Sophie's Spike

My sweet Sophie now has hair that I enjoy styling lately (when she lets me!) She is also sporting a not so stylish black eye this week from a small fall. (I will not be taking any pictures of this.) Ella said this morning at breakfast that Sophie's eye now has pretty make up on it. She is such a fearless little thing and loves to climb up on things such as tables and counters, thank goodness she didn't fall off of anything that high! She is talking a lot more lately and loves to give hugs and kisses and being rocked to sleep. One of her funniest new sayings is, Oh man, Oh man! She can say it over and over and we just laugh and Tadd calls her our little rapper. She has brought such sweet joy and blessings to our family and we love her so much!

Look at those Big Blue eyes!




She loves to read books and put on any shoes that she finds!

Fall Fun

Here are a few shots of our outdoor Fall Decorations. I started putting up some Christmas decorations this week so I thought I would post a few of our Fall things before it's too late.

My friend Lindsey makes great canvases and other items. Check out her business blog at www.personalpizazz.blogspot.com to get cute things for your house!

Sophie shot

Princess Pumpkins

Here are some more pictures from Halloween activities. Ella made a Princess pumpkin (of course!) with Tadd. She loved it and was super sad when it collapsed after a week. The next pictures were from Sophie in her Trick or Treat costume-a pumpkin. She was so cute passing out candy to ALL the Trick or treaters and we passed out 8 bags of candy before turning out the lights. The girls were pretty generous with their handfuls and there were lots of kids to give candy to this year. We had a house full with Coach and Gram and Uncle Josh and Aunt Sarah all here for the excitement. (With all of the trick or treaters I didn't get a chance to take any pictures of the whole group!)Coach and Gram took the girls out for a bit while I stayed back to pass out candy. Some of the things that Sophie said during the night were: Tick Teat (Trick or Treat), Canny (Candy), Tatu (Thank you). They said that she said these things at almost every house they went to, so cute!

Pumpkin poses!

Hard at work on that Pumpkin-it was easier than carving a Princess Pumpkin!


Precious Pumpkin!!

She LOVED all the candy!

Halloween Dress-up Party

Last Friday night we had a Sunday School Halloween Dress-up Party at our House. The plan was to have a bonfire and hayride with other outdoor activities for the kids but ALL of the rain changed those plans! We had a great turn out with over 60 people in costume and lots of kids everywhere. We had a great time and the rain stopped long enough for us to be outside and roast marshmellows for smores over the fire pit. We had lots of creative and funny costumes for a costume contest. The kids decorated mini cakes and had a fun time doing that. Here are some of the pictures from the night.

Tadd and I dressed up as "Farmers" how creative Ha Ha! (And, yes he went shirtless and barefoot for the first part of the night-ha!)

Silly Sophie



Some of the guys in their costumes!

The kids decorating their cute cakes that Renee made them all.

Brad and Lacey both dressed up as Pink Ladies from Grease!

Preschool Pumpkins

Here are some pictures from Ella's Preschool Halloween party. They all come dressed up and then trick or treat around the Church offices and down the street to other school offices. They have a good time and all look so cute in their costumes. Ella of course had to be a Princess and she chose Ariel from The Little Mermaid. (Her favorite movie of the month.)

Pumpkin Patch

Ella's Preschool class went to the Pumpkin Patch on Monday. It was really fun with lots of activities such as a hay ride, tree house, wooden maze, jumping house, swing set, animal petting area, and more. (It was Mary's Place in Bryant.) Ella wanted Sophie to go too, so she tagged along for the fun!

Ella's 4 year old Preschool class


Since Ella was the snack leader she got to say the prayer before their snack, it was so cute!

Sophie likes to say CHEEEEESE when she sees the camera now-ha!

Ella feeding the goats.

Sophie likes to run away from the camera.


Ella loved this big swing!

Mandy and Brooks down in the wooden maze, you could see where they were from the big tree house up above.

