"The Queen"...

I think Anna Lauren has been hanging around Queen MeMe and watching Miss Mississippi a little too much because tonight she asked for her crown that MeMe bought her when MeMe was Mardi Gras Ball Queen and quickly informed me that...she is the QUEEN!

So...for MeMe, here is Queen Anna Lauren!

Gymnastics for the 2nd Time...

Monday night was our "2nd" night of gymnastics and it continues to be a hit with Anna Lauren...she cannot wait to get there and is beside herself when she gets done...all I can say is so far, she LOVES it!

We have still not mastered the picture taking...we took some through the glass and then Matt tried to take some closer to the floor, but he was afraid to turn on the flash and be a distraction. Guess at some point, we'll have to call in our "professional" friend to actually get some good pictures...I'm sure Jennifer will love that!

"3" Year Old Preschool...

Monday Anna Lauren started "3" year old preschool at Ridgecrest Baptist Weekday, which is the same place she has been since she was 3 months old. She was excited to go to school and her especially her "new" room! She had a great "1st" day and seems to like her new teachers and the friends in her room. There was a bit of concern this afternoon when she told me she had to go to time out twice today, but hopefully, that was a "rare" day. Thankfully, she is usually good for others...at school, church, etc.

Of course we took a few pictures before heading to school...here is the "cheese" smile...

Anna Lauren and Mommy...

Anna Lauren and Daddy...ugh...don't know what I did to blur this picture...

And just for kicks...this is the 1st day of "2" year old preschool...wow...she has turned into a little girl over the past year!

Preparing for Race Day...

On September 11th, there is a triathlon that Matt and many others will be doing right here on our home turf. Matt is so excited to get to race where he rides and runs every time he goes out the door.

My brother and sister-in-law and several of their friends will be racing that morning. My brother, Brad, will be racing for the 1st time and my sister-in-law, Paula, has raced several times but that still does not help her fear of open water. Therefore, they came up this weekend along with 3 of their friends to "test" out the race course.

You would have thought it was a "real" race because I loaded up the kids and off we went to watch them swim, bike (well, we went and got donuts), and run. Here the group is in the water making a plan of attack...

Off they go...you can tell by the smooth water that it was just a "peaceful" morning to be out on the water...

Brad coming back to shore...he will quickly tell you he is not a swimmer, but I was pleased with his performance...fortunately, he will be just fine on the bike...and the run, he does pretty good considering he has an old, bummed up knee...

Paula...she is laughing now, but let me tell you, she is a good swimmer but something about this water puts her over the edge. Matt and I cannot understand her "fear"...we've tried!

1st Day of Gymnastics...

If you read my blog regularly, you know I was in line several weeks ago at 6 AM to register Anna Lauren for gymnastics. I got her a spot and she anxiously waited for Monday, August 9th so she could go to her first gymnastics class. When I got to school Monday to pick her up, her teacher said she had been looking out the window watching for me since 2 PM...gymnastics was not until 6 PM so I picked her up as normal around 5 PM. I changed her clothes and she was absolutely beside herself...she couldn't wait to get to gymnastics. When they called her class, she went right in and participated in everything...she LOVED it and wanted to know if she could go the next day. Fortunately for Daddy and Mommy, it is only once a week...let's hope she continues to enjoy it as much as she did Monday night.

Matt and I wanted to "obey" the rules our first night so we stayed in the observation room, which meant we had to take pictures through the glass...they are not the best pictures, but you can see what she did throughout her 1st gymnastics class.

Ashton 8th Birthday Party...

Last Saturday we headed to the McComb Bowling Alley to celebrate Ashton's 8th birthday. Anna Lauren had never bowled before so I was curious to see if she would like it or not...she was interested briefly but the "slow" pace of the game did not keep her attention for long and she was off to the arcade with Bently and Nanna.

Ashton ~ the sweet birthday boy...

Thinking about his "wish" while we sing Happy Birthday...

Anna Lauren watching her ball roll down the lane...

The big girl bowling...she is for sure no longer our baby...

Joey...the adults had a little fun too!

Matt showing off his bowling skills...he actually won the adults game!

Run for the Son...

Anna Lauren had been asking to do a race and Matt had the "itch" to do a 5K so last Saturday we headed to First Baptist Jackson for the Run for the Son. Matt did the 5K and Anna Lauren did the 1 mile fun run, which was her first "real" race. We met the Cross family there and it was a fun morning for all...

Matt and John Cross at the start line...I'm assuming maybe they were listening to the run route because they both seem so "intense"...

Matt coming across the finish line...as you've seen before, I always get some sort of wave...

John thought we should be worried about these two as they were "hiding" from us...

Thomas Cross, who supposedly doesn't like girls, and Anna Lauren...I'm thinking he must like him some Anna Lauren!

Anna Lauren and Matt starting the 1 mile fun run...

Thomas got out of the car telling Anna Lauren he was going to beat her...of course, Anna Lauren went right back at him and said, NO, I'm going to beat you Thomas. Well, Thomas proved his point and beat Anna Lauren...the funny thing is that he got hot and took his shirt off while racing...

Nearing the finish line...

Matt said she did great for 1/2 a mile and then she wanted some water, her Mommy, and her Nanna...she and Matt walked some and he carried her on his shoulders some but she proudly ran the last little bit of the race.

Almost to the finish line...

Needless to say, Daddy and Mommy were proud...1 mile for a 3 year old is a pretty big accomplishment in our book!

Walking through the finish shoot with Daddy...

And the highlight of the race...running through the sprinkler...and yes, she is running around without a shirt...guess it was time for us to head back to Rankin county!