Summer is officially over!

It has, once again, been too long since my last post. I had to go purchase a new camera cord for the computer because all the pictures from the last four months were stuck in the camera. Unfortunately, I did not take as many pictures as I wanted this summer and many other ones are in my mom's camera - but "Mumsy" has gone off on another adventure(Egypt) so I will have to wait for her return to get some of our Pensacola pictures.

We managed to keep pretty busy this summer. Baylen started the summer off going on his birthday trip with Mumsy to the Kennedy Space Center and Ron Jons. He learned how to boogie board and he still loves the beach. Baylen and Collin both attended a gymnastics camp at the local YMCA, which they seemed to enjoy.

Baylen celebrated his 6th birthday with a Star Wars party complete with a galactic battle between the Jedis and the Stormtroopers. The party was a success despite the fact that Britt was still laying sod up the the hour before the party started and the party was in our backyard. I couldn't find anyone around here who could do a star wars cake so I had to harness my creativity. I ended up making light sabers out of cupcakes. It was quite the adventure and will be another party we wont soon forget.

We traveled to Pensacola in mid-June for 9 wonderful days and saw friends and family. We also had another get together for Baylen at Peg Leg Pete's where the boys entertained themselves "fishing" off the dock. We had a blast!

We went to Savannah for the Forth of July with some of friends from here, the Bishops. We lucked out with our hotel arrangements and watched the fireworks right next to where they were being shot off.

Papa (Britt's dad) turned 60 this summer and we all went down to Sarasota to celebrate. We got to hang out with our cousins, Jonah, Macy, and Madie. The highlight for the boys was fishing in Uncle James' boat.

We then traveled to Atlanta where we hung out with Grandpa for the week and Baylen went to Sports camp. Grandpa taught the boys how to spit watermelon seeds. We also got to see Aunt Catie and Aunt Jordan while we were there. On our way home we dropped Baylen off at the airport so he could meet Grandpa John and go to Colorado. Britt was able to take some time and meet him out there where they fished, went horseback riding, and roping. The highlight of the trip was seeing a bear in the backyard!

We finished up the summer with another trip to Pensacola where Britt performed a wedding. We loved every minute of the beach and pool but we were ready to get home and get ready for school! Baylen started first grade and Collin started Pre-K and they both go to the same school. Brooklyn started preschool at our church. They all have gotten off to a good start and seem to really like it. Now we are all getting focused on baby #4 - Addison is due in less than 4 weeks!

Brooklyn's big news is that she is now sleeping in a big girl bed! She made this transition remarkably well and we are very proud of her.

We miss you guys who are out-of-town! Please know you always have a place to stay in south Georgia! We would love for you to come visit!

Spring Break

We returned from a long Spring Break in Pensacola thoroughly rested. The weather was a bit cool so we only got three beach days in, but we managed to stay pretty busy. We enjoyed seeing everyone in Pensacola!

Moving into the house was delayed due to the horrible rain we have had. Baylen's school actually closed down for three days because of all the rain (I know all of you up north will get a good laugh at that!) The house is about 99.9% done and we move in next week. The bank gave us the go ahead today and we are SO excited. We wont have any landscaping at first because of all the rotten weather we have had, but it should not be too long. I really do hope to be writing from the new house next time!

We find out what baby #4 is next Friday (April 24th!) We can't wait. I have to give a shout out to my dad who is, I believe, 39 today. Happy Birthday, Dad!

March MADNESS

It has certainly been a crazy few months and I apologize for not keeping this blog up-to-date. We are in the final weeks before our house is complete and we cannot wait. I have pretty much given up on our current living situation - we are now surrounded by boxes and cartons in preparation for the move. Every wall in the house is lined with something, which makes us feel very cluttered. However, the end is close and it will all be worth it!

Collin was in a cast for a few weeks after he broke some cartilage in his elbow falling off a playground. He was quite proud of his blue cast. It really calmed him down alot for a few weeks but it has only taken him a few days to get back into the "swing" of things.

We have been inside for the past few days due to a tremendous storm that has managed to close our schools for three days! The kids and I are getting cabin fever. They are also bummed because their school Easter egg hunts had to be cancelled, but we are hoping they will be rescheduled for after Spring Break. Speaking of Spring Break, we will be traveling to Pensacola for the week and hope to see many of our good friends there while enjoying the beach (of course!) Daddy should be joining us during our trip at some point.

Baylen had his school chapel program last week and I have included some video and pics from the event. He was a frog and he had quite a few speaking parts. He asked every night for two weeks, "how many more nights until chapel?" Finally the big day came and he was terrific. The class puts so much time and effort into these things, its hard to believe they are kindergartners!

Brooklyn is still her adorable little self. The terrible twos have yet to hit, although she can pull the sass out when she needs to prove her point. She talks our ear off and LOVES Dora the Explorer. Her favorite phrase is "Swiper, NO Swiping!" which she says with quite a bit of conviction. She has even tailored the phrase to put Collin in his place, "Collin, NO Collin!" If you have never seen Dora, Swiper is a fox that "swipes" things from Dora unless Dora can stop him in time by saying "Swiper, NO Swiping!"

Brooklyn and Daddy went to the Daddy Daughter Dance last friday and danced the night away together. Daddy picked out Brooklyn's dress by himself and the two of them had a blast. Wish I could have been there!

Well, hopefully the next blog will be written from a different home. We look forward to seeing some of you very soon!

