House Hunting and Republican National Convention :)

Just a quick Update :) We are still in process of House Hunting...We recently took Brad's parents to check out the 2 houses we liked... And I think the Chili Pepper House really failed the test :) It just needs too much work... But the other house passed with flying colors... SO.... We actually made an offer on the House with the Pool!! Now we will wait and see what happens. In the meantime, here are more photos of our Current Favorite House :)








Also, in case you didn't tune in to last night's convention I want to post Sarah Palin's Awesome Speech here :) She really knocked it out of the park and I was immediately impressed with her! I was already a McCain fan and now I'm a big fan of the McCain / Palin ticket! Can't wait til November!
the embedded files won't work so try these links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIqYWPmY-ms&feature=PlayList&p=481389F5D3983AED&index=0
and you can click "play all" to the right

and this one has the complete text of her speech...and underneath that, naturally, there are LOTS of negative comments :(

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/03/sarah-palin-rnc-conventio_n_123703.html

Fun News

Well I have just 2 brief announcements :) FIRST, we are heading back to Meridian tomorrow to show Brad's parents our 2 favorite houses. The Chili Pepper House and The One with the Pool - Turns out, the owners of the one with the pool (which was too pricey before) might be able to make a deal if they take the pool with them when they move!

So here are the 2 options:

The Ever Popular Chili Pepper House

AND the One with the Pool

Lastly, I wanted to share a super fun, long-anticipated Photo!

He's SMILING! Need I say more?

Is It Already August?!

Hello Again! It’s been such a busy Month! Wes has been traveling! He spent 2 weeks with his Nana and Poppy in Brookhaven and 1 week with his Granny and Papaw in Birmingham! In the meantime, Brad got the exciting news that HE GOT A NEW JOB! He’ll be working with the Department of Human Services in Meridian helping to enforce child support! We’re really excited about this great opportunity and I’m so proud of him! We should be moving sometime around the end of September or the beginning of October! Wes is really excited about this move and can’t wait to learn about a new town ☺
We actually went to look at houses one Saturday and found 2 we liked. One was a little too pricey but the other has lots of potential ☺ We talk about renovating the décor and we love the backyard. So for now, this is the forerunner:

We call it the Chili Pepper House because the kitchen has Chili Peppers in the border :)

School has also restarted and FINALLY Wes has a teacher he can be excited about! She’s a sweet young teacher who had Connor in her class in previous years so we KNOW she’ll be great! Wes thinks she’s pretty so we know he’ll pay attention ☺ haha
In other news – He is still embracing new foods and we now have two things he loves ☺ He is still loving the Chicken Alfredo and NOW he also loves Chicken and Cheese Quesadillas! He exclaimed that they were delicious because they tasted like scrambled eggs… We’ll take what we can get!

Also this month, Kim and I finally saw the culmination of all our planning… and sneakiness! We decided in March that we would throw a surprise party for Mom and Dad’s 35th Anniversary (August 11th) and this past Saturday we finally saw the results! Mom and Dad thought they were attending a Sunday School Class Social – Boy were they surprised when they walked through the door and we all shouted “Happy Anniversary!” The Sunday School Class was there in full force and we had several Louisiana Friends, too. The food was great, the friends were fun and the look on Mom and Dad’s faces was PRICELESS!
Soon enough, Brad and I will kick our House Hunting into overdrive and I’ll update you on what we see and houses we like. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with some fun shots of the party ☺

Yes WE did this to you!

Mom hugs the Skinners

Dad greets the Dinglers

The spread! and the Gorgeous Flowers, too!

Ah, yes, Memories :)

Mom and Dad finally see the Recipe Book that has been underway for months!

Orange Beach ~ Fun in the Sun

Hello Again! What a great summer we’ve had so far!
Last Thursday, after work we headed down for the Annual Ozier / Smith / Adam gathering at Orange Beach. This is my first year to make this trip and my first time to ever go to Orange Beach. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised by the whole trip!

