Just The 3 Of Us....

New Years Weekend 2011

2011-01-29T01:21:00.001-06:00

Jassen, Monica, Matt and I had a great weekend down at Patti's Settlement in Grand Rivers, KY. We had a great dinner at Patti's, had old-tyme photos taken, played dice, did a little site-seeing, and visited Metropolis, IL. There wasn't a moment when we weren't laughing at each other, or taking silly photos. And of course the guys were constantly picking on Monica and I. It was a much needed weekend away from the kiddos. But don't get too sad. They had a blast with Nina and Pappaw!!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-29T01:12:00.001-06:00

We had a nice and easy Christmas this year. Get-togethers were nicely spaced and not rushed into two days.

My Sister's Wedding

2009-11-19T01:22:00.008-06:00

Triana's Wedding

November 7, 2009

My sister Triana got married a couple of weeks ago. Dakota was the ringbearer and I was the Matron of Honor. It turned out to be a beautiful day. We couldn't have prayed for a better day. Despite all of the stress the week before everything went smoothly. Jassen is also glad to have the house back, free of wedding "stuff". Dakota did an awesome job. We were all soo proud of him.

Fall Weather is Great!

2009-11-19T01:00:00.002-06:00

This fall has been soo nice. Jassen hates raking leaves... Dakota loves jumping in them. He got off of the bus one day and said, "Daddy you need to rake the leaves because I need to jump in them." :) One Saturday while I was at work they did just that. This year we let Dakota pick out his own costume, and we were in shock when he chose the "Cars" crew chief uniform! :) Many others were surprised too. Everyone in the neighborhood was talking about him as he drove from house to house to go trick-or-treating.

The Vineyard is one of our favorite stores. It is a Christian book store filled with tons of inspiritional home decor, gifts, you name it. They also have a corner just for the kiddos. Dakota calls The Vineyard the Veggietale Store. On the Saturday before Halloween "Larryboy" came to visit. Sooo we had to go see him.

Holiday World 2009

2009-11-19T00:56:00.002-06:00

Thanks to my awesome sister we had free tickets to Holiday World. We finally made it. It was a georgous summer day to have a family outing. It started out kind of rough because Dakota decided to be in one of his sour moods. He had his moments throughout the day, but overall we had a great time.

Frog Follies 2009

2009-11-19T00:39:00.002-06:00

Every September the Frog Follies fill the 4-H fair grounds. This year we decided to take Dakota out there and see what all they had. We went on a mission trying to find "Sheriff", "Doc", "Mater", "Lizzy", and "Stanley". We did find quite a few "Lizzy's". Dakota really enjoyed looking at all the different cars. He got really excited when we found Hot Rods with "flames" on them. Jassen and I just got a kick out of Dakota's reaction to them all.

Choir Mission Trip 2009

2009-08-07T00:19:00.003-05:00

Although these pictures don't show us doing any charity/ spiritual work we had a GOD FILLED weekend. The places we went we weren't allowed to take our own cameras into. On Friday we sang at New Castle Correctional Facility. I'll tell you right now that that weekend was totally full of firsts, and something many others will probably never be able to do, and would normally be out of my comfort zone. We sang twice at the facility to about 300 inmates. It's soo cool to see how God works in such a dark place. Some had some stearn looks on their faces, but you would see their feet tapping. Some never budged, BUT there were some who took in every word we said. Some were even Crying!!!! The first service I was very nervous. I was expecting these guys to come in with shackles and cuffs. Neither were present! The second service was a little easier :) From there we drove to Carmel and sang at a sister church. A small group hosted us and fed us a spaghetti and salad dinner. Yum! Saturday our big project was to fix, serve, and visit with the homeless men at Lighthouse Ministries. OH, what an awesome day. I was a little uncomfortable knowing that I was going to have to sit down with these people and talk to them. I prayed that God would give me the courage and strength to have/ carry a conversation with these men. A couple of friends and I sat down with 3 men, and sat and talked until we had to sing. And there were no dull moments. These men could not believe that we had fixed this awesome meal just for them, and STAYED to talk to them. Most groups before us usually serve a meal and leave. They were in awe of what we had done for them that day. After we sang we handed out goody bags to them that included socks, shirts w/ a verse on them, bibl, etc. Such a great day. Sunday we were supposed to sing at the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincy, but we were rained out. The church had been singing there for quite some time now to give that extra little push to the runners as they were finishing the marathon, just like we do at the Race for a Cure here in Evansville.
Let me tell you something...the Devil was working on us the WHOLE time!!!! One bus broke down on the way up, and they had to pile into the other bus or other vehicles. We were 1 hr. late to the facility. The US had put a ban on any/ all visitors at the Correctional Facility and many other places, b/c of the swine fly spreading, THE DAY BEFORE we got there! We were still able to sing. When we were finished the choir had left to head to the church. The set-up crew got stuck in a mandatory lockdown/ head count and could not leave. This delayed their travel by about an hour and a half. We sang at the church right on time W/O sound checks. Saturday the forcast called for rain all day. As soon as we got to the shelter and starting cooking and setting up the skies OPENED UP!!!! What a beatiful day it turned out to be. :) Sunday, the rain came. We were all at peace with the previous 2 days that it was okay that we couldn't sing at the marathon.
This was my first mission trip ever. It's something I was always interested in, but hadn't had the opportunity. I learned soo much this weekend about myself, how God works in these situations, and that every human being is a child of God. Whether they are having troubled times, locked up for life or a few years, down on their luck, homeless, you name it. God loves them as much as he loves you!!

