Chugga, Chugga, Choo, Choo!

A couple of weeks ago Thomas the Tank Engine chugged his way to Oklahoma City and we traveled to see him. We bought the tickets about a month before and oh my goodness, boy did we use this as a reason to learn patience! Just about every day Ty would ask if today is the day we go see Thomas and if it wasn't he wanted to know why. (Why, Momma Why!!!) Finally, the day came and I tell you what, he had a great time. I almost think that even if Thomas wasn't there he would have had just as great of a time, its the train ride he loved the most. Even though we were given strict instructions to keep heads, arms, feet and bodies inside the window you'll see we were just a little too excited to remember them! There were lots of activities like a magician, videos, putt-putt, train tables, a jungle gym and staged pictures with Sir Topham Hatt and Thomas himself and much more! Ty wanted nothing to do with the staged picture taking so mine actually turned out better.

Grumpy's Grandkids

One last thing....

Lindsey put together a nice board at the celebration with pictures of all of Grumpy's grandkids and I wanted to put a few of the pictures here to show the love he had for all of them. He so enjoyed telling them stories, giving big hugs and teaching them all about "the loving, the caring and the sharing"!

So, again to you Grumpy.....your grandkids (Austin, Lexi, Alice, Bella, Ty, Kylie and Laci) will treasure the time they had with you and it is upon us to keep telling them your stories so they never forget.

One of the many chess games between Grumpy and Austin

This lap is always big enough! (Lexi, Grumpy and Alice)

Grumpy with Alice and Bella

Grumpy with Ty

One of Grumpy's "great" stories!

Grumpy with Kylie

Grumpy being "grumpy" with Ty

Grumpy with baby Laci

We love and miss you each and every day.

To You, Grumpy....

September 11, 2008 we lost a beloved man, our Grumpy. He battled a long, tough fight with cancer and now he's pain free and with our Lord in Heaven, with his Dad (Papa, Pampa) and his son, Bryan. These past several weeks have been a long, rough road and Saturday we held a celebration in honor of him and his life. He would have been so proud. It was wonderful and in true "Jim" fashion. Grumpy, we love you and I personally have learned a lot from you in a short amount of time. I will promise to show my kids the time of their lives and teach them about love. I will also teach them that life is worth living to the fullest and I promise to live every single day without regret. We will miss you more than words can say. I wish we had just a little more time.....we will again see you some day...

Jimmy ready to take on the world!!!

Jimmy's High School Photo

Jimmy, Bryan and Pookie

Jimmy, Amy and Jason sharing his famous chocolate malt!
Family ski trip (Grumpy, Grammy, Amy and Jason)
Jimmy and Vic
What fun!!!!

Amy and her Daddy....need I say more

Jason, Papa(Pampa), Jimmy and Cayne

Whitney, Amy, Jimmy and Lindsey
life on the lake!

Grumpy, Minnie, Lindsey, Amy, Whitney and Jason

feeding his baby, Mocha!

Cayne, Jason, Amy and Jimmy

Minnie and Grumpy

Jim and the famous possum!

This is why we love you!

Our special day with him!

Just the three of them!

Father's Day 2008 (Jason, Jimmy and Cayne)

Just like Daddy!

It's in his blood and like his Daddy, Ty looks so cute in a hard hat! Jason's been putting a hard hat on his head practically since birth and it seems like finally after three years he can actually wear it and hold his head up! I snapped these a week or so ago when Ty was playing with his tools that Timothy gave him and he realized he was forgetting one very important piece - the HAT! What a cutie!!!

All Grown Up!

Today was Ty's open house for preschool which starts on Tuesday. We went for an hour this morning to get to know his teachers (Miss Lori and Miss Lisa) and make new friends! If I remember correctly I think there will be nine boys and three girls in his class (the teeny-tiny boy pottys are going to be busy!!!!). A few of the other boys had some bad feelings and by no means felt comfortable. As for Ty, we are lucky in that this is the same classroom he has Sunday mornings for church. So, he walked in and headed for the kitchen as always! No problems....

His teachers are fantastic and have so many fun activities planned for the year. They even sent out an email tonight thanking us for participating in the open house. I replied to them both saying how it eases my worries and warms my heart that my baby is in such good hands each Tuesday and Thursday. Ty is making leaps and bounds in the "growing up" department which makes me so proud and so happy but in the same makes me cry that he's not a baby anymore. Ty will do great on Tuesday, it will be me that you will need to worry about!!!! He's ready and I'm ready for him to go because this fulfills one of those guilt things I have about not spending the time I want to with him.

I better get the fridge cleaned off for all those great works of art!!!

Sweet Talk

Laci is making new strides all the time. She's holding her head up strong, kicking like nobody's business and she is all a chatter! When she starts her motor, she really gets it going! She talks, sings, giggles, blows bubbles and makes the most sweetest noises! I love talking and singing to her because I think she's actually listening and she talks and sings back to me. Here are some sweet noises I'd like to share with you all. Of course, its short-lived because Brother is being a little loud which startles her and makes her a little upset.

Ty's little red wagon

Grammy promised Ty a wagon when he started to keep his pants dry. AND, WELL HE HAS DONE IT - TY IS POTTY TRAINED!!! WOO-HOO!

Ty has been wearing big boy underwear for almost two weeks and has only had two accidents, and this is staying dry all day AND night! I just couldn't be more proud and more happy! I really would have liked for this to have happened sooner, but it wasn't up to me....we had to wait until Ty was ready. I have been actively training since he was about 16 months old, I thought if Amy and Jason were trained at 18 months surely I could do it too. Well, it wasn't for the lack of trying, he just didn't have that brain to penis connection. After Nana's big party, Monday Grammy took Ty to pick out his wagon and he's been in love since. We've been out first thing in the morning, before lunch and after nap. He loves everything about this wagon, especially for us to pull him through the puddles in the street and sidewalk. Today he's been taking "things" for a ride since Sissy didn't want to sit quietly and watch us. Grammy, the wagon is a hit - thank you so, so much - we love it and love you!