Splashing Into Summer...

Anna Lauren was out of school last Thursday/Friday, and her summer care didn't start until Tuesday.  So...Nanna came to keep her for two days and she brought along Ashton.  To say my kids were excited to have him here would be an understatement.  They loved, loved, loved, having him at our house for a few days.  And let me just say...I laughed harder than I have laughed in a long time...he is the funniest kid!

Joey and Bently came to get Ashton Friday night so we had dinner at Genghis Grill (Ashton's pick) and then took the kids to the splash pad.  We ended the night with a cookie from the cookie store and said our sad good-byes to Ashton and Bently.

Last Day of First Grade...

Last Wednesday was Anna Lauren's last day of first grade.  Hard to believe the year is gone...it flew by, and I was a little sad to see it come to an end.  Because...it was such a good year!  She had a teacher/assistant that she loved, she made some new friends, her reading "clicked", and she got all Ss on her report card for the entire year.  I'm sure there are many more "good" things about this past year but those are the few that come to mind quickly...

First day of 1st grade (left) and last day of first grade (right)...

Think it is safe to say she turned into a "big" girl this school year...

Waiting on the bus...she LOVES to ride the bus, but we don't let her ride it often because it comes at 6:20 AM...that is 40 minutes earlier than she has to leave if I take her.  I mean she is still sound asleep at 6:20 AM.  She did beg to ride it her last day, and we agreed.   Come to find out, she only wanted to ride the bus so she could get to school early and save her friend McKenna a seat so they could sit by each other (they could sit anywhere they wanted the last two days of school).  Let's just say she has her "social" priorities straight!

Good-bye 1st grade!  Report card came in the mail today...grade assigned for next school year...2nd!  If only 2nd grade as is good as kindergarten and 1st, we'll be happy, happy, happy!

Mother's Day...

When I downloaded the most recent pictures off my camera, I realized that I was obviously behind...I never posted Mother's Day.

I told Matt that I didn't want him and the kids to make a big deal out of Mother's Day because honestly, it's just not that big of a deal to me.  All I asked was that I could take a Sunday afternoon nap, which really isn't asking for anything special because we all take a nap EVERY Sunday.  It's just what we do!  

But...while I was getting ready for church, Matt and the kids did a little something for me, which was a super fun surprise...

The kids actually wanted to paint canvases the Saturday before Mother's Day so I agreed to that and then Anna Lauren decided to make them "Mother's Day".  I knew what Cooper brought home from school (I'm as pretty as my shirt...ha ha), but Anna Lauren hid hers until Mother's Day.  And the plates were my big surprise...oh...and the robots Cooper/Matt painted.  Cannot help but love having a little boy!

Surprising Mommy...

Checking out all my goodies...they were so proud!

Headed to church...

One of the many hats I wear...being their mom!  Not going to say it is always easy, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world!

New Summer Toys...

Last week Cooper saw a Spiderman scuba diving set (what he calls it) at Hobby Lobby and has talked about it everyday since he saw it at the store.  I finally told him if he had enough money to buy it, we would go back...well, he was short $1 or $2, but I chipped in and he got it today.  He was so proud!

After nap time, we went to the pool for just a few minutes...but...it was cold and the rain was coming so we couldn't stay long.

But we did stay long enough to try out this bumper boat we got at Sam's today.  The kids liked it but really didn't beg for it...I was the one that thought it would be so much fun and told them I would buy it for them as their summer treat.

If they can just share, I think it really will be a fun toy...

A New Uniform...

So...there is a new uniform in our house...a black and white football referee uniform that is.  

Guy, the dad of Anna Lauren's life long friend Holli Grace, has said for several years that Matt should officiate football with them. Well, this year he decided maybe that wasn't such a bad idea...

This past Thursday night he headed out for the first time as a referee.  It was a Spring Jamboree where he could shadow other referees and learn what to do before August.  I had not seen him that nervous in a VERY long time, but he came home and was all smiles and said it really was so much fun.

Cannot wait to see how his first season goes...he will start in August and will be officiating private high school games.

Teacher Appreciation from the PVO...

