Miss Antioch Beauty Pageant

Oh, the good 'ole south- football, bbq, huntin', fishin', and beauty pageants! Jaelin decided a couple months ago that she wanted to be in her school beauty pageant. Yes, it seems as though she does have some girliness in her after all! I was told it was a "no big deal" casual pageant and that most of the girls wear Sunday dresses and don't really go all out for it. Simple enough. I later find out that most of the girls have rented dresses, hair stylists coming to the school, and a professional photography company has been hired. I had ordered Jaelin a little flower girl dress online, was planning on doing her hair and make up myself, and taking my own pictures and video. Funny how things suddenly change the night before the big day. We went and tried on dresses and rented one that suited her perfectly. I was still semi-confident in my ability to do her hair and make up. We had fun, and I think we were both happy with how it turned out.

Once we got to the school, we set up shop-got dressed, did the touch up hair spray, lip gloss, etc. and she waited her turn to go up on the big stage. Jaelin was #19 out of 21 girls in her division so it took a little while. She did so good for her first time, not straying away from the judges at all, blowing her little kisses, and doing her exit wave. Once all the girls were finished, the judges tallied their scores, and they brought the 4 finalists back on stage just as David and Ayden were walking in from Football. Jaelin won Miss Antioch- Petite Miss- First Alternate. Basically, if they find some racy pics of the winner, Jaelin gets bumped up. She was so excited to receive her trophy, tiara, and sash...not to mention the flowers from Daddy :)

Piper and Jaelin; They're in the same class.

2nd Alternate McKilah (Kindergarten) and Jaelin

Lining up to strut her stuff...I'm hoping the photog got a better side shot of her on stage...

Miss Antioch Petite Miss Winner (2nd Grade), Jaelin (Kindergarten), and Miss Photogenic (2nd Grade)

Ms. Pratt and Jaelin (I think she was more excited that her teacher was there to watch)

One proud little family. Ayden's team won their game too, remaining undefeated.

Cloud 9

Halloween

This year's Halloween started off with the usual baking of the famous cookies and carving of the pumpkins. However, David and I got a little taste of how it will be when the kids leave home. I baked and he carved while the kids played outside with their friends. They had no interest until it was time to ice the cookies and eat them, of course...Jaelin posing with the "flat Girl Scouts" from Moldova

Shopping for costumes was quite the event. Ayden had no idea what he wanted to be, and Jaelin went in wanting to be a candy corn witch. There was simply no time to throw a costume together this year so into the store we went. Party City has this little system where you see the pictures on the wall, remember the number of the costume you want, and tell the store associate to get it for you in your size. Mind you, there was about a 20 minute wait in line to get to an associate, and this is about 3 weeks before Halloween. We stood in that line 3 times. Either they didn't have it in stock, the costume was "itchy," the mask was irritating, or it didn't fit. Oh yes, did I forget to mention that once Jaelin saw all of the options she backed down from her candy corn witch idea and decided to try on about 6 other costumes? Would you like to take a guess right now on what she walked out with?? Oh yes, little miss candy corn witch! Ayden, on the other hand, walked out with nothing, but was very excited when he had a ninja costume waiting for him when he got home from school! It turned out to be a fun night. All the kids from our street went trick-or-treating together. By the time we got around the neighborhood, half of them couldn't carry their buckets anymore because they were so heavy. I think we ended up with more candy at the end of the night than what I bought to give out....hello sugar rush!

The kids with some of their friends- Gemma, "Turtle," and "Miggy"

My Little Running Back...

Before Ayden started football he said he really wanted to be the "runnerback" or the quarterback. He now knows that the position is actually "runningback," and he's gotten a taste for what it's like to hold that position. I am so proud of him! He's one of the littlest guys on the team, but he doesn't seem to notice. Last Saturday he was able to run the ball with a total of about 25 yards and a 2 point conversion play. He is absolutely thrilled, and now that he knows what it's like to get the ball in his hands he's ready for more! High 5-ing the coach after his fumble recovery.

The Crestview Cowboys remain undefeated and have not allowed any points to be scored on them this season. Way to go boys!!

Gulfarium with the Girl Scouts

The Girl Scout troop has been keeping us on our toes lately with all sorts of activities and meetings. The latest has been the trip to the Gulfarium. The girls had so much fun visiting the dolphins, sting rays, sea otters, walrus, sharks, alligators, sea turtles, and penguins. We were able to see a few different shows and meet a lot of other troops from the area. Here are some pics from the day...

Johnny Appleseed

The 1st graders at Antioch Elementary do a Johnny Appleseed play every year. We have had the priviledge of hearing all the songs being sung for the past month, and we finally got to enjoy the play yesterday evening. Although Ayden didn't have a speaking part, all the kids in the background were just as involved and definitely had the opportunity to show their personalities through the songs. It was super cute!

Shower time the evening before the play:

Ayden, go get your shower so you can be all ready for Johnny Appleseed tomorrow.

I'm not playing Johnny Appleseed, mom.

I know but you still need a shower.

No. I'm playing a mushroom, and mushrooms stink so I don't need a shower.

As I'm doing Jaelin's hair before school the morning of the play:

Jaelin, you get to do a play next year when you're in first grade too.

Really? Well, I hope we do Arby's.

