The Mouser 5

Korean Folk Village

2008-06-17T01:22:00.000-07:00

Sunday we spent the day with some friends of ours from Alaska at the Korean Folk Village. We really enjoyed hanging with them and their sweet little girls.

This is where they filmed the movie "The King and I"

This is a walkway that crosses the creek....notice there are no side rails or any means of protecting you from falling off the side.

This amazed me.....this bridge is a main throughway to cross the creek in the Korean Folk Village....I wouldn't recommend taking a stroller across it.....

They definitely don't have the safety standards that we have in the US. Notice the tight rope is held up by 2 poles only....and of course their is no net underneath.

This is an implement used on Korea prisoners. I can't imagine having this block of wood on my neck for weeks at a time.

Jeff & Grace
This is a Korean basket weaver at work

Grace & Liz ready for tea

Ed carrying the Korean urine pots. They used these pots to collect human urine, then transport it to the fields for fertilizer

I love the Korean way of dance. I was impressed with the moves of these guys!

The Korean Folk Village is home to numerous collections of Korean cultural artifacts, providing an opportunity to experience and learn the culture of the Korean ancestors firsthand. The site provides a venue to promote traditional Korean culture to both domestic and international visitors, and provides an open-air learning place for succeeding generations. The village has been developed to convey the wisdom and the spirits of our ancestors to both domestic and international tourists.

Crazy signs!

2008-06-15T17:57:00.000-07:00

In keeping with the funny things I've seen...I'm starting a pic collection of funny signs....
Enjoy!

Notice the 2nd to last line..."For safety some facilities shall not be applicable for the pregnant, drunken, or under minimum height"

"Please don't forget to take your shoes yourself"

Love this one....it was going into a short door....

Head carefulness

We think this was supposed to say "massage tree on the back"...not sure...it was on a tree in the middle of a sidewalk...we guessed that it was a scratching post.

Take care the drop and watch out your step, please!

How weird is this....how would you like to be on the first night of your honeymoon and know that all your neighbors were peeping toms and watching you!!!

Crazy t-shirts!

2008-06-15T17:49:00.001-07:00

I have enjoyed reading their t-shirts so much that I am going to start a picture collection of the fun shirts. This is my favorite so far, and also my first t-shirt pic. Stay tuned for more to be added daily...ha ha!

"Wear Cute Underwear"

A night out on the ville in Anjung-ri

2008-06-15T17:15:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I getting ready to head out for a night on the ville!

Steve was one of Jeff's students in Alabama, and now works with him here in Korea. He is a great guy!

Another one of Jeff's co-workers.....being cheezy

A little Karoke...inside a korean apartment!

Saturday night we went out the the ville for a little bit of fun. It was an interesting experience to say the least. Makes me glad I don't live here and have to deal with this all the time. It's definitely not for me...but we did have fun. I am a people watcher...so of course I enjoyed that aspect. I had my first taste of soju and it really was good....surprisingly! Getting back to the apartment was another story. Makes me appreciate our American ways!!!

Korea

2008-06-15T04:27:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to update everyone and let ya'll know that I arrived in Korea on June 11th. That was a LONG flight.....OMG...I don't want to do that again going home!!!! Korea is a very interesting place...the people are very friendly....the food is ok (for the most part)....definitely not a place I would want to live for very long. I have had many laughs at the crazy signs around here and have started a picture collection of them for you all to enjoy. Also, they love their t-shirts with English writing...even though most times they make no sense. They have no clue what they say anyways...ha ha. We saw one shirt that said "I will follow you to come to my house". I saw a little girl about 4 years old wearing a shirt with some cute little kids on it and it said "Candid Lovers". My favorite so far, which I did get a picture of, was a lady wearing a shirt that said "wear cute underwear".

Just a snapshot inside Jeff's apartment....we were getting ready to hit the gym.

I love their little carts they use for hauling their goods....especially cardboard. Cardboard is like gold to these people.

A Korean McDonalds....notice an ice cream is 400W (which is less than 40 cents US)

This is the Korean version of a Super Walmart. They have everything here, and have the sample people like a Sam's Club would. A great place to sample some real Korean food. They guy tried to get me to sample a live baby Octupus...but I just couldn't do it.

Shopping in the ville at Songtan. I got a laugh out of their "JcPenney"...notice the "Playboy Shop" down the street. They just pick whatever name they want and use that for their store.

BAMA Jam

2008-06-05T12:06:00.000-07:00

Heading out to Bama Jam for the weekend w/ my friend Nikki! This is a HUGE event here.

This is the first time they have had an event like this...but they are planning on making it an annual event. There are some huge artist playing....Hank Williams, Jr., Lynrd Skynrd, ZZ Top, Trace Adkins, Little Big Town, Rio Grand, Pure & Simple, just to name a few! Their have been people lined up since Monday waiting for this event to begin. They have sold over 30,000 tickets and given away over 12,000.....this doesn't include the tickets that will be sold at the gate. They are expecting over 50,000 people. It should be fun!!!! I'll post pics after the event!

Check it out at http://www.bamajammusicfestival.com/index.html

Memorial Day at the Beach

2008-06-01T19:59:00.000-07:00

For Memorial Day, my friend Nikki and I grabbed the kids and took off Florida to hang on the beach. We had so much fun, just hanging out!!! I LOVE hanging out at the beach and just people watching.

Birthday Bikini

2008-05-31T22:22:00.000-07:00

May 30th was the last day of work for me.....even though the kids got out of school at 11 am on the 29th. The last day of work also happened to be our principal's birthday. My friend and co-worker, Delaine, made a cake for our principal to celebrate his birthday. Everyone got a big kick out of it and it was just too pretty to eat. I love the belly button.....I think we did a good job!

Bathroom Graffiti

2008-05-31T22:19:00.000-07:00

Just couldn't resist snapping this picture. This is the second time this school year that Dylan has made the girl's bathroom wall at school. Riley said "that's not fair...my name has never been on the girl's bathroom wall". Ha Ha....I guess it is considered an accomplishment to find your name upon the bathroom wall.

Dylan finishes the 4th grade

2008-05-31T22:08:00.000-07:00

Summer....my favorite time of year! End of the Year Awards Ceremony means that are days at school are dwindling fast. We will miss our school friends throughout the summer months....but are looking forward to a much needed break. Dylan was awarded for A/B honor roll all year, Outstanding Conduct all year, and Wildlife Stamp participation award. He is eager to start the 5th grade!

Riley finishes 1st grade

2008-05-31T21:46:00.000-07:00

Riley wanted a picture of his friends that are girls!!!
Riley and Jesse
Jesse was cracking me up....she was all up on her tippy toes trying to be even with the rest of the gang!

It really is hard to believe that this school year is already over! Of course that means end of the year awards ceremony. Riley walked away with four awards....A honor roll all year, Outstanding Conduct All Year, Student Government Representative and National Fitness Award. Of course I'm proud of him!

My Crazy Boyz!!!

2008-05-31T21:36:00.000-07:00

I got a new camera this week and the boys were eager to pose for me to check it out! Look at Taylor's new haircut!!! He called me Friday nite and told me he was shaving his head! All those gorgeous curls are gone! He said "mom...Whitney said she would sit in my lap while they shaved it if I would do it....how could I resist". He is too easy!!! ha ha!! Oh well, it will be nice and cool for football training this summer and be grown back in before school starts in the fall.

