Why I go Black Friday Shopping

I love facebook for the reasons that I can keep up with people in a busy time in all of our lives that I would otherwise never know anything about but lately it has been getting on my nerves.

I am going to jump off the subject for a second with an example of what I am talking about.  There are all the time these status updates saying things like "Quit sending me Candy Crush request.  I actually work for a living and don't have time like you to play".  First off, I don't send request, the game automatically does that.  Second, I do play....I play while setting for endless hours in the pediatricians office.  I play while waiting in the car rider line to pick my kids up from school every single day.  I play at night when I go to bed at 1:00 AM and still can't seem to fall asleep because I have my business on my brain.  Believe it or not, I don't set around and play all day while you are out working hard.  I work too.  I run a business.  I work at that business.  I take my kids to school, pick them up, go to every Dr.'s visit with them, do homework with them, cook them meals, play with them, take them to sports and dance, clean my house (sometimes:), do all the laundry, give my husband some attention and at the end of every single night when you go to bed, I start working yet again in to the wee hours of the night on the business I love.  So rest assured that I'm not chilling and playing Candy Crush all day while you have a life and I don't.

 Now on to the real subject:)  So many people have been posting on facebook lately about how awful people are for going Black Friday shopping.  They say "you should be with your family" and "you are part of the problem".  First off, I promise you that I don't miss a single family gathering on Thanksgiving to go Black Friday shopping.  I even let others comments get to me so much on facebook that I felt like I needed to ask me husband yet again if it bothered him that I went shopping that night.  He rolled his eyes and said he would be in bed, along with my children, so why did he care.  Oh, OK!  The internet just made it seem like I was doing something wrong....stupid internet.

Not all shoppers that go that night are these hardcore stampeding maniacs that you hear about on the news.  In fact, if you have ever been you will know that most of the people going that night aren't like that at all.  I can tell you I run in to more friendly people than I do crazy ones that night.  We socialize with others in the long lines and by the time we checkout, we know a little about each other.Who knows, I may be the only conversation that person got to have in person that day.

I don't go that night to fight people, be mean, or to be a way from my family.  I go that night b/c it is a good excuse to go shopping with my sister and two of my friends.  I go that night b/c it is the only time the whole entire year that I do anything like that with my sister.  We shop and maybe find a few good deals but we also go eat, talk and have time together.  So to be honest, I am spending time with my family....my sister.  My sister who has six kids and very little free time.  My two friends that are so busy with their own lives, we don't get to see each other much but every year we know that we will at least get a kid free and peaceful meal together at the IHOP on Black Friday.  In fact, if you take the time to speak to some of the people in the line around you while waiting to checkout, you will find that 90% of them are shopping with their mothers, sisters, grown children and aunts that they probably don't have much alone time with all year long except this one night.  For a lot of people it is a tradition.  It isn't that we have this evil plot to make people work on Thanksgiving.  I can assure you that if I stayed home this year and didn't shop, Target will still open up at 8:00 PM on Thanksgiving and never miss my small purchase not one bit. 

The moral of the story is stop judging people for what they do.  Being rude about others decisions is not going to make you happy, it is just going to make you a grumpy pants.  You have no idea why someone is going shopping.  Maybe they really do have to go just to be able to afford that special gift for their child.  Maybe they go for the reasons I do, time with people I care about without the children.  Maybe they just want some adult time.  Maybe they are just going to make you mad.  No matter the reason, you know nothing about it.  You choose to stay home....great!  I'm not talking all horrible about you like you are the reason the economy sucks b/c you won't go shopping on Black Friday (slow your roll, I know that isn't the reason just like I know that I'm not the only reason stores are opening on Thanksgiving evening).

You enjoy your time doing whatever you are doing and I will enjoy my time with my sister and friends while shopping and eating without a kid needing me to help them blow their nose or watch them throw a fit in the middle of the store b/c I won't buy them anything.  It is my peaceful time, believe it or not.

May you all have a wonderful and happy Thanksgiving doing whatever you choose to do!

Famous Friday!!!

