Busch Gardens

Upon arrival we were bombarded by eager photographers selling pictures. We were one of the suckers who bought one.

The very first ride was one for Porter. I was so proud of Kaden. He rode all of the baby rides with Porter so he would not be alone. He is a great big brother.

Notice how thrilled Kaden is

Grandma and Kaden

Grandpa and Porter

Kaden and Grandma on the "Cheetah Chase."

THE WILDLIFE

The righteous Gorilla and.........

the naughty Gorilla

This picture makes me sad. It was not very long ago that I was pushing this boy in a stroller and he actually fit.

Dad and his boys

Mom and her boys

Pure JOY

Kaden striking a pose

Papa and the boys

Typical Porter :)

The Sky Ride.... so much fun

I took this picture on the Sky Ride over the park. Please take notice of the highest roller coaster. That is............ drum roll................ The Sheikra. I, Emilie Patterson rode that ride to impress my 12 year old who was begging me to ride it with him. I will never, ever do anything like that again. I realized after the ride was over and I regained my composure that during the entire ride Colton was asking me if I was ok. Such a sweet boy...... shouldn't it be the mom asking that child if they are ok???



This is fear in it's truest form. I like to say that I was sooooooo scared that my hair grew an inch and that is exactly why my roots are showing so bad.. :)


SILLY PICTURES

THE TRAIN RIDE THROUGH THE SERENGETI

I would like to start off with this picture that makes me laugh really hard. My dad had to sit by this teenage girl. They both looked so awkwardly uncomfortable during the entire trip that I could not stop laughing.

Please take notice of the scariest roller coaster in the world in the background. After you look at the cool Zebra of course.

The Giraffes would walk right up to the train. Super fun!!!

He's so handsome..... I love him!!!!

PLAYING IN THE WATER

I love how in this picture Colton looks so eager to sacrifice his body :)

PROOF OF A GREAT TIME

Florida Day 3 --- Beach

One thing that I will desperately miss about Alabama is being so close to the beach. I love the white sand, the ocean, the palm trees, pretty much everything. We stayed at MacDill Airforce Base and I highly recommend vacationing there if you can.

We spend most of the day playing on the beach. Those of you that know me well know that I am very afraid of sharks. I consider myself highly educated on the species for the fact that I have never missed a shark week in 5 years. :) That being said, I made my poor dad stick by the boys like glue whenever I was not in the water with them.

Poor Dave missed our beach day because he had to go home early to prepare for graduation.

It was an absolutely beautiful day

Porter hit the beach in with a grand entrance and headed straight for........

the birds!!!!

Notice the hands on the hips? This is because he is demanding that my dad catch him a fish. There were TONS of tiny little fish swimming everywhere and Porter decided that he must have one.

After many attempts my dad finally caught Larry the fish. We did spend quite a bit of time convincing Porter that we could not take him home because his fishy mommy was looking for him. It worked!!! Whew!!

Kadens catch of the day...... a hermit crab

sand castles

I heard in last years shark week that wearing a blue bucket on your head will deter all forms of dangerous ocean creatures.........

Just a cute picture of Kaden

We ended the night with preparations to come home for the big graduation day. I had bought some new shoes and one of them was way smaller than the other. I have some very loving parents with bigger feet than mine who volunteered to stretch it out for me. I love this picture of my dad in heels talking on the phone.

Super Hero Porter

Super Porter To The Rescue!!!!!

We've been playing Superhero all the days of my life!!!! It definitely feels this way. Playing Superhero consists of me making up a disastrous situation to which Porter swoops in to save the day. We have had a vast variety of emergencies varying from Armadillo's on the head, wild dogs and Possums on the loose. It just occurred to me that at Porters age I would have had no idea what a Possum or an Armadillo was.......

Following His Dream

"Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true."

______________________________________

This is a page taken out of a scrapbook from Dave's Dad. This is him at 17 years old.

17 years later........

Dave and his graduating class.

Learning As I Go..............

Most of you know that this is my "journal." As long as I have this blog I will print out each year as a record of the things that happened in our lives. I know that some of the posts are really probably of interest to only me and are really just an entry for me to remember. This may be one of those posts.

Lately I have been having quite a few Ah-Ha moments. Moments where I am sincerely learning some life lessons. I really wanted to write some of these down for the times when I may forget some of these lessons that I have learned.

#1 - People who love you will always love you no matter how far away you live.

#2 - When you are far away from the people you love it can be really hard to overcome how

much you miss them. I've changed my outlook. Missing them is a reminder to me of

how lucky I am to have people in my life worth missing that much.

#3 - Sometimes my plan for my life has not been the Lords plan. Embracing the fact that there

may be changes in life has brought me so much peace. "Come What May..... And Love It"

#4 - There is a difference between happiness and peace. Sometimes we are handed a

set of circumstances that may not produce a happy feeling. In those moments we have the

choice to turn to our Heavenly Father and feel peace or wallow in self pity. I choose

peace!

#5 - Negativity is contagious.

#6 - It is important to surround yourself with people who make you want to be a better person.

#7 - Life is for learning and I am just beginning to realize I pretty much know nothing. :) Doing

your best sometimes just has to be enough.

Coltons First Overnight Scout Trip

Yesterday at 4:30 we dropped Colton off at the church for his very first overnight scouting trip. I could not sleep at all last night. Is he cold..... hungry...... uncomfortable...... homesick (wishful thinking)...... being attacked by a wild armadillo? Oh the thoughts that keep going through my head. I only have 6 more hours until he comes home. Looking forward to a good nights sleep tonight!!