Fun weekend in the neighborhood

This weekend we hung out with our new friends and neighbors literally every day...Friday night we went to the Jump Zone, met some more of our friends and let all of our kids get all of that energy out jumping to their content, Saturday night we grilled out with them at our house and played until the kids started melting around us, then tonight we went to the annual neighborhood "Back to School Bash" and bounced, went on pony rides, played at the playground, ate some food from the grill, and enjoyed our evening stroll in this glorious August weather! It is 8:00 and Connor is already in bed, which is not normal in my house. I might be following soon since I am yawning even as I write this. I cant believe tomorrow is Monday already...ughh.

"Jump Zone"

Connor loved playing with the dinosaurs. This play area was great for his age since the big kids couldnt play in there and there was plenty of room for him to jump.

This picture is out of order and is from the "Back to School Bash" in the bounce house. It was a little crazy with all of the big kids so he just went in at the end to get in a few jumps.
Knocking down blocks with Caly, Emma, and our neighbor Lily

Connor went into this huge slide (and I mean HUGE) climbed to the top and to our surprise came down with a terrified look on his face. It was like it was too late to stop, but he was not too happy about it. He didnt cry but when we asked him if he wanted to do again he said, "No, it is too scary." Ha! The owner couldnt believe that he came down it since it is a little steep and high for someone his size.

"Back to School Bash"

Connor was perfectly content just watching the other kids take the pony rides.

Connor and Noah had a great time playing together at the playground.

Lily taking her pony ride!

Our little stinker!

I thought I would give a quick update on the Connor man! He is having a great summer playing outside as much as he can, still watching Mickey as much as he can, and playing golf, baseball, taking tractor rides, lawn mower rides, and trying his hand at being a little farmer. As I have said before Connor loves tractors and any chance he gets will try and persuade Grandy and Pete for a ride on their tractors. Dad's lawnmower comes in a close second and it isnt uncommon to see Brad and Connor riding up our street on it most nights. Connor is still at Ms. Betty's during the week when we are at work and he still loves it! During the last few weeks when we were out of town, Connor didnt have much time with his friends and when we got back he had no problem sending me off to work when I dropped him off. Ms. Betty also tells me that Connor has a little lady friend. We think she has a bit of a crush on Mr. Connor, as her mother says she talks about him all of the time. I think I might be in trouble with this little boy! I dropped him off one morning and she was standing on the stairs, and he said "Hi, Braaaalyynnn". It was so hilarious! However one day this past week Betty told me that she had to put him in time out. When I asked her what he did, I was expecting that he took a toy away from someone, talked back, etc. but Betty said that he hit Bralynn. I was shocked! We had a long talk about not hitting people (which to my knowledge he has never done) and especially not girls! He told me Ok, and that it wouldnt happen again. When we saw Bralynn the next morning he was embarrassed when he saw her and I think it was because of our talk. It is so funny watching him develop relationships with other kids and developing his own little personality. He is so tender hearted and is such a loving little boy! He gives hugs and kisses all of the time without me even asking. I love it!

Looking for his ball. "Where is it?", he said.

Watering Mommy's flowers and Cooper too!

I was a bad Mommy and let Connor lick the beaters after I made the cake.

Definitely not allergy free, but oh so yummy!

Deeeliiiciousss!

Kitchen Update

I dont think I ever posted pictures of our kitchen that we updated in May.

BEFORE: (this picture was from the previous owners)

AFTER: walls painted, cabinets stained, floors redone, new countertops, new sink and faucet

I am not really a big fan of white appliances, but we bought a new white fridge when we moved in and everything else is relatively new. We couldnt replace everything and now they have grown on me.
I gel stained the cabinets myself and it really was pretty easy. No sanding required, just some gel stain and plenty of drying time.

The floors came out really well and it is amazing how much different it looks. Our floors were in really bad shape before.
My new porcelain sink and faucet which I love!

...and new countertops. Think they look like granite? Well they do but actually they are just a upgraded Wilsonart laminate. For the cost difference I just couldnt justify putting in granite or solid surface. We love them!

Connor's Big Boy Room...COMPLETE!