I am a Kardashian fan...don't judge!!!  But I have to say that this picture on TMZ  is the best picture I have ever laid eyes on.  Honey Boo Boo's family dressed up as Kardashians.  

THE BEST!

Happy Happy Friday folks!

Humans of New York

Happy Hump Day!

I don't like a lot of crazy stuff on facebook b/c I don't want to have all kinds of crazy stuff showing up on my news feed.  A while back, a friend posted something about following Humans of New York on facebook.  I was intrigued and liked the page.  I absolutely love it.  Some of the daily post are so inspiring, some are just reality and some just make me smile.

One that has not only been inspiring to me recenlty but has also made me smile is one that was posted yesterday about a man that, along with his wife, had adopted a daughter from Ethiopia.  He randomly had a conversation with the photographer of Humans of New York and that prompted them to post his picture and do a very quick fundraiser to help him raise some money to go toward their second adoption in Ethiopia.

The goal was to raise $26,000.  I seriously can not stop going to the page and refreshing it.  It makes my heart want to explode.  

As of this second they have officially raised $77,581 in just at 24 hours!!!!  It is amazing the people that are out there that will help in any way that they can. Anything over the $26,000 raised will go toward the education of both of their adopted children.  How amazing is that???  It just goes to show you that God can make a simple conversation, change your life!

Check out the facebook page at 

Humans of New York

Here is the Fundraiser page

I just love it!

Happy Fall Y'all

This year was the first year in a long time that we haven't done the whole pumpkin patch thing.  I think the kids were a little sad about it but we just kind of ran out of time.  Plus we felt like that since we took them to the mountains and Dollywood for a weekend, some great big Aldi pumpkins would just have to do.

Instead of having the big old mess of pumpkin carving this year, I ruined Halloween yet again by only giving an option of painting pumpkins.  Their world came crashing down until they realized how fun painting a pumpkin all by their self could be....such a bad mama I am!

I usually love fall but this year I am totally missing my flip flops and gym shorts so I have been slacking in the fall fun area.  Truth is, I never really pushed fall activities until the October that we lost our precious baby boy.  That year was the first year we went to a pumpkin patch even though Ry was pushing four years old.  It was excruciating as I watched pregnant women and new born babies pass me by.  The next year we had Tegan and that helped to ease the pain but honestly, this time of year will never be easy on me.  Filling it up with busy days will never fill me up the way I need to be.  This year I was tired.  Tired of pushing myself to do things that will forever be my reminder....as if I need one.  So I decided not to force myself.  My kids didn't understand but I don't expect them to, or anyone to understand.  Seven years have passed me by.  While time heals it also takes me further away from him while yet getting me closer to him in heaven.  I read the following words on another blog that another mother with a loss wrote....no truer words have ever been wrote:

I am a different woman in my loss and grief and there is an inner struggle with the old me. I had to learn several boundaries and continue to learn more of what I can and cannot do.

GOD blessed me so much on this earth. This should be enough, right? But inside I still crave more because of the emptiness Reese (her daughter) left behind. Right now GOD uses this to make me hunger for Heaven and not be content in this world. This world is not my home.

wrote by Katie's Keeper

 
I know that I am beyond blessed with my two perfect and healthy children.  My cup runneth over when I see those awesome blessings in front of me.  They make every single day worth living and if I had to trade one child to get these two, I would do it over and over again.
Tegan wasn't having any part of the picture.  He was tired and being a meany pants but I finally caught a picture of him not looking like the devil.

Now I'm ready for Christmas.  My most favorite time ever!

Now if only I can locate some money to Christmas shop:)

Throwback Thursday

I can't believe my babies use to be so little:(

and that I looked so young!!!

