Will and Kate's World

Isabelle’s First Piano Recital

2012-05-19T20:24:00.001-05:00

Last night May 18, 2012, Isabelle played in her first piano recital. She was nervous but really excited. She objected to the dress and the curtsy, but did very well. After hearing the other girls, she is very excited about taking more lessons (we were a little tired after a year of lessons). She plays Love Somebody, Skip to My Lou, and I’m a Little Teapot.

I asked Anna if she wanted to take lessons next year and she said no because she didn’t want to do the recital. I immediately went back to my dance classes, karate classes, beauty pageants, and pretty much everything else that I did that required me to be the center of attention. I think the only reason I made it through band was because it was a group thing and I was never the only one playing. I know just how she feels.

Here is a picture of Isabelle and her teacher, Mrs. Bondurant.

Anna’s 1st Grade Field Trip to the Zoo!

2012-04-13T16:02:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, we went to the Gulf Breeze Zoo with Anna’s first grade class. The day was beautiful and perfect for an outdoor field trip. I was pleasantly surprised at how nice, and big, the zoo was after hearing people talk about it. I was not expecting much.

Here is Anna at the Gorilla cutout on the boardwalk.

Anna and Jazmyn liked the trash cans. Here they are in front of the zebra trash can. Crazy kids.

Here is Anna and Jazmyn posing with what looked like a white peacock to me.

Here is Anna with the peacock.

Anna took this picture. I thought it wasn’t too bad.

Jazmyn’s mom, Janey, took this picture of the girls. I don’t know if food was on this window or what, but that bear sat there for the longest time licking and clawing at the window. Luke just giggled hysterically when I put him in front of it. If you can’t tell, that is Anna and Jazmyn in the window.

I think these birds were sleeping. They were pretty!

Anna as a raccoon!

Anna, the tiger!

Anna with the giraffes. She took this picture for her sister. She refused to feed them.

Here are some of the kids in Anna’s class trying to feed the giraffe. You’ll notice that Anna is in the back not holding up her hand. Because the kids were so short, the giraffe had to stick its tongue out about six inches to get the food from their hands. It was so gross! I really don’t blame Anna.

Anna and her sheep. She loved looking at the lambs.

She was willing to feed the llama from the cup.

These Siamang Monkeys were really showing out for everyone in the afternoon. We could hear them from all over the zoo. The kids were laughing and hollering at them. It was quite a sight. Luke, however, was shaking and ended up pulling his sun shade down so that he didn’t have to look at them. They were about six feet away and were extremely loud. We watched them for a long time. At the end of the video, you can hear Luke try to imitate the sound of the monkeys.

It was a wonderful day! Hopefully she’ll have some great memories!

Oh, and I just have to say that I will NEVER AGAIN go into a bird house to feed birds!

Easter 2012

2012-04-10T11:50:00.001-05:00

This year for Easter we decided to go to Nana’s house instead of making everyone drive to our house for the day. It worked out nicely since Sarah is on couch-rest while she tries to keep Charliegh from making an early appearance. We had a great time with all of the family able to make it (except the Bailey’s that live in Seattle).

The food was delicious, the company was good (and by that I mean we all got along), and the kids had a great time. Nana had around 400 eggs for five kids; so there was plenty to go around and for the Daddies and Mommies to steal from.

Here is a picture of the kids chasing around the bubbles that were in some of the eggs.

Connor digs through the eggs looking for something good. And his daddy is no doubt looking for some candy.

Here is Anna showing off a pink egg. I am not sure why.

Riley is pretty good at hunting eggs.

Isabelle is helping Connor get some eggs out of the tree. She is always the big sister.

Luke picked up some eggs, but he was too busy looking out for ants. He knows they hurt and made sure he told everyone about the ants that he found.

Isabelle liked hunting eggs at Nana’s house because there was actually places to hide/find them instead of them just being thrown out into the yard like we have to do at our house and the church.

Before lunch we had a chance to take some photos. Here is Nana and Paw.

I think I already posted this to Facebook, but here it is again. Our family in our matching oranges this year. Luke’s tie was the same color as the girls dresses even though you can’t see it.

Here is Anna with her Easter basket (what was left by the time church rolled around). We had tried earlier to take a picture but she would not cooperate. Cried the whole time so we took these right before we went to church.

Here is Isabelle with her basket.

Here is Luke with his basket. By this point I had removed the candy so that the church clothes weren’t ruined. He just wanted to play with Daddy’s flashlight.

