Happy Halloween!

What a cute elephant!
** more halloween to come later!

I don't make things...

really, I don't. It's not that I don't want to, I am just not creative/patient/thrifty enough. On craft day at MOPS, my projects are usually quite funny! So, as I went in search of a fall wreath the past month or so, I was determined not to pay $50ish for something I thought maybe I could do. Earlier this month when Katie and Andy came to town, the guys went golfing and Katie and I (and poor Connell) headed to Michael's to 'make a wreath'. Katie supervised, and I put it all together and it turned out kind of cute. After it hung on the front door for a while, I decided it wasn't as Fall-ish as I wanted. Today, I made wreath #2. Look out! I love Hobby Lobby! I have been there 3 times this week. (only 1 trip was for the wreath). I am proud enough of it to actually post a picture. 15 minutes, less than $20...I'm happy now! It's nothing fancy, but I MADE IT!

Weekend Update

Meme and Papa came to visit this weekend. Connell was so excited to have an audience for all of his many ways of entertaining! Saturday morning we had swim lessons (still not fun). This Saturday is the last one...for a while...we are going to let him take a break and take lessons again in the spring. I think Daddy needs the break as much or more than Connell. :)
Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

Playing on stage at Barnes and Noble

Meme reading to Connell - and this went on for quite some time!

My thought for the day...

Are you officially the mother of a toddler when you clean out your mess of a purse and find cheerios and mini cheezits all over the bottom??? Mommies, what have YOU found in your purse/bag???

Sharing news...

Our dear friends Katie and Andy are expecting their first baby! For those of you that don't know Katie and Andy, Katie is about 5 years younger than me and we basically grew up together. Her and her little sister Abby have always been like sisters to me and their Mom, Barb was like a second mother to me as I grew up. We have always spent holidays together and we truly are like family! Tim and I are honored that Katie is Connell's Godmother. We are so excited for them and hope that you will join us in praying for a healthy pregnancy and a happy, healthy baby due around the end of May!

Katie and Andy came to visit earlier this month. Connell was more than happy to give them a glimpse of what's in store for them :)

Tie-Dye Party

My friend Shannon hosted a tie-dye party at her house Sunday afternoon. It was so much fun! And it was a georgeous day to be outside! I had absolutely no idea how the little t-shirt I was tie-dyeing for Connell was going to turn out...after waiting 24 hours, I rinsed, untied, and washed. And I must say, I was very excited with the outcome! It's so cool! Tim wants one just like it and I had to tell him - it's a one-of-a-kind creation, and I don't think I could duplicate what I did 'cuz I don't really know what I was doing anyway!

Grete, me, Shannon and Kristy

The finished product! I'll be sure to post a picture later of Connell in his own "label!"

**note-yep, I know, I am wearing the same thing as I did to the pumpkin patch. Gotta get as much wear out of that halloween tshirt as possible! hahaha

***Mom - I know what you are thinking...a post without a picture of Connell. I promise, I'll make it up to you later! :)

Pumpkin Patch

We took Connell to the pumpkin patch this weekend. Honeysuckle Hill Farm, in Springfield, Tennessee. What an awesome place! Once we finally found it (haha) it was really fun! I'll spare you the story of how we got lost going and coming home and just show you the pictures.

So, we did get a little camera-happy, but who can resist this face! And of course, I have to show you what the pumpkin patch looked like for us last year. What a little cutie!

"E"

"E" was the letter of the week at Mother's Day Out this week. Connell's class made elephant ears. Too cute!

Weekend-the other part

On Sunday when Tim and I got back from our trip, Connell and I packed up and headed back with my parents to Olive Branch (that's just outside Memphis). I grew up in Olive Branch.

My 3 best girlfriends from high school still live in the area and we had planned to get together with our kids on Monday. Their kids were on Fall Break, so that worked out good. It was so much fun to be together again. It's been way tooooooo long! So, between the 4 of us, we have 8 kids! And of the 8, it's 7 boys and 1 sweet girl! That's a lot of BOY!

Best Friends - now hot mamas! (and this great pic was taken by Joy's 8-year old!)
Joy, Amy, Holly and me hmmm, very hard to try to get 8 kids to sit still and LOOK! (the only reason Connell was sitting is because I gave him a sucker :))

While we were in town, we also had dinner with Rachel and her baby girl Mallory. Mallory is so sweet, and she is getting so big! Amazingly, she was catching a cat nap at the table even with Connell's squealing!