I serve as treasurer on the PVO (Parent Volunteer Organization) Board at Anna Lauren's school.  At our April meeting, we discussed Teacher Appreciation Week and obviously in a weak moment, I agreed that I would organize Teacher Appreciation Week for all the faculty/staff (79 of them) at Highland Bluff Elementary.

I will say that it took a good bit of time, but I enjoyed it and it wasn't nearly as stressful as it could have been thanks to my sweet mother.  She spent a week at our house due to her broke foot and wrapped everything for me...huge, huge help!  And of course, I cannot do anything without my sweet friend, Leah, who designs everything for me.

On Monday, I started off the week with donuts in their work room...

On Tuesday, they had a luncheon (there is a committee for the luncheon so I didn't have to do that) and they each got a $20 gift card to Wal-Mart...

Thanks to McAlister's, on Wednesday they got coupons for a free sweet tea and a free cookie...

On Thursday, they got disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer...

And on Friday, we had a popcorn bar for them.  Someone else actually set up and served for me.  I just took a couple pictures when I was making sure I had everything they needed.

Sometimes being on the board seems like a second job and then sometimes it is really fun, and I'm thankful I can be a part of doing exciting things for the school and especially the faculty and staff. And truly, I work with the BEST group of ladies...we couldn't have a better group of ladies that go out of their way every way possible for the school.  We did so many great things for the school this year, and I cannot wait to see what we do next year!

Appreciating Our Teachers...

This past week was Teacher Appreciation Week so we spent the week appreciating Anna Lauren's and Cooper's teachers.  A note came home with Cooper asking us to do a certain thing each day so we did something every day last for his teachers.  Anna Lauren just took gifts on Tuesday, which was actually Teacher Appreciation Day.

For Cooper, Monday was take your teacher a flower...

For Cooper, Tuesday was take your teacher mints.  Anna Lauren got two of her teachers a journal and one of her teachers a weekly organizer with all sorts of different note pads.

For Cooper, Wednesday was take your teacher an apple...

For Cooper, Thursday was take your teacher a kiss...

For Cooper, Friday was take your teacher art work saying thank you.  Anna Lauren decided to help him make his and make some for her teachers too.  Probably not exactly how I would have done it, but I took a step back and really let the kids do it themselves.

And last but not least, we got Anna Lauren's after school teacher a Hobby Lobby gift card for Teacher Appreciation/End of the Year...

Cooper really enjoyed taking his teachers something every day, and Anna Lauren enjoyed taking her teachers a few happies too. Hopefully they felt loved and appreciated last week...we really are blessed with teachers that love and take such good care of our kids every day.  And...teachers that our kids love and like!

Little Boys...

Just a normal day in the life of the little boy that lives at our house...every bit of this came out of his pocket when he took his clothes off to take a bath.  I never know what treasures he is going to bring home from school.  Wouldn't trade having a little boy for anything in the world...so much fun!

The Storm...

Almost two weeks ago, a storm/tornadoes came through and affected several areas of Mississippi.  Although we had a pretty scary hour, thankfully we were in a safe pocket and did not have any damage. And even better, Anna Lauren slept through the whole thing...she would have been a nervous wreck and asked a million questions because she does not like bad weather.

Our house actually sits on a hill but just a couple houses down the street will flood if rain comes down really hard in a short period of time.  After the storm blew over we went outside to find a car stuck in the water where the street was flooded.

LOVE that we have good neighbors and every one of the men got out in knee deep water and helped this poor lady.  They have pushed it a good way...the water was 1/2 way up her door.  The car died and she couldn't get out of the car.  Needless to say, she probably didn't make a wise decision to drive this expensive Mercedes through the water.  Pretty sure it was totaled...should have seen the water gush out when they put it on the tow truck.

Got to love Ms. Robbie...she decided she would stop any traffic trying to get through...

And the look on her face cracks me up...this is really what she thought about the crazies who thought they could drive through the water.

By this time, the water had started draining off the street...within 30 minutes, it was all gone.  In the four years we have lived in our house, this has only happened twice.  Every time I'm thankful we are on the hill.