Gatlinburg and Dollywood

For six days, my little man ran a fever.  I took him to the doctor and heard the dreaded words..."It is just viral and has to run its course".  I was so worried because we had a trip planned for the following weekend and I just knew it wasn't going to get to happen. He would be fine during the day and then spike a fever and throw up once at night. The night before we were suppose to leave, the same thing happened but being the great mother I am, I stocked up on fever meds, package our bags and told him to push through:)

Push through he did.  The mountain air must have been exactly what he needed b/c he never got sick again.  We spent a quick little weekend at a super nice condo right in downtown Gatlinburg.  We got up first thing Saturday morning to head to Dollywood.  The bonus of the day was that I woke up with no voice....no voice at all!  I could only whisper for most of Saturday but as I had told Tegan, I had to push through.  

We got to Dollywood when they opened at 9:00 am and didn't leave until 7:00 pm.  It was a long day but so much fun.  I had that moment while we were there....the one where it hit me that my kids were at a great age.  No one cried and whined.  They could get on most all of the rides.  I didn't have to carry anyone. 

It was just a perfect day for all of us.  Now we were tired by the time we finally made it back to the car but it was well worth it.  Ten hours of fun was had by all!!!

Of course I posted all my pictures on Instagram and didn't share them with the facebook world so now I can't get them to upload from my phone and I can't copy them off of Instagram:(

Taking that weekend trip to the mountains was one of the best things we could of done.  We made lots of great memories and just focused on our babies!  It made my heart happy!

Ahhh....This Day!

I am trying very hard to teach my kids to not let the difficulties of life control them and make them become bitter.  As morbid as it sounds, I tell Rylee (Tegan doesn't get it yet) often that if something devastating ever happens to me, the very last thing I want for her to do is become angry and a victim of her situation.  It is just amazing at what God teaches us through challenges and triumphs.

To say that I have ever felt angry over having to bury my baby boy would be a stretch but a victim would be an understatement.  I had to learn to not be a victim because I lost something that was truly never mine.  My whole life changed that day.  In the past couple of years I decided that I would let that sweet boy's brief time change me but not define me and that is exactly what I pray for every day.  Every prayer that I pray, I praise God for this baby.  I praise God that he let me borrow him, I praise God that he took him so that he never knew a life without the goodness of heaven, and I praise God that he got me through it.

It is amazing to me at how fast 7 years has flown by.  There was a point when I was holding this boy that I closed my eyes and prayed for it to be a year from then because time would be the only thing that would make it better.  The thing is, I have adjusted and I do very very well for what I have been through but every single day of my life, there is a piece of me missing.  Every family picture, every family trip, every day....there is just something missing and that will never change for me no matter what I do to fill that void.  But you know what, I survive those days, months and all 7 of these years.  I still cry from time to time.  I still wonder.  I still look at Tegan and wonder if Cohen is somewhere inside of him or would have been just like him because let's face it, all those Minish boys are one in the same....I know, I'm raising one and married to one:)

To the boy that will forever be my baby....

We are another year closer to each other.  I have never looked forward to anything more than I do getting to see you again one day!

Year two post
Year three post
Year four post
Year five post
Year six post

Throw Back Thursday

Oh how much I miss this baby boy being this little:(

I'm feeling some "my kids are growing up" pains today for sure!

#throwbackthursday

School Started Back....over a month ago!!!

It seems to be getting harder and harder to stay caught up on this blog.  While I love recording our life, it seems to keep falling to the very bottom of my list these days.

The kiddos started back to school over a month ago now.  I thought I would have more time to get things done but it seems like things just keep getting busier for me...which I shouldn't complain about.

These little cutie pies started 5th and 1st grades this year...

 

Ry got off to a great start and is in love with her teacher this year.  We have been so lucky for her to have such great teachers all through elementary school.  I can't believe this is her last year in elementary school.  I can't imagine sending that little beauty in to a different school:(

 

Teg had a slow start but it seems to be getting better.  He has a great teacher that totally understands that he is young....one of the youngest in his grade.  The best thing is that there are about 4 or 5 other boys in his class that all have birthdays close to his so he isn't the only one.  Last week was his first full week of school without getting in trouble for talking or not paying attention.  We celebrate the baby steps around here:)

 

Teg is playing football and Ry has started back to dance so life is really busy right now.  My business, Cohen Lane, is still doing very well so there is no downtime for me.

