Ashton turned 4 years old today!!!

Today was Ashton's 4th birthday. He was so excited!! He has been telling us for days that he is about to be 4 and not 3 any more. After church, we gave him a couple of the presents we got him in order to hold him over until his party. He sat "patiently" waiting for Alex to get the video camera ready before he started.

This is him getting a small taste test of his pirate ship birthday cake after blowing out the candles.

We decided to get a pinata this year and I have to say, it went much better than I thought it would. Especially considering we put it in the house!!

I was actually surprised at how much it took to finally break it. The kids each got to take several whacks at it before the dads kind of helped with the hits and held it still to try and get it open sooner! All and all it was a fun day. Ashton said he had a great birthday! That is all that matters.

WOW! It has been a long time....

I've neglected to blog in about a week. Alex had to go out of town for one of his quarterly work meetings and the kids and I hung out here. Things are always a little chaotic when Alex is gone. The kids can sense it being different and don't always act their best. Plus, I've been trying to get prepared for the booth I've got at the West Fest this Saturday. I'm really excited about it, but also a little stressed out too.

We've really not done anything too excited since we got back from vacation. Ashton had a soccer game on Saturday morning and then we went to Octoberfest, but that was about it. Here is a couple of pictures from that.

They had some large military vehicles of some sort there and the kids were dying to check those things out. Ashton had to pose in this one!

This is a picture of Alex and the kids inside of a military helicopter that probably holds about 15 or 20 people. It was pretty neat to be that close to something like that. I've never realized just how big they are.

Maddie was dying to check out the animals, so Alex took her inside the fence to check them all out and feed a few. However, Ashton had to hang out on the OUTSIDE of the fence. He is a little more sceptical of animals and would prefer a barrier between him and them.

Home from Vacation

We made it back from vacation in one piece!! Friday we thought we'd just hang around the house and take it easy, but that really didn't happen. Alex took my car to have the tires rotated and balanced, I went to lunch with a girl from my women's bible study, and when I got back, Alex and Ashton left to go do a "boys" outing. They went and played glow golf at Opry Mills. Ashton LOVED it!! He has been talking about it non stop since. It is something the two of them will definitely have to do again. Maddie and I just stayed home and got a few things done. It was nice!

Saturday, I got some much needed rest and Alex took the kids outside and worked in the yard. They had so much fun! The kids love "helping" Daddy. Of course, their "helping" isn't always help. LOL. Sunday, we went to church and then had a couple over for lunch. They are in our small group and she is apart of my women's group on Wednesday nights. It was nice to get to know them better.

Alex had to go back to work yesterday. The kids weren't real thrilled with that. They enjoyed having him home for a week. I tried to keep them busy though to pass the time. We played games and then they watched "Alvin and the Chipmunks" while I worked on some sewing projects. I have had a lot to do lately and I'm super excited about it!

Yesterday afternoon, Alex and the kids spent some time together hanging out while I went to get my hair cut. I've been trying to grow it out for "Locks of Love" again and I've really been struggling. You have to have 8 to 10 inches in order for them to accept your hair. It always seems to take forever to grow it out long enough to cut 8 to 10 inches and still have any length yourself when you are done. I had just enough to cut for "Locks of Love" yesterday, but the catch was that I was going to have VERY short hair. For anyone that has known me for a long time knows that in 6th grade I talked my mom in to letting me have a HORRIBLE hair cut. I was tortured in school for years to follow and therefore have always been terrified of big changes when it came to my hair. Well, yesterday I decided to step WAY out of my norm. I cut 9 inches off my hair and now have the shortest hair cut I've had since I was in 6th grade with that terrible hair cut. It was exciting to know I was doing it for a good cause, but a little scary to see what Alex would say when I got home. I know, I know... some of you are sitting there thinking "it is only hair and it will grow back". Believe me, I know that and that is where I am at now, but it has taken me years to get over that bad hair cut and the torture, criticism and jokes that went along with it. So, stay tuned for a picture of the new hair cut! It is definitely a HUGE change.

Beach Wrap Up

Today, we are heading back from the beach. We've had a pretty good time!! I had a goal of finishing up a book that I started forever ago and I managed to do that. So, I'm pretty excited. I also got some additional reading done too. It rained one entire day and we were stuck inside, but otherwise it has been fairly nice weather. Ashton has been super good, had tons of fun digging in the sand and chasing the birds. Maddie didn't feel so good to start the trip off, but has slowly gotten better and enjoyed the last couple of days out on the beach.

A bit more from the Perry Beach Vacation

We have encountered A LOT of jelly fish while we've been here. I, myself, have never seen them so big. Here are a few that Alex and Ashton scooped out of the water with the kids shovels. Ashton loved helping Alex "bury" them in the sand.

The waves were a bit more strong yesterday, so the kids didn't really get in to the water. They are really excited to be finding shells and especially "sand coins". (Ashton & Maddie always tell Alex in the morning before work to go earn "coins". So when we showed them a sand dollar they started calling it a "sand coin".) So, the three of us walked up and down the beach a few times checking for shells and "sand coins".

Ashton has REALLY enjoyed digging big holes and then climbing in them. He and Maddie would lay down in them and pretend to be asleep. Of course, Maddie is the typical girl that doesn't want to have sand all over her. She has Alex lay our beach mat down in the hole so she could lay on it. :)

We made it!!

We arrived in Orange Beach about 10pm last night. Ashton fell asleep about 7:15-7:30 and Maddie stuck it out until about 9:30. It wasn't too bad of a drive except for the rush hour traffic we hit just outside of Montgomery. The kids did pretty good.

Here is the view from our balcony. We were immediately out there this morning when we got up. Of course, we "slept in" until 7:30 this morning. Which for anyone that knows us, knows that is late for our children!

After some breakfast, we headed for the beach. Ashton had to take a break from the hole he was digging to show his Daddy his "muscles". WOW they are big, huh?!

The weather couldn't be better! It is just warm enough, but not so hot that five minutes in you are ready to get back inside. I love it!!! It just reminds me of WHY I love coming down here this time of year.

The waves are basically non-existent too, which you can't beat that with Ashton and Maddie. She loves to get out in the water. Ashton is getting better, but he isn't as sure. This morning they could both walk out for a long ways without it being much more than waist deep. It is great. They picked up shells for about everyone imaginable and watched little fish swim around. So far, we're having a great time!

Off to the Beach!!

This afternoon, Alex, the kids and I are heading to the beach for a week. Maddie has to be the most excited of us all. Two nights ago she woke up every few minutes for almost an hour and a half asking if it was time to go the beach yet. She'd ask if Daddy was coming, were we going to play in the sand, were we going to swim, are we still going.... it was on and on and on. I thought I was going to die. The last thing I want to talk about at 3am is the beach. Needless to say, the time has come and we are leaving today. She was so excited this morning when I told her that TODAY was when we were going to the beach. I'm very curious to see if this is going to be our first trip with the "are we there yet?" conversations. I'll keep you posted!

We hope everyone has a good week! I'm going to try and post some pictures as the week goes along, but no promises.

New Series for our Women's Group

Last night our women's group started a new video series. It is another Angela Thomas called "When Wallflowers Dance". We did the introduction video last night and it looks like it is going to be another good one. I really think we're going to have another good group this time. We lost a few people from the last series, but we also gained a couple and we're excited about that! I really think that we've grown as women in the time that we've been together and formed bonds and friendships within the group. It is an exciting process and one I'm glad that I became apart of. I encourage all women to get involved in a women's group. You won't regret it!