Making Memories

Ginger always says when we are together that we are "making memories." Gabby and Ginger were here Wednesday through Sunday. They came to be with us for the Race for the Cure weekend but we were unable to walk with some of their health issues they are having. So we stayed in and made some good memories at home. We watched the tough Hog Game and even Gabby was pretty worked up about it-ha! She is a big Hog Fan and cheers and yells with the best of them!

The girls in their Race for Me Me shirts!


We worked on Ella's Preschool snack for tomorrow. Ella has told everyone that Gabby made her Pumpkin Rice Krispie treats. As Gabby and I made them together we talked about how Mom is smiling down on us doing these things for my girls. She would have had good snack and party ideas from her years of teaching Preschool!

Here is the finished product-Ella has snack day tomorrow for the Pumpkin Patch. It should be a fun field trip!

Go Hogs!

Tadd and I went up to Fayetteville for the weekend for me to do some work and to go to the Game. It was fun and cold. (A 40 degree drop from Benton to Fayetteville with lots of rain!) Anyway, the Game was exciting and fun to be up there. Good food and good shopping!



In case you can't see the final scoreboard it was Hogs 44 - Auburn 23! Go Hogs!

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

So last Friday, Oct. 2, was my Mom's Birthday so I needed a fun distraction from missing her so much. It was so nice outside (unlike this Friday) so we went with some friends to the Zoo. It was a fun day and it took some of the pain out of another Birthday without my Mom away. We saw many animals and walked up many hills. To steal a line from the Wizard of Oz movie it was Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

Train Ride:My friend Courtney's little boy,Parker, he called the train Thomas,so cute!


Say Cheese!!

LIONS and

TIGERS and

BEARS, Oh My!

Sunday School Social

Last weekend we had a fun, outdoor Sunday School Social at a farm. There was fishing, horseback riding, and BBQ. There were lots of kids and lots of games. It was fun. It had two firsts for Ella: fishing and horseback riding. She caught 8 fish I was told. (I was chasing Sophie around so she wouldn't climb through the gate to see the horses up close-ha!) She has been wanting to go fish for a while now. She rode the horse alone for a few minutes before she wanted off-not bad for her first time. Brooks loved it too and was decked out in his Cowboy hat, boots, and a big grin. It was Fall Fun!!

Messy Monkey

Well, Miss Sophie Sue has turned into quite the Messy little Monkey lately. Earlier this week after breakfast I found that she had climbed up on top of the table and dumped an entire box of Yogurt Cheerios in to a bowl and on to the table and floor. I looked in there and she said, "Uh-Oh!" Then earlier today she was eating spaghetti and a chocolate cupcake for dessert. It was everywhere and she put her dirty hands all in her hair of course!! I had to get some pictures and lately when I get out the camera she says, "Cheeeese!" It is pretty cute. I am kind of embarassed at how messy I let her get but she had a bath right afterwards. She is into everything and last week she found an old vanilla wafer on the garage floor and picked it up and took a big bite and said, "cookie" I told her that was yucky and to put it down so she put it right back where she found it. She is also giving Ella the biggest hugs lately, it is precious!

Six Flags Summer

Earlier this Summer in August, Ella and I took a quick trip down to Dallas to go to Six Flags with some friends. Ella, Rachel, Finley and I took a road trip to meet the Whites in Dallas and go to Six Flags one hot August Monday. It was so much fun and Ella was quite the little dare devil riding every single ride she was tall enough for. She was just over the height requirement to be able to ride some of the big ones. Despite the extreme heat and sweat, it was great. The lines were great and we were able to ride many of the kid rides and lots of roller coasters. I didn't take my camera in but just had some of these pictures emailed to me by a friend. We will definately have to make this a yearly trip and Tadd wants to go next year! (I also can't wait to get back down to IKEA!!)

Ella being silly!


The whole kid crew! Cooper, Caroline, Finley, Lauren, and Ella - They were soaked from a water ride. I think Ella rode that one 4 times in a row!

The brave Moms-Rachel, Me and Gina! We were so hot and sweaty, even on the ride home from 9pm-2am. (We also decided to go on the trip in Sunday School and left the neighborhood 2 hours later- impulsively fun and spontaneous, but crazy!!)

Silly Girls!!