Daddy’s Rock!

I am pretty sure God created Daddy’s purely for fun. It took Sam a little while to figure out how to hold on but once he did the kids had a blast sliding on the floor while holding on to Daddy’s legs.

Lance is so great with playing with the kids and doing fun things with them. Several nights ago we had several tornadoes pass within miles of our house. We had pillows and bike helmets for the kids in case we had to get in our “safe place” (as the newscasters said over and over which then made Reese say it over and over). Once we were in the clear, Lance and Sam put on the helmets and must have head-butted each other a hundred times. Yes, Sam has Reese’s helmet on. He doesn’t have his own yet.

He wore the bike helmet for at least 30 minutes and did not want to take it off.

One day all of these pictures with him in Reese’s dress up necklaces are going to come back to haunt him.

Fun!

This little guy is all kinds of fun

wrapped up in this cute little

body and cute little face.

He keeps me laughing!

And I love him so much!

While Reese is Away…

…Sam will play with her scooter.

…watch whatever he wants on TV.

…enjoy the quiet.

…have some juice and a snack.

…be the sweetest little man that ever existed.

Girls Weekend

Mama had a girls weekend this Labor day weekend!! I left with Becca on Friday and we headed to St. Simons.  Leaving was the worst part. Reese knew what was going on and had been pretty good with the idea leading up to Friday. But once the time came for me to actually leave, she lost her mind.  She screamed and screamed that she wanted to go with me. After her screaming for so long, Sam started in on it.  We finally had everything set to go and we said our goodbyes. Leading up to this point had been on my mind the whole week before.  I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty and it was making me super nervous about leaving. Poor Lance had to deal with the aftermath of that but finally got every one calmed down and they enjoyed a pizza and movie night.

We arrived in SSI at 11:30 that night after sitting in tons of traffic on the way down.  Three girls, Gina (Tommy’s sister), Tina and Marcia were waiting on us to arrive.  We ended up staying up until 2:30 just talking away. Saturday morning we all woke up around 8:30 and were just lazy. Everyone had kids back at home except for Becca so I think we just enjoyed getting to sit down and chill. We didn’t even go out to the beach until 12:30. Once we parked our chairs in the sand we didn’t move until 6:30 that night. For dinner we headed to Bubba Garcia, a Mexican restaurant.

Sunday morning we slept in until about the same time but made it out of the condo a little bit earlier because we were afraid rain was headed our way for the afternoon. We spent the first few hours at the pool and then went down to the beach later that afternoon until around 6:00 or so again. That night we had dinner at Iguana’s, a seafood restaurant.

The whole weekend was great. I had such a great time relaxing, talking, and just enjoying some time away. I totally missed my sweet little family but it was a much needed get away.  However, I don’t think Lance is going to ever let me do that again. I think over all the kids were good but the leaving probably did him in…and the sleepless nights.

Becca and Gina…two peas in a pod!

Tina and Marcia…two of Gina’s friends

In the condo…

We drove back today and now it is back to reality!

Go Jackets!

I totally forgot that today was game day. I would have dressed the kids in their game day attire. Instead as the game started Reese ran upstairs to put together her own outfit.






- Posted from my iPhone

Our Weekend Wrap-up

We have had a fun, fun weekend! Friday Reese had her first ballet/tap class of the year.  She was very excited to get started and to learn all about tap. She had a great time getting back in to it and can’t wait to find out what their recital song is going to be.

After ballet we headed out to my parents house to wait for them to get home from work. Once they were home we headed to the Gwinnett Braves game. Sam was so excited to go to the “beeball dame”.

Reese was excited for the fireworks. It was so hot and I am pretty sure it was still just as hot at 10:00 as it was at 6:00 when we arrived.

We had a great time with all of my family. Sam would cheer for both teams and yell “Home Run!” at each at bat. He also made friends with the guy sitting behind us.  I am pretty sure the man didn’t get to see much of the game because Sam kept playing with him.

After the G-Braves lost there was a fun fireworks show. We were sitting a little too high to see them all so my mom and the kids moved down a few rows to watch them. We didn’t get in to the car until after 11:00.  Sam fell asleep pretty quickly and then Reese fell asleep about half way home.

Saturday morning Lance was up early to play golf with Donnie.  They had a great time visiting and playing golf. The kids and I slept in until 8:45!! It was awesome! We were slow to get moving and then we headed to a local BBQ festival. I was so excited that Adrienne and Owen were able to meet us there.

There was tons of BBQ, plenty of FREE bounce houses, and a lot of walking around to be done. Around 1:00 there were three paratroopers dropping out of the sky. It was really neat to see them come coasting in and land of the field in the middle of the festival.

While the paratroopers were falling from the sky Reese was busy becoming a rabbit. It cracks me up that she loves to have her face painted and that she picks the most random things.

After face painting we headed over for some shade and lunch. We had a great time visiting with A and O!! And I am so glad Lance was able to have some friend time too.

Sunday was a typical day. Church, lunch, naps, grass mowing and car washing.

The kids ended up soaked and then Lance took them to the pool while I went to the grocery store.

And now it is time to start our second week of school…

"Deana"

Reese has a "friend". She met this "friend" when she was my age...or so she says. They went to college together and were cheerleaders together. Her friends name is "Deana". She is never actually with Reese. They only talk on the phone, text, email, and send each other videos on their phones. Recently, Reese told me that Deana has a baby in her belly and that they teach ballet recitals together.

She cracks me up!


- Posted from my iPhone

The Treasure Box

Earlier in the week Reese mentioned something about her class having a treasure box.  I never fully understood how you earned things from the treasure box but I think basically their teacher catches them doing something nice, extra, etc and they get to choose a goodie.

Today when Reese got in the car she was so excited to tell me that she got to get something from the treasure box.  She wouldn’t even tell me what it was because she wanted to show me when we got home.

She chose these precious Minnie Mouse ears because she wanted to have them for when we go to Disney World. She was SO excited and proud. She told me they cost $22.  Now that could mean that they earn “dollars” for different things and then get to buy from the treasure box as a math lesson…I really don’t know!

These ears really were so cute and I can’t wait to see Reese in them when we go to Disney!

You Are My I Love You

I saw this on someone’s facebook page and wanted to share with all my mommy friends. Too sweet!!

by Maryann Cusimano Love and Satomi Ichikawa

I am your parent; you are my child. I am your quiet place; you are my wild.

I am your calm face; you are my giggle. I am your wait; you are my wiggle.

I am your carriage ride; you are my king.

I am your push; you are my swing.

I am your audience; you are my clown. I am your London Bridge; you are my falling down.

I am your carrot sticks; you are my licorice. I am your dandelion; you are my first wish.

I am your water wings; you are my deep. I am your open arms; you are my running leap.

I am your way home; you are my new path.

I am your dry towel; you are my wet bath.

I am your dinner; you are my chocolate cake. I am your bedtime; you are my wide awake.

I am your finish line; you are my race. I am your praying hands; you are my saying grace.

I am your favorite book; you are my new lines. I am your night-light; you are my starshine.

I am your lullaby; you are my peekaboo.

I am your good-night kiss; you are my I love you.

A Look Back

If I am being honest, I am excited school has started back. I am excited about us having a routine again. I am excited about spending some special time with Sam.  I am excited about all of the new things Reese is going to learn. I am excited about cooler weather. I am excited about fall activities.

But I am sad that summer has come to an end so I am looking back at all of the fun we have had this summer.

Fun dressing up…

Fun dance parties…

Fun with family…

Lots of smiles

With a frown or two thrown in to the mix…

An awesome beach vacation…

Fun with friends…

Oh the fun we have had this summer makes me excited about the fun we will have this fall!! Football. Pumpkin patches. Halloween. Thanksgiving. Disney! More friend time. More family time. I can’t to see what the fall brings us!

First Day of Preschool

Today was Reese’s first day of four year old preschool. She was beyond excited to start the school year. She picked out her clothes yesterday morning. 

This morning I asked her a few questions about what she thought today was going to be like. 

Me: “What are you most excited about?”
Reese: “Crafts!”

Me: “What are you most nervous about?”
Reese: “Walking to my class by myself.” (I don’t think they do this btw. At least not the first day. And she knows exactly where her class is so I am not sure why this was her answer.)

Me: “What do you think you are going to learn?”
Reese: “I don’t know.”

While Reese was at school Sam asked over and over about her.  He would say “Reese?” and I would ask him where she was.  He would answer “dool”. When we finally got in to the carline he said her name over and over until we finally picked her up.  I think he missed having her harass him!

Reese said she had a lot of fun at school.  Her teachers were nice, she was excited to play with her friends, and she had Cheerios for snack. She said her favorite thing that she did all day was color (not surprising).

And just for a little comparison…these pictures are from each of her first days (two year, three year, and four year).

Princess and Pirate

Today we went to a Princess and Pirate birthday party.  The kids were to dress up but I wasn’t sure what to do with Sam since we didn’t have any pirate clothes.  I found a black scarf in my closet, we had a red sword, and I put some pants on him and then rolled them up to make them more “pirate” like.  Reese was Ariel.  They sure were cute…and it was such a cute and fun party!

Happy birthday Mary and James!!