I don't feel like the Paparazzi...

But apparently Chris thinks I am paparazzi-ish with my camera!   I like to document things with pictures!    My photo albums for the most part are up-to-date!  I just like pictures!  Twice this weekend I asked Chris to get the camera from his side of the car as twice he told me..."please, no paparazzi this weekend"!  Therefore I have no pictures of our cookout at mom's or us at the splash pad or us eating a very fun, albeit NOISY meal with the Wolford's at Outback!  (largely due to my "high-maintanance" toddler...have I told you about how it's a good thing she is really, REALLY cute??) and man if I don't have a single picture of me running out of Belk as fast as could with the fore-mentioned SCREAMING toddler...how did we turn into "those" parents?  The parents that our 20-ish, newly married selfs laughed and mocked, "oh we will NEVER, EVER be those parents".... to which we now say: SYKE!!!!  and because I have no pictures of our fun events for my husband's fear of going all "lady gaga" I will in return show you this picture of him icing his busted lip from a "Daddy wrestling session" with Charley's teething ring!   For your entertainment...

...I bet next time he'll just go ahead and get my camera! :)

You have to go to the Homeplace with a strategy...

Chris and I go light on the corn and meat so we can save room for the green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, and the pintos...ohhhh the pintos!  We also recommend starving yourself before you get there so you can go in heavy!!  Right before the cobbler we go for biscuits with apple butter!  And because I like you I'll tell you a little known secret:  the cobblers unlimited too!!  For those that don't know, the Homeplace is a old house turned into a good ol home cooking restaurant!  It is our favorite and we even had our rehearsal dinner there!  I'm just going to come on out and say it...I can PUT.DOWN. some food at the Homeplace!  Here is our last recommendation:  do not...I repeat, DO NOT take a fussy, teething, just got over a sickness toddler!   It didn't help that right after we sat down Sam tipped all the way out his chair and cracked his chin and started hysterical crying and Sissy was just plain a MESS the whole meal long!  It almost ruined my mashed potatoes until I remembered NOTHING can lay a finger on the delicious goodness that is the Homeplace mashed potatoes and gravy!  Every time we go Chris always says, "I just picture little old ladies in the back kitchen just peeling away at some potatoes!"  At one point during the meal I looked up at a sweet lady of two teenagers who gave me the "mommy look".  You know the one...the one that says, "enjoy these crazy meals while they last because before you know it they are moody teenagers who won't speak at all during meals and the only reason they turned their music off in the first place is because you had to threaten to take away their cell phone" look!  Sometimes all you need is a look to put things into perspective!    

Here are some pics I managed to take of Sam and Miss Grumpy herself! 

That last one is a tear jerker I tell you!  You mean at some point these precious babies will grow up to be teenagers that I'll embarass on a regular basis...no way...I'm sure Sam will let me rock him when he's 16 as he whispers, "I love you too mommy" in my ear...you mean thats not the way it works....get.out.of.town!   Do me a favor...for now...don't burst my bubble!  :):) 

Douthat State Park

Last weekend we headed down to Douthat State Park for our annual "Back to School Bash"!  (Go here to see pics from last year)  Both my kids loved the sand and the water!  It's like the ocean without the waves and they played and played and played!  Of course my favorite part was mom's famous chicken salad and noodle salad!  I may have had 2 servings of everything!   Hence why my only pictures of the whole trip are ones of us eating!   I have my priorities!

Sam and Charley at the kiddie table! 

First Day Of School Surprise!!

We had a free jump coupon at pump it up and Monday was our last day to cash in on it so we off we went...even though it was the first student day for me...my energy level asked me about 50 times that night, "what were you thinking" but I just told it to back off and enjoy the free night of fun!  and that we did!!   It took Charley a while to warm up but she eventually let me set her down and off she went!    

Sam loved every.single.minute!!  He can now do even the obstacle course on his own!  When did he get so big??  I keep telling him to stop growing up but he is just not listening to his momma! 

And Chris may have had the most fun of all!! Here is Chris trying to get Sam to do a slow-mo...apparently Chris was more into "selling the scene" than Sam was!! 

This picture just makes my heart smile!!  

We met Anna, Ryan, and Eli there but of course I didn't get a picture!!  Eli loves him some pump it up!! 

Sam and Charley played hard the WHOLE time we were there!  So hard in fact that we had to leave early to give them BOTH treatments!  At some point Sam got hit in the face and being the awesome parents Chris and I are we were all, "Sam, brush it off"...not knowing it would leave a shiner!!   How pitiful does poor Sam look??   To be honest, going to Pump It Up after teaching first grade on the first day...I'm kinda surprised I didn't have to get a treatment!!  :)   

What can we say...

she marches to the beat of her own drum!!  If she wants to wear her crown upside down...she does!  And by the way, that is most definitely not a Burger King crown because we never, EVER let our kids eat fast food...nope not us...not ever!   Only organic food for us Dowdys!!

and don't even get me started on this kid!  Did I mention I love this little guy...and during the day at school I MISS HIM!!   Now excuse me, Sam and I have a serious game of memory on the dining room table to attend to, the same dining room table we eat our "only organic" meals on!!! :) 

Today is why teachers have June-August off...

First let me clarify that I love my job!  I KNOW I'm supposed to be a first grade teacher..it's in my bones...it's what I have been called to do!  I believe that with out a doubt...I mean people, just today, I sang "My Mother is a Baker" and then proceeded to "Letter-cise" and enjoyed EVERY second of it!!!  That being said if given the choice I would LOVE to be employed this year by a 3 and a 1 year old but that just wasn't meant to be!  In the last couple weeks I have prayed specifically for my spirit and attitude going in to this school year.  What a light and an example I have the opportunity to be this year to my first graders...I'm ready for the challenge and the ministry that is ahead of me!  Chris has been super supportive this year and even helped me set my classroom up!

Look at his diagram for my tables in my classroom! 

While I've prepared myself mentally I forgot about the number one thing that "makes me sad" about the start of school!  When I get home I'm EXHAUSTED!!!   Just when my two little ones want me to be "spot on" I'm literally physically exhausted!   Today was the first day of school for the kids and I did not sit down ONE SECOND!   People laugh when I tell them that from 8 to 3 I'm an academy award winning actress but that is exactly what I feel like!  So in honor of today...I'm drinking a big glass of milk  and eating at least 2 reese pumpkins (yes they are already out)...because today I remembered why teachers are given June through August off...your body needs it just as much as your brain!!!

Ring around the Rosie,

pocket full of posies , 

ashes, ashes...

We all fall down!!

There is nothing like cousin love!!  

She makes me smile....

I think I'll keep her!

Every time we send Amy Jo mail I always trace the kids handprints!  Last week AJ had to mail me something and this is what I found attached!!   She cracks me up...yeah, I'll keep her!!

On your mark...get set....

Look who came over to play!  We broke out the Wii for a couple rounds of Mario Cart!  Sam is so intense!  We let him play on his own and he gets really into it! 

Since we are perfectly matched boys vs. girls we played several "battle of the sexes" rounds!  Loser had to do push ups! 

How does that feel fellas???  Chris had to teach Sam the correct form!  

Bless sissy's heart...she didn't get the memo that we were playing the Wii not the playstation...at least she was entertained!  

Could you guys get any closer to the TV?  FTR: we made them move to the couch after this race!!   Look at that determination! 

Even the girls had their fair share of push ups! And YES we even made sissy!  

Sam and Charley LOVE their cousins!! We had a great time!

You might be a redneck if...

...your dad takes you to the golf course for a whole round and forgets to apply the sunscreen that the mom  has put IN the golf bag!

At least I tried Sam!!   Sam could care less about his sunburn...to him he had THE.BEST.DAY.EVER!!!   And even I have to give props to a dad who takes their 3 year old golfing with him...even if he does get too excited and forgets all about the sunscreen!      

