Fall Festival and Costume Day at Mae's

The kids are trick or treating at school today so they wore their costumes over their clothes. Kamdyn insisted on being Gabriella from High School Musical (not the best costume, in my opinion, but she picked it out and she's happy with it!). Cooper wanted to be a football player. He loves his new helmet!

I took this pic before we left this morning. Kam still has a few rollers in her hair which is why she is pouting in the picture. The clothes underneath sort of takes away from the costumes so I will take more pictures when they are completely dressed up.
Each kid came to the front with Mrs. Mae (the owner) to tell who they were dressed up as. There were some very cute costumes!
Cooper's helmet is a little big, but he will hardly take it off.
Right before we went inside... her mood is much improved as you can tell!
Last night we had our annual "Fall Festival" at church and Kam told me after that it was the "best Fall Festival ever!" The kids played every game there, which is a first for us. We are usually running around chasing Cooper so this was much more enjoyable for us all.

Obviously, they let Cooper cheat a little....
If there's one thing I learned last night, it's that my kids are lacking in athletic ability. Take a look at Kam's golf skills. We're gonna have to work on that!
On a totally unrelated note, take a look at Kam's outfit. When I put it on her this morning, I had a flashback to childhood. I know I've seen a picture of Shane in this exact outfit when we were little. Shane--I know you're reading and remember what I'm talking about!!

Two happy kids who got WAY TOO MUCH candy!!!!

Kids say the darndest things...

Actually, this post should be titled "Kamdyn says the darndest things!" It's so true. She keeps us in stitches with the things she says. I hope she will always be this funny. A sense of humor is such a fantastic trait! Here are a few things that she has said in the last few weeks:

Last week we went to Wal-Mart and I was hurriedly trying to get the kids back in the car. I asked Kam to buckle herself up (which she is big enough to do now, praise the Lord! Can't wait for Cooper to be able to do this!)... She argued with me and kept asking me to do it. When I told her she was big enough to do it herself now she looked at me and said, "Ah, come on. Be the mother!" Oh no, she didn't! Oh yes, she did!
So on this same day we were riding along and the kids were talking about their letter of the week (which happened to be X) and trying to come up with words that start with it. My kids are nerds because this is an everyday occurrence for us. It entertains them for endless amounts of time.

There aren't really a lot of words that start with X so Kam was trying to show Cooper her cards from school that had words with an X in them. She got to "exercise" and proceeded to tell Cooper with all these exaggerated hand movements, "You know how daddy exercises everyday... and then he eats like a pig!" I laughed for an hour about that one!

Bath time tales...

Another night, Cooper got into my shaving gel in the bathtub and got it everywhere. I must have been out of the room for a second because when I walked back in she looked at me and said, "I"m sorry Cooper put shaving cream everywhere. I won't let him do it again." Little mama!

On yet another night in the bathtub, Cooper was getting a little wild and worked up and Kam looked at him and said, "Cool it, Rob!" Now I know she was repeating Mark on that one!!!! The child keeps a running transcript in her head of conversations from months ago. I am not exaggerating at all. You can ask my mom or anyone in the family. A while back she repeated a conversation (with hand gestures and all) that Mark and I had when we thought she was asleep at 5:15 in the morning! You've been warned!

Friends aka Characters...

I tried to pull one over on Cooper this morning and tell him that gymnastics was just for girls so he wouldn't get upset that he had to ride home with Mimi. Kam said, "uh-uh, Momma, Tank goes to gymnastics." I asked her who Tank was (that's a new one to me) and she said, "you know, he's that character at gymnastics that jumps on the trampoline." It absolutely cracks me up that she calls people "characters."

Daddy's Project...

And, lastly, Mark worked late some and I told Kam that Daddy had a big project that he was working on at work. A few days later when I told her Daddy was working late she asked me if he was still working on his "craft" at work. Everything's a craft in Kam's world!

