We're Baaack!

Yes, i am alive and yes it's great to be back! I have lots to report but I will make this the short version...lol! You know i love my lists that eliminate me having to write!! ;)

1. first and foremost, we are all happy, healthy and alive!

2. Right after my last blog (mid sept), I poured water on my laptop and had to replace it. :( I finally got the new one 5 days ago and I finally feel like I am back among the living! ;) I sure missed it and missed not keeping up with everyone and vice versa.

3. The kids' mermaid and pirate party was a huge blast and the weather was perfect (whew)

4. Landon turned 5 on Sept 27th. He got a battery operated four wheeler that has been a huge hit (via my parents, lance's parents and us). I'm too lazy to download pics from my phone. ;)

5. Kennedy started dance and she absolutely loves it. Landon is doing swim team and art

6. We adopted two stray dogs that showed up at our house while i was on my chicago trip. We have named them Gumbo and Brownie. Brownie is the puppy below and they have been super sweet (except they love to bark at night). grrrr! But I have learned it's because they are super protective and territorial so I guess that makes it ok. At least it keeps away the big dogs and deer that love to roam our neighborhood.

7. Kennedy now has to wear glasses the next four months in hopes that it strengthens her left eye. It's been an adjustment, but definitely more for me and lance. I am glad she doesn't fight me on wearing them. I did not notice anything to make me get her tested. She failed a stigma test the past two years at her MDO school. I am so glad i took her in and catch this early! I have pics on my phone, but here is the only one I have from my camera

8. They are going to be Mario and princess peach for halloween (as seen above)

9. The kids started preK 3 and 4 this year at Temple and they love their teachers: Landon has Mrs Teresa Mann (awesome!) and Kennedy has the same teacher L had last year, Brooke Martin.

10. Lance is currently in dallas watching the cowboys this afternoon and then the rangers tonight. He is a little kid in a candy store right now! At least I get to watch it on tv while i catch up on blogs!

11. i got the new iPhone 4S and it's amazing!!!!!

12. We took a quick trip to the beach for the long Columbus Day weekend before it got too cold. The water was still cold, but we had a great time! No pics from that trip! Bad mama!

13. I have been an organizing FOOL! I totally got motivated from a blog i found on pinterest (my other obsession). It's iheartorganizing and definitely worth checking out here.

14. And finally, on a sad note, we lost my uncle Bill last night to his battle of brain cancer. He was diagnosed this past January and it was pretty aggressive. I feel bad that i haven't blogged about this or asked for any prayer support through our church. I am not always comfortable sharing and asking for support on things such as this. This the husband of my mom's oldest sister, Donna. They live in Tucson, but the funeral will be in Shreveport this week. They are such a wonderful family and strong christians. He will be missed but we all know he is in great hands now.

That about wraps up our last month and a half. Hopefully i can keep up now! ;)

Kennedy's third birthday

So much has gone on since my last post and it will all have to wait because today is my sweet little girl's birthday! As i am typing this, I am shaking my head wondering where the last three years have gone! I can't believe how big Kennedy is getting and she is such a joy to be around. I am not the best at writing so here are some Top 5's of what Kennedy is into these days:

Top 5 favorite things to do:

5. dance

4. play with the new "pup pups" (that's another story....)

3. color or paint

2. swim

1. play outside

Top 5 favorite foods:

5. toast with jelly

4. baby bell cheese

3. milk (i know it's not a food...)

2. corn dog or waffles (both usually frozen...i know, yuck!! I think she just loves the independence of getting it herself)

1. sonic grill cheese

Top 5 favorite toys:

5. Little pony

4. shopping cart

3. tea set

2. ride on toys

1. dress up or wear tutus

today was a fun day for the birthday girl. She got to wake up to a room full of balloons that me and her brother got to put out after she went to sleep. Landon got a HUGE kick out of sneaking in and putting them on her floor. When she woke up this morning, it was absolutely priceless hearing her scream for joy at all the balloons. She was amazed at why they were there and lit up when she realized it was her birthday. then it was playing with them for about 20 minutes before coming downstairs.

We got to hang around the house for most of the day and it was nice to finally be able to sit down and play with her. All week she has been so disappointed when i told her i didn't have time to since we were getting ready for school each day. Then, tonight we had both my parents and Lance's parents come over to help celebrate Kennedy's birthday. It was a great excuse to use the green egg and get outside to enjoy this nice weather. Here are some pictures of her sweet day.

