Veteran's Day program

Lauren doing her speaking part


Lauren & Blake


This year Lauren's grade did the Veteran's day program at school. She was very excited because she is proud of her Papa being in the Navy. She had a speaking part and did a great job. She loves to sing & it's great to watch her. I think she's a bit of a natural. Here are a few shots from the performance and some friends too.

After the performance

Lauren, Hunter's little sis, & Hunter

Last Razorback game

It's been fun, but I'm glad the home season is over. I will miss the tailgating. This last one was our best if I do say so. Richard's brother & his wife as well as Marcus & Andra were all there. We had brisket, twice baked potatoes, spinach dip, & of course a few chocolate desserts. It's been a blast tailgating this season with Rich & Heather, what great friends we have. Here is a picture of some of the trees from campus, they were beautiful that weekend.

Halloween

This was a new Halloween for us. Lauren was invited to a party & so since it was Friday night, we headed to the grocery store! Lauren usually hands out the candy so I don't see any students of mine, but without her, it just wasn't going to be fun. Let me tell you....no one is at Wal-Mart on Halloween night. I do have to say, we saw one guy whom I wasn't sure if he had a costume on or not. Lauren was a cutie in her "Gabriella" HSM costume. She picked it out and even had the microphone to match. She had fun at her party & that 's was Halloween is all about.

Razorback Game

It's been a while since I've updated this, so here goes....The next to the last home game was a bit COLD! We had our coats & blankets for this game. The funny thing was that the next week we were warm...very warm (that's Arkanas weather). This is something you don't see much, a picture of ME & TONY. Lauren was not at this game with us, but enjoying a fun evening with her Nana & Papa at her Aunt's house.

Cheeze!!!

Little Rock

Lauren & Kerrington before the concert.

Cheetah Girls!! Need I say more. We headed to Little Rock this weekend for the Cheetah Girls concert...After Hannah Montana & the Jonas Brothers, this one was a breeze. We also had a great time with Papa Gale, Dianne, & Uncle Matt. The 2 bands that opened...well 1 out of 2 isn't bad. Lauren liked the Clique Girls, but the boy band needs more practice. I wish the hog game would have turned out better to complete a great weekend. Coming home Sunday, we all enjoyed lunch with Na-Na, Kevin, Tasha, & Kaite.

Lauren & Uncle Matt ... the future Doc

ONE WORLD TOUR

Family Fest

Lauren making it to the top!!!

We had a great time at our recent Family Fest at church. Alex & Brandon, my nephews, went with us. Lauren and Brandon did the rock wall several times and reached the top...way to go guys! Here are a few shots from party.

What's up with that??


Hold on, the Titanic is sinking!!!!


The square-off of brothers...watch out!!

Hog Game...

Flyover before the game

Well, the outcome was not any different than last time, but we still had fun. I definitely didn't get a sunburn. I actually was a bit chilly to start off with. The sun finally came out at the end of the game. Tasha & Kevin came up from Fort Smith to go to the game with us. We truly enjoyed spending some time together. The band was so fun!!! They played Thriller & then put their instruments down and danced...memories!! The flyover as usually (especially lately) was a highlight.

Band dancing to Thriller

Kevin & Tasha

Big Loss, But Lots of Fun

White glasses....what a girly, girly


Well, the hogs didn't do too well, but the sun was shining and we had fun. Brandon (my other child), my nephew, when with us. He is a huge sports fan. We started Friday night with him spending the night and playing a lot of Wii. I made sure Tony was sunscreened up, but as you can see, I got a bit red. We had fun showing Brandon our names on campus. Lauren informed us she was going to school in Texas so she could work at Sea World in San Antonio as a Marine Biologist (Tony informed her he would not be paying for college to any Texas school). We had a good laugh about that.

Under my favorite tree by Old Main

My razorback necklace left a big image!!

Go Hogs!!

The Razorback looks good on the field.

Well, the game Saturday might not have looked great, but we all sure had fun. Lauren brought her buddy Holland to the game & we met several friends to tailgate before hand. The girls were really cute as they tried to throw the football around. It is fun to visit & eat with friends, but not fun wondering why we are going for it on 4th and 10! It is going to be a LONG year.


Holland, the next Heisman winner

Aren't they just the cutiest???!!!

Honor star

This is Lauren's class at church. They meet each Wednesday to work on projects to earn badges. This was her first step to becoming an honor star. This is a three year program & she has now completed her first year. They have to write essays, memorize scripture, & she has been reading through the Bible. We are so proud of you Lauren, keep up the good work & keep the scriptures close to your heart.

Lauren, Christa, & Bristen

Farmer's Market

I'm a week and half behind, but when school starts, man it gets busy. We had a wonderful Saturday when Na-Na came up for a visit. First we headed to the Farmer's Market (weather was perfect). There were so many booths with flowers, fruits, veggies, & Lauren's favorite part...all the dogs walking around. We enjoyed the afternoon & finished the day with a great dinner at P.F. Changs..yum yum. It was a wonderful day and we totally enjoyed our time with Na-Na, hope she did too.

