Fall Fashion

So it's no secret that I love shopping.

Not shopping for just anything, shopping for clothes.
I LOVE CLOTHES!
There, I said it again for the record.
That being said, I got the new Fall Boden catalog in the mail
and I'm loving this outfit!

The problem is, the shirt, skirt and boots that make up this outfit...

Come to a grand total of...

*drum roll please*

$414.


Oops. Jason always says that I can walk into any store and, without looking at the price tag, whatever I'm drawn to is most likely the most expensive item in the store. He's right. It's been proven time and time again. But I can't help it that I have expensive taste, right?

So, I got a dollar...anybody got $413 to spare?

Football in Heaven

Verle H. Sanders
1915 - 2008
{I would post a photo, but our hard drive where all of our digital photos were stored crashed. Great, I know.}

Jason's grandpa died yesterday after years of living plagued by chronic pain. Knowing that he knew the love of Jesus and is now living an eternal life wrapped in that love is a comforting peace we can all rest in.
Verle was a sweet, kind soul and he will be missed greatly by everyone who knew him. His grandchildren will miss him as well, but as Gabe so genuinely put it, "Now great-grandpa has a new body and he can play football in heaven."
Now keep in mind, that's exactly what Gabe said yesterday. Flashback now several months ago to a conversation I had with Gabe.
We had been talking about old people, and he observed that great-grandpa Verle is very little. I explained that sometimes when people get older, their bodies shrink due to aging.
Gabe: "Is that why he walks like this," proceeding to show me how great-grandpa walks hunched over.
ME: "Yes, it's because his bones are old and week."
Gabe: "Is that why he's so tiny?"
ME: "Yes, that's part of it."
Gabe: "But maybe in heaven, when he grows up and gets a bigger body, he can play football!"
For a five-year-old to say the exact same thing several months later when we haven't talked about it since is pretty significant. I'm thinking maybe there's something to this whole idea of Verle playing football in heaven...Gabe's pretty adamant about it anyway!
So now, as we think of Verle, we can picture him up in heaven, with a new bigger body, all grown up and playing football.
Thanks Gabe :)

I'm a Hottie

Did that post title get your attention?
And NO...I'm not referring to myself. The title is in reference to something Cooper informed us of last night.
Cooper & Gabe had been tucked in to bed at their normal bedtime, 8:00 p.m. Gabe went right to sleep, but Cooper didn't. He kept thinking of reasons to come out of his room...I have to potty...I need a drink of water...I'm scared. This is totally unlike Cooper, he always goes to sleep when he's suppose to and never makes excuses like this, so we figured it was because he was excited about school.
Jason said, "Cooper, are you just having a hard time sleeping because you're thinking about school?" Cooper said, "Yeah, I want to go now!" He said this with a HUGE smile, so it was really hard to get upset at him for not falling asleep like he's suppose to.
Finally, the last time Cooper came out of his room, he said,
"Mom, I'm a hottie."
Jason and I looked at each other, and both replied at the same time, "What did you say Cooper?"
He repeated, this time with more excitement, "I'm a hottie!"
We of course started laughing, and so did Cooper, although he didn't know why he was laughing. It turned out he was trying to tell us it was hot in his room, but it came out, "I'm a hottie!"
After that last attempt at stalling bedtime, Cooper finally fell asleep at about 9:15 p.m. But he won't be living that one down for a long time!

Cooper's First Day of Preschool

Today marks another first. I know, there’s a lot of those in our family lately!
This time it’s about Cooper...his first day of preschool!
Cooper is going to preschool at the same preschool game went to, and has the same teacher Gabe did, Mrs. Ferguson. He’s so excited to finally get to go to school, ‘just like Gabe,’ Cooper says.

Now to have a perfect first day of school, you must make sure you have all of the necessary ingredients...

The student {a.k.a. Cooper.}

A cute smile.

The right clothes.

A new backpack, complete with monogrammed name.
{Perfect for all that homework preschoolers get!}

A few welcomed distractions on the way to school.

And viola! You're ready for school!
Mom will miss ya Coop, but I'll be there to pick you up...I promise...hopefully soon...is it 11:30 yet?

