Gatlinburg! 25March08

My friend Megan came to visit us for Spring Break! We took our annual trip to Townsend & Gatlinburg...the "WATER HOUND" had to stop at every water he saw, again!

"I so cute!!!!"

It was a perfect day, not hot, not cold...

Brady used up all of Mama's pennies at various other fountains. When we got to this one, he asked me for a penny...I said I did not have any more...he immediately turned to Megan and said "Megan have some pennies!" And, of course, she did and willingly handed them over to be thrown into the water, much to the delight of a little "monster boy!"

We were headed back to the car and Brady wanted to stop in this arcade type place. You know, sounds, flashing lights, etc. He decided he would like to sit for a ride with these animals...

We had a great day! Thanks for coming out Megan, can't wait til next time! LoveYall!

Easter 2008! 23March08

We started the day out at 7:30 a.m. for Sunrise Service at church. Next, we had a wonderful breakfast provided for us by the church. Then, we went to Sunday school and Lindsey had KidStuf...Then we were off to Mimi's house. We stopped and picked up some chicken (one of her favorites) so she could have dinner with us. After eating we took this picture. As you can see, Emory is having none of it, Caleb and Brady are entertaining eachother, and the rest of us are doing our best to take a decent picture...except Travis (as usual) looks great! After Mimi's we headed to Travis' cousin Kinmberly's house for dinner and egg hunt...Here is Emory being very independent in her hunt...she found as many as the big kids!

Once Brady got the idea of what he was supposed to do he thought it was fun...

Lora helping Bubba find eggs...Emory posing for a picture for Kimberly and Kenny...and Brady posing for Daddy!

Once all of the egg hunt excitement wore off the kids, and Kenny, thought it was great fun to take turns sitting in the giant basket...

Hope yall had a wonderful Easter! Miss you!

Family Adventures! 12-22March08

Here is Brady watching Sesame Street. Elmo's World was on. He was learning about birds and asked TV to turn on the "bird channel". The "bird lady" was singing the chicken song and doing the chicken dance. Here is Brady doing his chicken dance with Elmo...

We traveled to Fort Bragg in North Carolina to see Lora off the plane from Afghanistan. Sweet time to see The Wee and her mommy...

We took a shopping trip today and to meet Megan off the plane. The kids did well in the car and even posed for some "cheese pizza" pictures!

and some HAT pictures!

Caleb a.k.a. Bubba...

Emory a.k.a. The Wee...

When we finally got home Travis and I were going to take Megan for a walk to the creek on our property. Travis had to get out the "new to Brady" shotgun that Papaw (Travis' dad) had whittled for him when Travis was a boy.

Of course, Brady already knows what to do with it...he wanted to go outside and shoot some rabbits...sorry Annie =)...psfewww (gun noise)!

After dinner Travis was in the floor being crazy with the kids...are you surprised? He is the bull and Brady would ride him and get bucked off and run for the fence...

Stay tuned for more adventures from the Collins family! LoveYall!

Adventure #2! 10March08

Today is Monday = Adventure Day! We took the kids to Roane County Park to play. It was a beautiful day, plenty of sunshine, warm, and not any other people...Our first stop was the big playground with 3 slides, monkey bars, a tunnel, and swings! Brady was first down the big twisty slide!
Next Emory came down...

Finally, here comes Caleb. In his own way, of course! He sure does go fast that way. Maybe that is his plan?

After playing there for quite a while, we decided to walk along the trail by the water to the other playground...

There is a fishing pier on the way. The kids loved to look over the water and watch the seagulls diving for minners (minnows) in the water. Caleb refused to sit for the picture...he was exploring!

The swings were the next thing to try...Emory liked for Travis to spin her around on the swing more than to swing.

Brady was the bravest one on the swings. At first he did not want to go high. He would tense up and kindof grunt if he went too high. Then he could not get high enough..."go fast Daddy!"

Gotta love this face! What a great day!

Emory wanted me to help her on the jungle gym. This one was about 1/2 the size of the ones we used to play on when we were young!

Caleb was like a little monkey and had NO FEAR! He would slip and actually catch himself with his hands and hang on! Wow!

Caleb also had NO FEAR when it came to the monkey bars! He went right across and wanted to keep turning around and going back. Travis is strong, but even his arms got wore out!

Emory and Travis had a lesson in trusting Uncle Travis and overcoming your fears! It was precious to see Travis be so patient with her and help her to climb this pole. It took many baby steps, but she finally made it to the top!! Good job Emory!

After this everyone was getting hungry and sleepy, so back home we went. All of the kids, and Travis, took a 3 hour nap! Can't wait until next Monday = Adventure Day #3!

We're Here! 9March08

Emory and Caleb are here for a visit until their Mommy comes home from Afghanistan...Sunday after church the kids were being silly...Emory after a somersault...
Brady peeking through his legs...

And Caleb playing with cards...

I was actually able to get the crew together at the same time for a picture..."Cheese Pizza!"

The kids are having such a good time playing. They are still trying to sort out the pecking order in the group, but so far so good.

Daily doings...Feb 08

I had to get these pictures on the site for yall to see what I live with! We were in a Japanese restaurant in Lenoir City. A song came on the radio, I think it was Phil Colins "I Can Feel It", and my boys could not help but to play some air drums! Note the look on Travis' face =) And Brady, being the mimic that he is, went right along with Travis! They are precious...

Happy Birthday Travis! 29Feb08

We had a busy day today! It is Travis' 28th birthday. My friend Kim also called and needed a babysitter for her 2 kids for the day. I was up to the task...Trent was very content to play cars in the floor by himself while...
Amelia and I made birthday cake!!!! Yum...

The cake was a hit...it tasted better than it looked...but it was special anyway! Yes, there were 28 candles, and he blew them out all in 1 breath! Guess we have to wait another 4 years for another try...

Ozone Falls 3March08

Today Travis was off work. It was a gorgeous day so we decided to make Mondays an adventure day. Adventure #1 was to Ozone Falls. It is about 30 minutes outside of Rockwood.
This is Travis and Brady being brave looking over the edge. The water falls 110 feet into a pool at the bottom.
Travis posing by the falls. Cute boy!

We met 2 guys hiking and they took our picture. Brady had a great time being a big boy!

Do not ask my why Brady has on an orange construction hat and yellow "plassis"?!?!? He insisted on wearing them on our hike, so...we picked our battle and this is not one we wanted to have. Memories!

More BJC...

Brady was so proud of himself for going to the potty like a big boy! I have no idea what is up with the "o-g" hand, but he still looks cute! He is doing so well going potty. We are so proud of him.
We also made his crib into a toddler bed as part of our "you're a big boy now" campaign...so far so good! He loved helping Daddy "fix-it" and has not even tried to get out at night! How blessed are we?! And of course, no boy bed is complete without a stuffed RATTLESNAKE! Thanks "Am-pa!"

As always the boys had a great time playing together...lots of love when it is time to leave! How they have grown...

Long Time No See! Dec 2007

Sorry I have fallen short on my mommy blogging duties! I will try to catch you up...
This is our family picture we had taken in November...Great job by our friend Kellye Marshall!

While we were in Colorado for Christmas Brady got to drive the "tractor" with "Am-pa"! This was by far his favorite part of the trip...

Another favorite was shooting the bow! He wanted to shoot everything! The cool part is that he actually knew what to do and was a great shot!