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Well, we survived the two week trip to TX and back and now we are in the recovery stages.  The kids and I had a wonderful time visiting with family and friends and we desperately missed Matt the entire time.  

Since we have been home it has rained and rained and rained.  Which is awesome because we really needed it!  The kids and I have been busy this week getting drawers cleaned out and new toys put away.  We also had to restock the house with groceries.  Matt would probably starve to death if we hadn't gotten married.  I didn't even have enough stuff in the house to put together one complete dinner.  Today we are probably headed out to Sam's Club.  There are just some things that cost too much to not buy in bulk....steak, chicken, toilet paper, chocolate syrup....all the must haves;)

I am about to go on a cleaning up rampage and get rid of a bunch of the kids toys.  Neither one of them really need a rattle anymore and it annoys me when I find one out for no reason at all.  Plus, with Michael's birthday coming up and Christmas right around the corner, now is the time to cut back on the toys!!

Addison starts her dance class on Friday and I think I may be more excited than she is about the whole thing.  I know that she wants to do it but I am getting butterflies for her:)  I will be sure to update with pics if they let me stay...maybe I will sneak some even if they don't!

The Ballerina

These are the newest clothes in Addison's closet:) We signed her up for a ballet, tap and jazz class this morning and had to get all the things on the list for her "uniform".

She had to have ballet slippers and black tap shoes...she definitely likes the tap shoes more but quickly realized that the slippers are more comfortable. Ahhhh, the trials and tribulations of being a woman!


So the kids and I should be in TX on Monday night. We plan to stay at least a full week and probably closer to two depending on scheduling. You can all keep up with me on Facebook....I seem to post there alot more often than here;)

Updates:)

Well today was a day of making small changes around the house thanks to a trip to Lowe's. That store has a way of making you feel like you are a DIY professional or something! We bought a small cubicle storage shelf for Addison's ten thousand books. I think it looks more little girl than a tall book shelf and I don't have to worry about anyone climbing up it and having an accident. Matt made himself a shelf next to the computer desk for the trash and shred. We got stuff to treat the yard and the house for all kinds of creepy crawlies. And finally, since rain is a distant memory and we have 3/4 of an acre to keep watered, we had to buy a better sprinkler that covers more ground. All-in-all a pretty good and very productive day:)

I am thinking that the kids and I will be heading to TX at the beginning of August...around the 3rd or 4th. We will be staying at least until the 13th. It really depends on how badly Matt misses us. Who knows, maybe he will want us to stay until the 23rd;)! But we really do need to get back by the third week of August so that Addison can start her dance class and I can get the kids registered for a winter swim class. I cannot believe that these kids have such a busy schedule already and they haven't even started school!

We found out that we will be having more company too! Matt's friend and office mate from Charleston will be headed our way on the weekend of August 6th for a job interview with TVA and Oak is coming out for a few days before Labor Day. I love getting to see everyone and showing off our beautiful home:)

Lots of Company!

We have had lots of going to see friends and lots of company scheduled for the next couple of months. At the beginning of the month we were in KingsBay, GA visiting with old friends and enjoying the 4th of July and this week my parents were in town for a visit! This week I also got a flight scheduled for Nana to come and see our new home in TN and made plans to try and get to TX sometime in August.

I also looked into a "Fairytale Ballet" class for Addison. It should start around the third week of August and she is super excited. The class does a different fairytale every week and they supply all the costumes. There is a recital right around Christmas time to show off what they have learned. The class is 3-4 year olds and I think it will be a good chance to start her socializing with other little girls and get her used to a "classroom" setting.

I am also hoping that we can do a winter swimming class for the kids. Addison is a total waterbug and I get kinda nervous at her lack of fear when it comes to water. I will feel much better when she knows how to keep herself afloat! Michael is the complete opposite. If the water is deeper than baby pool level he wants nothing to do with it. I really want him to learn not to be afraid, hopefully that is what his lessons would give him:)

Matt is still studying away and getting closer and closer to a license with TVA. By next month he should only have one year left of training before he officially an SRO:) This also gets us closer to the big cruise we have been planning! After talking about it we may opt for an all inclusive resort instead....but we still have some time to decide.