The Fun Must Go On.

Tired.
Headache.
Fever.
Sore Throat.
Achy.
Chest Pain.
Sinus Pain.
Sick.
Sounds a little like one of those commercials, but those are some words to describe how I have been feeling the last few days.
I went to the doctor on Friday, and not only was I sick, but Chloe ended up having infections in both ears.
Yuck.
So, it's been a long few days. But we couldn't cancel all our plans, so the fun went on without me.
On Friday, Jason & Gabe went to a baseball game with some other guys from church. I made Jason take the camera and take a few photos...gotta have some blog material even when I'm sick, right?!?
{Below, Gabe with buddy Brayden and Brayden's little bro Easton. Quite the team they make, especially if Cooper had been along!}

Here's Gabe & Brayden what looks to be like talking to a giant ice cream cone. Huh...I'm not thinking that's the Kernals mascot! Should someone check that cone's Id? Also pictured to the left is Molly, the only girl that went along on the outing. But I'm sure Molly had a good time anyway. Gabe was sure glad she went...he likes Molly...a lot!

Molly was chosen to go on the field with some other kids and play a game where she had to throw a frisbee at a target. She was awarded a piggy bank and t-shirt for her efforts!

So let's now fast forward to Sunday. I was still feeling terrible, as was Chloe in the morning, so the guys went to church and we stayed home sick. Then after naps that afternoon, I was still feeling terrible, so Jason, the boys and Chloe went on to the Labor Day Party at his parent's house. They ate food, played volleyball and watched fireworks while I laid at home, sick.
Good times.
{Below, Gabe & Cooper riding the four wheeler with their buddy Doug, who fits in quite nicely with the boys...wonder why that is? No, but seriously, the boys do love Doug! }

{Chloe begging for more root beer float. Looks like she's already had a good helping...love the foam mustache!}

{Chloe, despite the messy hair, was feeling so much better last night. Her medicine must be working...I can't say the same about mine yet!}

So, it's Monday and I'm still feeling terrible. But this can't go on for much longer, right?!? Anyway, I'm glad the kids and Jason had a great weekend!

Mom...Mom...Mom.

Chloe loves to yell for Mom. Several times throughout the day, she will sit on the stairs by the big open window and yell "Mom" repeatedly, like she's calling for me to come in from outside.
The funny thing is, she knows I'm not outside. She'll be calling for me out the window and then she turns around and looks at me standing behind her a laughs. I guess she thinks she's pretty funny, but then again, so do I! What a goof!

{What's that funny face?}

{Chloe saw a bug and couldn't take her eyes off it!}

{Runny nose, but still cute.}

Babysitting.

I was doing some painting yesterday and I had to go upstairs and look for a few of the brushes I had packed away from our move. When I left the basement, Chloe was still asleep and Cooper was playing with some trains. I was probably gone for about 5 minutes and when I came back, I didn’t see Cooper. It didn’t take long to hear that he was in Chloe’s room, talking to her. I walked into her room to find this:

Cooper had gotten all the baskets of toys from Chloe’s shelves and unloaded them all into her crib. The two of them were sitting in her bed as happy as can be. Cooper said, “Sorry mom, but Chloe was calling for you so I thought I’d help her play.” Awww, what a little babysitter Coop has become.
Of course, I ran and got the camera, and when Chloe saw me leave her room she immediately started crying. She was probably thinking, “Mom, don’t leave me in here in this mess with him!”
So when I returned with the camera, Chloe was no longer happy as you can see in the photos below. She just wanted out of that bed. But Cooper was so proud of himself, saying, “Mom, aren’t I a good big brother?”
{Also, notice Chloe’s hair, also Cooper’s handiwork. In addition to the toys in the crib, he had gotten down her hair accessories and chosen a headband for her to wear. I’d say he’s about as good at doing hair as Jason is!}

