Meet "Alyce Marie"

It's now official - papers have been mailed and the name has been finalized. Paityn decided to name her new puppy Alyce in honor of the Alice on Twilight!! Considered Bella but wanted something a little more unique - she is sure there will be 1 million Bellas after the book and movies!

It's ANOTHER girl!!

Well, I finally gave in and the girls - Paityn really - got a puppy for Christmas. Santa came by Friday night with an early Christmas present! They are soooooo exited. Now I just have to figure out a way to keep it in the play room/master bedroom and away from the rest of the rooms! :-0 Think we're gonna try one of those baby gate things? And we haven't decided on a definite name yet! So far Paityn has considered the following: Precious Merina Pruitt, Cutie Pie Pruitt, Bella Munchkin Pruitt, Pebbles Pruitt
You'll have to check back to see what she decides. I've given her until Christmas day to make the final decision and then we will mail off the papers so her decision will have to stick! I LOVE just sitting back and seeing what she comes up with. Whe's pretty creative in naming her animals.

IT'S A GIRL!!!

For those who haven't heard - I'm pregnant with my 3rd baby GIRL!!!! I'm sooooo excited!!! Baby girl Keegan is due April 11th and we simply cannot wait for her to get here. And yes, mom has already ordered a pink quilt and bought a boppy, some onsies and a gently used travel stroller complete with car seat! She's crazy!! She said that she just "couldn't resist." Check back for updates on the pregnancy! :-)

Horray for MOM! She's an NBCT!!

What is that????? She's now a National Board Certified Teacher!! Mom got the results back from her National Boards and passed!!!!!! WHEW what a relief! I know she was a little stressed out about it but last MARCH, she mailed in 3 portfolio entries about teaching (that's 3 huge papers and a video of herself in her classroom) and then she took a 3 hour timed test in June at a testing site in Nashville! Needless to say, LOTS of time and work. Well, after waiting for MONTHS, she got the results on Friday and they were great! What does all this mean - well, she got a rank I meaning she gets a nice pay raise and is at the highest degree attainable in her teaching profession (well, just short of a doctorate!). She is also nationally certified to teach which means she could teach anywhere in the nation. Great job mom - WOOOO HOOOOO! Glad the LONG wait is over! And special thanks to Aunt Lisa for helping edit and proofread all those papers!

She "celebrated" last night by going out to dinner with 5 of her girlfriends to eat at Puerto's and then go see NEW MOON! She said she did like the movie!! Of course, I knew she would - I think she really does like Edward. :-) He is so devoted to Bella and we all enjoy a great romance!

Thanksgiving project

Paityn worked on her "Thanksgiving project" for school and was so proud of her "fancy turkey!" It took her a while to decide exactly what she wanted but after a trip to Hobby Lobby and a little over a couple hours work here is her final project. It was a family project and everyone helped. Dad cut out the paper turkey, mom helped with the coloring and glue. Briley WANTED to help out way more that was allowed but her most significant contribution was the pink flower at the bottom. She did not want to let it go but finally agreed it made Paityn's turkey "pitty" (pretty)! However, she does insist on getting it back once Paityn brings the turkey back home! :-)


Briley decided to just sit in her chair and take a break from all that work!!!

Halloween fun!

Went trick-or-treating with our family on Halloween night. Here we are all dressed up and ready to go. We made a long trip around our neighborhood and then finished with pizza and drinks for everybody at our house. My mom & dad even came over this year and mom passed out candy from the house while Lisa and I took the kids around. We had a blast & dear goodness we have enough candy to last until NEXT Halloween!
Afterwards, Pai went with everyone to the High School Rodeo. I stayed home with Bri and snuggled (and ate just a FEW pieces of candy!)

Halloween party & hayride

Went to our annual gathering at the Garrett's house - ALWAYS a blast complete with a weinie roast and hayride! The girls had lots of fun playing and hanging out! Thanks Shawna, Chad, Elaina, and baby boy Hayden who is on the way in March!


My cheerleaders!! One UK and one vampire cheerleader! :-)

Briley is really playing the part! Here she is doing a little shaking and breaking!

Paityn at the Fall scene set up at the party. Briely wouldn't get in the picture because she said those monsters beside the bench "might scare her." In other words, they did! :-0 She wouldn't get too close!

Fall Break FUN

The girls and I relaxed and went for lots of walks and bike rides over fall break. The first week's weather was nice (maybe a little windy!) but the second week brought on the rain and the cold. We still managed to have some excellent adventures and FUN. Here are a few pics. Enjoy!

Here we go!

Wow! a pile of rocks!
Almost never got Briley out of the rocks! Took LOTS of persuading!