That is all that is happening here for now. I hope everyone is doing well and we hope to see you all soon:)



Just a random shot taken on the computer camera...sorry the quality isn't great but I thought it was a pretty cut pic anyway;)

I Met Paula Deen!!!

I don't have any pictures to share but I did get to meet the queen of everything southern on Sunday!! Chattanooga hosted a SHE Expo for women and Stacy London was the VIP for Saturday and Sunday it was Paula Deen. I stood in line for 4 hours but I did get to meet her and get her (and her husband, Michael) to autograph one of the cookbooks I have of hers:) It was super exciting and I am still floating around beaming!

On the down side, standing in one place for four hours has done terrible things to my lower back:( I have been limping around all day and the kids are tired of my being so useless.

We had a fantastic time on vacation. We were mostly bums and it was fabulous!! We did manage to take the kids to the St. Marys Aquatic Center one afternoon and we had a good time doing sparklers and fireworks on the 4th of July. Matt got a guys' day out and I got a girls' day out. The kids got to catch up with their friend Tyler and now all Addison does is beg to go back;)

Not too much else is going on right now. Matt is fully into the Systems phase of his training and the amount of studying has increased. The kiddos are still enjoying the things that Chattanooga has to offer. We will be making a summer trip to TX and maybe another down to GA now that I know how easy the drive is to make!

Vacation!

Well people, we are headed to KingsBay, Ga either tomorrow afternoon or very early on Saturday! The kids and I are super excited but Matt has a test to take before he gets to leave so he is concentrating more on that than the aftermath:) We are planning on being there until the 5th of July and hopefully we will get to see all those friends that we left behind in Georgia.

I am not sure I had posted pictures of my little plants so here are some. I put a tomato plant in a container and one in a topsy turvy. They are doing very well. I also planted sweet banana pepper plants and I have had to replant them into bigger pots:) Bring on the fresh produce!!



This last picture is of the rack Matt made for me for the topsy turvy. He said he couldn't guarantee it and when I went outside to inspect the work I found this fun note;) Needless to say, the original has been replaced by a much better version!


I probably won't be updating again this week or next week but I should have some fun pictures of our vacation and the holiday to share when we get back!

Easter Egg Hunt!!

I had some more time while Matt is playing Call of Duty 4 so I thought I would put some more pictures on the blog:)

This is the "cheese" face we got after Michael found his first egg! I think we have a picture like this of Addison from her first birthday party.

This was Addison's first find of the day...the first of many. That kid has a serious knack for egg hunting. She beat out the boys hands down:)

I had to put in a shot of her on the move. We did the hunt at Travis and Kristina Uptegrove's house and she was all over the yard. She would see a little bit of color and take off running!

Matt had to give the boy a little direction...it was his first time getting to participate. He didn't mind daddy finding the eggs for him too much. After he realized that each one had candy in it he sat down and started eating!

And this is Michael's first full piece of pizza. Up until this point we had always torn off the crust and cut the rest up with a fork into tiny little pieces. This time I thought I would let him try to do it himself....let me tell you the kid took to it like he was born in New York. We have a for real pizza eater on our hands. He ate almost two full pieces of pizza! I forsee the day when he and Matt "fight" over the last piece:)


We had a great day today playing at the mall. Tomorrow we are headed to the aquarium and I may try to get some pictures. Apparently our penguins have begun laying eggs!!! This is super exciting because it doesn't happen very often at all in captivity. Also, we have a new jellyfish exhibit that recently opened. Addison loves to watch them float around and change color (thanks to some special lighting). I know she would spend her day there if we could get Michael to slow down for a little while.