Great Friends at Adventureland

2008-05-31T21:18:00.000-07:00

Riley with two of his best friends (Levi and Seth) at Adventureland in Dothan.

They loved the bumper boats. They even thought this was better than the go-karts!!!!

Soccer

2008-05-31T21:11:00.000-07:00

Dylan just finished his spring season of club soccer. He loves playing on this team as it is definitely more competitive than rec league soccer. Plus....we travel all around lower Alabama and Florida for his game. His team placed 3rd for the spring season.....so we had a pretty good season. He has a few weeks break and then will start right back in with training for the fall.

Easter

2008-05-31T20:46:00.001-07:00

Coloring Eggs and being cheesy

oops...4got 2 flip this pic!

What a cutie!

Each boy made eggs that really showed their personalities. Riley made a football and a baseball egg.

Taylor made a football and a Wildcat egg with his football number on it.

Dylan made a soccer ball egg and a Wildcat egg with his soccer number on it.

We have started a tradition of a neighborhood easter egg hunt. The kids would rather hunt eggs at our house than attend the local community egg hunt.

Riley and Colby counting their eggs and looking for the prize eggs.

The Easter Bunny left Dylan some braces and new teeth!

Dirty Boys

2008-05-31T20:40:00.001-07:00

They are building a new house up the street from us and this involves clearing the land....which created a HUGE red dirt pile. All of the neighborhood boys are hanging out on the hill and becoming red dirt monsters. I have cleaned up so much red dirt from my floors and thrown away so many shirts/shorts by now.....even though the boys are having a blast, I will be SO glad when the dirt pile is gone.

Volcanos

2008-05-31T20:28:00.000-07:00

In 4th grade they always have a science project that involves making an erupting volcano. Dylan decided to make his volcano and edible volcano. We baked chocolate cake and drizzeled it with chocolate frosting. For the lava we used cherry jello and lemon juice. It really erupted and the class loved it....they loved eating it afterwards also. His teacher gives out one 110 grade in each class for the best volcano and Dylan received that grade out of his science class. We had many request to make this cake again for upcoming birthday parties.

Read Across America Week

2008-05-31T20:01:00.000-07:00

Klaus

Riley as a pirate! It almost looks like a witch's hat, but is is just the way he was standing in front of the window that made the point on his head!!!!

As part of Read Across America they boys had to dress up as their favorite book character for school. Riley dressed as a pirate from "Do Pirates take a Bath?" and Dylan dressed up as Klaus from his favorite books...A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. I just love the name of that author. It is ironic because this series was also one of Taylor's favorite books when he was in the 4th grade.

Taylor and Kevin's Birthday

2008-05-31T19:40:00.000-07:00

Taylor and his good friend Kevin's birthday are just one week apart. They wanted to celebrate their 16th birthdays together....which worked out great since they have the same friends. We took the boys down to Hot Shots in Dothan. HotShots has dedicated 45,000 Sq. Ft. of the facility for 2 Indoor Karting tracks. With speeds over 40 MPH, and a timing system that times each racer to the 1/1000th of a second, you are in for an experience that is found no where else in the region. They use Rimo Karts for your the driving experience. These karts are found in many top tracks around the country and through out Europe. They also have The Slick Track, which is a polished miniature road course that will give anyone the excitement of racing on a slick ice. They have unlimited paintball and video game rooms that are something that has never been seen before anywhere that we know of. The Video Game Rooms utilize "State-of-Art" audio & visual equipment. The 'Game Rooms' use High-Definition Panasonic 1080i, 100ft screen- projectors. With the state of the art Dolby Digital Surround Sound System, and these projectors connected to Xbox 360's and a Nintendo Wii video game console. They ended the evening with a sleepover at Kevin's house that consisted of Rockband and Guitar Hero all evening long. It definitely was a party that was talked about for a long time.

Basketball

2008-05-31T19:36:00.001-07:00

Winter always brings us a fun time with basketball season. Taylor decided not to play for the high school this year, but to spend his time coaching the rec center league. He started out coaching Dylan's team, and did such a good job at it that they asked him to take on another team. He ended up coaching a league in the next age bracket above Dylan's also. He really enjoyed coaching the boys and put his heart into it. The kids loved having someone Taylor's age and their coach.

Riley's team had a fantastic year. They didn't lose a single game. Riley was awesome at defense and scored several points for his team. Basketball will always be one of my favorite sports.

Happy New Year!!!!

2008-05-31T19:31:00.000-07:00

Distinguished Gentlemen (in training)

We were blessed to spend New Years with some great friends (Tim and Kim) and my Aunt Gail, Darrien and Dakota. We went to the bowling alley for a some fun and food. It was a bittersweet evening since we knew Jeff was leaving the next morning.

Birmingham/ Dec. 2007

2008-05-31T19:19:00.000-07:00

This was a fun pic.....I love the shadow screens.

At the mall we met Freddie Roach from the Alabama football team. The boys are huge Alabama fans and Riley just happened to be wearing his Alabama jersey. He was thrilled to get Freddie Roach to sign the back of his jersey.

Great Friends....Great Times

Me and Billie Jean...I was SO excited to see her again....I really miss having her around.
Two cool guys

They are both so cute!

Taylor, Madison and Jeff had fun building the St. Louis arch!

In December we drove up to Birmingham to spend a few days with a great friend of mine, Billie Jean and her kids. We spent the day at the McWane Science Center and has a total blast. It was so much fun the kids wanted to go back the next day.

December 2007

2008-05-31T19:14:00.000-07:00

Pinedale's Christmas Program

Dylan had a speaking part as the Lumberjack. I'm shocked because he used to be so shy (and still can be at time) but he has turned into a very good speaker.

Winter Formal....watch out girls...here they come!

Field Trip

2008-05-31T19:10:00.001-07:00

In October, Jeff and I chaperoned Dylan's 4th grade field trip to Ft. Toulouse, AL.

Nestled at the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers 15 miles north of Montgomery and just south of Wetumpka, Alabama, Fort Toulouse-Fort Jackson State Historic Site has been a part of over 6000 years of history. The 165-acre park, operated by the Alabama Historical Commission, is open year-round for the public's enjoyment where you can step back in time, wandering through the French and American forts or walking to the Mississippian Mound site. You may choose to visit the William Bartram Nature Trail, named for the famed 18th century botanist. The trail winds through the southern edge of the park to the Tallapoosa River. Browse the bookstore and museum in the Graves House, with archaeological collections featuring French colonial, early American and prehistoric Indian items. The Park also boasts of a 39-site campground overlooking the Coosa River. Almost every month includes a weekend of living history by the French Marines at Fort Toulouse along with a weekend of living history by the Tennessee Militia and the U.S. Army Regulars at Fort Jackson. One weekend a month is also set aside for historic black-smithing. There are special events throughout the year such as Frontier Days in the Fall and the French and Indian Encampment in the Spring.

St Louis

2008-05-31T19:00:00.000-07:00

The famous St. Louis Arch

Jeff and Tim getting ready to ride to the top of the Arch

Metropolis, IL...home of Superman

Robin, Donnie, Jeff and Lisa

(Jeff's brother and their childhoood friends)
Tim and Robert Wadlow
Robert Wadlow's chair
Jeff and Robert WadlowRobert Pershing Wadlow (February 22, 1918 – July 15, 1940) is the tallest person in medical history for whom there is irrefutable evidence. He is often known as the "Alton Giant" because of his Alton, Illinois hometown.
Wadlow reached 8 feet 11.1 inches (2.72 m)[1] [2] in height and weighed 440 pounds (199 kg) at his death. His great size and his continued growth in adulthood was due to hypertrophy of his pituitary gland which results in an abnormally high level of human growth hormone. He showed no indication of an end to his growth even at the time of his death.

