The Christmas Tree Caper

Here are some pictures from our annual Christmas tree search.  We found one pretty easily this year...down the hill from GrandNan and PawPaw's house.  We always have fun tramping through the woods looking for the best cedar.  Carlie came along for the ride this time and we  got an awesome picture of the cute cousins!

The finished product:

Sorry they are in the wrong order...still can't figure out how to do that~

Zonk!

Fall Fun

Grandnan and Pawpaw had some old trees cut down in their yard. Donnie and Everett went to help with the clean-up. Everett and Griffin had a good time climbing all over (and through) the big trunks and playing in the leaves. Aren't they cute cousins?

Halloween Fun

We started Halloween early this year. Everett actually let me put a costume on him which is very different from last year. We went to the Candy Hunt at Lakeside Park and First Baptist's Fall Festival with Aunt Shelby, Griffin and Carlie. We had a BLAST! And seriously...I know he's my kid, but have you ever seen a cuter scarecrow in your whole dang life!! I know I haven't. Seriously.

Camping at Lake Guntersville

We had a great time camping last week. The campground at Lake Guntersville State Park was beautiful and, as you can see from the pictures, there were deer EVERYWHERE. It was cool to see them so close, though a little disturbing that they were so comfortable around people.

The weather was not great, but we saw Cathedral Caverns which was really cool. Everett had fun picking up leaves and watching the deer. He loves camping and is already asking to go again.

Montgomery Zoo

Last Friday, Donnie had some unexpected time off from work, so we took Everett to the zoo in Montgomery. We had been before when Everett was a baby...it was nice to see the growth of the little zoo. They have a beautiful open area where the girafffes, elephants, zebras, antelope, big birds, etc are kept. Some of the enclosures are just separated by water, so you can look out and see all of the animals. It's really cool. Plus they have elephants which haven't been in B'ham for a while. Ev was very excited...ok, so I was very excited. The river otter exhibit is really pretty and has a waterfall...gotta love the otters! Anyway, it's a cool little zoo and a great day trip.

I Love this Kid

This morning, I was going through the blogs I like to read and got to Leah's friend Candace's blog. I almost cried reading "*Sigh, My Baby is in Ballet". Motherhood is joyful and heartbreaking at the same time. Everett was "reading" to me last night. I love when kids do that. I love the imagination that it takes. Just that he knows that many words is astonishing to me. He'd pause while he was thinking of something else to say about that rattlesnake and I could see the gears turning behind those bright blue eyes. I don't know what the iguana was doing with fourteen dollars, but it made complete sense to him. And while I look forward to the new amazing things he does everyday...just to have one more glimpse of that first sweet yawn, that first perfect smile, that first wobbly step...Thanks, Candace, for the perspective. I'll try to cherish more of those long days!

Then and Now

Last week Everett and I went to see my friend Kandess at her parents' farm in Heflin, AL. We had been up there before in January of 2007. Look how much both Everett and Bucky have grown! Oddly, their hair still matches! We had a wonderful time romping with and feeding the goats. Thanks so much to Kandess and her mom for their hospitality. To see all the goat antics go here. Some of the pictures are pretty cute!

Baby Sarah

Here is my sweet new neice Sarah Emeline Hudgins. She was born August 6, she weighed 7 #13oz and was 19 inches long. Isn't she sooo pretty? Everett didn't think too much about her at first, but when he saw her today he was a bit more interested. He went to her when she cried and kissed her (once). When she made those cute cooing sounds, he said "Aww, Mama, she's laughing". Very Sweet.

It took me so long to post because our motherboard bit the dust 2 weeks ago in a storm (I guess it actually bit a big ol' bolt of lightening!) We lost our favorite internet links and e-mail address book. Please resend e-mail addresses and links to your blogs and other points of interest. Thanks!!

Everett's 3rd Birthday Party

We had Everett's 3rd birthday party on July 6th. I'm pretty proud of my Willy's Butte cake, so I included that photo and a few others...I'm pretty sure a good time was had by all. Thanks to everyone who came and took part in our special day.

Beach Bum

Hi everybody!

Time flies when you're having fun! We've been very busy this summer, so it's been a while since I posted anything. This picture is from a camping trip we took around my birthday. Mom came with us and we had a blast playing in the surf and sand. Everett LOVES the beach. We're hoping to make it back there before the end of the summer!

Found Photos

I came across these photos in an album and didn't remember seeing them before. Aren't they sooo sweet? Shelby and I took the kids to the zoo in late April. I had to go to a class, so Shelby took these pictures with my camera and I guess I just never saw them. Thought I'd share! Ev's birthday party is this weekend, so I'll more pictures to put up soon!

Swimming Lessons

Everett had his first swimming lessons last week. You can see from the first picture he was a little apprehensive in the beginning. He asked me, "You comin' right back to get me, mama?" But, then the water baby in him took over and he jumped right in. Even for a kid with no fear, going down the slide head first is quite a feat! He actually swam a little, too. By the end of the week, Ms. Carol was able to let go of him for a few seconds and he kicked his little legs and swam. I'm so proud!

Painting Fun

Everett likes to paint. He's good at it...just look at the use of color, the bold brush strokes. He uses the brush, cleans it between colors, uses a paper towel to blot the brush...for a while. The pictures show what inevitably happens next. He mixes everything together, squishes the paint through his hands and then eats it. That stuff is non-toxic right?

Fun Family Project

Everett got a new "big giant" sand box this weekend. Donnie and I built it ourselves out of just about $30 worth of lumber and screws! I won't mention how much the sand was...why is that stuff so expensive? Anywho...still much less expensive than the store-bought kind and big enough to make sand angels!

Donnie's Big 4-0

Fun photo's from Donnie's party at Mom's. Everett put all the candies and all 40 candles on the cake all by himself. The lighting and blowing out of said candles was quite an adventure (as you can see)! But the huge smile and excitement from Everett (and Donnie!) made it worth the time, wax and burnt icing.

FYI--you can click on any photo and see it full screen...maybe I'm the only one who didn't know that before yesterday?