last day of school

 

Last day of 4th grade and 7th grade

These two are ready for summer! Layla will be moving to 8th grade and Hayden will be a 5th grader.

 

Hayden is officially an intermediate school student.  He walked the halls of elementary school for the last time.  Ahhhh!  In just a few months he'll be double digits!  10 years old!

We are proud of both of our munchkins and ready for a relaxing summer.

happy new year

We had an early dinner with friends and came home to our puppies and pj's for NYE.

We tried and tried to capture fun pictures and we had so much fun being silly.  

the fish even made this pic!

I'm so thankful for this man of mine. He's my best friend and I'm so happy to do this life with him.

My guys are ready for 2017!!  Hayden is still red, but he's all lotioned up for the night.

Hap. Happy New Year!

my first break as a working mom

We have a week long break from school for Thanksgiving!  

I'm so excited to do nothing.  

One of my coworkers asked me what I was going to do and I said, "I'm doing nothing!"

I'll be hanging with the pups and kids.  I'll be watching football.  I'll be baking pies.  I'm planning to make a cute veggie turkey to take to my hometown on Thursday.  I'm shopping for black flat shoes and work pants. I'm returning a few things to a few stores. I'm reading books and drinking quiet cups of coffee. I'm going to spend my time catching up and relaxing. I'm going to do a few things that I just haven't had time to do.  I'll be a great week.

I'm excited to be with my people and pets and enjoy every single second!

I am blessed!

school starts tomorrow!

 

I can't believe summer is already over!

Goodness, time flies when you're having fun.

Tomorrow I will have a 6th grader and a 3rd grader!  I'm so proud of these two!

cat watching

This silly group makes me giggle.

  The dogs love this front room in our house.  They love to gaze out the windows and heck, so do I!  I love having my morning coffee in my polka dot chair.  I get to see all kinds of wildlife even though we live in the city.  

I took this picture with my phone, in a hurry.  It is rare that I get all four in one place at the same time.  The dogs spotted a cat sitting in our shrubs.  Silly cat.  Goodness, the dogs were whining and barking and losing it over that cat.  The kids stopped what they were doing to find out what the fuss was and that is when they all decided to stare down the cat.  The neighborhood cat didn't mind and it just gazed back at them through the window.

Oh what a group these four are!  We are enjoying our summer that's for sure!

storage bin or play bin?

My parents gave me this cool little patio storage thingy for my birthday!

It pretty much matches all our patio furniture, and it's just the right size for crazy kiddos.

and dogs too!

hahahahahahahahaha!

Look, Layla and Daisy have the same facial expression. :-) 

storage bin or play bin?

My parents gave me this cool little patio storage thingy for my birthday!

It pretty much matches all our patio furniture, and it's just the right size for crazy kiddos.

and dogs too!

hahahahahahahahaha!

Look, Layla and Daisy have the same facial expression. :-) 

first day of school

School days are here!

These two are ready for their first day of 5th grade and 2nd grade!

I can't wait to see their cute faces when they get off the bus this afternoon!

39!

We had a fun dinner at La Parrilla celebrating my birthday!

I didn't blow out birthday candles this year, instead I had a giant margarita!

I am spoiled by my guy!  He got me a Yeti cooler!  I can't wait to test it out this weekend when we go camping.   When my family asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday I said, "Let's go camping!"  It's my favorite!

Thanks for a great day celebrating and here's to the next month celebrating my birthday right into July when we'll start celebrating the kids birthday month!   Yipeeeee!

sweet summer!

The kiddos are so ready for summer time!  We are all going to love having a relaxed schedule.  We are looking forward to camping and going to the beach!

Today was the first day and we went to the pool and swam for a few hours.  Then Hayden rode his bike while Layla, Daisy and I walked.  After that we went to the park.  The kids played chase while I rested for 5 minutes.  

Geeezzz.  

They're keeping me busy!  

I'm loving their ages and the fact that pool days are much easier for this momma the older they get.  Hayden needs a little help in the water, but in a few weeks he'll be swimming like a fish like his sister and I'll be bored at the pool.  I definitely have to find me some neighborhood pool friends!

Here's to a fun summer in GA!

a little porch reading ~ wordless wednesday

then and now

THEN

Remember when the kiddos would sit down for a picture?  

(see Layla posing with BeBe)

Orrrrr better they they'd look at me with a blank stare wondering why I'm putting the iphone in their face again?!?

(see blank stare across Hayden's face above)

And do they ever end up looking at the camera?  They always look away right when the flash pops.

Annnddddd.....NOW....

This is what I get when I ask for a picture before school.  It's like a cool cometition.  Why they stick their booties out I'll never know?  And the peace signs and wide open mouths.

So, to all you moms out there hoping for a good shot.  You can bribe them for awhile, it worked for me for a couple years. BUT then they turn on the cool and this is what you have to look forward to!  Oh my!

~picture day~

fourth grade 

first grade

Today was picture day at school.  I don't buy the pictures because quite honestly every day is picture day in our household!  I love having this little ole blog to store all our memories.  I'm not really that much into picture frames sitting around our house.  I have a box of photos from my childhood and I wish I didn't have it. It's just so much to pack and move when the time comes.  I love modern technology and I think the kids do too! 

  

They grew in a week!

Gary got home last night from a 10 day businees trip to Sturgis.  We missed him so much!!!!!  He's a hard worker, this man of mine.  He gave big hugs and then asked to measure the kiddos.  He said they look taller.  I'm so happy he's on vacation this next week before school starts.  He needs a break from work and we need him to play with us the last week of summer!!

Heading to the beach!

I fell in love with this picture of my sweet munchkins.  We will miss our furry friends while on our beach trip, but we know they will be just fine!

my favorite day is Friday

{some of these summer days get tough and tedious, but i am one blessed stay at home momma!}

wordless wednesday ~ heart melters

bowling and a little sap

This happened again today.  

Two weeks in a row we have been bowling with friends on Sunday.

A Sunday with minimal football games on TV requires other activities.  

The kids love bowling and it is even fun for the adults too!  I bowled horribly today and I was not happy about it.  My competitive side came out and I was mad at myself for bowling so badly.

I love Layla. Duhhhh.

  Today, she told me how much she loves Ohio.  I know moving to another state can be so hard on kiddos.  Layla has done so well with the move.  Her social calendar is full and she couldn't be happier about it.  She is my little 'people person' and she enjoys being busy every day.

I took this picture with my phone tonight.

At one of the highest points in the area you can see the whole town.  The views are breathtaking.  I think I enjoy the view so much because I haven't lived in a hilly area.  Back in Texas everything was flat. flat. flat.  This area of Ohio is pretty to me even if it is grey and there aren't any leaves on the trees.  I am so excited for spring and summer.  I just know it will be beautiful!

Saturday night Gary and I got a babysitter and we went out to dinner with friends.  We had THE BEST time.  I seriously think my abs were sore from laughing.  Gary and I are so lucky to have met such an awesome group of people.  We are thankful.  Everyone I have met here in our new town is so nice.  I've met neighbors and people from the kids school(s). I've met coworkers of Gary's and coworkers of friends.  Everyone knows everyone and I think because I grew up in a small town, that feels good to me.   One of my really good friends lives a few houses down from ours.  It is meant to be.  We are supposed to be here and I am thankful for this opportunity to live in this small town.  I think it will be a great place to raise our kids.  I thought Texas was home for us and I know we may not live here forever, but for now this is where we are supposed to be and I couldn't be happier.  I am excited for all the fun adventures to come!