The first of December, Jeff and Tim drove up to St. Louis to visit with his family before he left for Korea. They had a great guy trip!

Beach Photos

2008-05-31T18:04:00.000-07:00

My 3 boys!!!!!

Love 'em!!!

Can you say handsome.....WOW!

I couldn't be more proud of these three guys! They have my heart!

He definitely favors his mom What a cutie!

My little model....

This was our Christmas card photo....I was told it should be an album cover...they are such cute boys!
Mom

In November we drove down to Destin, FL for a day of shopping and to take some beach photos for our Christmas card. The weather wasn't the best for the pics, but we still got some good shots.

Update!

2008-05-31T17:53:00.000-07:00

Wow...didn't realize it had been so long since I updated this blog.....thanks to a friend for bringing it to my attention. I am glad to know ya'll are watching it for updates. Where do I begin???
Well the year started off with Jeff leaving on New Years Day for a one year tour in Korea. Seems hard to believe that he has been gone 5 months now. Wow...how time flies. During that time our lives have been busier than ever...which is a good thing. Just to update you real quick...Feb 10th, Taylor turned 16 and is now legal on the road. I thought I would dread the moment he got his license....but it has been a good thing. I feel very comfortable with him on the road and he has been a HUGE help in getting the other two boys back and forth to practice/church etc. Plus it is great that he can get himself back and forth to football. This really has lightened my load quite a bit.
This past week ended the school year for us. I am very proud of how well my boys did this past year. They ended the years with all A's except for Taylor getting one B in Honors Biology. I totally understand that as I helped him with a few of his projects and know that I couldn't have done as well as he did. One project we had over 900 chromosones and we had to pair them up and figure out what kind of disease the person had by the missing chromosones....WHAT...we never did that kind of stuff in high school. But...Honor classes weren't offered as part of our curriculum.
Dylan ran for the school Student Government Association for next year and was elected the new school secretary. I am very proud of him....he had 4 opponents and there were approximately 500 kids voting....so it is an honor for him to get to serve the school next year. I think he is most excited that he will get to lead the entire school in the morning pledge throughout the next school year. That is just one of the jobs that he will fulfill during his term.
Riley is just finishing off his baseball season. I think he will be the only one of the boys that really gets into baseball. He played 3rd base throughout the year and had 2 homeruns this season. I'm very proud of him. He has potential being a little lefty player.
Well I think that covers some of the basics....I'm off to find some pics to put up and I will add more updates along with the pics.
Stay in touch....we love ya'll.

Hooter's Girls in Training

2007-11-02T15:20:00.000-07:00

As part of the fun, Jeff agreed to take them down to Dothan to visit Hooters in their costumes. They got a standing ovation when they walked in and the Hooter's girls loved them. Of course, these two jokers ate it up! They loved the attention.

Halloween

2007-11-02T15:07:00.000-07:00

Riley and Michael

This is Taylor and Aaron's girlfriends.....they dressed up like boys and

the boys dressed up like girls.

Taylor, Jarrod and Aaron as their favorite Hooter's girls.

This was the only picture I caught of Dylan. He took off with about 10 boys from the neighborhood and we didn't see him again till it was all over.

Homecoming

2007-11-02T14:57:00.000-07:00

The boys (Taylor and Aaron) went to their first homecoming as a high schooler. They went down to Olive Garden first for dinner with some friends. Then headed over to Aviator's Landing on Ft Rucker for some fun. They had such a blast and promised they would never miss another dance as long as they were in high school.

Taylor and Stephanie

It's not just football.......It's Wildcat football!!!

2007-11-02T14:46:00.000-07:00

Just a few snapshots of the Wildcats.....Taylor is #46 (right in the middle)....see if you can find him...

2007-11-02T14:23:00.000-07:00

We celebrated the boys birthday's by renting a 19ft tall inflatable waterslide. We had Riley's party from 10am until noon and then took and hour break and had Dylan's party from 1pm until 3pm. It was a great way to have both parties in the same day, yet let the boys each have their own individual parties. The neighborhood kids got the advantage of having the water slide there all day and the benefit of being at both parties. The kids had an absolute blast!!!!

Dylan and his best friend Jake.

The weather was beautiful for Riley's party.

We had to move Dylan's cake inside due to a quick rainstorm passing over. By the time we finished the cake and presents the rain passed and they were back out the door.

2007-11-02T14:10:00.000-07:00

The man on the left is the coach for the Brazilian soccer team, Igor is in the middle and the other guy is another player on the Brazilian team. Igor was the only one who spoke any kind of English and his was very limited. That made it interesting!!!!

During July we had the priviledge of being host to a Brazilian soccer player named Igor. Igor is 19 y/0 and plays soccer professionally for the country of Brazil. During the summer he works at the Tetrabrazil soccer camps held throughout the United States. During the week long camp here in Alabama, we hosted Igor in our home. Dylan thought it was great having a professional soccer player in the house and learned a lot from the camp. The camp paid off for Dylan as he went on to try out for the Enterprise All-Stars which is a traveling soccer team and made the team. This is a big accomplishment. We traveled throughout the southeast and played teams from Alabama, Florida and Georgia. We ended up in third place so we were pleased.

Igor and Dylan

Dylan ended up being goalie for the team and performed quite well.

2007-11-01T19:52:00.000-07:00

During our stay in Denison, we stayed in a real haunted hotel. It was an experience we will never forget. The hotel is owned by Jeff's Uncle Don and is one of the oldest buildings in the city of Denison.

The lobby

A view from the roof of the hotel!

Rooftop again

This is the main desk in the lobby!

HOTEL DENISON

There is a hotel in Denison that everyone knows about; it's the tallest building in Denison and you can see from about anywhere in Denison.
Howard Murray Smith built it in 1884. By the 1920's, the hotel was booming. On the first floor there was the lobby, a lounge and the dinning room. The front desk was also there. It was the finest hotel in the area; none could be compared to it. The elevator landing (added in 1910) was behind the front desk. A great staircase came through the dinning room. The rooms were located ten floors above. A penthouse (ha, ha) was located on the roof over looking the city. A smoking room was on the second floor, along with a small library.
In the fall of 1927, the Young family had come to Texas from New York on the MKT Railroad train. The couple had two children, Anderson, age 14 and Emily, age 18. They were to stay at the Hotel Denison for 3 weeks.
On the evening of September 23, the Young's were in their bedroom, getting ready for dinner when a fire broke out in the room above. The ceiling collapsed, killing all of them and a maid that was helping Mrs. Young. The fire got out of control and went through the floors, killing most of the residents of the Hotel. The dinning room was full. No one had known about the fire above them. When the ceiling collapsed, it was a shock.
Sixty years later, 1997, the Hotel Denison had quieted down. The Hotel was redone, but most of the glamour had been lost to the fire; including the staircase which had a wooden statue of an angel. The staircase had been destroyed, burnt to a crisp. When they redid the Hotel, they moved the fireplace to a back stairway. The elevator shaft hadn't been touched.
The residents of the Hotel come to see the hotel and what it used to look like. Others come to see the ghost.
Some say the ghost of those who were lost in the fire still live there. The maids have been seen walking the halls, children have been seen playing in the dinning room, men have been smoking and playing cards in the smoking room. Emily Young has been seen on the roof, walking about looking at the city streets below her.
I have seen Emily. I live a block away from the Hotel and I walk on Crawford street; the street of the Hotel, at night.
I am currently trying to buy the Hotel and remodel it into what it once was.
Submitted from: Austin Bennett, TX, USA