March of Dimes Walk 2009

2009-06-10T22:15:00.002-05:00

We raised close to $1500 this year. This was our 5 year anniversary walking and raising money for the March of Dimes. Over the last 5 years we have donated $7300 to help save babies!! Thanks to all of you who have donated and WALKED over the few years.

Another clip

2009-06-10T22:14:00.001-05:00

This is a better clip. He's going to be the next Roger Federer!

Practicing for the egg hunts

2009-04-01T01:03:00.003-05:00

Last week Monica and McKynley visited for a couple of days. McKynley has been practicing at home, and Monica bought more eggs so we could practice at our house. Dakota and McKynley rushed around the living room and foyer trying to find the 30+! eggs she had bought. McKynley had already learned to open them up and see what was inside. Once she found out there was nothing in them she would throw them to the ground. :)

Goodbye White Walls!!

2009-04-01T00:53:00.003-05:00

Since I redecorated the kitchen with primitive/ country like things I wanted to paint. Bleach white walls just don't go with warm country decor.... So I finally sweet talked my husband into letting me get started. Wal-Mart has their brand of paint (which is the same as Sherwin Williams) for $12.97 a gallon!! Sooo cheap. So last night I started on a little bit of it, and then tonite tried to get the first coat on. Jassen will have to help me a little since God made me a tad bit short for some projects :) I am hoping that it is finished and put back together before the weekend is over.

OK, OK Here you go

2009-02-24T22:39:00.005-06:00

Ok, soo I know have been a slacker for quite some time. I am going to play a little bit of catch-up :) I hope you have about 15-20 to see what we have been up to.

Winter Storm 2009

I just couldn't get over the fact that we just played tennis in near 70 degree weather a couple of weeks before. The weather man said it was coming, but who knew we could actually get everything he forcasted. Living where we do we either get it or we don't and this time We Got It! Dakota and Jassen played outside one day while I worked :(, and build Dakota's first snowman. I was very sad that I wasn't there to participate. But I am sure there will be more before he leaves home. :)

Jan. 23rd- temp.- High 60's!!

Dakota and I ran some errands early in the morning. As soon as I felt how warm it was I knew I was going to go home, wake Jassen up, and go play tennis. Jassen and I were a little rusty, but Dakota jumped right in. He is always easily discouraged at anything that comes his way (kinda like it Uncle!) They first ball Jassen threw he missed and threw a fit. We convinced him to try again and he hardly missed a beat or ball I should sy. We can only hope they he grows up and has the love of tennis like we do.

Thanksgiving in Kansas

Okay- so we sold yet another car. We were trying to sell the Honda Del Sol and couldn't get rid of it. Jassen was talking to his brother one day about the car. Justin was about to have a birthday and was able to get his permit. Jim said they would buy and pay our way down if we took it down to them. I was soo excited. Jassen was too, but not looking for to the 9 (turned into 12) hour drive. We made it down and enjoyed every minute of it. The boys played all weekend. I got a little tasted of doing vinyl, Jassen and Jim enjoyed shooting the bow, Ty enjoyed the company, and Justin was too busy cleaning his car and driving it to do anything else.
We miss you guys!!

In October we had family photos done for my mom who requested a photo purse for Christmas. We found this rock fountain that had been shut down for the winter to use as a prop. Pictured in the photos are us 3, Monica, Matt, McKynley, Triana, Daryl, Logan, and Casey.

Also in October while the temps were still warm we took a trip to our remodeled zoo. The small town zoo now looks like a big city zoo. We were amazed at the new entrance way. Before they just had this little shack to pay and walk through. They added the Amazonia had lots of amazing animals we were able to see up close and move around. Our favorite is always the giraffe. One of these days I am going to get that awesome picture of him and Dakota. We fed him some grass, and he just about licked Dakota's face off. We probably spent 30 min. just with the giraffe.

Well, I hope that catches you up on what we have been up to. Talk to you soon. And don't forget to check my Kota Box blog.

http://www.thekotabox.blogspot.com/

Fall is here!

2008-09-22T14:45:00.004-05:00

Last Thursday Dakota's preschool took a field trip to a local orchard. We couldn't have asked for a better day. It was gorgeous outside with the sun shining, and the temp around 80. Everything went well until Dakota wanted his sunglasses. I didn't have them, and he just had a total meltdown. He started with the usual, "I'm tired.", "I wanna go home," bit. I wasn't going to hold him. I ended up leaving him with his teacher so that maybe he would calm down, and pay attention. The director ended up holding his hand, and staying with him because he kept throwing a fit. I ended up hiding behind parents so I could stay and try to get some pictures. By the end of the field trip the director told him if he sat nicely I would sit with him. So, as you see him drinking his fresh cider (aka- apple juice) he looks happy.

Being a stay-at-home mom is great when it comes to school activities because I am able ot go with them. But it is days like these that make me upset because I wonder if neither of us are going to get to enjoy if I am around...... We will see. There are many more to come. :)

You know I have to be different!!