Instead of buying store dye this year, I made it with my cake icing dyes. They turned out better than I expected.

Last weekend we had the church’s Egg Hunt and here are a few pics from that day. Luke found a few eggs.

Isabelle, Jada, and Skylar go through their eggs.

Isabelle and Anna show off their finds.

Mrs. Vivian, who normally runs from the cameras, was willing to take pictures with my kids this weekend. I had to share these. They love their Sissy!

Love this picture!

And here is my favorite picture of the Season. My beautiful babies.

I hope everyone had as good of a time as we had this weekend celebrating Jesus’ Resurrection. Please don’t forget that He Lives!

Luke’s Candy High

2012-04-10T10:51:00.001-05:00

I have to say that even though I am not proud of this, we decided to just let the kids pig out on their Easter candy while we were at Nana’s house for the Easter weekend. We got there Sunday after church and stayed until Monday afternoon (so really only 24 hours). But never-the-less, we allowed it. Then when we came home Monday evening we had a quick pizza before bath and bed time. During our meal (while Luke was still riding high from the candy) we tried to have a discussion about what Luke’s name was, where he lived, and what are his parent’s names. This is the result of that conversation. Please keep in mind that though I know his attitude isn’t the greatest in this video we were giving him a little leniency because WE allowed the sugar high. You’ll be glad to know that all of the Easter candy has been confiscated and is now being rationed (well, all of it except what their daddy is eating).

Luke's Favorite Show

2012-02-17T11:47:00.000-06:00

Last night after the girls were in the bed, Luke was in a very active mood. I guess he is just not use to being able to talk so much since the girls usually interrupt. We started asking him various questions and he started talking about "Jake and the Neverland Pirates," one of his favorite shows. He was talking so much that I decided to record a video.

Don't ask for a translation because I am not sure I could translate. Perhaps Kate could provide a translation in the comments???

I just thought I would share it because Christmas was our last blog post.

2011 Rushing Family Christmas Weekend

2011-12-12T10:43:00.001-06:00

We had a wonderful time this past weekend at Grandma’s house for the Rushing Christmas as well as the Zuhlke Christmas. We checked the girls out early and went to Aunt Jan’s house to visit briefly with Grandma and Granddad Zuhlke. The chaos is too much for them to join us for Christmas anymore so it was nice to get to see them.

Later that night all of the Rushing's celebrated Christmas with Grandma. The kids had a good time playing and rough-housing.

Grandma decided to get the kids each one big present this year instead of tons of little ones. Here is a video of our three kids getting there big gifts.

After that, this is what they looked like for the rest of the night.

We had a great time visiting and the kids all had a great time playing together. Thank you Grandma for everything!

The next morning after a quick trip to exchange Anna’s shoes that Grandma got her (because ALL of the other kids were wearing theirs and she wanted to wear hers too), family started trickling in at 9 AM. We started eating at 9 AM and didn’t stop eating the whole day. The kids all made ornaments with Aunt Jess and Aunt Donna. Cute little handprints with snowmen drawn on them. According to Aunt Jan’s itinerary, Uncle Bill was supposed to give a speech at 10:30 and the presents were supposed to start. Somehow we got off schedule. (And I am not even joking, Aunt Jan had a printed itinerary; I should have taken a picture as proof.) Somewhere around 11:00 the kids sat down to open their first present. They were picture frames that the kids all made for each other with pictures in them. Then, thy called everyone back in the room for Uncle Bill’s speech about the big projects and why they did them. After that the kids all received their big presents…resulting in the following picture. I am calling this one ‘A Forest of Presents.’

There were bets made, lies told, and lots of speculation about what these gifts were. We were taunted all year long about what they could possibly be through a Facebook Zuhlke Family Christmas group page. And after much anticipation, the following was revealed.

These quilts were made by each of the 16 grandkid's respective grandparents over many many months. We know that they were made with love and the kids love them. We want to thank Grandma for making ours.

After the big quilt reveal, everyone opened their Christmas bags that are filled with things all year long. The kids love getting them.

For the past three years, they have done an M&M jar guess, this year Anna won for the kids. She got this blanket.

The adults were forced to play a game that my children play in school. A story was read and every time the word left and right were said we had to pass the present in that direction. It was silly but the kids all enjoyed sitting in the center and watching the adults have to play a silly game.

