Vacation to Smokie Mtns.

Over Labor day Matt and I and some friends of ours headed for Tennessee to the smokies. We all went in on a cabin and had a lot of fun. Colten was super excited to go on vacation. This is the first year we've actually gone on vacation and he understands what a vacation is. We did not any vacations last year and the year before that, Matt and I went on a short trip while he stayed at Grandma and Papaw's. So he was pumped and ready to go...especially since we got our new van and he can watch movies while we travel! Our first stop was in Cincinnatti to the Newport Aquarium and a Bengals game with Tom and Stacey and Garrett. Colten and I are checking out a 'Giant Alligator Snapping Turtle' It was huge! At first we thought it was fake and then it began to move...Colten went nuts!

Colten and I checking out my favorite...the jellyfish!!!

Matt and Colten trying to reach the jellyfish that didn't shock you!

Colten measuring up to a sword fish!

PRICELESS!

I found it funny after looking at the picture that Colten was doing his "happy feet" dance and the penguin is mocking him :)

Colten was able to pet the sharks in a special tank but was a little afraid to at first. I had to 'encourage' him to put his hand in the water and pet them as they swam by.

Not too long after and he was doing it all by himself!

Matt and I stopped to pose while Colten took our picture :)

Matt and Colten underwater in the aquarium. Colten loved the sting ray sharks. He had their names memorized and was on a hunt to find them!

Colten excited to be at his first pro football game...

Colts VS. Bengals...

GO BIG BLUE!

They ended up losing and no big players ever touched the field, but it was fun to take in the experience! We'll have to go again at Lucas Oil Stadium!

We had a fun night back at Papaw Birdie's playing Scrabble and listening to some poems before we hit the hay and headed out for the mountains in the morning...

A BIG DAY FOR COLTEN!

Well, my little boy is growing up fast on me. Everyday he learns new things that make me realize he's not a little boy anymore. We were at the church one evening and one of his friends from church named Sam was riding a bike around the gym. Colten was interested cause he was riding without training wheels. Sam is 2 or 3 years older than Colten. The next morning Colten wakes up and tells Matt that he wants to ride without his training wheels. He says that he can do it cause Sam taught him :) He helps Matt take the wheels off, puts his helmet on, heads down the road and proceeds to ride without the training wheels, just like that. Of course he was wobbly at first, but I was impressed with how quickly he caught on with no help from us at all! After one block he was a pro! 2 days later he's riding down the hills of our yard! What a crazy kid!

Rodeo

Colten atop Joe at the Rodeo at MCR camp. We took a group of kids from church to camp and Colten and I got to tag along. While at camp he got to ride by himself for the first time!! Here he is on Joe at the Rodeo. Rounding the corner and placing the 'flag' back in the bucket. He made great time!!! :)

Be Aggressive...be, be, AGGRESSIVE!

Pool parties at the Lee's always end up in a battle of pool basketball in which people come out hurt or all scratched up! seems harmless right? Then, it goes from a simple game to competitive! "FOUL!"...Apparently there's no such thing in pool basketball :) "Unnecessary roughness???"...nope Katie calls upon the "super powers" to win the game...funny thing about is, I don't know if they ever really keep score. They just like to beat each other up!

My Son...The Party Organizer

So I come home from the grocery one afternoon and am greeted at the door by a very excited little boy. He says, "Guess how many shirts I have on?? Answer: 4!! "Guess how many shorts I have on?" Answer: 2!!! "Wanna know why? I'm gonna have a basketball party and at the church and all my friends are gonna come and if they get hot they can have one of my basketball shirts or a pair of my shorts!" "You know how many pairs of socks I have in my room??" Answer: 19 "And how many shoes?"...14 (now obviously he didn't count correctly :) "I have a pair for all my friends" (He's laid everything out to get ready for this party that neither Matt or I know anything about :) "Mom, if my friends get hungry I should have a snack for them. I've got it all ready downstairs in the kitchen..." "I've put them all in bags so they can share them". Wow, he's quite the planner!

Splash Island

We took Colten to a cute waterpark in Plainfield...He loved it! I wish Muncie had something like this... Going down the slide... when it rains...it pours! Matt had to make him stand there just so I could get a picture :) ha ha! I think he liked it in the end... Colten was glad to have mastered the ladder. Matt was informed by the lifeguard he was not allowed to help Colten get across, but he wanted to do it so badly...he made it, and boy was he excited!!

What's Summer without Strawberry Pie!!!

I finally got the recipe for the best Strawberry pie ever from April and Colten and I worked on it one afternoon...It was delicious!!! Colten helped cut up the strawberries...of course he had to eat while he worked! He approved ;) mmmm doesn't it look good??? He was mad that it had to cool in the fridge for awhile before we could eat it.

Born to Be Wild...or maybe just Born to Be a Lee

Work day at Aunt Jo's turns into fun day for Colten. He got to ride the four-wheeler with the boys. Don't worry...he didn't ride by himself (I'm not that crazy!!! He IS a Lee :) Just a cute photo opportunity :)

PARTY!!!

Landon celebrated his 3rd birthday, of course it was the best party ever cause it involved water according to Colten ;) First time down the waterslide...a little unsure and trying to get his balance...constantly watching the 'big boys' to figure it out. ...didn't take long :) what a cute birthday boy!!! Now time for some fun in the pool... Colten learned how to swim last year, and refused to wear floaties cause he 'had something to prove'. This year he refused to take them off cause it was much easier and less work to just wear them :)

Horsin' Around

We took a weekend to visit the farm and meet the new babies... Colten and daddy getting their hands on the new babies at the farm. If this horse can handle these 3 all at once I think it will be a pretty laid back philly :) what a cutie... He's a natural Of course he had to have a short ride on 'ol Rose.