Maddie

Gymnastics has been such a big part of Maddie's life for so long now (and ours, too).  We love following her to meets such as the one in Daphne last weekend.   Gymnastics has helped her become poised, independent, and very resilient. Her gym abruptly closed with absolutely no warning in May, and she continued her journey at a new gym an hour away in Auburn.    Her friends and teammates made the decision to stop competing, but Maddie carried on by herself. I would love to say that all was smooth sailing, but the transition was hard on her. She missed her teammates, and the gym that was like a second home to her.  But, she has hung in there, and we are so proud of her!! This was a great meet for her and her team.  She was second all around, and her team won first place.  The best part to me was her sweet, sweet smile!! It is awesome watching her do something she loves!


Bars

Beam

Reed and Lillian are quite the troopers at these meets!

Floor

There is an app where the gymnasts live scores are posted, so normally we know where she has placed in each event.  However, this meet the scores weren't live, so we were super surprised and happy at the results!  I honestly don't remember how she placed in the individual events, but she was 2nd all around! Once again, she left with lots of medals!

And the team won 1st Place!  Great job!!

We wrapped this trip up with a late lunch at the Oyster House with these cuties!  We love them so!

Fall Fun

Cotton candy, pumpkin roll, sack races, ring toss and more made Reed's Fall Festival such a fun time!  Once again, we are blessed that Jacob's Ladder has been such a big part of their lives for so many years now!  It's just a very special place! Pop and I also spent a couple of days at the beach in order to attend a gymnastics meet for Maddie(That meet will get a post of its own).  It was quite chilly and mostly cloudy, but we still had a great time.  As far as I'm concerned, any time at the beach is a great time!!  We came home just in time to enjoy a Chili Supper with John Sawyer at his church, but sadly he was running a fever and didn't get to go!

This Red Ranger powered up and was ready for lots and lots of fun!!

Beach time!!  I am one of those strange people that loves to feed the birds at the beach!  Reed on the other hand calls them devil birds!  But, notice who got them to eat out of his hand! We spent a day bundled up on the beach and enjoyed a walk down the pier, along with some really good meals!

 John Sawyer got to help with his first shoeboxes this year!! (I may or may not have stolen this picture from Facebook!)

Just a Hunk a Hunk a Burning Love!!! This cutie was running a fever, so we didn't get to attend the Chili Supper and trick or treat event at his church.

Spiderman, Princess Aurora, and Pocahontas had lots of fun at the Trunk or Treat event at their church. If you happen to see Maddie, please don't tell her I put this picture on the blog......She would be most unhappy with me!

Next up, Maddie's latest gymnastics meet and more!!

Fun Times!!

Maddie was recently inducted into the Junior Beta Club at her school. We are so proud of how hard she works to keep her grades up especially with all the practicing she does each week! John Sawyer and William recently competed in the costume contest at the Aliceville Street Fair, and they won first place!!  We love watching our sweet little ones grow and do things they love!

This sweet young lady is growing up so fast!! We are so proud of her and her precious self!!

I love that Lindsey is going to be with all three of her children for their entire time in school!  Such a blessing!

You go girl!!!

Not only is she smart, sweet, athletic and just all around great--She can cook, too!!  She won 1st place in the cookie cooking contest for 4-H!!!

This little nugget is definitely the cutest cow in the pasture!  William was also a precious farmer.  John Sawyer had been sick all week, so we were super happy that he was able to participate!

Sporting their first place medal!!

Taylor spent the day painting lots of faces, including her grandfather's.

And this one stayed busy doing lots and lots of things!

 Lillian is close to wrapping up her cheering season! She has loved every game and practice!

And Pop and I are headed to  another pumpkin patch with this cutie and his class this week, and then to the beach for another gymnastics meet with Maddie. It was 95 degrees the day this picture was taken, hopefully it will be much cooler this time!

They keep us busy and we wouldn't have it any other way!

Catching Up

Lindsey and Josh went on a cruise for their 10th anniversary, and the kids stayed her for part of the week, and than I journeyed there to stay with them.  They were on Fall Break, but Maddie still had gymnastics practice.  We mostly just stayed home and found lots of fun things to do around here!

Eating out at this cute little diner in Alex City is always fun!  Lindsey's oven decided to quit working right before they left, so we ate out quite a bit!

Lillian and Reed enjoyed an afternoon at Surge in Auburn while Maddie had practice.

Lillian conquered the rock wall and loved it!! No fear for this one!

It looks like he was pleading his case about something here-No telling!!

Big sister won this battle! 

Pop sent this to me while I was gone.  My other baby enjoyed a fishing trip.

We love stopping at Peach Park.  They have the best playground up the hill behind the restaurant.  If there is a playground, we will find it.........

I think we will all agree that our favorite thing to do is stay home and play with John Sawyer.  He is growing so, and just a joy!!

They are settled back into school now, and Pop and I are back into our routines at home.  We have an upcoming gymnastics meet at the beach and a pumpkin patch trip with Reed coming up though.  Near daily visits with John Sawyer are a wonderful treat, too!