SANTA CAME!

Apparently, all the kids made the nice list. We woke up around 7:00 to a room full of presents. This was a tad early for Brooklyn and she took a bit to wake up. However, she soon perked up and enjoyed the whole experience. Our favorite presents are the Batmobile, remote controlled helicopter, "adult" transformer movie (Baylen is especially proud of this one), high chair, and, of course, all of Brooklyn's babies. The boys were hysterical "trying" to wait their turn. Brooklyn delighted in each gift and her commentary on each gift was quite comical. There are a couple of videos included in the slide show that capture the Hallmark moments. Mumsy was with us to help unwrap and we really had a great time. We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday - we are ALL looking forward to school starting again!

Princess Melissa

She did it! The wedding was in beautiful St. Simons, Ga and the weather was perfect. Britt had kid duty most of the time and he handled it wonderfully. Collin and Brooklyn were both mesmerized by the "princess." Brooklyn wanted Melissa to hold her the whole time - the slide show shows tells all. We had a great time and look forward to seeing the newlyweds very soon in Atlanta!

Since the wedding we have kept very busy with the restaurant, school, and extracurricular activities. Baylen just finished up soccer and Collin just started swimming lessons. Collin is not well receptive of this idea but I have promised him he can return to gymnastics just as soon as he learns to swim on his own. We are 4 lessons into it and he still wont let go of his instructor. Oh well! Baylen had an Indian POW WOW last Friday at school and here is a pic of him and his two closest friends, Lauren and Logan:

Lastly, are big news of the week is closing on our construction loan! The trees are already being cleared (Uncle Richard will be happy to know that not one Pine was left standing.) We should be in our new home by next summer - so go ahead and make plans to come visit. We can't wait!! We took a pic of the lot and will keep you updated on the building process:

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving - we are going to Tallahassee for the feast and back to Moultrie that night for the annual lighting of downtown Moultrie. Apparently its a big event and something our little town is known for doing - so we can't miss it!

Dreams do come true...

For the past six months Collin has been talking about going to Disney World for his birthday. I can honestly say I believe it was everything he believed it to be. This trip was certainly all about "Collin" as he proudly wore his "It's my birthday" button each day we were there. We spent two days in the parks - Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom and one morning eating breakfast with the characters at the Contemporary resort. For some reason, Disney brings the best out of our kids and we all really enjoyed every minute we were there. It didn't hurt that we scored three free tickets the first day and one the second day. The pictures kind of speak for themselves so I will let them. There are several videos included in the Disney slide show so you may want to click this one to view it.

There is also a short slide show on the side of our Halloween costumes. We did not get a chance to trick or treat but we did dress up for a costume party at the Emma's house. For any of you who know TJ, you are going to want to click on the Halloween slide show to see a video of him with the kids. Somehow, we did not get a pic a Baylen, but he was a red power ranger.

I also included a couple pics from Stetson where we caught up with some of our professors - Dr. Mieras, Dr. Croce, Dr. Musser, Dr. Reddish, Dr. Fant, & Dr. Lucas. The boys particularly enjoyed playing football with Dr. Musser in the hallway in Allen Hall. We met up with one of Britt's students from Pensacola, Claire Stubblefield, who lives in Britt old dorm - Stetson Hall. It was a lot of fun to go down memory lane with the kids.

Lastly, Britt was in David McKinney's wedding last weekend in Orlando and we had a blast. We got to see the Coffey family, which is always a treat for the entire family. David and Lindsay (his new bride) looked picture perfect and we loved being a part of the festivities. Next weekend is another greatly anticipated wedding. I am really looking forward to meeting the lucky man who got Melissa Gainey to say "Yes!"

New Camera!

I hate to give such a lame excuse for not updating this blog but our camera broke in June. We just replaced it last week and so I have no more excuses. I have managed to pull some pics together from our time apart.

Since June our crew has gone back to school and things are going well. Baylen loves kindergarten and is making great strides in learning to read. It is a struggle to keep up with his "homework," but we do our best. Collin is having a great new year in school (yeah!!) and his teacher is great. Brooklyn goes to a babysitter twice a week so I can help at the store. This has been a real lifesaver because there is not a preschool class in town for Brooklyn's age.

Baylen is on a new soccer team and Britt is coaching. The team is called the Fire Ants and they are really fun to watch. Collin is starting to get into it and has started to practice with the team - this has become a great outing that the boys really look forward to each week.

We just got back from a long weekend in Pensacola. Allison and Lauren, our potential new next door neighbors, went with us and we had a blast. We played on the beach, went to the navy museum, visited with friends, and dined at our favorite restaurants. It was a nice retreat but we went without Collin. He went on a trip with Mumsy to New York and Atlanta. He was a little homesick but seemed to enjoy himself. We all missed him terribly and were happy to have him home. Mumsy spend a few days with us but has now departed on her next excursion - Turkey.

Next week we take off for Disney World where we will celebrate Collin's 4th birthday. We are ALL very excited. We plan on taking the kids around Stetson on our way down to show the kids where their parents fell in love (he he!) After a couple of days at Disney, David McKinney, a good friend of ours from Pensacola, is getting married in Orlando. Britt is in the wedding and we expect to see a lot of people we have not seen in a while. We are really looking forward to it!

So that brings us up to date. Sorry that this has been a rather boring post - just catching you up with our lives. I really hope to be better at updating the blog and keeping in touch with our good friends and family.