2008-09-09T17:28:00.002-05:00

Well, here goes. I have always thought that red hair with blonde highlites was gorgeous. I get tired of my hair looking the same, as I am in the process of letting it grow out. I had made an appointment for the 17th to get my hair done, and I just couldn't wait. I was getting way too anxious. So I went in this morning, and she had an opening at 12! Soo here ya go. This is the NEW me. A little crazy I know.... But I do like it. Jassen wouldn't care if I came home with it dyed jet black. He says it look just fine.

Yumm, those are good!

2008-08-04T23:19:00.004-05:00

Dakota kept wanting to pull the bowl over tyring to the the rice krispies. Then I got distracted while counting my cups. Soo, I let him hop up on a stool and help. He kept playing while I mixed the butter and marshmallow creme. Then Jassen and Dakota mixed it all together. And of course he had to do a taste test. He loved them.

PS.. Never use tub butter. They won't harden. You have to use stick butter :)

Man, do my parents feel OLD!

2008-08-04T22:53:00.007-05:00

DCHS Class of 1998

ME- 1998

Saturday we celebrated our 10 year reunion! Couldn't believe it. You can not believe what can happen in 10 Years! Pictured are two of my best friends from high school. At top is Janet Adkins- Ferrell. We met when I transferred from city schools in the 7th grade. We had Math together. Man she hated it. She never was a Math person, and I was. We later hung around different people, but stayed friends and still hung out. We still try to keep in touch.

Pictured at the bottom is my friend Erin Bruner-Tedford (soon-to-be). We met Freshman year in Photography. Throughout high school we had many art classes together . Crazy thing is after going to two different colleges she now lives about 1 1/2 miles from me here in Evansville. But it will be short lived. She is getting married in September, and will be moving to Charlotte, NC.

Goin' Boatin'

2008-08-04T22:41:00.003-05:00

Last Wednesday night Dakota and I went down to Dad's camp and stayed the night. As soon as we got there we went for a boat ride before it got dark. I think Dakota is finally getting comfortable with the boat. He normally wants to sit in our lap, and hold on for dear life. I think Keiara helped him out a little this time. They had a really good on the beach: playing in the sand, looking for shells, and playing in the water with Pappaw.

When we got back to the camper Keiara and Kota went hunting for frogs. They found 7 of them in all different sizes. Dad fixed an awesome supper. We had filets, mac-n-cheese, fries, and "river" potatoes ( cut up potatoes, seasonings, dumped in foil, and cooked). No hot dogs and chips down there :) IT's crazy how well they eat down there.

Other than getting eat up with myself mosquitoes ( 10+ on my right leg, below my knee!) we had a great time.

WiLd & cRaZy!!!

2008-08-04T22:33:00.003-05:00

Since we decided that we were going to stay and not move we wanted to start doing some things around the house.... like paint. We were at Home Depot and they had samples of themed rooms, Cars being one of them. We really liked the colors, and went with it. This is our version of a Cars room. Dakota calls it his "cool "car-car" room". We were pretty impressed with the way it turned out. Jassen and I joked that the day he gets tired of it he can paint it himself :)

Oh, so messy!

2008-08-04T22:28:00.003-05:00

I have to admit that I try to stay clear of anything Dakota can make a mess out of. For instance... icecream cones. We have just started letting him eat them on his own. He does pretty good. Now if only we could teach him how to keep up with the drips. :)

Call Me Crazy!!!

2008-08-04T22:12:00.003-05:00

July 20th Dakota turned 4!!! We got home from the Florida on the 19th about 530 PM....... Had his party on the 20th at 2 PM! Sounds crazy I know. Everything went great. He had family and friends over to celebrate. The theme this year was VeggieTales. The favorite toy this year were WordWorld games, and accesories. It is a GREAT show on PBS. He also got some VeggieTale books and videos, which he can never get enough of!

Well, he has one more year of preschool and our tiny little baby will be starting Kindergarten :( There are days I can't wait, and other days I can't believe he is growing sooo fast (age wise :)).

Just Us 3

2008-07-29T23:29:00.003-05:00

Family Pictures

2008-07-29T23:24:00.004-05:00

The Carter Family

Pic #1- My Aunt Billie Jo, Zachary, andhis girlfriend Jessica

Pic #2- My Uncle Jarod, Carrie, Briley, Addison, and Carson

Pic #3- My Uncle Chris, Cindy

Pic #4- My Mom and Fred, our clan!, and Logan's girlfriend Casey

Pic #5- Mammaw and Pappaw

Pic #6- Mom, Fred, Logan

Pic #7- Mom, Fred, Dakota, and McKynley

Pic #8- Mammaw, Pappaw, Mom, Chris, Billie Jo, and Jarod

Pic #9- Dakota and his Pappy

Vacation Time!!!

2008-07-29T23:06:00.002-05:00

July 12th we traveled down to Destin, Florida with all of my Mom's family. Yes, there were 20+ people in one place! I know some families woulod end up in fights, and it would up in disaster. But we all had a great time.

As soon as we arrived Saturday evening we walked the two blocks down to the beach. This was my 46 yr. old mother's first! time to see the beach. It was an emotional time for her. This was Jassen's first time to vacation in Florida. As you may see Triana and Darel are missing. Triana accidentally took the wrong week off, and couldn't get it switched.

