndes and Phoenix joined us on the fire trucks.

Natalie was not too sure about this goat that was trying to eat her stroller.

"You can have some of mine if I can have some of yours."

Daddy is ready to go home at this point.

That's my little boy (Cale) in the front seat riding the roller coster all by himself. They are growing up too fast. Ryan was not really interested in riding and was perfectly happy watching Cale from the ground.

Being Silly

Girly Girl?

Could I possibly have a girly girl? Granny painted Natalie's fingernails and toenails and said she sat very still for the whole thing.

Mama's little helper

Natalie loves to help me put clothes from the washer to the dryer and then the push the laundry basket to my room. I only hope she still likes to do this when she's 15.

Going to Grandma's

4 generations

Grandmama's nieghbors' pot bellied pig. Cale (and I) fell in love with him.

Trying to get caught up.

My camera stopped working a few months ago and I haven't updated this blog in a while. In fact I thought about just stopping with the whole thing but I've decided to try and catch us up to date and continue with it. So here goes.

Our very own fox and the hound

Last night Lucy, our bassett hound, was barking and wouldn't stop. I had already fussed at her one time and her barking was only getting louder so I looked outside and saw a fox standing in our driveway. Lucy has a wireless fence and the fox was just outside of where Lucy can go. It was like it knew it was safe and taunting poor Lucy. I watched for about 10 minutes as it sat there staring at Lucy. A few times it would walk a little closer and then back up or walk in the edge of the woods and dig in the ground. It didn't act scared at all. I started thinking what if it has rabies but it wasn't acting wild or anything, just curious. It finally walked off into the woods. Lucy continued to bark though for the next hour or so. She was very upset that this creature was in her yard. I'm glad you protect us Lucy but we also like to get a good nights sleep every once in a while. Bart, of course, snored through the whole thing. At least someone got some sleep.

Our Dentist Visit(s)

I took the boys to the dentist to have their teeth checked and cleaned. This was their 1st appt. (I know I waited a little late). It was a children's dentistry so I thought they would know how to make it fun and not so scary. The boys did great and I was very proud at how brave they were. Cale's teeth looked great but Ryan was not so lucky.

It turns out that apparently when they were developing, Cale got most of Ryan's enamel (sp?) and his back molars had no protection. We had to schedule 2 more appts. to get caps on his molars. Poor thing. We went back the following Monday for 2 caps. He had to take medicine when we got there to help him relax and boy did it work. He was playing w/ the train table in the waiting room and suddenly started stumbling. I held him in my lap to prevent injuries and within minutes it was like he had lost all muscle control. He could hardly hold his head up and he was talking a mile a minute. He wanted to get down and play but his poor little legs just wouldn't hold him up. It was hard not to laugh because he was so out of control. I was glad it relaxed him though. When the nurse came to get him he had no problem going with her and never even seemed to know I wasn't with him. He did great. The dentist was holding him when I went to get him and he was sniffling like he had been crying. She said he didn't like the feeling of his face being numb and I don't blame him. He slept all the way home and was very sleepy acting the rest of the day. The following Monday we had to go back for 2 more caps (it turns out they only had to do 1 cap and a filling). He didn't seem to mind going back at all and took it very well. He especially enjoyed his coupon for free french fries from McDonalds. That seemed to make the whole experience worthwhile. I'm proud of you buddy. You were very brave. I love your new beautiful silver teeth too. Let's just say I'm glad they are your back teeth.

The dentist says his permanent teeth should be fine and hopefully we won't have to do this again.

There is a "bug" in our house!

That is a bug that is making all of my children sick. It started Thursday morning when I heard Cale getting out of bed and running to the bathroom. He had stomach issues for mostly the rest of that day but by that evening seemed to be fine. Ryan woke me up about 3:30 Sunday morning with the same thing and Natalie's turn was last night about 2:00. The good news is they have all only thrown up 1 or 2 times and had upset stomach for a few hours after that and then seem to be fine. Bart and I are just waiting on our turn. Hurry up bug and go away!!!