 

Hopefully I can start writing and updating more.  I have been toying with the idea of just taking this blog down b/c I can't keep up but I just hate to let go of all the sweet memories we have on here so for now, I am going to try to hold on.

 

Hope you all have a great week!

 

Best Little Boy In The Whole Entire World!!!

Today is my sweet little Tegan's 6th Birthday!  How in the world is he already six??

He is the perfect little boy for our crazy little family.  He gives us energy and keeps us on our toes.

For the past six years he has pushed my buttons and slap worn me down with all his energy and very boyish ways.  I have complained and grumbled about how hard he is to handle and how exhausted he makes me but I have to tell you, I wouldn't trade that stuff for a single second.  Yes he is full of energy and mischief but he is also totally full of sweetness, kindness, love and so many other things.

More recently I have noticed that this kid has a heart of gold.  As he gets older and I am around more kids his age, I start to realize that I am a very lucky mama.  He isn't mean or harsh to others.  He tries to include everyone even when others are not including him.  His heart is so tender and so full of kindness for others. 

I will take all that energy and bouncing off the walls any day for a kid who genuinely loves others!

Over the past year he has played soccer (hated it), t-ball (loved it), football (tolerates it) and golf (loves the golf cart and being with his daddy).  He has just lost his first two teeth (bottom front) in the last two weeks and poor thing literally lost one of them but the tooth fairy gave him money anyways:)

 He does everything on his own time.  The more you push him the more he doesn't have interest.

Over the summer he went from being terrified of the water to completely teaching himself to swim....wish I could take credit for that.  I have shown him a thousand times how to tie his shoes and then one day about a month ago, he just sat down and did it all by himself.  I am learning that giving him a little time is all he needs.

He is also a very simple little kid.  I tried and tried to get him to have a swimming party this year but he just didn't want one.  He wanted a "special day" to do whatever he wanted instead.  So that is exactly what we did and even then, he wanted a pretty low key day and loved every minute of it.

The very best part of Tegan is that he knows he is my baby and he has no problem with it.  Over the last two weeks he has suddenly been asking me to rock him to sleep at night and I have been more than happy to!

 This little boy has taught me when to speed up and when to slow down.  He has taught me that life should be fun and full each and every day.  If you are a mother, you know how much my heart loves him but only those that have lost a baby will know how much my heart needed him as my rainbow baby!

 There is no little boy in this entire world that is better than my sweet T!

Happy 6th Birthday to my little man!

 

Her Mercy!

I've been on somewhat of a blogging break but promise to get all caught up soon...maybe:)

I've been wanting to write this for a while and just couldn't find the time. I feel like there is no better day than today for me to pour my heart out in honor of a precious baby boy, Landon, on his birthday.  Happy birthday sweet boy...you are so lucky that you get to celebrate all your birthdays on a street of gold!

Two years ago today, one of my closest and dearest friends joined me in a club that I was totally content being in all by myself. The places that God puts us in throughout this lifetime are not always places where we are going to look our best.  There are struggles, tears, worries, regrets, what could of been and so many more. If you are lucky, you make it through a lot of your life without having one of those moments that forever change your life but if you are blessed, God gives you that one thing that can forever change you and bring you closer to him even when you don't want to trust him.

I wrote this blog around this time two years ago....CLICK HERE!  

It was heartbreaking to hold my own lifeless son and put his precious body in the ground but it is just as heartbreaking (if you can believe that) to watch someone so close to you have to do the same thing and you know every emotion they are feeling.  When you stand in a hospital room and watch her memorize every inch of her son's body just as you told her she would just a day earlier.  When you watch the life be sucked right out of her b/c a part of her heart is gone forever.  When you try to reassure her that she will feel peace again one day but her eyes say she doesn't believe you.  Those moments, they change you, connect you and hurt like hell!