Sometime after that, the kids all had to play Christmas Bingo to earn their acrylic cups that Mrs. Joyce and I decorated for them. I never had to work so hard for Christmas presents in all my life….Then, we were finally able to eat! I think that is what the adults were looking forward to the most.

Throughout the entire day, Will had the camera set up in the living room taking pictures of the families and and different groups that wanted them. Here are some of them. Oh, and I have to say that the kids kept on getting annoyed because all day long they just wanted to run and play and we kept calling them back in for pictures, presents, games, and food.

Here is Grandma with her seven grandkids.

Here is Uncle Bill and Aunt Debbie with their six grandkids Logan, Kayden, Kelly, Candice, Kayley, and Caleb.

Here is Uncle Bill and Aunt Debbie.

This is Heather (Aunt Debbie’s daughter) with her husband Hector and their daughter Kayley.

Here is our group.

Here is Aunt Jan and Uncle Steve’s family.

Here is Donna (Uncle Bill’s daughter) and Rick and their kids Logan, Kayden, and Kelly.

Here is Mike and Jessica, Matthew and Lydia.

This year, Uncle Ron and Aunt Judy (Granddads sister) and their daughters Jennifer and Jamie were able to join us from Mobile.

Here is Scott (Aunt Jan’s son) and Shannyn with their kids Hannah, Carter and Hilary.

Here is Steve and Angela with Parker and Graci.

I didn’t have a picture of Billy (Uncle Bill’s son) but I know he was there.

Also, I have to say that we missed Sabrina (Aunt Debbie’s other daughter) and her husband Larry as well as Aunt Sue, Chris and Dani Zuhlke.

And how was that Grandma and Aunt Jan for knowing everyone’s names and who they belong to? I didn’t even have to take notes or have a cheat sheet. I may not have gotten the spellings all right, but I know who they are and who they belong to. Ha!

We had a great weekend and are counting the days until next years Christmas. 364…

And one more time I just want to say thank you to Uncle Bill, Aunt Debbie, Uncle Steve, Aunt Jan, and especially Grandma for all of your hard work and planning and preparations that went into Friday and Saturday for our families.

2011 JFBC Children’s Choir Christmas Musical

2011-12-05T09:30:00.001-06:00

Last night the Children’s choir at our church presented their 2011 musical. The 60 kid choir did a fantastic job of leading our congregation in worship. Below is a picture of the entire group. (It is a little blurry because I took it with my phone.)

Isabelle had the privilege of leading the opening song with a brief piano solo. She told me she was really nervous, but she still did a good job.

My favorite song of the night was the finale song entitled, “Carry The Light.” The kids were excited to use their battery powered candles, while the congregation lit real candles.

Isabelle and Anna enjoyed being a part of the choir. After the musical, we had a birthday party for Jesus which included cake, popcorn, & hot chocolate.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-28T11:11:00.001-06:00

This past week, the girls were out of school all week long. We had talked about maybe going camping during the first three days or going early to see family, or possibly putting up our tree and Christmas decorations since we seem to be so rushed after Thanksgiving. In the end, we had three deaths in our church that week that Will had to either preach at, be at, or we had to cook for. So between, that and my procrastination, we didn’t do much of anything productive. It was nice though to just be home with the kids. I enjoy cooking for the families that have lost loved ones. It is about the only thing I can do while having to take care of the kids because Will has to be there and visit.

On Wednesday, we left for Mrs. Joyce’s house. Everyone was able to be there the day before Thanksgiving so the kids all helped her decorate her tree. I am not sure where Parker is in this picture unless that is him bending over in the back just past Matthew’s head.

Thursday we had a very laid back and relaxing Thanksgiving. That morning, the kids all made Oreo Turkeys. Luke ate everything on his plate instead of making anything out of it.

I made a new cake this year from a recipe I got off of Pinterest. It was good at first (very rich), but after a day it dries out (that is why I like boxed cake mixes). It looked good though.

And of course what is a Rushing family get together without Mrs. Joyce and Will making everyone stand there for fifteen minutes just to get one good photo. Here is our group shot.

After lunch, we traveled to Mobile to eat leftovers with my family and do some Black Friday shopping. After a lot of discussion about whether or not we dare go to Toys R’ Us on Thanksgiving Day, Amy and I decided not to go until three AM on Friday. We went to Target, Belk, JCPenney’s, Shoe Station, Toys R’ Us, Lifeway, McDonalds, the gas station, Walmart, Kmart, and Dirt Cheap; in that order. We had a productive day and were able to get almost everything we saw in the ads that we wanted. After eight and half hours, we decided to call it quits. All I have to say about the photo below is…SCORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That afternoon the kids helped to put up Nana’s tree. All Luke wanted to do was ride the tractor. Here he is with Paw on the tractor. I think Paw created a monster.

