Ley Park??

This is it - my final post from our Thanksgiving holiday in Sumter. Yes, I know it is my ISXTH blog - I thought I could do it in five. Oh well, enjoy going to Sumter with us!

Last Friday, we went on a scavenger hunt to find a "special brick." (We needed Ted's GPS system. but we made do. Haha!)

Seriously, one of Reid's teammates purchased a brick for him. It sits outside of Riley Park in Sumter! He has a place where his name is set in stone...literally!

We arrived and searched and searched for it. As the rest of us were ready to give us, Weston's eagle eyes spotted it! He saw it before the rest of us! Way to go Weston!
Is that Spiderman? No, it's my silly boys laying on the ground trying to look like Spiderman! Would you have guessed?

The name of the park is Riley Park. I took this picture, and Reid said, "Why are you taking that picture?" I said, "To get a sign of Ley Park." He laughed and then told me that two letters had fallen off the sign...the "R" and the "I."

Finally, to me this is a neat picture. Reid with his Dad. His Dad watched him play at this park and even announced a few games here. How special to have the two of them together here so many years later! Thanks for taking us Reid. It was really special for me to see this!

Joke of the Day

Here's the joke one of the boys told me on the way to basketball practice...

What do you call an elephant in a phone booth?



















- Stuck!

Hahaha!

I thought it was really funny!

Hey, it's my BLOG and I can post it if I want to!

Beautiful Betsy

The boys all said one of their favorite things about Thanksgiving was getting to play with Betsy! Oh, they love their sweet cousin!

She is a pretty amazing child. She'll be two in December and she can distinguish every letter of the alphabet! Yes, you say them and she can point to them! My youngest son can't even do that - and he's...well, he's four...but just barely! Barely, I say! I know I'm blessed with smart boys, but Betsy holds her own candle! She's precious!

Here are a few of my favorite shots from our trip!

This is Betsy's favorite thing to do - read books! She loves it! The boys loved it too!
We love you Betsy! We enjoyed our time with you!

So Much for Surprises

Last week, I was reading Tracie's blog. She had an entry about decorating her house for Christmas. As I left the comment on her BLOG, I remembered one Christmas in particular. Here is a portion of my comment:

I pre-opened my gifts one year as a child b/c the tree was in the basement where my bedroom was located. One year after my parents were in bed I gathered my gifts...cut the tape with a knife...opened carefully...looked at the gifts...rewrapped! No one ever knew until years later when my guilt forced a confession!! Yes, my love language is gifts - and I hate to wait for them!

For those of you who know me, you will find lots of humor in today's events! As I said in my earlier comment, my love language is gifts - and I hate to wait for them.

Fast forward from last week's comment...

The past two nights Reid and I have been feverishly working on a special Christmas gift for Mason. It was a puzzle that Mason bought this summer on his trip to Baltimore. We finally finished working it last night and had it ready to get framed.

Today Mason and Franklin went on a scavenger hunt...and found it! So much for the special surprise waiting under the tree on Christmas morning!

Mason felt really bad about it, but I ended up sharing my own childhood story to make him fell better.

I think Reid is the only one in this house who doesn't mind waiting for a surprise! I wonder where the other boys get their great impatience from?

I called my mom today to tell her that "what goes around comes around." She simply laughed and said, "Now you know how I felt."

I'm Not a Blogger, I'm a Blogbooker

I'm creating a new word. I have decided I am not a "blogger," I am a "blogbooker."

Definition:

blogbooker - noun - 1.) one who uploads LOTS of pictures onto their blog, especially pictures of their children 2.) one who must do many blog entries to cover one event (ex. Five blog entries to cover one day such as Thanksgiving) 3.) a person with strong scrapbooking roots who operates a blog in the same way he/she would create a scrapbook

It's official, I fit the description. You won't find this word in Websters, but you will see it lived out on my BLOG!

This blogbooker hopes you are enjoying this online scrapbook, and occasional journal. Yes, I still have more to post from Thanksgiving! I am truly a blogbooker!

Moles - Count 'Em

Last night Braden was fascinated with moles.



Because he is sick, I'm willing to let him do the things he feels like doing. He "felt like" counting my moles! He counted all of mine on my neck, face, and head - Yuck! I was mortified to learn there are ELEVEN! I could have lived the remainder of my life without this information, but now I know!



As I was laughing at the fact there are ELEVEN moles on my head - I laughed even harder when Braden finished counting the ones on Reid. He has TWELVE!



We are one "moley" couple!

Thanksgiving Day at Grandaddy's House

From near and far, our family traveled to Sumter, SC. Some came from Newbern, NC. Some traveled from other cities in South Carolina. We made the trip from Tennessee. Everyone arrived safely at our final desination; Reid's house in Sumter. We enjoyed our Thanksgiving as a family and had a wonderful time being together and catching up with each other! This day served as a great reminder of God's goodness to us!
Ross is the Turkey Fryer! He and Reid deep fried the turkey and carried on the tradition!Gail says, "Howdy" to all!

Grandaddy LOVES on Betsy!