My dear friend, I prayed for you everyday!  Every single day I asked for you to have peace, understanding (impossible) and just flat out be able to get up and keep going but most importantly I prayed for mercy.  The one constant I always said to you was your first child was your grace, your second child was life changing and now you wait for your mercy!  One child doesn't replace another.  Another child doesn't complete your heart.  Your heart is forever on two sides of the here and the after.  What that mercy does do for you is renew you.  It reminds you of God's promises.  It pulls you up from the very bottom of the pit.  It heals you as much as you will be healed on this side of heaven.  It helps....it really helps!

My dear friend fought a hard fight very quietly and privately.  She struggled and prayed and prayed and prayed.  Her faith finally gave her the mercy she was looking for in Cara Paige.  A little over 4 months ago, my God filled her arms, helped to heal her heart and brought back her smile.

This my friends is her mercy....
CARA PAIGE

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

--Matthew 7:7

Today I pray that on Landon's birthday, you celebrate his life just as much as you grieve for it.  I pray that you feel like just one day with him was worth all of the heartache....if you don't feel that, you soon will my friend (as she looks at me not believing me)!
Happy Birthday Landon William!

Turning It Around

DISCLAIMER:  I didn't proof read this b/c while typing it my little man kept asking me to play.  I kept putting him off and then realized I should just stop and enjoy him.  So you get what you get with this one!

 

It has been a long short summer at our house.  This is my first year working from home on a business that actually needs a lot of my attention daily while having both kids at home bored out of their minds.  It is so hard to get them to understand that I'm not just chilling at the computer updating my blog...obviously!

Teg has been bored.  I mean really bored.  Rylee has transformed in to a tween that never ever wants to leave her room.  The problem is, Teg wants to be in her room too which is resulting in to all day everyday screaming matches and a few throw down fights.  There has been whining, crying, and all out screaming by both the kids and myself.  There have been little to no groceries all summer b/c going to the grocery store with Teg is like trying to control a wild animal inside an unfamiliar space.  He goes wild!  So, I would rather scrape for food everyday or do hit or miss shopping than to have to go with both of them.  In all honesty, they are 5 (almost 6) and 10 so there is no reason I should feel this way.  The problem is that I got spoiled during the school year last year.  I would take them to school, go do all my grocery and essential shopping in peace all by my self!  Now that right there is amazing!

I have worked so hard all summer that stopping to take a minute with my kids has only been when I have took a break to take them to the pool to burn off energy while I watch them from the side in an overwhelming exhausted state of mind.  The problem is at the pool there are other kids for Teg to torture so that results in me saying his name at least 83 times an hour and not being able to get my hands on him b/c the judgmental looks I am getting are already enough to put me in the "You are an awful Mom" category.

The thing is I have just felt overwhelmed, negative and at the end of every single day, plagued with guilt of my lack of daily involvement with my kiddos that didn't involve breaking up a fight between them.  It has been a long hard summer!

I, being the mother of the year that I am, may have said more than once in front of my kids that "I can't wait for school to start back so I can get a break".  The reality is that I don't mean that I want a break from them b/c I don't like them, I just want my time back to work so that I'm not doing it at 2:00 am in the morning or having to try to work while listening to them scream at each other.  I know it sucks to work outside the home, I've done it, but working from home running my own business means everything depends on me...there is not a single minute that I don't think about my business.  I never get to just leave it at the office.  It consumes me!

My husband being the sweet soul that he is, brought to my attention last night that I should not say that I am ready for them to go to school in front of them anymore.  I asked why not and he said that Ry had told him that she wasn't ready for summer to end but she knew that I sure would be glad when I could get rid of them for the day by dropping them off at school.  It broke my heart.  I cried....like really cried.  I was mad at my husband for even telling me that b/c I thought he was calling me a bad mother (of course that isn't what he was saying).

The thing is I'm not ready for summer to end.  I love having no routine but I also need my routine.  I wish that all day everyday through the summer was spent entertaining and just enjoying my kids.  In my case, that just doesn't happen.  I am running a business that has taken off but I can't figure out how to delegate and hire help just yet.  I am not working a 40 hour a week job....I am working between 60 to 80 hours a week.  I work here and there all day everyday late in to the night....every. single. day!!!  I push myself to stay up later and later every night just to feel semi caught up.  I work hard but I am realizing that by pushing myself so hard, I am letting my kiddos just sit here and feel clueless as to what to do with themselves all summer long.  Teg is driving me and Ry nuts b/c he has nothing to do.  No schedule, no playmate, no fun.  Ry is barely coming out of her room b/c I'm not geared with something fun for her to do on a constant basis.