We had perfect, gorgeous weather so that was great. The first morning we were there Wes woke up with the sun - Literally, I think he came to wake us up at 6! We slept a little longer and then ate some yummy breakfast and it didn’t take long for Wes to declare he was ready for the beach! He had his new swimsuit on in no time flat! So off we go down to the beach. I don’t really remember ever taking Wes to the beach before so I know it’ll be a great morning! Instantly he sees the waves and he runs straight in! He LOVES it! So he is kind of running out a few feet and letting the waves carry him in while us poor parents are shuddering when the coldish water splashes us! Then, Brad and I each held one of his hands and swooped him through the waves. All of a sudden he cried out that a wave had hurt him and I noticed it had stung me too. It felt like several sharp grains of sand had blasted onto us. We had to get out of the water to investigate - It is later declared that we were stung by a jellyfish! OUCH! Luckily it was mild and Wes forgot about it once he remembered the pool at the condo! If I had to complain about anything it would be the JELLYFISH! I’d never seen jellyfish before so I had always thought you might see one or two and you’d just kinda stay away from wherever they were. The second morning when we headed back to the beach I was thinking our run-in with the jellyfish on our first day had been an isolated incident. No, no, no. When we got to the water’s edge we immediately noticed a small family all wielding nets looking for jellyfish. I thought surely that would take a while, but they were catching them left and right! They had a small bucket half-filled with grapefruit-sized jellyfish! I just did not realize there would be so many! You could stand in one spot and watch them wash past you onto the beach! Brad, Wes, and I decided to forgo the waves and attempted to build a sandcastle ... But that’s not nearly as exciting as swimming in not one, but two pools (one indoors) so back to the condo we went.
After that, the rest of the trip can be summed up as sleep, swim, eat, family time, swim, eat, sleep :) We had so much fun! - We also managed to squeeze in a trip to Foley’s outlet mall!

I also really enjoyed the chance to spend time with my new extended family - aunts, uncles, cousins, and , of course, my brand new niece, MACY! :) And Wes is taking right to his new cousins! He is very curious about Macy. In fact, the first day he begged to hold her and promised to be really careful not to drop her! When I said no, he wasn’t quite ready to hold her because she’s so small he switched gears and asked, “Well, when is her playtime so I can play with her?” How wonderful that he is already very excited about his new family! Everyone is so wonderful, loving and special so it really makes me blessed to call them My Family! I could not have asked for or expected such a great group!

On that note, I’ll close with some photos of our trip!

Oh is THAT how you make Good Sandcastle Sand! You add Water!

Aunt Ramona Snuggles one of the twins

Jackson copies Wes - Wes thinks this is pretty cool!

Wes copies and follows Sam - Sam is ok with that

Wes keeps an eye on Macy

What family gathering would be complete without CARDS!

OH ~ I almost forgot - Wes got a snazzy new haircut at the end of last month so here’s the During and After Photos :)

And, last but not least, a HUGE development in Wesley's World :) For most family members, the following photos won't need a caption but for some the explanation is below the photos~


Last night, Wes declared that spaghetti alfredo with grilled chicken (marinated in Italian Dressing) is The Best Dinner Ever! He also said he wants to have it "all the time... well not all the time because [he] still wants to eat other stuff too." He also said that it would be tasty with corn on the side. Isn't everything better with corn?

The Fruits, Veggies and Flower of Our Labor

Well, we've made it well into June now and it's High Time I posted some photos of our garden! I'm pleased to report there haven't been any new tragedies since the Great Corn Massacre or the Tomato Bug Debacle. :)

So, Without Further Ado - I bring you PHOTOS! :)

First, I will show Wes's new favorite garden item.... For his birthday his Uncle John gave him a packet of Mystery Seeds with planting instructions.. And, here we can see the very first one peeking out through the soil. His first guess as to what it might be was so cute, too! I told him the planting directions / clues and asked what he thought it was based on that and on what the seed looked like. He saw we had planted mostly fruits and veggies and read that they would grow to be quite tall so he guessed the mystery seeds would produce Apple Trees :D As for any who might not know what the Mystery Seeds are... Well I'm not gonna ruin the surprise so you'd better stay tuned!



