Turnipseed Tales

Thanksgiving, Christmas and Everything In Between

2011-12-29T13:40:00.000-08:00

Harrison got his 2nd deer, a spike, but it was big.

Dylan being a "turkey", she usually is, at her Kindergarten Thanksgiving Program.

Thanksgiving Day Photo!

Ready for the Christmas Parade!

It wasn't too cold this year, but we still had to have our traditional popcorn and hot chocolate. There is one thing (person) missing, Layla, she rode on the TGIC Saints Cheer-team float. This makes me sad; we usually all watch the parade together. She's growing up and I can't stop her.

Six little birds sitting on a fence...
This is what happens when we fence in our yard. All the neighbor kids can't walk thru the gap.

There's only one reason to fence in our yard, right?
Yes, we finally broke down and got a DOG!
He is a Toy Australian Shepherd and his name is Pepper.

The girls wanted to take Pepper to Show and Tell at school.
Dylan and Pepper

Dylan is the one who asked Santa for a fence, so we could get a dog. Did I mention, she loves, loves, loves this dog? She will not let the dog walk. But she also does not complain when it is raining and someone has to take the dog out to take care of his business. She even held the umbrella over the dog.
SPOILED DOG!

December was busy as usual.

Harrison was in Nutcracker again; he is the redheaded one. HA! We couldn't take pictures during performance, so this is with my phone camera at the curtain call.

Layla with her Cheer-team, doing pyramids. They were ringing the bell to raise money for Salvation Army.

Family Christmas #1
Headed to Grandma and Peepaw Turnipseed's house

Nash loves Pepper and also torments Pepper.

Family Christmas #2
Christmas morning
I ask the kids to hold up their favorite gift.
Nash is holding a Ben 10 watch, Dylan is holding gummie bears, Layla is holding an iPod Touch, and Harrison is holding a book.
Which one do you think is our high-maintenance child?

Family Christmas #3
Baker Family at our house. We had about 13 kids, I lost count and all the adults that went with the kids. It was a house full and I loved it. The first time we didn't have to leave our house on Christmas Day, and it was nice.

Nash was sick and wouldn't look at the camera. He was also being a little contrary; I know you find that hard to believe.

September and October

2011-11-03T15:09:00.000-07:00

Dylan has wanted to play soccer since last year and she is finally old enough.

She is loving it...she is the only one on her team who doesn't ever want a break.

She has got quite a big kick. She might have found her sport and if not she is having lots of fun. She has the biggest smile on her face during practice and during her games.

Harrison started Cotillion this fall. I don't think he would admit it, but I believe he is enjoying it. For anyone who doesn't know (I had no idea until I read up on it), Cotillion is where boys and girls learn dances, proper way to eat at social gatherings, introducing each other, proper rising when a girl comes or leaves table, how to shake hands, home and party manners, and other helpful things. They dress up for every class and will be participating in two balls. Doesn't he look handsome.

There was a birthday party for one of our cousins at Nana and Papa's cabin.
Three little monkeys sitting in a tree...thankfully no monkeys fell out and bumped their heads.

We tried to keep the kids out of the creek, it didn't work. The water was COLD, but they played until their lips were blue.

We took the kids to Nana and Papa's lake to fish and play in the paddle boat. Everyone caught a fish except Nash; he wanted to ride in paddle boat and throw rocks in the lake. Although he did get some of the rocks in the lake a few ended up in his own eye. I know what your thinking, it takes talent to throw a rock and have it land in the same eye 3 times.

We surprised Layla (and one of her best friends) with a trip to see Taylor Swift for her birthday. Amos and I had just as much fun as they did. The opening act Need to Breathe was terrific as always and then Taylor Swift came out and sang for about 2 1/2 hours. It was probably my favorite concert to date and Layla had a blast.

Spirit Week at Sequoyah!

50's Day

Mix Match Day

Camo Day

Boot Day

Dylan's 1st Field Trip - Johnston's Pumpkin Patch

My mom came with us to the pumpkin patch, so Nash could come. We also invited Tristan, my sister's son. They are two peas in a pod with a little extra trouble thrown in.

Halloween Costumes - Take One
We had a Halloween Party and this is what everyone wore.

We decided not to carve pumpkins this year, so we sequined ours.

Halloween Costumes - Take Two (Nash broke his Knight helmet at the party)
So I dug out Harrison's Woody (Toy Story) costume. I tried to put a gun in his holster, Nash says "Woody doesn't have a gun." I had to look at a picture on a lunch box to make sure. He was right; that boy doesn't miss much.

Dylan is 6!!!

2011-09-10T20:34:00.000-07:00

On Dylan's birthday, I surprised her with a homemade "big" cookie and a banner. She was given the birthday hat at school.

Over the weekend Dylan had a skating party with some of her new friends from school as well as her church friends and her family. Everyone had lots of fun!

First day of School

2011-09-01T15:30:00.000-07:00

Dylan started Kindergarten and she was very excited. I was so glad she wanted to go; there was no drama or crying. Of course, Layla couldn't wait to see all of her friends.

I didn't get a picture of Harrison on his first day, but it was exciting as well. He has moved up to Middle School; they change classes 8 times a day Ahhhh! I was more worried about his first day than Dylan's. He is not the most organized and doesn't pay attention very well (he is a Turnipseed after all). He has done fine, and absolutely loves band. He is playing the trombone and brings it home to practice a few times per week.

And then there was one...

This is our morning ritual, watch brudder and sistas get on the bus. It has taken Nash a few weeks to realize they are not coming home until he gets up from nap. He doesn't ask for them during day anymore.

He has started taking gymnastics and loves it. He will also start Mother's Day Out next week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. He has amazed me by playing all by himself and seems to enjoy it. He continues to be my little shadow, but I don't mind. I can't believe he will be going to Kindergarten in two more years. I am not going to think about it; I will enjoy right now. They grow up way too fast.

Gulf Shores 2011

2011-08-28T17:16:00.000-07:00

WARNING!!! Too Many Photos in One Blog Entry

We left for Gulf Shores, Alabama early Saturday morning, along with our friends "The Bradfords". 4 Adults and 7 kids in one duplex, it was FUN!!! (see photo below)

They were doing the "NO rain dance". It did rain a few times throughout the week, but it didn't keep us from the beach.

We took a break from the beach for a day and took a ferry to Dauphin Island. We toured Fort Gaines and went to an Estuarium (Marine research facility). It was a fun and educational day.

This is our attempt of a photo shoot (in reality they turned out better than expected), not professional, but good enough for me to make copies for grandparents.

We left to go home a week later on Saturday morning. We had lots and lots of fun. It was well worth the long drive, and it was a nice relaxing week before school started.

Appetizer for Beach Trip Blog Entry

2011-08-18T08:03:00.000-07:00

I don't have much time right now for blogging, but wanted to show you a couple of cute photos from our Gulf Shores Vacation. More pics coming soon. Also coming soon, an update on the first day of school.

Summer Time Fun!

2011-07-11T19:03:00.000-07:00

We have had a busy summer already. Camps, VBS, swimming and enjoying a few weeks of nothing. By nothing I mean we don't have to go to the same place everyday. We still have swim team practice, cheer team practice, and piano lessons throughout the week. Here are some photos from what's been going on so far at the Turnipseed house.

Cheer Camp

Baker Family Reunion

Cousins! We are missing 2 Baker and 2 Coffman cousins.
No one was sitting close to Nash, because he was the only one dry. He didn't feel very well, so he wasn't playing in the creek.

I kept my sister's two boys for a week in June. Tanner is 8 months and Tristan is 4 years old. We had lots of fun and it was a little crazy.

Layla fed, rocked, and played with Tanner the whole week. She was given the name "little momma". She is so good with little ones.

These two monkeys played hard together, and they also got in trouble together.

They loved playing dress-up and also throwing toys and whatever else they found down our laundry chute.

They also enjoyed spitting water at each other IN THE HOUSE, unrolling the toilet paper, taking the clothes off the rack, and just making lots of messes. This is as close to having twins as I would like to experience. They both new they would get in trouble and continued to do these things over and over; they would feed off each other. It was a very exciting and tiring week!

Before it turned too hot to be outside, my friend, Melissa, and myself took our kids for a bike ride. Here's the crew, 6 kids on bikes, one in stroller (yes, Nash can ride, but I have to run to keep up with him and it was still HOT!).

4th of July
We did the family thing on July 3rd at Nogo. We ate hamburgers, played in the creek, the guys played horseshoes, and just enjoyed good company. After we got too hot to stand it, we drove back down the mountain to mom and dad's pool.

On the 4th, we just laid around the house and grilled some good food. Then we drove out to Pleasant View Park to watch the fireworks. It was right beside Amos' work, so we parked inside the fence and had pretty good seats.

Dylan took swimming lessons. She was the only one this year, but Nash really wanted to. I told him I would give him lessons. So today we went swimming at Nana's and guess who was jumping off the side and swimming to me under water. Yes, Nash! I think he is going for the record "youngest to do everything".

I decided to clean my car out, something I try to avoid. I left my cleaning water sitting in the garage. I can't find Nash, so I look in the garage (this is his favorite place to be) and this is what I find.

It's too hot outside, so this is what the girls found to do.
Face painting (washable markers) and Twister with the friends.

One hot Saturday we took the kids on their first bowling trip. They had a lot of fun and it wasn't too bad expensive.