The problem here is that I still have to work.  There is no way around that.  I love my business and want it to do nothing more but to continue to thrive but I have 9 weekdays left to enjoy these kids. If I can take a one hour break everyday to have all my attention on them, that has got to mean something to them.  

Nine more days before they become 1st and 5th graders.  Nine days to show them that they may drive me crazy from time to time but if I didn't have that crazy in my life, I don't know what I would do with myself.  Nine days to reconnect with the daughter that has almost completely drifted away from me (more on that later).  Nine days to let Teg know that all b/c he has lots of energy, doesn't mean he is a bad kid....he really is a very sweet boy....very sweet ENERGETIC little boy.  I haven't met a 5 year old boy yet that doesn't have his energy but I have met some pretty mean ones and Teg is not one of those so at least I have that going for me:)

I have nine weekdays left to show these kids that they really do mean the world to me!  My only fear is if nine days is enough to remind them that they are the most important things in the whole world to me before diving back in to the busy school year:(

Summer Sure Does Fly

I can't believe that it has been a month since I last updated.  I guess it is obvious that the blog gets put on the back burner these days and if you seen my house, you would know it isn't getting much love either:) 

 My business, Cohen Lane, is busier than it has ever been and I am having a hard time keeping up since the kids are out of school for the summer.  I am having to work in to the wee hours of the morning just to stay caught up enough to take them out of the house from time to time.  I am pretty sure this is the last summer I will have this much free time b/c I intend on my business being so big by next summer that I will have employees and everything:)

So instead of cleaning or blogging when I take work breaks, I am spending my summer with these two little munchkins.....

(sorry for the blurry picture....my phone seems to be my main picture taker these days)

Father's Day 2013

We had another great low key holiday.  My dad was sweet enough to go to lunch with me and my family along with my sister and her daughter on Saturday.  We had a great stress free lunch where we had plenty of time to talk.  My daddy is crazy and a lot of fun but he does send me in to some panic attacks from time to time.  I am the grown up in this relationship.  He still likes to have fun and maybe party a little bit and no matter what....he will never admit how old his kids are b/c then that would be letting people know how old he is.

Here we are over 12 years ago on my wedding day....

Me and the kiddos hope that our #1 guy had the best father's day ever!  It is not the best day for my husband b/c his dad was his best friend and since he passed, he just isn't that interested in doing big family gatherings on this day b/c it just reminds him that someone is missing:(  

We got up early and forced him out of bed to take him to breakfast.  Came back home to get ready and go to church.  Then we had the whole day cleared and wide open for him.  The only problem was, neither of us could think of a single thing to do.  So we went to lunch and to his beloved Academy.  He can look around in Academy for hours but it is torture for me  b/c Tegan is like a wild animal in there.  He then had a friend call him to see if he wanted to play golf.  At first he said no but as soon as I gave him my blessing, he was quickly setting up a tee time:)  Of course Tegan tagged along for his golf game so that left me and Rylee alone for some quiet time.  Can I get a praise the LORD!!!

We took full advantage of that by going to the pool alone where we had a very relaxing couple of hours before Tegan got tired of watching daddy play golf and daddy literally drove off the cart path and threw Teg over the pool fence to me.  Oh well, it was nice while it lasted.....

Since my husband's new love is golf, we showered him with golf related items this year....lots of golf balls and a membership to the driving range.  I scored some brownie points this year:) 

I couldn't ask for a better daddy for my babies.  I am so glad this man was hand picked for me and to walk this journey with me.  He is a great dad and is very involved with the kids.  He almost always has one of them or both of them with him if he is not working.  I am definitely not in this parenting thing alone!  He gives of his time a lot and it drives him crazy when someone ask if he is babysitting....it isn't babysitting when it is your own kids!  He works hard for us and for that I love him so much more.  The preacher said something this morning that I had never really thought much about...What a woman wants is security and that is exactly what I have with my husband in every way.  I have never thought about that much but it is definitely a must in my life and I am so glad I don't have to doubt the days that lay ahead of me with my husband and family!