Overall we had a great week! Now to just find time to decorate my house. And find the energy to tell Luke no three thousand times a day. On second thought…maybe we should wait to put up the tree until the week before Christmas.

Veterans Day 2011

2011-11-28T10:42:00.001-06:00

I know I am a little late, but I just wanted to give a few quick posts about what we’ve been up to lately. During our Veteran’s Day weekend we camped at Styx River. Will was able to take that Sunday off and we had a nice time spending it together. Usually when we camp, Will has to leave on Saturday evening to prepare for church on Sunday and then he doesn’t get back until Monday and we have to start packing up to go home (meaning that we only get one night and two half days with him as a family). So, it was nice to get to spend the entire weekend with Will.

My brother Will and his family rented a cabin that weekend and we were able to spend some time with them as well. The kids had a blast playing with Riley. They normally only get to see her for a few hours at a time when we visit Mama’s house. She is growing so fast and is now at that stage where she wants to chase them around and be right in the middle of things. It was pure chaos!

That Friday we met Uncle Charlie, Mama, Daddy, and some family friends at the parade in Mobile. I wanted the kids to get a sense of Veteran’s Day and why we celebrate it. If we don’t take the time to teach our kids how important it is and what a sacrifice the Veteran’s make for us, then the kids just think that they are getting another day off of school. Thanks again to all of the Veteran’s for all that they have sacrificed (time with their families being the greatest of all) for our freedoms.

Here is a photo that we took with Uncle Charlie at the parade.

What Remains of Styx River Water World

2011-11-21T14:27:00.001-06:00

During our family camping trip a couple weeks ago, Isabelle wanted to “go exploring.” I took her for a walk around the campground and then decided to go over to the old Styx River Water World Park to see what was left.

One of my many childhood memories is that of making an annual summer trip to Styx River Water World. I remember riding the bumper boats, carrying my mat up the steep hill for the water slide, and the many hours I spent shooting other kids with water in the children’s play area. I even remember my dad climbing the many steps carrying his and my sled for the Rampage.

Isabelle and I walked around the desolate area of what was left of the old Styx River Water World. The entire time, she wanted to know all about what the park use to look like. While I attempted to describe the former park to her, we took pictures of the parks current condition. (You can click on the pictures to see them larger)

I searched through Google images and found this scanned picture of a brochure showing where the various attractions of Styx River were located.

As you can see from the picture below, most of the old structures of the park have been demolished and pushed in to large junk piles.

There are still a couple of the large fiberglass animals that once adorned the park. Here are Isabelle and Anna posing with the animals.

We did discover one of the old speed boats lying in one of the piles of wood. I remember always wanting to drive the speed boats, but never being old enough.

This building still has the artwork and disclaimer from the water park. It housed the bathrooms. Right across from the bathrooms was the concession stand. The two buildings use to be connected by a covered dining area.

As best as I can remember this picture is taken from the walkway the went by the landing pool from the water slides. I always hated carrying my mat up that big hill. As you can see, there are no remnants of the slides remaining. At the top of the hill, you can see the concession stand and bathrooms.

This is the covered pavilion that stood next to the Rampage slide. You can still see the brightly colored picnic tables lined up under the dilapidated structure.

I think Isabelle and Anna enjoyed the adventure and it was a nice trip down memory lane for me.

Isabelle’s Baptism

2011-10-30T17:29:00.001-05:00

For the past year Isabelle has been wanting to get baptized. After several discussions with Will and me, we finally felt she was ready to make a profession of faith.

Today our church held our annual Homecoming Celebration & Fellowship. As a part of the worship service this morning, Isabelle, along with 6 others, were baptized. Here is a video and a few photos from the day!

First Day of School 2011!

2011-08-22T08:57:00.001-05:00

Well…I just about had a nervous breakdown last night after going through all of the paperwork for third grade and realizing that the years will only be hard from now on and there will be no more easy years. But after a good nights sleep, LOTS of prayer, and encouragement from my FB friends, I think I am over it!

We woke up early this morning and the girls were ready in record time. I tried to enjoy it since this will probably be the only day this year that that happens. I’ll take what I can get!