Here she is after playing with her balloons. She wanted me to 'bury' her in her bed. These balloons have been fun toys today!! Sorry it's so small....i had to steal it from facebook (too lazy to download from my phone!)

Sporting her new princess dress from the inlaws. She got to help make her cake today (obviously! it was hard to restrain from helping too much)

Her new ride from us and my parents. This thing goes fast and she LOVES it! Now she can keep up with brother!

Happy birthday to my sweet kennedy!

Chicago bound!

So, I still haven't downloaded our pictures from our August beach trip but I will get around to it soon enough. Lance and I celebrated our 8th anniversary on August 9th while down there...it's hard to believe it's been 8 years!! I am so blessed to be married to such an amazing and hilarious man who is my best friend.

We were able to share our trip with Lance's parents who made their first trip down there. And then some close friends of ours, the Adcox, joined us for the weekend. The weather was absolutely great and the water was clear and calm. I had never seen as much marine life while being there. The kids enjoyed seeing a LOT of blue crabs, star fish, sting rays and unfortunately lots of jelly fish. In fact, Kennedy got stung by one the last day we were there. Although we stayed for 10 days (and spent every day on the beach), we all didn't want to leave. Even Landon said, "Can we please stay for 6 more days!" I love how both our kids are enjoying beach time vs pool time. Kennedy spent more time in the ocean than she ever had!

While everyone else is gearing up for school to start, we still have a couple of more weeks before we go back to our mother's day out programs. Kennedy will be in the 3 year old pre-K and Landon will be in the 4 year old pre-K. I decided to take a quick trip up to Chicago to visit my college teammate and co worker at Tech. She coaches for the Chicago Sky WNBA team and their season is winding down. I have been wanting to catch a game all summer, but things have been too busy. Since she spends her fall, winter and spring in Russia, I never get to see her. And what a better excuse to go to Chicago!?! I am looking forward to some shopping and eating, that's for sure. Usually I have my parents help with the kids when i leave for several days, but this will be the most I will ever use a sitter. The kids will be in great hands with 3 different sitters and my in laws! Wish them luck!

July went flying by!

The month of July was fast, furious and filled with fun! I was in no mood for blogging and when I was, I didn't have my computer with me. July always means our annual trip to Arkansas to go camping around the fourth of July. This year, it was close to 55 of our relatives all on one lake. Most of the group was in cabins, while my family (plus a couple of more families) camped out at Pikeville. There is never a dull moment when it comes to our camping trips and my kids have a blast. Here are a few pictures to highlight our trip:

we played with cousins....

We sang and danced....

We jumped without hesitation...

We endured two storms (losing two awnings, tarps, toys, tents, one jet ski and almost tipped over the houseboat)....

And we enjoyed sunsets.....

After our camping trip, Kennedy and I took off to Denton so I can attend a basketball camp while she got to spend some time with my cousins, who absolutely adore her. Huge thanks to Mary and her family to put up with us during that week!

Immediately after getting back from Denton, I had my Hall of Hoops camp at Byrd HS. The kids stayed in Ruston while I drove back and forth each day. I was glad to get my camps going again after taking a few years off from it. I still do my private team camps, but doing a camp open to the public had been put on hold.

Let's see, what else happened in July???? Oh yeah! My sweet younger brother, Kip, got married!! What a big time event that was! Both our kids participated in the wedding and they did fantastic! It was a long weekend, but it was great visiting with family and watching a sweet couple say their vows. They seem so incredibly happy and everything was perfect.

Landon practicing being the ring "master"

Before the wedding...

During the wedding...

And after the wedding!!!

Cochran cousins

Jolly cousins (my mom's side)

And the happy couple...

Now, let's see if August can top that!

basketballs, VBS and peaches!

My kids and I were able to spend a couple of hours with Lance on Father's day before heading off to Shreveport for the week. We didn't see him all week prior to that since we were the beach and then he spent the weekend down at the condo with his dad and two other friends for a guys golfing weekend. So our time on Father's day was short but sweet. Here is a picture of what the kids gave to lance. I have been wanting to do this project for some time and I love it! I get great ideas from a blog called No Time For Flash Cards and I highly recommend it!

