The Bright Eyed Brunette

My three nuggets with their Colorado shirts on :)  Carl's boss and his wife were so sweet to think of the kids on their trip out west! Makena's kitten, Milky, was waiting for a ride! The kids were playing some kind of game at the pool the other day, and T was being some kind of animal.....goofy boy! Every once in a while our big dog Sam gets to go riding to the farm with us....he loves this because he gets to run around while Carl is checking the engines or water.  This was on our way back home and he was a little winded :)  It's great exercise for him! Makena and Grammy.  Grammy doesn't move from the steps...at all!  And she usually has a ring around her waist too! Rice Field and The Moon I took this picture on one of our evening strolls through the farm.   About two weeks ago we went to visit Jamie, Cody, and the kids in Conway and had a fun time at Jump Zone.  For some reason I didn't take my camera, onl...

Today my sweet sweet Makena turned the BIG 1-0!!  I can't believe it has been ten years since she made her grand entrance :)  She was surprise baby...from begining to end.  Carlie was just turning one when I found out I was pregnant!  Then, to make things even more interesting, we couldn't find out if she was a girl or boy.  She would never cooperate!  We are so glad that she is in our lives and that she is such a sweet girl :) For her birthday, she decided that she wanted a swimming party with some of her friends.  So that's what she got.  The weather wasn't the prettiest, but it only sprinkled on us one time and there was never any storms :) Eli, Makena, and Harlee Makena, Harlee, and Carlie Makena, Harlee, and Madi She had such a good time playing and swimming with her friends and cousins.  It was a fun day and after the party was over we went to her favorite Mexican restaurant to eat.  Happy Birthday, Makena Faith!...

Friday night Makena and Carlie were in the backyard doing some gymnastics moves.  I guess I turned my head for five seconds and when I turn back around Makena is on the ground holding her ankle and crying.  At first she couldn't get up, but then Carl came over and helped her get up.  There was no swelling or bruising, it just hurt, but not that bad.  She limped around on it all weekend long.  Saturday she even went with my mom and Carlie shopping, so I figured it was just sore or something. Well, I decided to take her to the doctor today and sure enough, she has a cracked bone!!  They put her in this lovely air cast (boot) and we are supposed to talk to the doctors again tomorrow! She's just excited that she can still have a swimming party on Friday!!  I didn't think they would want her swimming, but he said it was fine as long as she didn't dive off the board and was very careful walking around the pool :)  I am ver...

Carlie and Makena were glad that Megan came to celebrate with us! Me and Carl were too cool for the pool :) T Man Carl and Makena Faith Leslie and Megan Carlie trying to get her kitten to look at the camera! T was helping decorate the cupcakes Carlie, hitting the water I finally caught her in mid-air My three monkeys doing their sparklers. As you can see, T was a little skeptical about those sparklers! Here they were doing Pop-Its.....completely legal for today :) We had such a fun day with family and friends!  Carl, Papa, Bro. Jeff, and Dad fried up some fish, hush puppies, french fries, green tomatoes, and biscuits.  We also had lots of yummy desserts: peach cobbler, dirt cake, apple pie, cupcakes, and homeade ice cream :)  Carl had to work both this morning and this afternoon, but we still managed to get some family time in at the pool, run into town to get some fireworks, and take the kids to Mickey D's....

Happy Independence Day!! Beth 

T got his glasses today!  He doesn't have to wear them all of the time, just when he's in class.  The first thing he said when he got in the car was, "I look smart"!  He's so cute :) After what was supposed to be a short trip to town to get Trey's glasses, go to the bank, and run in Wal-Mart turned into the whole morning, we came back to Mom's to eat lunch with the Simpson's.  The kids decorated cookies for the 4th of July and then we went swimming.  Trey loves having Noah and Eli to swim with, and the girls like having Ellie Kate to "baby".  She does eventually get tired of them though. I put this on Twitter last night, but is this not the dumbest pool toy ever?!  A giraffe?!  Because they swim so often! Carlie with her cookies she decorated.  I think there was a little accident with the sprinkles and the boys, so her cookies are barely decorated.  The girls and I did 4th of July pedicures this afternoon.  ...

What a heat wave we've had over the past couple of weeks!  On days like that there is hardly anything you can do (safely) outside besides swim!  Believe it or not the pool has stayed the coolest that it has in previous summers, so it has been very relaxing for us all!  The kids and I usually go around 1:30 or 2 and stay for a couple of hours then we go back with Carl around 6:30 or 7 and stay for an hour or so :) Here are a couple of pictures I've taken over the past week(mainly today!) : My sweet Makena Super T! My Flower Child, Carlie My three babies T is getting really good at diving :) Wheeee!! Carlie's turn :) Our friend, Luke So, that's how we've stayed cool!  Beth