Little Miss Conversation

Emma pulled 2 chairs from the playhouse to the far end of the yard and invited (er, demanded) Tatum to come and sit. Then she began the conversation with "Today, I went to Toget (Target)..." , all the while crossing and uncrossing her little legs. Tatum listened politely for a few minutes and then he was off in his own land of make believe. He is a good sport most of the time and doesn't mind Emma taking control of the situation. After all, that is his personality and he's quite comfortable with another giving the orders.

A Good Sabbath Day

We started our Sunday morning by actually having time to take a few pictures of these beautiful children. We are usually 15 minutes late and yelling and throwing children into their seats. But this morning we had our act together. Everyone was in a good mood and looking oh so sweet! Then Daddy comes home from mowing with sussies for all of us...icecream sandwiches!

The big ones enjoyed their's leisurely while discussing important topics such as what color the other's icecream was and how when they kissed Daddy's cheek, they left chocolate lip marks

The little one scarfed his as fast as he could and then couldn't figure out what all the black stuff was all over his fingers

Then we took a little bikeride to our friends house, Tyler and Tucker and played until dinner and bath time

Overall, I would have to say that this day was a major blessing!

Movie night

So the tradition goes...on certain Saturdays, each child picks one movie to rent. After pizza and a bath, Daddy makes a palette in the living room. Of course with a movie, there must be popcorn and when it's over the kids get to have a "sleep over" in their sleeping bags. Tonight the movie was Stuart Little, which Tatum has rented at least 4 times. Tomorrow we will finish the marathon with Charlotte's Web which is an Emma favorite. Please notice the shirt on Mr. TC that has conspicuously roled up due to the overly round tummy. One last note, Emma is the sharer of the popcorn and is more than willing to let TC cram his pudgy fingers into her bowl. She really likes her little brother and will tell you so...along with alot of other information, even when you don't ask. But that is another story. Back to this one, we would like to thank Jason for instating this tradition of movie night.

Crystal Beach

This beach house that we stayed in is most assuredly gone, torn down by Hurricane Ike. Amazing that 3 months ago we were standing on the exact beach that is now piled with the debri of what used to be people's lives.

Hurricane Ike

The short - but eventful - life of Ike
In its brief lifespan of only 13 days, Hurricane Ike wreaked great deal of havoc. Affecting several countries including Cuba, Haiti, and the United States, Ike is blamed for approximately 114 deaths (74 in Haiti alone), and damages that are still being tallied, with estimates topping $10 billion. Many shoreline communities of Galveston, Texas were wiped from the map by the winds, storm
Image of Hurricane Ike on September 10, 2008, taken by the crew of the International Space Station, flying 220 miles above Earth. Ike barreled into the densely populated Texas coast near Houston early September 13, 2008, bringing with it a wall of water and ferocious winds and rain that flooded large areas along the Gulf of Mexico and paralyzed the fourth-largest U.S. city

A house sits among debris, piled up by storm surges after Hurricane Ike made landfall September 14, 2008 in Crystal Beach, Texas.

The surge before the storm swamps Galveston Island, Texas, and a fire destroys homes along the beach as Hurricane Ike approaches Friday, Sept. 12, 2008.

A single home is left standing among debris from Hurricane Ike September 14, 2008 in Gilchrist, Texas. Floodwaters from Hurricane Ike were reportedly as high as eight feet in some areas causing widespread damage across the coast of Texas.

A cemetery flooded by storm surge from Hurricane Ike is shown, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2008, in Galveston, Texas.

U.S. Air Force Pararescueman Staff Sgt. Lopaka Mounts, assigned to the 331st Air Expeditionary Group, receives a hug from a resident during search and rescue operations after Hurricane Ike in Galveston, Texas September 13, 2008

First of many

Thanks to the Dynamic Duo (aka Mom and Granna) the first of many haircuts was accomplished. With locks snipped Tennison looks somehow older, bigger, wiser. I have to admit, I was dragging my heels on this, I wasn't ready for the baby to be gone. But with the new 'do, he looks so handsome, so much like a little boy and not a baby. You know, that's okay. I guess I WAS ready to move on to the toddler stage. And my denying it wasn't preventing it. At least Granna can't style his hair in ponytails anymore and claim him as the youngest poet laureate. That makes Jason happy. And Tennison...well he's just happy.

Yard Boy

That big, noisy, mean mower is somehow less scary on top of Daddy's shoulders