4th and 8...

Just a little football themed blog title to characterize a terrific 4th of July and celebration of 8 months of Pavin. :) We had a fabulous weekend with family and friends, enjoying being free!


The festivities actually kicked off on Thursday, as we enjoyed a day off with Freddy and Gracen headed off to her "Red, White and Blue Party" at school.

On Friday, Mom and Daddy came up to hang out with me and the kids. Freddy unfortunately, had to work most of the day, but was able to join us in the evening. While the 4th itself was rather uneventful...with an exciting trip to Wendy's and the new Food Lion as the highlights...we ended the day with a yummy cookout and movie night.

Gracen was feeling camera shy. But Pavin made up for her reluctance and provided us with lots of smiles for his first 7/4 holiday.

Saturday marked a proud day for Daddy, as he was able to take Gracen fishing for the first time. The Ussery's hosted an outing to Hampton Lake, where neither skill nor patience is required to reel 'em in ( a perfect combo for 3 year olds!). As Mr. John put it, "It's literally catching fish in a barrel."

Gracen was quite content to be escorted down to the dock by Jack-Boy...princess pole in tow.

Below is a photo of Gracen's first and possibly last fish. After the initial accomplishment, she was happier to feed the fish from the edge of the water and cheer on her buddy. She refused to hold the line, but both kiddos took a chance and touched the little flipper, which was immediately deemed, "yucky".

Jack was much more excited by the sport of it all. Here he is with his first trophy fish...proudly contemplating his super angler skills.

Pavin and Finn took it all in from their Joovys...enjoying some delicious cheerios.

Pavin became his typically sweaty mess at the first hint of humidity...and apparently expressed how he felt about it, with his right middle finger.

Saturday afternoon was perfectly stormy. While the little ones napped, I enjoyed some cheese cake and watched Little Miss Sunshine for the umpteenth time. While admittedly, not the most "wholesome" of flicks...I laugh from start to finish. I could honestly watch the last ten minutes of that movie every day. Because, dang it...sometimes nothing says love like doing a memorial striptease to superfreak in a whacked out beauty pageant! :) The extra good mood that ensued, set off fun-mommy mode and produced a wonderful pancake breakfast-dinner and a camp out in the living room.

As Gracen saw her surprise dinner for the first time she said, "Mommy! It looks like Pavin!"

Speaking of...Sunday marked 8 months with our awesome little Payco! We spent the evening with small group friends where we enjoyed a great dinner and exciting game of corn-hole in the rain. Pavin loved "worming" around in the floor with Finn and Scout (the sweetest, most kid-friendly dog on the planet).

Meanwhile, Jack and Gracen played in an amazing box fort, hand crafted by Mrs. Erin.

Lastly...by popular demand...for those who have yet to view the previously mentioned, now lowcountry famous, "worm" by Pavin Denton, check out the following video to view our little nut's preferred mode of transportation.