A Mohawk?

UPDATE: The mohawk was shaved due to its inspiration of less than desirable behavior!

The boys have been begging for mohawks for over a year. When it came down to it, Thomas decided to keep his hair, but Chase was all for it! I told them they had to wait until after Papa and Peppy's wedding, though! I didn't think they would care to have mohawks in their pictures!

Anyway, I gave Chase a fairly tame mohawk last week that was a little subtle, but today, daddy decided he needed a real one! It's a little too much for me, but I guess I can deal with it for a little while this summer!

That's my baby!!!!

Little Brother and Sister

Thomas has requested a lock on his door to keep out his pesky brother and sister! He has been enjoying some time to himself lately but can't keep out the little ones since his door doesn't lock. So, we decided he was old enough to have a lock. I took all the kids to Lowe's last week to pick it out. Of course, Chase and Mary Frances wanted one too, but I explained to them about privileges you get when you are older and that Thomas was old enough and responsible enough to have a lock.

He was so excited to have it! When Ray C. came home that night, they worked together to install it! My little boy is growing up!!

12 Years and counting...

We've been married for 12 years!! We had so much fun celebrating our anniversary on Sunday night! Actually, we celebrated two nights! Ray C. surprised me on Saturday night by picking me up from the church after my wedding and taking me out for seafood! He showed up with a dozen roses and a GREAT card!! Then, we went to my favorite restaurant on Sunday night - The Melting Pot! Yummm... We've been celebrating anniversaries with them since our first dating anniversary 15 years ago! It is such a great atmosphere for talking and enjoying one another. We sat in a secluded booth where we couldn't see anyone else! We talked for a long time about memories when we first started dating, in high school, and laughed at the things the other remembered! It was a very special evening!
We both agreed that we are more in love now than we were as teenagers - crazy as that may sound! We got married when we were 20 and 21, and I wouldn't change a thing! It has been a crazy fun experience that I wouldn't trade all the money in the world for!! Thanks, Honey!

Father's Day

Our Father's Day started EARLY!! The kids wanted to make breakfast for daddy which meant we had to get up at 5:30 to make it so he could have it before leaving for church! We had yummy biscuits, eggs, and fruit! We also got to give him his gifts this morning! Normally, we have to wait until later in the day because the kids don't usually see him on Sunday mornings!
After church, we ate lunch out (because I locked my keys in my car and had to wait near the theatre until Ray C. came back past from the other campus!) Anyway...after that, we were tired. So we took a nap and headed for the pool!
The kids are all swimming so well this summer. They are all jumping off the diving board into the 12 ft. pool. They will taking swimming lessons again in a few weeks to improve their skills. I just want to be sure they know exactly what they are doing!

After an hour and a half at the pool, we headed back home to get ready to go out for our anniversary...more in the next post!!

Building with Grandaddy

Whenever something breaks at our house, the first things my kids say is, "Well, we have to wait for grandaddy to come back to Texas to fix it!" They know how good he is at fixing things. He loves to build things, and we are blessed to have several beautiful pieces of furniture that he has built for us over the years.

Before we came, he went to Home Depot and got aprons, hammers, and building projects - for FREE!! They gave him two different projects to do with the kids that they usually do in their Saturday workshops. I don't think they are usually free, but he caught them on a good day!

They had so much fun. They built these flower pots and race car shelves!

Check out Mary Frances' pink hammer that Grandaddy painted just for her!

That's my dad's fantastic workshop! Every man's dream!!

Camping Out

The kids always beg to go "camping" with Grandaddy when we come to visit. So, Grandaddy set up a tent in the backyard, we grilled steaks, hamburgers, and hot dogs, and the kids and grandaddy spent the night in the tent. Of course, they didn't all go to sleep until midnight, but they did stay out there all night!

Together Again

Jessica and I were so excited that our childhood best friends came to visit on the same day! We have all kept up through the years, but we don't see each other much. It was so much fun to see each other, especially since Laurie just had a baby 2 months ago and Lindsay has one on the way!
Aunt Janice came by too! She and my mom have been friends since elementary school too! Check us all out!
Mary Frances was so excited to get to feed baby Walker, Laurie's baby! She said she was one of his best friends now!
Mama and Mary Frances baked cookies for a tea party that we had while all our friends were here. Mary Frances was very pleased that so many people were able to enjoy the tea with us!
Mama used the baking opportunity to teach Mary Frances that just because something smells good and looks good, it doesn't taste good. Of course, she didn't tell her until after she gave her a taste of plain vanilla! Her face was priceless. I can't believe I captured it!
Baby Walker
I love this one!!
Jessica and Lindsay together again!!

More Fun in Georgia

Mama's dog, Bailey is so precious!! Sugar had so much fun playing with him!

Fun with Honey and Grandaddy

We have had a FUN week with honey, grandaddy, and jessie! We've played cards, ping-pong, hang man, and more. The kids have played on the swing, run around the yard and played baseball.

Everyone took a turn playing "Jack-Slap" in the living room.
Everyone had a chance to show off their reading skills.
Thomas enjoyed doing some math. He and Jessie worked hard on counting the "treasure" money. I think he had $36!

Papa & Peppy's Wedding

Ray C.'s dad got married this past weekend! We had so much fun getting ready for it! However, it did take a while to get all four girls' hair braided and everyone dressed! This is my sister-in-law and me working on hair while everyone else watches! We have 7 children 7 and under between the two of us! So, "Peppy" inherited 7 little angels on Saturday, and they ADORE her!!


We were so excited that Honey and Jessie were able to come down for the wedding. There were so many people there that we had a video feed in a separate room!
This is our niece, Maggie, throwing flower petals down the aisle!
Of course, all the kids were in the wedding, but I don't have a good picture of the boys, yet.
With three preachers, they are REALLY MARRIED! Ray C. did the main part of the ceremony which included a wonderful homily. We heard so many compliments on what a great wedding it was - the best most people had ever been to. They are such a sweet couple - perfect for one another, and it showed throughout the ceremony! They cried like twenty year olds getting married!

I thought it was so neat that they chose to use all local vendors. That means a lot when you consider that the population of Monticello is under 7000!
Peppy and Papa with all their grandkids. They fed each of them a bite of cake! I may be the only one who noticed the symbolism of it, but I really appreciated it regardless. FYI...the tradition of the bride and groom feeding one another comes from the groom feeding the bride to symbolize that he will provide for her and her feeding him to symbolize that she will take care of him. So, when they began feeding one another, I couldn't help but think about the symbolism of their grandparents taking care of them! It made me smile!

Uncle Glen, me, and my mom!
My mom with Juanice and me!
This is all of Ray C.'s mom's family! We were SO grateful that they came! Their support meant so much to us all and was a testament to all who heard they were present of how special our family is!! (Thanks again, grandma and grandpa, Uncle Art, Aunt Ruth, Uncle Jim, and Aunt Barb! We love you)


Making it official! Everyone signing the marriage certificate!

Here they are....Mr. and Mrs. Ray Hughes, Sr.
I love this one! Aren't they the cutest couple?