Here are the girls all ready for school!

Here is Anna with her teacher Mrs. Hendricks. Everyone says that she is a great teacher, so we are excited! She was a little upset about a little boy (who apparently is a problem child) being in her class. She doesn’t like anyone to draw attention to her or get her in trouble. Neither of her ‘good’ friends are in her class but, she does have some kids in there that she knows so please pray that she makes new friends and has a productive year.

Isabelle and her teacher Mrs. Free. This is who she wanted and I think this will be a GREAT year for Isabelle even though it will be tough. Mrs. Free was our school’s teacher of the year last year. I have high hopes!

The girls put one of their little backpacks on Luke this morning and he followed them around all morning with ‘his’ Dora backpack on thinking he was going to school with them. He tried to run into all of the pictures that they were taking so we had to take one of him with ‘his’ backpack. Now we just need to pray that he is not clingy and whiny all day every day since the girls are not here. He has gotten very used to them being at home.

Today I am praying for and thinking about all of our other friends and family that are starting school today. I am especially praying for our friend Amanda and all of the things that she is going through this morning with two (I think) girls starting school today, one sweet special needs baby boy, and a baby on the way. So I just wanted to end this post by asking for a little extra prayers for all of the kids and families that are starting school today.

One Last Camping Trip Before Summer Is Over…

2011-08-22T08:28:00.001-05:00

A couple of weeks ago we took one more camping trip to Munson before school started. We had two other families go this time, so we had lots of fun!

Here are the girls waiting patiently on their food.

Jason grilled the chicken's again this time; don’t they look yummy?

Thank you to Jenny who allowed my children to play in the water-hose at the end of her camper and dig a mud-hole. It entertained Luke more than anything else.

And the big girls too!

On Saturday we had a church cookout by the lake with a few more families showing up…here is Bailey (Luke’s friend from church) and Luke riding in the bike trailer. Will was tired!

And the kids had movie night while the grown-ups played cards.

Check out this food….not bad for camping, huh?

Here is Jada and Isabelle…they are growing up and changing so much.

It was a fun end-of-summer trip and we had a blast! Thanks, Janet, Henry, Jason, and Jenny for helping to make it so much fun.

Luke’s 2nd Birthday

2011-08-07T21:13:00.001-05:00

On August 3, 2011 Luke turned two! He spent the morning shopping for his birthday party on Saturday, then in the afternoon we had a cake for him with our family. He did so good at blowing out the candles. He loved that we were singing to him. Here he is enjoying his birthday cake on his birthday.

Then yesterday, we had a party for Luke with all of our family. I think Luke had a good day. We did a Super Why party because that is his favorite show right now. He always asks for “Ooper Aye, Ooper Aye.”

Here is his cake that I made for him.

Sissy and UmBubby got Luke his first toy gun for his birthday. Here he is shooting Isabelle. He learned how to say, “Hands Up” and play dead when he gets shot.

Here he is enjoying his new Buzz hat and his Finn McMissile car that Aunt Sarah, Uncle Josh, and Connor got him.

Here is a video of Luke blowing out his candles at his party.

Thanks to everyone who came to his party and thank you for all of the presents.

Rushing/Stevenson/Zuhlke Family Canoe Trip - 2011

2011-08-07T20:43:00.002-05:00

So last year we all took a canoe trip and had so much fun that we decided to do it again this year. We picked a date months ago in hopes that everyone would be able to go this year. And until last week everyone was going to be able to make it. Then, due to a funeral and some work things, Mike, Uncle Bill, Aunt Debbie, and Billy couldn’t make it. They were all greatly missed; but we still had fun! And let me just apologize now for somehow (even with ALL of the photos that Will made me take) not getting any good photos of Donna and Kelly.

Will and Steve took forever to blow up the floats that they all brought from home. Then we all had to sit around and wait for Will to take Steve, Angela, and a couple of kids to the drop off point. And after seeing them drive off with Steve in the back of the truck holding down the tubes….

we were a little scared that Will had lost his load.

He eventually came back and we got on the bus to go to our drop off point with the Adventures Unlimited employees. Then it took forever for the other large groups to get unloaded and out of there and then to get our canoes (because Will and Steve wouldn’t help unload stuff). After a slow start to our day, we were FINALLY canoeing and tubing down the Coldwater Creek. Here is our group picture.

Here are some random shots from throughout the day…

Graci and Lydia in a float.

Logan posing for the camera.

