1st Day of Homeschool

Our first day of homeschool was August 27th and we are off to a wonderful start. Rachel is in the 3rd grade, Bradley is in 1st grade and Trent is a preschooler. Many more details about how and why we homeschool  coming soon!! :)

Down in the dumps

I don't know what it is, but my kids are going to have an ugly fight EVERY SINGLE TIME I sit down on the potty to go #2. It never fails. Even IF I set them up with an awesome tv show, a snack, 3 designated comfy seats for each child and the perfect temperature and ambience. Today I was trying to have a little peace and quiet and not more than 1 minute after I entered the bathroom, I heard Rachel singing a song and Trent yelling at her to stop. Then Rachel KEPT on singing and Trent KEPT on yelling. (Bradley was playing his DS, so he was out of this one.)Then Trent started hitting Rachel so she gave him a swift quick and he was down...crying, hysterically, in pain. Then he comes into the bathroom with tears streaming down his face and I cannot even muster up ANY sympathy or kind words. Instead, I yell at the top of my lungs (so loudly that it hurts my throat) and bang my fist on the wall and tell him to GO SIT ON HIS BED! And, I tell Rachel to GET IN HERE NOW!!!! She comes in and then I tell her to GO TO HER ROOM!!!! Then, with Trent's cries coming through on the monitor and Rachel still yelling at him to be quiet, I try to finish my business and then go tend to the 2 children who made that task so unpleasant. THAT is why sometimes I am "down in the dumps". :)

Vacation in O-town

the gorgeous and HUGE house we had the privilege of staying in

the beautiful pool, jacuzzi and lovely lake-scene

Lego Land!!!

Putt Putt at Pirate's Cove

3 little pirate

Downtown Disney

We had a wonderful and relaxing family vacation in Orlando this summer! We are so thankful that we were able to stay at a beautiful house and enjoy all (and more) of the amenities of home. Highlights included: swimming in the gorgeous pool, using (swimming in) the bubbly-cool jacuzzi, eating out almost every meal, walking around Downtown Disney, picking out (lego/disney-over priced) souvenirs, seeing Jake and the Never Land Pirates in concert and playing (the fastest ever!) putt putt at Pirate's Cove. All around, this was just an awesome vacation! The kids are at a fun age and do better everywhere...from the car ride to whatever outing we choose to do. We had a blast reconnecting and feeling rejuvenated as a family. And, we are so thankful and appreciative that Nick's boss so generously made this vacation possible.

-Till Next Summer!

3 years old!!

 Bradley- 3 years old (2009)

Trent- 3 years old (May 2012)

Trent turned 3 a few months ago and it's always fun for me to see how he compares to his big brother. Obviously, they don't look much alike. And, Trent is built a little differently than Brad was at 3.

Here are the (not so different) pediatrician stats to compare:

Bradley 34 lbs./37 1/2 in. tall

Trent 33 lbs./38 in. tall

The check up went great and we are VERY thankful for a healthy, growing little boy! For the first 2 years, Trent used to hate going to the doctor and would cry for the entire visit, so it's been fun for me (and Dr. McCorkle) to actually be able to talk and hear each other. Trent is a precious boy who is extremely confident and sometimes a little cocky. He thinks he's tougher than he really is and absolutely does NOT think he's too small to handle or do anything. Just the other day, Nick was working on his lawn mower so Trent had to get his push mower out and push it around the yard with his ear muffs covering his ears (for the loud noise!). We love his strong will and desire to work and get dirty. We love his spunk and excitement. We love that he looks up to and copies his big brother. We love this boy so very much!



Our big boy is 6!!

Shaving and brushing teeth! Pretty good multi-tasking for a 5 year old!

Swimming with sharks in 2011

cute little 4 year old: 2010

precious little 3 year old

Asleep at the table (a RARE sight) 2008

2 year old cutie

1 1/2 year old big boy at the park

2007

sweet little baby- October 2006



2006



2012- Almost 6!

Our sweet boy is 6 and we couldn't be more proud of this precious child. Bradley is a very sweet, sensitive, loving, kind, silly little boy! He loves swimming, being silly, saying bowel-related words, playing video games, playing with Star Wars figurines or other super heroes and almost everything else little boys like to do. He's not crazy about being outside if it's hot and buggy-he prefers the a/c! Bradley is very caring and kind to his little brother, even though Trent can be quite a stinker! Sometimes Bradley has to 'gently' remind Trent that he can't aggravate his older brother unless he wants to be injured or tackled in some way. Bradley still really looks up to his sweet older sister and seeks her approval above anyone else's. Right now, he's very interested in Lego Star Wars, so he's having a Lego Star Wars birthday party at Gege and Papa's pool. We are so thankful for this precious child and for the 6 years that he has blessed our lives!

 Happy Birthday Bradley-boo!!! We love you so much!!

Sleeping Cutie

Trent is a little cutie...especially when he's sleeping! Trent is constantly torn between being a sweet baby who needs his mama to sit with him and drink juice with him and wanting to be big, tough and independent. (He puts this struggle on himself...we're fine with him being a baby a little longer.) He still takes naps some days because he is so tuckered out from the day's adventures. But, we're sometimes able to skip naps too, which is nice. He recently learned how to swim (almost) by himself and he goes underwater and swims to an adult. He is VERY proud of himself for doing this and now just about refuses to wear an innertube/swim ring at all, because he thinks that's for "babies". (I sometimes have to make him wear one so that he takes a break and so do I!) The other night, Trent said he didn't want to wear diapers at night-night anymore. He said he wanted to wear underwear like Bra-Bra. Not wanting to discourage him from trying this out, we let him do it. He proudly laid in his bed with his undies on and we told the boys "goodnight". After about 5 minutes, Trent came out of his room and told me, "I no wanna wear unnerwear no more." So, we put his nighttime diaper back on him and he fell asleep fairly quickly. We love our sweet little baby and are proud of him and all of his natural instincts about growing up!

No A/C? No problem!

July has been filled with unexpected expenses! One of which was our downstairs a/c going out during some extremely hot temps! Thankfully, our upstairs unit was running perfectly, so the kids and I slept on an air mattress for one night (Nick chose to sweat it out in our bed by himself). The kids thought it was an awesome adventure, but I was ready for the a/c to be repaired quickly! Our a/c ended up being fixed the next morning before lunch, so it wasn't really so horrible. Never before have I been more appreciative for the cool air of a working air conditioner!!