4th of July Fun

For those that didn't hear the maddening crys from Franklin, Taylor had to work the fireworks show in Nashville on the 4th. He had been on the calendar to be off for a while, but they were short and his luck was bad. So, he went to work and the kids and I headed over to the Codlings for some fun. It was a tad wild and crazy to say the least, but we had fun.

Addy and her boyfriend Jackson!

Addy, Jackson, Ainsleigh, Brendan and Cooper. I think Ava was attached to a grandmother at the time of this picture.

















Addy and Ainsleigh

Cooper and Brendan being boys!

Cooper and I

Tim had a new grill this year and did all of the grilling himself. Taylor usually helps him.

Jackson missing yet another tooth. He has two others that are loose. We joke that he only going to be able to eat ice cream pretty soon!

Addy wasn't too sure that Brendan and Cooper should be driving the Barbie corvette.

Ainsleigh is talking on her phone to daddy. She is telling about the fireworks and the party.

Cooper wasn't too sure about the fireworks.

So, we ended up inside once they really got going. It was basically a daycare. There were about 9 kids running around inside. Someone came inside and joked that it was louder inside that the fireworks were outside!

Don't ask...Brendan and Ainsleigh ended up IN the toybox together.

Ahhh Ains! Do you like the black and pink skirt, umbrella and arm warmer added to her festive 4th of July outfit??

Cooper really liked this puppy dog.

Backyard fun with friends

Addy, Ava and Cooper on the slip and slide. They may not have used it like bigger kids, but they loved it. Thanks to Papa and Grandma for getting it for Jackson!

Everyone crawling up and down the slip and slide.

Addy, Ainsleigh and Cooper finally at the end!





I missed the perfect shot. Cooper was bent down to get a drink of the water. It was so cute!












Sweet Brendan didn't know what to make of my crazy kiddos.

Oh, those silly girls! They pretty much ran the show on this particular day!

Calm little Ava.

Ainsleigh and Ava.

Active Ainsleigh

Many of you are probably thinking that we have a favorite child. And if you could measure that by the number of pictures and stories, it would appear that way! No, Ainsleigh just manages to into things more than the boys could ever imagine. She is just so busy. I need to get a lock for her closet. If she can get the clothes off and on by herself, she may change 10 times a day. We also have to watch it because she will pull all of her clothes off and go running to the front door. One day it was open and she pressed her little naked body up against the glass door. I am sure our neighbors loved that!

Here she is in Jackson's clothes...his hat, shirt, shorts, socks and crocs.

Being silly!

No, those aren't kiddie thigh highs. Those are Jackson's baseball socks!




Here she is in a princess dress, with size 6-12 mth tights on underneath. I am not even sure how she managed to get those on.














I was tagging clothes for our kids consignment sale while sweet little Cooper slept.

Ainsleigh on the other hand needed to look and try on half the clothes. You probably can't tell it from here, but she has on 7 shirts (yes 7 with daddy's help) and pants that don't button because they are way too small.

Here our little fashion model has added a dress and shoes that are 2 sizes too small. They "hurt feet" but she still HAD to wear them.

We went to the pool and ordered pizza one night. Taylor just left the bag of paper plates out. Well, this is what Ainsleigh did while I was getting Cooper dressed the next morning. She said she put them out for a "picmic" for breakfast. She is always thinking!

Taylor's Reunion and The Univ. of Alabama

Taylor had his 20 year class reunion this summer. Since he went to three high schools, he chose one to attend and that was the one in Alabama. He actually went to school there for 3 years! After the reunion, we drove back through Tuscaloosa to visit the University of Alabama. If you know Taylor, you know he is a die hard fan!







This was his old high school.

Where Taylor played baseball.

We went to this museum on Fort Rucker. It was very interesting. Below are pictures of some of the helicopters that were inside. The kids would have loved it!

This was John's Brigade in Korea.

Taylor and I at the reunion.

Allison and Ken Thompson and Taylor and I. The guys have kept in touch over the years. Ken was even in our wedding. We had fun catching up with them over the weekend.

Taylor's class. Some had aged gracefully and some had not. No one was a grandparent though. He was curious to see if that was the case!

Do you see the gold halo above the stadium? Maybe it is just in Taylor's eyes!

This was a barrier at the baseball field to keep the balls from flying into the parking lot. Jackson thought that was the coolest thing ever!

The baseball field. Jackson thinks he could play here when he gets older.

Kids being kids

Buttercup Cove's very own Welcome Wagon...the Riggs kids! Cooper waves to EVERY CAR that comes down our street!

Stop car stop!

Thank goodness it did. It was the Codling's and Addy had to blow Jackson a kiss!

Ainsleigh in the Star Wars tent. She hasn't mentioned that it isn't pink yet...






Cooper filling up his bucket so he can...











...dump it on himself!





He really likes this sprinkler that daddy got him.

"Awww Ains" is what Cooper says alot. Here she is eating an ice cream sandwich.

A very chocolate face.

She was going to get us with her messy hands!

Making hand prints with daddy. I didn't get a picture of Cooper and Jackson making theirs because I was too busy pulling Ainsleigh off the counter, out of the fridge, taking clay out of her hands. You get the picture!