Just about everyday we went to the beach for little bit. The pool was the place of choice most of the time. I think Dakota is going to be like Monica and I and love the water. If he were only 10 lbs heavier, and 3 in. taller it wouldn't have been such an exercise for Jassen and I in the water.

We went to a couple of area attractions. We went to the Gulfarium (min. SeaWorld) one day. The adults were not that enthused, but Dakota loved it. We seen dolphins, sea turtles, sharks, alligators, penguins, sea lions, etc. We walked out on the pier next door. It was a fishing pier, and if you didn't watch out before you knew it you would be hooked ( literally). We saw a few big fish that had been caught. The jellyfish were horrible. You could see them from the pier. Even at the beach you had to watch out for them later in the day. On Wednesday we drove to Pensecola to the Naval Aviation Museum (pictures to come). Jassen and Fred could've stayed all day reading through all of the history. I did enjoy looking around, but I could only take in soo much.

It was a great week, and we had a good time. We were so grateful, and very blessed to be with our family.

Thanks Mammaw and Pappaw for starting all of this.

"We may not have it all together, but together we have it all!"

Bath Time

2008-06-04T23:30:00.002-05:00

Friday night Monica stayed and visited for a while after she got off of work. Both kiddos needed a bath, and soo we just put them in together. McKynley is sitting soo well right now, and Dakota played nice. :)

The one picture is titled "Lil' Ms. Ewok". You know which one

I'm talking about. :)

2008 Clampitt reunion

2008-06-04T23:23:00.002-05:00

Memorial Day weekend we had our Clampitt reunion at Ben Hawes Sate Park in Owensboro, KY. My Mammaw Carter was a Clampitt. Her two sisters and their families were there along with our families. We have this reunion every three years. We have family in Oklahoma, Kansas, Illinois, Wyoming, and a couple of other states. It is fun to see everyone, and see how much our younger cousins have grown. We have 3? sets of 5 generations in this family: Monica, Myself, and a cousin. We had a great day playing washers, cornhole, and playing on the playground.

March for Babies 2008

2008-06-04T22:54:00.002-05:00

This years walk was a great success. With Monica, Matt, and McKynley joining us we are now "Cousins 'R' Us". We had over 40 walkers and raised over $1600!!! This is such a great event, and thanks to those who donated and shared this time with us. Love you guys!!

Handsome Man

2008-04-15T23:38:00.003-05:00

I got Dakota dressed for church on Sunday, and he looked handsome. Therefore I go the camera out, and started posing him! Some of these are silly, and others are very cute if I say so myself. :)

Day At The Park

2008-04-15T23:33:00.004-05:00

It was sooo nice to get out, and enjoy the weather. We have had enough rain to create another ocean I think. We are soo tired of the rain around here. Anyways.... We have enjoyed our days in the 70's. They will soon return after a few days in the 40's/ 50's. Dakota could spend all day everyday at the park. Up the slide, down the slide, in the tunnel, out the tunnel, climb up the stairs, and back down the slide. Over and over again. We still wonder where he gets all of this energy!!

CMOE

2008-04-15T23:14:00.003-05:00

Dakota's preschool took a trip to the Children's Museum Of Evansville. I went along to help, and see Dakota enjoy his first field trip. :) They had funny playing in the ball room, the "Human" room, and a few other areas. In a couple of the pictures you will notice some pictures of Dakota in a green "slime" thing. This is an estra large nose they can climb through. They also had an area for them to open their mouth to a camera and see inside their own mouth. Dakota enjoyed making facing faces, and sticking out his tongue. One area was for the creative side of the children. They are able to make their own dinosaur show, make music, and paint their faces. I tried to color Dakota's like Spiderman, but we didn't have time to get the webs drawn across his face. Therefore he looked kind of silly. Dakota is definitely getting old enough/ big enough to participate in more things, and enjoy them.

Is Spring finally here???

2008-04-03T23:36:00.004-05:00

This was one day about a week or so ago. We were cleaning up the landscaping. Dakota got his bike out, and was trying to ride it. He still wants us to push him around. We keep telling him he needs to learn to pedal, and showing him how. et again he shows how stubborn he is.

While in the far corner of our hard Jassen was raking out the old stuff. Dakota wanted to sit on the rock, and I put him up there. I then found a snail. Dakota thought it was interesting until the snail came out, and starting crawling. He was scared to death, and didn't want anything to do with it. We thought it was pretty funny, until Dakota jumped off the rock trying to get away from it!!

Before going in he had to sit in daddy's "new" car, and play.

Easter

2008-04-03T23:22:00.003-05:00

I know I am a little late. Thought I would get the blog updated. We first went to church at Roberts Stadium. Then we drove to Owensboro to visit my family. My Uncle Chris was giving Dakota rides on his leg. Dakota couldn't quit laughing, and kept falling off and wanting more. At Dads he took it upon himself to put on the head gear, and play Uncle Heath's drums. This is totally fine. He can play all he wants at Dads, but don't think I could ever have them in my own house.

New Portraits

2008-04-03T23:15:00.003-05:00

It was time again for Toyota's Children's portrait session. I love these photos. Comparing them to his last ones, they haven't changed much.... I know it is no surprise to see the tennis racket. When I seen it on the table I made sure it was used. I was very happy to see that it turned out. Enjoy!!

