Johnson Pumpkin Contest

These were carved by Phil, Marcela, and Travis... can you tell which one Travis did? :) Awe honey, I love you!

My beauties

Matt and his barbies

Nuff said.

My Canes

Kourtney sporting her first canes jersey...

Cool, crisp pumpkin weather...

...inside the house.

MY LITTLE PUMPKINS!

Before my husband became a fantasy football FREAK football was simple

Coming from a BASKETBALL FAMILY where my dad coached, my brother played, and I cheered, I had never been to a football game until I met Travis. He taught me the ways of football. What a 1st down was, how many points a touchdown was, and why players kicked the ball down the field. I was a pretty good football wife on Sundays. I even secretly enjoyed watching. Before every game I would ask, "what color are we pulling for today?"

Yes, those days were simple. Those days are no longer. I can no longer ask what color team we are pulling for. Now when I ask that, this is my response... we want the defense to do good on the blue team but the quarterback to do good on the red team. We want #00 to throw a long pass but only if #01 catches it. We don't want the red team's kicker to get any field goals, and on, and on, and on...

I have given up rooting for football teams. It is all too confusing in this world of fantasy football. I might have to resort back to basketball...

The girls' rooms

Here are some pictures of the girls' new rooms. Kourtney's room will eventually be "Kourtney and McKenna's" room. So we made the nursery nuetral for when the next kid comes along. Kourtney's room still needs curtains, but that may be a while from now!

Kourtney learned how to take pictures of herself...

Travis and I found this on the camera when we were looking at our pictures. We had no idea she took it until we saw it a few days later!

FINALLY!!!

Homestead, we have a walker... she just decided to take off tonight. She went in circles around our kitchen and family room, and even decided to kick a ball!!! She would laugh and clap for herself. She had a blast.

Oh geez

Well, no sooner did I press "publish" on my last post did I here all the news reports screaming "OCTOBER SNOW!" in the Great Lakes Region. Here is the article I read...

2 Feet of Snow Hits Great Lakes Region
(click link for complete story)

" A rare early October snowstorm left parts of the Great Lakes and Midwest blanketed with 2 feet of snow Friday morning, prompting widespread blackouts, closing schools and stranding travelers..."
~BREITBART.com

NO FAIR! NO FAIR! NO FAIR! NO FAIR! NO FAIR! NO FAIR! NO FAIR! NO FAIR! NO FAIR! NO FAIR!

Therapy for me...

This is a very hard time of the year for me. I try not to talk to too many of my friends from up north (Dawn, Tara, Stephanie!). I know they are probably comfortably wearing jeans (I wear them and sweat to death) and a sweatshirt at night . Their noses probably get really cold and may even run a little after coming inside. They are probably going to Fall Festivals and craft shows on weekends where there is hot cider and apple picking. They walk a little faster at night to get into buildings and to avoid the cold. I, on the other hand, am still running to the buildings to avoid melting in 90 degrees. Yes, for them, cold is in the very near future, if not already there.

Pumpkins are on porches, the grass is starting to turn brown and the leaves are changing brilliant colors. There was this tree by my church and school in Ohio that turned bright red every year (this picture is not the tree - "my" tree was much prettier). It was the prettiest tree I have ever seen. Probably because I could watch it every year. Soon those leaves will be crunching under feet and smelling of fall. Fires burn in the air and pools have their covers off of them. Everyone probably has at least one new sweater, sweatshirt, or jacket. I miss shopping for seasons.



In my home state of Ohio, snow is on the way. It might not be in the forecast for the week, but it will come. Soon. Everyone will wish for a white Christmas and if they don't get one, they will be upset. But they have no idea what a short sleeved Christmas feels like.

People here in my new home state of Florida don't understand. They know I like the cold weather and miss it, but they have no idea the ache I feel this time of year. They have never experienced it! I stare at the corner in my closet where I keep my winter clothes and long to wear them. I think of everything I am missing about the seasons while here it seems as if seasons don't even exist. I laugh at myself when I think 85 degrees is "cooling off." I feel sad when my 3-yr-old asks if she can see snow. Yes, there is an ache in my heart and all I can do is pray for cold weather for one week in Louisiana while we visit my parents. In fact, God smiled on me 2 years ago when I prayed for snow at Christmas. It snowed on Christmas day in Robert for the first time in 25 years. Granted, it only lasted for mere minutes and none of it stuck, it was still a wonderful Christmas present! Sure would be nice again this year...

Kourtney seeing her first snow on Christmas Day 2004 right during gift opening time... it was just barely there!

Unloading the dishes

So there is fun little park right around the corner...

Kourtney loves to swing and McKenna loves to climb up the slide and come back down face first. McKenna spilled water on her shorts so she was in a diaper!

Check Up

Both girls had a check up yesterday.

Kourtney:
3 ft, 4 in (97%)
36 lbs (92%)

McKenna:
30 inches (70%)
23 lbs (75%)

Kourtney had blood drawn and McKenna had two shots. They both did great. Doctor says Kourtney is going to be a tall super model!

My little eater

Everyone always makes fun of how much McKenna eats. I thought I would give my blog readers an idea... yesterday she ate 5 pieces of sushi (a cut up california roll), a whole fruit cup, and several pieces of carrot. When she was finished she spotted a banana on the counter and started saying, "nana." I thought, surely she doesn't have room for a banana too! I peeled it and gave it to her and she ate the whole thing! She is a little piggy.

Making a Wish

This was so cute. We told Kourtney to make a wish. She closed her eyes, and closed them, and closed them. She was wishing with her eyes closed for while. It was so adorable! When we asked her later what she was wishing for she said CAKE!

Happy Birthday Kourtney, October 1st

Three years ago I anxiously awaited the birth of my first daughter. I imagined how she would look, smell, and act. In my mind I could see her at tea parties, lining her dolls up and primping in the mirror. Today, she does all of those things... along with playing with race cars, bob the builder, and crashing blocks. She is a well rounded 3 year old.

At three years old she is pretty good and picking out her letters, can spell her name, count to twenty and is very well spoken. She has memorized the "Going To Bed Book" and we ask her to read it to us all the time. She LOVES to read and color. She likes anything Disney Princess. She especially loves Cinderella and has seen the movie more times than I can count. She likes to act it out all the time too. She says, you be Prince Charming and I will be Cinderella.


She is a great big sister, always looking out for McKenna and playing with her. If we are going somewhere and for some reason she thinks we might leave her sister she says, "what about McKenna?" She has become a wonderful helper. She does little errands for me all day and loves to help with chores. She can use the dust buster, help me unload dishes, undress her sister, take things to rooms, put laundry in the washer, and anything else I ask her.


She can pray and prays for her family and friends every night. She lays hands on our head and says, "Lord bless mommy, Amen." She is turning in to quite a little lady. She is such a blessing in our lives!

Chuck E Cheese Party

We had our first Chuck E Cheese Party. It was nice not cleaning up after everything! My favorite part of the night was her thinking that Chuck was her personal friend. At one point she can and asked for her tokens so her and Chuck E could go plays games. Here are the pictures...