I want a.......

WATERPROOF CAMERA!!! My photographer friend Kelly Haynes took these pictures of my kiddos when we went swimming with her last week. We had so much fun, and I want me one of these cameras so bad! She captured these pictures while she was in the water with them.

This is Leah as she came down the slide.

Rachel after sliding, coming up out of the water

Noah, smiling as always Noah, under water....love this one!
Rachel, jumping off the diving board (that is me at the edge)

8 things about us.....

Joyful Chaos tagged me, so here goes......

8 Random facts about my marriage

1.) we probably dated 5 different times and broke up before I finally came to my senses.

2.) I don't even know when we really started dating....as I was dating someone else. Clay and I were friends, the other guy and I just quit talking to each other, and Clay and I began dating sometime in October or November.

3.) We ate at Red Lobster and saw "Runaway Bride" the night we got married.

4.) We got married in the church where we had met, over 10 yrs earlier.

5.) We have a King size bed....b/c we can't stand to be near each other when we sleep.

6.) Clay and I do everything together....we have since we got married. He even goes shopping with me.

7.)Until we moved to Little Rock, we had a date night once a week. I really miss those!

8.) One time when we were teenagers, Clay jokingly told me that I didn't need to reproduce. I was SO MAD at him...I even have it written in my diary. I guess I showed him, huh????

Noah's Birthday

So, I am just now getting around to posting pictures from Noah's birthday. He had a great day. We let him pick everything that he wanted to do.....and I carried my camera with me the entire time.

Noah carrying his new Build a Bear dog in it's carrier

We went to Jump Zone
Not sure why, but this pic cracks me up!
Noah, as usual, made some new friends there!
We went to eat at Dixie Cafe...Ymmmmm!

Leah posing with the Zebra statue....her new room is going to be zebra theme if I ever get around to decorating it!
We went to play miniature golf....Noah LOVES to play, and is really good at it too!


And go carts.....Leah was so serious the entire time, never cracking a smile......and Noah giggled each time he went past us and Leah.

Eating Ice Cream at McDonald's...yes, I even took my big camera in there with me!

Love this one.....one of my favorites

My first date...

When I was 14, I sat at a table with a big group of friends. On the last day of school, I went in there to say goodbye to them, and laid my books on the table. My mom picked me up, I put all the contents of my locker in her trunk, and forgot about it for a few days. When I finally got around to cleaning out the trunk, I found an envelope laying beside it. I opened it, and it was a note from one of the guys I ate with, Thad Smith....asking me out! I couldn't believe it, no guy had ever been interested in me, and I actually liked him too! He was 16, but he couldn't drive yet. I gave him a call....he was about to give up on me! It is a really great memory, and I still have that letter. So, we decided to meet at the movies on Friday night to see.....Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! You know back in the day, Monticello theatre only showed one movie, so we didn't have any other choice!

Clay was 16, and had his own car. We went to church together, and were friends, and he was dating another girl from our church. She was only 15, and her parents wouldn't let her date alone until she was 16, so who got invited tag along???? ME! But, I for once didn't have to be the 3rd wheel! (which was great, b/c I had a huge crush on Clay, and I Hated being along for his dates with someone else!) So...since he lived 1/2 mile away from me on Barkada Rd...he came and picked me up first. Only.....he was late, he had a flat tire! That was the day before cell phones, so I was STROKING that Thad would think I wasn't coming! So, Clay did call to let me know, and he finally got there, not in the best of moods. Then we went and picked up his date. When we go to the movies, luckily Thad was still waiting on my in the lobby, even though the movie had already started. We went our seperate ways, but after the movie, I went out to eat, and was the 3rd wheel, but didn't care this time, just wishedThad had come along with me....but I was too chicken to ask Clay if it were o.k. for him to come along!!

Clay and I were so much apart of each others lives growing up, I didn't even think about it until after we were married....that HE, took me on my first date! I wanted to include a picture of us together at this age, but I was too lazy to go look for one.

Wild River Country

I didn't take my camera in...but I think I would have had more fun if I had of just stood around taking pictures of them! I took these of my wet tired, pink faced babies in the car as we were leaving.

One of Clay's brides gave us free tickets to Wild River Country, so off we went today! As you can see in these pictures, Momma is a horrible sunblock person! I promise Clay and I put some on them, but you wouldn't know it by their poor cheeks! Luckily, this the only place they burned. As alway, my Noah had the absolute best time!! Leah did too....and Clay loves water parks. I think Rachel and I would have been better off staying at home! She was grouchy the whole day, and I think she was in time out at least 5 times. One time Clay said to me...."I'm so sure, time out at Wild River Country!" and then, about an hour later, I heard him say....Rachel....you are in time out! LOL

I tried so hard not to be a party pooper, but water parks just aren't my thing! I will spare you the details of my spastic fat self attempting to ride some of the rides....but I am sure it was a sight. Me and intertubes, don't get along! I finally found one slide that I liked...I think it is called white lightning, or something like that. I could just slide that one slowly on my behind. Wheh!

Changing the spelling of my name...

I have been thinking about changing the spelling of my name....just wondering what anyone thinks about that. My mom offered to let me do this years ago and at the time didn't care, but now I am thinking about it.

Growing up, nobody could ever pronounce my name, and that was very frustrating, I hated my name! Now, I do like that my name is unique, and it has grown on me....but, since the Maury Povich show has come about.....everyone can pronounce my name...(making me like it better), but now, everyone thinks I am a man!! People are always saying stuff like, I e-mailed your husband, or calling me, asking to speak to my husband Maury, I hate that! So....I am thinking about... Maurie that is just like Laurie, and nobody has problems with that name. Of course, then I would probably get people calling me Marie b/c there is just the difference with the U in there. I thought just Mauri but that kinda looks like it is unfinished at the end. Any thougths???

Maury
Mauri
Maurie

Well....here we go!

So, sorry to leave everyone hanging for a while. We have decided to give homeschooling another try! I am scared, nervous, and very excited, all rolled into one! I have more to say about all that, but it is late, and we just got home. I spent 2 days in Monticello, then we were off to Texarkana for our biggest wedding ever, and then stayed there a couple of days to enjoy us some quiet time, b/c tomorrow August 7th is our 8yr anniversary! I've got more to say about that as well..and a couple of our wedding pics to post....hopefully I will get to it tomorrow. I am so behind on so many pics and stories to tell!

Oh, and I also remember, I am suppose to tell the story of how Clay took me on my first date!

Thank you to everyone that has commented on homeschooling! I am sure all of you think I am crazy as a loon by now with my indecisiveness!! I just worry about everything! Oh, and just FYI....in case I came across as snooty about public school, I am not against public school, nor do I think anyone is wrong for going there! I don't want anyone to ever think I feel that way. I think there are many good things about going to public school, as I also feel there are many different positives to homeschooling, so that is why I am so torn as to what I should do all the time!

Oh, and our wedding pics post is below this one....I had already started that post a few days ago, and it posted them below this one.