“It is a great pleasure to me to pay for my room in this magnificent hotel. It was beyond my expectations, and nowhere, in my travels, have I found a hotel any better equipped and with better accommodations.” — Harry Houdini, as reported in the Denison Herald, October 14, 1924.

http://www.denisonalumniassociation.com/hoteldenison.htm

Dennison, TX

2007-11-01T19:24:00.000-07:00

At the end of July we traveled out to Texas to visit with Jeff's family for a few days. Our first stop was Denison, Texas. Denison is the birthplace of President Dwight Eishenhower. Dylan loves studying the president's and was excited to tour the birthplace of the former president.

Panama City Beach

2007-11-01T19:13:00.000-07:00

While my niece, Alyssa, was visiting us, I decided to take her down to Panama City for her first visit ever to the ocean. My friend, Lisa, and her family were down there on vacation, so we drove down to spend some time with them on the beach.

I love this pic of the boys!

The boys love spending time down at the ocean.

Alyssa on the beach for the first time ever!

Riley and his best friend, Seth.

Dylan had to hang with the girls, Alyssa and Ashley, but he didn't mind.

Pensacola, FL

2007-11-01T19:05:00.000-07:00

We made a trip down to Pensacola Beach to for a weekend of fun with the Water's family. It has become a tradition that we always take the boys to Hooter's for dinner when we go out of town. Taylor & Aaron are trying to hit all the Hooter's restaurants in the southeast.

I just couldn't resist this picture of Taylor & Aaron
"spooning". It will make a great "bribe" picture someday!

Taylor's new ride

2007-11-01T18:52:00.000-07:00

With Taylor hitting the road soon (okay 7 more months)...we decided to help him out with his first ride. We bought him this Dodge Truck to get him around town.

Taylor's new wheels A view from inside.
The front....what a pretty truck!
This one is Taylor after some of the neighborhood girls straightened his hair!

Jeff's Birthday

2007-11-01T18:41:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Jeff's 38th birthday with dinner at Olive Garden with some friends Ben & Kristen. We then returned home for Jeff's favorite carrot cake and cupcakes for the kiddos.

Yes...we put 38 candles on the cake.

Darrien and Alyssa

Dylan, Alyssa and Lizzy (our newest family member).

Where's the fire extinguisher???

Second Annual Gator Races

2007-11-01T18:33:00.000-07:00

Last year our family started a 4th of July tradition of meeting at my Aunt Gail's house for a "Gator Race". We hold a kid's division and an adult's division race. The winner of the race get to take home the championship belt to proudly display until the next year.

Riley just like holding the gator.

Dylan was the champ in the kid's division.

Jeff was the champion in the adult divison and took home the Gator Champ Belt

Fourth of July

2007-11-01T18:14:00.000-07:00

What a cutie!

Arleigh & Riley love hanging out together.

Riley & Taylor with some "sparkling" fun!

We celebrated the Fourth of July with a trip to Georgia to visit our family. We always love going over there and spending time with them.

Riley's Baseball Team

2007-06-20T18:34:00.000-07:00

Riley played coach pitch baseball this year and was the team catcher. He did a great job catching and hitting. Jeff was one of the assistant coaches for the team and Riley enjoyed having dad out there on the field with him. Our team did great.....not the best...but not the worst. I would say we definitely won more than we lost....so that's a good thing. Way to go Dodgers!!!!

Medieval Times ~ Atlanta, GA

2007-06-19T20:55:00.000-07:00

Our team was the yellow team.....which did win that night!

Riley was really into the show

Mom & Dad

Ready to cheer on our yellow knight

some dangerous young knights

they caught the guilty culprit

In April we took a weekend trip up to Atlanta just to spend some quality family time together. Taylor was up in Gatlinburg, TN for a youth retreat with the church youth group so the rest of us decided to get out and have some fun also. The highlight of our trip was a visit to Medieval Times.....the boys loved it. Riley really got into it and thought it was all for real. He had such and awesome time and can't wait to go again. He already put in his request to have his birthday party there....yeah right!!!

Dylan's School Program

2007-06-19T20:43:00.000-07:00

Dylan's 3rd grade class did a Patriotic musical honoring those who serve our country. Dylan had a main speaking part in the program....which those of you who know how shy Dylan is know that this is a big deal. He did wonderful! The selected Jeff to represent the military and presented him with a nice gift thanking him for his service to our country.

My boys in the sky!

2007-06-19T15:54:00.001-07:00

Jeff and his good friend...Ben
A view of our house from the sky...(we are the one with the little bit of red on the roof...right in the middle)
another shot of the house (again the middle one with the red tin roof)
another view of the house

Taylor, Jeff & Ben about to take off!
Taylor & Ben
Taylor & Jeff

Ben & Jeff
Wow...you can still text up at 15000 ft.

Ben and Jeff had to take one more flight together before Ben left for Honduras and Jeff left for Korea. Of course, Taylor always hops in whenever he can catch a flight with dad.

Pinedale Awards Ceremony

2007-06-19T15:47:00.001-07:00

Riley & Mrs. Harrelson (his teacher) Riley received awards for Outstanding Academic Achievement, All A's in conduct all year, and Kindergarten Student Goverment Representative

Riley & Mr. Thomas (the principal)

Dylan & Mrs. Britt

Dylan received awards for All A's in conduct all year, A/B honor roll all year, 3rd Grade Student Government Representative

and

Thank God it is done!!! It was a long school year this year!!!!

The day in the life of a 15 year old!!!!

2007-06-19T15:44:00.000-07:00

Chat on the computer....and....
sleep!!!

(of course, this only applies when football isn't going on)

Ryan & AJ Memorial

2007-06-19T15:37:00.000-07:00

The choir sounded beautiful.....even with all the tears!

Our school, Pinedale Elementary, raised funds to create a memorial for Ryan & AJ. These two former students of Pinedale lost their lives in Enterprise High School during the tornado. With the funds raised, our school purchase 4 picnic tables and a memorial plaque honoring these boys. We had a wonderful dedication service with the families of the victims and I was extremely proud how well the entire student body behaved and showed their respect for the families. There were very few dry eyes on the school grounds that day!

Boys day out!

2007-06-19T15:32:00.001-07:00

Jeff took Taylor, Ryan (Taylor's friend from school) and Dylan down to Dothan for a little fun at Adventureland!

Basketball Award Banquet

2007-06-19T15:16:00.000-07:00

Some photo of the Enterprise High School Basketball Banquet. Taylor received the award for the highest GPA out of the basketball players. Way to go Taylor....he's got the braun and the brains!!!!!

Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt

2007-06-19T15:08:00.000-07:00

Taylor & Morgan hiding eggs

Spanky found the first egg!
They are off!
Waiting for the prizes!