We managed to stop by Grandma, Grandpa and Papa's offices to visit too! And interrupt everyone's work...Wow - crackers coming thru a hole in the desk:)
Who's in charge?!?!
Check out the cool U of Memphis sweatshirt Meme and Papa gave Connell.

Also made a stop at Leonards Pit BBQ. Tim waited tables at Leonards during high school and college; Leondards is like family to us! They were so excited to meet Connell! He LOVED the big pick-up truck in the restaurant.

And before heading home, we had to take a 'ride' on Grandpa's Harley!

It was a great visit, but WOW, Connell and I were exhausted when we made it back home. Ok, I don't know so much about Connell, but Mommy sure was tired! It's always good to be back home.

Taking a break from it all! (a long weekend away)

The first half was spent on a romantic weekend getaway with my hubby and the second part was spent with my little boy. Doesn't get any better! I feel so blessed to have both of them in my life.

Tim and I left Friday (by ourselves...my Mom and Dad came to stay with Connell) and headed just 200 miles east to Dandridge, Tennessee and the Mountain Harbor Inn. It's about 30-40 minutes from the Gatlinburg area. Beautiful! You have to check out the Inn here! The Inn sits on Douglas Lake with the Smokies in the backdrop. I strongly recommend this place for an escape. No kids allowed! Our room was awesome; we stayed in the "Endless Love" suite. I think it's a requirement for B&B's to have cheesy names for their rooms! Nonetheless, we were endlessly in love with our room.

We had a wonderful weekend. Tim found a great restaurant only about 10 minutes away from where we were staying. It was delicious and had the best atmosphere...right on the lake! Perfect! My whole thing about the weekend was I didn't want to plan or decide anything. That's all I do all day, and I wanted/needed a break from it. I love that he got online, made us reservations and planned it all out. :) Part of our stay at the Inn includes a sunset cruise on the lake and then dessert and of course, breakfast in the morning. We did a little shopping at the outlets in Sevierville and then mostly just relaxed on the huge deck outside of the Inn.

We were truly relaxed and so glad to be able to have some adult alone time! Connell was "perfect" for Grandma and Grandpa, so we were able to really enjoy our time and not worry about our boy.

Oh, one more thing. Several of you have asked how swimming lessons are going??? Grandma and Grandpa took him Saturday while we were out of town. Grandpa was the one in the water with Connell, and he reports that Connell only started to cry when another little girl did. So maybe a little improvement. Connell is doing great with the skills they are teaching, just not exactly with a smile on his face. Dad told me that they took underwater pics of the little ones so hopefully, we'll see that this week. I will share it if I can.

Lake lot for sale...$300K!!! Georgeous!

The Mountain Harbor Inn (taken from the boat; usually the water would be high enough to cover the rocks but they take the lake down really low at the start of the Fall every year)

Self-portrait

Sunset cruisin' on Douglas Lake

The Endless Love Suite

Who needs a TV in the bathroom?

We had to take a pic of the most fabulous tub ever!

Sunrise!

Last but not least, the dessert at the Inn. Now you know why we didn't want to leave!

I was tagged...

by my friend Jessica to do this MEME (ok for those new to blogging like I am) a blog Meme is an idea that is shared and passed from blog to blog. (um, I had to google it for the real definition). For this one, go to your photo folder, find the sixth folder, and post the sixth picture in that folder.

Here it is...this picture is from last October after church. My cute sweet little baby boy is so big now! I love to look at old pictures.

I have to tag 5 people...Amber, Jennifer, Lydia, Shannon, and Sandi.

Mama got a new toy!!!

So Christmas came a bit early! Which means come December 25, Tim and I WILL MOST CERTAINLY NOT be exchanging any gifts...but maybe by then we will have figured out how to use our new camera! If Connell thought he already had his picture taken alot, he is in for a big surprise! Stay tuned for fabulous pictures...that is, if I am bright enough to figure this thing out. I will be calling on my photography savvy friends for help.
Tim and I are off to a B&B outside of Gatlinburg this weekend. The place is on Douglas Lake with the Smoky Mountains in the background. A great chance to try out the new camera!

Act Surprised...

...later if you see these pictures either as a gift or a Christmas card :) hint,hint. I just couldn't wait though to share them. My cousin Andy took these while we were in Wisconsin a few weeks ago. He is awesome with a camera. Unless he wants to make a trip down to book a bunch of sessions (please?!?!?!?!) you probably won't need his services, but check out his website anyway http://www.andystenz.com/.

This isn't all of them, but I have to have some element of surprise!