Pictures of Abbey and Brandon

I took some pictures of Abbey and Brandon a couple of weeks ago at Rebecca’s house. I was having it enlarged and framed for Dennis for his birthday in December. I know it was kind of early to take them, but I needed a back up plan in case they didn’t turn out the way I thought they would. Dennis figured out that I had taken some so I went ahead and showed him. I took the picture to have it framed this week so it should be ready hopefully next week. The frame is so pretty that I picked out. It is going to look great on his wall. I was glad that he figured it out because I was worried about how I was going to keep it from him for so long and that the kids might change a good bit before December. The second picture is the one that I blew up. I will probably have some of the other pictures enlarged and frame them as well. I will post a picture of the finished product when it is framed and I get it back.
  

  

  

A New Look!

The look of my blog has changed. I love the way it looks now. My sweet boyfriend changed it for me last night. He is so talented when it comes to computers. I would have never figured it out. Thanks so much Dennis. You are the best!

Abbey and Brandon loved Lucy!

Abbey, Brandon, and I went to Rebecca's house on Saturday for a little while. They had the best time playing with her new little kitty, Lucy. Brandon also enjoyed riding the golf cart and seeing all the deer. Thank you Rebecca for taking time out of your Saturday for us to come over.

  

A couple of Sunday's ago, Dennis and I washed our cars. Brandon and Abbey helped us. We looked up and Brandon was washing his John Deere tractor. It was so cute. He really loves his tractor.
  

  

This is sad, but very Sweet!

> This Father does it all just for the purpose of seeing the smile on
> his son's face. If you want to see the most profound reflection of the
> Father's love for us that you've ever seen....watch.
>
> Read this and then watch the video (the website link is at the end)
>
> Strongest Dad in the World
>
> I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay
> for their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots. But compared
> with Dick Hoyt, I suck.
>
> Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in
> marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a
> wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and
> pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars--all in the same day.
>
> Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back
> mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. on a bike. Makes
> taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?
>
> And what has Rick done for his father? Not much--except save his life.
>
> This love story began in Winchester, Mass., 43 years ago, when Rick
> was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him
> brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs. ``He'll be a vegetable
> the rest of his life;'' Dick says doctors told him and his wife, Judy,
> when Rick was nine months old. ``Put him in an institution.''
>
> But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes
> followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the
> engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was
> anything to help the boy communicate. ``No way,'' Dick says he was told.
> ``There's nothing going on in his brain.''
>
> "Tell him a joke,'' Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out
> a lot was going on in his brain.
>
> Rigged up with a computer that allowed him to control the cursor by
> touching a switch with the side of his head, Rick was finally able to
> communicate. First words? ``Go Bruins!'' And after a high school
> classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the school organized a
> charity run for him, Rick pecked out, ``Dad, I want to do that.''
>
> Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described ``porker'' who never ran
> more than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still,
> he tried. ``Then it was me who was handicapped,'' Dick says. ``I was
> sore for two weeks.''
>
> That day changed Rick's life. ``Dad,'' he typed, ``when we were
> running, it felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!''
>
> And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving
> Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly
> shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon.
>
> ``No way,'' Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite
> a single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a
> few years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway,
> then they found a way to get into the race officially: In 1983 they
> ran another marathon so fast they made the qualifying time for Boston
> the following year.
>
> Then somebody said, ``Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?''
>
> How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since
> he was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still,
> Dick tried.
>
> Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour
> Ironmans in Hawaii. It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud
> getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you
> think?
>
> Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? ``No way,'' he says.
> Dick does it purely for ``the awesome feeling'' he gets seeing Rick
> with a cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together.
>
> This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston
> Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their
> best time'? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992--only 35 minutes off the
> world record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things,
> happens to be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a
> wheelchair at the time.
>
> ``No question about it,'' Rick types. ``My dad is the Father of the
> Century.''
>
> And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had
> a mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his
> arteries was 95% clogged. ``If you hadn't been in such great shape,''
> one doctor told him, ``you probably would've died 15 years ago.''
>
> So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life.
>
> Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in
> Boston, and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland,
> Mass., always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the
> country and compete in some backbreaking race every > weekend,
> including this Father's Day.
>
> That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really
> wants to give him is a gift he can never buy.
>
> ``The thing I'd most like,'' Rick types, ``is that my dad would sit in
> the chair and I would push him once.''
Here's the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjPrL3n63yg

Abbey and Chloe started school today!

Abbey started the 3rd grade today. She changed schools this year and now she is going to Flowood Elementary. The summer has flown by. I couldn’t believe that it was already time for school to start back. This year has gone by fast. It seems like just a few months ago she was starting the 2nd grade. I guess when you have a great year time does seem to fly by. I hope she has a wonderful day today and likes her new school. Brandon will start big school next year.

Chloe, Dennis’s niece, started her first day of school today. She is getting to be a big girl now. I bet she will be the leader of her class.

We went to a Braves Game on Sunday and these pictures were taken of Brandon.
  

  

Weekend at Geyser Falls!

