Caden's Birthday

Can you believe it? Caden is FOUR! Time goes by so quickly, I can hardly believe it! When we moved to LaGrange, we found the Animal Safari Park. We thought it would be fun to do Caden's party there. Joy, Dennis, Grandma, Ron, Kelli, Kain and Kylie, Joe's aunt and uncle, his cousin and her boyfriend and children came. My parents also came and some friends of ours with their children all from the Chattanooga area. My mom made a beautiful cake for Caden. It was terribly delicious! She did a wonderful job! The park was the neatest place. I was concerned about the older kids and adults having a good time, but it was a blast for all! They have a walk through part of the park that is set up like a zoo. They had more aggressive animals and monkeys in the walk through section. Then, we boarded a private "Zebra" bus and went to the part of the park where there are less aggressive animals who roam around the park and wait for patrons to bring them food! Our drivers name was Will. He was a great guide. Always stopping and giving us just the right amount of time! We were armed with cups of pellets made from natural materials. We were able to feed all of the animals. They had countless and a variety of deer, buffalo, cattle and pigs. The animals would see or here the bus coming and they would come running. The pigs were the cutest. They came running from everywhere. Everytime we stopped to feed an animal, there was a pig there! Legs running as fast as they would go! So cute! Even the turtles in the lake began coming out of the water as we drove by! We saw Zebra, which can not be hand fed as they are very mean! We saw a rhino, who is the cleanest animal in the park. He was in an enclosure and only pooped in the back of his cage! The black Llama, pictured below is the kindest and friendliest animal in the park. He even used to ride around the park on the buses when he was younger. The giraffes were definitely mine and Caden's favorite. I never realized how beautiful their eyes are. They are unbelievably large with, honestly, the biggest eyelashes I have ever seen. They were majestic! We saw a Zedonk, also like to bite, but a bi-species breed of Zebra and Donkey. He was neat looking, but had weird eyes! There was an ostrich, also not too friendly, who had laid an egg. That was cool to see. They also had Ligers and Lions. They were in an enclosure on the ride through part of the park. They were roaring or growling at each other as we stopped to watch them. I can not even begin to describe what that "felt" like. You heard it, but you felt it more! It was so loud and deep it made your insides vibrate! It was definitely the most exciting part of the day for me! Ok, so here are a few of the hundreds of pictures taken of our day!

A Working Man!

Chase has finally gotten a job! He is working at the Carmike Cinemas in LaGrange. He started last week, but only worked one day. He worked two nights this weekend! He has to wear black pants, shoes and socks, a tuxedo style shirt and bowtie with a burgandy vest. I begged him last week for a picture and he absolutely refused. He is really anti-photo! Today, he was getting ready for work and needed his bowtie tightened. He doesn't know how to do it so I told him I would adjust it for him if he would let me take a picture. He denied my request, I denied his! Finally, he gave in and this is the result. Isn't he handsome?

The Dam Road

You know the movie, I think it is called "The Grizwald's Vegas Vacation?" They visit the Hoover Dam. They have a "Dam Guide" who tells them it is illegal to catch "Dam Fish" and if they have any "Dam Questions" they should ask him. Well, we found this in an adventure this weekend and I had to share!

This is a photo of the Dam! It, by the way, is located in West Point, AL.

Quick Update

We have had a whirlwind of the past couple of weeks! Joe had his vasectomy and did very well. We have all suffered from various gastrointestinal viruses. Caden dropped a wooden puzzle piece on his toe and knocked his toenail off! It has been super yucky but is finally about ready to be trimmed off! We have had visitors, the Sluders, and built a clubhouse for Caden in our backyard at the park! The directions say it should take two moderately skilled men 20 - 24 hours to complete. It took Tony Hale, me, Joe, Greg Sluder, Lynnette Sluder and different kids off and on about 19 hours to complete. It was a bear, but we had a ton of fun doing it and Caden is excited beyond belief!

Our Easter Weekend

We had a great Easter weekend! On Saturday, Chase and Coy, yes, I said Chase, went with the youth group of the church we have been attending to Six Flags. Our campground owner's children and wife went on the trip as well. They own a skating rink that is open most of the day on Saturday, so he needed some help with it. Joe and I helped him out and had a great time! It was out of the norm for us both, he DJed and I helped out in the snack bar. Caden skated and skated and skated. It is amazing in a short month what a great skater he has become! He just buzzes around the rink! It is just adorable! Chase and Coy had a great time! They rode all of the roller coasters. They were wind burnt and exhausted when they got home! Chase, while he would never really admit it, met some great potential friends! When we got home and everybody got in bed, it was about Midnight. Coy came stumbling into Joe's and my room saying, "I don't want to ride any more roller coasters." I said, "What are you talking about?" He said it again. I told him that he doesn't have to ride any more, go back to bed! He remembers nothing of it! We were supposed to be at Sunrise Service this morning and then breakfast at church. Well, Sunrise was at 6:30AM, after not being in bed until after Midnight and a pretty restless night, it doesn't take a genius to realize there was NO way the Dillards were going to be up at 5:30AM! We made an honest attempt to get to Sunday School by 9:45, but that didn't happen either! We did make it to service at 11:00! Our church had a cantata. It was really nice!

