Love This Boy!!!

     About two weeks ago, we were eating pudding at dinner! And we knew all of our kids enjoyed pudding, and us and the girls thoroughly enjoyed ours! Well, there is thoroughly enjoying it and then there is Ethan THOROUGHLY ENJOYING IT!! He was too cute and too funny with his pudding for us not to grab the camera and start snapping away!! So, that is what we did!!! Here is our handsome and MESSY boy, THOROUGHLY ENJOYING HIS PUDDING!!

 



 

 I Sure LOVE that Happy Face!!!

 



And we even LOVE that crazy, silly Fun face too!!!!

Time for the Greene County Fair, Once Again!!!

    Even though Micah and I have never been huge "Outdoor People", we have always had a love for county fairs! And since we have had kids, county fairs seem even MORE fun! This year, I feel like it was the best, by far!

    We decided to head out to the Greene County Fair, we went on Saturday August 3rd, the last day it was open for the year! The weather was GREAT!! And the kids had a Blast!!! There were TONS of animals to look at and pet, there was lots of yummy food, great music, and Haley even got to ride a pony!! It was just an all around great time!! Can't wait to go back again next year!!

 



 

 Haley was really brave, she was really wanting to pet the animals more this year!

And Emily was just AMAZED at all the different and unique animals that were there too! 

 There is Our Brave Miss Haley on a pony!! You can see she mustered up a tiny smile too:) She really enjoyed it!!

 3rd time circling around, she's totally got this thing now!

 We even got to go inside the fence with lots of little farm animals! Hlaey was okay with the whole thing, until the animals started chasing her balloon! Emily was always a little on guard:) And poor Ethan (he is right behind Emily) was scared out of his mind the WHOLE time we were inside this pen!!

 Hello Mr. Llama!

 Probably the coolest part of the fair this year was that they had a mini Zoo! You had to pay to go in, but I am sure glad we did!! It was so worth it! They had a lion, tiger, cheetah, baboon, monkey, birds, etc!! ALL of us enjoyed our time in there!

 And then it was Time for the BEST Family Picture Ever!!!

 And then another one, just because it was fun!

 It's Little Miss Greene County Fair:)

And Emily DEFINITELY Enjoyed her ride on the hobby horse!!

Re-Uniting With a Very Special Family!

     Two weeks ago today, The Parker Family (Butch, Heidi, Patrick, Woodson, Teague and Adam) stopped in Charlottesville for a quick visit during their East Coast Family Vacation!

     I can not tell you how this family has blessed my life since I met them in 1999 and started taking care of their oldest two sons, Twin Boys, Patrick and Woodson. They were only 3 month old when I started watching them! They were adorable then and even today and 6 feet in height they are still just as adorable and just as near and dear to my heart!

    I learned so much about being a mom in the almost 3 years that I was blessed to take care of them! And I told Micah (as tears were streaming down my face) on our ride home after visiting with them that night that I felt like those sweet boys were like my own! And it made me even happier to see them (especially Teague and Adam) taking my kiddos under their wing and playing with them and loving them while they were here! I seriously feel so blessed to have families and friends like the Parkers in my life! And it was also great to be able to introduce them to Micah and our kiddos too! It was a great time all around and I just wanted to make sure that I got to document it!

 

 

Ethan and Teague....Fist Bump Friends!!

Enjoying a little Play Time with what looks like some girl toys with cute little Adam!

Best Picture of the Visit......Ethan with his New Best Friend, Teague!

 



"Hello Everyone!"

 



Me and My "Not So Little Boys"! (Woodson and Patrick)

Mom and Keith with their first two boys, that they got to play grand parents with:) 

The Whole Parker Family!

 



The Grays and the Parkers Being Silly Together!  (I SUPER love Emily's expression in this one!)

Grays and the Parkers.....being, well, themselves together!!!

 

 Add Mimmi and Dooders into the Mix and you get some Crazy Fun times!!

I rest my case!

We love to see the Temple!