As planned, the meal began at 1:00 pm. It was an enormous spread centered around our traditional Thanksgiving meal of fried turkey! Everyone came to the table with their plates heaping over with all of the great food! Sweet potatoes, broccoli casserole, rice francis, creamed onions, two kinds of dressing, fruit fluff, broccoli salad, macaroni and cheese, and spinach maria filled us up.

Polly and Scotty led the way. Being the oldest ones present, they started our line for the food! Before arriving in Sumter, they had dropped off some sweet potatoes at the community center for their Thanksgiving meal. They are "givers" to everyone in their life. Although Polly will be 90 years old this summer, she says she is ready for "many more years of life!" I love that philosophy! Keep on living!

Who do you think was "chomping at the bit" to move through the line next...our four boys of course! They loved getting to try all of the yummy food!


Kaye, Collins and Gail wait for the boys to get through the line! There was a little bit of food left when they were done! Ha!

Conyers - all smiles!
John - staying on the porch with Montana. Patiently waiting for his turn!
Finally getting to taste the food. Kaye, I am thankful you got to taste it. I only wish you could have enjoyed more. I am thankful you are willing to join us when you can not eat the food. That says a lot about the priority of family in your life! Thank you!

Finally, what we have all been waiting for...dessert!

When Weston finished eating, he headed to Grandaddy's excercise machine to burn off those calories! He needs to burn a lot of calories, don't you think? He's a little overweight!

Although Weston chose a work-out, Braden did what we all wanted to do. He took a nap! He simply laid down on the sofa and he was "out" within 3 minutes! I miss the easy napping days!

After the meal, I enjoyed being with famiy. I especially enjoyed the hugs from my honey!

(This is the most wrinkles I've ever seen on Reid! - Hee-hee!)

It was a wonderful day enjoying food and fellowship with family. We are thankful to our great Lord for his bounty of blessings!

"Then on that day David first assigned Asaph and his relatives to give thanks to the LORD. Oh give thanks to thte LORD, call upon His name; make known his deeds among the peoples."

I Chronicles 16:7-8

A Thanksgiving Afternoon of Football

After our wonderful meal, we all headed outside for an afternoon of football. The boys loved throwing the ball with their Dad and Grandaddy! Unfortunately, I didn't make it outside with the camera while Grandaddy was there. Here's a few pictures of the boys enjoying their afternoon!

Franklin is "always on the go!" He tried to play football, but didn't make it very long because of how he was feeling. Here are two pictures of him playing.

These two shots are more representative of how Franklin felt over the weekend. He was covered in hives (calamari), and he really wasn't himself. By Saturday, he was feeling better and running around a LOT more than the two days prior.
Weston spent Thursday afternoon riding Braden's scooter. He loved getting to ride on the flat streets of Sumter! He rode around and burned off his Thanksgiving turkey calories!


Mason loved the opportunity to throw the football with Reid. The two of them enjoyed tossing the ball throughout the afternoon. Mason and Franklin can both throw the ball well after their first season of football. They really enjoy it!

(Braden wanted to be in the picture!)
Reid enjoyed being "all-time quarterback." This is typically his title when the kids have a game! I've decided one of my greatest pleasures in life is watching Reid play with our children. What a blessing! It always brings a smile to my face! He is an incredible father to our boys!

Braden refused to be left out of the fun! He climbed on a stump and insisted on throwing the ball with Reid. He actually did quite well! I love to see him trying to do the things his big brothers do! He loved it!

After the game of football, everyone headed inside for more Thanksgiving football! We joined Grandaddy and watched a few games on the tube! The boys learned all of the Aflac and Geico commercials by heart! It cracked me up!

So what did I do while all of this was going on? I watched and enjoyed everything happening in front of me. I also took a few pictures - obviously! I handed the camera to Braden for this shot of me. It was a great afternoon seeing everyone enjoy being together and play with one another. What a wonderful way to spend Thanksgiving afternoon! This truly is one of life's simple pleasures!

Monopoly Marathon

Remember playing Monopoly when you were little? I do. We would always play Monopoly during the holidays. Our family games would last for hours!

If my Dad was playing, he always won! He could talk you into a any trade for property.
He would give you Water Works for your Green Monopoly. Somehow, Dad always talked us into a trade that was horrible for us and beneficial for him!

This year, I saw the boys enjoy a long, long, LONG game with Reid and myself. We started the game on Thanksgiving around 4:00 pm. We played until late that night, and then picked it up again Friday morning...


Thursday, everyone started the game off strong...
Weston loved being the banker!
Mason started the game with very little, but his property management skills were evident as he quickly accumulated property...and monopolies.
Franklin seemed to snatch all of the "good properties."
24 Hours Later...Friday afternoon...

everyone had changed clothes

the board was covered with hotels


the bank was broke


Mason had over $10,000 in $500 bills

everyone in the game had filed for Bankruptcy except Reid and Mason - they were the only players left!



Here's a picture of Mason's PILE of money! Unbelieveable!
The game ended in a draw between father and son! Reid and Mason declared a tie! Reid plays the game much nicer than my Dad did with me!