Our "Special Outing"

We woke up early Saturday morning and surprised the kids with a special visit to Papa's work! Chris' dad works for Caterpillar in Memphis and was working on a Saturday, so we got to go up so the kids could ride on the "tractors". Ethan has been before, but LK never has. And even I got to go this time to take pictures! :) We had SO much fun!!! There are construction vehicles galore... every little boy's (and big boy's) dream! I can't tell you which Stickles boy was the most excited about the adventure! ha!

no one but LK can make a bright yellow tractor look so good ;)

SO serious!

i think this one definitely deserves a frame! :)

HAPPINESS!

i sure do love him

look how big that dumptruck is!!! we didn't get to ride on one of these.. hopefully next time! :)

We got to stay for about 45 min or so and had a blast! Ethan was running around crazy from one SUPER BIG vehicle to the next! I was nervous at first, but then just let him run loose. It was hilarious to watch him climb up the sides of these ridicously large machines and not be the least be scared! We had such a great time hanging out with Papa and hearing about all the machines, what they do and how they work. After our visit Papa had to get back to work on a bulldozer for BFI (yes, the dump... GROSS!). It was an emergency job, which is why he was there on Saturday. Lucky for him, this was a rather new one, so it didn't stink too bad yet! lol :)

We are definitely looking forward to our next visit!

Top 2 Tuesday: Fall

Today Taylor's topic is Top 2 Favorite things about fall! And it couldn't be more perfect!!! I have definitely been in the fall mood the past week or so. The weather in Memphis has been INCREDIBLE!!! (which you will never hear many Memphians say too much! ha!) There are SO many things that I love about fall... too many to list that's for sure. So here's my Top 2.. or close to it at least! :)

{1} Fall Festivals/Fairs

I LOVE a good festival! The local Germantown Festival is a family favorite. We go every year and I always make sure I save up my money for all the fabulous vendors.. smocked clothing, HAIR BOWS GALORE!, fall & winter decorations.. you name it, it's there! It's actually coming up this weekend and we are SO excited to go! There's also the Delta Fair. We aren't going this year, but it's usually a good time. Definitely nothing like the old Shelby County Fair though!

{2} Fall weather/colors

I love when the season starts to change.. and the weather and leaves change right along with it. It's just plain gorgeous!

And that's just the beginning... I love the clothes, COLLEGE FOOTBALL, and SO much more!

Head over to Taylor's blog and see what everyone else loves!

Labor Day Weekend 2010

Whew! What a weekend! I hope everyone had an amazing holiday weekend!! :)

We started off the weekend Friday night with a visit from Aunt Lynsey, dinner and a stop by PBO - major sale - GREAT buys!! Saturday started with a "special outing".. but I'll blog about that tomorrow! For right now, I'll just skip right ahead to Saturday afternoon.. PAYTEN'S 2ND BIRTHDAY PARTY!!!

We had SO much fun!! Kelley had the party at a park in Bartlett and the weather could not have been more perfect! In fact, the entire weekend was beyond gorgeous!!! Usually Labor Day weekend in unbearable in Memphis, but not this weekend! We definitely took advantage! :) I dont think we closed the windows once all weekend. The breeze was incredible! The kids had a blast running around and playing on the playground.

Amanda made this adorable cake for the party. She did SO good! :)

LK, Haley and Gracie

Kelley and her precious Birthday Girl

"Happy Birthday to YOU!"

Addyson obviously enjoyed the cake! :)

Sweet Baby Emerson

GIFTS!!! We picked up a floating bathtub dollhouse for her at PBO! It was adorable!

I spent last Thursday (when I was home with sick Ethan) monogramming some b-day shirts for Pay. They turned out REALLY cute!!! I am definitely in "Halloween Monogramming" mood! I can't wait to get some shirts done for the kiddos! :)

I think Kelley and Payten really liked them!

DORA!!!

ELMO!!! and Strawberry "Cupcake" - aka Strawberry Shortcake! ha!

Saturday afternoon, we went to Chris' grandparents for a family get-together. We had yummy cookout and got to visit! It was such a nice time.

Sunday, we spent the day swimming at my grandmother's house. Well... the kids swam! The water was WAY too cold for me and Chris!! ha! She bought steaks for the family and Chris grilled them for us. It was DELISH! We got so full from dinner that we really could have all just gone home and slept the rest of the night... but we couldn't!! We had other plans! :) We decided to take advantage of the weather and enjoy Member's Night at the Memphis Zoo! Every so often at the zoo, they keep it open late just for members and have special "member perks" like free kiddie rides, adult beverages, live entertainment and swimming in the "Nile River". (The Memphis Zoo is set like it's Memphis, Egypt and has an egyptian theme) It was SO much fun! We ran into several friends and had a great time!

my handsome boys

train ride in the dark!!

LK had a blast dancing to the DJ's music! The girl can definitely bust a move.. that's for sure! ;) (she gets that from her mama! ha!)

After the rides, the animals and the dancing, it was time for SWIMMING!!

singing to Miley - "put your hands up, they're playing our song... Party in the USA!"

Today, we just took it easy.. ran a few errands and did some things around the house. Grams even stopped by for dinner! :) All in all a wonderful weekend!!

I hope everyone had a great weekend! :) I will finish my blog about Saturday soon!!

darn you allergies.. darn YOU!

Yesterday, Ethan was definitely not feeling himself. He's been fighting seasonal allergies for about a week now and yesterday he just had had enough! He woke up incredibly crabby and running a slight fever. So, I decided to keep him home from MDO. We took LK to school, ran by the store to pick up a few things and then came home and did whatever his poor little heart wanted to do! That meant that we watched ALOT of Spiderman, played Lincoln Logs and even "made" pizzas with the lunchable that he somehow convinced me to buy! I loaded him up with allergy medicine (bless you, claritin and frog humidifier!) and he seemed tons better this morning!! I hope he's 100% by tomorrow b/c we have a super fun weekend planned!! :)



I hope everyone has a fun-filled and safe holiday weekend!



OH - and... HOTTY TODDY!!!! YAY for football season beginning this weekend!!!