Family Pictures with Landis Brown Photography

We had our pictures taken again this year by Landis Brown Photography.  She is an amazing young lady with a LOT of talent!  Here are a few of my favorites!

October in a glance

October sort of came and went!  Here are a few fun things we did!

Daddy-O took Joss to the Daddy/Daughter dance at church.  They had a nice dinner at Joss' choice, "chickalay", of course before heading over for a fun evening of sitting on Daddy's lap dancing ;).  It was a sweet night either way!

We had a fun Duke/Turmenne family day.  They are the best hosts, let me tell ya!  Theresa made food for us (even gluten free options for me), we went to the army/navy store, rode four wheelers, played instruments, and the boys even camped out in the c-c-cold!  We can't wait to do it again!

Nana and Poppi took Camron and Caden to the Great Wolf Lodge!  They had SO much fun!  Poppi rode all the slides with the boys which was a real treat for them.  

For Halloween the kids and I put their costumes together other than Joss whose came from consignment.  We don't really spend a lot of money on them since they are usually not worn much.  Jaxon was a mummy.  We cut strips of "linen-ish" fabric and wrapped him up.  He did come apart by the end of the evening but it was fine!  Camron was a mad scientist.  We got him the white coat and I made the bow tie out of his choice of fabric.  His hair was sprayed with hair paint.  Caden had a wardrobe change at the last minute.  It was a bit of a big deal at the time since he was all painted up to look like a werewolf (and an awesome one at that) BUT life happens and kids change their minds.  He quickly grabbed this tuxedo shirt and a hat and we painted a nice curly mustache on and he became a magician!  Joss was the sweetest little strawberry I've ever seen!  (I must say I had to talk her out of having her face painted blue.  It was her favorite color at the time and she was insistent that her face needed to be painted)

Here we all are.  I love this bunch of crazies so much!  

Poem to Pops

Sherman Ward Hailes,  known as Pops by most, went to be with the Lord late last night.  He was an amazing man and will be truly missed by everyone he ever met.  He made a lasting impression, one way or another, on every one he came in contact with.
I think back to the mornings he came to my house and took my then 2 year old on adventures in the woods.  I watched through the blinds as they went across the road and down the trail until I couldn't see them anymore.  One day he decided to take string to tie on their trail so Jax could find his way out in case something were to happen to him.  He made Jaxon lead him back home so he felt confident he could make it if he needed to.  I wasn't worried about that considering he was the bill of health until shortly after his 92nd birthday this past May 4th.  Many mornings I peeked through those blinds wondering where on earth they were and how I was going to drag 2 premature newborns out to track them down in the woods.  They always came back safe and sound, usually with some crazy tale about what they saw along the way.
I could go on and on about Pops, and the crazy things he did.  Many of the stories you probably wouldn't believe unless you witnessed it yourself and I wouldn't do them justice anyway.  He was a brilliant man, a wealth of knowledge, a big ole rough and tumble teddy bear.  I'll leave you with this poem I wrote to him this morning and a few pics.

Poem to Pops

You built chairs and you sold them for way too cheap
From where you got your supplies is a secret we all will keep

You had duct tape on your shoes and holes in your pants
You could kick your foot above your head and barked like a dog at every chance

My kids were always waiting for some dumpster diving surprise
Which always made me crazy but was a treasure in their eyes

I let them eat chips and candy with you, that was surely out of date
They had no idea and just like you they thought it tasted great

I'm sure right now all the crying and carrying on wouldn't make you happy
You never did like it when people started getting sappy

But you have to understand we will never know someone as crazy and funny and silly as you
Although I'm pretty sure Poppi is a close number 2

So dance a jig in heaven, rippin' and snortin' too
And until we see you there, know how much we'll miss and love you

Look at all his pearly whites!  :)

Uh-oh, now he's missing a few! 

Classic Pops, tongue out!

This was on his birthday this year.  Notice the big bowl of Blue Bell Butter Pecan icecream.  His favorite!  

Poppi and Pops enjoying a yummy breakfast made by Nana.  They fixed him breakfast every morning once he got sick.  And that doesn't even begin to touch on all they did for him!

I snapped this pic of Pops one day when we were over taking care of him.  He loved this shirt we made for him years ago.  It says "I am Super Pops, just ask Camron, Jaxon and Caden".  Super Pops he was!

