Golf, goofs and cousins

 

 After the race, I headed back to mom and dad's house. Bhavini had given me the boys' birthday presents that she had bought earlier in the year and just hasn't gotten to see them (and have the presents at the same time), so they were excited to see me coming in with two golf bags to play with. Kathy, Granny and Kenle had come for a visit, too, so there was crazy fun going on!

 

 

Here's B with his new golf bag, and that's Kenle riding in the car in the background.

 

Cash was a complete goof that afternoon. Here he is being silly showing off his new golf bag.

 

And maybe it was getting close to nap time, too...

 

Love this girl - and she loves playing with her three cousins!

 

Like I said - goofy! I think the lack of sleep with the excitement blended into some silly boys.

 

Don't you agree?

Extreme Fitness 5k

When I woke up Saturday morning, I couldn't believe I had signed up for yet another 5k. This made my second race in two weeks, and I had two 5ks the next Saturday. Geez. But this one was going to be fun - it was in Glasgow, for a good cause, and I would be running with my bestest friend from way-back-when, Bhavini. Her dad is the main-founding-guy for Community Care in Glasgow, and since the money benefitted their work, Bhavini and David always came home to run the race. 

It was a super chilly morning, but as they race started, the sun came out and it didn't feel too bad. The course was a bit hilly (I've decided that all courses in Glasgow are hilly, by the way), but I was able to finish in a decent time. I didn't start my watch at the start line, so I'm not sure on the time, but I'm guessing it was right at 30 minutes.

Bhavini and I after we finished (she went off and left me, just in case you're wondering, which seems to be a pattern with the people I choose to race with)

Bhavini and David

Grammy's house

Friday afternoon, I loaded up the boys and we headed to Glasgow. They had been looking forward to the weekend all week long. We were spending the night at Grammy and Grandad's house! What made it even more perfect was the fact that Kennick was going to be there, too. Karalee and Derek had continuing ed classes in Nashville, so Grammy was watching him, and I was running a race in Glasgow with my bestest friend on Saturday morning, so it was a win-win for everyone (Heath was hunting in BG.)

 

 

Look what we found when we got to Grammy's house! A tent in the laundry room! Crazy!

Yes, mom's plan was to sleep with the two bigger boys in the tent while Baylen and I slept in the bed in the playroom. How fun!

 

When it came time to wind down and get settled for the night, someone made himself his own little space in the tent! He aimed to sleep with Grammy and the big boys, too! It was so funny - he got his woobie and polka dot blanket and laid right down!

 

Storytime before the last good-night - notice they each had a flashlight. Grammy's house is always so much fun!

 

Kennick gets to spend the night at Grammy's more than my boys, so it wasn't as new to him, but he was definitely excited that Cash and Baylen were there, too.

 

They each got to pick out a book. B picked out this one with the touchy feely pages. Cash picked out The Little Kitten, a book mom used to read to Karalee and I when we were little.

 

Yay for fun times at Grammy's house! In the end, Cash was the one who slept with me in the big bed while Kennick and B slept with Grammy in the tent. I'm not sure everyone got a good night's sleep, but we all had fun.

I gotta home down on the river...

Tuesday afternoon it wasn't too chilly out, so after some naps for my two little guys, we put on our jackets and boots and headed down the hill to see the river. During the summer, the river seems to far away because the leaves on the trees and the undergrowth down the hill block if from our view. The water is usually pretty low during the summer, too. But since the leaves were falling and they were letting the water out of the lake up the river, we could start to see (and hear) the water down the hill from us.

 

 

I think I posted something on FB this afternoon - Mop or take a hike with my boys?

I seriously didn't have to think twice about this one. I love time with my boys, especially outside, and no kidding, I hate mopping. :)

 

Cash brought his "anchor." It's a yellow plastic anchor attached to a yellow string. It kept getting caught on EVERYthing going down the hill. It gave us something to laught about, for sure.

 

Fun times are sitting on a hillside with big brother and his anchor. (he, he)

 

When we got down to the river, we immediately discovered a problem. We found NO rocks! Not one - so what could they throw? We found some sticks, but Cash was already making plans to bring his dump truck full of rocks next time we came down. What fun is a river with no rocks to throw?!

