Brett's 6yrs old

The day he was born

He loved steamed green beans and cornbread 

He loved Blues Clues at two and mamaFord got him this!

When he was three he got to go to the pumpkin patch with Isaak and Daddy!

At 4 he enjoyed an AL snow day!

At 5 he was a storm trooper and we were in VA

Now he has seen the capital of the USA and Hershey PA.  

We love our Brett and wouldn't know what to do without his sweet smile and kind hear!

My first Black Friday!

  There I was about to leave for my first black friday and I was ready to back out.  I didn't want to be in line for hours, and I didn't want to have to deal with a ton of rude people.  But, I mustarded up the courage and my friend Kristen and I went to Best Buy to sit in the line til it opened.  She was really needing a new TV and there was a great on for only $200 there.  We arrived at 5:30pm and put our chairs out.  Then in an hour we had some folks behind us.  We were sitting just around the corner of the front of the building.  The folks sitting around us were great and we ended up talking to them the whole time!  At 9pm I had to get out of line and walk across the street to Toy's r us and do my big shopping.  It took me 45min. to get in and I got my stuff quickly...so I could go stand in the checkout line that went through the whole inside of the store.  An hour and 45minutes later I was out and had met more fun people in the line!

  By this time it was midnight and Kristen was getting into Best Buy.  I got in once the whole line was let in and I found her quickly!  She got a TV but not the exact one she wanted but a good one at a great price!  So success for us!  Well, for those of you thinking that we called it a night...you are wrong.  The mall didn't open til 3:30am and Target had just opened so we thought we'd check it out.  The deals were great but that line was nuts and we were hungry.  So we hit up IHOP and ate.  It took about an hour and and we were off again.  First, we went to Kohl's and I found more great deals and a line that took half the time as it did in Toy's R Us.  Again, we met some great folks and laughed that whole time we were in line!  I saved double what I spent and then got Kohl's cash to boot!  Yay!  It was time for the mall!  We only had to go to Belk's and hit the Perfume counters for Danny.  He loves Polo Black and so do I!  There was a kit there for a good price.  I also found my new favorite perfume for me.  CoCo Chanel Madame Muosel.  I didn't spell that right but the perfume is AMAZING!  Kristen showed it to me cause she likes it too and OMG it is so great!  Finally, we went back to Target and got the great deals on DVD's and all the other cool things I needed for Christmas!  We got home at 6am and I hit the bed so I could be up by 11am so we could go see the Muppets!

  I have to say it was a great weekend and we had a lot of fun!  I don't regret it and plan to do it again!  Oh, and the Muppet movie is so great!  I was really surprised by how good it was.

More on Hershey

So I have more pictures...even though this isn't half of them I will get them all on Facebook later.  But I wanted to share what I have now.  We had so much fun and really learned a lot!  Like did you know that Hershey moved his chocolate industry where he did so he could be next to a dairy farm?  And back where he grew up.  He was able to do so many smart things like that, that he saved money where others were spending.  Once he moved his chocolate company there he decided to make the town a great place.  He worked on getting the families there good educations and wanted them to have fun.  So he built Hershey Stadium and Hershey Park.  Also, he wanted some culture so he built a place for ballets and plays.  Also, he bought peoples collections so they could have a museum(s).  Here are some of the things we saw in his Indian Museum!

 In front of genuine Native American clothes!

 Brett outside of the Museum at Gettysburg!

 In the candy store after the chocolate tour!  They have everything that Hershey's makes!  So yummy!

 Goes to show they really did use all of the animals they killed.  A calf head purse.  It was high fashion!

 Jack outside of the Gettysburg Museum!

 They boys boxed up their own Kisses

 At the Hershey museum...the stones they used to build the town!

After a long day of walking!  We got Custard!  Who cares that it's cold?!

Best place on earth

So the family took me to Hershey PA. We have lots of pictures to post but I'm going to start us off with one. We took a tour of the chocolate factory and how they make the chocolate. So yummy.

Trick or Treating

  Just a quick post on how Trick or Treating went last night.  Both Brett and Jack had a blast!  Isaak sat in the car as we drove the other boys around.  We have a neighborhood where each house sits on a few acres and then have really long driveways too.  So for the first time...we took the van.  Both the boys racked up and are trying to eat it all today.  I'm letting them have more than usual but I don't want to deal with puke or diarrhea.  So it was a success and I wanted to put up a couple of pictures to document the occasion!

They are such fun boys! 

So excited about how much he got.  He couldn't hold it up on his own!

