What's so funny?

Riding around

Rachel is really enjoying riding around on one of her favorite toys. She loves being able to move and make noise. She is also talking ALL the time... I don't know where she gets it!

We are loving watching her grow up before our eyes! I can't believe she'll be one in less than 2 weeks!

Labor Day

Labor Day weekend was fun-filled this year! We went over to visit the Nieter's for the weekend. It's a July 4th tradition for everyone to go over to my parents house, have a cookout and play in the pool for a while. We weren't able to make it this year, so they had another get together on Labor Day that we were excited to get to go to! We don't get to see the extended family that often, except for a few minutes on Sunday at church, so it's always a treat to see them all and get to really spend some time together. It's especially fun since there are so many kids now! We were just missing Kim's brother and his wife and their 4 kids. Next time!

Blake and Rachel playing with the piano and blocks. He's going to be a great big brother!

Aunt Kim getting some lovin' in with Rachel. She's excited to have her own little girl in a few months!

Rachel's pulling up on EVERYTHING now!

Hanging out by the pool- a little too chilly to get in that day!

Rachel and Megan (Kim's niece) meeting for the first time. Megan is 2 months younger than Rachel. I'm excited to see these two grow up together!

Rachel and Megan

Mimi with the grandkids, biological and extended! Hang on tight, Blake!

Ready to go!

Playing ball with Poppy

Brent's training Blake to be a sports fanatic already. He can actually kick the ball pretty far!

Uncle Joe (Kim's brother-in-law) with Blake

Daddy and Rachel

"Cheese!" (He really did squat down and say that- no one anywhere near the camera!)

I love you, Mom!

Katie's Shower

A few weeks ago, we traveled to South Carolina to celebrate the upcoming wedding of Katie and Benji. I really enjoyed helping plan and put the bridal shower together. We had a good time seeing family while we were there.

The yummy food for the shower!

Great Uncle Danny was giving Rachel some kind of advice. She sure does love her uncles!

The men decided not to partake in the shower, so they did a little sightseeing. There is a Veteran's park in Florence that Papa McCollum was excited to see.

Like kids in a candy shop... They visited the Darlington Racetrack too.

Rachel with Uncle Benji

Nannie and Papa were glad to be able to make the day trip down to welcome Katie to the family!

Sister-in-laws-to-be relaxing after the shower.

Grandma is so funny! She knows Rachel's favorite tickle spots.

Dustin's parents have a park across the street from their house that we had to visit! Papa loved showing Rachel all the fun things to play on.

You're never too old to swing!

Ride 'em Cowboy!

Papa had to take Rachel on her first ride on the riding lawnmower! (A favorite memory of a lot of kids growing up!)

It's been a while...

So sorry for the lapse in time since my last post. Life has been busy the last few weeks! School has started and is going well. Dustin is extremely busy with having all of the band classes by himself, but he is doing great! The football season looks like it will be a short one this year, since we have yet to win a game. This is a good thing in a way for us, since Dustin's brother, Benji, is getting married the week after the regular season ends!

My class is a challenging one this year, but the kids are all very sweet. We've had a few medical emergencies, but everything has turned out fine. They definitely keep me on my toes! I am in the midst of taking my final class for my degree! It is a technology class and everything is completed online, so I don't have to actually go to class, which is a huge blessing. I have also signed up to take my comprehensive exam! I have a 10 page paper due the 15th of October, then my exam (which can take the whole day to complete) on October 22. It is exciting, yet stressful!

We were not able to take a Life Group (our church's version of Sunday School) together this semester because of schedules, but it has actually worked out pretty well. Dustin is in a group that meets on Sunday afternoons. They have a devotional then go mountain biking! He is loving it. I attend a woman's group on Wednesday afternoons. I am really enjoying the woman's fellowship time.

Rachel is doing great at Day Care. We are taking her to a lady who has been watching kids for about 25 years. She watches about 6 and lives pretty close to our house. Dustin takes her in the morning and she shows no signs of separation anxiety. Her first day, she actually pushed away from him to get to the floor to play with the other kids! She gets excited to see me in the afternoons, but after her initial smile and squeal, she continues playing with her friends. Who am I? Just her mom! I would much rather have it this way instead of her missing us and being grumpy.