Kayden enjoyed digging in the mud.

Grandma and Parker…

Steve and Angela…

Will and Isabelle…

Matthew and Carter raced the whole day to stay out in front of the group. Several times I heard them saying that they were seeing alligators.

Anna spent most of the day floating down the water in her tube.

Shannyn had the only kid that had to ‘potty’, so she got to stand in the woods and hold the toilet paper.

Here is Shannyn and Hannah lounging their way down the river.

For awhile, Scott had this rambunctious group ‘battling’ their way down the river.

Jessica and Parker were just enjoying the down time during one of our stops.

We did see at least two snakes, a couple of turtles, a dog, and people that kept floating into trees. No one tipped over and everyone made it back safe and sound. It was an eventful day I guess. Can’t wait to do it again next year.

Camping with Grandma!

2011-08-07T20:25:00.001-05:00

Last week, all of the grandkids (except Luke) went camping with Grandma.

Grandma and the kids arrived on Wednesday and had a fun night of playing, swimming, unpacking and getting all set up. Will and I came up on Thursday with the camper to be there just in case Grandma needed mean ole Aunt Kate to show up. Here they are eating their spaghetti in the cabin.

On Saturday, Grandma had planned a family day get together. Aunt Judy showed up first and made pancakes for everyone (I think it took three hours with all of the batter that Will mixed up).

Then we had a ‘fun’ day of hanging out, eating homemade ice-cream, and swimming [and some of us, whose names shall not be mentioned (Jessica and Mike) took naps ;) ].

During this time all of the kids made tie-dyed t-shirts and we of course had to pose for a few (or a hundred) pictures.

Also during the day Lala took all the girls to get pedicures. I think Grandma was a little embarrassed by how dirty their feet were when the lady lifted up their feet.

On Sunday, Grandma packed up all of the kids and brought them up to the church for our family day cookout and games. Here they are enjoying the fun-jumper.

During the time that Grandma and the kids were hanging out, me and Luke were in the air-conditioned camper watching tv, playing, and napping. He found quite a few little hideouts without the girls there to get in his way. His favorite was on the ledge behind the couch. He liked to watch tv up there.

He also liked to lay down under the table. This is what he did when he started to get tired.

And when he was good and relaxed he was piled up on all of the pillows with his arms behind his head just chillin’.

After a few days, all of the cousins were getting on each other’s nerves, but they had a good time nonetheless and can’t wait to go again. I do think though that Grandma has decided to shorten it to a few days instead of a week next time.

And we won’t even mention the broken towel rack, generator, awning, camper, truck, and computer that this same week resulted in.

Isabelle’s 8th Birthday Celebration

2011-07-27T09:22:00.001-05:00

My baby girl turned eight a couple of weeks ago. I can’t believe how much has happened and changed in those eight years. Isabelle’s looks and personality is changing so much at this time. We definitely have our moments of stubborn defiance, but for she is the sweetest and most tender-hearted kid. She loves everyone and though she is a follower and easily led by other people, she loves everyone!

I pray that she continues to love and share with everyone and doesn’t lose that sweetness as she enters those ‘difficult years’ as I have heard so many other parents call them. Please join with me in praying that she trusts God and lives to serve him and share him with her friends.

For years now I have told Isabelle that she couldn’t spend the night with anyone until she was in the third grade. Well…now that Isabelle is in the third grade, what do you think she wanted for her birthday party? Yep! A slumber party. In an effort to not go crazy with the parties this year, I told her that she could have two friends over. She was so excited.

The morning of the party, she and Anna spent the whole day at the window looking for her friends to show up.

Here are the cups that we did instead of goody bags this time.

Leave it to my child to pick these simple cupcakes for her party. With all of the fancy cakes that I do for everyone else, Isabelle just chooses plain old cupcakes with Squinkies sitting on top of each one for her friends to take home. Here is the cupcakes.

Before the ‘slumber party’ began, we had the cake and presents so that Anna could be there. Here is a group shot of the kids at the party part.

Isabelle got a new toy box and room décor for her birthday. Here is Isabelle, Skylar and Jada in her new toy box.

The girls had fun playing dress up.

And here is the girls in their matching shirts that Jada gave Isabelle and Skylar for their birthdays. They loved these.

And here they are all snuggled up at 10:30 at night. They didn’t go to sleep until around 4:00 AM though…

They all had a good time and Isabelle can’t wait to do it again. Now…what can I tell her to make her believe that she only gets one sleepover a year?!?!