 

I hope you all had a blessed father's day!  

Oh and I seem to update instagram a little more these days than I do anything else.  

Follow me there..... tabatham8

Myrtle Manor

Have you ever watched the show Myrtle Manor on TLC?  Well I have and I love that show.  It is a pretty simple little show but very entertaining at the same time.

When we were at the beach, I was determined to find the place where this show is filmed.  Luckily my sister-in-law had done her research and new exactly where it was.  

It was literally only 2 or 3 minutes from our hotel!

 

I was a little bit beside myself when my husband insisted on going in the beauty shop.  I knew that they welcomed visitors and that it didn't bother them but I had no idea what in the world I would say.

Here is the outside of the beauty shop!

Becky is my favorite person on the show.  I was so excited to see that she was inside getting a hair cut.  Also in there was Roy and Gina.  Gina was super nice and just talked and talked to us!  She was sweet to the kids and took time to talk to them too!

In this picture is Roy cutting Becky's hair and then Gina in the other chair!

Since I couldn't get my picture taken with Becky b/c 1. she was busy and 2. I was scared to ask, I did see her golf cart outside the door and got a picture of that....

And then I couldn't resist and jumped inside for a picture:)  Oh and I promise I didn't wear the same shirt the whole time at the beach....it just so happens that this was the only day I took my big camera out to take pictures!

It was just really neat to actually see people in person that I watch on TV.  The trailer park looks nothing like what it does on the show.  There are lots more people in that park than what they show on TV.  I wonder if all those people are mad that they didn't get in on the show???

They said that they will start filming a new season in July!  I can't wait to watch it....especially now that I know what the place actually looks like!

Kids Beach Photo Session or Whatever You Want To Call It!

I have no idea why I put myself or these kids through a beach photo session.  Every year someone cries, jumps in the water and/or yells.  There is really no way to make it through a photo session with these kids peacefully!  To make matters worse this year, my dear husband had just had his first ever Monster drink and was wilder than usual.  So he sure didn't help matters by standing behind me dancing or acting crazy while the kids looked past me and at him.  I'm pretty sure every one else on the beach was looking at him too!

Before the stress began, we found someone on the beach to take our picture! One thing that Monster drink did do for me.....a tiny little smile from my husband (the man that never smiles in pictures)!

 Then the fun begins!!!!

 Why are you two not looking at the camera????

 Um what is with Ry's silly smile and Teg once again not looking at me?!?!?!?

 It all goes down hill from here!

 No...I don't want your shorts to be try for the picture!

 Tegan, you are not a superhero so stop standing like that!

 PLEASE ACT RIGHT!!!!!!

 Ry....why are you smiling that way???

 I'm about the kill your daddy who is standing behind me making you laugh!

 Wait...was this a good one before Teg got his shorts soaking wet??

I like it!

 Just when you think all hope is lost, you pull them up on the computer and see that you got a few that make your heart happy and all the grief worth it!

 Love her to pieces!

 I just decided that these wet shorts on this boy are part of his personality!  Being wild is part of who he is....not matter how much it exhaust me:)

 There it is!!!!  That precious melt my heart look!  This look is why he is rotten!

 No one (but their daddy) can make me so mad but yet feel so blessed at the same time!

 She really is this sweet!

I have no idea why I have never taken pictures on the beach under the pier before but I think it is my new favorite spot.  We have a tradition of walking on this same pier at least one night at the beach. So from now on I am going to get a two for one....pictures on the beach and a nice walk (or run if you are with Tegan) on the pier:)

I got to take pictures of memories that I will always keep and I am pretty sure my kids will always remember me as the crazy lady on the beach forcing them to do this!

Don't forget to look below....I have updated the blog twice in less that 24 hours!  That is a record for my pattern lately!