May Wrap Up

2011-06-02T11:54:00.000-07:00

Layla received an award for completing 3 AWANA Sparky books. We are so proud of her!

Harrison sang "Oh what a beautiful morning" from the musical California at his end of year Acting Class showcase.

5th grade field trip to the Clinton Library

Mother's Day-I received lots of homemade crafts, which I love! Also, Amos bought me this chair I have been eying since last year at Pier 1. It was a wonderful day!

Piano Recital

We have wanted to build a raised garden for a long time. We thought we were late planting, but since all the rain in April, it worked out well. The kids were very excited to plant and now they are enjoying watching them grow.

This is Nashes contribution to gardening.

Finally, it is sprinkler season.

Crafty Kids

Nash likes to play his PS (he heard his big brother talking about his DS, so he calls the old Gameboy a PS). All I do is turn it on and it plays the intro over and over, and Nash thinks he is playing it. I tried to put it on PLAY and he said, "it not working, it broke".

Snuggling after showers.

Harrison singing in the 5th grade Honor Choir - 44 students chosen after auditions
They sang songs from around the world, Spain, France, Afica, and other places. They did a great job.

Harrison also sang Owl City's "Fireflies" in the 5th grade talent show. He must have gotten his talent and his stage presence from his dad.

Nash found one of Harrison's many costumes and wears it at some point every day. Even Batman needs to eat.

Nash loves his bike, rides it everyday. Amos took the training wheels off yesterday, just to see how he would do (he is ONLY 3 and not even potty trained-don't judge, you can't make them, they have to want to). So here he is riding a two-wheeler, he got on and just took off. Out of 4 kids, Nash is the youngest and the quickest to learn to ride a bike.

Honoring a Sweet Lady

2011-05-20T15:10:00.000-07:00

My Granny Baker turned 85 years young Monday, May 16th. On Wednesday, May 18th, she left this Earth to be with the Lord. She was and will always be one of the most influential people in my life. She could give the best advice without you even realizing you were getting advice. She has 9 grand-children and 17 great-grandchildren who adore her.

Granny and her brother, Herbert

Thelma Baker

1998

Granny with her 4 living children 1999
Marty, Judy, Wayne and Marshall

Four Generations 2005

2008

Easter 2008

Deer Camp 2008

Christmas 2008

2009

Baker Family Reunion 2009

Easter 2010

Thanksgiving 2010

We love you Granny Baker and you will be missed!

Easter and Other Fun Activities

2011-05-16T10:50:00.000-07:00

Harrison turned 11! I probably say this every year, but I can't believe it. Amos took Harrison and few boys to see a movie. Then they came back to the house for pizza and ice cream cake, where a few more friends joined us.

This is Nashes latest bumps and bruises. The goose egg on his head was from a trampoline incident. Nashes head ran into Harrison's elbow. OUCH! The one on his elbow, we have no clue. Nash says, "I ran into a wall.", that is answer whenever he can't remember what happened. Good thing he is tough.

EASTER! We had planned for the whole family (grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, everybody) to have Easter at my mom and dad's cabin on the mountain in Smyrna. The weather had a different plan, so we hid eggs in the house a few times. It was the first time EVER my whole family had not been together on Easter. I was a little sad, but the kids had fun anyway.

Dyeing eggs!
Nash was taking a nap, which was probably a good thing.

We made Easter goodies for our friends and neighbors.

We made these to take to the family Easter. These smore's pops was an idea from my good friend Ang, ours did not turn out looking as good as hers. We ran out of chocolate, so we only covered half the pop in chocolate. They were still yummy.

Hunting Eggs!
He had to wear his rain coat inside, because it is raining outside. Of course, that makes perfect sense.

See the rain out the window, it was pouring!

Heading to Church!

They were waiting for the older kids and being so sweet.

April brought a lot of storms to a lot of people. Thankfully, Russellville did not get hit with them like the surrounding cities and states. We did have a few scary afternoons and nights. Amos was out of town for some of those, so the kids I hid out in the half-bath on a couple of occasions. I have decided we should have taken into account the size of our family and based the size of the half-bath on that. There are 4 quilts, 4 pillows, 4 kids, Uno cards, food, drinks and me (some of the time) in this bathroom.

Dylan graduated from Preschool! She loved MDO (Mother's Day Out) at First Baptist Church in Russellville. She asks me everyday, "Is today a school day?" She already misses it, but is very excited to go to Layla's school (Sequoyah) this fall. I am not sure I am ready:(

Busy, busy March

2011-03-22T16:52:00.000-07:00

Nash turned 3!

Here he is modeling his #3 birthday shirt.

Static electricity is in the air. Dylan, Nash and a friend were jumping. I looked out the window and saw this.

Amos was invited to a business meeting for one of the company's factors and I tagged along. It was in Sedona, Arizona. It was beautiful!

While the men were at the meeting, the company set up a day of shopping for the ladies. It was in a little village outside of Sedona called Talaquepaque (Ta lockey pockey). It was so neat, full of history and the shops had local artist's sculptures, paintings, pottery, jewelry (i.e. couldn't afford much, but very cool). I did find my anniversary present, 3 grey pearls set in sterling silver (each pearl represents 5 years). For those of you mathematically challenged (you know who you are), I married my high school sweetheart, the love of my life, and my best friend 15 years ago.

Here are a few photos from Talaquepaque:

The next day was a free day for everyone. We could pick from several planned day trips. We picked the Grand Canyon trip. We had never been, and it was fantastic. The pictures do not do it justice, but I took some anyway.
It was nice to get away for a few days. Thank you Nana, Papa, Peepaw, Grandma, and our friends the Bradfords for helping watch after our kids. It is a chore to organize AND pack for everyone, but as always well worth it.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I made everyone "Pinch Proof" shirts.

Picture Day, Dylan is wearing a homemade dress from a friend of the family. It is really pretty toile (I think that is the correct spelling). She made it for Layla and I regret not having a professional photo of her in it. It finally fits Dylan and she is wearing it for her school photo.

Spring Break is Here!

We decide to take a weekend trip to Tulsa. So Thursday before we leave on Friday, Harrison gets a stomach bug. Friday morning, Nash gets a stomach bug. Friday afternoon, I get a stomach bug. We decide to go anyway. Harrison and Nash are better by Saturday morning, I am still not ready to eat. Amos gets sick Saturday night, I am feeling better. Dylan gets sick Sunday morning. On a positive note, our dining out bills were less on this vacation. Even with all the sickness we still had fun and saw a lot. We visited the OK Aquarium, Tulsa Air and Space Museum, and the Zoo. Also, swam in the hotel pool a few times. Layla didn't get sick until Tuesday. The rest of Spring Break we just stayed close to home.

Why the sad face? "I want to ride the horse."

The cutest monkeys I have ever seen.

Finally, I get to ride the horse.

The morning after we get home; we have a few extra guests at the breakfast table. John the Giraffe (Nashes) and Ellie the Elephant (Dylan's) came home with us from the zoo. Not pictured is Stitches the Owl (Layla's) and Hunter the Otter (Harrison's)

I was able to go on a weekend trip with my mom and my sister to Branson this past weekend. We shopped and ate a lot. I checked the weather before we left, Intellicast said rainy and in the 60's. We get there and it is in the 40's and rainy. When we left Branson it was 34. We did not come prepared for COLD weather. We still had fun.

Valentine's Day

2011-02-23T14:04:00.000-08:00

I am finally blogging about Valentine's Day. It has been crazy around here. We have had more sickness this past 4 weeks than all last year. All the kids went to school yesterday, so right now we are all good. I had planned on making these cute suckers for the kids to take for Valentine's, but it didn't happen. The night before Dylan's party, I had remembered seeing this cute and easy Valentines. I forgot to take a picture of Dylan's, but got one of Layla. So here is the final result:

These were super easy and simple. Take photo, print on cardstock (photo paper would have looked nicer, but more expensive), cut two slits, and insert sucker, DONE!

I hope to have pictures of Harrison's Valentine Tea at the 5th grade soon. I didn't take my camera; I was a server. A friend took some photos of Harrison and of us together. I hope she emails them soon.

What do you think Nash is trying to do?

WINK! This makes me laugh.

More Snow Days!

2011-02-11T12:15:00.000-08:00

What did I say in my last post, something about having only a little snow for ONLY one day. We got MORE snow and many more snow days. This is a little of what the Turnipseeds have been up to on our days at home.

Playing games inside, where it is warm.

Eating lots of yummy treats. No we are not vampires, Nash has found a new drink he likes, Bolthouse Farms-Berry Boost.

This is what happens if I leave my two-year old alone in his room for too long.

The kids get to wear whatever they want when we aren't leaving the house. If Dylan wants to wear a sundress and fuzzy boots, go for it.

Nash loses toys all the time. On this day, he was just playing with his horse and then he couldn't find it. After awhile he forgot about it. I went into the pantry to fix dinner and what do I see on the shelf. Can you spot it?

Nashes horse, I called him to come see what I had found. You would have thought he won the lottery, he was so excited.

Of course we played in the snow.

We have had lots of friends over to play and spend the night.

More snow playing.

I asked her to put on some clothes and go get the newspaper. When I see what is taking so long, this is what I see. No clothes, short pajamas and snow boots, playing with an icicle. What!?!