These little leaves appeared in the space I cleared out for the Morning Glories so I am hoping / assuming that they've sprouted...


As for our pepper... What can I say? It's still practically the same size and shape as when we bought it... As you can see in the photo, some bugs have turned it into a snack... And, even thought it's been watered just as much as everything, it looks withered and thirsty :( Poor, Poor Pepper!



Meanwhile, Wes's watermelons are looking quite promising :) I wonder if they'll be as big as the ones you buy in the grocery store!


I'm excited to bring you Our First Bachelor Button Bloom! I call the following photos "the world's blurriest flower"


Rest assured, I am planning to get Brad to take a GOOD photo of the first bloom :) Obviously, my photos leave a little something to be desired!

And while I'm on that note.... How come this flower is so stinkin tiny?? All the ones I saw online were big and wonderful ... Even the seed pack had large blooms... What gives?

Here's an example of what I was expecting - See how nice and In-Focus they are?



And now - The Star of the Show - The Plants Everyone Came to See....

The TOMATOES!

WOW, they are thriving and we've already had enough to give away! The first few batches kind of had an Italianny taste to them, but our latest crop was Sweet, Sweet, Sweet!


I've really enjoyed the garden this year. Seeing the progress as all the plants got taller and started producing various foods has really been fulfilling. Every night, after dinner, we all three look forward to checking out the crops. I think gardening is definitely something the whole family can enjoy and, more importantly, can do TOGETHER! I know my mom is very pleased with this "new concept" we've taken up :) Aside from my Larkspur situation, I think I must have gotten my semi-green thumb from her.

In other family news, we have a lot of fun things to come and that will mean more photos to document our adventures!

Hugs !

Vacation Bible School Photos

As promised, a glimpse at the fun we had last week during our Holy Land Adventure!

Here is our Whole Tribe on the First Night of Vacation Bible School :) We're getting ready to make crowns in craft time ...

Here, Wesley models the Official Tribe Bandanna for Zebulun :) Our tribe settled along the shore and harbored ships so we have a ship on our bandanna :)

Time for Crafts! Here, Wes is learning to weave his own cloth just like in Biblical Times .... With a little bright orange for good measure! :)
We might not have been underwater, but we learned about basket weaving :)


Here we are ready to head into the synagogue- I've got my head covered out of respect and Brad's wearing the traditional prayer shawl (ok, I'm sure that this one is more colorful than the "traditional" ones....) and he is wearing a kippah on his head :) In the synagogue, the men sat on one side and the women and small children sat on the other... Wes opted to sit with the men :)

~*~

We really enjoyed the experience and being together as a tribe each night. I think it is more meaningful to go through the process together and I really enjoyed being *right there* to explain it all to Wes as it happened... Especially during the dramas!

Vacation Bible School

Hello Again! Wow, this week is super busy! We are having our Vacation Bible School at church and it’s an event for the whole family so there’s been plenty of singing and crafting and learning for everyone! It’s the Holy Land Adventure / Jerusalem Marketplace VBS. This year, Brad is our fearless Tribe Leader so he’s definitely branching out and trying something new – AND he’s doing a fantastic job! We have really enjoyed the crafts and the dramas and the lessons. This year, we are the Tribe of Zebulun – say THAT 3 times fast! I will try to post photos after the week is over ☺ In the meantime, if you want to know more about this particular VBS – here’s a site ☺ http://www.group.com/vbs/Jerusalem08/
In other news, last week we had some very exciting news! My brother and sister-in-law welcomed new daughter, Macy Anne Adam! Woohoo! I have a brand new beautiful niece! I can’t wait to meet her later this month!