Weekend Forecast

You heard right folks...we are expecting snow up there this weekend.  Now I understand that is't cooler here than in the deep south...where we came from.  But snow for Halloween is still odd for Northern Virginia.  We are all hoping that it is just a fluke and this won't be the start of all the snow here for the year.  We have plans for next weekend and I want to go!  Hershey PA, is calling my name!  I'll keep you all posted!  :)

My favorite time of year!

Just a quick note on my favorite time of year!  Fall/Halloween!  I love it!  Danny's favorite fall celebration is Thanksgiving.  I understand why.  Brett and Jack have had their costumes for a couple of weeks now and they have been wearing them almost everyday!  They too, love this time of year.  Isaak, on the other hand, appalls Halloween.  Since he was very young it has scared him.  Everything about it makes him run in TERROR!  So this year I told him he doesn't have to participate if he doesn't want to.  And, he's not!  The funny thing about it is that he's totally fine with that.  I have to admit I'm proud of him for making a decision like this and sticking to it!  I don't feel it's an issue that needs to be pushed.  So he has no costume and is staying with some friends of ours while we take the boys trick or treating!

Jack is a dragon for the second year in a row!  And Brett is Green Lantern...made his dad soooo happy!

Tag Sale

  Have I ever said how much I love our cute little town here in VA?  Well I do!  It definitely has that small town feel and I just love the people.  We have a great farmers market every weekend and fun town parades throughout the year.  The local library only just started having late fees and they are still only 10 cents.
  But each year at this time our whole town has a huge yard sale on main street we call a Tag Sale!  The whole street is closed for the day and people just walk up and down main street buying other peoples "stuff".  So a girlfriend and I decided to be merchants this year.  We have things around the house and things we have made for locals to buy!  I have a box full of Halloween costumes to sell and a car seat that needs a new home.  But I am most excited about some things I decided to make and sell.  The are key chains (Sara gave me the pattern) and quilted baby bibs!

You can't see all the details but I really like the way they all turned out.  I have more of each but I just picked some for the picture!

Flip Flops!

 Like I said I am low on flip flops right now.  I try to have 5 pair at any given time!

   I had to write this post because Danny has been teasing me about my flip flops.  He says he's never met someone who has flip flops for different outfits and occasions.  I, however, do!  Of this, I am not ashamed.  Right now I happen to be low on flip flops.  I usually have many colors and kinds.  Being in VA, where there are actually seasons, I haven't needed as many pairs.  But when summer rolls around I am always happy to get out my flip flops.
  So how did the whole flip flop discussion begin between Danny and me?  Well, we were packing for our outer banks vacation and I was missing one of the flip flops to me flowered pair.  I was consumed with finding it.  He recommended I just take a simple pair of flats.  To that I paid no attention.  I wear close toed shoes when it is required of me.  So, one of two reasons, 1)its cold or 2) I HAVE to!  So in AL I wore this wonderful foot ware often!
  One might ask, why do you love these "flip flop" things so much...well, for me, it's simple.  As a child I can't remember how many pairs of shoes I lost or were destroyed by my dog Kelly.  My mom was constantly on me about, "Where are your shoes?".  I usually found one of them by the end of the day!  Barefoot was my style!  I still can't stand my feet being cooped up in a shoe or sock, for that matter.  I had to have had horse hooves for feet!  I only remember one occasion that I hurt my foot badly because of the bare feet!  So, the closest thing to foot freedom is a flip flop!  As I got older and started having to really know my shoe size I realized I have really wide feet!  Danny also teases me in saying that I have "brick" feet.  And he's right, I have high arches, a wide, foot that is only a 7 1/2.  So my feet are small and stocky!  A Ford trait!  Well, that meant shoes were and are hard to come by that fit all three of those measurements.  But the good ole flip flop is not biased to my foot like every other adorable shoe I would love to wear.
  So, yes, I have many color and designed flip flops.  I like sparkly ones too.  I make no apologizes for the best friend of my feet...the flip flop!

Summer time to remember

I am really getting awful at staying up to date on my blog.  I love posting and reading everyone elses blog, but I never seem to have the energy or time to sit down and update things.  So in an attempt to catch everyone up with our summer so far I have pictures and little stories to go with them.  Forgive me if this is longer than you really want it to be.  But hang in and I hope you love it all!

This is the Franklin Park Pool.  It's the pool in our town!  We love it and the boys finally conquered their fear of "no arm floaties"  this summer.  I refused to let them have them anymore.  Now they can both swim without touching!

Jack has never shown fear of the water.  He loves it and I hope he will be swimming next year!  This is my girlfriend Kristen!  We have so much fun with her and her husband!