This is our neighbors pretty yard, no tracks, doesn't it look serene.

This is our yard, doesn't it look chaotic, stressful and beautiful! It looks like kids live here.

Amos and I joke about how do you know kids live here? The above picture is proof and I have taken several over the past years. Here is one I took a few days ago.
Amos is drinking wine out of a glass that is NOT easily turned over and eating a cheese stick.

Snow Day!

2011-01-22T13:45:00.000-08:00

We got one snow day, it wasn't enough snow to sled or really play in. But that did not stop the kids. When I finally made it outside with the camera, Harrison had already froze out (he played outside in the snow for 2 hours). I managed to get a few snapshots. Layla built a snowman, while Dylan ate the snow. Nash kept throwing snowballs at me and the camera.

One of our friends little girl came over to play. They were being so cute.

More Christmas Activities

2010-12-29T13:44:00.000-08:00

Layla and Dylan went to a neighborhood "gingerbread house making party". They had lots of fun!

Four elves delivering goodies to a new neighbor.

I love this photo, he looks so sweet and innocent (looks can be deceiving).

Heading to church.

Christmas Break has been lots of fun especially with the nice weather outside. The kids have enjoyed the trampoline.

And when it has been too cold, they have enjoyed the garage.

Christmas morning!

We are heading to Papa and Nana's and then to the Baker family Christmas at my cousin's. I just couldn't resist adding yet another photo by the tree. Nash would not just smile and look at the camera. Ahhhh, two-year olds. We had two full days of Christmas. We feel very blessed to have our family so close.

November and the start of Christmas Activites

2010-12-02T14:42:00.000-08:00

My dad is having a pond dug and wanted us to come take a look at the progress. Of course, the kids found this HUGE mountain of dirt. They had all climbed to the very top and I snapped this shot.

November 1st, Layla turned 8. She had her first slumber party with 4 friends. We made night shirts, ate pizza and cake(Layla and I made a "Sleepover Cake"), and then they watched a movie. She had a blast and I did as well.

Layla was in the "Square Dance" portion of the 2nd grade musical. Here she is with her best friend.

Buttermilk Deer Camp

Nash loves wearing things on his head, boggins, doo-rags, underwear, he doesn't care.
He looks like a skater dude in this photo. (I probably have several words misspelled, but this is my blog.)

Harrison was one of five Elvis' in the 5th grade musical. He is the one in white.

Dylan in the 4 year old Thanksgiving Program at Mother's Day Out. The older 4 year olds were Pilgrims and the younger ones were Indians, it was really cute.

Granny Baker with some of her great grand-kids. This year we had Thanksgiving at my cousin's house, because Granny has been in the nursing home for a few weeks. It was more spacious and very nice, but it was not the same. I miss being crammed into Granny's little house.

In the past my Advent calendar has been frustrating. I couldn't fit 3 or 4 candies or small anythings, so I would end up having quarters or maybe a M&M for each child. I wasn't satisfied with that, so I was searching for something different. I came across a blog (Sorry, I don't know which one. I look at too many!) and she put slips of paper in her small boxes with acts of kindness or fun stuff to do. Why didn't I think of that? So here are a few pictures from a couple of the days activities.

"Make Paper Snowflakes"

Nash was allowed to use some very dull scissors and he was really getting into it.

"Go to watch the Downtown Christmas Parade"
We sat by our good friends "The Hughes".

Vacation, Birthday, Baby, and Halloween

2010-11-26T07:55:00.000-08:00

August, September, and October Catch up.

Before the kids went back to school in August, we went on a long weekend vacation to Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas. We went to the Wonderscope (Children's Museum), Kansas City Zoo, Cabela's, swam at the hotel and on the way home we drove to the T-Rex Cafe. Amos and Harrison also went to a Royals vs. Cubs Game. We had lots of fun!

Wonderscope

Kansas City Zoo

A nice lady offered to take a family photo.

A HUGE statue in front of Cabela's. Look closely to see Nash, not wanting his picture taken. Two-year olds, what fun!?!

Our last night in Kansas City, we went to a "fancy" restaurant.

T-Rex Cafe, very cool, had lots to look at and fun stuff to do.

Dylan turned 5!
She had her first "church" friend party at our house. We made bandanas, ate cake and hit the horse pinata.

2 months old!

5 years old!

On Labor Day Weekend, we visited some friends camping at Lake Ouachita. It was beautiful there. We played games, swam, made smores and rode bikes.

The next day Dylan decided she needed to learn how to ride her bike without training wheels. She practiced for most of the day by herself, she wanted no help from mom or dad. She was riding a two-wheeler by that afternoon.

On September 9th, I became an aunt for the 4th time. My sister gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, Tanner Lee.

Proud big brother, Tristan, and Tanner.

At the end of September, Amos turned 36. I surprised him with a weekend in Chicago. It was just what we needed, to get away. We walked, rode a boat, rode the "L" train, rode an airplane, rode in a taxi, and rode in a rickshaw all around Chicago. It was exhausting, but lots of fun. We decided we are going to take the kids sometime in the near future, there was so much the kids would love.

Time for a haircut!

Before:

After:
I know not much different. I couldn't do it, he has such pretty hair. We did get a trim:)

Ridiculous Day!
She is still beautiful.

Halloween!
The first time in this neighborhood. Everyone said to have a lot of candy. So after we trick or treated for about an hour, we came home and gave out candy. I sat in a chair on the porch, there was a constant stream of kids. I gave out all our candy in about 45 minutes. It was CRAZY!! There were hayrides with 20 or so kids on them and people walking up and down the neighborhood until after 9 o'clock.

New House

2010-11-04T21:40:00.000-07:00

Our house was started 6 months plus a couple of days before we moved in. It was exhausting, at times stressful, and fun. Yes, I said it, Amos and I both enjoyed the process. No, I do not want to build another one anytime soon, but I did have fun. You may notice a few unfinished things in the house; can you believe it, we haven't finished every detail? (I am married to a Turnipseed-Ha Ha) But really, I am very blessed to have such a wonderful husband and father, who built this house for our family. I can't believe we live in such a beautiful home and it isn't just the paint color or the cabinets or the floor, it is because of the laughter and the love our family shares.
Finally, here are a few house pictures.

Amos and his dad layed and finished all the hardwood floors. We have no carpet(except Reading Nook), but lots of area rugs.
In the foyer, over the half bath and study, there will be stained glass. Also, the doorway into kitchen will have a clear transom.

We haven't had our fireplace surround made yet, but the mahogany came in yesterday. Hopefully soon!?!

Off of the living room we have a screened in porch.

Office-very cluttered, we don't have enough bookshelves and we are using Harrison's little desk.

Master bedroom and bath. I didn't have to buy anything for our room, besides the rug and it was not a great-cheap find. But I love it! Also, Amos had to have this old trunk in the room, so I embraced it and made it one of our bedside tables. And I actually like it now.

Nashes "baseball" room, as he calls it. But it is actually all sports theme. My dad made the bedside table and my mom painted my iron bed that I slept in. I had to get creative when decorating 5 bedrooms, so my favorite find in this room is the $15 Pottery Barn quilt and sham. My mother is the best at finding bargains and she found this one and I love it.

Nash was "helping" dad finish nailing some quarter round on the landing. I found the iron balusters online and it was cheaper than wood painted. Don installed them with some help and I am loving them. Don also did both staircases and one of them is completely finished:)

This is obviously Dylan's room. She is a horse, dog and animal lover, so we did a horse theme. I decided to do themes for the two younger kids. Mom painted an old iron bed, Don made the bookshelf and dresser, and my dad made the shelf hanging on the wall out of walnut and horseshoes. Also, my mom made a boot lamp from an old boot, it is so cute. It is sitting on the dresser (sorry,it is hard to see). My favorite find is Dylan's rug for $30, it could not have been more perfect. I was in Tuesday Morning buying Nashes rug and spotted this. It is not the softest, but she doesn't mind.

In Harrison's room he chose the color (I gave him a few options) and it is a favorite. Don made his bed 8 years ago and Harrison did not want to give it up. I think it fits his room nicely. He loves music and movies, so I incorporated some of those things. I don't think I went overboard. The director's chair is where his desk will be when we find one for us. My favorite find is the director's chair, I found it on an online auction list and a family friend picked it up for $5. It was green with yellow fabric-not pretty. My mom repainted the chair and had the fabric remade and my friend painted Harrison's name on it. So very cute!

Layla's room is my favorite. I had so much fun searching for the decor. My mom painted an old iron bed for her as well. The vanity was dark navy and I sprayed it bright pink and put new knobs. Don made her armoire (don't think I spelled that right). The gallery wall was old frames I sprayed pink. She loves to draw and create! My favorite find is the old chandelier for $30, I bought off of ebay and sprayed it glossy black. I love it!

The game room upstairs is a little empty, but the kids seem to like it. There is a craft area, reading area and lots of space to jump, dance, and play. We also have a closet/wash up area. It can become a 1/2 bath later if we need it. The rug is my favorite find in this room. National Home Center had a going out of business sale and I got it for less than original, not cheap though. But I saw it and new I had to have it.

This was an afterthought: we saw this area in the attic and thought it would be a fun hide out. Later we decided to call it the Reading Nook. We store a bean bag, extra blankets and pillows. The kids love to climb in there and just relax. This is the only spot with carpet, we had a remnant from our other house and I cut it to fit the space.