Lauren at the Fayetteville Farmer's Market

Schools finally here

Proud of her "Bling" on her backpack

Well...My baby is growing up. She's a big 4th grader this year. Standing 5 foot tall (taller than some of my 7th graders). She was excited to see friends, but was missing sleeping in & going to the pool. Lauren said there are a lot of rules in 4th grade, but it will get better because in Science they are going to investiage a deer's heart...she LOVES science. She got up all by herself & ate a pretty good breakfast. She told me I didn't need to walk her to class (sniff, sniff). My baby is a beautiful girl (my opinion of course) and is growing up way too fast. In those drooling and dirty diaper days, you pray it will pass soon, but now...it is just flying by. In 2 years she'll be with me! My mother always told me when you have a child, time will pass so fast....well mom, you were right again. May the Lord bless all the kids this year in school.
Hope everyone had a great first day.

Hot Days of Summer

The only thing to do on a hot day is to hit the pool. Well, that's what we did. Lauren & I headed to the Primms for the afternoon to do some swimming. We all had a great time swimming, laying out (in the pool that is), and visiting. The summer is going by too fast so we enjoyed our time together. Thanks for a great afternoon.

Branson, take two

Well, here we are back in Branson. Again, what a great time we had. Friday night, Kevin, Tasha, & Katie came up and we went to the Naturals game (We Won!).

Lauren & Katie at the Naturals game

Saturday, we headed to Branson and watched a show called SIX...Great show. They do all a cappella. They are all brothers (actually 10 in all), but only six perform. One does the drums with his mouth and another does the bass with his. We ate at Joe's Crab Shack for dinner...may I recommend the stuffed shrimp...yum!

Katie, Tasha, & Kevin at Joe's

Lauren waiting patiently at Joe's for our dinner

Sunday with did the White Water thing...one our our favorites and finally had a little Cold Stone Ice Cream for the trip home. Had a great time with the family.

WE MADE IT!!!

After years of lessons, Lauren graduated from the Swim Ranch!! We are so proud! :-)There are 61 skills she had to pass & did it in 6 years! When you complete your final flag, you go to the flag board and they ring a bell to let everyone know you got your fish and everyone claps for you. They told us the average age of their graduates was 11-12 years old, So as a 9 year old this is incredible! She has been invited back to the Swim Ranch when she is 12 to help teach the water babies classes. She is so excited!! Way to go Lauren!!!

Here is her final certificate showing she has completed all 61 skills!

Mini Vacation

Just a quick trip to Branson to get away was fun. We went to Celebration City on Sunday night, White Wate on Monday, Dixie Stampede on Tuesday, and shopped and came home on Wednesday. It was really nice to just get away. Lauren took a friend this time who had never been to any of these places. It was really fun to see the excitement from her. They did a lot of swimming at White Water as well as the condo. I enjoyed the massage chair at night that was in our room. Here are a few shots from the trip.



The Scrambler...one of Lauren's favorites at Celebration City

Lauren & Sammi at White Water before they got all wet

Lauren tried the Oliptical ride...it was a hair raising experience

Eatin' some peanuts before the Dixie Stampede

Model in Training

I had previously showed you a picture of Lauren and told you she loved doing a photo shoot with a company who was doing a fund raiser with a church. Here is one of the pictures we got back. I told the lady if she ever needed any pictures to call and Lauren would be very excited to help. She told me she had already pulled some of Lauren's pictures to use in her buisness.

This is one of my favorites

Silver Dollar City

The front entrance to SDC. Picture Perfect!!

What a great day!! The weather was wonderful & the friends even better. Sherri, Holland, & Payton picked us up about 7:30am and we headed for Branson. When was got there, there was no one at the park hardly. The girls went crazy on the rides with no lines. First the swings, then the electrospin (twice), pirate ship, small ships that go really fast, tea cups, & the small roller coaster. All this in about an hour. It was time for a show & lunch. Sherri & I rode the big barn swing (the girls were all too chicken...they even said they were proud to be chicken). They just don't know what they are missing!

Just before we got on the swing, Holland & Lauren decided they could pull their way to the top, & they did! Great teamwork girls! :-)


The flowers looked so pretty there, we just decided it was a Kodak moment.


The final thing we did was the petting zoo. They loved the bunnies except when on popped on Paytie, but is was pretty funny. What a great day!!!

Old Friends

This week has been very fun for Lauren. Her old friend Brooklyn was in town visiting her grandmother. They went to the movies, CiCi's Pizza, & got ice cream on Monday night. We went to the acquatic center on Tuesday & finally on Wednesday went to the dollar movie (Surf's Up), than McDs, & then they played the rest of the day. It is good to see old friends. I snapped this pic after the pool, its been fun playing with you Brookie!!!

Model

Last Friday, I took Lauren to get some pictures taken. Trinity Temple was doing a fund raiser to help rebuild their church so I bought a certificate for a setting for some antique pictures. Lauren LOVED it. She loved wearing the dress & putting on different hats & wearing no shoes during the pictures. I told her that is the job description of a model, now this is what she wants to be. Dress up & getting her picture made sounded pretty good to her. Her are some a took with my phone when we went to change.

Sing!!!!

Last night at church the kids choir practiced for their big debute. They will be singing 2 songs during our big Fireworks show at church on Wednesday night. The whole community is invited for a great night. Lauren was a bit funny to watch because she had gum in her mouth & chomped on it the whole time. The kids did well and here are a few shot of last nights performance.

Pool Fun

Brandon, Maggie, Lauren, Max, & Alex

We'll, I knew it would come. We went over to Pat's pool today and took the dogs for an outing. When I brought the dogs in the backyard, they (kids) grabbed them and took them for a swim. Max was pretty calm and a good swimmer. Maggie...she had legs kickin' before she was totally in the pool. I'm not sure if she liked it or not, but the kids sure did.


Maggie swimming to Brandon