Sunday, February 26, 2012

Charity Ball...

Last night, we attended the Charity Ball in Brookhaven...it was a "very" special night for our family because my cousin, Anna, was a maid and my Uncle Terry was the KING!  My whole family thought it was quite comical that Uncle Terry was the king because this is SO out of character for him...but...he is so deserving of the honor, and we were thrilled to share the special night with him.  And for him, I can assure you, he is just glad it is over!

Cooper stayed at home with a babysitter and Anna Lauren got to go to the presentation before hanging out with Reid and Jake until we were done.  She LOVES getting dressed up, an opportunity to see Anna, and any type of show that means girls in pretty dresses.  Therefore, she was just beside herself to say the least!  And Aunt Pam told her she would save Anna's dress for her...Anna Lauren will NEVER forget that because Anna's dress was the prettiest!  And I must admit...I think it was too!

And of course, this night comes with many pictures...


All dressed for the ball...I had a hard time getting a good picture because the girls from across the street were outside playing so she just wanted to show them her "fancy" dress...


Cannot really tell in this picture, but her hair was curly...she wore rollers all day...yes, even went out to eat lunch in rollers!


Anna Lauren and Nanna...


Joey and Barbie...


Carrie, Aunt Pam, and Emily...


My Nanny...


Kind of sad, but this is the only picture we have of the three of us... got to love Anna Lauren's posture...


Matt, Stevie, and Bill...

Brad and Paula...


Here she comes...maid, Anna!



Here comes the King...Uncle Terry!



The King and Queen...


Uncle Terry and Anna...



Seriously, I do not have one bad picture of these two...can you tell Anna Lauren LOVES Anna?



Carrie, Anna, Uncle Terry, and Emily...


This picture makes me laugh...no telling the conversation they were having!


Uncle Terry and Aunt Pam...


Carrie, Me, and Emily...

Kindergarten...Here She Comes!

This past Thursday, we registered Anna Lauren for kindergarten...yep, that is right...big girl school, here she comes!  Matt, Anna Lauren, and I all went...she was pretty quite in the car on the way, which made me think she was a little nervous.  I was for sure nervous and teared up getting out of the car...Matt was like, Mandi, we are only filling out papers...she is not starting today.  I pulled myself together, and we had a very good experience at her new school.  Anna Lauren seemed excited to be there and once we saw a few of her friends in their kindergarten class, she was good to go! Actually, she was ready to start...she doesn't quite understand that it is still 6 months away.

We fill good about the decision we have made to send her to Highland Bluff and look forward to a fun year of kindergarten!  And you know, the "registration" day would not be complete without a few pictures...




While at kindergarten registration, she got a t-shirt for her "new" school...she couldn't wait to wear it to school Friday!


A "Cougar" she will be...


If you cannot tell, she was so excited about wearing her black and gold!

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

1st Soccer Practice...

Towards the end of last year, Anna Lauren decided she wanted to play soccer...so...we told her we would sign her up for Spring soccer.  Last week we met our coach/team and tonight we had our first practice.  She was super excited about practice and seemed to have a good time...and...we were impressed...we had no idea what she would do, but she participated and put forth her best effort, which was actually pretty good.  Tonight was fun...we'll see how the season goes and what she she thinks when all is said and done. 


Learning "no hands" in soccer...




Sweet Ellie...Jack, Ellie's brother, and Anna Lauren are on the same team...she really wanted to play with Adam, but she isn't quite old enough so she "settled" for Jack Jack...we're just excited to be playing with someone we know!


Morning Fun...

Matt takes Anna Lauren and Cooper to school every morning, and he is oh so much fun!  I've been told they are ALWAYS the happiest little family and even a bit obnoxious to those that prefer some other time of the day than the morning.  However, I am so thankful that he tries his best to make sure they start their day with a smile on their face!

This morning was really no different than any other, but he did take a couple pictures of our "smiling" children who LOVED eating popsicles on the way to school.  Yes, he is the "fun" parent...I would never have done this because I would have been afraid it would make one big mess (especially with the little man).  


 

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Kenley's 5th Birthday Party...

This afternoon Anna Lauren and I enjoyed celebrating Kenley's 5th birthday while Matt and Cooper enjoyed a long nap on a super rainy day.  Kenley had her party at the "fun gym" and everyone seemed to have a "fun" time!


Sweet friends...Kenley, Anna Lauren, Avery, and Will


 As their teacher would say...divas...per Anna Lauren, Kenley told her to wear the crown!



Birthday girl so excited to be opening her presents...


This picture assures you the birthday girl is having a fun party...Bobby, her older brother, is always so sweet to play with them!  Everyone loves Bobby!


They convinced Ms. Laura, Kenley's mom, to slide...poor Ms. Laura...you cannot even see her!


Will, Kenley, and Anna Lauren...

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Valentine's Day Treats...

For some reason, I decided to have a little fun with Valentine's Day treats this year...well, for Anna Lauren's friends (mostly because she was very specific as to what she wanted to give her friends).


 Cooper took fruit snacks to school for all his friends...they have become his new favorite!


Anna Lauren wanted train cards and starburst for her boy friends.  I talked her out of starburst because we would have had to buy millions to fill the bags.  And thanks to my sweet friend, Leah, we managed to have train cards...not sure what I would do without Leah!


Anna Lauren wanted crown cards and candy jewelry for her girl friends...again, thanks to Leah we were able to pull this one off too!  And let me tell you...we had to dig high and low at two different Dollar Trees to get enough for all her friends...thanks to Daddy for searching so hard for that last bag that was for sure hidden on the candy aisle.


And we decided to make cookies for their teachers...


Ok...I will be the first to tell you that I am not the "creative" or "crafty" mom, but I got in my head that I was going to make heart cinnamon rolls for breakfast.  Here is the before picture...I was so proud of myself...and...it was super easy!


And the finished product...Anna Lauren and Holli Grace were so excited...I figured they wouldn't really care, but they loved them, which made it so worth the effort.


My two little sweethearts ready for a fun day at school!  They both had parties and Anna Lauren went on a field trip to the nursing home, where they sang. She has been telling me for weeks they were practicing for the nursing home so she was glad the day finally came...she loves to sing!


And we were so proud of ourselves...even with company, we managed to get up and out the door as usual.  I want say how much earlier than normal I got up!