This was originally the storage room, but we had more attic space elsewhere. So this is now the exercise/Karey's craft, gift wrapping, home decor room. The name should tell you why I did not take closer picture (it is messy). I need to do some organizing.

There is a stairwell off gameroom and ends up in mudroom.

Back downstairs:

The kitchen is where I spend most of my time and I am loving it. The table with Nashes arm on it is not that close to the island. We were moving old table out and new one in and I decided to take picture then (Why? Because the kitchen was clean). My favorite place in the kitchen is behind the white doors, my walk-in pantry. I will not take picture until organizing fairy visits my house.

This is my laundry, notice it has a door. This was a must, I did not want to walk in from garage directly into dirty laundry. I love the green I chose, it makes doing laundry more fun (not really, but I do like my laundry room). My favorite find is my light over the sink. It was just what I envisioned and I found it, don't you love when that happens.

My mudroom, aahh!, this is what I feel walking into it. Everything has a place and there is a place for everything, now only if I can get my kids to put there things in its place, sigh.

Our back deck is big, but we are a big family. We just recently got it stained and sealed. We have ceiling fans, and we actually sat out there in August.

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Halloween and Fall Decor

2010-10-08T17:44:00.001-07:00

Fall and Halloween is my favorite time of year. It means cold weather is right around the corner. I usually only put pics of the kids, but I thought I would share some decorative ideas on a budget. We don't have much money in the budget for seasonal decor, actually we don't have any money for decor. I love to decorate, and I like to give the kids something seasonal in the kids zone. So here was my idea, in the playroom, to decorate the top of their book shelf. Sorry my photo is not very good.

First, I put some of our favorite Halloween books in a plate rack. I added an old tile painted with chalkboard paint (leftover from a previous craft project): $0

I have seen subway art on several blogs and love them. So I took an old picture frame, painted it with black spray paint. Then I took the glass and sprayed it orange on one side, both with paint I had in the garage. I took a black sharpie and drew the subway art on the non-painted side of the glass. $0

I also saw this on a blog somewhere. I took a glass cylinder and filled with rocks painted with chalkboard paint a few painted with the orange. Layla and Dylan wrote a few Halloween inspired words and I added a black candle. $0

My spooky tree is painted twigs stuck in a painted tin can with floral foam. $0
The owl was originally ugly, faded and brown (from the 70's), I wish I would have taken a before photo. Again, painted with orange spray paint. owl - $.50

I have been wanting a new fall wreath, but couldn't find one I loved or could afford. So I found this idea on a blog (The Idea Room Blog is where I usually start for ideas and she has a lot of blogs in her favorites). So I bought wire form, burlap in 5 colors, the letter 'T', scrapbook paper and a cute little Trick or Treat sign. I didn't want just a Halloween wreath, so I made it so I can take the sign off and add my 'T'. I am surprised it turned out this good, but I am loving it on my door. $15-not bad for a wreath

This is what I started with:

Halloween Wreath:

Fall Wreath:

Random Photos From the Past 6 Months

2010-09-27T19:54:00.000-07:00

The following are just like the title says, "random photos". I don't think I can catch up with what has been happening. So the following photos have small captions.

Harrison, Layla, and Dylan in the Church Spring Choir Musical. Harrison had the lead role and several solo performances. He nailed it, I don't know where he gets his acting and singing ability (not from me).

Nash and his dog.

Harrison in the Sequoyah Talent Show. He wanted to play piano instead of sing this year, and he did great.

Both Layla and Dylan had their front teeth missing at the same time.

Harrison also was also in the 4th grade Musical, which he had a solo performance as Captain Hook.

Nash has been randomly selecting something to sleep with, today the bat. It has been play horses, hats, cars, he doesn't have a preference.

Harrison enjoying the end of school year Luau! Off to middle school. What!?!

4th of July

Nash and Dylan playing in the creek by Nana and Papa's cabin.

The majority of our June and some of our July was taken up by finishing the new house and packing. Don't forget to pack this one!

Amos and I were also taking Harrison to and from swim practice 2 or 3 mornings every week for the month of June and July. This is his first meet. He really enjoyed the swimming, but not getting up early during summer.

Last family photo in our Ridgewood house, July 18th, 2010. We lived here for almost 8 years, had 3 children here, added a master suite and remodeled every room. We loved living there. We just ran out of space.

This is one of the first photos of the new, finished house. Our good friends from Colorado, The Sapps, came to visit us.

One of the first things the kids wanted to do in the new house was "play" in mom and dad's shower.

More random, new house and vacation photos coming real soon!

Spring Catchup

2010-04-14T14:02:00.000-07:00

We stayed close to home for Spring Break. We went on a few day trips around Arkansas. The most fun the kids had was when we went to the Little Rock Zoo. We took my sister's boy, Tristan, and we had so much fun.

Easter Sunday! I kept reminding myself what Easter is really about and that it is not about the "coordinating" clothes or whether I get a good "Easter" picture. After taking 23 pictures; I did not get one shot of everyone looking and/or smiling. I hope they make you laugh out loud, I sure did.

Easter at Granny Baker's house:

All the kids are waiting patiently until all 200 eggs are hidden.

Granny Baker with her great-grandkids
and Papa (my dad) eating an egg in the background.

Harrison turned 10! I cannot believe it, my baby is a tween, scary.
We took him and 6 friends to play at Xtreme Lasertag. They had a lot of fun.

A few Nash tales and pictures:

We finally got Nash his birthday present and we can't keep him off of it. He rode to our friends house, it is about 1/2 mile there, and he rode all the way back. He calls it his "cycle". If he isn't riding something, he has a ball in his hand. All Boy!

Last week all the kids were outside playing and I was on the computer, when I heard a strange noise. So I go check it out and I search around.
This is what was coming down the hall of our Master Bedroom. He was pedaling as fast as he could. He knew he was in trouble.

Did Nash eat a lemon?

No, only a strawberry.

T is for Tacky, Two, and Tired

2010-03-10T13:07:00.000-08:00

Tacky:
On Wednesday night church, AWANA, the kids got to dress up in tacky clothes. Layla and Dylan are still pretty darn cute.

Two:
Nash turned two years old. I still can't believe it, where does the time go. I decided to make a cake (I am NOT good at decorating cakes AT ALL), but it was just our family. I ran out of frosting and the writing on the cake is horrible, oh well, it tasted a lot better than it looked.

He is just that manly, he can eat off of a pink plate.

Two days old:

Two years old:

Tired:
This past weekend was the Little Rock Marathon. I started training in September of last year to run it and in October got a stress fracture. So I couldn't train or race, I was very disappointed. Harrison said since I couldn't run it, he would run for me, isn't he too sweet. At Sequoyah Elementary they have a group called Recess Rockers; throughout the school year they run 25 miles during recess. The last mile is to be ran at the marathon, Final Mile Marathon, it is for kids 7 - 12 years old.

On Saturday we head to Little Rock and before the race we go to the Museum of Discovery and let the kids roam around.

This is all of Sequoyah's Recess Rockers:
There were over 1600 kids total running.

That is Craig O'Neal, we were hoping to get some airtime on Channel 11, but I didn't see us.

He is ready and fired up!

We found a good spot at the finish line to get a photo. He came in second in his age group from Sequoyah.

Downtown Little Rock by the River Market, it was a beautiful day.

More Snow!

2010-02-08T08:43:00.000-08:00

I am loving these snow days. Snow on tree branches is beautiful. Get ready, more photos of snow. They are from 1 week ago at my mom and dad's house and today.

Layla and Dylan

Harrison and Tristan (my sister's son)

Nash and mom

Dylan and dad

Nash had rather be riding the four-wheeler than playing in the snow.

My mom and dad (Nana and Papa)

Snowball Fight

Papa pulling the sled.

Layla took this photo, doesn't Nash look handsome.

I took some head shots this morning.

Dylan and Nash are the best of buds.

After my morning run, Nash grabs my ipod and stomps around imitating me. I hope I look a little more graceful than him.

We have started a house building blog. Anyone who would like to keep up with our stress and progress check it out: http://seedsnewpod.blogspot.com/

Snow Days!

2010-01-29T07:57:00.000-08:00

These photos are from the 1st of January. The kids had so much fun in the 1" of snow we got. I on the other hand was ready to get back into our "normal" routine, after enjoying all the kids for 2 weeks over Christmas break.

Today, we woke up to no snow and no school. It is 10 am and my kids are still in there pajamas. I love days like this; we don't have to go anywhere. They have already made a fort for all the stuffed animals, made numerous lego towers, and made a very loud train line. We haven't even made it outside yet.

I have started a file with photos I call "How do you know kids live here?". This is the most recent addition.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2010-01-03T09:16:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas. On Christmas Eve Amos' dad and Myra came over and we had an untraditional dinner of Vegetable Curry and Tabouli (one of Amos and my favorite dishes). Christmas morning the kids were up early of course and loved the presents Santa gave them. We played at home with our new toys and then went to my parent's house. We opened presents and visited with my sister and her family. Then we drove a half mile to my Granny Baker's house and ate with cousins, uncles and aunts, there were 37 adults and children in my Granny's tiny house. There was no room to move, but it was nice to see everyone. We left there about 4 pm and drove to Amos' uncle Glyn's house and visited with there family and of course ate again. Overall it was very good Christmas and feel very blessed to have gotten to spend it with family. Over break we went to Branson (our gift to the kids) for a couple of days and the rest of the time was spent playing. On New Year's Eve we had some friends over and we ate and celebrated the new year early. Everyone was in bed before midnight. Here are a few photos from the past 2 weeks.

