Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas, 2011!!

We had a great holiday with all of our family. The Christmas season snuck upon us and flew by, as always.

We are so thankful for our many blessings, especially our health and family.

Birthday Boy

Happy 4th Birthday, Edmond!!!!

I can't believe my little man is 4 years old! He is growing so fast and there are many days he's 4 going on 14!!! No matter what he'll always be my little boy. We celebrated over the weekend with a party at the park. We had a great time even though many were unable to attend. Oh well,,,,,4-year-olds aren't worried about how many are there! ;)

Edmond got to choose the restaurant for his birthday lunch and he chose Longhorn Steakhouse! They just opened about a month ago and they're right next door to Red Lobster, which opened on his actual birthday. I couldn't convince him to let me treat him to Red Lobster, he's been talking about a steak for 3 weeks. He also got to choose a dessert!!!

Momma likes his choice for a dessert!!!

Pumpkin Patch

We just got back from a visit w/ The Mulhearn's. On Friday we took the boys and twins (Su's kiddos) to the Pumpkin Patch in Mayflower. We had so much fun. I was especially excited because the nearest patch to Jonesboro is an hour away. Going to the PP w/ Edmond and Setler had become a tradition for Susan and me, so it was nice to go again. The boys each picked out a pumpkin to remember the trip. Susan took some great pics for me, below.....

Edmond attempting to swing on the rope
Tunnel slide

Pondering in the Pumpkins

Back to the Blogging World....

I can't believe it's been almost a year since my last post! How awful!! Our home computer crashed, which was a major setback and I discovered Facebook. It's so easy to automatically post pictures on FB from virtually anywhere but I have missed blogging and have had a few complaints regarding my laziness. So, I'm back at least for now. I can't promise that I will be as diligent as I once was when I first blogged but I will do my best. Enjoy.....

More Christmas

"Twas the Night Before Christmas"

It was a tradition on Christmas Eve that my dad would read this book to us kids. We started our own tradition this year with Edmond; he really enjoyed the story! Here's to more family traditions!!

Uncle Jonathan w/ The Boys

The Rhodes Family

Merry Christmas--2009

The Jones Family

Gran and Grandaddy w/ Grandsons

Robbie and Edmond

"The Boys"

Christmas Cocktails

Mom, me and Dad in front of the spread

Mom and Dad had a few friends over before Christmas to share some spirits and snacks. They wanted to see Jonathan too, since he lives overseas. We had a good time visiting and of course, eating! That's what I enjoy most about Christmas; being together with close friends and family!!

Happy Birthday, Mammaw!!

We went to the nursing home, Dec. 23 to celebrate Mammaw's 86th birthday w/ her. We had a good time visiting, eating cake and opening presents. She was in good spirits and was quite fond of her birthday cupcake. Happy Birthday, Mammaw! We love you!!

Structural Damage!

Uncle Jonathan and Camden had issues with the Gingerbread House! We helped with the decorations but had trouble completing the project because of a roof collapse! It was fun; the first Gingerbread House Edmond and I helped build. Oh well,,,,there's always next year.

Halloween 2009

Kendall-Dinosaur; Camden-Football Player; Edmond-Chick-Fil-A Cow

We trick-or-treated in CV this year since my parents stayed in town. They have been out of town the past couple of years so we were very excited to all be together. I was so glad the weather held out for us since it usually rains on Halloween. I took a more traditional approach to Halloween this year and took Edmond around to some of the houses/people I went to when I was a kid. We found out from most of the people we visited that we were one if not the only trick-or-treaters who came by. I guess people don't really "trick-or-treat" anymore; there are more parties and events. Oh well, we still had a "SPOOKtacular" time!

Chick-Fil-A Character Day

Last Thursday I picked E up from MDO and ran by to pick up Robbie so we could go to Chick-Fil-A to see some cartoon characters in person. I knew Edmond would love it b/c we were doing 2 of his favorite things, going to Chick-Fil-A and getting to see Elmo. He loves Elmo and he loves to drive by Chick-Fil-A to look for the cow (daily)! The cow even made an appearance!! Edmond's latest saying is "Eat more chicken"; wonder if they need any help advertising??!!

It took Edmond a bit to warm up to the characters but he finally stood by Elmo with me and got his picture taken. He was pretty star-struck, though. **My high school math teacher was there taking snapshots and said she would send me a CD with our pics, so I'll post those later. She was able to take many shots, much better than mine.

Winnie the Pooh was also there but I wasn't able to get a picture of him.

Daddy, Edmond & Nemo

Me and Elmo

Tigger

Nemo

HOWL!!!

Saturday night we went to Edmond's first ASU Redwolf football game. We were so excited!! We were all decked out in our red/black to show our support. We began at the tailgate with friends and family and unknown to me an early 30th surprise birthday get-together!! Thanks, mom!

