Another Visit Down to Dothan this Past Weekend

Oh to Nana & Papa's again. So fun. So many toys so many fun books to read. Good times. By the way, have you read this book? Emma Jane can basically read it to you now. It is pretty funny.

CJ with his cars!

Emma Jane with her bubbles!

Me and the kids chillin' in Papa's chair.

With everyone going to school, Nana was too kind to get Emma Jane a back pack.

...and CJ too, of course.

Me & the kids all decked out in our Sundays ready to brave 3 hours--them trying to be reverent and me trying to be referee.

Thanks to Nana and Papa for making it such a wonderful weekend. The kids had so much fun with you guys. They can't wait to come back!

Random Pictures On My Camera

My masterpiece the other night during baths.

Emma Jane wanting to take pictures with Mommy after fun babysitter's visit.

I just realized that I have not showed pictures of our new swing set. It is a combo from another swing set I bought at a garage sale for $30. It now has two slides (one bumpy and one curved), a set of rings, a fireman's pole, a picnic table, a glider, a baby swing, and a disc swing. We hope the kids will think it's fun for many years to come.

I made brownies, and I gave Emma Jane the spoon. She said, "Thank you for making chocolate," to me about a dozen times while she was licking the spoon.

CJ's new hair do.

Homewood's Awesome

So, Homewood, where we live, is so family friendly. We live like a couple of blocks away from the best park ever! They are constantly having fun things here. Like a couple of weeks ago, as the beginning of school starting, they had the coolest carnival for kids. Our kids were running around in Heaven. Emma Jane went on this swing ride below all by herself. And I let Emma Jane and CJ in one of those Jumpy things. I had to literally climb in there and pull him out everytime their time was up.

Fun With the Babysitter

I forgot to post these the other night when Carl and I got home from our date. Sam, our babysitter, after putting CJ to bed, taught Emma Jane how to use the camera. Emma Jane has so much fun with Sam. She goes to church with us. Emma Jane spends half of the meeting making silly faces at Sam. Anyway, these were pretty cute. There were probably about 20 more on my camera. Too cute!

Mighty Casey steps up to bat....

50 Riesens I Love Courtney

It's our fourth anniversary today. That's finally starting to sound significant. We are headed to stay the night at a resort and go to dinner. No presents. But Courtney's new favorite candy is Riesens, and I thought it would be "sweet" to come up with fifty Riesens I love her. I don't know why I came up with the number 50. It would have been much easier to do a top ten list or something like that. You don't have to read them. But here's to another four more crazy wonderful years.

1. You are the most beautiful person I know.

2. You are constantly thinking about how others are feeling and making sure they’re happy.

3. You are an incredible cook. I love the things you come up with.

4. Not only does the food taste good, you’re efficient. You make do with what you have.

5. You have a sweet tooth. Who knew a treat right after dinner was so absolutely necessary.

6. You’re resilient. You work harder than me, and you do it with a headache.

7. You’re fashionable. You know how to dress and accessorize, which only adds to your beauty.

8. You make our kids look great. Our kids are always well dressed and good looking b/c of you.

9. You let me be me. I’m stubborn as a mule. And I appreciate you letting me make mistakes.

10. You are FUN! I love to hang out with you. I always have a good time. Especially when it’s just us.

11. You have soft skin. I know you hate to be rubbed, but it’s hard to resist when your wife has baby skin.

12. You have good taste in movies. We never fight about what movie to watch. That’s not normal.

13. You have good taste in music. I love the music you’ve introduced to me.

14. You can dance. I know we don’t go dancing uch, but I plan to someday. I love dancing with you.

15. You smell good. Regardless of what you’re doing, and I mean regardless, you never stink. Thanks for putting up with my smells.

16. You’re thrifty. Very thrifty. No one can stretch a buck as far as you. And when you are married to a poor guy like me, that’s a must.

17. You’re adaptable. Seven moves in four years is grounds for divorce in most circles. Thanks for sticking with me.

18. You love kids. It’s very genuine the way you look at our kids. They are lucky to have someone like you.

19. You are really good with makeup. I don’t think you need it, but your simple way of adding to your good looks is impressive.

20. You’re athletic. I was hooked the first time I saw you kick/throw a ball. One more reason our kids lucked out.

21. You have an incredible decorating sense. Our houses are worth double what they should be because you have knack for decorating and design.

22. You are open-minded. This saves a lot of arguing between us. I appreciate that you are willing to listen to all sides before making up your mind.