Styx River with the Baileys

2011-07-25T10:18:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago we spent some time at Styx River Campground with our cousins Joshua, Sarah, and Connor. The girls love spending time with family, especially little cousins that they can mother (a.k.a. boss and not be bossed).

Here is Joshua grilling hamburgers.

The kids journeyed down to the creek and wanted to make a sand castle. Will called it a mud castle instead. Looks really gross if you ask me.

Here is Isabelle’s Little Mermaid pose.

Here are the three kids standing in the creek. At this point Isabelle noticed the algae floating down the river and wasn’t real thrilled with being in the water.

Aunt Sarah brought bubbles…

Here we all are hanging out in the heat in front of the Bailey’s pop-up.

This is what the grown-ups did to occupy our time while the kids watched movies at night.

We also attempted a nature hike…I forgot how much I hate bugs, woods, and being hot. I regretted it five minutes in. Joshua taught Luke how to say “Yah Snake” so when we walked through the woods Luke repeatedly said, “Yah Snake!” It was cute.

We had a great time being with family and can’t wait to do it again next year. Oh, and thanks Joshua for the beautiful sight-seeing tour of Foley that you took us on in search of a Wal-Mart. I am sure there was one right down the road if we had just kept going a little bit.

Luke Reads to Isabelle!

2011-06-24T16:06:00.000-05:00

Luke has watched the girls read enough books to figure out how it is done. Here is Luke reading to Isabelle!

Father’s Day Camping Trip

2011-06-22T11:27:00.001-05:00

We went camping for the Father’s Day weekend. We left on Thursday and returned home on Monday. It was fun even though we had to come back for VBS on Thursday and Friday, a birthday party on Saturday and church on Sunday. It was a time for us to get away and enjoy doing nothing.

The first day we were there it rained so the kids had to be cooped up inside watching movies. They all had pillow pets and and blankets so here they are all snuggled up with Luke.

We spent much of the time at the lake since it was so hot outside. Here is a photo of the girls entertaining Luke while Will attempts a flip off the dock.

Here is Will’s photo with the kids for Father’s Day.

We were lucky to get a picture at all because right after, they fell off…

Here is Luke and Will in the water playing. At first Luke wasn’t sure about the arm floaties, but after he got used to the water, he loved it and just wanted to swim back and forth to me and Jenny.

Here is Jason cooking our Saturday meal…boiled shrimp and potatoes and corn…mmm, mmm…. Thanks Jason!

Here are the little girls rinsing off after a swim in the lake. Just look at these personalities!

And here is Isabelle’s melt down fit after five days of playing hard. This crying went on for over thirty minutes. Can you see all of the tear drops on the bed?

We are glad to be home and I am already packing and getting ready for our trip next week.

Anna’s Kindergarten Graduation

2011-06-08T08:38:00.002-05:00

Yesterday we went to school for Anna’s Graduation Party. They really don’t do an actual graduation ceremony anymore. Everything is done in the classroom and it is more just a party than a ceremony. The kids worked hard on a few songs to sing for the parents. Here is a video of one of the songs. When the kids put their hands out the parents were supposed to sing, but many did not. I didn’t because I knew Will was videoing. Here is the song, ‘My Two Dogs'…

Anna and her friend Emerson posed in front of the graduation display.

Here is Anna and her friend Josie.

We tried to get a picture of Anna getting her certificate from her teacher, but someone walked right in front of us when her name was called. So, she posed with it later.

They had a cap and gown for everyone to take a photo. After I got over the initial grossness of putting that cap on her head after it had been on who knows how many kindergarten heads previously, it wouldn’t go over her ponytail. So, here she is in her gown.

Here is Anna with her teacher Mrs. Harp. She picked out her teacher for next year in the first grade. She told me that she didn’t know her name, but she wanted the one that looked just like Mrs. Harp because she loved Mrs. Harp so much.

Another year down, the time is flying, and next year I will have a third grader and first grader. Wow! My friend Dennis said on Facebook to enjoy this time now, before they turn into nasty teenagers. He is right! I need to enjoy this time now while we have it.

Cousin Connor’s Birthday Weekend

2011-06-05T17:08:00.001-05:00

We spent this past weekend at Nana’s house for Connor’s birthday party. He turned three this year. Time is flying!

Saturday morning while Riley was visiting we took some photos of Nana with the kids. We tried to take a picture with Paw, but he cooperated less than the kids and we didn’t get any good photos.

