Second Christmas

We had our second Christmas with the Austin side of the family at New Years. We had to wait for everyone to get back from their travels, but it was well worth the wait! Angie hosted this year and we pigged out on traditional snack. This is a traditional snack that started with my Mother's family and we still carry it on today. Lots of delicious sweet and salty snack foods and of course Slushy Punch!

LoLo was super excited to get a "Shelia's House" of Northwoods mall. JK! This is the main mall in the town that we grew up in. She really didn't know if she should laugh or act like it was nice. It was a joke! We have several gag gifts that get passed around at Christmas time.

We were all given adorable hand-made scarfs. These were all made by a lady that we go to church with. Little did we know that she had this wonderful talent! We all loved them!

Christmas is just as fun the second time around!

What!? A NEW post! YES!

Okay, so I'm finally posting! Yea! After returning from Xmas we discovered our laptop had crashed. That's the second laptop to crash--NOT BUYING A GATEWAY AGAIN! So, now we've had this new HP and got a wireless router. I never knew how much I would enjoy at $40 piece of electronics!

So, here are a few pics from Xmas in Nashville. We all loved being with the fam. The boys loved Jami and Tim's new house. Especially, the elevator and movie theater. But, they truly LOVE their cousins and spending time with them. Austin cried again this year when we left. Merry Belated Christmas!

Six Flags

This summer we took Austin and his friend Brooks to Six Flags for a day. It was an interesting trip up there. First the boys were VERY excited and kept asking "Are we there yet?!". And one boy had to take a potty break IN THE CAR IN A CUP, because of course we were stuck in Atlanta traffic.

They both liked to drive the cars. I rode with Austin and he cracked me up on how intense he was to "stay on the rode". He couldn't reach the gas, so I pushed the pedal and he drove.


They both loved Thomas Town! Even Sir Toppham Hatt was there! Austin is checking out his hand and the wheels are spinning in his head---"his fingers are together and don't move, mmmm?"

We stopped in time to watch the Wild West Show. It was a nice break to stop and cool down!

And we found some Characters to pose with, especially the one in the middle!

Hopefully they have good memories of the day. I know Austin talks about going back with Brooks! (That is if Six Flags doesn't "fold under" with the economy!)

Christmas In July!

Rebecca and I hosted a Christmas in July party last weekend. It was so much fun! Thanks Rebecca for opening up your house and hosting with me!
See Rebecca's blog for more!

Our Little Graduate

Austin graduated from PreK in May. He has grown so much this year and is ready for BIG school. Here's our sweet graduate in his cap and gown!

With is proud Mommy and Daddy! (And his proud teacher!)

He was #8 in "Say the Number" song.

He was Friday in "The Days of the Week" song.

A sweet smile for the family!

He was April in "The Months of the Year" song.

His favorite song "Blues on Kazoos".After getting his diploma.

He was given the choice of where to eat after graduation. Of all the places he could pick he choose Chick-Fil-A. But, he wanted one far, far away! I love this little man and can't wait to see the adventures he will have in Kindergarten!

Austin's 5th Birthday

Austin turned 5 in April! I know, I know, it's a little late! But, better than never.
So, he decided to have a baseball party. This was his first BIG party. Usually we'll just have family and a friend over for supper and cake. So, this time he got to invite friends from school and church over to play. Austin was so excited! He's such a social boy anyways and just Loves to have friends over to play. Ever since he could talk he would invite people over to his house by saying, "You come to my house?"

Here's little bother, Coop, playing right along with all the big kids.

The Birthday boy with his game face on!

The parent had the "cheap seats". Lawn chairs lined both sides of the house to watch the games.

Austin and friends playing in the sandbox.

Pappy joined in the fun too!

As a take home gift, each child received a bag of Cracker Jacks with a song attached. Thanks to Mom's creative mind, she came up with new words to "Take Me Out to the Ballgame". The song thanked them for coming and told them there was more to come. A couple weeks after the party each child got a thank you note with a baseball card pack, completed with a piece of pink bubble gum. The cards were of each child at the party.

Chocolate baseball cupcakes!

Yellow cake baseball diamond!

Of course we had ball park food! Hot dogs, nachos, peanuts, boiled peanuts, and popcorn!

Graduation Party

Lauren graduated this year and will be going to college. She is a dear friend and a great babysitter. But really she is family! We wish her the best!
The boys call her Lo-Lo. It all started with Austin when he was little and just learning to talk. So, the name has stuck and always will! We love you Lo-Lo!

We hung lanterns outside to welcome guests as they arrived. And when they left, the lanterns lit their way out (they're solar powered)!

This table was a perfect place for everyone to sign scrapbook paper and leave a nice sentiment for Lo-Lo to read later. (And always remember!)

Lo-Lo wanted cupcakes and not a cake, so that's what she got! Decorated with themed colors they were more like decoration themselves.

The mantel was decorated with more lanterns and was a great place for guests to place their gifts. After dinner and a slide show, Lo-Lo just pulled up a chair and had fun opening her presents. Her friends are a HOOT and were like children playing with all the wrappings and bows.

Each table had a lantern glowing on it, with candy to munch on through the night. These lanterns were a great buy at only $1 from the dollar store. You never know what you'll find there!

We had a great time throwing this graduation party for Lauren! She even picked the menu (of course, it's her party!). We had salad, lasagna, baked spaghetti, bread sticks, lemonade, and sweet tea.