23. You are patient. You have a husband whose mind changes like the seasons. Again, thanks for letting me be me.

24. You’re loving. You have such a big heart. For animals and people. You can’t stand to see someone hurt. You’re a great example to someone as calloused as me.

25. You’re a bulldog lover. It’s the only dog I ever wanted. I’m glad we see eye to eye.

26. You have excellent taste in dining. I would the dollar menu at McDonald memorized if you didn’t encourage me to eat smarter.

27. You understand me. I think I’m a fairly quirky, complex personality. Nobody sees to know what I’m thinking except for you. And I don’t have to tell you either.

28. You know how to relax. I don’t. I’m glad I have you.

29. You think differently than me. I love this about you. I need someone to bounce ideas off of. I think we make a good team this way.

30. You aren’t afraid to get dirty. You’ll mix it up with me. Any project. And any time. You look beautiful when you’re on a project.

31. You are persevering. Someday I will know what I want to be. Thanks for being patient while I decide.

32. You are a mother. And a very good one. You will never look more beautiful to me than the times when you are playing with our kids and making them laugh.

33. You’re happy being poor. We may or may not run into money. I’m glad you’re okay with that either way.

34. You’re priorities are straight. You spend your time doing and working on things that are the most important. Most people don’t and don’t realize it.

35. You want a big family. We might not have one, and that would be fine, but I am glad you want one.

36. You have a strong testimony. Regardless of whether I did or not, I know you’ll choose the right.

37. You are open to change. My life has never been a straight course. You are the perfect person to take along for the ride.

38. You know exactly where I put the things I lose. And I lose things a lot, so thank you.

39. Your favorite sport is soccer. Me too. I can’t wait to co-coach our kids teams.

40. You have really good manners. That’s important, because our kids would be a lost cause if it were up to me.

41. Our kids take after you. They are sweet, caring, sensitive kids with spunk. I couldn’t be happier with how they turned out.

42. You’re stoic. You put up with more than any one person I know well. I wouldn’t trade places with you for a million dollars. I can’t imagine how tough you are.

43. You have incredible lips. I could kiss them for eternity. Matter of fact, I will.

44. You’re the perfect combination of sweet and tough. You love everyone, but know when it’s time to stick up for yourself and your kids.

45. You’re trusting. I don’t think this is a natural gift for you, but you are willing to forgive and trust over and over again.

46. You’re punctual. I never have to wait on you. We may not always be on time, but we always want to and try hard to be.

47. You’re a perpetual learner. You never stop going after things and learning more.

48. You’re a good shopper. I already said you’re thrifty, but I mean something different here. I have never met someone who is always able to find what they want/need at a fraction of the cost. It’s amazing how you do it.

49. You make me happy. I don’t always show it or say it, but you do and say things that make me smile when you are not around.

50. You love me so much! If there were no other reasons to love you (and as you can see there are plenty. Or at least 49 others), I would love you just to reciprocate the affection you show me. It means more than words to me the way you show you love me.

Our newest playroom toy

So I was visiting my sister in Atlanta and we took the kids to IKEA, because we love IKEA. We let the kids play in the kids section and came across these rings that hang from your ceiling. (Who didn't wish as a kid to have something you could swing from like Tarzan inside your home?) And for only seven bucks!?! Couldn't pass it up. So, I bought them and put them up.
Emma Jane is in heaven. And CJ wants to be like her so he at least gives it a sporting try.
Swinging on them wasn't enough for EmmaJane so she brought her chair over, hopped up on it and started swinging from that. Then she moved to the slide. It got even better when dad got in the way, so she could bowl me over. Here's some videos of the two tatterdemalions.

Go Barons!

So, for Family Home Evening tonight, we decided to go to a Birmingham Barons Minor League Baseball game. We used to go see the Montgomery Biscuits Minor League play when we used to live in Montgomery. We loved it, so we decided to give it a try here.

Carl looked up the game and it was wear your favorite team jersey night and get a $5 pizza. We were stoked to bust out the Bama gear.

Emma Jane wore her cute little cheerleading outfit.

Carl was practicing, "Roll Tide," with the kids.

When we got to the game, we found out that the Team Night was on Saturday. We looked like some die-hard Bama fans. It was pretty funny since no one else was sporting their jerseys. If they did have a team logo on, it was the Barons'.

We had a good time chasing around the kids and eating popcorn and hotdogs. CJ even learned how to de-shell a peanut to get the nut inside. Impressive or what?
Go Bama...I mean Barons!