Down Memory Lane....

We have lived in our home here in EC for 2 1/2 years. Our first summer it took us a little while to get the sod in, the dirt pile was way more fun than grass anyway!

Notice someone missing from these photos? Our dearest Hailey. Remember she used to go to bed at 3 o'clock in the afternoon (and sleep all night long) about 2-3 times a week that whole summer long?!!! Oh, the good ole' days!!!!

Tennessee! Part 2

Stuart and Jackson went shopping at a hillbilly store. And I found this photo on the camera. Sometimes I wonder what he is teaching our boy!

Go carts! What a highlight of our trip. Actually, I think they were the best part of Jackson's trip! Since the cars went a max of 5 mph, they were allowed to drive themselves. Hailey, well, not the best driver yet! The job of steering and using the petals was just too much for her. Actually, this is the one moment I wish I had a video camera on vacation. The adults were laughing so hard we had tears. She would crash in to the wall, wave to us, and give us a thumbs up as the instructor had to push her away from the wall, once again.......

More rides!

Hailey loves this boat. We have a whole series of about 20 photos! Every time boat would swing up Hailey would make a different silly face.

The kiddos had a little cuddle time. Rest was much needed after our long hot days! (Just turn your head a little!)

Dollywood! Guess it is a must do if you are in the area. We can know say we have been....for what that is worth!

In attempt to beat the heat at Dollywood, our family shared a slushie. This is Hailey making sure Jackson did not take too much!

On our last day, we took a tour of a movie car museum! The camera is full photo of cars from different movies. The boys loved this...so check Stu's blog...wait, he does not have one....guess you are out of luck!

Time to head for home! We did take 3 days to return and made a few stops along the way. One was the original KFC restaurant. Pretty neat.

Yes, Jenna was on this trip too! She did great. She is such a great car and stroller traveler. I have several photos of her from the trip. She happens to be in her stroller in all of them! Here she is at the Louisville Zoo. (which, by the way, is an awesome zoo!)

Jackson and Hailey in the very last photo of our trip. They are sitting on a display in the zoo.

There is a glimpse at our trip. We had a great time to TN and learned that our family does really well on car trips. Well, with Dramamine for Hailey anyway!

Tennessee! Part 1

Our Trip to TN! Get comfy and relax, it is family vacation photo time!

Our 14 hour car trip started out with leaving around 1pm on a Thursday, we arrived in TN on Friday at 5am! Yes, that was a marathon drive by Stuart!

Upon arrival we took a 4 hour nap, and then hit the pool!

This was Jenna's first time swimming! Of course I don't have photos -- I was in the pool with her!

Here are all the kiddos -Jenna, Hailey, Jackson, Emma and Jane. We were waiting in the 96 degree heat for a trolley. The kids did awesome!

The kids went on A LOT of rides. They were thrilled each and every time, well maybe not Jane! Here is Emma and Hailey spinning the teacup as fast as they could the whole ride. I learned today that spinning in good for child brain development. These girls are going to be brilliant!

Here I am! I just wanted you to know I was on the vacation as well. Since I am usually the photographer, the albums are usually missing a person! This photo is from the Dixie Stampede. Wow, was that a treat! First I realized that we were not getting silverware to eat with. Nope finger food. Okay. Sip my soup. Then corn bread. Excellent. Then a WHOLE chicken! Yes, one per person, Jackson and Hailey each got a whole chicken too! Still no fork! This is southern style. Ummm...does Dolly eat this way?

After the food shock, we did settle in to a pretty entertaining show.

We took a little time to explore Gaitlenberg TN as well. (only a few miles from Pigeon Forge). Here is Stuart and his bro Eric.

A little Indiana Jones mini putt. A first for the kids and they love it! I admit, Stuart won....

I could do a whole blog and photo album on the kids with animal statues! By the end of the trip they were asking for their picture to be taken!

To be continued to part 2.....

Just a Swingin'

Here are our kiddos, each around the age of 5 months! What do you think? Who looks like who?

My Girls!

When Grandma Sandler came to visit in the early spring she purchased two cute matching outfits for the girls. Two things needed to happen for the outfits to work - weather and Jenna's growth! Well, the day has arrived. Here are my spring chicks! Thanks Grandma! And today you get two photos. That is what it takes to get two girls to smile!

I will try to update ya'll later on the very successful trip to TN.

Inside the Guestbook Store

I know you have always been wondering what it looks like inside the store. Admit it, you do wonder! We are busting at the seams of our 1200 square foot office. Dad put up more shelving so we now have about 5000 albums on shelves and more back in storage. Our assembly line is established for picking and packing orders. And you can see, Jenna items are here and there around the store. She is our best employee!! Some companies give chocolate doughnuts to motivate employees, we give Jenna Smiles! Melts Papa's heart every time!

Well, that is small a glimps of where I spent my days. And you thought, I was just pretending to work :)

My Graduate!

Another milestone for Jackson. He has officially graduated from preschool. The ceremony was very nice and Jackson was very proud. Upon receiving his diploma, the teachers asked him, what do you want to be when you grow up? And Jackson's responce, "A font designer." Half of the audience bursted out in laughter, the other said "uh?" He repeated himself loud and clear. I think there were still a few in the audience that were in the dark, see Jackson has a step up on them already! By the way, Jackson did dress himself for his big day. I told him to dress nice, and he came back down in a tie! Stuart did have to give hime a little lesson on why we tuck in dress shirts. You will see in the photos that it did come untucked!