This week has gone by pretty fast. I am glad that Friday is finally here. Dennis and I are eating sushi at lunch today. I can’t wait. I love it. I am picking Abbey and Brandon up from daycare this afternoon and taking them to eat Pizza with their grandmother and cousins. Dennis is working tonight so that he can be off tomorrow night. We are all going to Geyser Falls. We are going to have a great time. Hopefully the water park won’t be too packed, but I’m sure it will. There will probably be a line for all of the attractions. Monday will be here before you know it. I hope everyone has a great weekend and hopefully I will get some pictures this weekend without getting my camera soaking wet. I will post them on Monday.

A Wonderful Weekend

Well, the studying didn’t pay off on Friday when I took my test. It was very hard. Most of the questions were “Which of the following best describes………” I don’t do well on test anyway so when I see those kinds of questions in there it really throws me off. Maybe I will have better luck the next time I take it.

The day got better though. I picked Abbey up from the Courthouse and we went to Vicksburg. We ate lunch at my parent’s house and then went to the outlet mall for a while. After shopping some, my sister’s friend Katie came over and brought her new baby, Anslee Kate. She was so cute and very tiny. Abbey enjoyed getting to hold her. My grandparents also came to my house so that my grandmother could go with us to the Miss Mississippi Pageant. I got my haircut from my old hairdresser, which was way passed due. Abbey and I ate supper with everyone and then it was off to the pageant. The production was very good this year. The theme was The Wizard of Oz. Abbey really enjoyed it.

Saturday, Dennis, Abbey, and Brandon came to my apartment and we went swimming. Dennis went to work that afternoon and me and the kids watched the pageant that night. I let them stay up late so that they could watch it with me. Brandon liked it because it was The Wizard of Oz. He kept asking when the witch was coming on. Overall, we had a really good weekend. It was busy but still lots of fun!

Not So Fun Week So Far!

This week has been no fun so far. I have been studying during most of my lunch break and at night after I get home from work. I am taking an insurance test Friday and I am trying to get ready for it. The good thing is I took off a half a day after the test so I can do something besides study during my spare time. I hope all of this studying pays off and I pass the thing. My test starts at 9:00. It shouldn’t take more than about an hour and a half. I am picking Abbey up afterwards and we are going to Vicksburg. The Miss Mississippi Pageant is this week and my mom, sister, grandmother, Abbey and I are going to it. We are going to hang out in Vicksburg Friday afternoon so that I can spend time with my grandparents. I am also getting my haircut which is way overdue. I hope everyone has a great weekend. I probably won’t post again until Monday.

This sounds Yummy!

Jack Cheese Dip

1 bag of shredded monterrey jack cheese
2 cans mexican rotel
1 can white shoepeg corn
1 small can diced black olives
1 small bottle of kraft zesty italian dressing

Drain all cans. Mix it all ingredients together. Mix together several hours ahead before serving; it tastes better after it marinates for a while. Serve with chips.

Fun Weekend!

We had a great weekend. Friday night we went to Taylor's, Dennis's nephew, birthday party. It was a sleepover so we stayed until about 9:00. It was fun. Abbeynd Brandon had a really good time. Saturday, Dennis and I ran some errands and then ran at the park. That night Dennis had to work and I studied for my insurance test that is on Friday. Sunday we went and ate at Ma's house and then Abbey and Brandon had a birthday party for a cousin at Chucky Cheese's. Below are some pictures I took while they were playing some of the games.
  

  

  

  

Monogramming is Great!

I had this shirt made for Abbey at Monogram Magic. I took her pillowcase to have it monogrammed and I saw these shirts. I had to have one made for her. I showed my mom the shirt and now she has made several of them. It looked really cute on Abbey when she wore it.
  

This is a pillowcase that I made Abbey. I had it monogrammed at Monogram Magic. They did a really good job.
  

Six Flags over Georgia

  

Fun Times in Atlanta

Our Trip to Atlanta, GA was fun. We had a great time at Six Flags. We were there about 10 hours and we still weren’t able to ride all the roller coasters. We decided to go on a White Water Rafting Ride. I wasn’t all that thrilled about it because everyone that came off of the ride were soaking wet. Some were dry though. I just knew that I would be the one to get soaking wet. Well guess what I was right. Dennis and I got stuck under the waterfall and we didn’t have a dry article of clothing on us. I didn’t think about leaving my purse off of the ride and my digital camera got soaked. I tried to turn it on, but nothing happened. I let it dry out hoping that it would eventually turn on, but I was right again. It was broke. I ended up getting a much better camera after I got home. I was still disappointed though because it was only the first day of the trip. I also love to take pictures so I felt lost without it. Dennis had his camera so we still got lots of great pictures. Below you will see pictures from the different places that we went.

Below are a few pictures from the Cardinals vs. Braves Game. The Braves ended up winning 2 out of the 3 games. No big deal though. Wait until the Braves come to Busch Statium.
  

  

Below are pictures from the Coca Cola Museum that we toured. It was a neat place to see.
  

  

  

  

  

  

Pictures from Atlanta, GA

Our trip to Atlanta was a lot of fun. The Braves won the first and last game, but the Cardinals managed to win the second game. The aquarium was really nice. It was very crowed, but we were still able to get close to the tanks. Six Flags was hot, but we still enjoyed the rides.

Below are pictures from Six Flags: