The Roanoke Valley Horse Show

The weekend of June 21-24 we headed up to Virginia for the big horse show.  I went as a teenager when I was sixteen and loved it as much then as I did this year!  Sandra and Gary got involved with the horse show from their scuba diving friends Ken and Mary.  She shows her horse and introduced them to this fun event over 10 years ago.  They have been attending every year ever since.  The big exciting event though for our family does not include horses!  It is the kids stick horse event where all the kids dress up and bring their stick horses down in the arena and run around while parents attempt to corral them. It is the most hilarious thing to watch and this is the first year Brady got to participate and Andrew got to attend Friday night!

Thursday evening was the stick horse event and all the family came out to watch!  Benson and Faith who have done this before had to show Brady the ropes!  

Howdy lil' buckaroo!

Benson and Brady ready to ride.

Faith and Brady riding around the arena.

Two cute little cowboys!

Watching the horse show.

Thursday night Andrew had to work but he got in town in time so we could all go together!

Brady and Faith were best buds Sunday afternoon!

   

Brolly got all the puppy playtime in he could have ever wanted while we were out of town with OE and Bella.

OE, Brolly & Bella

June Happenings

In June Sydney came one afternoon to play with Brady and to let me get some things accomplished.  While I was at the grocery store by myself (what a lovely rarity), Sydney took lots of photos on my phone, here are a few!

We had a few sick days in June with a not so fun stomach bug that Brady caught!  He still felt fine so we just had to stay home bound.  No worries though because Brady got lots of lawn mower time and got to try out his new pool!

 

Always helping when it comes to cleaning the floor!

Here is Brady showing his N.C. State pride and modeling his new haircut.  He is such the stud!

 

 

 

Eating a popscicle after dinner that night!

Here is my first belly picture, or lack thereof at 6 weeks!

 

June 3rd

On June 3rd our lives changed forever!  The previous nine months had definitely been a trial for me on learning how to trust God and His timing.  Sometimes I like to think I have the best plans for what the future should look like and how it should play out.  Well, I am repeatedly wrong and was my heart was quite humbled by this experience.

It started out as a normal Sunday night we were headed to a friend's house to eat dinner, when I cut my finger open badly and had a panic attack over blood.  Anyone who knows me knows I normally like gross things and can hack it pretty well.  Well not this night! Later after going home I started thinking how weird it was that I got so freaked out at the sight of blood.  Andrew had gone to an evening matinee and I proceeded to go take a pregnancy test and could not believe what I thought I was seeing!  I took another one and it was the same result!

As it slowly sank in I started to devise a plan to surprise Andrew.  We have a big chalkboard hanging in our kitchen that I like to write on and change often.  I drew this for him to find.

I had also set up and hidden the video camera to catch his reaction when he saw it!  He got home from the movie, it felt like it took forever and walked in to wash his hands at the sink right past the chalkboard...and did not see it.  Then he threw away the paper towel where the chalkboard sits right above the trash can and still didn't notice so I told him to look at my new drawing on the chalkboard.  I have to tell him this sometimes anyway as it goes unnoticed.  He looked at it and said, "cute stick people" took a step away stopped and looked again and he was like, "holy cow are you really?".  Then we were all excited and in such shock and disbelief!  

We had been trying for what felt like so long and it was so too good to be true!!!  We got pregnant very quickly with Bradford and thought we would go for two years apart, but God knew what is best for our family.  We are excited to become a family of four around February 4th!!!

To South Carolina we go!

We went down to Mat and Beth's for Dad's birthday at the end of May.  Aunt Amy rode down with us which made for a very happy Bradford in the backseat!  It was fun getting the little cousins together, playing board games long into the night and to celebrate the best Dad in the whole world!!!  We celebrate at dinner Saturday night and us four girls shared letters that we wrote to Dad, it left me with some great memories.  What a legacy!

Played with beads for two hours!

Brady was dragging a laundry basket around the house Friday night and somehow it turned into us pushing him around the floor in it.  Then Kathleen joined in the fun with him and Dad was pushing them both around!

Cutest niece ever!!!

Uncle Andrew and Kayley sharing snuggles.

In the following pictures Kayley is wearing a bonnet that my Grandma Clatfelter made for Amy I think with a matching dress when she was a baby!

Kayley and Nana

Everyone wants to hold Kayley!

Saturday night after dinner we went outside and Brolly got to run around loose in their huge backyard and Bradford was mowing!  It was hilarious to watch the scene.

Mawn mower as he calls it!

The whole family.

Here is a very tired Bradford on the way home Sunday afternoon!

A visit to Cary and other May days!

In May Grandma Laurie came and spent the night with us Friday night and we celebrated by going to a new bakery that had opened recently near home. While there we caught this cute shot and I fell in love with what they call chocamisu!!!  It is like heaven in your mouth!                  

On Saturday she took Brady to stay the night with all the Cary grandparents while Andrew and I had a night alone!!!  This never really happens outside of business conferences.  Needless to say we missed Brady but we took full advantage by going all out and having a wonderful time.  We went to Winston to go shopping at Hanes Mall where we each bought some fun new things for ourselves.  It was so relaxing to shop and not have to rush and be able to take as long as I want in the dressing room without a toddler in tow!  After working up an appetite shopping we went to eat dinner at the Olive Garden...again we soaked it in not feeling the need to rush through it.  We then finished up with a movie viewing of Snow White and the Huntsman!  We had such a wonderful night.  As you will see below we were not the only ones to enjoy ourselves!

Rarely without his phone!

Pondering life.

Pushing his mawn mower

Checking the engine!

Brady with his Pop

Always fun in the bath at Pop and Gramps'

Pop with Brady

Here are some candid shots from the rest of May, throwing dirt among other things!

Us with Claire and Andrew at her seminary graduation!

Always wanting to be like Daddy in every way!  Including drinking out of his water bottle!

Sweet Brolly boy

Covered in food =Bathtime!

Sleeping so sweetly