Registration Day for Mo!!

This morning Daddy and I took Maddie to Oak to register her for school.  It was exciting, a little overwhelming, and a little sad.  Can't believe it is already time for her to begin school.  I think we are going to have a great experience at Oak though and am so happy that is where we are zoned!  We went ahead and set up a lunch account for her, bought the rest of her supplies, and I signed up for the PTA:)
  We will get a call this week letting us know who her teacher is, and then I will send her just one day next week to try and get the feel of everything.  Then next Friday I will go and have a parent meeting in her classroom with her new teacher.  So we have another week and a half to play around, then things are going to be hectic.  Turner won't start until the end of August so I will have a few weeks  to spend with him just him, which is rare and will be nice.
  I think Maddie was excited this morning, but a little nervous.  She didn't have much to say and just wanted to play on my phone.  Mrs. Cindy, who goes to our church, works there and Maddie ran up to her and gave her a hug.  There were also a few kids that came up to her while we were there that she knew from different places.  Just praying for a positive, encouraging year for our Maddie!

Busy Busy!!

We have been on the move!!  Last week was VBS at church and we were all exhausted once it was over!!  Kevin headed up the Rec and Mimi and I had 40 5-6 year olds for the week for snack time.  The kids had a blast!  We had cousin pictures made at Sears which turned out Adorable and we spent the weekend in Savannah.  It was probably our last trip till Thanksgiving, since Kevin is super busy with football.  The kids swam in the rain and thought it was great-the things that will excite our little ones:)
  Kev goes back to work on Monday:(  Summer always flies by and we will be back in a crazy routine before we know it!  Besides both kids going to school-Maddie in Kindergarten and Turner in preschool 3 days a week-both kids will be playing soccer, in the church choir, and Maddie will spend 4 hours a week at gymnastics.....TIRED just thinking about it.  Oh, and I will begin keeping Aubry in the middle of August.  Praying I haven't committed to more than we can handle.  If I have, we will drop something, because I definitely want our main focus to be on school and church.  If only I had a fourth of the energy as my kids:)
  Maddie begins Gymnastics camp tomorrow and I am looking forward to hearing about everything she learns.  She will go every day through Tuesday and have a movie night Friday and Waterslide day Saturday.  Should be a fun time!!

KY Lake 2012!

Last weekend we went on our annual family Kentucky trip, and this year we had a new attendee-Aubry!!  The kids love her so much already and really just drive everyone crazy about touching her, kissing her, holding her....:)  It was a great time of relaxation!  We spent lots of time at the pool, ate at our favorite restaurant Patti's, and the kids went on a horse ride.  We were amazed!!  Turner is afraid of a fly, but he never hesitated about getting up on the horse.  We were so proud of him and he knew it-he was such a ham up there!  Maddie thought it was pretty fun herself.  Kevin took the kids fishing one morning and they were also able to get a craft in while we were there.  The grown ups (minus me:) enjoyed playing card games after the kids went to bed at night.  I enjoy reading a book instead in bed with my kids:)

  I love that we go on this trip every single year.  A few things have changed over the years, but so much has stayed the same.  I think we have been going for almost 25 years!!  Pretty Wild!  Also pretty wild that we recognize some of the people that work there from when we first started coming.  Pool Guy-hasn't changed, hair has just gotten a little grayer.  There are also several servers at the restaurant that we have seen for many years now!  We had a great time and are thankful every year to Mimi and Boo Boo for making it happen!!

She's Growing Up!!