Picking every flower (aka weeds!) along the way! But mom had a beautiful bouquet! :-)

Also went for a walk around the block in the rain. Yes, we jumped in EVERY water puddle the WHOLE way! Loved it! Not sure the umbrellas kept us very dry - I think we got more wet than if we wouldn't have had them.





Birley just had to show off her rain boots!

Happy SEVENTH Birthday Paityn!

Here's the birthday girl with her Twilight cake - she totally loves Edward and Bella. However, she may have to wait to see or read the next books in the series when she is muchy older than 7! I can't believe she is so grown up already. It seems like yesterday she was running laps around the couch about the same time she learned to walk! Paityn is very active and loves to run and play. She finally lost FOUR teeth this year, all within 2 months. She is now in second grade. One of her favorite things to do is play softball with her friends. LOVE HER!!



Here are some "party pics." Enjoying time with friends and family!

Wedding Day! Lisa Green Mansfield

My sister's wedding - she was married to Alan Mansfield on Saturday, August 15, 2009.

the Mansfields

My mom, dad, and the bride

Couldn't resist this one - Briley was trying to hold up Lisa's dress train (sp?)! Love her!

Mom's brief moment

OK - You all know that I don't post things about myself very often! BUT, I have a new favorite cake that I just made so I just wanted to post it! It is for a fall wedding shower- ivory, white, green gift box with flowers

Thanks Aunt Michelle!

Went to visit our Aunt Michelle at work a few days ago and she gave the girls a ride on the golf cart! Paityn said it was the most fun she has had in her life! The stop at Dairy Queen for a milkshake probably added to the fun! Thanks again Aunt Michelle! We love you!

Paityn's softball update

Paityn's softball team played in the National Invitational tournament held here in BG July 18th, 19th. FIRST, they spent most of the day Friday having fun at Beech Bend and then arrived in the HUMMER bus at opening ceremonies at Greenwood High School. It was a very exciting time. On Saturday, we began the tourney at Buchanon Park. The girls got 3rd place. 2nd place went to a team from Oklahoma and 1st went to a team from Arkansas. FUN TIMES! Enjoy the pics.

Arriving in Hummer style:


Briley getting in on the dancing fun with her best "big girl" pal: Reagan!


Dance, dance, dance:


Paityn giving Coach Phillip a big hug!


Our team:


Our Pai Pai - so proud of you girl!

I'm growing up so fast!

OK, Briley has been "dressing" herslef for a while now - picking out her own clothes and yes, putting them on. I know all kids go through this but it totally cracks me up. Here's her latest fashion statement & I think the funniest part is that MOST of the time she matches! And don't think about trying to help her because you'll just get a "my do it!" Love her!

Here you go: shirt on backwards and mom's shoes on wrong feet but overall, a nice outfit. Cracks me up!

2009 KY State Champs, 6 & under

After playing SEVEN games on Saturday, June 27, Paityn's softball team won their state softball tournament at Buchanon Park. WAY TO GO GIRLS!! They lost their first game and battled back on a blistering hot day to win six in a row. Wowie!! They will play in the nationals and then in North Carolina. Go Southern Kentucky Thunder!

Paityn is front row, far left. :-) We are very proud of you!

Vacation in Gulf Shores

Just got back from vacation at the beach. Here are a few pics of the girls. I realized I did NOT take very many pics this time!!! We stayed with Grandma Betty in their condo and absolutely loved spending some time with her - although my children didn't sit still much unless in was naptime or bedtime. We were constantly on the go! :-)The Thomas families also traveled to Gulf Shores for the same week and we had an absolute blast! I'm now trying to get rested after vacation. At least I don't have to go to work on Monday. LOL!

FIRST Haircut

The big day finally arrived. Mom was waiting until I was two years old to get my first haircut and while making all our "summer appointments" we slipped this one in! I was a very big girl even though mom did have to hold me in her lap. A birdie told me that Paityn sat in the chair all by herself when she got her first haircut when she was two! Oh well, way to go Paityn, but I wanted my mommy!!!! I was all set after Miss Jamie let mom hold me and I never shed a tear. Yeah me! Wonder when we can go again?? (BY THE WAY, you'll never guess who the photographer was!!! . . . . . PAITYN! She's so big now - took the pics on mom's iphone the whole time I was in mom's lap. We had about 30 pics but hey, that gave us plenty of great angles, including a couple pics of a really cool chandelier in the salon! Thanks Pai!!)

At this point, I was really thinking that I needed to get OUT of that chair!

Once, we settled in, I noticed what was going on in the mirror! Oh my! Are those scissors?? (Don't get any ideas Briley!)

Cool pic Pai!