We hosted a neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt at our house. The kids had so much fun. Taylor and Morgan hid the eggs and the kids scrambled to find them. We gave out prizes for the most eggs found, 3 special prize eggs and an award to the least eggs found. The kids continued to hide the eggs over and over after the initial egg hunt.

Coloring Easter Eggs

2007-06-19T14:55:00.000-07:00

The boys dyeing Easter eggs
Look at that tongue...as sign he is concentrating hard.
Taylor made and EHS memorial egg
Dylan's cross and his EHS egg in the forefront
Look at all the goodies in the Easter baskets~!

Just a few snapshots of the boys coloring their easter eggs. Taylor only wanted to color one egg (he thinks he is getting too big for this) and dyed and egg blue with a pawprint in honor of those who lost their lives during the tornado on 3-1-07.

Community Easter Egg Hunt

2007-06-19T14:47:00.000-07:00

This photo made it into the newspaper.
My little egg hunter!

We were blessed to have a church from Montgomery come down and host a huge easter egg hunt for the children of Enterprise. The boys had a blast. Dylan decided he was too big to hunt eggs, but had a blast at the inflatable batting cage. The picture of him actually made it to the newspaper and was published as an 8x10 color pic. His teacher hung it in his classroom and made him feel like a star. Riley had more fun running around and didn't seem to care about hunting eggs. He didn't even get one (even though he ran right past them). Being Riley's style he decided to leave the eggs for someone else. He came back skipping and said "mom, I didn't even get one egg and I don't even care because I had fun and that is what counts". A little girl from school felt sorry for him and shared her eggs with him.

Quarterly Update

2007-06-19T14:36:00.000-07:00

okay....for all of you that have been asking....here it finally is. I apologize for not keeping this website up to date.....but it honestly isn't at the top of my priority list right now. I appreciate all of you who have emailed asking for the update. Let me just say that all is well here in southern Alabama. We have successfully finished out the school year and are enjoying our summer break. Taylor finished 9th grade and will be transitioning over to the high school (which is now actually the community college since we no longer have a high school here). He will be attending school for the next 2 years at the college and will hopefully be in the new high school building for his senior year. He had a great school year and was inducted into the National Honor Society for his grades. He also received an award at the Basketball Banquet for having the highest GPA amongst the basketball players. We are quite proud of his academic achievement. Dylan finished the 3rd grade and had the highest score out of the entire 3rd grade on the DIBELS test. He also received awards for All A's in Conduct all year, A/B Honor roll the entire year and for being the Student Government Representative for the 3rd grade. Riley finished kindergarten and was awarded for "Outstanding Academic Achievement", All A's in Conduct the entire year and also for being the Student Government Representative for his kindergarten class. Jeff also just graduated for the Advance Course and is eager to get back into the aircraft and start flying again. During his course he received word that his orders to Korea have been postponed until January of 2008. That gives him a few more months here at Rucker before he heads overseas.
Immediately after his course, Jeff headed to St Louis and loaded up my mom (and her dogs) and brought them down to Alabama. Mom is all settled into her new house and baking in the heat of the south. I told her one thing to keep in mind....."you never hear of anyone retiring and moving North"....so she must have made the right decision. Well enough rambling....let me get some pictures posted and get off this computer to start dinner for my hungry crew. We love ya'll and hope to hear from you soon!

A brief summary of the loss

2007-03-05T06:39:00.000-08:00

President Bush surveys the damage in Enterprise

236 Homes totally destroyed

121 Homes with major damage

140 Homes with minor damage

99 Affected properties

5 of the 8 teens killed were from Ft Rucker families

more tornado photos

2007-03-03T05:20:00.000-08:00

This is the actual tornado that came through E-town. It was HUGE!!!
My friend Karen lived here.
A view of the high school from the air.

A view of one of the neighborhoods in Enteprise.

more tornado photos

2007-03-01T16:56:00.000-08:00

What is left of the gymnasium.....this is where Taylor has 6th period everyday. One hour later and he would have been there! Yikes!
A view of the school from the parking lot
This van was just dropped in the middle of the field
A view of the neighborhood surrounding the school

Tornado rocks E-town

2007-03-01T16:43:00.000-08:00

These steps are where I pick Taylor up every day from football.

School parking lot Another view of the parking lot
This is Taylor's weight lifting room (or what was the weight lifting room...it is not gone)

Another photo!

What a day in Enterprise....there were lots of tears & lots of prayers....the tornado hit Taylor's school (where Dylan & Riley were sitting inside with Taylor) and continued on up the road to the high school. We are all heart broken by the devastation...please pray for our town!

Sports Banquet

2007-02-25T09:26:00.000-08:00

The Enterprise Jr High school acknowledged all of their athletes with the annual Sports Banquet. Here are a few snapshots of Taylor/Morgan and some friends at the awards ceremony/dance.

The Sleepover

2007-02-25T09:20:00.000-08:00

Here are a few snapshots of the sleepover. It was all the talk when the boys returned to school on Monday and Taylor said kids were coming up to him asking him to please invite them to his next sleepover. Of course, there was plenty of football being played.....

Taylor Birthday

2007-02-25T09:14:00.000-08:00

For Taylor's 15th birthday, he invited some friends from the football team over to spend the night. The boys had a blast playing video games, eating pizza, sitting around the fire, and hanging out (with the "hot" girls that live 2 houses over). On Saturday we took Taylor an Morgan down to Mikata for his birthday dinner. The sang Happy Birthday in Japanese and brought him out a pineapple boat for his birthday.

Destin Beach/ Jan 07

2007-02-25T09:07:00.000-08:00

It is so nice to be able to hang out on the beach in January! The water was too cold to swim obviously...but the kids had a great time just playing in the sand and getting their feet wet in the water!

Christmas 05

2007-02-25T09:03:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2006

Taylor - 14

Dylan - 9

Riley - 6

Bass Pro Shop

2007-02-25T08:41:00.000-08:00

Riley at the Bass Pro Shop down in Destin, Fl. We took the kids (the boys & Morgan) down to Desting to do a little shopping and spend some time on the beach. It is so nice being close to the beach and having warm weather just about all year round. I do miss Alaska still, but I'll admit...I am loving it in the south.

Game Night

2007-02-25T08:36:00.000-08:00

Just a quick snapshot of a night of playing pit with some friends. We all went down to Chili's for dinner and then back to our house for a game of pit with Tim/Kim Waters and Rodney Dean.

Enterprise Wildcats Freshmen Basketball Team

2007-02-25T08:30:00.000-08:00

Here is a photo of the Wildcat's Freshmen Basketball Team.....Taylor is #40 (and taller than the coach...ha ha). The coach works with me over at Pinedale Elementary as the PE Teacher so lucky him...he has all 3 of my boys! It is so hard to believe that Taylor is a freshmen.....just turned 15 on Feb. 10th....and oh yeah....he has his permit and is driving now....I can tell you all kinds of funny stories with that already...but I am just working on the updates for now!

Go Wildcats!!!!!!

Update

2007-02-25T08:26:00.000-08:00

Okay...we haven't dropped off the face of the earth. Sorry to all of those who have emailed me asking for the update! I just haven't made the time to sit down and work on this. I really should be up doing laundry now....but to please all you demanding friends who are harassing me about updating the blog....I am sitting here working on it now! Just kidding...you all know I really love ya!!!
Ok....not much new here in LA (Lower Alabama). School...Sports...Church....Work...you all know the routine by now! Let me go find some pics and I will give you a brief update!
By the way.....somehow I deleted all the digital photos off my camera card (which had about 3 months of photos on it) which is one big reason I haven't been on here to update. But...I will include what I have left. I learned a big lesson.....and promise you that won't happen again.
now...off to find the pics for ya'll.
MMwwwahhhh!! Love ya'll!

