Meeting Our Heroes

Ben insisted on taking a pic with a REAL fireman

Will and Ben are like most little boys, they view firemen, policemen, construction workers, etc. as heroes! It makes me happy they have such respect for such honorable jobs!! I hope it stays that way! The wonderful Chick-fil-A in Flowood had fireman night last night. I took the boys- Rhyne stayed with little Diva, we didn't need her picking fights (just kidding)! On a side note, this Chick-fil-A is so awesome- they really care about customer service! Since Will has been diagnosed with Celiac Disease, Chick-fil-A is the only fast food chain we trust to keep his food gluten free! They really care! Ok, back to fireman night... The boys were in awe the whole time! There were at least 8 REAL firemen there and they even brought the FIRETRUCK!!!! They passed out fireman hats, badges and coloring books! The Chick-fil-A Cow was even dressed up as a fireman! The firemen were so sweet and tolerated the craziness so well! The boys left feeling like they had met celebrities- I really hope these are the types of celebrities they will always be in awe of!!

Fun times without Mom and Dad!

The reason I have this as the title for this post is because my kids really do have fun when Rhyne and I are not around! You would think this would make me sad - just the opposite! It makes it easier for me to relax when I am away from them knowing they are having the time of their little lives!! These pictures are from Grandmother (a.k.a Rhyne's Mom) - she kept them the weekend Rhyne and I went to the Alluvian for our anniversary! You can clearly see the kids are enjoying every minute! Wouldn't you enjoy visiting a place where you can do and get anything you want?

Ms. Ann and Jake visit

After planning to visit for 5 years, Ms. Ann and Jake finally braved a trip to Brandon! (just kidding, Ann)! We went to the splash park in Brandon then had lunch at Chick-fil-A. It was a very short, chaotic, but totally fun day!! Will woke up this morning asking if Ms. Ann and Jake could come play today! I didn't get many pictures because 1. the boys didn't want to have their picture taken and 2. it was fast paced all day!!

Movie with Daddy

the Buzz shirts and of course the "real" Buzz next
to Ben (thanks, Mar-Moo)


Today is Father's Day. God has blessed me with a wonderful Daddy. Considering the way the world is now, I am very blessed that my parents are still married and I have a father who loves me and wants to be involved in my life!! Rhyne has also been blessed with an amazing father! Thankfully, these men are also a huge part of my children's lives. Not only do my children have wonderful grandfathers, their Daddy is pretty special also! Rhyne is such a great father. He is that special father who knows how to make things fun and loves doing things with his kids.


We celebrated Father's Day in Yazoo City with my Paw Paw (my Mom's dad) then decided to be brave and take all three little people to the movies to see Toy Story 3. The boys picked out Buzz Lightyear shirts at Wal-Mart the other day to be totally prepared for the movie! We get to our seats and get settled and start passing out the popcorn (of course Will had his gluten-free popcorn I brought from home)- then Ann Phelps decided to have a screaming fit. She didn't want to sit down. If you know our Little Miss Diva, you know what this fit looked like! I am not so stupid that I didn't think this would happen. I really thought once Buzz and Woody came on the screen, she would settle down and watch- not the case! We made it through the previews and two minutes of the movie and Ann Phelps and I had to leave. I told Rhyne I would be back to get them in an hour and a half. So the boys got to spend some movie time with Daddy and Ann Phelps and Mom went to Bass Pro Shop to hang out and eat supper to kill time! It will be a while before I decide to take Little Diva back to a movie! Rhyne said the boys were glued to the movie. They came out saying how much fun they had - so it was a half success!

10 plus 7

Tickets to the ballet!!



flowers from my hubby



Married at age 21!! So young!!

Today Rhyne and I have reached a milestone - 10 years of married bliss! To explain the title of this post: Rhyne and I have been "dating" since we were 14-going-on-15. In the fall of 1993, Rhyne and I officially became boyfriend/girlfriend (we were freshmen in high school)! So that makes 17 years total! By today's standards, we have been married a long time. I can honestly say I would certainly do it all over again! Some may think I am crazy when I say this, but Rhyne was made for me. God knew I needed the type of guy Rhyne is. I am thankful everyday he is mine! We have been through so much over these 17 years. In just the last 10 years we have gotten married, graduated from college, moved to Brandon, gone through infertility, buried two of our children, celebrated the births of three children, lost loved ones, seen other marriages fail, and through it all, can still look back and feel overwhelmingly blessed!!! I know our relationship is not "normal," but I am glad God planned for us to be different! Rhyne is such a great husband and father. That is hard to find today! So, here's to 10 years and many, many more!! We are going away to the Alluvian this weekend - just us, I can't wait! Praise be to God!

Men at Work

It doesn't take much to get my boys excited. A few dump trucks, some diggers, and a steam roller puts their excitement over the top!! The City of Brandon had a crew working in front of our subdivision today. The boys were so excited to see these machines in action! I had to take a picture of them peeking through the fence to see the construction work- so cute!! And yes, Will is outside in just a t-shirt and underwear - we have redneck tendencies!!

When Mom's away....and Memorial Day

Fishing with Boots

Making gluten-free cupcakes

Water balloon fight with Pap

I found her the perfect purse at a gas

station- it has Dora on it!!

Mandy and Will fought over how to pronounce

these orangutans!! Thanks to Diego, Will was right!

This past weekend, I went to Memphis with Marcie and Mom wedding dress shopping for Marcie's fast approaching wedding in October! We had so much fun - it was fun for us to actually get to visit and talk without the little people around! Rhyne was in charge of keeping all three kids BY HIMSELF!! This is the first time he has had this responsibility for more than 5 hours!! He had to be in charge for 48 hours!! Thankfully, we have an Aunt Mandy who is always willing to help out! She came on Saturday to take the kids to the zoo so Rhyne could have a breather! She documented the zoo trip with pics (and wrote down some details). Rhyne brought the kids to me on Sunday so we could spend Memorial Day with my Dad's family. It was a busy weekend, but fun and full of memories! By the way, Marcie found the PERFECT dress!!

Mandy's commentary about the zoo:

*rhyne had his doubts but i proved him wrong!!!
things worth mentioning:
*one should not leave a stroller on a downward slope! thankfully the kids weren't in it and i am pretty speedy!
*one should not ask a child in public where other people can hear you... "hey, who is the boss: me or you?" if you do not want to be humbled! will loudly said "ME!" all the parents got a good laugh at my expense!
*we were all strutting along and all of a sudden this sprinkler came out of no where and we got soaked...those maintenance men could not stop laughing. we were soaked and screaming and laughing!
*i got us a free ride on the carousel...i like to think it is because i am so hot and young-looking but the guy probably just felt sorry for me!
*totally hot dad commented on how i had my hands full and i said that is such an understatement and then he said well you look like a fun mom. and i was like oh no...i'm not their mother...i'm the aunt!
*it is possible to put 3 kids in a 2-kid stroller....ap and will in the real seats and then ben propped up on the front...and yes, i drove it way too fast! i was like...okay, if y'all fall off it is not my fault...hang on! they just kept screaming faster, faster!
*there aren't really any bathrooms that work at the jackson zoo.
*i should have paid closer attention to rhyne on how to collapse the stroller. thankfully it fit in the back of the exploder without collapsing it! (rhyne didn't want me to take his truck...i was like "you trust me with your three children but not your truck!"
*i will say this....i cannot imagine being YOU! you are a wonderful mother. those kids are so blessed to have you!

thanks to both you and rhyne for trusting me with your children. i am so blessed!!! (we love aunt Mandy too)