Last one I promise

I love these 2 candid pictures of Lauren!

I can't post pictures and not include one of Buddy having a good time too.
And the winner of the most unusual picture all weekend is here:
I can't believe someone would actually tattoo E.T. on their leg, but wow, that's all I can say..wow.

Family Pictures and then some

Breaking Up is Hard to Do

Here are Lauren and Jansen taking care of each other. And again....
And still more....
But, now we've had enough and when it's over, it's over then. This picture cracks me up!

A Weekend at Petit Jean

Being the adventurous, outdoor people that we are, the family set off Friday afternoon for a one night stay on top of Petit Jean Mountain. We were particularly curious to see how Lauren would do since this was her first tent camping experience. Let's just say next time, it'd be nicer to have a slightly bigger tent ~ 2 adults, 1 child, and 1 dog are kind of close quarters for a 7" by 7" tent. We went as part of a group from church and had a great time fellowshipping and getting to know each other better. Here are some pictures from this weekend, and if any one that's been blogging longer than me can tell me how to post more than 4 pictures on one post, I'd appreciate it, and I'm sure you would too, since you'd only have to read one post that way instead of the 4 or so you'll have to read today :) Also, since I'm asking questions today, how do you prefer captions to pictures? At the top of the picture or the bottom? I'm going to go with the bottom today since I've already posted this paragraph up here. Seriously, after just reading the last couple of sentences, why do you people continue to read this blog? :)
At Petit Jean's grave site ~ we made it to the park program (where Jeremy was Petit Jean's sweetheart Chavet and yours truly was Petit Jean for the interactive part of the program - what can I say? We have friends that really love to volunteer us.) I'll post a couple of pictures from that lovely acting experience later.
Lauren listening intently to Park Guide B.T. telling about one of the legends of how the mountain got its name.
Lauren totally doubting what the Park Guide just told her.
2 blue eyed children. These 2 are about 5 and 1/2 weeks apart and have such a love-hate relationship! Most of the time, they're best friends, but once they hit their breaking point, that's it.

Peaks and Valleys

Although I'm not usually one to get flustered about my age too much, (it still surprises me sometimes that I'm a 30 year old that's been married for close to 10 and 1/2 years with a 2 year old daughter that I adore) I do have moments about my age that I cannot believe actually happened. These 2 experiences are like bookends for my week.

Last Friday morning as my friends and I gathered for our regular Friday morning breakfast at the most friendly restaurant in our small town, one of the employees started a conversation with me about how cute Lauren was. Not unusual, because these employees are the nicest people in town, and they're pretty familiar with our faces, since we're there every Friday, and because the whole concept of chicken for breakfast apparently hasn't quite caught on here yet, we're usually about the only ones in the restaurat. Anyway, I had on a t-shirt from Harding, and the girl taking my order said she visited there in 2003 or 2004 to try to see if that's where she wanted to go to college. She ended up not going there, and I made some comment about graduating in 1999, to which this sweet girl acted totally flabbergasted that I was there that long ago. She went on and on about how there was no way that I was even close to 30 (I told her I had a birthday pretty soon) and then as I was walking off even went so far as to say whatever I was doing, she wanted to know because she only hoped to look as good as me when she was 30. Needless to say, I left Friday on cloud nine, content in the knowledge that I didn't look a day over 24 (at least to this sweet girl).

Fast forward to right after lunch today. Lauren and I are finishing up some grocery shopping at Wal-Mart, and an employee restocking the shelves is getting a kick out of the conversation we're having. Mainly, Lauren is wanting to smell every single shampoo and conditioner on the aisle. This employee looks at me and says the following, " She's cute...is she your granddaughter?" I kid you not!!! I actually asked her to repeat the question because I honestly thought I heard her wrong. (Hearing is the first to go, right?) And, although, it could be feasible in some really sad world that I had a daughter at 14 and then she found herself in the same situation at 14, I cannot imagine someone actually being bold enough to ask the question. Even as I type this, I am still in shock that this woman was completely serious. Ahh, how the mighty have fallen. Guess I better go make my appointment for botox and microdermabrasion soon. Anybody know a good plastic surgeon?

Just a few more

Perhaps my most favorite picture of the afternoon.

I wonder what all a 2 year old has to say to a bunny rabbit. She's probably asking it if it's friends with the 3 that visit our backyard at night.

I really wanted to take this little goat home. I think it was a baby pygmy goat, but it was so very soft and sweet! I'm sure Buddy would have loved another pet!

Fair Animals

Two posts in one day! Thanks goodness there's a fair in town and plenty to blog about!


Lauren and Daddy holding a baby quail.

