Seven!!

Our sweet Bradley is 7 years old! He has been anxiously counting the days till his birthday for 2 months. He has thought about what he wants to do and who he wants to invite (Thomas). He has made a 5 page list of things that he wants.

We are so thankful for our precious middle child. He is sweet, loving, caring, thoughtful, funny, silly and a downright joy to be around! He loves Legos, Wii, video games, spending money, buying toys, Georgia Bulldogs, Atlanta Falcons, riding scooters, watching Pokemon and playing, playing, playing! Bradley is good at everything he wants to do. But, if he doesn't want to do something, it's a challenge convincing him otherwise. He is a fantastic brother to his sister and brother. He's patient with Trent and thinks Rach still has such creative and exciting ideas.

We love our sweet 7 year old sooo much! Happy Birthday Bradley Franklin!

Under Construction Pt. 1

the poolhouse- Gege and Papa's current living quarters
(pool in front)

the new house

Rachel's room window and the entry to the carport

Papa and his grandkids

Gege and Papa are very busy these days building their new house. It is exciting to see the progress and watch how quickly things change. The kids are most excited about the new pool which will have a slide!

Bye Bye Couch!

We said goodbye to our old, comfy, sinky, cushion-missing couch a few weeks ago. We enjoyed that couch for many years and the kids properly abused it. :) The boys helped Nick take it to the recycling center and pay a small fee.

Our "pool"

This pool has been a very worthwhile investment for us this year! With Gege and Papa's new home under construction, this is the first year we haven't had access to a pool like we normally do. We have really loved this little pool! And, I definitely enjoy the convenience of it being in our own yard! The only hassle has been making sure that the right amounts of chemicals are in it. Since it's so huge, we can't empty and refill it everyday like we have in the past with a small one. And, we don't want to swim in bacteria! :) Happy Swimming!

Buddy

Buddy is such a sweet doggie and has such a fun and playful personality. He loves to carry around a toy, like this Princess ball. He loves to play fetch and he loves belly rubs and he loves the kids! Trent spends the most time with him, making him sit, fetch or whatever else he thinks he needs to do. I call him "Polar Bear" because he is so white and makes these adorable grunt noises. He is a great dog!!!!

Googster

This is our little googster...who frequently wakes up during the night (whether by bad dream or he just wants to see us) and joins us in our bed. He is a whole lot of sweetness...but he is also the wiggliest child I've ever seen AND he snores really loud!!

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, Trent had to endure the dreaded "4 year check-up" which is definitely a form of torture. He really enjoyed having his weight and height checked and he liked telling the nurse what the symbols were on the eye chart. But, he wasn't sure about peeing in a cup at all. He thought it was pretty weird. And, even though we had neither confirmed nor denied that there would be shots, Trent was very suspicious. So, he answered most of the nurse's questions and was fairly content throughout the whole examination. But when it came time for Dr. McCorkle to come in, he clammed up and wouldn't say much of anything. (I still don't think Dr. M thinks he can talk...and how would he know??!!) Since Trent had been asking me if there would be shots, I finally told him that he would be getting a shot or 2 (even though he was really getting 4!!). The shots were horrible and painful and created a certain amount of hysteria. He had to get 2 in each upper arm. It took him quite awhile to get over the trauma (even after the nurse gave him 4 suckers), but we did make a special trip to Chick-fil-a (Trent's choice) for a yummy lunch and that helped soothe us a little.

Thankfully, our precious boy is healthy and strong and growing like a weed! We think he is the tallest for this age so far...and if I can locate R&B's 4 year stats, I'd love to compare them.