Although I wrote this post this afternoon, Kamdyn just told me the cutest story that I had to come add. While bathing, she was telling me that she got to watch "The Three Little Rascals" today while waiting on the little kids to finish eating. I asked her who was on it and she said, Darla, Spanky, and Alfa Falfa! Then she said, "Mommy, it wasn't colored either. It was black and grey!" She then proceeded to tell me all about Spot the dog and the boys dressing up like girls. I had to call my dad to tell him because he always loved the "Little Rascals." She loved it so you can bet my dad will be buying some "Little Rascal" DVD's soon.

Weekend in Fayetteville

Mom, Jodie, Donna, and I went to Fayetteville to Jamie & Tara's for War Eagle last weekend. We went for the first time last year and decided to make it an annual event. Now if truth be told, War Eagle's a little too craftsy for me but we always seem to find something regardless. This year, Jodie found a fabulous chair for Kylie's room (oops! I think that's a secret, but I doubt that Kylie reads my blog)...
After War Eagle, we headed to the John Q. Hammonds Center, which is usally where we spend a lot of time. It always has some more modern things and great stuff for the kids. I got Kamdyn the cutest zebra outfit there. My mission for the weekend was to buy myself a new purse and I found this one in Springdale on Saturday. Mission accomplished!! It's much cuter in person! (I just took this picture of it hanging on my office door)... and the girls will tell you that we looked at TONS of purses before I found this one.We continued the shopping at the Promenade, Toys R' Us, and lots of other stores. Sadly, I didn't buy one Christmas present. I think I think too much about the presents and wait to find just the perfect one.... that's why I'm always shopping like a mad woman on December 23!

It was so fun to hang out with Tara, Jamie, and Aidan. Aidan even let Kay Kay and I take over his room for 3 days. Here he is with Chloe...
I love this picture! When Jamie asked Aidan what he looked like with his hat turned like that he said, "I look like a rapper!"
You know how Mimi loves big bows on Kamdyn... I'm surprised she didn't buy this one for her too.
The double-mint twins modeling the newest Hogware....
Aunt Jodie promised Aidan she would bring him some cake home on Saturday. Since we weren't anywhere to get cake, she bought him this Spongebob sno-cone maker. Just what every parent wants for their kid! LOL!!!
It took all three of us to fill that little cup up with crushed ice. It was a workout for sure. We decided it would be easier if Spongebob were screwed onto the table and didn't slide everywhere. We joked that somehow Jamie would rig that up so it was possible!!
The Martin's... Mom insisted on taking their picture before we left. Tara wasn't too pumped b/c she still has her pj's on.
The shoppers.... this was taken Sunday morning right before we left so we are tired and dressed in our casual clothes for the ride home.
I must admit that I felt a little guilty at first leaving the kids all weekend, but we had the best time and I really think I needed the time away. Besides, the kids went to see Papaw in Heber and had a great time as well. Kam always makes me feel good when I get home though. She asked me how my trip to Fayetteville was and then told me how much she missed me!

The Pumpkin Patch Parable

Mom got the kids this book, "The Pumpkin Patch Parable," a few weeks ago and I love it. I have seen this story on email before, but I'm so excited to have it to read to the kids.

This story illustrates how a loving farmer can turn a simple pumpkin into a simply glorious sight. If you think about it, pumpkins are all different. Some are short and round, some are tall and lean, some have lumps and bumps, but all are pumpkins. We are God's pumpkins. We are all different. And just as the farmer chooses a pumpkin and cleans out all the seeds and slimy pulp, God does the same for us. When we trust Him as our Savior, He cleans out all the old and makes us something wonderful.

My prayer is that you have let Him make you new. If you have, share His love with others. If you haven't, let's talk. It's really simple.

Admit you are a sinner. Sometimes I get the big head and tell myself that I'm a good person, but then I'm gently reminded that I'm not. I try to do good things, but at my very core, I am a sinner. And so are you.... no way around it.

"For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23

Believe that only Jesus can save you. You can't save yourself and no one else can do it for you. Only Jesus, the Son of God, can save you. He suffered and died on the cross, was buried, and rose again for you and me.