Connor’s party was at a place called the Watermelon Patch. It was so fun. They had lots of indoor play areas and things to do. Luke’s favorite part was the little coaster thing below.

Here is Connor, the birthday boy. I think he has been watching too much Tangled. He ran around with a frying pan the first half of the party.

Here are the girls in a bounce house.

Here is Isabelle being rolled around by Uncle Joshua.

And here is Miss Riley crawling around in the baby room.

The zipline was a favorite of the girls. I was surprised they got on it, but they ended up loving it. Here is Anna; the next one is Isabelle.

And here is the cake that I did for Connor. I wish I could have found a bigger cat and thing one and thing two figures. But this was all I could find.

Happy Birthday Connor!

Sock Hop

2011-05-31T11:20:00.001-05:00

For the kids meeting their AR (I forget what the AR stands for; but it is a reading program) goal in school this fourth quarter they got to go to a sock hop at school. It happened to be the day of Anna’s birthday and since I was bringing cupcakes to her class I got to take a few photos of the sock hop. Just wanted to share.

Sorry it is blurry, but I was taking photos with a phone with one hand and trying to hold on to Luke with the other hand. The first photo is Anna, with her friends Josie and Emerson (and Isabelle sneaking into the photo), and the second photo is Isabelle, with her friends Skylar and Jada.

Anna’s Sixth Birthday

2011-05-31T11:15:00.001-05:00

Wednesday, May 25, 2011 was Anna’s sixth birthday. She was so excited! I think it is the first time that she showed just how excited she was. She told everyone at school that it was her birthday and I brought cupcakes to school for her class during snack time.

She has come out of her shell a lot this year, but she still doesn’t like having attention called to her. When they sang to her she just put her head down (I don’t know where she gets that from)!

Later that night we had some cupcakes to celebrate as a family and she got to open two presents. Her face says it all! She could hardly contain herself.

On Memorial Day we had Anna’s party with a few of her friends. Anna was less than a week old when we had a bunch of people come to our house in Picayune, MS to meet her for the first time and it was on Memorial Day too. I think that will always be her first birthday party even though there wasn’t any cake.

Here is Anna with her birthday cake. She wanted a Tangled party and since I didn’t want to make the tower, we decided to try to match her shirt that she loves and then just stick the characters on top. She loved it!

I think these next two are my favorite pictures of the day. I didn’t crop the second picture, but I wanted to include it to show how silly Luke was being in a room full of girls. He had them all laughing every time he’d put his head down and act bashful.

Anna wanted a play dress to match her Minnie Mouse doll, so we had this one made by some lady in Mobile, AL that can make anything. Anna was thrilled with it!

Here is Anna blowing out her candles.

Here is the gang coming in from the pool getting ready for cake.

Instead of ordering pizza (and since there wasn’t too many kids), we decided to let them all make their own pizza. And I think the adults (me specifically) made more of a mess than the kids did.

Here they all are in the pool.

Here is a close up of the cake for those of you that didn’t see it on Facebook. I am so glad that I get to make my kids’ birthday cakes. Thank you Aunt Sister for teaching me how to decorate cakes.

I think Anna had a very happy birthday! Thanks to everyone who came to the party, called her on the phone, sent gifts, cards, or balloons, celebrated with us in any way, or helped in any way to make Anna’s birthday so wonderful!

Isabelle’s Field Trip

2011-05-31T10:47:00.001-05:00

Last Friday we went to the Gulfarium in Fort Walton Beach, FL with Isabelle’s First Grade class. The kids all had so much fun! Since our tickets were good for the whole day, we decided to stay a little longer and let the girls finish looking around.

Here is Isabelle petting a turtle named Squirt! They think he is about seven years old (which is how old Isabelle is).

Here is Isabelle with her friends Skylar and Jada.

Isabelle and her teacher Mrs. Floyd.

Isabelle and Jada at the Sea Lion show.

They are still working on the big Dolphin tank, so they did a small dolphin show in this smaller tank, but the girls still thought it was wonderful.

Here is the beach overlook. It was so pretty from this point, that we decided to take a walk on the beach after we left the Gulfarium (but I didn’t get any good pictures at the beach).

Isabelle and Jada as a sea horse and blowfish.

After the walk on the beach we stopped at Baskin Robbins for some ice cream. I was introduced to their Jamoca flavor and I have been craving it ever since! It was fun, and I am glad that we got to spend the day together.