School Time

Addy's first day of Preschool was today!  We've been getting excited about it for a couple of weeks, so it took her a while to get to sleep last night, and she woke up early this morning ready to go!  When we got to the school, Addy gave me a big hug and then ran off to play with her new friends :)  When I left the school, I had a feeling of pride, not sadness.  I'm so proud of my big girl!  She isn't affraid to make new friends.  She views new activities as a new adventure and not something to be scared of.  She's strong and confident.  We are so blessed!

(they were both screaming in the pic above!)

When I went to pick her up, Addy was a little quiet...I think she was exhasted!  I know I am!  I don't know how you moms of more than 1 school-age kid do it!  She shared with me what all she did, and says she can't wait to go back tomorrow :)

Life is SWEET!

The Last of Summer

The Last of Summer

Wow it has been a crazy last couple weeks!  We finally got some HOT weather, which I don’t exactly love, but we did have some good times playing outside and we made it to the river!  Here are some of the pics that basically sum up what we’ve been up to:

Gaga and Papa came over for a visit.  We gave this old window sash to Gaga for her birthday:

 Addy likes to keep her vehicle clean, just like her mommy and daddy!

Addy helping daddy out

 Our sunflowers are HUGE!  Those really tall ones have got to be over 10 ft!

 The girls' cousin Jackson came over and stayed with us last weekend.  They love Jack!

We went to the river for a picnic after church on Sunday.

 Addy loved the water!  Emry, not so much at first...but she did start to enjoy it before we left :)

A Weekend In August...

Another week in the summer has come to pass.  And we were busy, as usual. 

Our regular daycare provider was on vacation the last couple days of last week, so Aunt Randi and Aunt Mo watched the girls Thursday and Friday.  Addy and Emry love their Aunts and their cousins!  They had a great time playing together, and of course, getting into trouble.  What are cousins for, anyway?

On Friday night, I met up with my other SIL Mandy at the Country Girls Outdoor Flea Market.  Mandy is the sweetest girl ever!  We had so much fun looking at all of the shabby chic, vintage, country-type stuff!  And as a result, I’m totally ready to completely redo my house.  I don’t think Jessie will mind.  Right?  Actually I have some pretty easy ideas to get the place spruced up a bit.  New pillow covers (possibly sewn by me?), new paint on standard oak furniture, and a super cool old window hung in the dining room.  I’ll be posting before and after pictures once I get it all done. 

Saturday we went to Logan and Jessica’s house to help tear off the old roof.  Well, Jessie helped.  I watched the girls play in the back yard with Kaylie.  They had fun running around and helped pick some zucchini and squash for Jessica.  Then we had a little bbq and I held sweet baby Tessa J  It was a fun afternoon.

Saturday night we went to a really fun wedding reception for our good friend Casey and his beautiful wife Shallie.  Addyson and Emry danced and ran around and even wrestled some on the dance floor.  At one point a little boy was trying to pull Emry around by the back of her shirt.  As if.  Emry let him know in a calm but firm way that he needed to let go.  NOW!  That girl can hold her own.

Finally Sunday.  We went to church, came home, and didn’t leave again.  The girls and Jessie took a long nap while I cleaned house (fun times, I know) and then we worked in the yard and played in the pool the rest of the day.  It was the perfect way to spend a nice warm Sunday. 

On the agenda for this week: PAINTING!  I’m trying to convince myself that I’m excited to paint…it’s not really working.

Hope everyone has a great week!

The Fair

The Fair has always been an exciting time for me.  I remember going there when I was a kid with my brother and parents and seeing all of the farm animals.  I remember when Jake and I were finally old enough to go on the rides without my parents having to be there.  And when I got my first horse, and I was there the entire week from sun up to sun down.  Life was good during the Fair.  And I want my kids to experience it too.  So, every year we try to make it to the Fair.  Addyson and Emry LOVED the animals, especially the cows.  We went on rides and ate cotton candy.  It was a fabulous time!  I ran into sooooo many people I haven’t seen in ages! 

 Gaga with the girls:

And my new sticker from Welcoming Walls!  I love it!

Emry's Birthday Week

When someone in our family has a birthday, it’s not just a 1-day sort of thing…it’s a full week of fun!  I always say that I’m only going to do 1 birthday party, but it usually ends up being at least 2, sometimes 3.  That’s 3 PER KID.  Yes, I’m crazy.  Thank you for your concern.

The first birthday party wasn’t exactly a planned out thing, we just happened to be going to my Uncle Gary and Aunt Faye’s house for a bbq after church.  And it just happened to be Emry’s birthday.  And we just happened to get an ice cream cake.

Here’s Emry opening up a couple of gifts: 

Isn’t it beautiful there?  I never really appreciated having acres and acres to roam around on until we bought a house in town.  One day we’ll have property where the girls and I can frolic and play, one day. 

And here’s the fam.

It was hot that day!  Thank you so much Gary and Faye for opening your beautiful yard to us J

The second party was at our house, with friends.  We had lasagna (I’m tired of hamburgers and hot dogs, lol!) and “The Bread”, which is a Pioneer Woman recipe.  It’s basically a lot of bread and a LOT of butter.  And it’s not healthy - it’s delicious. 

I just love our group of friends.  We always have a great time when we find the time to get together…we need to do it more often though! 

The third party is with Jessie’s family.  One word – craziness.  I love it!  There are 9 cousins, ages 10, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 3, 2, and 2.  We did a luau theme and had water guns, a small pool and a slip n slide.  This was a combined birthday – Savanah (6), Ava (5), Landyn and Emry (both 2).  I love sitting back and watching the kids go wild!  They love playing with each other!

We had teriyaki chicken skewers, fruit salad, Hawaiian macaroni salad, baked beans, 2 cakes and a yummy apple pie.  Here’s a pic of the flip flop cake I made:

Here’s some of the slip n slide action:

Jessie and I both got in on it, here’s a pic of him:

The birthday kids:

My SILs Mandy and Randi, Jessie and I, Frank (Randi's husband) and Jessie's Grandma Rains :)

Oh and this was fun --- lol!  Jasper, Jessie and me:

Randi and Frank:

LOL Addy and Jack:

Emry and Landyn:

LOL what a great time!