Happy 97th Birthday Grandpa!

Today my Grandpa Rule turned 97. He is my last remaining grandparent and it's amazing that he still knows us all by name. We had a party for him this evening.

Here is Arthur Rule with his chocolate pie (his favorite & mom makes him one every year) and all of his great-grand kids. L to R - Brandon holding Brody, Riley, Grandpa, Alexis & Nolen.

Eve visits Alexis!

Alexis is addicted to the Wall E movie. She is absolutely crazy about the little robot named Eve. Pete thought it would be funny to use the diaper pail and put a face like Eve on it.

Alexis opened up her door to her room and seen this:

She screamed and ran out of the room. I now like to tease her with the Eve mask. She says the eyes scare her.

Funerals are never easy

Thursday morning we buried my Grandpa. What a hard day that was! Out of his 18 grandchildren, 17 were there. The other one arrived a few days after the funeral because he couldn't get off work. It was nice to see some of my cousins that I hadn't seen for a while and get caught up on what everyone was doing. I just wish it wasn't under this circumstance.

My other Grandpa will be turning 97 this Thursday. He is my only grandparent left and I hope he makes it to 100.

Pete & I took a quick trip to Nashville, TN this weekend. The NWTF (has to do with hunting and turkeys) had their conference at the Opryland Hotel. So while Pete went to that, I went shopping at Opry Mills. What a HUGE mall! I have been there a couple times before. Alexis only wanted a Wall E shirt and I finally found one right before I left. A BIG THANK YOU to my in-laws for watching the kids on Friday night and Saturday. It was nice to have some stress free time!

So I thought it would be back to work for me today, but Nolen has had a really bad cough that we can't seem to get rid of. His nose won't stop running and last night he had a fever. So I'm home with him today and will take him to the Dr. this afternoon. His nose was plugged last night and he wanted his pacifier, but then he couldn't breath with it. So it wasn't a good night for any of us. I'm ready for warm weather!

In Memory of Grandpa Lynn

This post is in memory of my Grandpa. He went to Heaven on Monday and will greatly be missed. I'll never forget all the airplane rides in his little blue plane. All the grand kids will remember playing on the grease rack (you just had to be one of the family to understand that one) and all the fun we had climbing in the trees. Who can forget all the wrapping paper at Christmas time? I think we often got lost in that fun mess. Love you and miss you!

Happy 5th Birthday Alexis!

My precious girl turned 5 years old today! We actually celebrated her birthday on Sunday with the family. Here she is with her My Little Pony cake.

Nolen just loves cake and he dove right into a piece.

I just had to grab the camera when Nolen had these play doctor glasses on. I'm thinking...Is this what Harry Potter looked like when he was a baby? Just had to share this shot.

Here is Alexis all ready to go to school on her birthday. Yes she did wear the tiara, it was hat day today and she wanted to wear this. Her class also took a field trip to the post office. I sent snacks for all her Pre School classmates and then I sent snacks for all her day care friends. We went out to eat at Monical's because Alexis requested pizza for supper.

Came home tonight to find the playset knocked over by all the strong wind we had today. Not too much is broken and with a few new boards, it will be as good as new.

Sorry for the long delay!

Many are probably wondering what I have been up to because it has been a while since my last post. School finally started back and I got busy. Pete pulled Alexis on the sled behind the 4-wheeler Sunday afternoon. She had a blast, but I think over did it. Monday night she left a trail of vomit from the bathroom, through the kitchen, and into the living room. She went right past the toilet while vomiting. She was looking for me to let me know she was sick. Obviously!! I had to borrow a carpet shampooer to clean the carpets. She seems to always get sick around her birthday. I remember her first two birthdays, she was sick on both of them. Her birthday is on the 11th and she is turning 5. Since she was sick this week, hopefully she won't be again next week. We are celebrating on Sunday since her birthday is in the middle of the week. Tomorrow night is mother/daughter night out. I plan on taking her out to eat and to her first movie at a theater. Should be fun!

Out of the mouths of babes: Alexis noticed a male Cardinal bird the other day. I was explaining to her that the all red Cardinals are the boy birds and the girl Cardinals don't have much red on them. She said, "I know what the Grandma and Grandpa Cardinals look like, they are the old ones". I laughed so hard. Thought it was just so cute and had to share.

Megan tagged me and I'm supposed to open my 4th picture file and post the 4th picture and explain it.

This was my Christmas card/baby announcement photo that I sent out December 07. Nolen was just a couple of days old in this photo. Proud sister was very happy that her baby brother had arrived. I'll tag Audrey, Sara, Becky, and Heidi.

1. Open your 4th picture file.

2. Go to the 4th picture and post it.

3. Give a description about the photo.

4. Tag 4 other people to do the same.

Company from TN

My cousin & her family stopped by for a really quick visit today. It was great to see Amanda & her new husband and kids. It was also great to see Uncle Richard and Aunt Ginger. They were here and gone so fast that I didn't even think about snapping a few photos. I need to get down to Tennessee and visit them. Maybe this summer for a short vacation!

I have been cleaning out the kitchen cabinets these last few days. Items have been tossed out, put in storage, and organized. Some items now have a new place and it will take me forever to find them the next time I need them.

I have already been thinking about this summer and what I will be updating here in the house. I think I will tackle the spare bathroom and a couple more touches in the kitchen. I have been looking for a certain back splash that I saw on TV. I finally found it a few months ago and ran across the flier today while cleaning. I broke the news to Pete & showed him. I think he actually likes it. I know it will really look great in the kitchen and looks easy enough for us to do ourselves. We also need some kind of chair rail because the back of our chairs are really making marks in the wall. One stained piece of wood should do the trick. Ugly wallpaper in the bathroom MUST go. I already have some ideas on color for the walls. The washer/dryer is located in the bathroom and they will probably have to be moved some during the process. The ceiling also needs a new coat of white paint. This project might get started before the summer, I'm really tired of looking at the ugly wallpaper. I often wonder what the previous owners of this house were thinking when they picked out the wallpaper and carpet. I guess it was the 80's and anything goes.

The master bathroom also needs some updating. I plan on putting a fresh new coat of paint on the walls and replacing the border on them. The tub also needs new tile around it, which means someone else will have to help us. I sort of know what I want, just finding it around here is the problem. I really want to get all my projects done before we add onto the house. It will at least be a year before we start our new addition for 2 more bedrooms and possibly one small bathroom. I can't wait until the kids have their own rooms and I have an office. I just wish I could snap my fingers and it will all be done because I know the whole adding on process won't be fun.