I can't believe in a few short weeks our baby will be going to Kindergarten!!  It is amazing how quickly these years have gone.  I am really not sad about her starting school, but do hate how old it makes her.  She is quite an independent girl and I know she is going to be just fine.  She is getting to the age where she is ready to make some decisions herself, and I think this is going to be very hard for me!  Who would have thought-me a control freak:)
  Perfect example is the above picture of her new bookbag and lunchbox!!!  I almost fell out of my chair when she picked that one out.  We were looking online and there were over 150 that fell in the girl, 5-7 year category.  Did we really have to go with a Super Mario one???  I wanted so badly to tell her no and just pick one out myself.  But.....that might have crushed her spirit, it might have made her doubt herself, it definitely would have hurt her feelings!  So-Maddie will be sporting the bookbag this year that she chose, and though I would have never in a million years picked it out myself.....that is OK!!!  I want Maddie to be herself and be comfortable and confident in the things that she likes and enjoys! (as long as they are in line with our values, of course!!!)
  Another thing that totally drives me crazy--she now has very definite opinions about her clothes and they don't line up with my own!!  She is all about play clothes, play clothes, play clothes.  Sweat shorts and tshirts make that girl happy.  Why then does she have a closet full of smocked dresses, ruffled pants, and monogrammed shirts????  Because I LOVE them and up until 6 months she would wear whatever I handed her that morning!  I think in the long run this is going to save us money:)  But it is hard giving up that control and letting her choose what to wear each day.  I will say this-I have told her in the future she will have to go shopping with me, but since I have already bought these clothes, she does have to wear them!!!  But this is another time when even though she might not love the same types of clothes that I do, I still want her to be able to choose and make decisions for herself. 
  I am praying that Maddie will be confident and sure of herself.  I wouldn't ever want to do anything to hinder that.  Last example is top picture-that is a worm on her arm!  That simply grosses me out and I just wanted to scream at her to get that thing away.   Maddie LOVES worms-dead or alive.  She loves the outside and everything she can find there.  Another big difference between she and I!!  Unless I am working on a tan, I could really just stay inside and be happy:)  But, since a worm isn't going to hurt Maddie....it's ok if she loves them and wants them crawling up and down her arm, right?
  I know she is still young and we have a ton of decisions that will be made for her in the upcoming years.  I am trying though to let her start making decisions and encourage her throughout the process.  Her Super Mario bookbag made her happy today when it came in the mail.  My children are unique and aren't going to be just like me-but I love them more than the sky and wouldn't have it any other way!!

Another Fun Zoo Visit!

I still have to post about our weekend in KY, but wanted to share these pics from this morning.  We had a great visit at the zoo-it rained part of the time, felt great outside, and hardly anyone was there!!  These kiddos ran wild and we never had to worry about where they were.  Those monkeys were great!  We felt like they were talking to us and Kelly and I could NOT stop laughing.  The kids really loved them.  A sweet morning with really sweet friends!

A Morning with Friends!

In between our two trips, we had Kelly and her kiddos over to play.  Kelly had made cupcakes and brought them over for the kids to decorate.  Talk about being right up their alley!!!  I love being able to catch up with Kelly and the kids played great together.  We ate lunch together and just enjoyed the company.  I am hoping to get one more play date in before the summer ends.  All of a sudden it is crunch time-July goes so quickly and there are still so many things we are hoping to do!!

Cowboy Ted!!

This is how he was found watching tv one afternoon.  He just makes me laugh:)

4th of July Weekend in Savannah!

I am behind in the blogging world.  We have been packing up to head out of town and then as soon as we return, repacking to head somewhere else.  We have had fun, but I am looking forward to some time at home.  2 weeks ago we spent a few days in Savannah with Nonna, Da, and the rest of the family.
  Big Da had a huge cookout and most of the family came over for it.    He cooked some fish, cheeseburgers, and polish sausages.  The fish was the BEST fish ever!!  We had such a great time visiting with everyone and letting the kids run around with their cousins.  We did a few fireworks that night and nobody was scared, which is always a plus:)

  The kids were able to go to church with Nonna, we swam a lot, and took the kids bowling one day with Brayden, Tyler, and Sophia.  It was a fun few days and we are hoping to get one more quick trip in before school starts back and the craziness that goes along with it!  I didn't get very many pictures, but here are a few from the cookout!