**GRACIE'S BIRTHDAY!**
Gracie turned 2 September 19th, the day I returned from Las Vegas. I can't believe my little baby is really 2! We couldn't pull off the big party this year so we just had a cake for her. We'll just put the money we saved toward her "3rd child therapy fund" that she'll no doubt need seeing as we didn't throw her a party.
**SOCCER SATURDAYS**
We've been spending Saturdays at the soccer field. Nolen has finally found his position! He's been doing great as goalie. He is the perfect size for it and has really been going after the ball. Go Griffins!
***THE STATE FAIR***
We did the State Fair this year and it was a total blast! I've only missed two years of the State Fair in my whole life and last year was one of them. So it was essential that we made a day of it this year. It was perfect because Nolen had Tuesday off from school and that's our favorite day to go...$3 entrance fee with a can of Dr. Pepper and the rides were all discounted. We got there around noon and totally gorged on Corny Dogs. We hit all the fun shows - dancing dogs, BMX bike show, the Human Cannonball (Ella's very favorite), the starlight parade, etc., etc. We caught up with my dad who was also out there. The highlight of the day was when Ella rode the Pirate Ship! Me, Ella & Nolen got on...Nolen quickly got off and asked for his tickets back...but Ella stayed on and had a blast! She is a total daredevil. Her goal in life is now to be the human cannonball herself. She can't wait to grow up so she too can be shot out of a cannon. I'm preparing myself now for some wild teenage years.
Here are some fun pics of the day:
**ARKANSAS CAMPING TRIP**
We went out of town for all of 47 hours in October. Ben's cousin, Joel, married a very sweet girl from Argentina. It was a very small wedding near Eureka Springs, AR on a Friday afternoon which meant we had to be kind of creative about getting there. We decided to camp out because the weather was perfect and the camping was cheap. We left around 1:15 in the morning on Friday morning, arrived to our campsite and set up our tents around 7:30 am, headed over to home base (Ben's other cousin's house) until around noon and then we drove and hour to Eureka Springs for the wedding. After the wedding, we drove back to home base, had dinner, visited with family, went back to our campsite, roasted marshmallows and went to bed. Woke up Saturday, went back to home base for breakfast, played in a park, packed up our tent, went back to Eureka Springs for shopping and then headed home. We pulled in about 4 minutes after midnight. Ben's sister went with us which was really fun and helpful. The kids haven't spent a lot time with their Aunt Arides so that made it really fun for them too.
**OWEN'S FARM**
Desiree Chapman with Just One Year Photography met us out at Owen's Farm to get some family photos! It was so much fun and I couldn't be more pleased with the great shots she got. Here are my favs:
**NOLEN'S BIG BIRTHDAY PARTY**
Nolen's 11th birthday was late as usual but we managed to pull it off. We started the party at Quiggly's Clayhouse. Nolen invited a few boys for pottery painting and then it was back to our house for an all-nighter. They watched movies, ate junk food, and watched more movies. His last friend didn't leave until late the next afternoon so it was 24 hours of fun.
**THE COUNTRY CARNIVAL**
Last night was the annual Country Carnival at our church. The girls were "Cowgirl Princesses" was was easy to pull together with $2 and a trip to the dollar store. Of course, shortly after we arrived, Ben became the hat and horse caretaker. Predictable. We stayed until after 10 because we were on cleanup duty. The girls crashed before we ever made it home.
So there it is. The last 30+ days in review. Now, I need to give my house about 2 hours of my attention even though it needs about 10 hours. My house is a pit with a capital P!