We finally finished Connor's room sometime in June or May...cant really remember now but he has been sleeping in there for a while too. We didnt push him and he just decided one night that he was ready to switch rooms. We painted the room back in the early spring and got the furniture a few months later. We decided on a golf theme because as you know Connor still loves the game. We have incorporated baseball in there too. It took me forever to find some bedding that would fit and finally found this plaid at JCPenney on clearance! We really didnt spend anything on the room, because the furniture came from my parents. Connor will mark the start of the third generation to have used it. It was my Dad's furniture growing up, then it was handed down to my brother, and now Connor. I am not sure if I ever used it, but Mom said she had it in their spare bedroom in the duplex where I was born and remembers changing my diaper on it every day. To think that I am now changing Connor's diapers on there now...so weird! Hopefully that wont last for too much longer though. Got to get this boy potty trained. I think he is ready but when I ask him to go, he doesnt want to. I dont want to push him so that he gets frustrated but he is definitely showing signs. Anyway, back to the room...as I said the dresser and bed were my Dad's and the rest of the stuff we already had or I found on sale. I am still not completely finished, need to make a topper for his bedside table, we are going to order a golf ball toy box we found online and I need to find some shelving and baskets for more and more toys! He loves his bed and has never once gotten out of bed. I saw what Lacy said on her blog and I kind of did the same thing. I told him that he must never get out of bed unless he asks me first. My room is just down the hall and I can hear him through the monitor. Now of course when we start potty training we will have to change this a little but for now it is working great.

His barn stars that An Am found for him. I told her that I was looking for some but was not going to pay the prices they were asking for them. They are just metal stars after all... She called me because she found them at a great deal. She got several different sizes and I painted them to match the room since they were brown and silver. His letters were the ones from his old room and I used my Stampin Up stamps to docter them up a bit to match.

The bed rails are a little difficult to make the bed, but we are making due. Connor definitely needs them. He fell out of the bed three times before we finally purchased them. He might be using them until he is an adult! This child is all over the bed!

Been blogging less because...

of this.....

...this....
...this...

....and this....

...oh, and this!

I have been asked if I am done blogging and the answer is most definitely no, BUT of course as all of you other wives and mothers know these things must come first. I am finding less and less time to devote to those things such as keeping my house presentable or even tolerable at this point. Ha! I swear that there is a ghost in my house who is helping to produce this laundry. The reality is that since I am working more, I dont have that extra day to get all of these things done and I am feeling less organized and "together". SO, it isnt that I dont wish to share what is going on in our lives with you, it is just that THIS is my life right now. Also, I find that it is getting harder to find things to blog about. Not that our life is any less busy or interesting than before but as you know most of my posts are about this one little boy that resides here, and he is just at that age where there arent quite as many changes on a day to day basis. Of course he does things and says things everyday that are new and quite interesting but I just dont think about blogging about them if you know what I mean.

So, I am going to take the time right now while my kitchen floors are drying and do a series of posts that are long overdue. Oh and that last picture isnt really a "must do" but I have been taking the time to read lately, thus the other reason for less blogging. I know I am a little behind reading the Twilight series. To be honest, I didnt understand what all of the fuss was about. Brad and I rented the movie one night, which wasnt great but it was enough to spark my interest to read the books. Brad got me the set for my birthday and I just started New Moon. Better hurry up...the movie will be coming out in November. Hopefully it will be better than the last.

Last week

Most of you know by now but Brad's Granny passed away last Tuesday. There was a nice family service and graveside service on Thursday. We are all very sad about her passing, but it also brings comfort knowing she is finally at peace. She had a great life of 86 years with her family that loved her dearly. I told Brad as we were traveling to her graveside service that I couldn't believe how many cars there were and it was only a family service. She had such a large family and it was so great to see everyone since that doesn't happen very often. I thought the burial was very sweet, as all of the sons, grandsons, and great grandsons brought shovels and buried her. Connor even got to help. I will always carry that sweet memory in my heart. She was buried in a beautiful place, literally at the foothills of the Smokies. She was such a God loving woman and will be missed dearly!

These are pictures from last Christmas:

It's time for the Fair!

Last night we took Connor to the county fair. We walked up to the booth to get tickets and a guy that had just went through the line came back and handed us all free tickets. It worked out pretty well that we didnt pay for a thing. The only thing Connor was interested in was the Barnyard which was included with the admission anyway. We had a great night seeing all of the animals, growing our vegetables, picking the fruit, feeding the animals, selling our stuff at the farmers market, and finally getting a dollar so we could get a bag of animal crackers at the end. We had a much better time than last year, as this was the time that Connor had (hand foot mouth disease) and we didnt know it. He was so fussy and we didnt yet know why. Connor knew just what to do, since he has had some practice helping Nonna and Grandy in their garden. He was so proud to get his money at the end! We enjoyed seeing all of the animals again and got the watch the frisbee dogs and the BMX bike show. It was great free entertainment for the night!

Make a Smilebox scrap pages

Here are some more pictures that didnt make into the Smilebox.

Connor was in heaven when he saw a long row of antique tractors. Unfortunately we were unable to sit on them. It was hard to look, but not touch.

Getting a scoop of corn to feed the chickens.

Giving them some food.
Harvesting the vegetables.

Milking...

Getting his treat for all of his hard work.

Look Mommy!Mommy's favorite...the goats.

and the baby piglets!