So Yummy!

I could eat her with a spoon in this outfit!!!

Thursday Night Lights

Thursday night, Braden played his last football game of the season. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't thrilled! I know that is horrible, but with 3 football seasons running simultaneously, it's kicking my butt! We need to be able to work on some homework!

Boy did he go out in style! Look at this backdrop to the game! I was thrilled that I had my camera and can harldy believe these shots. These are straight out of the camera. I haven't done a thing. It was amazing!







Not only did we have a great sunset to watch, we had a great game too. Braden's team ended the season undefeated and barely squeaked out this win to the toughest team 6-0. It was a great end to the season!


Cade actually had his last game today so that is season 2...done. Bryce has one more game to play at next week and then football is over...whoo hoo!!!

Nashville

You will be surprised to know that I really didn't take many pictures while in Nashville. It really wasn't a "touristy" trip. Instead, we just hung out and did life. We did, however, visit a pumpkin patch with a group of moms and we thoroughly enjoyed that. Wesleigh was so excited about the pumpkins!



She also loves chickens. I know these aren't really chickens, but she didn't and she loved them!







Wesleigh and Rachel's youngest, Cooper. He took her down this slide a couple of times.







These are probably the only fall colors we will see all year!




Caitlin, Cooper and Wesleigh



Finding her pumpkin.



Making a new friend. These two were adorable. They stood there and "talked" for quite a while.





I can't believe that I didn't even get a picture of Rachel and myself. Oh well, just one of those things. We had a great time, but were very happy to get home. Wesleigh missed those brothers...and they missed her too! In the airport before we boarded the plane, we called home and Cade answered the phone. She was so excited to talk to him and started up their "baby" game all by herself. I wished I would have had a video camera because she was dying laughing and covering her mouth while she kept calling Cade a baby and he did the same. I'm going to have to try to get that on video very soon.

We're Back!

Wesleigh and I got back last night. We had a great time in Tennessee but are happy to be back home in our own beds ;) Wesleigh was so excited to see the boys last night and they were just as excited to see them! I have some pics of a pumpkin patch that I'll get together to post a little later. I had to laugh because on the plane, I was asked if Wesleigh had ever flown before. Ha!! Yep...you could say that. I just laughed.

I have had many questions about the book I did of our China trip. I thought I'd answer your questions and tell you about the process. I used the Creative Memories Storybook Maker software to create this book. I'll be honest, I've had the software for a few years and this is the first book I've printed. Of course, I've had great intentions, but just never got it done. I have used Shutterfly to print a Christmas book and thought it was great, but wasn't satisfied with the lack of creatitivity it offered to me. All you do is click and drag photos and journal. It was very easy and looked great, but I wanted to be able to do more. Years ago, I was a scrapbook addict. I had a library of traditional scrapbooks that represented hundreds of hours of work and even more wonderful memories. I LOVED them. When we lost our house to a fire 5 years ago I lost them. It is still hard to think about all that hard work, not to mention the pictures...gone! I decided I would never scrapbook again. I couldn't bear to collect all the "gear" again and start over. Eventually, everything started moving to digital and I started to see other possibilities. I'll just run through a couple of the reasons I decided to do it this way:
* Number one for me is that it is replaceable. In 10 years if I don't like the way it looks or the pages look worn, or the book is destroyed somehow, all I have to do it get online and order another one.
* Everything is on my computer. No mess and "gear" to deal with.
* I am able to make the pictures as big as I want. There were a couple of pictures that I made the entire 12 x 12 page.
* Creative Memories has a great photo storage system called Memory Manager.
* There was someone to help me. My consultant was so sweet to help me figure out what I was doing.

I am sure there are many other companies who have great software. I don't even pretend to know about any of that. I'm just sharing what worked for me. (I have no affiliation with Creative Memories. I don't want you to think that I'm trying to make money off of it.)

Has anyone printed their blog into a book? I would love to do that after Christmas. Let me know if you've used a particular company and were happy with them.