OK, so these are not all in the best order but our first stop for the summer was mom and dad's house!  We had so much fun spending time with the family and celebrating all the birthdays!  These are the boys playing after the pool had calmed down!

Jack loved his water wings and like with all my boys they became even more fearless!

This was our last day with our cousins (the Vaunghs) so we got a group hug!  I can't believe how big they all are!

Before our last day there we went fishing and Isaak caught 3 fish!  This was his second one.  A bass!  He did so well!  We are still working on getting him to take them off the hook.

This was his first one.  A blue gill.  He just couldn't believe he caught one!

The weekend after we got back from AL we drove down to see our friends in VA Beach!  Our boys are HUGE fans of the beach.  They loved Destin when we went last year and they loved this one too.  The sand doesn't really bother them and they could spend all day there.  We went to this local seafood place (Rockafellers) and it was amazing!  The fish they serve you is all freshly caught that day!  So yum!

This is back at mom's house and Isaak was braving the "deep" end.  By the time we left for home he was swimming from the deep end to the shallow end by himself!

This is Roma eating her mac n' cheese at Crackle Barrel!  She loved it!

OK, this is back in VA beach!  This is little Zoey!  She was chomping down on some cornbread!  She is such a cutie!

Besides swimming, I have been getting crafts for the kids to do.  Swimming is fun but it costs more than I want to spend on a regular basis to go.  These are one of the things I found at JoAnn's for the boys to do.  They loved it and so did I!  They stepping stones for decoration of outside!  I also have been buying them the little $1 crafts near the checkout as well.

I also decided I want something to do to keep myself occupied.  Not that I'm bored I just really want to do something fun for myself.  I am also reading more of my Hannah Swenson mystery books!  I love them.  I am on Cherry Cheesecake right now!  

Just to let you know about things I don't have pictures of.  I have decided to start selling Premier Designs Jewelry!  I love it and have wanted to it for a few years now.  When I first wanted to do it I had a brand new baby. (Jack) And it just wasn't a good idea at the time.  Since then my girlfriend Brendi has started selling it and I am so happy we can do it together now!  I love the jewelry and it is gorgeous and not as expensive as that Sophie stuff everyone is buying.  I was looking at one of those catalogs the other day and it is over twice the cost for that other stuff and it looks the same.  The jewelry I have had is great and I never have a problem with it and there is a life time warranty!  Anyway, Danny has been traveling...as usual, but has found more time for family things as well!  He is such a hard worker and deserves the time with us that he gets!  He leaves tomorrow (monday) for Birmingham and Jackson, MS.  He will be back on Friday!  Brett got his school assignment and his teacher.  He will be in morning Kindergarten and Mrs. Sliger will be his teacher.  He will be riding the bus too and from school!  Also, the boys got fun backpacks from LLbean with their initials on them. 

Things have been nonstop here and there is no sign of slowing down.  That is fine with me!  We have had a great summer and are excited that more is to come!  Love you all and hope you are all doing well.

Catching up

I have quite a few pictures and stories to tell since Mother's day.  First I want to share my wonderful Mother's Day gift.  Beautiful earrings of my birthstone in white gold settings.

That was the great part of the week.  Then starting on Monday Jack fully inherited my accident gene!  On Monday he thought he could be spider man and took a header off the side of the couch, face first, onto a rubber maid container.  Leaving a nice skid/scratch from his forehead down his nose.  But that wasn't good enough, so on Tuesday while walking to get the boys we added to it.  He was running up the sidewalk and tripped.  This time falling on his knee and elbow.  Unfortunately we had to turn around and head home to get peroxide and band aids.  It wasn't just one of those scrapes we could brush off, the blood was running down his arm and leg.  I know you're thinking that has to be all for the week, but no!  Wednesday rolls around and we add more to the injuries!  We are waiting to pick up Isaak from the back of the school and the boys are looking at this train that runs around a pond in the back of someone's yard.  The fence was chain-link so I don't know why they felt the need to climb it, but they did.  As I am telling them to get down I see Jack flip head first over the fence, into some stranger's backyard.  Ugh, so I run over to grab him up.  He is, of course, upset and his face and mouth are covered and filled with dirt and mulch!  He busted his lip and had some scratches on his arms.  Thankfully that was the worst of that injury!  Amazingly Thursday passed with no issues or injuries!  But that had to be too good to be true so to make up for it we added a doozy to Friday.  It was almost time for Danny to get home and the boys were all playing and having fun in the basement.  Then I hear the cry!   I am hurrying down there and on the way up meet the rest of the boys.  Instead of staying down to help their little brother they run up to get me (which is good).  I get down there and he is upside down stuck between a set of drawers and the toy box.  He is crying "help" and there is a pool of blood on the floor!  I get him up and it takes a minute to find the injury.  There was blood on his arm, face, and toes.  Finally, I find it on his head!  Well, it wasn't that big, but it's a head injury so it bleeds like mad.  I get in touch with Danny and tell him I need him.  He ends up taking Jack to the Emergent care place and they glue the wound shut.  It wasn't big but because he hit the corner of the drawers, it was deep.  So to help it stay closed they glued it.