What do you see??

By far this was Sam's favorite book when we he was toddler!  Now he can "read" it all by himself and it melts my heart every.stinkin.time!   Look how much this poor book has gone through! 

Look who else LOVES this book!  

I mean Charley has a DEEP love affair with this book!  If you tell her to get her brown bear book she rushes over to the book bin, finds it, runs over to your lap, plops down, and she will pretend to read the book!  She loves the "white dog" page and will squeal ELLI every time she passes it!   I love that she loves books!   

For the record:  Today was my first day of teacher work week and it was a doozie!!  I'm trying to stay positive but MAN.I.MISS.MY.KIDS!!! There are going to be lots of changes this year at school so it looks to be a stressful year.  I am thankful for my co-workers who are "in the same boat"...we had a nice mommy cry session today...just what the dr. ordered.  Around my classroom I have posted small hot pink signs that simply read, "bless this day"...what a privilege I have in teaching young minds!  For my 23 first graders (yes I said 23) I will spend more hours in the working work with them than I will my own kids...I pray that I am a positive example in their life everyday and embrace the unique opportunity I have to enrich their lives!   

Splash Valley

Or as Sam and I like to call it...the splash "pad"!!  Sam and Charley had a blast at splash valley!  Sam went up that mesh and down that yellow slide at least 50 times!  We also did the "lazy river" and Chris and I took turns watching the kids so the other could go down the adult slides!   Sam has asked to go to the "splash pad" again everyday since Thursday!  For only 7 dollars for an adult and 6 dollars for ages 2 and up we def. got our money's worth!!  

At one point Chris and Sam were both wearing their goggles!  I just had to laugh!   They were the ONLY ones in the whole park...gotta love it!  

Rest Break....12 and under...out of the pool!!!  Amy Jo, I know you can hear the lifeguards at Lake Drive now!!  

All about Sam day!

I start teacher workdays on Monday and while I know it will be hard for me I know it will be a transition time for my tender-hearted Sam too!  So Chris and I planned an "all about Sam"day on Friday!  First we went to Sam's favorite Chick-fil-a for lunch and playtime!  Then Gee-Jo offered to watch Sissy so Chris and I could have some Sammy C time!  First we went to get Sam a new pair of "teats" (aka soccer cleats)  What 3 and a half year old is on their 2nd pair of cleats?? That's our Sam!  He even offered, all on his own, to give his old cleats to Charley! Poor Charley won't EVER have new cleats...as a third child myself Charley...get use to some hand-me-downs!!  An added bonus was that Big Sam was working!!    

He won't let go of the box!! 

After talking Sam in to putting tennis shoes back on we headed off for Sam's first ever movie in the movie theater!!  Over the summer we had watched Toy Story 1 and 2 in preparation!!  Sam was so excited and he could not get over HOW.BIG.THE.SCREEN.WAS!!  All throughout the movie he kept asking..."how bigs the screen mommy?"  He also got to experience the Dowdy tradition of movie popcorn and cherry coke!!  He was guzzling some cherry coke!!  He loved every second of it!! 

Chris was super excited I made him take a picture inside the theater!!  I'm not sarcastic at.all.!!   

When we got home we were super surprised that our neighbors had blown up these "jumpy things" (I'm absolutely positive that is their official name...jumpy things)  Our neighbor came out and told us that his daughters' WHOLE cheerleading team was camping out at their house but that they wouldn't be there until 7 so we could knock ourself out....AND SAM DID!!  He must have jumped in that bouncy house for an hour and when Gee-Jo brought sissy home we got to go back over and jump some more!  He also loved the obstacle course one too!   Could you imagine being 3 and having both of these things all to yourself!  He was in heaven!!  And I didn't even care that at midnight as I was trying to go to sleep...I could still hear the 9th through 12th grade girls screaming!! 

We loved getting to spend time with Sam!  He is such a sweet, funny boy!!