We've Closed a Chapter in Our Life.

2008-03-13T22:17:00.004-05:00

It all started Tuesday night at my moms. Dakota was playing with his cars, and my brother Logan. Logan was standing in the living room, and glances at the floor. "There's his mickey," he says. And I'm thinking he doesn't have a Mickey Mouse let alone brought to moms. No... his MIC-KEY! So we packed up and jetted out of there. Went home to get the surrenge (sp) to deflate the balloon, and put it back in. Ha Ha. IT has closed up a little bit, therefore we are back in the car ( at 930PM!) headed to the ER. They didn't have his size MIC-KEY, but pu tin a foley ( tube) that was the right size for the hole.
Told Jassen about it, and he thought it was time to just leave it out. I felt the same. Dakota has had his feeding tube since November 30, 2004! So, Wednesday I called the pediatrician to talk to him about it. Today we went in, and first they weighed him. He had gained 1 lb. since last month. He now weighs 30 lbs!! Well we talked to Dr. Ransdell and he agreed that it was okay. So there in the office he took the foley out, put a bandage over the hole, and we were done. The hole has to heal itself. You may be wondering about the hole to his stomach... I too thought they would stitch up the stomach, and stitch up the skin. Nope. He will have scar tissue from the stomach that will connect to the healed hole. It will take about 2 weeks for the hole to close and heal.
We were very excited about this whole thing. Throughout the day I was fine. I was thinking "Great, this thing is gone. Finally." Tonight he got upset when I tried to take the belly picture. I asked him why he was upset, and he didn't answer. I asked if he missed his MIC-KEY and he said "yes". He has never known any different. This hit me like a ton of bricks, and I cried (as I am now), and just as I did when they took away all of his oxygen tanks and supplies. This made me realize that we have finally closed this chapter of his life, and ours. The Preemie chapter is over. Other than him still being little we have officially finished that last obstical that came with him being 9 weeks early. After 3 1/2 years, Praise the Lord!!

1. Dakota without his MIC-KEY!! Red marks from the bandage the ER put on. 2. This is what his tube looks like. We slide it in hole, and 3. We inflate the balloon that is then in his stomach to hold it in place. Hope that's not too much for you. :) Thought some would be interested.

Jassen Almost Cried!

2008-03-01T00:09:00.003-06:00

We never thought the day would come when Dakota would poop in the potty. Jassen simply asked if he needed to go potty, and Dakota said "yes". I was sitting in the living room, and I hear Jassen going on and on about how Dakota did a good job. HE did it!! AS soon as he knew he had done well he wanted prize. I keep a surprise bag in the laundry with cars and cars stuff in it for when I needed to bribe him, or he had done well. All I had left was a dry erase board with Lightning McQueen on it. He didn't care. It was "Cars". We didn't decided we needed to have a party. Dakota wanted pizza for lunch so we went to Pizza Hut. He went 2 more times today in the potty without our assistance. Yes, I took my camera because this is a day to remember. I will knock on wood because he is still not 100% potty trained. But I will keep it positive. We were soo excited!

Aloha?

2008-02-29T23:33:00.003-06:00

Thursday Dakota's preschool held a Luau. They invited the parents to watch them do a couple of songs and dances. The older ones discussed facts about Hawaii. When we walked in Dakota didn't see us. I was just getting ready to take a picture of him and his class, and he noticed me. Gave me this look, and ran across the roon, and started crying in Jassen's arms. Therefore he did not participate anymore. For snack they had pineapple, dry coconut, pineapple and meatballs with sauce, and a special pudding. It was nice. But it would've been more enjoyable to watch him participate. :(

McKynley Yvonne

2008-02-16T01:30:00.003-06:00

From 4 lbs 3 oz. to 13 lbs 4 oz. McKynley is doing great. The very first pic was taken in the NICU, the next at my house in Dec. The others have been taken within the last month. She is eating, growing, and cooing. She's a good baby (at my house) :) The middle picture at the top she looks like her Dad, but in all the others she looks just like Monica. She has that chubby round face. As soon as I get a baby pic of Monica I will show you. It's unbelievable.

Snow is Nice, But You Can Keep the Ice

2008-02-16T01:19:00.002-06:00

Well, we finallly got some snow to keep the kids out of school. They were let out early Monday and didn't go back until Friday. Around here you don't believe the weather man until you see it for real. Monday and into Tuesday we got about 3-4 inches of snow, and then about 1/2 of ice on top of it. If I still had my hockey skates, and were about 30 pounds lighter I probably would've tried to ice skate. I don't remember ever seeing ice like this. Call me weird, but I think trees covered in ice make great pictures. Here are a few pics I took around the yard.

Sleepover

2008-02-16T00:08:00.003-06:00

On Monday night (2-11) Monica and McKynley stayed the night becuase we got a huge snow (4 in.) and ice on the way. We enjoyed their company. Monica and Dakota are always playing around. She is always finding a way to pester him, and get him mad. At one time she was chasing him with McKynley's swing in the kitchen. Never a dull moment with those two, let me tell ya.