What a Turkey!

2006-11-20T20:05:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to share a personal achievement that I achieved this past weekend. As many of you know, I started running back in January of this year. I started out by running 1/4 of a mile and walking the rest until I had completed 4 miles. I slowly increased my distance by 1/4 of a mile each week and by summer time I was running 4 miles five to seven days a week. I continued this pace up until I had my surgery in July. Then I had a major set back as I couldn't do any excercise for a full 6 weeks. After that I had to slowly build my running back up. My goal was to run a 5k to start with and then set a higher goal after accomplishing a 5k. Well, Saturday I got my opportunity to run my first 5k Turkey Trot run.....and much to my amazement I came in First Place for my age category. I was extremely shocked. Thanks to my wonderful coach....who pushed me harder than I have ever ran before. I received a nice trophy and was excited to take it to school today and share it will all my kids to try to motivate them. I am looking forward to my next run on December 2 when I will be running the Jingle Bell run with a few of my friends.

Go Raiders!

2006-11-20T19:58:00.000-08:00

Riley's football team finally finished out their season. He was blessed to have a wonderful coach, Garrett Griffin, who also happens to be the PTO President at our school and the husband of one of my co-workers. The Raiders were undefeated the entire season and went on to win the City Championship without losing a single game. We celebrated with a pizza party at Pizza Hut were the boys received their trophies and awards. I will post the newspaper a little later!

Congratulations to the Raider team and a big Thanks to the wonderful coaches! Way to go guys! We are very proud of you all!

Go Wildcats!

2006-10-21T14:26:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share Taylor's good news! Taylor found out Friday that he made the Enterprise Wildcats 9th grade basketball team. He was very excited and proud to have made the team and rightfully so. They had 53 boys try out for the team and they only selected 20 of those boys. Congratulations Taylor...we are so proud of you!!!

What a week!

2006-10-19T18:06:00.000-07:00

Wow...hard to believe how fast this week has flown by! Just a quick update on the Mouser gang. Football and soccer are officially over for Taylor.....but now it is on to basketball. We actually had one free night this week (where two football games and a soccer game got cancelled due to weather) and we almost didn't know what to do with ourselves. It was so strange to have a weeknight at home with nothing scheduled. We enjoyed a family dinner and watched the Cardinals play some ball. Riley's football team is doing really well and they are undefeated at this point. We have a big game on Tuesday against the Cowboys and they are the other undefeated team so it should be a fun game to watch. Dylan is finishing up with soccer, but he now got selected to play on the Ft Rucker All Star team. He was very excited about being chosen and can't wait to play in the tournaments. He is hoping they make it all the way up to state level. He has been going with me to the track right after school to do some running and then he works on some moves with the soccer ball while I finish up. I have been dealing with Staph infection this week. It actually started on Saturday with what I thought was a spider bite, but then it consistently spread each day. Yesterday I went to the doctor and he did a swab test to confirm that it was indeed staph infection. I acquired it from one of my co-workers at school and we are hoping that it doesn't start an epidemic at our school.
Now for the laughs of the week! Kids are definitely the greatest gift from God and they sure can make life so much fun. Monday, Riley's teacher called me aside and said "I just have to tell you this. We were working on our words today and one of our new words was HOT. Riley raised his hand and said I know what that means. Girls are hot! She said well what does hot mean, Riley? He said I am not sure, but I know girls are hot and boys aren't. His little friend Levi raised his hand and said I know. It means they are cute because my girlfriend is hot."
Oh yeah...another good one from Riley. Friday Taylor's girlfriend Morgan was at the house. They were playing Xbox with Riley in the room and Taylor tried to sneak a kiss in on Morgan. Riley (fulfilling his job as little brother) loudly proclaims..."UH...Excuse me....do you two not see me sitting here???"
And...the laugh of the week from Dylan. Remember the guys all went to Wild Adventures this weekend. Well in packing to come back home Jeff put some of their clothes into Dylan's backpack. Well Tueday morning I was in the teacher's work room and Dylan stopped in to see me. He said "oh mom...I forgot to tell you....when I was on the bus yesterday I found a pair of dad's underwear in my backpack. So I decided to be Captain Underpants and put dad's underwear on and tied my red hoodie around my neck like a cape and then walked around the school like that". I said "Dylan...those underwear were probably dirty." He said, "no they weren't". I replied..."how do you know that?". He says...."because I smelled them mom". I was rolling on the floor laughing and of course the principal and vice principal had to walk up and hear the whole story. What a boy thing to do!!!!!!
Well enough for now....I hope you got a few chuckles....I have a few more good stories from this week....but the Cardinals are playing ball so I am going to get off this computer and go check out the game.

Boys weekend out

2006-10-16T19:44:00.000-07:00

I guess you had to be there for this one.....I have no clue!!!

The boys.....representin'

Best Buds!

"I'm a little teapot"

AAAHHHH....whaatt'sss upppp.....Mmmrrr. Jjjjeeeffff!!!!!

This past weekend the boys had a guys weekend out. Jeff and Tim took all the boys to Valdosta, GA for a trip to Wild Adventures. Of course, any guys weekend out wouldn't be complete without a meal at Hooters. While the guys were away, I got quite a few small projects completed around the house and hosted a girls night out at my house on Saturday evening. We had so much fun that we decided to do it again on Nov. 4th and make it a sleepover this time.

Pam's Birthday

2006-10-16T19:30:00.000-07:00

Ready for flight

A view of the beach line from above

Preparing for our return flight home

Pilot and Co-pilot

Pilot

To celebrate my birthday, Jeff rented a plane and flew us and our friends (Tim and Kim) down to the Ft Walton Beach area for dinner. I had a chance to play co-pilot and even got to take control of the plane for awhile on the way down there and back up. We flew down to the Florida coast then straight down the beach line to the Ft Walton area. When we arrived at the airport, the restaurat sent out a van to pick us up. In the van I inquired about the wait time at the restaurant and they said it was about a 45 minute wait right now. When we arrived the took us in through the back door and walked us right past everyone in line and sat us immediately at a table. People were looking at us trying to figure who we were and why we were getting the VIP treatment. We even got our food order right away when the table next to us had already placed their food order before we even sat down. After dinner the drove us back to the airport and we had a nice flight back to Enterprise. It was an awesome birthday present.

More Beach Pictures

2006-10-16T19:23:00.000-07:00

Help...I dropped my head!

Ooowww....that sun is bright

Dylan's new body

Aaron, Taylor, Dylan and the Hooters girl

Here are just a few more snapshots from the beach. These were taken by Tim & Kim and we just got the cd today, so I thought I would add a few more pictures up here.

Nerd Night

2006-10-11T19:31:00.000-07:00

Momma & Poppa Nerd

Taylor & Morgan

Taylor won 3rd place (20,000 points for our team) in the costume contest!

SUPERSTAR!

Tonight was Nerd Night at our church youth group. We have started a L.I.F.E. program that runs from now until Christmas. Each week we participate in different games and dress up contest and the team that has the most points at the end of the year wins a free ski trip. I am attaching a few pictures of the Mouser Nerds.