Camron and Caden are 8

It's hard for me to believe when I look at Camron and Caden's big ole sweet eyes, that they were tiny little 2 pounders when they were born.  They are feisty little boys now and they were feisty little boys then.
Camron is hilarious.  I mean, that child is a character and I have NO idea where he gets it from ;).  He is a perfectionist in every sense of the word and that comes straight from Daddy-O.  When we are doing school I see Daddy-O in him daily!  He loves his siblings, legos and minecraft.  Rough housing with Daddy-O is fun but a mama's boy at heart.  Which of course I love!
Caden is my silly boy.  He is just plain goofy and giggly and his laugh is contagious to all who hear it!  He is a free spirit.  During school he and Camron are opposites on the perfectionist spectrum!  Like Camron he loves his siblings, legos and minecraft.  He too is a mama's boy, especially when he's hurt.  He's super sensitive and I make it better.  This makes me happy!
They love each other so much and the twin bond they share is amazing.  Being a twin is such a blessing.  While sometimes they are too dependent on each other, the bond they share is awesome.  They are taking music lessons right now and are ridiculously good to have only had a few lessons.  And yes their teachers say so too ;).  My house is sometimes crazy loud with drums and the guitar but I wouldn't have it any other way.  These 2 bless us immensely each and every day!

Jaxon is 10

Every day when I look at Jaxon, I can't get over how grown he is.  He is such a "big boy" and wise beyond his years.  He is my biggest helper, has the kindest heart of any kid I know, he's my biggest fan and I am his.  He made us parents 10 years ago when we didn't know what we were doing but longed to be parents so badly.  God knew exactly what he was doing when He gave us Jaxon.  He is Daddy-O's mini-me.  He looks up to him in every way and tries to be like him too.  (Yes, even in the ways that make me wanna knock him into the middle of next week....smile).  Jaxon loves nature and everything in it.  He would give anyone the shirt off his back and every penny he has.  He loves to be outside, playing baseball, or anything else adventurous.  He is THE best big brother anyone could ever ask for.  We are blessed beyond belief by being his parents.  For the kids birthdays they get to pick breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  He wanted me to cook sausage, bacon, and eggs for breakfast, we ate Longhorn for lunch and he asked for Sheetz hot dogs for dinner (no I'm not kidding).  We spent a wonderful day together doing what he wanted which of course included a trip to PetSmart just to look around.  I sure do love my Snuggle Puppy :)

Family Birthday Party

Anyone who knows me knows that I throw big ole shabangs (yes it's a word, don't ask) of a birthday party!  I tend to over-do it and invite way too many people.  Well, this year the boys had just a family birthday party.  No bells and whistles, just cake, ice cream and our family.  It was a great time!  Now, I'm not saying we haven't enjoyed all the parties prior to this one but it was nice to have a more intimate time....and a lot less mess ;).

And because my kids are fun and crazy, we let them do things like this in restaurants. I mean, it WAS their birthdays ;)

Oh Oak Island beach, how I love you

Our beach trip to Oak Island is a favored vacation by us all.  My boys have called that house "our beach house" because we have visited it as long as they can remember.  It is cozy.  It is comfortable.  It really does feel like our home away from home!  We are so blessed to be able to visit here (almost) every year!  There is something about being at the beach, listening to the waves break, that makes you feel just a little closer to heaven.  

As usual we had a wonderful time.  Joss was NOT a fan of the ocean.  Poppi got her a little pool so she could stay cool.  She LOVED that and digging in the sand.  The boys would have stayed in the ocean from sun up to sun down had we let them. And yes, this includes Daddy-O!  With a little sweet talking from my Jax, I even got in the ocean a few times and so did Nana!  The grands took the kids to the aquarium and Fort Fisher one day where they came back full of knowledge on all things ocean and war ;).  Daddy-O and I enjoyed the relaxing day just hanging out!  

And as for drama for the week (cause you know we had some since it was us and a vacation), Caden fell out of the bed one night and busted his eyebrow wide open.  Blood squirting everywhere.  This is my child that hates blood.  Once I calmed him down a bit I preceded to wake every other adult in the house to confirm he didn't need stitches.  We made a make shift steri-strip, stuck a bandaid on it and we were good.to.go.  Now don't blame me if the kid has a massive scar....

Choosing pics to post after our trips are just so hard.  I'm sure I'm leaving out some favorites.  But ding-dong me left me camera at home so these are all iPhone pics.  (hey, I'm doing good to only leave a camera when I'm packing for 6 people and a dog!)