The Cursed Dress

I don't really believe in bad luck but sometimes you just have to wonder what fates have aligned against you. =) I bought this dress over a year ago for Ashlyn because I loved it so much!!! Natalie Pierce and I were shopping together when I found this gem. Do you remember, Nat? I just love pink and green together and though its hard to see the detail in the photo, the flower cut overlay at the hemline. I even overlooked the fact that it was dry clean only which I usually can't see past when dressing a 3 year old, silly of me, I know. Finally the joyous day came when I pulled it out of Ashlyn's closet for her to wear at long last! Only to find a small brown spot smack dab in the middle of the bodice. How this happened when it had done nothing but hang in her closet, is still a mystery to me. After two trips to the cleaners the spot was vanquished to a hardly noticeable ghost of its former self. It's a good thing I snapped a few shots of her in it before church yesterday. Because about 30 minutes into church what do I hear but the unmistakable sound of ripping fabric as Ashlyn gets off her chair. ARRRGGGHH!!! She ripped right through that fancily cut overlay and there is no repairing it.

Chris's Newest Obsession. . .

Chris has been wanting a canoe for some time now but being the bargain hunter he is, has been patiently looking around for about a year now. I was actually treated to a little lecture, compliments of Chris, on how patient he is. Yes, that is right Patient Chris!!! But after some thought I realized in this particular instance he has shown quite a bit of patience. He found this steal on Craig's List and drove up Saturday with the kiddos to Wetumpka to pick up his sweet lil' Wenonah for only $60! Though she was made in 1984 and needs some TLC and work, he assures me he has made off with quite the steal and is the envy of the outdoorsy fitness forums he likes to frequent online. I think Gavin might be even more excited about it than Chris.

Scarred for Life

I had a check up with my OB doctor today. (I will be 36 weeks on Thursday, so about 3 more weeks to go!) I had Ashlyn with me and wasn't expecting to have a pelvic exam done at this visit. Now Ashlyn has seen a lot of doctors in her short little life and is not a fan. From a young age she could identify medical personnel on sight. In fact just the day before she had blood drawn and was not happy about it! In the middle of my exam I look over to see poor little Ashlyn cowering under a chair looking terrified. I know she was worried she was next because once the doctor was done and left the room she starting asking me what the stirrups were and repeatedly saying this is Mama's doctor, not Ashlyn's doctor. I assured her that yes, this was my doctor. Despite this assurance she was in a awful big hurry to leave!

Also to go off on a complete tangent, does anyone else have a child that loves the giant red balls sitting in front of Target? Ashlyn insists on hugging them every time we go!

MONSTER Truck Show

Gavin said this was his favorite truck at the show.

Last night Chris and Gavin went to their first Monster Truck Show along with the Patterson men. This was a highly anticipated event for Gavin! It had been postponed once due to bad weather so he was past ready to experience this spectacular show. Chris said he kept saying, "I hope one of the monster trucks crashes!" Lucky him got his wish right down to a flipped over truck complete with flames. Yes!!! Chris offered Whitney the opportunity to attend but she declined.

Trip to the Zoo

The whole gang! Left to Right: Kaden, Whitney, Ashlyn, Gavin, Porter and Colton.

The kids have been out of school this week for spring break and up to yesterday it had been a pretty lame one for them. First Ashlyn had some kind of stomach virus and then Whitney came down with it. Thankfully we were finally all healthy and able to make a trip to the Montgomery Zoo with the cute Patterson Family. They had the bad luck to move in across the street from us and now they cannot escape us. Kaden and Gavin are best buds. Porter and Ashlyn are just a few days apart in age. I always think of them as a matched set. They have the same coloring and both are very strong willed. But they also represent extreme ends of the spectrum on different personality traits. For example Porter is extremely friendly while Ashlyn is extremely unfriendly. Porter has mega high energy while Ashlyn is mega low energy. Emilie and I like to say that if we could somehow combine the two we would have a happy medium. =)

The kids really got a kick out of the chimpanzee who spent a long time scratching and displaying his very unattractive bum hole for everyone. The white Bengal tigers were also a hit. They really wanted to spend more time watching the male and female tiger "wrestle". The male tiger was feeling frisky but the female tiger was not feeling it, if you get my meaning. We all agreed that the anteater must be in heaven here in Alabama with the all-you-can-eat smorgasbord the fire ants provide. My least favorite animal was the Maned Wolf, purely for its noxious stench. I always feel bad for the cheetahs at this zoo because they have a lovely and tempting view of the giant field of grazing herbivores like zebras and antelope directly adjacent to them. They are usually pacing back and forth along a well worn path between the two habitats.

Ashlyn and Gavin waiting to ride the train.

Whitney sittin' pretty.

The kids were really excited to see this giant bamboo. There are patches of much smaller bamboo growing wild here on Rucker and they love to play with bamboo sticks. Mostly they like to use them as weapons but find other creative uses for them too.

Whitney enjoying the awesome playground equipment.

Easter 2009

Ashlyn woke up Easter morning with a bad case of the trots so that is why she isn't decked out in her Easter finery with Whitney and Gavin in the above photo. I had resigned myself to not having coordinating Easter clothes this year and settling for staying in the same colors. But then I experienced a true Easter miracle! =D On Tuesday while at TJ Maxx what did I spy but a little dress for Ashlyn made out of the exact same fabric as the dress I had gotten for Whitney!!!! Even though they were made by completely different companies. It was the only one and in her size too! And at a mere $15.00 a bargain to boot! I plan on taking photos later on in this week.

At first Ashlyn would only pick up eggs that were pink or purple. Towards the end she started to pick up yellow eggs and the occasional orange egg.

Gavin taking his new metal detector for a test run. He thought I was mean because I said he couldn't dig for "treasure" in other people's yards.

Whitney with her new Webkinzs Lacy (lamb) and Easter (bunny).


Chris demonstrating for the children how not to play on the playground equipment.

All three kids looking very scruffy after our egg hunt.

Ashlyn is a true chocolate lover. She had no interest in the other candies. She went right for the hard core stuff.This is one good bunny!

Unlike M&M's this bunny does melt in your hands.

Whitney showing off our dyed eggs.

Gavin hard at work.

My Favorite Time of the Year!

Every year around the end of March until about mid-May it is strawberry season in lower Alabama. We first discovered Cottle Farms when we were here during flight school. When we found out we were coming back it was one of the things I was most excited about. Yes, I am a dork! I just love strawberries and like most produce they are so much yummier when fully ripened and freshly picked. I also love picking them, it almost has an element of treasure hunting to it. You never know when you will stumble upon the perfect strawberry. Though I have to admit being 8 months pregnant isn't exactly conducive to strawberry picking. Chris picked most of them this trip since Whitney and Gavin were in school. They were mad that we went without them but we had to go to Dothan and I couldn't pass them up. In case anyone is interested they are located right off Highway 231 in Midland City (right before Dothan). If you pick them yourself it is $9.00 a bucket already picked $12.00 a bucket.