Leavin' On a Jet Plane

Tomorrow, Wesleigh and I are leaving the boys behind and hopping on a plane to Nashville. We're going to visit my BFF and her family for a long weekend. I might even be able to meet up with a blog friend! I can't wait! I'm trying to pack today but am having a hard time not bringing Wesleigh's whole closet. We will finally get to enjoy some REAL fall weather and I can't wait to see her in all her new clothes!! Whoo Hoo!! Unfortunately, that means there is very little space left for my clothes! Oh well, nobody looks at what I have on anyway! I'm not bringing my computer, so I won't be posting updates while I'm there. I am sure, though, I will have lots of pics to share when I get back.

I have talked about this China book I've been working on for so long that I thought I'd give you a peek at how it turned out. I am very happy with it and am so proud of myself for getting it done! Since I'm not good at taking indoor pics without a flash, we'll just pretend I was going for the "warm" feel in these pics ;)

This is the front cover.


Just a few of the 86 pages.














And the back cover.


Of course, I couldn't leave you without a Wesleigh pic. Here we go...the real deal... no piggys, bows or even pants!! This is how she came out of my room yesterday. SO girly!! She just makes me laugh. (Can you believe how long her hair has gotten in 8 months? I've even trimmed it twice!!)


Two seconds before this pic was taken, Cade was sitting in the chair beside her holding the other baby. Melt my heart!! He was playing babies with her and it was the sweetest thing ever. I wish he would have stayed in for the picture, but he knew it would have ended up here!


I've been asked how the potty training is going. I have totally chilled out about it and it seems to be going better. She's good about 80% of the time. She wears a pull up when we go out because an accident at that point might be a little more than I could handle ;) I know this weekend will be busy with very little focus on the potty. Hopefully we won't totally revert back!! I've decided life is too short to stress out so much over something that will take care of itself eventually. With Wesleigh's special need, I'm just thrilled to know that she can control her bladder/bowels. That is enough for me right now :)

Have a great weekend!

And the Band Plays...

Saturday, Bryce's marching band played in a festival. It was so much fun to see all the bands perform. They all were amazing. I was happy to see them perform in the daylight so I could get some decent pictures. They scored two "1"s and one "2" (one is the best).





So handsome. I never knew how much hard work goes into these performances until this year.








Of course Miss Thing was there to cheer them on. She calls for Bryce the entire time he's performing. So cute!!

Wesleigh and the Ducks

I took Wesleigh to feed the ducks the other day. I just have one thing to say...geese are mean!! A gazillion years ago, I brought Richard's sister to this lake to feed the ducks and we were literally chased by some geese. I figured I would try it again (since it's been 16 years!!). Nope...still mean!! I actually have brought the boys through the years, every once in a while, but have never quite recovered from that first experience.

Anyway....Wesleigh got a big kick out of the ducks and didn't seem to mind the one hissing goose. I put her on this bench just to keep her out of reach ;) The one with the orange beak was hissing the whole time!



These disgusting nutria rats came up wanting food too! Yuck!! They live in the water and look like miniature beavers. We did not feed them! We see them all around here, but I've never had any of them come up to me.


Miss W got brave and decided to get on their level. (The goose had walked away) This little duck was a little too hungry and got her finger. She was fine, just a little shocked ;)




I submitted this picture to Matilda Jane for their model search. I don't think we were picked, but love the picture!


I'm sorry I have been so absent. Just a couple more weeks of football and then my life gets alot easier for a little while. I finished my China scrapbook and should be getting it in any day. I can't wait! I'll post a picture of it when it gets here. I have now been on a mission to get all my pictures loaded in the software so I can make some other books.

Quick Visit

Richard's parents drove in town Tuesday to see Braden's football game. Wesleigh ate up the attention and loved seeing them! Here are a couple of cute pics:

I love this outfit!! The denim ruffles came from here. They are so cute. I can't wait to order more from her shop!! (they were very reasonable too!)




Putting lipstick on Grandpa!


Mama Bec and Grandpa






I have to say...the potty training might be getting the best of me! Ughhh!!!! I remember being frustrated with the boys too, but it's getting hard to keep up with it. I'm so tempted to put her back in diapers!! She will not tell me when she needs to go and has started having more accidents. I have kept her in panties because I really don't want to give up! It's so frustrating though! I know every parent goes through this, but it is starting to really stress me out. What do you think? Push through or give up and try later? I'm guessing we've been at it for about 3 weeks. Maybe I need to get new treats. The M&M's might not be as appealing now. Help!!