If you look closely at the top of the shorter tree, Dylan has added her own personal tree topper.

Future engineer, already calculating.

Harrison went with the 4th graders to the Capital in Little Rock and sang Christmas songs. Afterward the Governor came and they had their picture taken with him. Harrison is on the far right, 4th row from bottom.

The weekend before Christmas we drove up Mt. Nebo to see Santa, the girls were the only ones that wanted to sit on his lap at first.

Nash decided he would, but then quickly changed his mind. Look at the Santa's hair and hat, it is about to fall off. It eventually came off and Dylan says "you are not the real Santa". So we quickly come up with this... this Santa is only a helper, because the real Santa is way too busy to let all the boys and girls sit on his lap.

Going to church the Sunday before Christmas, we were asked to light the 4th Advent candle. I was very nervous about whether Nash would let me hold him while Amos read scriptures. Nash didn't squirm at all (prayer helped) and Harrison lit the candle like a pro.

Layla with her American Girl from Santa.

I almost didn't put this picture in, my son is a typical boy, holey pajama pants, no shirt, and his hair looks like he slept in a hat. Oh well, he doesn't care he got Mind Flex from Santa and is very excited.

Dylan riding on her sit-on horse from Santa. She has named the horse Jessie and drags it around by the reins.

Nash got a tricycle from Santa, which he rides all the time.

We were at my parent's house. Dylan is cheeseing and Nash looks like he had rather be somewhere else. It is so hard to get a good family picture.

Yes, he ate a blue marker.

Fall Family Fun

2009-11-04T11:56:00.000-08:00

I just LOVE Fall. We have been enjoying the cool and dry weather. As always, we have been very busy.
Harrison won 3rd place for design at the AWANA Grand Prix. Amos was a little disappointed, but not surprised he didn't win for speed. That is what happens if you wait until the last minute to make a car. However, Harrison was excited to win a trophy of any kind. Good Job, Amos and Harrison!

Dylan Paige wore Layla's Camo Cutie hat for the letter H to Mother's Day Out. I have to agree, she is a cutie.

Sequoyah's Nifty Fifty's Day

I was not feeling well, so I told Amos, I am going to sleep in the next morning. At 6 am - I hear all the kids up, but I am trying to go back to sleep. Nash is also up and they are all in the living room with the TV on. About 15 minutes later, I hear Layla yelling, "Get mom, quick, it is an emergency." I jump out of bed to go see what is going on. I find Nash walking toward me with an opened bottle of purple nail polish. I look around and it is all over the rug and all over his leg. Nothing like the smell of Fingernail Polish Remover to wake you up.

Nashes first fight at school; I didn't see the other guy, but I don't think Nash won!

Sisters!

On October 30th, I try to find a pumpkin to carve with the kids. I search everywhere, finally I go by Kroger and get the 2nd to last pumpkin. Later, when I get it out of the car, I realize the back is very squishy and we can't carve it. So we improvise, we use glue and glitter. The girls love this, Harrison wasn't too excited.

We were about to head to the Russellville Downtown Fall Festival.

Halloween! 2 tigers, a pumpkin and Ron something from Harry Potter.
We went trick or treating around our neighborhood; the weather was very nice.

Another year has passed and my little girl is now 7. I took Layla and two friends to eat at her favorite restaurant, La Huerta, and then we went to the movies.
Layla 7 months old!

Layla 7 years old!

The following is a sequence of pictures capturing one of Nashes many yelling (for no reason) fits. Yes, he has crackers in his mouth.

Brothers!

Bad News - Good News

2009-10-15T09:12:00.000-07:00

We have had a pretty exciting past month. I will give the bad news first and then get to the good.

Bad News- I was training for a half-marathon in October and I was doing pretty well for someone who is not a "runner". I felt pain in my ankle after my Tuesday run. I ran 4 miles on Tuesday, 3 miles on Thursday and a 7 mile run on Saturday. I couldn't hardly walk on it all weekend, but it was feeling better. But I decided to have a doctor check it out on the next Thursday. I have a stress fracture and have to wear a walking cast (boot) for six weeks (no more running). I am disappointed and frustrated. I am hoping to get back to training for a half marathon in March after the boot comes off.

Good News-We have been trying to sell our house since June and have had no takers yet. However, on Friday after I got the news of my stress fracture, I got a call from a lady wanting to look at the house on Sunday. I am not very excited, we have showed the house numerous times with no one making an offer. On Sunday, I clean while Amos takes the kids to church. We show it to them, they like it (we have heard this before also). On Monday, the lady calls back and wants to make an offer, I am a little bit excited, but I know a lot can go wrong with banks, appraisals and more. But then she says they are paying cash (WHAT?). I will believe it when I see it in writing. On Thursday, we met with the prospective buyers, they offered what we needed, as is and with no home inspection (WHAT?). This is too good to be true. So obviously we accept. We close in less than a week. Now we are thinking we have to find a rental house until we can build our new home. We look at a few houses and find one, but we decide to ask the buyers if they would consider renting our current house they just bought back to us. Guess what, they said sure, we aren't in any hurry to move yet (WHAT?). This just keeps getting better. We are now renting the house we have lived in for 7 years (no moving, YEAH), while we plan our dream house. We feel very blessed; this house deal has gone so smoothly. We will be starting a new blog about building our new home in the future. I will post the address when we can show some progress.

Now for a few photos:

Nash reading a book and wearing a winter hat.

The girls playing dressup with Nash. I wondered when they would try this. Doesn't he make a cute cheerleader.

The kids on Saturday morning, piling on our bed.

Nash loves to run around naked after a bath. I guess he needed to take a trip with Layla's purple, Hannah Montana suitcase.

Dylan had some dental work done and when her mouth was numb she chewed her lip. So she is slurping applesauce through a straw. Her lip is really swollen and sore. She is one tough girl. She didn't even make a sound or move when getting the shot in her mouth.

Yes, this is Nash wearing high heels. He is also carrying a sword. It is very comical, because he is all boy, loves balls, weapons, and outside. But he is also very into shoes, he does not discriminate between boys and girls shoes. Loves to put any and all shoes on.

Harrison was home sick and I found him looking at a book with Nash. He is such a good brother. My two boys they just make my heart melt.

Finally, it is not raining, the first thing we do is GO OUTSIDE. Harrison and Layla find this furry worm (not the scientific name of it) and are so excited and want a picture of it.

Dylan Paige turned 4!

2009-09-09T07:49:00.000-07:00

Dylan turned 4 at the end of August and we celebrated with family and friends at Nana and Papa's pool. Of course she wanted a horse on her cake.

On a Sunday afternoon we went and ate at our favorite restaurant in Conway, Fuji Steakhouse. Yes, Dylan is using chopsticks, no I am not. All the kids want to try and eat like dad. Harrison is pretty good at using the chopsticks, but Layla and Dylan usually are eating with a fork by the end of the meal.

She is probably calling her agent. She is very dramatic and sassy to boot.

Nash loves to get water out of the refrigerator, however it usually is locked and no water really comes out. But mom forgot to lock it and when I found him he had managed to make a pretty good puddle and get himself real wet too.
He is upset because I locked the refrigerator and he can't continue to make a mess.

Our first few weeks of school have gone well, just trying to get back into a good routine. We also have acting, AWANA-Wednesday night church, gymnastics X 2, piano, and soon we will start church choir and Nutcracker rehearsal. We stay busy, but are having lots of fun. Nash and Dylan started back to Mother's Day Out and are having fun and I am enjoying 5 hours a week without children. It is good for everybody. Amos and I usually have lunch and some adult conversation (usually we talk about the kids, but at least we get to finish a sentence without interruption).

St Louis Vacation

2009-08-14T11:39:00.000-07:00

We wanted to take the kids somewhere before school started. So we went to St. Louis on a mini-vacation. The drive there wasn't too bad, it was night, so they just watched movies and slept. On Friday we went to the zoo, it was a very nice day for August. The kids had a good time. At night we went swimming and just relaxed. On Saturday we went to the Arch. The kids thought the Pod Elevator ride up the arch was like a roller coaster, obviously they haven't ever been on a roller coaster. It was hot and slow and claustrophobic. They loved looking out the windows and Nash didn't want to leave. After that we went to the City Museum. We had never heard of this museum and decided to go on a recommendation from a friend. Thanks Amanda, we had so much fun. It was an old Shoe Factory some man converted into an eclectic museum made out of junk. It had slides, climbing things, caves, art studio, play areas, building blocks, secret passages and more stuff than I can tell or recall. The only complaint was the elevator. I had the double stroller and Nash had fallen asleep, so to get from floor to floor we had to use the only, small elevator. It was so small the stroller and myself could only fit, so I had to wait til no one was in the elevator, so we could get on. Otherwise, everyone had a blast. They also had an outdoor feature and Amos went through it with Dylan. That night we went to Landry's Seafood Restaurant and ate some GOOD food. Sunday, we drove home and it didn't go so well. Nash is not the best traveler, and he proved it. He wouldn't take a nap, so we had to entertain him the whole way. We used anything we had; balls, colors, toys, and a variety of food. Nothing made him happy for very long, but the chocolate ice cream made for a funny photo. See slide show below. Slide show not working, here are a few pictures:

PHAMBATS

2009-08-14T07:18:00.000-07:00

P -Princess and Parks
H -Haircuts and Hiking
A -Art Camp
M -Messes by Nash
B -Bugs and Bikes
A -Acting Camp
T -Toothless
S -Swimming

We have been very busy and having lots of fun! See below for a lot of pictures.