A Few weeks ago we got the opportunity to head to the temple! And this time it wasn't just Micah and I heading to the temple grounds! We wanted to make a trip before the temple closed for cleaning for a couple weeks, and Nathan and Sarah were not able to watch our kiddos while we went, so in thinking and searching for another alternative....Mom and Keith decided to go up early that Saturday morning and then meet us around ten o'clock and watch our kiddos and Ruth and Matt's two girls (Lily and Aveline) so that we could all four go together! It was great!! The only down side for them was that it was really hot outside! Luckily they were able to spend a lot of time in the visitor's center and have a picnic in the shade! I love being at the temple and we really love being able to bring our kids there too, and show them the special place that it is and share my testimony with them!

 

Our Little Adorable Threesome just after we arrived! Emily was so happy she said Mom I think we should sing a song about the temple since we are here. Then all five of us sang, I love to see the Temple right here in the parking lot! It was a priceless moment!

Picnicking in the Shade with Cousin Lily!

Ethan thought Lily was so Silly!

Cute Little Aveline having a little one on one time with Mimmi! 

 Picnic Central!

 

 Our Silly Little Buddy had a super fun time too!

Guess Who is Going to Nursery Now?

     It really is so hard for me to believe that our little buddy is 18 MONTHS OLD!! He is such a handsome, funny, kind, sweet, loveable little guy! We really can't put into words how happy we are that he got to join our family!!

      Two Sundays ago, was a monumental one for Our Family, and for Ethan in particular! As it has been each time one of our kiddos have turned the ripe old age of 18 months! When you turn 18 months you get to start going to nursery at church during the 2nd and 3rd hours of church!!  What does that mean??? Two Things......1) We have a very happy little boy who can enjoy snacks and play time and learning about The Gospel with his friends, and 2) Mommy and Daddy get to start bringing their scriptures with them to class again, because we can actually sit through a lesson:)  It's a Win/Win for Everyone really!!!

 

 

Here's our Cute, Fun Loving, Silly Little Nursery Going Boy!!

 

 

 Cheesin' even bigger (if that were possible) with his Biggest Sister!

We Love Art, Especially Holiday Art!!

     One thing I have always really enjoyed doing with my kids is art projects! Which is really funny to me, seeing that I am not artistic in any way, shape or form, but either way I love watching them bust out their creativity:)  On the eve of July 4th, The anniversary of the birth of our nation we found it very appropriate to learn more about our nation's flag! We learned about the colors, the stars and the stripes and then the girls proceeded t make their own flags! They were especially excited to attach them to "poles" when they were complete! Shortly after we took pictures, they decided they wanted to put their flags on our front windows which is where they will most likely reside throughout the rest of this month!



 

 

Our Cute Little Threesome Bursting with Patriotism!

Emily's FIRST Swim Lesson at ACAC!!

     Since Emily is getting ready for her SECOND swim lesson tonight at ACAC, I thought I should take a minute or two and share these pictures from her first class last week! She was a little timid at first (she is a little shy and emotional with change.....takes after her Mommy I guess:). But after a few minutes she was ready to hop in the pool with no fear! She had so much fun!! And I feel that for a half hour lesson she really learned quite a bit too:) In a half hour she got in and used to the water, pulled herself up and kicked from the side, floated on her back with a swim noodle and jumped in teh pool!! I think that is a lot for a 4 year old in 30 minutes!!

      She really has grown to love the water so far this summer, so we were excited to get her in some lessons to help boost her confidence a bit more! Can't wait to head over there tonight and see what else she gets to learn!! Watching my kids learn new skills and tricks is one of my favorite things as a mom:)

 



Getting ready to get into the pool!

 



Kick, Kick, Kick!!

 

 A Little More Concentration!

Sporting her goggles that she got to borrow from ACAC (because we forgot hers) as she climbs out of the pool!

 

 

 

 Haley, the Excited Little Sister!

 Emily in all her Swimming Glory!

A Quick Photo with My Girls after Emily's Swim Lesson!  So Proud of You, Emily Marie!