We were invited to go to Lynn and Tony Hale's(owners of the campground) house for lunch and egg hunting! Coy found a camoflauge egg with $5 inside and Caden found two eggs each containing a dollar. Both dollars are safely saved in his penny bank! Just a note, the camo eggs, made in China, were recalled this week for high lead levels! Why are we still trading with China? Amber, their oldest daughter, took us to a horse farm close to their house where she helps out taking care of the horses, feeding, brushing, riding! They had four baby horses all under a year. They were so intrigued with Caden and he with them! They were so precious! It was too windy to ride today, so we are going to make a date in a week or so for Caden and Coy to ride. Chase is "scared of horses!" We'll have to work on him! Our second Easter away from home was a wonderful success! We joked with Tony and Lynn saying they were our "host family" for Easter! And wonderful hosts they were!

Caden Plays Soccer

We signed Caden up to play soccer. We would have preferred baseball, but no team had a spot for him because we were signing up a little late. So, soccer it was! They have had a couple of practices that he wasn't able to make due to various obstacles. My mom bought him a soccer ball, so we have been playing around with him so he wouldn't just be completely lost on game day. He had his first game today. He was so excited last night, couldn't wait! We didn't think we were ever going to get him to sleep! They had team and individual pictures this morning at 8:45 and the first game at 9:30. When we arrived to have pictures made, it was a little disarranged. We had to get him in his uniform as we hadn't had a chance to get it before today. He wears a 3T/4T, his shorts were at least a 6! Not being prepared for this, I got a rubber band from the photographer and cinched up his shorts! Now, those of you who know Caden well, could never imagine, but he is terribly shy. Meeting all these new people, all the chaos seemed almost too much! He was clinging to our legs, tearing up. He didn't want to have his picture made. . .he was a wreck! I had my doubts whether soccer was going to happen today!

He started to warm up and during stretching before the game, went on the field and observed everyone else doing jumping jacks and stretches.

The game begins. The ball is kicked. Kids are running around everywhere. Caden stands! He doesn't move. It is like he is frozen with fear. It is hilarious! The kids would run his way, he would have a shot at stealing the ball, he would shrink in fear of the stampede! If Coach Tony said once, he said 43 times in 32 minutes, "Caden come over here","Caden, get the ball." Joe and I could only laugh! By the last quarter, he had kind of gotten the hang of it and over the fear of being trampled and had started to at least run with the pack!

We are very proud of his first effort at soccer. His next game is on Tuesday, we are hoping for more assertive participation!

Our Crazy Week and Joe's Update

We decided when we left Biloxi that instead of going through the trouble of changing Coy's Orthodontist, we would just travel to Biloxi every other month and stay with Dr. Wakham. His appointment was on Wednesday. Joe had a training class on Wednesday and an appointment with his Doctor in Chattanooga on Tuesday. So, Joe went North, Coy, Caden and I (my mom went with us, too! We had some shopping to do!) went South and Chase stayed in LaGrange waiting for a call about a job.

Joe's doctor was concerned enough to order a chest x-ray. All looked well. He decided to put Joe on an "Event Monitor." He has to wear electrodes and a beeper. Each time he has an "episode" he has to click the beeper. When he has 10 episodes, he has to call in and they download the info from the beeper. Dr. Simpson wants Joe to wear the monitor for two weeks. He also prescribed a medication, Labetalol. It is often used for high blood pressure. Dr. Simpson wants him to record 10 episodes before he begins the medication.

His class on Wednesday was cancelled. He got his monitor "installed" and headed home Thursday evening.

We left out on Tuesday morning. It was a good trip, about a four hour drive. We arrived in a whirl wind of shopping, visiting and eating. It was so good to see Carma and Amanda. We ate dinner at "High Cotton!" Yummy Ribs! Coy had his dentist appointment on Wednesday morning. The crazy train-wreck tooth in the middle of his mouth now has a bracket on it! YAY! It won't be long and that tooth will be where it should be! We did a little more shopping and got on the road headed to LaGrange! My mom left on Thursday afternoon. It was great to have her go with and we enjoyed her company! The kids enjoyed being spoiled for the week!