Father's Day

This year for Father's Day I got ambitious and decided that we would make Pratt's gift this year...I know right, crazy!?!?!?! Anyway, thankfully there is this really great craft store called Michaels and they make it really easy to do crafts for the craft impaired. So the children and I headed over there and found a whole section dedicated to Father's Day. They had everything we needed to make picture frames for Pratt's new office and I couldn't have been happier with the result! Shelby and JP had so much fun painting their little frames, picking out which picture they wanted to put in the frame of them and Pratt, and then giving the presents to Pratt on Father's Day. Everything went smoothly with the whole project except I forgot one little thing....the children painted those little wooden frames that you put the little peg in the hole on the back of the frame to make it stand up; well, I didn't think to look at the hole placement before we started and they ended up painting on them upside down, so they don't exactly stand up like they are supposed to...ooopppsss;)

I decided that it didn't really matter in the end. They had fun, I had fun and Pratt can figure out what to do with them at work.

Here is a close up of Shelby painting. I just love profile pictures....doesn't she look like an angel?? Okay, I might be a little biased, but still....



And here is JP. He really surprised me at how much he was into it. Shelby loves doing crafts of all types so I knew that she would be excited and work hard, but I was a little concerned about how JP's attention span would be. Turns out, it was great. He worked diligently on his frame and made sure that he even painted the the edges.



Father's Day was an absolute blast and since it was his day we let him pick whatever he wanted to do. Pratt decided he wanted to go over to John and Sandi's to enjoy the water and get in a little boat ride. We were pleasently surprised to get there find that some of Pratt's cousins and their children were there as well. We had a wonderful day and I hope that Pratt really enjoyed himself.

Shelby, my little fish......



Pratt and JP enjoying some father/son time...I wonder what they were talking about???





Pratt, we are so blessed to have you as a daddy!!! You are a wonderful husband and fantastic dad. Thank you for all your hard work for our family. We are so proud of you and love you very, very much!!!!

Erik and Rachael's Wedding

Sometimes it is crazy hard to leave the children and other times you just know if you don't get away soon you might end up in the nut house. The latter times are kind of how I hope that it is when ever I have to go somewhere without them, because when they are being super obedient, fantastically fun, and crazy cute I basically have to pry myself away from them and then I spend most of the time away beating myself up over how bad of a mom I am for leaving those cute little bugers. Fortunately and unfortunately the last time Pratt and I had to go out of town they were being down right difficult; which made me worry about how they would behave for the grandparents who were so gracious to keep them for us but of course in true kid fashion, they were pretty much angels the whole time....at least that is what I am told;)

Our dear friends finally tied the knot and it couldn't have been a more perfect day for an outside wedding in Hotlanta. We had the best time and really enjoyed spending time with friends and with each other. The trip, although busy and tiring, really rejuvenated us and got us ready for the summer and renewed Pratt's energy as he began his new job.

One week shy of 11 years together and more in love than the day we got married



The happy couple the day before the rest of their lives together

Memorial Day 2011

Right now I should be preparing for our trip this weekend. There is so much to do to get the children ready, the dog ready and the house ready, but I think it would be a good time to post a blog about our Memorial Day weekend....What is wrong with me?!?!?!? I have become such a procrastinator about nearly everything-ugh!!

We had a great Memorial Day weekend!! It was so relaxing. The children really behaved wonderfully for how sleep deprived they were and we just enjoyed some good ole family time with no tv or any distractions. The Rowe family joined us for a few days too and it was so much fun to watch JP have some real boy time.

The children enjoyed things like, running and jumping off the dock......



Fishing and taking the time to talk about if it is better to use crickets or worms or minnows (thank goodness Matt and Pratt were around to bait the hooks!)



Being thrown off the dock....



Eating popsicles and having some girl time.....



Even Daisy got into it. I don't think she has ever had so much fun!! She loved just running free and swimming. A couple of times she jumped off the dock too.



By the time we got home 4 days later all were very tired and everyday since then JP asks me first thing, "Mom, can we go back to the lakehouse today?"

Soon, buddy, real soon!!!

Shelby, The Kindergarten Graduate

A week ago today we all gathered together to celebrate and recognize the MRM 2011 Kindergarten graduates. It was a perfect evening for the event. The rain held off and the church was a beautiful setting for the ceremony.

All the children looked gorgeous all dressed up and they did a great job singing all their cute little songs. And, I am not gonna lie, I could hardly hold back the tears!!!




Shelby, we are so proud of you and can't wait to see what the Lord has planned for you. You are our precious gift and we love you so much!!

Last Day of School 2011

Today is the last day of school for the 2010-2011 school year. I really can't believe how fast it came and I have a sneaky suspicion that the summer is going to get even faster. It is amazing how time seems to go by faster and faster the older you get. Anyway, not only is this the last day of school for the 2010-2011 school year, it is also the very last day ever that Shelby will be in Ms. Diane and Ms. Lori's classroom:( I am excited about her moving on to 1st grade, but I am also a little sad because she is growing up way to fast. So, here is a walk down memory lane....

Shelby started in the Jasmine Room in 2008. I really couldn't even imagine the possibilities for her at that point. It is amazing how much she has grown and all that she has learned and accomplished since this day....her first day in the Jasmine Room....



