Idol worship (and good hair)

First, let me preface this story by saying that:
1- idol worship is probably an understatement of Jack's relationship with Brent lately.  He cannot get enough of his daddy and pretty much thinks anything and everything Brent does, says, thinks or believes is perfection.
2- this post will probably only be funny to those who know Brent pretty well.

So, you may remember that our family participats in a Foster Parent Program with the MSU baseball team.  Last year we were paired with a player named Russ Sneed.  Jack thinks Russ is pretty amazing.  (Russ is generally a great guy, but to add to his stock, he is wonderful with the children.)  Jack never paid a great deal of attention at the baseball games, but he could tell you all about Russ.  Last year was Russ's senior season.  So, I told Jack that Russ graduated and moved and that we were going to get to meet a new player.  Jack said, "I sure am going to miss Russ."  A bit later he told Brent that Russ graduated and has gone to play with a different team.  (I'm sure he cannot imagine that Russ won't always play baseball.) 

Tonight we made cookies for our new player, Sam Frost.  As we talked about taking the cookies to him, Jack said, "I think I'm really going to like Sam, but, Mommy, does Sam have good hair like Russ and Daddy?"  He was as serious and sincere as he could possibly have been.  I just about died laughing!  To Brent and Russ, considering how much he adores you both, this is the ultimate mutual compliment.  To Sam, you have some big shoes to fill; and be glad you have good hair!

To give this post some perspective...here is a serious of pictures of Brent from the last year:

I'm a terrible blogger!

So, I haven't updated the blog since JULY.  I am resolving right here and now to do a better job at keeping it current.  I intend to go back and fill in some of the events and pictures that I've missed...you know, like, JOE's FIRST BIRTHDAY, so if you're interested, check back and glance through the first 9 months of 2010 for random posts! (Even prior to July, there are several holes that I plan to fill; I will be dating them so that they appear in chronological order not in the order that I actually post them.)  For now, there are a couple of new posts from this month that you might enjoy...

Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend our church took a group to a farm outside of town called, Country Pumpkins. It was a HOT October day. Here are some pictures from our visit.

 

The Bears go to Buffalo Park

Last Wednesday Jack took his first field trip with his class, The Bears.  I was lucky to be able to chaperone, and we went to the Buffalo Park in Tupelo, MS.  I drove with one other chaperone, Debbie Smith, and 4 children, Jack, Madeline, Bella, and Chloe.  When we arrived we got to ride a bus and got a "safari-type view of some of the animals roaming on the property.  Then, we got to see several more animals in a more traditional zoo setting.  After seeing the animals, we had a picnic and finished up by picking pumpkins in the pumpkin patch.

Getting ready to leave.

Jack and Madeline

Jack and a buffalo

The bears with a bear

Bella, Madeline, and Jack

The Bears with Mrs. Valerie

Pink Fire trucks

Joe has started walking well in the last couple of weeks. He took his first step or two in early September, but didn't really put more than two steps together until the middle of the month. As soon as he got the hang of it, he has taken off! (He has a little ride-on football toy that he used as a walker for a couple of months. He practically jogs when he uses it, and for a while we thought we were going to have to take it away in order for him to learn how to walk.)
He LOVES to be outside, and he enjoys "mowing" the grass. Sometimes he gets stuck, and when I try to help him, he take my hand and pushes it off the mower...definitely becoming more independent.



Yesterday one of the local fire stations hosted the "Pink Heels" touring fired department. They are a group out of Florida who have pink fire trucks and the firefighters wear pink gear. As you can probably guess, the idea is to raise awareness of breast and other cancers that tend to affect women. They allow survivors and their loved ones to sign the truck.