No, Nash was not in a fight. Well maybe, he was attacked by a mosquito and lost. Mosquitos love him and I can't find anything to keep them away.

Messes by Nash!

Layla lost her 1st tooth. The toothfairy brought her a $2 bill.

Before Nash's haircut.

After, He looks so big.

While Amos was out of town, I decided to take the kids to a local park.

Dylan received an early birthday present from Nana. Her 1st bicycle and she is loving it.

Dylan had her first swimming lesson. She can already swim, we call her the "pickle fish". For whoever does not know, Dylan's nickname is Dill Pickle (Papa gave it to her), and lots of variations of that. I call her Pickle Paige. Dad started the Pickle Fish, because she can swim like a fish. The following pics are at Ms. Melanie's swimming lesson.

We went to Petit Jean Mountain on a Saturday in July and it wasn't hot. We went hiking, had a picnic and played at the park. The kids are really starting to love hiking as much as Amos and I do.

I look away for one minute and this is what Nash is doing. Yes another mess!

Harrison made this with the big legos. It is the first initial of each family member. I thought it was very creative.

Layla went to the River Valley Art Camp and this is all her creations. She had so much fun.

Layla is showing off her new short hair cut. It makes her look older, I don't like that, but it is very cute on her.

Dylan is probabaly going to hate me for this when she is older, but I just couldn't resist a photo. "Princess and the Pee"

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-09T12:33:00.000-07:00

We had a fun long weekend on Mt. Nebo. We swam, hiked, played and relaxed. It was storming on the 4th, so we didn't get to see any fireworks. The kids had fun anyway, we made smores in the microwave and watched a movie.
This is my favorite photo of the trip. I am calling it "My People". When Harrison was a tot, he called his family "his people".

Happy Summer!

2009-06-25T11:23:00.000-07:00

Summer is here and so is the very miserable weather. This is Arkansas, you just got to love it to live here and try to remember how beautiful Spring was and Autumn will be.

In May we helped celebrate my Granny Baker's 83rd birthday. I hope to look this beautiful when I am 83.

Before it got too hot, we went to Nana and Papa's to ride horses. This is Nash's first time on a horse. He wasn't sure he liked it or not. Everyone else had lots of fun. Layla and Dylan were riding together and had their first fall, off a horse, more like a slide off of the horse. Traumatic either way, Layla wouldn't get back on. But Dylan got right back on that horse and told Papa "maybe we should go a little slower", I don't think there is slower speed than snail.

As I have mentioned before, we are in the process of trying to sell our house. Before we put a "for sale" sign in the yard, we had some major cleaning to do, which included the garage, see below. You know the game "Where's Waldo?", see if you can play this one, "Where's Nash?"

Yes, that's him in the playpen, he was having so much fun pressing his face against the mesh.

We have no pool, so the next best thing, a sprinkler.

Nash thought it was too cold, so he wouldn't go near the sprinkler. Dylan found the Hydrangeas more appealing, although she did get a little wet.

Summertime fun, lazy days, doing nothing in particular except Vacation Bible School, Music Camp, Bball Camp, Cheerleading Camp, Swimming Lessons, Science Camp, and that is just June. It sounds like a lot, but they still find time to ask, "What can we do now?, or say "I don't have anything to do". However, they have learned not to complain to me about not having something to do, I can fix that problem quick, by saying "go clean ___________, or go practice _________ (fill in the blanks).

We are trying to keep up with our reading skills this summer. I thought this was cute, Harrison reading Harry Potter and Layla reading Junie B. Jones.

I hope everyone has a Happy 4th of July!

April Showers

2009-05-13T12:04:00.000-07:00

I have a new interpretation of April Showers bring May Flowers. We have been flooded with April activities; Easter, Earth Day, Church Musical, Talent Show, Acting Class Performance, Piano Recital. Now May is here and I can stop and smell the roses, literally and figuratively. We only have two after-school activities, Tennis and Piano.

Easter Sunday, I had to coordinate all clothing around Layla's "pageant" dress, hard to do for Springtime. We went to Granny Baker's, but it was raining so the little kids hunted eggs inside. It was nice to visit with everyone.

I was driving across Lakefront Drive to get Layla from gymnastics and had to stop and take this picture. Yes, I was late picking her up, but I think it was worth it. It was so beautiful. The Nuclear Plant is in the background.

The following photos are of my littlest man, Nash Taylor. His comic, curious, and mischievous personality is shining bright.

Harrison brings home a new picture of a Superhero he has created EVERY day from school. This was his creation on Earth Day.

As most of you know, Harrison loves to act, sing, and perform. He has been very busy this Spring. He played one of the Josephs in the Church Choir Musical "Joseph: From the Pit to the Palace".

He also sang a song from "The King and I" in Sequoyah's Talent Show.

He also finished up his Acting Class with a small performance. He did a monologue as Mr. Toad.

We were waiting for Harrison to finish an Acting class and I took some photos of Nash, Layla and Dylan by the U of O fountain.

Amos took Layla and Harrison to a play "Lost in Yonkers"
at the U of O in Clarksville, it was late when it ended. Do you think they were tired?

We had a couple of celebrations at school. Sequoyah celebrated its 40th birthday, so all classes had a party. This is Layla with her teacher, Mrs. Ellis and a few girlfriends.

The 3rd grade class celebrated Cinco de Mayo with a party and they decorated Sombreros. This is Harrison and his friend, Kyle.

We are still trying to get our house ready to sell. Amos and I have been landscaping, packing, and washing. While we were planting some plants we dug up some worms, and the kids had so much fun with them. YUCK! Dylan Paige has always loved all living creatures, any kind; furry, slimy, big or small she does not discriminate. I was raking the flower bed and Dylan wanted me to dig up a worm for her; I decline explaining that I don't have a shovel because I am not digging (also, I just didn't want to). So she starts looking on the ground for one and looks over her glasses at me and says, "God put me here to take care of the wormies", how can I argue with that? I don't think at 3 years old I knew what I wanted to do in 30 minutes much less what I would be doing as an adult, but I can guarantee Dylan will be doing something animal related (hopefully not a worm farmer).

Spring Break and Other Tales

2009-04-14T17:55:00.000-07:00

First of all, Spring Break was not long enough. However, we did have a good time. The kids had been bugging me to paint canvases, so we got out the paint brushes and went crazy. The following are of the kids' art, Harrison and Layla did theirs all by themselves. I helped Dylan, okay I pretty much did hers and she got to paint in some of the colors.

Harrison is really into piano, so he wanted to do something musical.

Yes, she drew a bee all by herself. She says she wants to an art teacher. I think that is perfect for her, she loves to be in control and boss people around. Plus she loves drawing, painting, coloring, and any other crafty thing.

The next day we drove up to Fayetteville and stayed at a hotel with an indoor pool. This is the only requirement my children have - POOL! We could have stayed at the Hampton in Russellville for all they cared. We swam and relaxed, then the next day we drove up to Gentry to the Drive-thru Safari Wildlife Zoo. It was really neat, all the animals got named by movie characters the kids know. So we saw Marty, Alex, Melman, and Gloria from "Madasgcar" and lots of other animals. The kids and Amos and I had a really good time. Some photos below are of our adventure.

We spent a few days in Fayetteville and when we got back, we just hung out at home for a few days. Then on Thursday Harrison, Layla, and Dylan went to Nana and Papa's house (my mom and dad's house) to visit. On Saturday they went to Peepaw and Grandma's (Amos' dad's house) and stayed til Sunday. Then it was back to school.
While the older kids were visiting grandparents we worked on our house. We are getting it ready to sell, yes we are moving (just a few streets East). We bought a lot and are planning to build a much wanted bigger house. I will put photos of the process when the time comes.

After asking my 9 year old "What does that say?" several times, I finally broke down and went to the eye doctor. Guess what?, I needed glasses. Layla wanted to take a picture of Dylan and me with our glasses on.

Layla begged me to put curlers in her hair and of course Dylan wanted some also. Aren't they cute. See below for the after photos.

Do you think Dylan wanted her picture taken? Her hair didn't curl anyway, it is too short.

I want to be just like big brother.

Dylan playing in the rain before school.

The following photos are of my 1 year old. Nash is very curious and into everything.
Literally, loves to get in things and take things out of wherever they are supposed to be.
And yes, I left him hanging while I went to get the camera. He was screaming and I was laughing. Is that not horrible of me. Mothers have to find the humor in all things.

He keeps me on my toes!