Jason from Friday the 13th

2006-10-11T19:22:00.000-07:00

Just a quick pic of the boys (Taylor, Aaron & Jeff) with Kane Hodder. Kane played Jason in Friday the 13th Parts 7, 8, 9, Jason X, & Freddy vs. Jason. It was a nice little fright to liven up their night at Wild Adventures.

Happy Columbus Day

2006-10-09T20:41:00.000-07:00

I hope all of you are enjoying your time off to celebrate Columbus Day. We are enjoying the long weekend here in Alabama. We took a trip over to Wild Adventures in Valdosta, GA on Saturday and Sunday. The boys (Taylor, Aaron, Dylan & Riley) were excited to check out all the new Halloween shows and haunted houses'. They even got a surprise visit from Jason of Friday the 13th. I will be posting pics in a day or two.
We spent Monday catching up on a lot of projects around the house. We got Taylor's room painted and re-decorated. It looks awesome. He decided to go with a Retro theme and it really was a lot of fun shopping for the new decorations. I will get ya'll some pics up real soon. We also put up a new chandelier in the dining room and finished a few other projects that were on our to do list. I am hosting a girl's night out here on Saturday evening and I wanted everything to be just right for the big event. Luckily we have Tuesday off from work/school, so I have an extra day to finish up with the things that I didn't get to today.
Well it is off to bed for me....just wanted to wish you all a happy Columbus Day.
Be Blessed!!!

The Wildcats Game

2006-10-02T20:57:00.000-07:00

I think one of the signs that we have really made Enterprise our home is the fact that we bought season tickets to the Enterprise Wildcats football games. This is the big thing to do on a Friday night here in Enterprise. Our seats are located near several friends and co-workers and we really have enjoyed getting out and watching the games. I am sure this will become an annual event since Taylor will be playing on the high school team next year. I have fallen in love with football and I am finally beginning to understand the game. As a matter of fact, just last weekend, my girlfriend Kim M. and I went down to Dothan just to watch the Wildcats play. The guys all hung out at Tim & Kim Waters house and watched the kids while the girls went to the football game. It was a blast!!!!!

Riley's kindergarten teacher (Mrs. Harrelson) sits on the same row as us at the football game. Her daughter just loves Riley and of course he loves "any" girl.

Taylor & Aaron being cool at the game. This was one of the few minutes that they actually sat down. They spend most of their time roaming the stadium and checking out the "sites".

Crystal and I were checking out the program to see if we was a winner for the evening. At every game they have different coaches sign some of the programs and if your program is signed you win a prize.

Aaron & Boobie (don't know how he got that name). Boobie plays on the football team with Aaron & Taylor. Every Friday night, after the football game, they all go to the church to play dodgeball till about 12:30 am. This started out as a small event and now they are having upwards of 300 teens show up every Friday night to play dodgeball. It is great that they have a safe, clean, drug/alcohol free place for the kids to hang out on Friday evenings. Jeff goes up every Friday and helps provide security and I occasionally show up to help out with the snack bar.

Dylan and Jake being silly at the game. Jake is our new neighbor and I must say he is definitely the most polite, well-mannered child I have ever seen in my life. That isn't just me saying that.....all of his teachers at Pinedale agree also. Jeff and I joke that one day we will discover he is really an "Eddie Haskell" because he is just so polite. We are so happy to have him as a neighbor and him and Dylan have become such good friends. Jake just moved here after 3 years in Korea and he is keeping Dylan informed on all the neat things he will get to do when we go over there.

Enterprise Jr High vs. Northview HS Dothan

2006-10-02T20:51:00.000-07:00

Taylor is the first player you see bent down in the line up.

Here are just a few snapshot of Taylor playing football for Enterprise Jr. High. Taylor is number 85....see if you can spot him out there on the field. It was a very close game the entire night, but we pulled through in the end and won the game.

Riley's Birthday

2006-10-02T20:27:00.000-07:00

Riley asked Seth to help him blow out the candles on his cake. Well....Seth had just taken a bite of chicken fries right before he was asked to help and guess what.......yes....he blew chicken pieces on the cake!!!!! It was hiliarous. Luckily it was only one corner and we just cut it off. It sure didn't stop any one from enjoying the cake!

It took about 10 attempts to get this one good photo of Riley and the cake. He is at that age where it seems so hard to get a "good" smile out of them.
Riley got embarrased when everyone sang Happy Birthday to him!

It was a big surprise to have Crystal come to town for Riley's birthday.
Crystal and I spent all morning running around LA (Lower Alabama) trying to get this cake together!

Wow...hard to believe that our baby just turned 6 years old. We celebrated with a birthday party at the Fun Factory. We were happy to have my niece, Crystal, in town to celebrate Riley's birthday with us! He was so surprised to see her show up.....what a nice surprise.
Riley is a kindergartener this year and has taken to school really well. He is the first kindergartener in the school to be reading and taking AR (accelerated reader) test on his own. I can't take any credit for this though.....it all belongs to the preschool he attended last year.

Labor Day 06

2006-09-17T09:37:00.000-07:00

supermom to the rescue

Gilligan and Skipper

More Labor Day photos

2006-09-17T09:23:00.000-07:00

Beach Buddies

Lost at Sea

EEEWWWW.....what is this???

Part of the boy crew!

Searching for Crabs

Labor Day 06

2006-09-17T08:50:00.000-07:00

Aaron's cave collapsed on him!

Riley enjoying the waves!

What a handsome guy!

ok Jeff....that's enough photos!

Dylan catching some crabs!

For Labor Day, we made one last trip to Panama City Beach to mark the offical end of summer. We tagged along with some good friends of ours, Kim & Tim Waters and their 3 boys. The water was so calm, clear and warm. We had a great spot for the kids to play and the adults to relax. The boys had a blast playing in the ocean and the sand, searching for shells and catching jellyfish. It is so nice to be near the ocean once again.

Dylan's Birthday Party

2006-09-17T08:43:00.000-07:00

I stayed up late on Friday evening making his Pokemon cake!

We celebrated Dylan's birthday on August 26th. We had a pool party over at Fox Hill commons pool and clubhouse. We had lots of kids, food and fun!!!!

