There was a bonfire to roast marshmallows on, they rode around the yard on the Bad Boy Buggy, and all slept in tents. Our boys had so much fun celebrating Brax's birthday! Here are a few of my favorite pictures...
Uncle Bobber (even though he isn't our uncle, the boys still call him that) somehow managed to be the designated driver of all the kids that were hyped up on CapriSuns!
And they played in the "tree house".
And they played in the "tree house".
Getting their treat bags, which had everything they would need at a campout: a flashlight with their name on it, a bug catcher, a magnifying glass (that was immediately lost), some glow sticks, and lots of other fun treats.
The birthday boy with his gummy worm cupcakes...
The three amigos showing off their glow sticks right before bed.
Everybody taking one last spin on the Bad Boy Buggy before the Daddies zipped them in the tents.
...And here's what happens when you play so hard: (don't you love how he fell asleep with the glow sticks on top of him?!)
Here's what the backyard looked like the morning after...
What better way to wake up than to already be with all your favorite friends and start running around outside in your jammies at 5:30 a.m.?
They reallly did have a blast, and months later are STILL talking about how they want to have a no-girls-allowed spend-the-night campout in their backyard. Hate to tell em, but its probably not possible to top that one. Better just leave that to Miss Darci. A few weeks later the boys' class took a field trip to Gentry's Farm in Franklin to learn all about pumpkins, corn, farm animals and fall. We started off with a picnic, then walked across a little bridge to the farm.
Miss Anna's Pre-K class 2010:
First we learned all about corn and listened so politely.
And then they got to play in troughs of dried corn kernels
Next stop was the old barn where she taught them all about wheat and flour, and inside were lots of little activity stations for them to play with and learn about.
Then we visited an old tobacco barn that is now currently housing a hay-bale maze...
...that ends with a slide down.
Measuring one of my little pumpkins:
And then for the hayride. This is Mr. Gentry explaining to all the kids about how the pumpkin starts out as a little yellow flower, and tying it all into God's goodness and faithfulness. Such a sweet object lesson.
And then we got to each pick out our own pumpkin.
It was one of my favorite field trips!Anyone who knows us knows that we spend an insane amount of time outside. If the sun is shining we're outside, and sometimes even when it isn't. We are very blessed to have lived in a cul de sac with lots of children, and since we are outside so often we are almost always playing with these friends. Here's most of the cul de sac kids on one random afternoon: Lauren, Allison, Anna Beth, Dalton & Mackenzie. We've gained other friends on our street, and we've said goodbye to one, but we sure have enjoyed having people to play with in the afternoons. 
That just about wraps up our September. Here's a fun picture of my two little buddies that captures their little spirits just perfectly....
Happy Fall, Y'all!
That just about wraps up our September. Here's a fun picture of my two little buddies that captures their little spirits just perfectly....Happy Fall, Y'all!
We filled up the baby pool as far as it would go, turned on 2 sprinklers, set up the slip-n-slide, had 4 super-
And then one Friday afternoon after Michael got off work we took the boys to see the Titans practice. We didn't intentionally go on the hottest day of the whole summer, but I'm not sure there were days any hotter. But we all kept our good attitudes, and 
and Chris Johnson
and Coach Fisher
Here's one of the ways the boys passed the time once practice became boring to 4 year 
But by far the highlight of the day was at the end of practice when a few of the players come over to the fence to sign autographs. We were at the beginning of the line and Michael had Ben on his shoulders and I was holding Drew on the fence as he was waiting so patiently for a player to come by and sign his plaque. Well, the very first player who came over to us smiled so big at us and Drew held up his hand to high-five him and Drew said "aw man, you were awesome!" Well, this guy says to Drew "thanks, little man. How old are you?" to which Drew tells him "I'm four and a half" and to all of our surprise, he held out his arms and says "you wanna come over here with me?" and Drew went to him!!! He took him onto the field, let him run around with him, and then took him over to his personal bag and told him to pick out whatever he wanted. I think Drew must not have been sure about if he should take someone 
Pretty cool indeed...there were grown men watching incredulously (and maybe with a hint of jealousy). Next was time for Snoopy Day again! Here are the boys before their first day in Miss Amanda's class. I wish I'd gotten a picture of them with her...but this will have to do:
One week into our very first year of 
Even though this isn't the best picture [read: no one wanted to stop and take a picture], I love this picture of the grandparents with all three grandkids. 
Touching and feeding the stingrays....
After cramming as much into one day before naptime as we could, we headed back to Centralia. And the next day had a family putt-putt competetion. Three pretty cute future golfers below:
And of course, what fourth of July celebration would be complete without fireworks??? Here Michael created his own way to safely light Chinese lanterns: on a fishing pole. 
And, in keeping with their tradition, this is exactly how every single 4th of July picture of Ben and Drew looks. Every single year this is how they watch them. It just cracks me up. 
And to wrap up the weekend, we went to cheer Dresi on in at her swim meet. 
Getting ready at the blocks:
Ready for the backstroke:
Her cheering section watches intently...
What a great time we had spending with our family there. And once we headed home we decided that we needed some low-key days. So we spent the next several mornings and afternoons playing in our backyard. 
Two tired little water-babies:
