some things never change:

Aedan and Josiah

Mercy and Josiah

pre-halloween pics

We took some pictures yesterday of the kids in their Halloween costumes. We have a busy weekend, and wanted to make sure we got the pictures in with their pumpkins. Our church's harvest carnival is on Sunday~the kids are looking forward to it. Here they are with their beautiful pumpkins (carved by Ryan)...bought at Aldi for the great price of $2.00 each...

Aedan~ Buzz Lightyear, Josiah~ a dinosaur (T-Rex to be exact), and Mercy Cate~ a pumpkin

Buzz Lightyear and a T Rex...looks like a friendly one

Mercy with her pumpkin! Her first fall...in beautiful Tennessee!

camping

~Ryan and the boys~

~Aedan's first campout~

~testing out the tent~~ preparing the site~

~two excited boys~

~ ready to go~

~hotdogs and marshmellows await~
~a cold night ahead~
~songs by the fire~
~time with daddy~
~early risers~
~boys sleeping in every different direction~
~cranky boys the next day~
~(hopefully) memories that will last~

Mercy is 6 months!

Mercy at 6 months

Mercy had her 6 month check up today. She weighs 15 lbs 10 oz. She is still at the 50 percentile in weight and 75 in height. She is a tall girl! She's been a little fussy this evening from her shots:( Hopefully, she will feel better tomorrow.

Favorite Virginia pics

I decided to post some of my favorite pictures from my recent trip:) I had sooooo many, so I made the video in the previous post. I was in Virginia with the kids for four days. I traveled the whole way in one day and then stopped at my friend, Christie's, on the way back. It just added an hour of extra drive time, but then I only had 8 hours the next day. The hardest part for me (with traveling) was listening to Mercy cry:( and also the stops with all three. It's easier now that Aedan is potty trained, but also can be more difficult at times. (If you have toddlers or a good memory....you know what I'm talking about.) My mom and I pushed the kids like crazy...we kept them on the go!!!! The first day we went to Blue Bird Gap Farm, a military airplane/rocket area in Hampton, McDonald's, and Buckroe Beach! The kids were so excited to hear that we were going to a beach! Their enthusiasm surprised me! They had a blast and loved every minute of it. We ventured to Busch Gardens the second day. The kids did FABULOUS! Again, we just kept going and going. They loved the rides...from Land of the Dragons, the Merry-go-round, the train ride, the pet show, the balloons, gliders, Sesame World, and the amazingly fast elephant ride...they loved it all...even the rats!:) Mercy also did wonderfully...she sat in her stroller most of the time...I'm assuming she was entertained. (Also, she seems to like being outside.) We were there 8 hours!! WOW!!

Mom and the boys at Blue Bird Gap Farm. Yes, the steroid cow was present...a sad looking deer, and a llama "asleep" in a pin:)

Airplanes and rockets!!! The boys loved it!

My favorite picture of the boys:)

Aedan with a horseshoe crab

Busch Gardens

The glider ride...Josiah loved it! This is an older ride that I rode when I was little.

All aboard!! We rode the train around the park:)

Mercy in the baby jogger:)

Mercy Cate at the beach! We went back to the beach a second time on Saturday! The weather was beautiful the whole time!

Mercy and Gigi

The McGann and Russell kids:) silly faces!!

Virginia Trip 2010 at OneTrueMedia.com

The kids and I made the LONG trek to see my mom a couple weeks ago. It was definitely worth it, and the boys had a great time! We went to Buckroe Beach, Busch Gardens, Blue Bird Gap Farm, and the park. FUN! FUN! FUN! (You may need to start the video, and then pause it to allow for download. Enjoy!)

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

game day...

at our house consists of football, Clemson T-shirsts (or a onesie), and popcorn! Every Saturday is known as "gameday". The boys love pulling out their Clemson T-shirts and wearing them (to be like Ryan). During halftime Ryan takes the boys out to throw the football...Aedan, especially, loves it:)

Mercy

3 sweeties

Josiah with his popcorn and chips

Aedan with his popcorn and chips

Ryan's typical face during Clemson's season this fall.

Papa's visit

At the end of last month, my dad came up for a visit. He arrived on his birthday after driving from his cousin's surprise birthday party, which was in Chattanooga. We had a busy three days with the kiddos. Here are some pictures:

opening up presents

everyone loves presents!

Mercy and Ryan

blowing out the candles on the AMAZING fish cake:)

next....to the trains!!

all aboard!!!

Josiah on the tracks!

After the trains, we headed over to the Children's Museum. We hadn't been there in a while (a long time...about 2 years, I think). The boys had a great time!

On the 2nd day, we went to the park.

After the park, we headed to the zoo in Cookevile...Petco! On the third day, we went to Burgess falls. The kids did great, and loved playing on the playground after our hike to the falls.

It was a fun visit! We are glad Papa was able to come:)

Edgar Evins State Park

Last weekend we took a little trip out to Edgar Evins State Park. We found a nice trail to walk on. Aedan got tired on the way, so Ryan gave him a piggy-back for some of it. Josiah walked the whole thing! He was sooooo tired when we got home. It was definitley a "nap" day! Mercy did great, as well. At the end, Ryan ran back to the van, so we wouldn't have to walk the whole way back. Here are some pictures:

Here we are waiting for Ryan...yes, we look a little desperate here...but we didn't have to wait long for him. He made it back to us FAST!