ABC's of Me

2008-02-15T23:51:00.002-06:00

I was tagged by my sister-in-law Sheila. She caught me at 1145 PM, and I have time to fill in my info. :)

A- Attached or single: Very attached
B- Best Friend: My bestest is probably Monica. We have grown a lot closer since we gotten older. Love you too Ana :)
C-Cake or Pie: Cake with very little icing
D-Day of Choice: The weekend and having Jassen home to be with Kota and I.
E- Essential Item: something to drink- quit laughing. you know who you are.
F- Favorite Color: Periwinkle
G- Gummi Bears or Worms: Worms
H- Hometown: Owensboro, KY
I- Indulgence(s): Manicures and Pedicures are nice. Haven't had one since July of '06
J- January or July: July- Hate the cold
K-Kids: 1 awesome little guy
L-Life is incomplete without: my family
M- Marriage Date: July 20, 2002
N- Number of Siblings: You just had to ask. I'll keep it simple. 3 sisters, 2 brothers. I am the oldest
O- Oranges or Apples: Apples with caramel are the greatest
P- Phobias or Fears: Losing someone close
Q- Quote: Live life to the fullest. You never know when the good Lord is gonna bring you home.
R- Reason To Smile: Having a great family
S- Season: Anytime it's 75 outside, no humidity, and sunny :)
T- Tag Six: Triana, Stacey, Jenny
U- Unknown Fact About Me: I have very little patience
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: Both. I eat meat, but I couldn't do it living on a farm.
W- Worst Habit: distractability- I'm so easily sidetracked (Right there with you Sheila, Jassen approves)
X- X-Rays or Ultrasounds: Whatever needs to be done
Y- Your Favorite Food: Cheesy potato soup (right now)
Z- Zippers or Zebras: Zebras, It could be 15 degrees outside, and I won't put a coat on!

School Wears Me Out!!

2008-02-07T17:58:00.000-06:00

there are days when dakota comes home from school and is pooped. today he was fine. he ate lunch with us, and played with his trains for awhile. soon after jassen left i heard him talking to himself behind the recliner. i looked back and he was laying there with his "car car" blanket and pillow. (he is sooo a Lianus (sp) with this blanket and pillow. i asked him to come and lay on the couch, but he didn't want to. about ten minutes later he was asleep in the foyer. :(

i tell ya there are times we are begging him to take a nap, and then there are times he just poops out. this was one of those days.

Dakota's First Day of Preschool

2008-01-24T23:48:00.000-06:00

Last August we tried to enroll Dakota for preschool. They were full so we were on the waiting list. The director called us last week, and they had an opening. I asked Dakota if he wanted tot go to school and he said "YES!" He would not quit talking about it. Tuesday was Dakota's first day of school. The weather was crappy. We had less than an inch of snow and ice that fell late morning. The public schools were on a two hour delay, therefore the preschool was still in session. I walked Dakota in. As soon as we were in and met his teacher, Mrs. Plummer, he acted as if I weren't even there, an didn't notice when I left.

I picked him up, and his teacher said that he did great. He fit right in. Wednesday and Thursday went about the same. Although Thursday he got lost among the other parents in the hallway when we were on our way to hang up his coat and bookbag. He got upset and was crying. Then he had a hard time letting me go. But it didn't take long for him to cheer up, and have a good day.

He is attending Old North Methodist Preschool. Is is one of the best preschools in Evansville with a great Christian environment. I am anxious to see how much he grows in the 4 months they have left of school. I know he loves to play, and enjoys being around other kids. It's the structure that he will have a hard time with.

Extra Large Legos

2008-01-11T22:55:00.000-06:00

Dakota got more blocks for Christmas. He had only a handful before that, that came with a firetruck. He is really into building towers! The other night while Jassen was at work Dakota and I built a couple of houses and built our fair share of towers. I dont' have much of an imagination when it comes to playing with cars, but I do enjoy building stuff with him. Here are just a couple after I finally thought about getting the camera out.

Mammaw and Pappaw Clark

2008-01-10T22:18:00.000-06:00

Christmas Eve we visited with my Mammaw and Pappaw Clark since we wouldn't be able to make Christmas Day. Monica, Matt, McKynley and my Dad joined us. M & P have a stash of older Thomas trains, and Dakota knows where to go when we visit it them. Each and every year my grandparents put a Christmas village complete with a train. Dakota had to warm up to Pappaw, and they were watching the train go around town. Pappaw gave the "whistle house" to Dakota so that he could blow the whistle. Dakota liked it, but he couldn't play with them like he could play with Thomas.

The group picture is of my Mammaw, McKynley, Pappaw, my Dad, myself, Dakota, and my sister Monica.

Dakota's First Time Bowling

2008-01-10T21:46:00.001-06:00

Jassen was off for about a week and a half during and after Christmas. One day we were sitting around doing nothing. And he's like "Hey, wanna go bowling?" Ummmm, okay. So, we went to a bowling alley just down the road. Dakota had his own ball, and insisted on handly it himself. We had the bumpers put up just for him. We never thought a bowling ball could travel soo slow. The "sweeper" at the end would sometimes come down before his ball would get there. The funny thing is that Jassen and I tied with of score of 90; Dakota bowled an80!