Doctor's Offices Make Me Sick

2009-02-28T14:08:00.000-08:00

My family has been sick, for the whole month of February. It all started 6 weeks ago.
Nash has fever and is very cranky, so we go see Dr. P on Monday, he has an ear infection.
Layla, who has NEVER been to the doctor for sickness, is sick. The next day, I take her to see Dr. P, but he was booked so we see someone else. She has an ear infection.
The next week on Monday, Nash is still not better, so we go see Dr. P again and wait for 3 hours, he has an ear infection in the other ear.
On Wednesday, Dylan is sick, we go see my sister an APN, in Conway, because she has seen Dylan before and I didn't want to deal with Millard-Henry again. When we get there Mandy wasn't working, so we saw someone else. I spent the next 30 minutes trying to get my 3 year old to use the bathroom so they can check her urine. I give up, my mother says she will try, they come out after 5 minutes with an urine sample and a promise of green gum (I am the mother why didn't I think of gum bribery?). The result is she has a Urinary Tract Infection. I have 3 children on antibiotics.
The next week, Dylan is still having problems, so I call on Wednesday Mandy she says to come in for another Urinalysis, this time my mom would not be with me, but I have the gum bribery ready. It still takes me longer than 5 minutes and purple gum, but she doesn't have an infection anymore. She is still not acting like herself, but we go home anyway.
So the next day, Dylan is getting dressed and I notice she has little red bumps from her neck down, I immediately call Mandy. She asks me lots of questions, and she says it probably just a viral thing, not contagious. On Friday, the bumps are still there, not worse, not better, for my peace of mind, we go see Mandy AGAIN. She is there, but not taking patients, so we see the other doctor. He has no clue what it is, he said it looks like measles without the itching, but he hopes it's not because they will have to quarantine everyone in the clinic WHAT?!?! He keeps saying it can't be measles, and sends us home with some steroids for Dylan and tells me if she has any other symptoms to call immediately. I am a little freaked out about the whole measles thing, but I keep reassuring myself, she has been immunized. On Saturday, the rash is going away, finally. On Sunday, Dylan starts running fever, I immediately call Mandy, she says it probably has nothing to do with it, the rash is almost gone.
On Wednesday, Nash wakes up in the night and throws up 3 times. The next day he is fine.
On Friday, I get antibiotics for an ear infection. Also on Friday, Dylan throws up once and is now fine; Amos doesn't feel well.
Today, Amos is better and Harrison is feeling nausea.
The next week no one has to go to the doctor YEAH! I thought our sickness run was over, no not yet.
Last week, Dylan has had fever everyday, with no other symptoms. I am afraid her UTI had come back, so we head to see Mandy, NO UTI.
The next night, Nash is running a high fever, so we go see Dr. P the next day (Nash's birthday party day), no ear infection, he thinks it is just a virus. Confirmed on our way home when he throws up. NO PARTY!
I am sick of sickness, having it, dealing with it. Most of you know I have Spring allergies, so you won't hear this often, but I am so ready for Spring. The following pics are of party invitation, Nash standing by his cake, and the big cake; we couldn't cancel the cake.

The following is a picture of Layla on their 101st day of school. They got to dress up like dalmatians, the black around her eye was Amos' idea. It did hide her black eye (see previous post).

Sometimes, but not often, I wish my 6 year old didn't know how to read. One day after school, Layla was unpacking her bag, she pulled out a pink paper and said I want to do this. What? I said, she says 'this Valentine Pageant". What? I say again, I don't DO pageants, I am not going to put make-up on my 6 year old. I explain to her, if she really wants to do this, we will find a pretty, reasonably priced, dress, and she will not wear makeup. Being my shy girl, I also explain to her she will have to walk on stage by herself and I am not going to pay for her to enter if she won't do it. She says I will and is sooo excited. So I search every consignment store in Russellville, and found nothing. I finally found a red dress online, under $30, which was my limit, I just love a good deal.
On the day of the pageant, Layla and I have a day of girl fun, she had her hair styled and we head to the pageant. There were about 35 girls of all ages, some were wearing "real" pageant dresses and make-up and others were like Layla, pretty dress and naturally pretty. Of course I think she is the prettiest in her age group, but I don't know what the judges look for. So judgment time comes, she walks and smiles, doesn't fall even waves at the judges (Again, Who's kid is this?). She is so proud of herself and I am just beaming. We are waiting for results and I am giving my "Not everyone Wins" speech, and she says "If I don't win a crown, I want to try again. But if I win I don't think I want to do this again, I will already have a crown." All the more reason, PLEASE let her win. See below for photos and pageant results.

Upward Bball and Cheerleading are over. It was fun, but I am ready to have our Saturdays back.
Acting Classes started back for Harrison, he is very excited. It is on a regular basis I have to ask, can I talk to Harrison, instead of a pirate, Batman, a caveman, and numerous other characters. Some days I hope he can make it as an actor, he is good, even with accents; and then other days I hope he wants to be an architect or something normal. Whatever he decides, I am happy as long as he is happy.

These are some pictures of my kiddos.

New Year

2009-02-03T11:05:00.000-08:00

I have some catching up to do. I have a couple of good excuses. First of all, I have started working part time again. Second, my computer got a virus and had to visit the doctor, so I was without for awhile. That being said I will catch everyone up:
Happy New Year! We had a few friends over to celebrate. Our good friend, Dan Bullock (Dr. Dan), made a lighted ball to drop at midnight. Since we had lots of kids at our party, our ball dropped at 9 pm. The kids thought this was so much fun.

The next day we visited Uncle Glyn and Aunt Kappy's house. My horse lover (Dylan) had a blast, as well as Harrison and Layla. Nash made a new friend, Cousin Wade.

After we all got settled back into school, Harrison and Layla started Upward Basketball and Cheerleading. I don't know what to do with a cheerleader (she does look real cute in her "costume" as she calls it). I am going to try to talk Layla into playing basketball next year. She says she doesn't want to, she might sweat. Who's kid is this? Harrison is loving playing bball, he knows several boys on his team and is having lots of fun.

Nash was enjoying the game so much he fell asleep.

Nash was getting sleepy and crawled on Harrison and layed there. It was so cute.

Last Friday was the 100th day of school. The kindergartners had to decorate a hat with 100 items on it. Layla put glitter stickers all over her hat.
Yes, Layla has a black eye. Harrison, Layla, and Dylan were playing and somehow Harrison accidentally poked Layla in the eye with a plastic bat.

This is how Nash looks most of the time. His pacifier in his mouth and the tongue sticking out the side. Already multitasking.

Dylan was playing so nice by herself and looking so cute, I had to get a photo. She loves to lay on the floor where the sun shines on it. She is wearing a pirate patch and is playing with some sort of animal (imagine that).

Christmas Cheer

2008-12-30T13:12:00.001-08:00

My sweet kids made Christmas presents for mom and dad at school. Am I the only one who absolutely love getting paintings or pictures using body parts from my children? Here are Harrison and Layla's creations:

I found a hat Nash would leave on his head without screaming. He didn't leave it on for very long.

We had a wonderful Christmas and the days before and after were eventful as well. Amos, Nash and I were in the Living Nativity at our church, it was very cold but we were bundled and Nash was perfect (I do mean perfect, sat in the same spot for the whole 30 minutes). I usually can't get him to be still for 5 minutes. It was a lot of fun.

Layla had a friend over and we made sugar cookies.

This was supposed to be a photo of the family before we go to church for Christmas; I am sure you noticed we are missing an important person, my wonderful husband, he was sick.

This was on Christmas morning with there gifts from Santa.

What does Dylan Paige absolutely love? If you don't know, I am sure you can tell from the picture. Most of the family gave her some sort of horse stuff or accessories (stuffed, My Little Pony's, shirt with horse on it, boots with spurs), I took this picture of only horses she got for Christmas. That does not include horses she already had. If you ask her what she wants to be when she gets big, her answer "a horse".

Finally, a family Christmas photo, this was taken at my mom and dad's on Christmas Day.

The next three photos are at Peepaw's and Grandma's house, the day after Christmas. I am horrible I didn't get any photos of any other family members there.

This is Nash smiling (squinting and wrinkling his nose). What is up with the hair?

2008-12-13T16:36:00.001-08:00

So after Thanksgiving we took a short trip to Branson to see the lights and visit with Santa. It was very cold, but it was nice to get away. You will see the photo with Santa in the newsletter (time of delivery-hopefully BEFORE Christmas).

Church on the Trail of Lights
When we got home I thought it was time to get in the Christmas Spirit. All I wanted was some cute pictures of my children with a Santa hat or reindeer antlers- I guess 3 out of 4 is not too bad.

I love putting up my tree and setting out all the decorations. However, this year I have a 9 month old who gets into everything, unlike my previous three (they would sit and not bother anything), so I decided to put up two very small trees in a corner and block it with a chair and some big toys. Somehow my son found his way back there and pulled the tree over, I am so glad I didn't put up my big tree.

Before

After

This past week we went to the Russellville Christmas Parade, we have done this every year since Amos and I were married. It was extremely cold, but we weren't, we had on so many layers and blankets over us. It didn't hurt that we were also drinking hot chocolate. It was a good time.

Saturday Harrison had his 1st piano recital, he has only been taking lessons since October. He had two very short songs, and I am proud to say he played them perfectly. This is a picture of him with his teacher Mrs. Greer.

New Background for Thanksgiving

2008-11-12T13:18:00.000-08:00

I have changed my blog background in honor of Thanksgiving. It is the holiday between Halloween and Christmas, I know it is hard to tell. I noticed in stores and businesses Christmas decor, ornaments, gift boxes, and anything you need or want for Christmas. What happened to Thanksgiving: turkeys, leaf platters, cornucopias and most important being thankful? It seems everything is so commercialized; we have skipped right over Thanksgiving. I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving (you know I won't post again until probably December).
"Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" 2 Corinthians 9:15

Fall Festivities

2008-11-10T12:47:00.000-08:00

I know it has been awhile. We have had lots of activities and yes I have lots of pictures. We are enjoying this beautiful weather, we can finally play in our yard without getting eat up by mosquitoes.
I will start with Harrison, he won 3rd place in the AWANA (our church's Wednesday night youth activity) Grand Prix. Amos and Harrison made a car out of a block of pine wood and I painted it with a little help from Harrison.

Layla learned to ride her bike without training wheels. So guess what she is asking Santa to bring her?

We were going to Russellville's Downtown Fall Fest, it is a lot of fun and we get to see people we haven't seen in a while. The shirts are my poor attempt at being crafty (at least I could keep up with them). The next photo is of Layla with a Cyclone painted on her face (yes, I said Cyclone, that is hard for me to get used to).

Nash has figured out how to pull up, but he doesn't know what to do next. He is getting so big. He is a very fast crawler and I lose him quite regularly.

This is our Halloween Photo: Harrison is Iron Man; Layla and Dylan are cheerleaders (this is something else I can't get used to either-they love cheerleading); Nash is our little cow
We went trick or treating around our neighborhood, we had a lot of fun.

The next photos are of Layla at her 6th Birthday party. I took her and 5 of her friends to High School Musical 3. We had so much fun, yes I enjoyed it also.

This past Sunday was the first weekend of deer season . The women and children of the family have been going on Sunday to Deer Camp for more than 25 years. The first photo is my dad or Papa to my kids.

The second photo is of all Granny Baker's great-grand children:
On the ground: Tristan (Mandy-my sister's boy-20 months old)
On the log: Grace (Sara-my cousin's girl-9), Ty (Bethany-my cousin's boy-2), Layla holding Nash, Harrison holding Lucus (Stuart-my cousin's boy-10 months old), Lydia (Stuart's girl-2), Chloe (Bethany' girl-5), Quintin (Brian-my cousin's boy-4)
Standing: Jacob (Sara's boy-16) holding Dylan Paige

That is what we have been up to this past month. Busy and loving it.

I've Been Tagged!

2008-10-10T12:38:00.001-07:00

Thanks Ang, I love thinking about weird facts about myself. I will try to come up with 7, its not that I don't have any, just which ones would I like to share.

Some random or weird facts:

I love a neat house and try to keep one with 4 kids, but my office/kids craft/music room is one big pile of mess. Maybe because it has an identity problem.
I took guitar lessons for 5 years (in elementary school) and can't play one note now.
I once made 100 free throws in a row at HHS.
I have been pregnant and/or nursing since 1999.
I had too many projects and other things on my To Do List, I threw it away (I was getting stressed).
I enjoy being a chauffeur to 4 kids, if I wasn't busy I would lose my mind.
I have read 17 books this year.

Everyone I know with blogs have already been tagged. If you are reading this and you have a blog I don't know about let me know. I love reading them, and feeling connected.

Family Fun

2008-10-10T11:24:00.000-07:00

I know it has been awhile. I have no excuse, just very busy. I thought I would give you insight into my world for one week (things we have every week). Sunday...a.m. church; p.m. dinner at Hughes house; Monday...p.m. Harrison acting; Tuesday...a.m. Dylan-Mother's Day Out(MDO); p.m. Layla gymnastics; Wednesday...a.m. Dylan gymnastics; p.m. Awana Church; Thursday...a.m. Dylan MDO; p.m. Harrison piano lessons and Game Night at our house; Friday...p.m. Movie Night at our house; Saturday...see the following

We recently went to our next door neighbor's daughter's 2nd birthday party. They had a county fair in there front yard, petting zoo, games, bump n jump, hot dogs, popcorn, and cupcakes. The kids had so much fun...photos below.

The following pictures are when we went to the Lock and Dam Park. It was so nice outside and the kids were very hungry and tired after. We ate at CJ's Burger, the best burger and fries in Russellville. The kids call it the place that has root beer and a jukebox. It is an experience in its self according to them.

For Amos' birthday we went to the Mid-America Museum, he had been wanting to see the Body's Exhibit. Amos' dad and Myra met us there. The kids had a ball and Amos enjoyed the exhibit. I opted not to go in with the 2 younger kids; besides I didn't really want to see it. Then we ate at On the Border (I probably would have not enjoyed lunch if I had went in), it was a "good fun" family day.

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Dylan has had a hard time adjusting to playing by herself while Layla and Harrison are at school. She usually picks one toy or stuffed animal and plays with it all day. Her most recent toy is a unicorn whom she named Acorn. I am not sure where she came up with the name. I think it is very creative.

Cute picture of my 7 month old, 22 lbs of mess. He has a bit of a temper, if you don't do the right thing and do it quickly, he will let you know. He can get up on all fours, but does not know what to do from there. It won't be long and I will have to get out the gates.

NO POWER!

2008-09-04T18:21:00.000-07:00

Our power went out Tuesday night at 8:30pm, just as we were putting the kids to bed. It was nice, no TV, no Internet; Amos and I played cards by candlelight and talked without interruptions or distractions (I know it is a strange and rare thing). I couldn't sleep because there was not ONE sound in the house. Note that I said WAS nice, when we woke up and still no power, it was hectic getting everyone ready for school and work. By 10 am I was going crazy, Dylan kept asking to watch The Backyardigans and to help her turn on the lights, so we went to Hastings and Dylan had a muffin, I had some much needed coffee and we looked at books. After we got home and the kids were napping, I couldn't do my normal stuff, wash clothes, check email, and pick up the house (I wasn't sad about this one). I was lost and would I dare say a little bored until...Amos has to leave work because his dad's house is about to have Hacker Creek in it. So before school lets out I load up Dylan and Nash in Amos' truck (move car seats) and meet Amos at Lowes so he can get sand bags. I move car seats again to Amos' company truck and race back home before the school bus. They managed the water pretty well at Don's house, it did get in the house, but they moved most of the furniture and appliances up one level. So Wednesday night we go to church for AWANA, we ordered pizza for supper, I couldn't cook (not sad about this one either just inconvenient). With all this going on, I can't open my freezer or refrigerator for fear of the food ruining. I am beginning to think Hotel, because most of our friends don't have power, either of our parents don't have power. Amos shot that idea down saying, "we can rough it". So when we got home from church, Amos is hooking up a generator to our refrigerator. We get the kids in bed and I read a book by headlamp, I couldn't see by candlelight. It was okay, I am getting used to it being soundless in the house. After I was asleep maybe 30 minutes, the power came on and ALL the lights came on at Midnight in the Turnipseed house. So I have come to the conclusion I can make it 26 hours with no power as long as school is still in session, Hastings has power and coffee, and we have a generator. I don' have any pictures of our dark house, it was sort of depressing (older house equals few windows). I am posting a new beach photo, this is the best picture with all my kiddos.

Vacation, School, and Party

2008-08-27T18:23:00.000-07:00

My favorite picture of the week. Nash is 5 1/2 months, has 2 teeth and weighs a whopping 20 lbs. He is a chunky monkey. We were sitting out by the pool. He looks like such a big boy sitting up so tall.

I didn't realize it had been 5 weeks since my last post. Whoa! Time flies when your having fun and going to the beach, getting ready for school to start, and planning a party. I will try to do better now that we have more routine in our lives.
We went to the beach the week right before school started, what was I thinking? We had so much fun. We went with 2 other families, so we had 1 Uhaul trailer, 6 adults and 11 children in one BIG house. It was surprisingly relaxing and the kids had a blast.

After we got back from our trip, Harrison and Layla started school. Layla is loving Kindergarten and I am enjoying having 2 kids at home. Below is Layla's 1st day.

Dylan turned 3 on Monday, and we had her party at my mom's house. She wanted a horse cake (so she could eat the head) and she wanted to swim in Nana's pool.

Summer-aka BUSY!

2008-07-20T19:34:00.000-07:00

I am not starting off very well, two weeks has gone by and I haven't written anything. I have a good excuse, two weeks of swimming lessons (twice a day) NOT back to back. It has been crazy around here. I didn't have a chance to go grocery shopping this past week (Taco Villa, Little Caesars, CJ's Burger all in one week). My wallet and my waist are glad these past two weeks are over.
I am posting a few photos of what we have been doing over the summer:
Layla at her pre-school graduation (last minute photo as we are leaving) Harrison at basketball camp with his friend Dylan (Harrison received Good Sportsmanship) Layla and her friend Hailey at cheer leading camp Dylan at Valleyfest on the HUGE blowup slide (it was very hot-note the red face) Layla and Harrison on the climbing wall at Valleyfest (they both made it to the top) Amos and Nash at Nana's pool (his 1st swim) Nash chewing on his favorite toy of the day, Mr. Ducky My beautiful children on 4th of July.

Hello Fellow Bloggers

2008-07-06T13:00:00.000-07:00

Yes, I have succumbed to peer pressure. It was fairly painless, starting a blog, now if I can just keep up with it. I am not as good with words as Amos, but I will give it a shot. The photo to the right is the first photo of all 4 of my kids together. Aren't they cute, I might be a little partial. The photo above is of Easter Sunday. I will try and post a photo or 2 every week for my faraway family and friends.