First Day of School 2006

2006-09-17T08:33:00.000-07:00

First Day of School

Monthly Update

2006-09-17T08:17:00.000-07:00

Ok...I know it has been a long time....it seems to be a pattern of once a month updating this thing. With school back in sessions and all of our sports I just don't have time to sit at this computer and update.
Just a quick update! We are all doing great. We found out this past week that Jeff will be going to Korea for a year. He requested that and we are excited because that means the boys get to stay here where they are so settled in. We will miss him, but know the time will fly by quickly. We have plans to go visit with him and he will be home for 30 days mid-tour so it won't be bad....considering the alternatives.
We all started back to school the beginning of August. It was a slow start for me as I was still recovering from my surgery and supposed to be on bed rest when I returned to work. I did quite well though and bounced back rather quickly.....with just one minor setback a few weeks ago. But...I am healing well and feeling much more like my oldself once again. I am still working at Pinedale and still LOVE my job. It was really nice to go back to work and see all the kids and co-workers again. Taylor started 9th grade.......a freshman!!! I can't believe that! But here the 9th graders still go to Jr High and he won't move over to the high school until next year. I really like the set up they have here. He is playing football for the school and playing soccer for Ft Rucker. He also will play basketball for the school as soon as football season ends. He is also contemplating going out for the school soccer team.....if he can schedule it in. Dylan is in the 3rd grade and is the Student Government Representative for his class again (this is the third year he got selected for this). Dylan is also playing soccer for Ft Rucker. Riley started Kindergarten and it is so nice to have him at school with Dylan and I. Riley also got selected as the Student Government Representative for his class (following in the steps of his big brother). Riley is keeping everyone at the school amused and everyday his teacher is telling me something he said. I will have to update you with all the cute (and embarrasing) things he has told his teacher. He started kindergarten with a bang and is the first kindergartener to be reading and doing AR (accelerated reader) test. They had DIBEL testing at the beginning of September and the teacher shared Rileys results with me on Friday. They had 45 sounds that they tested the kids on. Benchmark (which is were they strive to have all of the kids at) was for the Kindergarteners to know 8 of those sounds. Riley knew 43 out of the 45 sounds. I give all of the credit for his success to the wonderful preschool that he attended last year. Riley is playing football this year and it is so cute to see those little guys out there running the field. He is excited to be playing and following in Taylor's footsteps and he chose Taylor's number for his jersey as well.
Well enough rambling....let me put some new pictures up here real quick and I will try to update again in the near future.

more Beach photos!

2006-07-20T17:07:00.000-07:00

Arleigh and Riley with the Skim Board!
What a cute surfer dude....
The entire gang! Amazingly a pretty good picture for so many people to be in it! You can't really tell, but that is a big beach chair we are all sitting on!

Panama City Beach

2006-07-20T16:48:00.000-07:00

Wow...what a crowded car!!! 7 kids in the back seat at once!!!

ok...we didn't really ride down there like this....we did take two vehicles.

Best Buds on the Beach!
Ready to learn some skim boarding!
I love this picture....

We spent this past weekend down in Panama City Beach with my cousin Chris, Amanda, and their kids....Darrien, Dakota and Arleigh. We also took along our adopted son...Aaron. We had a blast cruisin' the strip....hanging out at the beach....and just chilling with our family. It was a very memorable weekend and we look forward to doing it again in the near future. The boys had a great time learning the art of Skim Boarding and actually even Riley got the hang of it.

Waterworld

2006-07-20T16:40:00.000-07:00

This is Dylan's "special" friend from school....Tori! We have really enjoyed getting to spend time with them this summer. They are a wonderful family!
Tori, Dylan, Riley, Maria and Audrey
What's up.......man????
The girls....I brought the boys.....someone else had to bring the girls! We had so much fun with them!!!!

We spent a big part of our summer hanging out at Waterworld in Dothan with our friends. We bought a family season pass and definitely got our use out of the passes. The boys love being in the water and hanging with their friends.

more Circus photos

2006-07-20T16:36:00.000-07:00

Riley holding Seth! Riley just loves Seth and loves trying to take care of him! They are going to be so cute together in kindergarten this upcoming school year. Lisa (Seth's mom) said "they will be the only little boys walking down the hallway holding hands".
Our clowns...Dylan, Seth, Ashley, Riley and Maria
One last photo before we head home...Dylan, Riley, Seth and Ashley

The Greatest Show on Earth!

2006-07-20T14:36:00.000-07:00

We got some good tickets to the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus here in Dothan. We (me, Dylan and Riley) went along with my friend Lisa and her two kids and my friend Kim and her daughter. The kids had an absolute blast!!!! It was an awesome show and kept us well entertained for the entire two hours.

Notice the cell phone that he is talking on....yes...it is my phone!
Future clown!
Clown in training!
Once again...my cell phone...being balanced on this guys nose!
This was one of the best clowns I have ever seen! He was hiliarious (as clowns are supposed to be).

All the boys!!!

2006-07-20T14:26:00.000-07:00

Riley, Dylan, Easton, Taylor and Aaron

more Caverns pictures

2006-07-20T14:04:00.000-07:00

I love the group hug picture of all the boys (minus Michael who is just too little to get the the middle of these guys).
These snapshots were taken at the Water's pool the evening that we returned from Florida Caverns.

Florida Caverns State Park

2006-07-20T13:17:00.000-07:00

We took a little Saturday trip and went down to Florida Caverns State Park with the Water's family. We took a one hour tour of the caverns and then had a little picnic and let the boys swim out at the water hole. The boys loved the cavern and are begging to go again for a "flashlight" tour. We had plans to go canoeing but due to the lack of canoes we had to pass.

Riley showering off (really just playing in the water)
Taylor after his swim

The boys were explaining to Kim and I just how cold that water was!
Just hanging out enjoying the Florida sun!
A jump in unison with all 4 boys !

more 4th of July photos

2006-07-20T13:03:00.000-07:00

More snapshots from the 4th of July!

Hanging out waiting for the fireworks to begin! Look at all those pretty legs...ha ha!
Taylor and Aaron going for a dive (really showing off for the girls that were there)
Two future Jedis practicing a little before the show!
Alex and McKenzie!
The kid gang patiently waiting for the fireworks!

4th of July

2006-07-20T12:28:00.000-07:00

Michael

Taylor and Dylan going for a dive!

Michael and Dylan

Riley and Aaron (Riley adores Aaron!!)

We celebrated the 4th of July with some good friends of ours the Water's family. The have 3 boys which are close in age to our boys so we have lots in common. Their oldest son, Aaron, is Taylor's best friend and we have adopted him into our family. We enjoy spending time with this family and our thankful that we have gotten the opportunity to know them. We also met some of their friends...Mike, Cindy, Alex and Mckenzie....and enjoyed getting to know them. We spent the day hanging out at the Water's pool then we all migrated over to Ft. Rucker to watch the fireworks display.

Party at Aunt Gail's House

2006-07-20T12:24:00.000-07:00

Bryan got stuck manning the grill
Dylan trying to perfect his back flip!
The gang is here...in the pool!

Gail had a party at her house for all the family to get together and visit with my cousin David's daughter who was in town. It was fun to see everyone again and meet some new people! Our team kicked butt in the Pictionary game....ha ha...thanks to Amanda and myself....(had to be there). They finished the evening off with the now "traditional" alligator race across the pool and Stephen now has the "title" belt until the next family get together. Congratulations Stephen!!!!

2006-07-20T12:07:00.000-07:00

Alyssa taking a dive into the pool!
Riley has finally figured out the back flip and now loves it!
Amanda (she is going to kill me for this one)...
Riley and Grandma sitting in the swing
Taylor, Darrien and Dakota trying out the new XBox 360

Happy Father's Day!

2006-07-20T11:59:00.000-07:00

We hope you all had a wonderful father's day. We celebrated with my mom and Alyssa (my niece) in town. We made Jeff this wonderful cookie cake...ha ha! It was fun and I think the kids liked licking the bowl better than anything. I am thankful that I have such a wonderful husband that is such a terriffic father to our boys! Happy Father's Day to all of you dad's out there!

Long Awaited Update

2006-07-20T11:56:00.000-07:00

Finally...I have found a few extra minutes to play and jump on this computer! I apologize to all of you who have been patiently waiting for this update! Our summer has been so busy.....but so much fun! I can't believe how fast time has flown. Here are just a few updates on some of the fun we have had this summer! We have been blessed to have quite a few guests come to our house and again blessed to take some small adventures and visit with some of our family and friends. We hope all of you are enjoying your summer as much as we have been enjoying ours.