Jassen was thinking we could bowl about 3 games. Hah! We barely finished one. Dakota really enjoyed it. We should have let me bowl all he wanted. But since we took turns. He was in and out of wanting to bowl. If he wasn't bowling, he was playing with Thomas and Percy (his trains). And so we only bowled one game. But we did have a good time!

Christmas 2007

2008-01-10T21:31:00.000-06:00

I have to say... Shame on me. I was too worried about recording Dakota that I totally forgot to take pictures. The only picture I have is of Dakota and Jassen in Dakota's new "Cars" tent. The other pictures are of our travel to my parents' house and my grandparents' houses. You all know I am a go-go-go person, and I love every minute of it. Visiting all day Christmas Eve and Christmas Day is something I've done since I was a little girl. Jassen on the other hand still doesn't get as excited as I do. :) He does love his in-laws. IT's the going all day for two days that he doesn't like. Dakota enjoyed playing with cousins which whom he may not have seen in a few months. We really enjoyed seeing and visiting with each and every one of them. We were really blessed with the gifts we received. It was another great season to remember.

Arden's Party

2008-01-10T17:05:00.000-06:00

Dakota was invited to Arden's 5th Birthday party. Arden is the daughter of Jassen's friend "Fincher". She had her party at the Owensboro Museum. After the kids had cake, and Arden opened her presents the kids had the chance to roam the childrens area upstairs. Dakota loved running around the play areas, looking at the life-size dinosaur, trying new gadgets, etc. They had a COOl treehouse for them to climb in and then slide down a slide. I told Jassen we needed one in our backyard. :) You will notice in one picture I am doing a "weather report". They had this set up just like one of the local stations weather room. Jassen talked me in to doing. While he was taking the picture you could hear people behind him giggling. Oh well, kids will be kids. :) We all had a great time.

It's Christmas Time

2007-12-10T00:04:00.000-06:00

Last Sunday I decided to finally get the tree and my decorations out. If I didn't get them out, then I probably wouldn't have. I have been soo busy with making boards, and babysitting my niece. Dakota was sooo into helping us out. I couldn't get a box open without him taking stuff out and finding a "place" for it. It was nice this year because Jassen decided to help, and also Dakota being old enough to help. We really enjoyed it. Now the front dining room is really jammed. A few of you know what I am talking about. :) It is a VERY multi-functional room right now. :)

My Cousin Joy Kaye's Wedding

2007-12-09T23:40:00.000-06:00

My cousin Joy Kaye got married on December 1st. It was a nice little wedding. She got married a little country church that she grew up going to. It was shorter than Jassen and I's wedding! After the wedding we went to the reception. We had a lot of fun. Dakota LOVED dancing with the girls. He would rather them hold him, than stand there and wiggle. :) We had a group photo of all the grandbabies and my Dad and Kathy (and Monica too). Monica had her try at the Electric Slide. I couldn't believe she didn't know the dance steps. Even I did, and I don't dance! My brother Heath had a grand time too. :) The picture of me and another girl is a girl I went to elementary school with!! Her name is Tonya Wathen. She is dating a cousin of mine. We were both excited to see eachother, and catch up. She told Jimmy (my cousin) "I used to stay the night at her house". When Kathy told me her name was Tonya I knew exactly who she was. Crazy. Needless to say we didn't get home until after 10 because it was in the Big "O". But we enjoyed it.

Considering the circumstances...

2007-12-09T23:08:00.000-06:00

November 8th Jassen's Pa Dickey passed away. Jim, Sheila and the boys drove up and stayed with us a couple of days. Dakota really enjoyed playing with the boys. Right now (maybe forever) he will be the smallest of the three of them. Maybe one of these days he will at least past them in height. :) We spent a couple of days at Gran's, and visiting with everyone. The pics are of the boys- Coleman, Dakota, and Caden; and Jassen's brothers and Dad. And there is one of Dakota and Gran before we left. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits considering the circumstances.

My little niece :)

2007-12-07T22:55:00.000-06:00

How cute is she? My niece is now over 2 months old. She is growing like a weed. She has no problem eating. ( Which is a good thing.) I have the pleasure of keeping her since Monica went back to work. Right now she is not a needy baby, and things are going great. Dakota tries to help out quite a bit. He obsessed with her pacifier. He is always saying "I feed her, I feed her." and shoves it in her mouth. She's a cutie patootie!

101 Ways to Play With a Clothes Basket

2007-10-30T22:40:00.000-05:00

Okay. We have been moving things around in our house since we took it off of the market. I bought little clothes baskets for upstairs since we don't have room for our "cart" anymore. I had taken a load downstairs, and emptied the basket. Dakota then started using his imagination. He loads his cars in it, sits in it, puts it on his head, throws it, tries to put it on Mom or Dads head, uses it as a helmet when he's riding on Dads back, and put clothes in it that have already been folded. Ohhh the possibilities are endless. Enjoy these pictures of Jassen and Dakota "horsing" around this day.

We Love Tennis!