The weather was a little muggy but didn't stop 20,000+ fans to cheer on the Redwolves to VICTORY!! Edmond had a blast and did real well...we're already looking forward to the next home game in a few weeks.

During the second half, eating popcorn and cheering on the Redwolves!!

I love this picture!! Grandaddy was holding him up so he could watch the Redwolf and the team run out on the field. The Redwolf rides out on a motorcycle, which thrilled Edmond!! Can't you just see the anticipation in his little face??!!

On the way to tailgate (Thanks Grandaddy for the new Redwolves cap)!

Birthdays

I know I'm so far behind on my blog but I am making a special effort to catch up. We've celebrated several birthdays this summer and I'm posting a few of the recent ones we've celebrated. Glad to be back to the blogging world!!

Robbie had a birthday, August 15th

**Also, Happy Birthday on this same day to my very good friend, Susan!! I don't have a recent picture of her to post; sorry, Su.

Grandaddy's Birthday, August 11th

Gran's Birthday, July 22nd

Edmond has learned how to sing the "Happy Birthday" song and loves to sing it to the special birthday person! I'll have more birthdays to post very soon.

Beach Bums

Kendall and Edmond loved "the beach", you know the term for vacation, even though they spent the majority of their time in the pool. Aunt Jamie brought the small pool that has a cover over it, which was perfect for the little boys. They had a blast playing and splashing around and getting in and out, in and out.

Kendall did great; by the end of the week he was jumping in the big pool and balancing on his own in his "Learn To Swim" bathing suit. We're gonna have to get one of those for Edmond eventually. Edmond likes the water but he'd rather play in it as opposed to swimming. Playing--that's what vacation's all about any way, right??!!

The 3 Amigos

These 3 Amigos were hanging out on the porch during our beach vacation a couple of weeks ago. They looked too cool in their sunglasses and I just couldn't resist a photo op. We were getting ready to head to the beach!

We had a great time in Destin as always. We received a great surprise this year. My bro who lives overseas flew in and spent the week with us. He's missed the last 3 years since he lives so far away. We were all excited and couldn't believe he was there in person to enjoy our vacation....it's not the same without all of us there.

My dad was the only one who knew he was coming. What a great surprise!!

We gave Edmond a shaving kit for his birthday because he loves watching his Daddy and Grandaddy shave. He loves it!! This picture was taken the night of his birthday; he's already a pro! The shaving cream is blue, which makes him look a little like a Smurf!!

Paci Free

Just want to let everyone know that Edmond is officially over the pacifier!! He absolutely loved it and at times would have one in his mouth and one in his hand. We've been staying at my parents' b/c of remodeling (post to follow) and one day before we left the house to run errands I realized I got in the van w/out a paci. I told my mom and we went back in the house to look for one. We never found it so we just figured this would be a perfect time to "test" Edmond. He did great; way better than any of us ever expected. He did not cry one time for his paci and he rarely asked for it. It's been over a week so I feel we're completely over it. The funny thing is I wasn't trying to wean from the paci that particular day; we truly lost it and never found it!!

Next up: potty training! I hope this milestone goes as smoothly as weaning from the pacifier.

Our Little (Outstanding) "MAN"

Robbie and I think E looks so grown up in this picture. He really looks like a little man in this outfit. It's so funny!! This was taken at Hendrix College a few weekends ago. We all went down to honor my bro, Jonathan. He was nominated Outstanding Student Alumnus for 2009!! More pics to follow from that weekend....we are so proud of him and were glad we could share this "Outstanding" accomplishment with him. Edmond won the "Outstanding Argyle Sweater Vest" award!! Way to go, son!! ;)

Future Car Enthusiast

As you can see Edmond is just like his daddy!! He LOVES cars, especially blue convertibles (who doesn't)!! We are fortunate to be able to visit Daddy on a daily basis since he works in the same town as we live. This particular day we decided to "get out" and go inside the dealership and what do you know....there was a Blue S2000 on the showroom floor. By the picture you can guess what happened next. Now every time we pull up to Daddy's work Edmond says, "Boo car, get out!" All I can say is, I've got my work cut out for me!!

A New Record

For those of you that know me well you know I rarely wear my hair down or at least for a long period of time. My dad used to ask why I spent so much time on my hair if all I was gonna do was put it back in a ponytail. I don't know if I really had an answer for this question or if I ever will. I do in fact know that I can go a long period of time with my hair down. Case in point: I just got my hair cut/highlighted on Wednesday so I was feeling pretty cocky. Thursday, my mom and I went to Conway to finish some business and I went over 12 hours without putting my hair back for a single second (sunglasses on top of the head doesn't count)! I have to admit that this major accomplishment didn't occur on purpose....I looked for a ponytail holder more than once throughout the day and much to my chagrin I came up empty handed!! Oh well,,,,it's nice to know I can weather through such a challenging fete! ;)