Beach Bound

We have booked our annual fall family vacation, and after much thought and many options, we have chosen our destination: Myrtle Beach.
We wanted to go somewhere warm that will enable us to get out and enjoy the great outdoors during our trip since we're going in November. With three little ones, even after you bundle them up, they still complain about being cold if outside for extended periods of time in cold weather, or at least our three little ones do.
We also wanted to choose someplace that we could drive to in a day. South Carolina is cutting it close, with our destination being 19.5 hours from home. But it's better than California, which we drove back in 2004. Gabe was 19 months old, I was about 4 weeks pregnant with Cooper and we drove straight through over 1600 miles the first day, spent the night in Reno, Nevada, and drove about 400 more miles the following day to get to our destination: Yosemite National Park in California.
Oh my goodness, did I mention that I was pregnant and Gabe was 19 months old. I was sick, literally, vomiting on the side of the road. Gabe was more than tired of riding in his car seat. And Jason was tired of listening to us both complain! Needless to say, it was a long road trip!
After that long journey, anything else seems like a cake walk to us!
Gabe is super excited about our vacation because he's been asking to go see the ocean ever since he saw the movie 'Waterhorse', which I highly recommend by the way. I hope he's not expecting to see a sea creature!
And what could be better than getting photos of the kids and our family like this one:

{obviously not our kids, but picture our kids and family in their place. I will have endless photos to share after our vacation!}
Anyway, it sounds like there's a ton for a family to do while in Myrtle Beach. Our resort, which is an exchange we made through our timeshare, is a beach front getaway and has 3 bedrooms for our family to dwell in for the week. Who could ask for more?!?
So have any of you been to Myrtle Beach, or nearby sites we are considering visiting like Charleston, Tybee Island or Savannah, Georgia? If so, what activities are must-do and what sites are must-sees while we're there?
Any input would be appreciated...just leave a comment!
Now, only two months until vacation!

Just the Two of Us

Cooper & Chloe are becoming good buddies since Gabe is at school.
When Gabe is home during the day, he loves on his sister and takes care of her, hardly giving Cooper a chance to interact with Chloe.
But now that Cooper is the big boy at home during the day, he has taken it upon himself to take care of Chloe. He gets her drink for her, gets her toys for her and tells me when she's ready for a nap. {This happens whenever she cries. To Cooper, Chloe's cry signals that it must be naptime, like today when I discovered him trying to put her in the laundry basket and then push her around in it on the tile floor. She was crying, I came to the rescue and Cooper said it's because it's her naptime. Funny boy.}
Of course, it's a little lonely at times with Gabe not here. Gabe's absence during the day has been a transition for all of us, including his brother, evident when Cooper asks several times a day, with those big sad eyes, "When is Gabe coming home from school?"
But seeing a new bond form between Cooper & Chloe has been sweet.

I had been doing bills when Cooper yelled, "Mom, get your camera and take a picture of this!" I looked up and saw the two of them on Chloe's ride-on car, both with big smiles on their faces.
"I'm helping Chloe ride cause she's my friend," Cooper said.
That's all it takes to melt a mother's heart!

School Bus

Along with starting school, Gabe now has another "first" under his belt: riding the school bus. He started riding the bus yesterday {Monday.} And he loves it!
I told him I was going to have to pick him up from school on Wednesday because he has a ear doctor checkup right after school and you'd think I had ruined his whole day!
"Ahhh, Mom, I'd rather ride the bus," Gabe replied.
He even has a couple of friends on the bus. They're really sweet girls that live just down the road from us and go to our church.
{If you're reading this, Hi Dawn & Sarah!} They've been watching out for Gabe on the bus and making sure he's ok. When he got home today, Gabe immediately told me, "I got to sit with Sarah!" I'm so glad they're on the same bus route!
And I really am so thankful he is loving school and loving the bus. I pretty much knew he'd love school. Gabe is extremely outgoing and is a people person who loves to be on the go. A full day of school is perfect for a child like him.
But I was a little fearful that he wouldn't like waking up early to ride the bus in the morning, and would hate the long bus ride after school. {He gets on the bus by 7:15 a.m., and doesn't get home after school until 4:20 p.m. That's a long day for a five-year-old!}
But so far, Gabe is relishing in this new routine, and is excited for every school day.
Hopefully this novelty doesn't wear off too much!