2007-10-23T20:37:00.000-05:00

For the last couple of months we have spent just about every Saturday and Sunday at the tennis courts. The three of us enjoy going and getting out of the house. We take a few toys for Dakota to play with, but it never fails he is soon bored and looking for something else. He has found bugs, leaves, rocks, and sticks. This past Sunday he found a branch and was telling us he found a stick. Then Jassen had to be his creative self and he held it up to Dakota's head and told him he looked like a dear. I then told him Kota looked like the dear in Open Season. So then Dakota said "Look, I'm a deer." We got a kick out of it.
Poor Dakota has been hit or almost hit 3 times by the tennis ball. He hasn't yet understood he needs to stay out of the green rectangle while Mommy and Daddy are playing. We've really enjoyed our outings lately. But they will be short lived with the fall and rain that have come into our little corner of the world.

Baby McKynley

2007-09-29T10:04:00.000-05:00

My precious niece came 6 weeks early. Monicas blood pressure was high along with highliver enzymes ( cause seizures). Monica was in the hospital for two days, and things weren't changing. The doctor enduced Monica's labor, and things went great. She pushed for about 10-15 minutes and McKynley arrived screaming. She weighed 4 lbs 4 oz. and was 17 in. long. She is in the NICU, but is doing better than anyone expected. Monica is doing fine. Her blood pressure is still high so they are working to get that down and get her healthy again. Hopefully things go great and they both will be home soon. :)

We Had A Blast!

2007-08-25T11:39:00.000-05:00

Jassen and I had a great time in Cincinnati. Friday we had the chance to see Leyton Hewitt play Carlos Moya and Roger Federer play Almagro. That evening we watched James Blake defeat fellow American Sam Querrey and Nicholas Devydenko defeated David Ferrer. That night we got autographs from Sam Querrey and James Blake. Saturday morning we watched Federer defeat Hewitt. That afternoon we walked around the grounds and had the opportunity to be on ESPN2. Jassen was seen behind the commentators desk during the afternoon broadcast. Later we caught Patrick McEnroe doing a comercial for USTA, and then got his autograph. That evening we watched Blake defeat Davydenko. I got another autograph from Blake on one of his past magazine covers. We also had the chance to see the Bryan brothers play in a doubles match. Sunday we watched the Doubles Final and the Mens Singles Final. Unfortunately the Bryan brothers lost. Federer defeated Blake. Things weren't goint JB's way. But he was playing his heart out. This was definitely was trip we will take again and again. We were really amazed at how close you can get to the players.

8 Hours Until We Leave!!

2007-08-16T22:32:00.000-05:00

We took Dakota to Owensboro to stay with his Nina and Pappaw. We left on a good note. We just hope it stays that way. They have plenty of things scheduled for him. We will miss our little guy.

We are soo excited. We get to see Federer, Hewitt, James Blake, Querrey, Davydenko, Moya, Almagro, and Ferrer play. Querrey beat Roddick today. We were pretty upset. We were really looking forward to seeing him. We will have plent of pics when we return. I've borrowed a good camera, and we show hope for the best. :)

Cincinnati Here We Come!!

2007-08-10T12:14:00.000-05:00

One More Week!! Yes, next Friday we will be sitting in the grand stands watching some of the top male tennis players in the world. We are soo excited. Or at least I am :) Jassen and I are going to the Western Southern Financial Group Master Series tournament to watch the men play. This is our gift to each other for our 5th Anniversary. We will start Friday morning with the quarterfinals, and then Saturday we will attend the semifinals, and then Sunday is the final. We also get to watch the Doubles final. Can't wait!!

Skrawny Kid

2007-08-03T22:54:00.000-05:00

Well, I took Dakota in for his annual check-up. We were also going to discuss his weight, and his MIC-KEY button. He is growing....Taller. He's now 37 in. tall. But he didn't gain an ounce. We are soo frustrated because we feel we have tried everything. Routine eating schedule, high calorie drinks, grazing all day, but nothing. The only "good" thing is Dr. Ransdell hasn't demanded that we go back on his feeds. St. Mary's now has an official Childrens Hospital. They have added a few specialized clinics, one of them being a feeding/ nutrition clinic. So, we are waiting to here when our appt. will be to meet with Dr. Carmicheal?. Hopefully she will be able to see Dakota eat during a meal, give us a specific menu and times, or even gives us some hints on positive reinforcement to get him to eat. We will just have to wait and see. So at Christmas he might weigh 26 lbs, or 30 lbs. We can only hope and pray for the

30 lbs. Ohh wouldn't he look healthy. :)

Church Picnic

2007-07-31T16:07:00.000-05:00

Our church picninc was Sunday. We had dinner, and then Dakota played on the playground. At 7:30 we drove down to the pool and swam for about 30-45 min. Dakota loved every minute of it. He loves the water no matter how cold it is. He still wasn't sure of the slides. He would walk up to them, get ready to go down, and then back out. We had a great time.

Dakota turns 3!

2007-07-27T22:42:00.000-05:00

July 20th was Dakota's 3rd birthday. We pretty much celebrated all week. Friday when he woke up he opened his train table. Loved it!! We then took him to the Children's Museum. He really enjoyed playing with the hands on toys and activities. Saturday we had his birthday party down at my Dad and Kathy's river site. You would've thought it was Christmas. He got more "Cars" toys, and Thomas stuff for his train table. It was a great and tiring (sp) day. :)

Finally it let me on!!

2007-07-26T18:29:00.000-05:00

Hello. Sheila told me how cool this is. Hopefully I can keep up with it. :) You know me I have ten things going on at once, and I never stay home. :)

Talk to you soon.