4th birthday

Most of you have heard about our "Sword" party, but for the few of you we haven't seen this year . . . . For months Spence has been asking to have a "Sword" party (much like the "Red" birthday party of 07). The only thing he asked for was to have swords coming out of his cake that he could pull out and play with. At first i thought cupcakes with cocktail swords, but Jeremy squashed that idea bc of number of boys attending party and potential for lost eyes. So Angela thought of small plastic swords and showed me what to look for at supply stores. Fortunately the end result pleased Spence and all the other little folks. (Jeremy got that cool treasure box as part of an Indiana Jones promotion at work and he fixed it up as a chest for the kids to surprise them when they got back from arkansas. he filled it with gold coins and snakes and pirate stuff. about ten minutes before the party i thought to put the cake down in the box). Jeremy had to work the Sunday of Spence's birthday so we decided to have the party at a bowling alley. It was a loud party but of course the kids enjoyed bowling and playing arcade games.

Overalls

Here mom, I will have these made into 5x7s for you to match all the other grandkids.

(All of the grandkids have had their portraits taken in these overalls. Mike, Michelle and I wore them so they are approaching 50 years old. Aidyn and Preston didn't make it to a studio for their pictures, but conveniently, I was able to take their pictures at the same time since they are the same size.)

more of Arkansas trip

Jeremy and I have always found the ride between Memphis and Searcy to be slow bc of the narrow roads, the cops on patrol, and the lack of fun places to stop for the kids to take a break or eat. But on my June trip to Arkansas with the kids, this leg of the ride was most exciting for Aidyn and Spence. They searched for crop dusters and found several. They counted train engines cruising along side our van. And they laughed hysterically to see tractor after tractor on the hwy with us, one of which had tires so huge it looked like we could drive under it. Kids can make anything fun.


And here are some pics from my phone. First is Mike riding a coaster with Aidyn and Spence. Even though he knew it was simulated, Spence is gripping for dear life.






















And here Michelle teaches Spence how to ride a bike. So now he spends a goodly portion of each day riding in our driveway.



The kids had a fun week in Arkansas. Spence especially enjoyed hiking with Shayne, riding four-wheeler with Shayne and Eli, and fishing in Grandpa's boat. Thanks to everyone who helped me care for them bc these road trips by myself are Tiring.

P5310405, originally uploaded by asjdkgl.

Slip and Slide

Eli gave spence a slip and slide for his birthday. Here they are in grandpa's backyard. Then we went to Eli's house and Shayne made a slip and slide using their playset's slide. So the boys and Aidyn would come down the real slide and zoom about twelve feet across the slip and slide.





Here Mary and the boys and Aidyn are baking a cake for Spencer's and Mary's birthday. Spencer thinks butter smells bad. He thinks a lot of things smell bad. (You can barely see Aidyn's head)

Feeding Horses

We love these girls. And they love our kids too. And everyone likes feeding the horses.