Fall Break in Destin!

We had a great trip to Destin for Fall Break last week.  The kids love Destin and are so happy when they are there.  They love the beach but also love the go-carts and arcade.  This is the second year in a row we have gone there and they like it even more than last year.  We always do a day at The Track to ride go-carts, bumper boats and play putt putt.  We also go to Fat Daddy's arcade once and let them play games and spend all their tickets on pitiful prizes that might cost a dollar at a store.  Jackson used his 1600 points to get a giant whoopee cushion....just what Mommy wanted him to get!  We have friends that live there so Josh got to play golf while we there...can't be a vacation without golf for Josh!

Morgan's first clogging competition!

Morgan had her first clogging competition this weekend in Lenoir, NC.  She decided to be on the competitive team back in the winter and they have been practicing ever since.  She had camp this summer and learned a whole routine in one week!  She absolutely loves clogging.  As a mom it makes me so happy to see my child happy.  She has finally found something she is passionate about.  We tried all kinds of dance, gymnastics, sports...nothing was just wonderful for her.  Then she decided to try clogging in August 2010 and she fell in love with it.  Her teacher, Ms. Paulette, is fabulous!  She said Morgan really has a natural ability to clog.  She has a "bounce in her step" and you can honestly see it when she dances.  She was nervous about the competition since it was her first one but once she got up on stage....she shined!  Her team did two dances and they got second place in both!  Her next competition is Sept. 10 in Fletcher, NC.  I am so proud of my sweet girl!

Taylor Swift Concert!

This is a little late....we went to the Taylor Swift concert on July 1st!  We had 4th row tickets and were so excited about being that close to the stage.  We all four went as a family.  Jackson wasn't too keen on that but once Taylor Swift came out he was a little bit happier.  We got there at 6pm....it started at 7pm but that was two warm up groups.  Taylor finally came out around 8:30 and it was spectacular!  She is even prettier in person and just genuinely seems like a good, sweet person.  She is a great entertainer and so talented.  She played the guitar, banjo, electric guitar, on and on.  I can't even remember how many instruments she played.  She also played the piano for one song and wore a beautiful blue dress.  She came out into the crowd and Morgan got to touch her as she walked by.  She was grinning from ear to ear.  One of her band members also threw out a Taylor Swift guitar pick and Morgan caught it.  It was a special night and an amazing concert!

Take me out to the ballfield!

We have had an exciting summer of baseball!  Josh is coaching the Kingston AA All-Star baseball team this summer and Jackson is playing second base.  The kids are awesome and get along great and so do the parents! We got runner up for the state of Tennessee and are traveling to South Carolina on Friday to play in the Dixie Youth World Series.  We are the first team from Kingston ever to make it to a Dixie Youth World Series!  Jackson has gotten to be a great ball player this summer but more importantly, he has had fun.  I'll post pics of the World Series after we get home.  Wish us luck!!

Disney World

We went to Disney last week and had a blast!  It was a little different this year since I couldn't walk.  I had to rent a scooter and I felt like I was 90 years old.  It was pretty funny, I have to admit.  The rainy days were the most funny....me and my poncho with a Food City bag covering my backpack and a showercap protecting the keybox of the scooter.  The kids had great fun riding roller coasters.  We also loved going to Downtown Disney and shopping at the Lego store.  Both my children love Legos and they work together (which is rare) to build them.

Morgan gets braces!

Morgan is only 10 years old but the orthodontist said she was ready for her braces.  We thought she would be about 11 years old when she got them but he said her mouth was ready!  So, she got braces the first week school was out.  It went really well and she did great.  She said it didn't hurt at all.  Her doctor, Dr. Hicks, is wonderful.  He is so kind and gentle with the kids and always talks to Morgan forever before he even looks at her teeth.  She started hurting that afternoon and had to take ibuprofen for about a day for the pain.  She got red, white, and blue on her top braces to celebrate summer!  I can't believe I have a daughter in braces....my baby is growing up so fast!

Easter/Gran's B-day

This year my mom's birthday was on Easter.  We went to see her in Norris the day before.  The kids had an egg hunt in her yard and had a great time.  My oldest brother Ricky came in from S.C.  We enjoyed spending family time together and then took mom out for dinner.  On Easter we went to church and went on the boat for a few hours....what a peaceful day.

Crafty girl

Morgan has really enjoyed 4-H this year.  Her school starts 4-H in 4th grade and she has really enjoyed participating in the competitions.  The first one was the speech contest and she came in second place.  She then got to compete in the county contest.  Next came the baking contest and she got second place in that event with her famous "cow plops" (no bake chocolate oatmeal cookies).  Then the demonstration contest was a month ago and she got FIRST place!!   She demonstrated how to finger knit and had a poster displaying some examples.  She plans to go to the 4-H Super Saturday event and compete again in the baking and demonstration contests.  Way to go Morgan, we are so proud of you!

Globetrotters

I surprised the kids last week and took them to see The Harlem Globetrotters.  Josh had gone out of town and I was a little nervous about taking them to Thompson Boling by myself but I did it!  I surprised them about an hour before the game and told them I was taking them.  They were sooooo excited!!  I remember going when I was a kid and I absolutely loved it.  I think Morgan and I enjoyed it more than Jackson did....he was all about the basketball and Morgan and I were all about the comedy.  We laughed so hard!  It is so fun to make memories with your children just like you had when you were a child.

Florida with Daddy

A few weeks ago Josh and Jackson flew to Florida for the weekend.  They stayed with Josh's aunt in Melbourne and Jackson got to do some really fun things. He went fishing off the pier and off the beach.  He also got to go on an airboat ride and hold a little alligator.  So cool!  The highlight of his trip (and the reason for going) was going to see the Orlando Magic play on Sunday afternoon.  Jackson is a huge basketball fan so it was a dream come true to go see an NBA game.  They played the Lakers which made it even cooler in my opinion.  I'm so glad Jackson gets special time with his Daddy.  It also gave me special time with Morgan.  We went shopping all day and then had pedicures.  It was her first pedicure and she thought it was fabulous!

Craft Day with Gran

My mom invited Morgan to a Craft Day in Norris.  Morgan goes to Craft Camp there every year and spends the week with  my mom.  They had a special Craft Day a few weeks ago and Mom invited Morgan and told her to bring a friend.  Her friend Josie does an after school knitting class with her so since they were going to knit she decided to invite Josie.  They spent the afternoon learning to knit with straws, ate chocolate and made some other crafts as well.  I'm so glad Morgan gets to do special things like this with her grandmother.

Jackson's 8th Birthday

My sweet boy turned 8 on Dec. 31, 2010. I can't believe he is 8 years old.  He loves all things related to sports.  He watches ESPN on a daily basis and can name every college team and its mascot.  He knows names of professional players and stats on them.  He wanted a basketball party this year. He only wanted to get his friends together and play basketball for hours.  So, that's what we did.  We had a Celtics cake made and he wore his Celtics jersey.  It was exactly what he wanted!

Snow, glorious snow!

Finally we got enough snow to really play in it.  I have been wanting it so badly for my children. I have such great memories from childhood of playing in the snow and I have wanted it for my own children. Kingston never gets snow and if we do it is only a small amount where you can still see the grass.  We have had the best week going sledding with friends and just hanging out together.

Christmas 2010

We had a great Christmas. My mom came and spent about a week with us.  The kids got everything they asked for and more. We are so blessed and thankful for all that we have and especially for friends and family.  We are blessed to have such a wonderful church family as well.