I'm including this picture not because it's cute, but only to tell you that I won't be winning any Mother of the Year awards this year -and I know I was so close! Notice the band-aid on Lauren's thumb...she also has one on her left hand. So, this morning, I changed out the blade on my razor, and being what I thought was a good mother, put the razor blade way back on our bathroom counter - and not in the garbage down closer to Lauren's level. All was good, until I left Lauren on the counter while I was fixing her hair to get some toothpaste so she could brush her teeth. In the 10 seconds it took me to turn around to Jeremy's sink and get the toothpaste, Lauren had put her toothbrush down, found the razor blade, picked it up, and managed to cut both of her thumbs! Thankfully, they weren't bad cuts, just very superficial, but enough for both of them to start bleeding. She never even noticed them hurting - she didn't start crying until I jumped over and yelled because she had them. Ahh, the joys of toddlerhood!

I love this picture! Check out the bravado of the goat that's sleeping! I'm guessing it doesn't notice the muzzle on the goat it happens to be sleeping on. I'm not sure I'd be so bold as to sleep on its back, but kudos to the goat for being so brave!

Fair Parade 2007

And here are the pictures from the parade this year. I thought we were going to have to leave when the fire trucks came through. Lauren kept saying "take me home" because it was so loud, but after they went through, she loved the rest of it - especially dancing to the marching bands. We kept saying during the parade that we really hoped there were no fires because every single fire truck in the entire county was in the parade yesterday...we think some from some surrounding counties snuck in too. There were several town names on trucks that we didn't recognize. For those of you that grew up in Searcy, remember how we always said the afternoon of the fair parade was the perfect time to commit a crime? That's pretty much how it is here too. Also, apparently one of our smaller communities knows the vaue of self- esteem. There had to be at least 20 children from this very small town that were some kind of pageant winners. If you don't win one pageant there, don't worry, we're pretty sure they'd make one up just for you to win! I have never in my life seen so many variations on pageant names. I'm sure in the scope of 15 minutes, we saw Mr. Tadpole, Mr. Tiny Tadpole, Mr. Teeny Tadpole, and Mr. Teeny Tiny Tadpole. Ahh, the joys of small town life and living close to a town called Toad Suck. Enjoy the pictures of the next Miss Teeny Tiny Too Cute Polliwog.

I also had to throw this one in as a shout-out for all you Razorback fans! Woo Pig Sooiee!

I'm back!

I have returned - for the 4 of you that check my blog regularly, I'm finally back online. I have had no time lately for blogging. Hopefully, that will change now. Our friends are married and on their honeymoon, Lauren is back home after a weekend in Searcy with the grandparents, Jeremy is 32 now and enjoying our joint birthday present (a Nintendo Wii - so much fun!), the Razorbacks lost their first challenge of the season - which also made Jeremy happy since they played Alabama, and life is finally calming back down. Our local fair parade is today. Lauren is so excited about the parade. Last year, Jeremy took an afternoon off, and we walked around the fair and saw the animals. I'm looking forward to that again this year. Here's a couple of pictures of Lauren and one of her buddies last year. I'll post some later of our afternoon fun today.

I can't believe how much she's changed in just a year!

Family Picture

Here's our latest family picture from the beach at Gulf Shores. I'll try to keep posting more.

Too much too soon

I'm realizing now that perhaps I've bitten off more than I can chew with this blogging thing. Hopefully, the 3 of you checking my blog on a regular basis won't be too disappointed that it's not updated more frequently than it is. Talk about pressure! I actually felt guilty over the long weekend that I had nothing to blog about. Unless of course you count the stories from Lauren.

We spent part of the day Saturday with my family in Searcy celebrating 4 family birthdays - there are acually 7 family birthdays spread across 2 weeks, but only 4 were in Searcy to celebrate. Anyway, we're on our way back home late Saturday night, and Lauren is freshly bathed and in her pajamas in the car seat. We've only been in the car 5 minutes or so and I'm asking her about her day. Here's how the conversation went from there:

Me: Did you have a good day today Lauren?
Lauren: Yes
Me: Did you have fun playing with Michael and Joseph (Lauren's cousins)?
Lauren: I'm going to sleep Mommy. (said very much in an "I'm tired, can we please stop the Inquisition" tone of voice)

Needless to say, I stopped asking questions and let the poor tired child drift off to dreamland. Now that my guilty conscience is soothed, I can get back to the cleaning and laundry that I have to do while my little one sleeps.

And so it begins

In response to the massive amounts of people wondering where my blog is (ok, there might be 1 person out there) here it is. I have finally joined the blog world, and although I can't imagine anyone possibly being even slightly interested in my world, I feel compelled to journal it anyway. Lucky for you all :) I guess it goes back to the whole peer pressure argument from my teenage years - you know the one...if everyone else jumps off a bridge would you? And since I always answered no to that particular question, I'll succomb to the everyone else is blogging -shouldn't you be? So, bear with me as I learn to do all this...I'll try to add some pictures and maybe even video as the weeks progress, but for now, I'll sign off and look forward to reading some comments from the 1 or 2 people that have been wondering where my blog's been.