Andi Cate's birthday party

Andi Cate hosted an awesome birthday party on May 30! She invited lots of friends and family to swim, eat, and celebrate turning FOUR with her!

Andi Cate's princess cake was delicious!

Hudson, Maddox, and Cade couldn't wait to get a piece of the yummy cake!

Brooks waited patiently for a bite, too.

Jesse had a great time at the party, too! Here she is happily hangin' out with Aunt Candi!

When it came time to open presents, Andi Cate & Hudson were all business!

Little Wesley enjoyed the party, too! He loved the swimming pool!

Thanks for a wonderful time! Hope your birthday was fabulous, Andi Cate! We love you!

Memorial Day 2009

Yes, I know, it's a little late in coming, but here are some pictures from Memorial Day this year!

Here's Cade swimming with Daddy. He was a little clingy that day in the water... 1st day in, and the water was pretty cool. He's become more independent already, though!

Hudson is taking a break from all the swimming action. He & Andi Cate play hard in the water!

Andi Cate is taking a turn on the "boogy board".


Little Miss Jesse Grace is just having a grand-old time playing inside all by herself!

The entire weekend was good. We had baseball on Saturday, relaxed a little on Sunday, then went to Bells for a swim day on Monday. The weather was a little dreary that Memorial Day, but the kids didn't let it slow them down! Speaking of the kids, where's Brooks? That boy is difficult to get a picture of! ha! I think he finished in the pool pretty early that day, but they all had fun. Thanks for having us, Ruste & Sara, and Mom & Dad!

The things they say...

CADE's story:
As I was finishing up getting ready one morning, Cade was in the bathroom with me. He had been playing, but decided at this time to spin around in circles. I warned him against the danger of dizziness & falling, which, as a two-year-old, he obviously ignored. After making several rounds, he stopped, started again, then stopped as if he'd just had a revelation. "Mom! I'm making the house spin round and round!" he announced. I warned him again to be careful about getting too dizzy & falling, to which he responded, "I be fine. I make the house spin round and round again!" Ahhh, the joys of a two-year-old...

HUDSON's story:
During breakfast conversation, Hudson was telling me that a mosquito had tried "to suck his blood" while playing outside the day before, which led to a conversation about why we have blood in our body & what it does. I generally tried to tell him that blood is very important to our bodies... that it travels to all the parts of our bodies, carries nutrients & vitamins, and helps our body parts to work properly, like our heart, lungs, brains, etc. Hudson thought for a moment, then made a statement about blood, vitamins, Jesus, & hearts. I didn't quite catch what all he was saying & certainly couldn't fit it into our current conversation. So, I asked him to repeat what he'd said. Of course he sighed heavily 'cause Mom just didn't get it the first time, and said, "When I eat my vitamin, blood takes it to my heart and Jesus eats some, too, cause Jesus lives in our hearts!" WOW! I was blown away! First, that he pays so much attention in Sunday school obviously, and second that he just put all that together so logically! He did go on to say that Jesus could only be a little part of his heart because he was little & had a little heart, but that Jesus did knock on the door of our hearts sometimes. Awww...

Preschool ends for the summer...

Last week was Hudson's last day of preschool for the summer. As much as Hudson loves school, he is equally excited about summertime activities... warm (hot!) weather, playing outside every day, playing with friends more often, swimming, boating, etc. Let's hope the summer lives up to his expectations!

Cade is just excited about having his big brother home more often to play with!


The end-of-the-year preschool program was very nice. All the classes sang, there was a cute slideshow, and "graduation" for those heading into kindergarten next year. Hudson's & Maddox's class did a fabulous job singing a couple of songs for the large audience gathered...


... and Cade enjoyed watching!

Baseball Boy

Springtime brings around baseball season, and this season, baseball was brought to our house. Hudson is playing his first year of Tball, and he is having a blast! Like with soccer, he's just happy to be out on the field & playing. He's the youngest on his team, but has already shown a lot of improvement. In the beginning, he struggled to stay focused in the outfield... pretty typical of 4-year-olds, I'm sure. We've had our episodes of filling our glove with dirt, filling our hat with dirt, throwing our glove around in the air, and even laying down in the field, but he's made it through the last 3 games on both feet! WOW! :) This past Friday night, he got his first hit without the tee. He was thrilled! After he rounded home plate (which he owns whenever he gets there - ha!), he ran straight to the fence to make sure I knew he'd gotten a hit without the tee. He was extremely proud, and announced that he'd earned a milkshake when we got home. :) He's had lots of visitors for his games. We're a little more than half-way through the season, and pretty much the whole family, at one time or another, has made it to a game. He loves an audience! I know I should have posted pictures earlier in the season, but, again, I tend to leave my camera behind. At his very first game, I videoed mostly. I can get stills off my video camera, but I haven't spent enough time with it to figure that part out yet - ha!

Here he is in the outfield... not quite "baseball ready", but on his feet at least!

Taking a few practice swings, and making sure we're watching, of course!

Never underestimate the importance of tapping the plate...

On first, and ready to trot... I mean run... the bases!

Field Day

Last Friday was Hudson's "field day" at school. It was actually more like an "outdoor fun" day, and believe me... those kids had loads of fun!


Hudson had a great time playing with Maddox & everyone else.

Cacki & Papa got to come have fun, too!




Cade got to play, also. He definitely thinks he's as big as the other kids!


The "fishing" area was certainly one of the favorite spots for the boys.


Pizza sure tasted good after all that play!

Happy Mother's Day!

I have been blessed throughout my life by my mother and grandmothers. I give thanks for them especially on Mother's Day. These women have always been loving, supportive, faithful, Christ-like, and giving. I love you Mom and Grandmas! I hope that every day brings blessings your way!!! In fact, all the women in my life are special and unique - family and friends alike. Happy Mother's Day to you all!

We had a great Mother's day weekend. We were able to celebrate with both sides of the family. We enjoyed a wonderful meal together on Saturday with all of Howie's family. The kids, of course, had a great time playing together. We had a nice church service Sunday morning in Bells, then shared another wonderful meal with all of my family. There was no lack of fun there with the kids either. :) Saturday evening, Howie & the boys gave me a beautiful necklace & earrings. I had to, of course, immediately try them on, and they were so proud to see me wearing them on Sunday. They can be so sweet & loving! My boys (all 3) certainly capture my heart!

Callie Jewel even got a gift this weekend! Check out the cute diaper bag and "bloomers"!