Visiting with Arkansas family

We don't get to go often, but I love any opportunity my kids have to visit with and get to know family.  This summer, we got to go to Arkansas and visit with quite a few.  We stopped in Crossett first.  We visited with Papaw at the nursing home and them took him over to Aunt Ginger's to hang out with some other family for the day.  We were so excited to have him with us!

 This is Papaw with Uncle George, Aunt Elizabeth, Addie and Hallie.

 Thomas got to show off his guitar skills a little.

 Mary Frances loved hanging out with her girl cousins!

 We even got to visit the Duck Commander headquarters on our way in to Arkansas.  West Monroe is only about an hour from Crossett.  (I'm always scared I'm going to see family on the show when we are watching Duck Dynasty!)

Visiting with Grayson

We were excited to have some time with Grayson to show him around our crazy lives.  One of our favorite things to do in March is Rodeo!  So, we took him to see it all, and we got him to help raise some money for our new school playground!

Messy Race

Ray C.'s sister, Heather, planned a Messy Race for the kids during our visit over Spring Break.  Oh what fun....and what a mess!

1. Be the first person to burp after drinking a cup of Pepsi.

 2. Dump a party hat full of flour on your head.

 3. Put an egg between your ankles and walk.  If you drop the egg, you have to smash it on your head.

 (When they refused to smash it on their heads, Uncle Glen was happy to help!)  

By the way, the eggs were fresh from the chicken coup!  (Heather and Whit live on a farm.)

 4. Egg toss...which really turned in to pelting each other with eggs that didn't want to break! :)

 5. Pie in the face...

 6. Turn Uncle Glen into a human sundae!  (They poured caramel, chocolate,  cherries, and whipped cream ALL over Uncle Glen...

 ...and then Uncle Glen showed them how much he loved them!)

 7. Dump a tube of Mentos into a diet soda and watch it shoot like a geiser!

 8. Run to the hose and rinse it all off before stepping a foot in the house!

Even cleaning off was fun with the huge hoses.  

We Found A Ball

While visiting family in Florida over Spring Break, Mary Frances and her cousin, Maggie, came into the kitchen to tell us that they found a baseball in a hole in the tree.  We pretty much dismissed them and told them to go get it.   A few minutes later, I walked past the living room windows to see this...

 Can you see the ball?  It's about 15 feet up in the tree!  So, the girls found a ladder and...

 enlisted some help from Abigail...

 guided the ladder up the tree....

and started to climb up before all 6 adults opened the door to stop them!  Gotta love their sense of adventure!  Whit, did climb up the ladder and finally hit it out of the tree with a stick.  It was so much fun to watch!

Are you ready for some football?

Check out this season's newest flag football player...At 48 pounds, he stands just under 4 feet and has a mean face that will make you cry!

Taking down the giant...Check Chase out holding that big guy! He has at least 2 years and 20 pounds on him!
Sir, yes sir!
I'm coming for you...
Maggie and Uncle Glen got to see Chase's first scrimmage! We were so excited they came for the weekend!
Good game! Vikings Rule!

Down on the Farm

Just before school started, we went back to Florida for a short trip. We stayed with Papa and Peppy, but we spent some time on the farm, too! The kids always have a blast playing out there!

We had fun seeing the chickens and goats they have now!
I was really excited that Jordan went with us! It made for a fun trip! Finley LOVED Jordan! I must admit that I was jealous! Finley never talks to me, but she wouldn't let go of Jordan!
I can never resist snapping pictures of the kids with their grandparents! I love this one of Chase with his Papa!

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?