Wait- what? Jaelin, it's "AppleSEED" not "AppleBEES." Goof!

Little Daisy

Jaelin is loving Girl Scouts! She was unsure about joining so we decided to go to one meeting to see how it would go, and she walked out as a Daisy. The troop has so many activities planned for the year, and the girls are already earning their badges. They just finished up their fall sale of nuts and candy, and thanks to everyone who supported Jaelin, she sold $466 worth of products and earned 6 patches! She is so thrilled!

Once a month we do Helping Hands at the senior citizen home in town. It's a great volunteer opportunity and learning experience for the girls! Everyone really enjoys themselves whether they're playing games, doing a craft, or just visiting. This past Saturday we made some Halloween decorations for the residents to hang in their rooms.

Jaelin and Mr. Leland

Superhero!

I walked in the house a little while ago and here came Jaelin. I kind of had to compose myself a bit since she gets embarrassed pretty easily. I asked her what she was doing. She says she's "a superhero that rescues food and gives it to people who don't have any." I am a proud mama right now! I love you little J-bug!

Football Frenzy!

After a month of practice 3 times a week, football season has finally kicked off! Last night was the Jamboree for all the pee wee 1 teams. They played 10 minute intervals to get the kids acclimated to being on the field with officials and all. Since it's Ayden's first year playing, they have him on the line for now. He's starting to understand that every job is important, and you don't necessarily have to have the ball in your hands to make a difference. He really likes being a part of the team, and the coaches are great! We're in SEC country now so it's serious business! Before the first practice the coaches made sure that everyone understood that they're here to win- no playing around. Whoever had a problem was free to leave. They've done an excellent job teaching the boys discipline and patience. I'm excited to see what the season holds for the Cowboys. Yes. I know. The Cowboys..what do ya do?? 10 minutes= 2 possessions= 2 touchdowns! It's looking good!

We tried and tried to talk Jaelin into cheering for the team, but there was just no way we could convince her! She probably would have rather been on the field with the boys.

First Day of School....already?!

So last Thursday was the first day of school. Ayden is now a 1st grader and Jaelin a kindergartener. Seriously, for real? It's so weird having them both gone for the entire school day! I'm so glad that we got little Zoey- she keeps me from talking to myself anyway. Kind of. Okay, so anyway, first day of school- yeah. :) The kids HAD to ride the bus the first day. They were super excited, and Jaelin finally gets to see what it's like to go to "big kid" school. The bus drivers here are so great! They go off their route to come right up to the driveways of the littler kids. When their teachers asked them what their favorite thing about school was so far they both replied, "riding the bus!"

I'm so glad that they both like their teachers! It's so important at this stage. Jaelin got Ms. Pratt, Ayden's old teacher, and Ayden got Ms. Donaldson. They both have an "All About Me" project due at the end of the month, and they can't wait to do their homework every night! How long might that last??

Recap...

I can't believe that summer vacation is over already! It has been a good one though. I was fortunate enough to have old friends come visit, take a long road trip with David, the kids, and Zoey (Oh yes, we are now dog owners.), and have my parents here for a few days.

Tanna and Daniel are such wonderful people that I know from many years ago! I think we figured it to be about 12 years since we've seen one another. Needless to say, it was really nice to see them, and the kids just adored them both! David, again, was in Mississippi, but he'll see them next time.

Maine was so much fun- it's hard for me to even sum it up. We weren't sure if we were going to be able to go because of the way that David's training fell. It was leaning towards no, so we were pretty dead set that we were just going to stay home over the 4th. This family reunion had been planned for a very, very long time, but the military stops for no personal plans! We informed the family that we wouldn't be there, and there was nothing we could do. It eventually turned out that we were going to be able to go, but we decided to leave it as a surprise and just show up at the camp. We drove for 25 hours straight and I got a speeding ticket (of course) before we decided to stop for the night. We didn't bother checking for a pet friendly hotel so naturally this is when Zoey discovered she had a bark. Luckily there were no complaints. We drove the rest of the way the following morning just in time for wonderful conversation over coffee. It was so awesome to be able to surprise everyone- it had been so, so long since we'd seen the whole family together. The cousins jumped right in and started playing like they never missed a beat. There were so many laughs over the campfire and many old stories that brought back some great memories. Grandma is dearly missed, but I know she was right in there with us all!

Welcome to the camp! Grandpa and David

Bridgton's 4th of July ParadeDavid showing off a bit.Lobster Bake- YUM!Brooke, Dawn, and MeDavid wakeboarding at sunset.

Little Zoey after a swim in the lake. The guys having cigars out on the dock.

Cute cousins!

I wish I could post all of the pictures I took, but 400 something is a lot!

Finally, on the way home from Maine, we stopped at my moms and dropped the kiddos off for 2 weeks! It was kind of nerve wrecking for me to be gone from them for so long, but everything turned out okay. Ayden had to go to the ER, as usual, so that was already expected. They had fun, but I think they were glad to be home too. My mom and Bob drove them back and stayed with us for a few days. We went to the beach a lot, out to dinner, and David and my mom had a margarita or 6. First time on the ATVAbout to be kid-free. Yikes!Beer in a mason jar- ole West VirginiaMom tormenting Jaelin.

Glad to have our babies back!