BOXING

So, Damon is really into boxing these days! He wants to be a professional boxer when he grows up! He is a strong and tough kid so I think he could do great at it, but that's definitely not what I would have chosen for him!!

He told us a while ago that he was going to make his birthday really easy for us this year and he only wanted to invite 1 person to his party. He kept trying to make us promise that is what he could do- so I got a little suspicious!! I said well who is the friend you want to invite?? He said JUST Manny Pacquiao!! (his favorite boxer) He's hilarious!!

There is a gym by our house that does boxing. James works out there on the weekends and knows the owner really well. He talked to him about getting Damon into boxing. He told him that they usually don't take kids until they are 8 years old because their attention span isn't usually there. He told him to bring him over a couple of times to try it and he would see what he thought! (Damon won't be 8 until Nov) So we took him there a couple of times and he absolutely LOVED it! The coach told me he was better than the 10 year old and he was really focused and did great! So, Damon has been taking now for a few weeks! He absolutely loves it! It helps get some energy out and he is learning a lot! I keep reminding him that we only box in the ring-- NOT at school or if someone makes us mad! (that is what makes me nervous!!) So far so good though!

This last pic is Damon and Deontay Wilder (an Olympic medalist) He is from Alabama and came to the gym to sparr before a big fight. He autographed a picture for Damon and he thought that was the coolest thing!!! Damon was a little embarrassed of me- he kept begging me not to go in with him.. seriously kid? you are 7!!! Ü

Are you ready for some Football!!

Football has started up again!! Jaymz is playing for the middle school 7th grade team this year and he is so excited!! He is number 41~ They have just had a little jamboree so far, but we won 16-0!! Hopefully that is a good sign for the year! We are staying busy with football and boxing (for Damon) and soon soccer will start! Gotta love it! GO EAGLES!!

Trying to Catch Up!!

I have a TON to catch up on..
The middle of July, James got a job offer to go back to Alabama and run some Fitness Centers. He was getting tired of Retail and all that it entails~ so we decided to go for it! Needless to say, in about 3 weeks we came out to AL found a place to live, got the job together,went back to FL, packed up and moved back to Birmingham!! It was crazy but it all worked out! J started his job here Aug. 1st and he really likes it! It is a lot less stress but still doing what he was doing with Foot Locker just on a little bit smaller scale!
School started yesterday for the kids (8/11) so it was lots of running around trying to get them enrolled and getting everything they needed to start. The schools in FL had just gotten out for the summer so they weren't even in the offices to try to get them withdrawn and the right paperwork for Alabama!! After a week long of a headache I got it all together and all 3 kids started school when they were supposed to!! YAY!! Ü

Since we were in such a hurry to get out here we decided to rent for now until we find a house that we want to buy. We had an offer in on a house in FL but we were able to withdraw the offer since the bank hadn't gotten back to us- (it was a short sale and we had been waiting to hear back for over 4 months) Thankfully it all worked out great for us!!

We were SO sad to leave all of our GREAT friends (and the beach) in Florida, but we have GREAT friends here in AL too! The kids were happy to come back to all their friends here and are adjusting awesome! It kind of feels like we were on a 9 month vacation! (that's how long we were in FL) I realized the other day we didn't even miss a Halloween here! CRAZYY!!!!
Here are pics of the kids first day of school- I can't believe Aubrey is in HIGH SCHOOL!!

D excited to get on the bus with his friend from church! (2nd Grade)
Aubrey excited but SUPER nervous for high school! (9th Grade)
Jaymz too cool to smile and exhausted from football kicking his butt! (7th Grade)

I will post pics of the house as soon as I get it together- it is getting close!! Ü

Summer Craziness!!

This summer has been full of fun cRaZiNeSs!! That's all I can really think of to sum it up right now!! I have LOTS I should post, but Im too tired right now, so I will post more later!
We have had some deer running around our yard the last few weeks. We have tried really hard to get a good pic, but they are fast- and when they are just standing there I don't have my camera-- of course! but here are a few shots we have gotten of them.

Look close- there are 2 deer in this pic
The momma- I think

If you look really close there is a baby deer in the corner bushes!

It seems weird to me that in our yard we have Lizards, turtles, Gators, and then DEER??

Also, Aubreys cute friend Sydney from Birmingham came to visit us last week! They have had a blast hanging out! Here are some pics from the past week

Finger

So the last Day Jen, Curtis, Todd and the kids were here we were getting ready to go to the beach. (while my kids were in school) I went out to the Van to start loading our beach stuff in. When I got out there, one of the seats was down so I pulled the little lever thingy and started putting the seat up. All of a sudden my finger got squished in between the seats and it hurt real bad. I looked down and noticed my pinky fingernail (which was fake) was cracked across the nail bed. So I figured thats why it hurt so bad. Once I looked a little closer I noticed my finger was totally crooked and facing out- So I went into the house and told Todd I thought I had broken my finger. I moved it back in place so it wasn't crooked anymore. Todd and Curtis thought maybe it was dislocated. They thought they could pop it back into place so I let them both try, but no luck. Ya, probably not the smartest thing to do...I was in a lot of pain, and I knew I had to go to the Dr. I told them to go ahead and take my van and go to the beach- there was no reason for them to hang out and spend their last day in Florida at the Dr office waiting for me. I called James at work and I told him I needed him to come home and take me to the dr. After x rays, a trip to the Ortho, a CT scan and surgery this is what I have!

Before Surgery


After Surgery


They ended up having to put pins in both the joints to hold them apart. I guess I crushed inbetween the joints and they were squished into each other, so they had to pull them apart and see if that will let it heal right.
It feels pretty good now- I still have some sharp pains off and on but the biggest problem now is bending it. I will be starting therapy to get it moving so once the pins are out I will be able to move it!
Crazy stuff! Im so glad my family went to the beach and had a great time while I was at the Dr because they would have missed out on this gem...


We had a great time with them here and can't wait for them to come back again!!






~Cupcake~
We had a spaghetti dinner/ silent auction for the scouts this past weekend and Aubrey decided to make a giant cupcake for auction! I think it turned out pretty cute! It was one that people were fighting over for sure!! Ü

The Langs and Uncle Todd come to visit!!

My sister and her cute little family are here visiting along with my brother Todd! We LOVE having visitors!! We have been having so much fun playing games, going to the beach, shopping, fishing, swimming, and Barbecuing!!

Here are a few pics we took!

This is the shell Curtis caught fishing- it is actually really cool. It had the sea slug in it still, so they guys figured out how to get it out- they boiled it (nasty I know) and scraped it out! Aubrey and Hannah helped them! I couldn't believe how big it actually was when it came out!!

De soto Parade

Saturday night we went to the De Soto Parade in Bradenton. Jaymz scout group was doing a fundraiser for camp selling BBQ sandwiches so we decided to go hang out and watch the parade too! It was a BEAD parade (like Mardi Gras) and the kids seem to have fun at those collecting necklaces- without getting too crazy...ha ha!! Jaymz scout master is a physical therapist and his office is right on the parade route so they set their BBQ up right there! It was a great location and it was nice because all of us from church had a great place to watch the parade!
Our friend John had his DJ equipment set up to help attract customers so of course James was all over that! John let James take over most of the time and he was in heaven making funny comments on the mic and playing loud music!

The kids had a blast- in fact, Aubrey said it one of the best nights EVER! Wow!! Ü
Here are a few pics we took