Last week was a down scaled version of last year's "cousin camp" at my parent's house while I worked my basketball camp at St. Mark's school. Instead of 8 kids staying at their house, it was only 5 and that doesn't include the 4 other cousins living in Shreveport near them! My mom loves kids and chaos so she got what she asked for!! ;)

My kids had such a great time that they didn't even notice me coming and going each morning and afternoon! And the evenings was filled with VBS at the local church that even Kennedy got to attend...she loves hangin with the big kids. This was also a good breather my parents would get before round two of activities took place on Sundown Drive at night. Speaking of night time activities... there is no cousin camp without a midnight sprinkler party (this is my mom's way of getting the kids bathed the most efficient way!). I laughed every time when a car came by because they would all scream, "Car!!!" and hit the ground to hide...guess you had to have been there! I am sorry that I don't have any pictures from these activities... :(

After a long, but very successful week of basketball camp, we got back to Ruston just in time to enjoy some of the festivities for the Ruston Peach Festival. We always enjoy the parade every year and, of course, getting some peaches!

The kids waiting for the parade to start...not sure why, but the bags always seem to go on the heads!!

Enjoying their 'loot' on the front swing of the AXO house!

Escaping with the Cauley's

My dear friend, Mandy, and her family have been through the ringer the past two months. Her five year old little girl had a tough battle with pneumonia that nearly took her life. Between all the poking, prodding, ambulance rides, no sleep, tubes, beeping monitors, countless number of nurses, tears, rashes, prayers and x-rays, they all had enough. Finally, after the right kind of medicine was administered, Harper drastically improved. She came home with a pic line still in her arm and ready for life to get back to normal. But it took two weeks of being at home, secluded (for the most part) and still being on meds before life continued as before.

During her hospital stint, Harper requested to go to the beach. Her wish was granted just five days after her pic line was removed and cleared to live life as usual, Mandy and her two girls packed up to join us at the condo. The look in her girl's eyes as they frolicked in the waves that first evening was absolutely priceless. Our four days together included laughter, tears, shared secrets, pure joy and some tired kids (and mamas!). It was great being able to finally catch up with my sweet friend and I will forever cherish the sweet moments we endured.

Kennedy still asks for Harper as we are back in the real world in Ruston. She followed Harper around like a little sister would and wanted to have everything Harper had. Last night, we got the kids back together for a dive-in movie at Squire Creek pool and I loved seeing Kennedy's eyes light up when she heard Harper was coming. Too sweet!

I was proud of Landon playing so well in the ocean this past week (even though we spotted two sharks and pulled out 4 jelly fish!). He usually wants to just swim in the pools but he wanted to go to the beach everyday to swim and boogy board. Even Kennedy got some good water time in the ocean when the waves were small enough. It was a great week of clear water and smaller waves.

Anyway, enough of my rambling and on with some pictures from our trip this past week!

Sweet Baylor playing at LuLu's

Landon holding the first 'wild' hermit crab that Mandy found in the ocean. We are now owners of some pet crabs after visiting the local surf shop!

Silly Mandy and landon getting ready to go on an 'adventure'

Go Kennedy!

Group hug!

Getting ready for the dolphin tour

Landon doing his 'dolphin' call

Captain Landon

Heat wave!

Summer is definitely here with some blazing heat this past week! We have been trying to stay cool by lots of swimming and I love it. It's also been a good week of basketball workouts and team clinics... I love getting my basketball juices going this time of year!

I was grateful my parents kept the kids a couple of nights on Sunday and monday so I could get the clinics in and a special little girls night out last night. It was very much needed by all of us and it was nice to get away. I also enjoyed sleeping in this morning! But it was short lived when I had to pick this kids up at 9:30, but I will take it!

Kennedy has been amazing still with potty training. I can't remember the last accident she had...she hasn't had one since my last post, so I am pumped about that!

This week and next week, I will be preparing for a team camp I am doing for St. Mark's in Shreveport later on this month. I am also getting ready for my own camp at Byrd HS on July 18-20th. It's a lot to get ready for and I hope the turn out is good at the Byrd camp. I need to get on the horn and start advertising!

Below are some pictures that i forgot to include in my post about our last beach trip. We stopped in Jackson along the way and went to their children's museum and it was FANTASTIC! I highly recommend it! The kids had a ball. Here are a couple of pics from the museum and some candid beach pictures that i tried to take! ;)

"Ta-da!"

This is our sweet Lindsey and Katie that helped out with the kids this trip!