"The Pact" has been broken!

About 14 years ago, Sean and I made a pact that we would never own a mini-van! We swore that would never be us! Boy were we naive! Today, the pact was broken and we drove off the Oak Ridge Nissan car lot with a brand new Quest mini-van! And we were excited!! We love it! Who knew? Never say never! :)

With an $11,000 cash back incentive going on, we knew we needed to move on this! Sean did a great job researching, crunching numbers and finding out what the vehicle was worth. He is SO good at the bargaining part of buying a new car! He loves the challenge! We found a "base model" (no bells and whistles) at the Oak Ridge dealership and started negoitiating! No fancy packages, no DVD player and we didn't get to pick the color....but who cares? It was a fantastic deal, and we are very blessed to be the owners of a new MINI-VAN! :)

This time last year......
I started blogging! I began this blog when Beckett started Kindergarten. We started back to school this week and I thought it would be fun to show how much the kids have grown in one year! The small picture is from the first day of Kindergarten and the big one was taken this past Tuesday when we got back to work! He is doing well and for the most part has been excited to get back into our school routine! He is reading everything that he can get his hands on and we will begin chapter books in a couple of weeks! Helen is doing well, too! She really wants to "do school", so I've set up her little area and she has been working on learning her ABC's! She is able to handle more independent time this year, so that helps a lot! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Check out my friend's new blog!

I know a very special first grader who is creating a blog to share his experiences this year! If you would like to check it out, click here! Enjoy and check back every week or so! Not sure how often we will get it updated, but I want to use it as an opportunity for him to do some writing this year! I'll probably let him take a few pictures along the way as well! :)

End of Summer/Back to School Blast!

Today is Beckett's first day of first grade! To celebrate a great summer and to give us a kick off to a new school year, we spent the day at Dollywood yesterday! It was Sean's first time to EVER go to Dollywood! It was such a fun day! Beckett discovered a whole new Dollywood with his dad! They rode all of the "big" roller coasters and water rides that he had never tried before! He went upside down in the "Tennessee Tornado", he rode "Thunderhead" three times and we all got to do the "Slidewinder" and got soaking wet! We rode rides until 6:00 when they closed the park! Beckett didn't even ask for food! You know he is having fun if he doesn't think about eating! We totally skipped lunch so we could get in all of the rides! Helen had a great time too! The "Slidewinder" was a lot of fun for her and she was fired up that they had new booster seats for the cars at the "Rockin' Roadway" so she was able to "drive" the car! She even rode the Veggie Tales roller coaster all by herself! She is such a big girl! It was a fun-filled day and a great way to end a wonderful summer!

Beckett and Sean on the "Dizzy Disk"....another new ride that Beckett had never tried until this trip! There was just something special about having his dad with him that took the fear out of the rides and it became a challenge and a thrill to try them all out! It was so fun to watch him experience these "scary" rides for the first time! He loved it!
Helen was all smiles as she got to "drive" a Thunderbird for the first time! Pure joy!

Sunday Smiles

We had a good morning at church! We sang one of our favorite praise and worship songs today and I decided to share it here. Beckett learned it at worship camp this summer and we all love the message.....

Everyone needs compassion

A love that's never failing

Let mercy fall on me

Everyone needs forgiveness

The kindness of a Savior

The hope of nations

My Savior

He can move the mountains

My God is Mighty to save, He is Mighty to save

Forever Author of salvation

He rose and conquered the grave

Jesus conquered the grave

So take me as You find me

All my fears and failures

And fill my life again

I give my life to follow

Everything I believe in

Now I surrender

Shine your light and let the whole world see

We're singing for the glory of the risen King...Jesus

On Friday night we went to the park and had a picnic, rode bikes and swam in the lake. Here are a few pictures of the kids getting buried in the sand at the beach! They were just practicing for the real beach in October!

Piano Man

Beckett has really enjoyed "playing" around on the piano this summer. He has made up some songs...some with words, some without. This morning he asked me to record his latest "arrangement" and put it on the blog! Watch out Billy Joel!

Harper Hullabaloo Hiking!

We spent the weekend with my aunt and uncle in Waynesville, NC and had a great time! On Sunday we went to Black Balsam Mtn. and did some hiking, enjoyed fabulous views and amazing temperatures! The kids both did great walking/hiking/climbing! It was a great day and a wonderful weekend! Thanks for everything, Auntie Mame and Uncle Ron!

Family Shot!
Helen practically ran up the mountain!

Check this out!

Friday Night Fun!

On Friday night, the whole Harper crew got together at Jill and Darrin's house for supper and swimming! Here is a picture of almost all of the cousins getting ready to jump in the pool with Nana and Papa looking on! We are all excited about our family trip to the beach in October! Just under 8 weeks to go and counting down!