Now fast forward to this year. Here is a picture of her and JP at the beginning of the year. This is just 9 months ago and it is amazing how much both of them have changed....

Shelby all excited and looking forward to starting her kindergarten year.



JP and Shelby ready to go their first day of school...



While they both learned a ton and grew so much one thing remained the same for JP; even today when I put him in the car I had to give him great encouragement and almost bride the boy to go to school. I really thought by now it would be easier, but alas, he still doesn't want to go. Oh, no, don't get me wrong, once he gets there he has a blast and always tells me about all the fun he had; it is just the getting there that is the hard part for him....oh well, maybe next year (hopefully!!!)

Shelby on her last day of kindergarten. Tonight is graduation and I am sure that my eyes might get a speck of dust in them or some other foreign body that will cause them to get a little wet.






She started barely knowing her numbers and letters and she finished knowing how to read and doing multiplication,division, numbers squared and all kinds of other things, and that doesn't include all that she learned about composers, the earth, and everything else. It is just amazing and I can't wait to watch her grow some more. Thank you Ms. Diane and Ms. Lori for all that you have done for our sweet, not so little, little girl!

The Rest of April in a Nutshell in Reverse

Everytime anyone says anything that ends "in a nutshell" I always laugh because of that scene from the Austin Powers movie where he pretends like he is in a nutshell.

Anyway, here is the rest of April in a nutshell (figuratively, not literally)....starting from the end and moving our way back to the middle (why, you might ask; and the answer is that I uploaded them that way on accident and I am too lazy to correct it)

We love Easter in this house!!! It is the best celebration because our Lord and Savior rose from the dead on Easter morning. Now we are free from the bondage of sin and are declared pure and justified before God. There are countless activities surrounding Easter that we part take in and we have the tradition of ending Easter Sunday with a picnic and egg hunt at Meme's house.



My mom and sister joined us at church on Sunday to watch Shelby and the children's choir sing. After that we all went to Hampton Lake (long before the Easter bunny was scheduled to be there) for lunch. My dad and brother met us up there and we had a truly wonderful time!





The Friday before Easter my neighbor had a super fun egg hunt at her house. It was great fun!! They had egg races, potato sack races, pin the tail on the bunny and tons of other fun things. The children had so much fun.

This picture is post egg hunt...it is amazing how much they have grown over the years. We have a picture of Shelby and Neely propped up on the couch when Shelby was about 2-4 weeks old and Neely was around 5 months.



And this picture is pre-egg hunt...oh my son, you are going to turn me grey so much faster than I want to; but I love you with all my heart:) Katie announced the egg hunt and JP took off running so we had to call him back to the start where we were getting all the children lined up. Well, I think JP got a little embarrassed and thought he was in trouble even though he wasn't and this is where the tantrum took him....it was really hard to not laugh, but I knew if I did it would only make things worse.



The day before the neighborhood egg hunt was the Shakespeare Festival at the school. This is the first year that both of our children would be participating and also the first year it rained (boo). So we made the best of it and Pratt went to JP's room and I went to Shelby's room. Usually it is outside, but they had to go to plan "b" this year. Here are my two Shakespearean actors all ready for the show.



The Tuesday before that we dyed eggs...this is always a fun event in our house and now that the children really, really love eating hard boiled eggs it makes it even more fun because it is kind of like playing with your food.



It is never too late to celebrate a birthday, right??? Just agree with me:) I finally got my act together and brought in a snack for Shelby's birthday (only about 2 months late). It was so bitter sweet!!! This is Shelby's last year in the Jasmine Room. We are going to miss Ms. Diane and Ms. Lori sooo much!!! They were wonderful teachers!



This really doesn't have much to do with April except that we started getting some beautiful roses from our rose bushes, but I had to put this one in here...can you see a little friend hiding among the petals?



The men just chillin on Master's Sunday watching the match...



We are almost to the end so just bear with me:)

Our annual church Easter Egg Hunt was held very early this year due to all the activity in April. Shelby and JP had sooo much fun and really raked in on the eggs; their baskets were literally overflowing!



At the beginning of April we decided we had waited long enough to get on the river, and while the weather still needed to warm up about 10-15 degrees, we had a great afternoon. We went to two different sandbars to explore and Shelby had a great time looking for sharks' teeth. She and Pratt probably found about 20 little teeth!!! JP was the master snail finder as he found about 10 snails. It was a great day and we had so much fun!

JP loving on Gracie



Shelby and JP with their Papa John



So that is April in a rather large nutshell. Hope you all had as much fun as we did!!!

MRM Fun Run and 5k

Several weeks ago Shelby and JP's school had a 5k and Fun Run fundraiser. It was a great time for several reasons...

1. All the children that live on our little street participated



On your marks, get set, GO!!! Wait, what...who is that crazy adult trying to sneak in on the children's race????



2.-Watching Shelby jog around the little course with the biggest smile on her face.



3.-Pratt and I ran the race...not quite together, but I had him in my sights the whole time:) You better watch out babe because next time I just might catch you;)



4.-Because the race was so small I won 2nd place for my division!!!!



5.-We got to run with our fun neighbors (that makes 6 of us in all) and it was so much fun to spend the morning with them in that manner....just wish I had an adult group shot:(