"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Acts 4:12

Confess and call upon Jesus Christ to save you. It's not enough to just believe a man named Jesus lived on earth and died on a cross. We must trust in and rely upon his death, burial, and resurrection as the payment for our sins.

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." Romans 10:9

"For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16

And, finally, this verse is becoming one of my favorites:

"God is being patient with you. He does not want anyone to be lost. He wants everyone to change his heart and life." 2 Peter 3:9

I'm so glad that God is patient because 99% of the time, I'm a screwed-up mess. But God doesn't give up on me, and He won't give up on you either.

Oh, Brother!

While I was cooking dinner tonight, the kids were sitting at the table drawing pictures. I heard Kam say, "Cooper Ryan, you stop that right now. I'm gonna take you back to the brother store and get me a new brother!!"

Happy Birthday, Papaw Sonny!

Yesterday was Papaw Sonny's birthday. The kids called him last night and Cooper even sang "Happy Birthday" to him over the phone. It was a very good rendition, I might add!
I found a couple of pictures of each of the kids with Papaw to post.

Papaw reading his old school book to Kam....
Cooper and Papaw fishing in Heber this summer...
Hope your day was great, Papaw! We love you!!!

Pumpkin Patch

We went to the pumpkin patch in Manchester on Saturday. The kids were looking forward to it because their friends from preschool were going to be there. It was sort of weird having kids come up to Cooper now that he's at Mae's... but he loved it and it is so cute to see them talking to each other outside of school.

Looking for the perfect pumpkin.... By the way, Mom can't get over why this is called the pumpkin patch when the pumpkins have already been picked and are just out for sale!
Taking a break....
We attempted many pictures of the kids but, as you can see, they are squinting in all of them. The sun was shining right in their little faces. Poor Braxton's cheeks were so red....
Mimi and Kam...
The boys decided they would rather be in the wagon that Mimi was loading with exotic pumpkins...
So we decided to make it another photo op....
However, the boys began throwing their little pumpkins out every time we handed them back to them...
Put these boys to work!!!
Walking with Mimi to go on a hayride....
The kids asked me to take their picture with this bear but neither one of them will look at the camera at the same time. It's impossible to get a good picture of them together!
The four of us on the hayride... of course, we're not looking at the camera. But at least I'm in this picture!
This is probably what my kids enjoyed the most.... Kam has been asking for a dog for months and I absolutely refuse to get one. I have my reasons. The biggest one being that I don't need something else to take care of and trash my house. Two kids is enough already.
I had to work hard to get them to leave at this point and, of course, Kam begged for a puppy. I heard Mark tell Scott that he was probably going to get a D-O-G for the kids for Christmas... and I quickly told him he would lose a W-I-F-E if he did!
Cooper won a pair of glow in the dark skeleton gloves from this game. On the way home, he asked where his "bologna" (boney) hands were!
Although it was hot, the kids enjoyed the pumpkin patch a lot. It did cool down for the football game Friday night though.... so much so that Mark asked for chili on Saturday night. He's been waiting for it to get 70 degrees so he could have some. We love football weather. Bring on fall!

Dancing's Back!

It's no secret that "Dancing With the Stars" is mine and Kam's favorite show. We look forward to it every Monday night. I love, love, love to hear her ask Mark to dance each week.

This is her newest pose.... I see her doing this a lot lately when she is dancing. I'm hoping that she has more rhythm than her momma!

By the way, notice that all my decorations are laying down on my armoire. I don't know why I still feel the need to explain the details... I think I worry that folks are looking at my decor and judging it.

At first, I thought this was just a picture of Mark getting his groove on but upon closer inspection I see Kam's legs behind him. Bless his heart, he has a bad shoulder but he keeps swinging her around anyway.
Cooper tries to get in on the action...
When Mark has to rest ( says he's resting the shoulder--not sure about that), Kam will ask Cooper to dance and he happily obliges her.
BTW, my apologies if my posts seem redundant at times. Remember that I blog to keep a record of the kids lives and sometimes that is redundant!