 

Yes, she always follows us when we go for walks.

 

Cash was busy getting his anchor hung in everything while B threw some sticks in the water. Good ol' fashioned fun!

 

It occurred to me while we were down there that my little B is now the age that Cash was when we started building the house. (I remember Cash falling in the mud with this jacket on.) Time flies when you're raising babies!

 

I think he agrees. What a happy face!

 

Someone had some sass here - still upset over the lack of rocks to throw.

 

Oh, the faces of my B...

 

The leaves were still changing, but you could see the yellow and orange in the maples around the river. The water was high and fast-moving that day.

 

See all those sticker-bushes? We aim to clean those out so it's easier to see the river and throw rocks/sticks - maybe one day. Right now it's a great barrier for these two little ones.

 

Dirty pants - he thought sliding down part of the hill would be fun!

 

The Barren River -- the boys love the Josh Turner song, "I got a home down on the river..." They sing it all the time in the car, country drawl (sp?) and everything.

 

I decided to take some mommy-boy pictures before we started up the hill. Me with the one who made me a mommy - he's so big!

 

And me with my crazy little nutty goofball! :)

 

 

And then it was time to hike back up to the house. Shew! What a workout!

Fall Festival

Sunday afternoon brought more fun - our church's annual fall festival. A very sweet family from church always hosts this event, and it's by far the event we look forward to the most. Hay rides, volleyball, blow-up slides, yummy food, a bonfire, and all of our church family. Perfect combination for a great afternoon. The weather was perfect, too, so we grabbed our chairs and food, and we headed toward Plano.

 

 

Mr. Ted has three or four old tractors. Here's one of them. The boys LOVED them, especially Baylen. Actually, at the end of the night, he cried for those tractors. :)

 

Hayride time! Here's Cash with his good friend, Whit.

 

Wow -- it's a picture of Heath and I together!

 

B was excited to be on the red tractor, but made sure to keep an eye out for all the other tractors, too.

 

After the hayride, the boys wanted to go on the slide. They got halfway up and B decided it was too crowded - just one of those kinds of afternoons. :)

 



 

We were busy playing, eating and chatting with friends -- I didn't take anymore pictures. A guitar ensemble played some great songs, Pastor Steve gave one of his "short sermons," and then we just fellowshipped with all our friends. God is good!

Neighbors!

On the afternoon of the 13th, we joined our neighbors for the 2nd annual Moats Lane street potluck. It was so much fun and so well attended last year, we decided to do it again. It was another warm afternoon, food was yummy, and the company was the best. It's such a blessing to live in an area where people do care and want to know their neighbors. It's something to be celebrated!

 

 

Come one, come all- on your four-wheeler, or ...

 

your car or ride your tractor on over!

 

Some people even walked, of course.

 

Heath helped with the grilling again this year.

 

Kids were everywhere! Here's three of the four Jackson grandkids!

 

And here's my little B munching on some cheese!

 

Mike was busy with the other grill. Earlier that day he pattied out 56 hamburgers!

 

There was a football game going on with the bigger kids,

 

while the adults caught up on the latest news.

 

Elizabeth was busy pedaling her tractor, but stopped for a quick smile.

 

Kate found that this was the best view of all the food on the wagon. :)

 

I think the kids agree that the food was superb! (Seriously, there were at least 12 kiddos five and under!)

 

My guys

 

Here's our neighbor friends standing in line. Mike pulled his wagon to the cul-de-sac to put all the food on. It works out perfectly.

 

He also brought his HUGE American flag. What's more American that our country's flag, a street potluck, an old pick-up truck and a country sunset? Love it!

 

Oh, we can't forget to mention the highlight of the night - Mr. Scotty's cannon! He gets it out only for the most special occasions!

 

 

B was ready (notice the child has no shoes or boots - I gave up a long time ago).

 

It was fired twice, welcoming our new neighbors and celebrating the fellowship that we all have together. What a fun afternoon!