Life as I know it!

So life has been going through one of those phases.  Just all those little things that add up and knock me down.  Growing up I use to seek out confrontation.  As I got older I now, can't stand it!  It makes me feel horrible and I hate the though that I have upset or hurt someone.  But at the same time I know I can only do the best I can do. Also, all this moving is annoying.  It's not a huge issue, just lots more to do.

Even though I have to be in the worst mood I have been in in a quite a while I am very blessed and thankful.  I have a great family, here and in AL.  Being blessed with great friends has given me more happiness than I feel  I deserve.  So I haven't forgotten the good things in life.  Sometimes it just bares down on me too heavily to stay bubbley all the time.  This is just my rambling to help get it all out.  Sorry if this was silly to you all!  Love you all a great deal!

The Birthday boy!

I am a little behind on getting this up but we just celebrated Jack's big day!  He is now 3yrs old!!!  I can't believe it!  I mean, granted, I gave birth to a toddler, he was so big!  But he is my baby!

 This is the day he was born!  Look at that face!

Isaak's Soccer

I have never seen Isaak love an outside anything as much as soccer.  Most of you that know Isaak know how much he hates "the outside world"!  He has for as long as I can remember.  I honest believe he feels that everything that is bad and may go wrong happens outside!  And according to him the worst is Mama Ford and Grandfather's where they have "country bugs".  You know the one's with "red eyes"?!  But he has just come alive playing soccer.  I have to say I am really thankful for the sport, right now!  At his last game I took some video and I will go ahead and apologize for the moving.  Jack was in my lap and he is a wiggler!

Isaak's team is in red!  

Spring Break Fun!

  Well, I've been busy enough this week!  But I know I need to put some pictures up.  First I'll tell you about our week.  On Monday we decided to run some "fun" errands with the boys and take them to a movie.  Amazingly enough our kids do pretty well at that movies.  They have been asking to see Rio forever now.  So we took them to see all the funny birds!  The colors were amazing and it was funny.
 Then on Tuesday we took the family to the Baltimore aquarium.  We made great time getting there and ended up really loving the city!  It has a great feel to it and then all the ports are cool.  Our "tour" started at 11am and we went to the dolphin show at 11:30am.  Which means once we got in we headed straight for the dolphins.  This show was a special show.  Only 5 days before the show they had a baby dolphin born.  So the show was a silent show.  No whistles, no clapping, and only inside voices.  The baby was in a tank behind all the regular dolphins so the room was the "nursery" for the mom and baby.  Also, Danny and I have never seen dolphins in real life.  They are just amazing to look at and they loved the people.  The more people that showed up the more excited they got!  After the show was over we headed out to see the sharks...Brett's favorite part!  Jack really liked the octopus they had there.  Isaak was just ready to eat!  So that was Tuesday.
  Wednesday rolls around and we had a day at the National Zoo planned!  We got there later than we wanted to but that was my fault.  Next time we will get there earlier like we did for the Aquarium.  But we really got lucky at the zoo.  We saw a lot of animals we have never seen before...again.  We saw a really social Cheetah, two, huge tigers, and 10 lions!  There were 7 babies in the lions!  They were super cute!  As long as they were in their habitat!  I have never had a desire to get close to any wild animal.  We got pictures of the zoo, only a couple.  Danny put a video together of the zoo.  I am going to try to get that on here!  I'll put up the pictures I have and let you know about the video.
  Thursday we met a family we know from church and went to a park to let the kids play.  So come Thursday night I was just too tired for words!  Uh, it was a busy and fun week and I am so thankful we have the opportunities we do here!  So here's the pix!

 This was a big whale bone.  

 Danny got this fun shot of the dolphin

 I loved these walls...they had them all over the place!

 We got there pretty early so we headed to the bookstore!

 Jack was having such a great time seeing the fish!

 This was a sub in the port outside of the aquarium.

 Stink rays in with the sharks

We had such a great time!

The only picture we got from the zoo.  The rest on video!