Riding the teacup at the lamest Northern Alabama Fair that was actually a carnival. I had high hopes of an authentic fair with tiger ears, booths, fair-rats, animals etc. no it was not the Blackfoot fair like I expected. We did have fun on a few rides. That one cost 9 dollars. what a rush.
Anyssa, Olivia and Ellie riding in a race car.
My sleeping beauty...


Ellie Bellie boo boo.

well, things have calmed down quite a bit here. After 10 days of late nights playing X-box, watching movies, playing Settlers of Catan, (I won of course!!), and showing Ryan and Natalie the sights, we are finally getting more sleep!! We had a great time and are sad that they had to go back to real life in a Hurricane zone.

an update on my family: Anne's house was destroyed. She lost all of her belongings except her scrapbooks, kids, husband and dog. She is staying with my family in Idaho for a few months till the Island and (her house) are cleaned up somewhat.

Meredith is staying in Houston working at the House of Blues. She lost her car but is getting a good insurance check so she's been car shopping.

Ryan and Natalie are staying with her parents in Southeast Houston and probably will for a while till they get back on their feet. Natalie is back to school and work and Ryan is working for an Electrician till school and his job on the Island restarts.

Thank you for your prayers and concerns. love you all.

Hurricane Ike

Well, most of you know that my sisters and one of my brothers with their spouses and families live or did live in Galveston, Tx. Last Thursday my brother Ryan and his wife packed their TV, X-box and a few more belongings and headed to Alabama to visit us in case the Hurricane hit the Island. Anne and her kids headed to College Station with her in-laws which is about 4 hours away from Galveston. Her husband Jay had to stay behind and work in the ICU. Meredith went to Arkansas with her boyfriend and is staying with his family. Thank goodness she left as she almost stayed. Well, so far everyone is doing okay. Anne's house had 4-5 feet of water inside. A couple of homes on her street burned down from electrical fires. Her in-laws house has 1 foot of water in it still. We're not sure how Ryan and Natalie's apartment is yet. Anne is supposedly going to check out the damage tomorrow with Jay and then will most likely go North to Idaho and stay there until the power and water is back on. It has been a bit stressful for me worrying about my family and their homes. So far, they have been blessed with safety and their lives and that is the most important. I just thought I would give a little update on that. Thank you for your prayers and your concern.

Camping at Lake Guntersville

This was the view from our campsite. great sunsets!
Olivia posing on a rock during our hike.
Ellie with her Daddy! saying cheesecake! Jaron does the best pictures!
Olivia chillin by our fire!

Ellie Bellie Boo Boo

Well, Ellie started ballet this month. I know I am a crazed mother but she loves it!! She goes for 30 minutes once a week with Miss Susan. She loves it!! Her little shoes are so cute!



We get to watch the entire time and Ellie kept running to give me kisses during her lesson. She is so sweet and spontaneous. She loves Miss Susan and gave her a big hug after dance as well. As you can see, her class is really small which is nice. She gets lots of attention and love!!

Olivia

Olivia accidently ate a poison apple and died...on the baggage rack. good thing her faithful dog, Roxy saved her.
Olivia and Emilee riding horses in Idaho. We all took turns riding horses. no I did not ride a Shetland. only the kids rode the ponies. ha ha! I did ride a bigger horse at my Grandpa Turner's farm. We were up in the mountains and my saddle fell off and I fell off the horse down the mountain while my brother laughed at me. ( who ironically put my saddle on the horse!) You can always count on brothers for laughing at your expense! I was okay other than my broken sacrum which took 5 weeks to heal. no pictures of that. you'll just have to content yourself with Olivia and Emilee who both incidentally look great!

Summer Fun

We went strawberry picking in May and it was a blast!! I ate so many berries that I had a belly ache!! I made some yummy strawberry freezer jam as well!!
Olivia is such a beautiful ballerina!! Last night she dressed up and was dancing around!

My mom, girls and I at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville. We're ready for you to visit again mom!

September is Here!!

Well it has been forever since I posted anything. I'm sure y'all are just waiting around for me to write something!! ha ha. Well I am surviving preschool. Olivia still loves it! She was the line leader today and very proud of the fact. Yesterday at dinner, she started singing out, "all eyes on me, all eyes on me, I have something important to tell you!" I went and ate lunch with her last Thursday which was really fun. We stayed for journal writing where they drew a picture of what they thought God looked like and then Mrs. Black read a book. Her teachers are really sweet and Ellie and I are enjoying some one on one time. As well as the Little Gym, the library, Target and Ellie's ballet class are taking up our time.

This last weekend we went camping at Lake Guntersville. We saw a lot of fat men without their shirts, listened more than we wanted to to the Alabama game, started a lot of fires, cleaned up a lot of poop and pee and went on a couple of hikes. I think the girls will have some positive memories. I was really happy to get home though!!! I'll post some pictures maybe tomorrow!!

Well, I love you all!! miss you!!