A Little Romance Anyone?

Being married 10 years now, I thought I knew BJ's "game."  I realized last week that I was way off!  He and two buddies planned a whole day of pampering for their wives.  It began at 9am with a beautiful bouquet of flowers with a note that said, "Just because I love you!  Go look under the keyboard." As you can imagine I RAN to the keyboard and underneath I found an envelope with a clue instructing me to get ready for the best date ever. After a day of pampering, my two girlfriends and I found outside my home a large Hummer Limo with our sweet knights waiting for us.  There were ultimately six envelopes, each with its own clue which led to something fun and pampering. The last one told us to close our eyes and hold out our hands. As we did, a final envelope was placed there. Inside?  Tickets to the Rascal Flatts concert!  It was quite the adventure, but one I will remember and treasure forever.

BJ and I enjoying Rascal Flatts

Wyatt&Bobbi (after catching a shirt),
Lynnette, and Greg (apparently exhausted after planning for the big day--Sorry Greg, it had to be done!)

There they are!

What a great day boys!  Thanks for all your hard work.  BJ, you are truly the best! 

Gone Camping

BJ and I had big plans to take the girls camping for 3 days and make it a long week-end.  We took the girls out of school and headed north for cooler weather and relaxation.

 The girls Chillin' 

BJ taught the girls to shoot and I beat him at a shooting contest!

Got Dirt?

We all had a really great time...the first morning.  Then Janessa and I started coming down with colds that the others had already had and the girls found the dirt...as shown, they were covered!  We bathed them and headed back home that afternoon.  Our "roughing it" spirit was not with us this trip! Maybe next time!

Happy Birthday Hannah!

Do my kids really have to grow up so fast?  Hannah is eight today!  As I watched her this month, I realized how big she really is.  She is quickly becoming a young woman....I'm not ready for that yet!  Where'd my baby go?  But 8 is so fun!  She is so sweet, helpful, caring and responsible.  I love her enthusiasm for EVERYTHING (well except for chores maybe)!

BJ ate lunch with her at school to day and later I went for her birthday celebration...a half-hour dedicated to celebrating Hannah.  I showed her class pictures of her at each year of age. Oh, that was amazing!  She is such an amazing girl! Her dinner choice was pizza and fruit, followed by presents and then ice cream and a chocolate cake decorated with horses (she is in love with them!).

                Happy Birthday Hannah!  We love you and are so glad you are a part of our family!

Addie's First Day of Pre-K

Addie started preschool two weeks ago!  Two and half weeks before that, from 7 am until 8pm Addie had been asking me, "Mommy, is it time to go to preschool NOW?"  Finally I told her, "You have at least 14 sleeps until preschool starts."  Her little expectant face fell and I wished I could tell her it was time to go.  But the day finally came and every hour until noon was torture for her (and mommy too, to be perfectly honest).  But it was finally time to go.  Surprisingly she agreed to a picture with no protest.  After the second picture however, she said, "Mom, that was the last picture, right? Can I go to preschool now?"  As I dropped her off, she walked in the house, never looking back.  I guess she has no problems with independence!

When I picked her up, she was dripping with sweat (Miss Amy has a jump house as a reward for hard work) and beaming!  She talked about her day and her enthusiasm made me smile.  When we got home she asked, "Mom, how long until I get to go back to preschool?"... Well, at least she likes it!  Way to go Addie!

First Day of School

Monday was the first day of school for Hannah and Janessa.  They both expressed some bad feelings about going back to school, but after their first day they were so glad they went. When I asked Hannah how her day was, she replied, "Great!" How could it be said any better than that, especially with their giant grins to back up the comment? 

Happy Birthday Addie!

Happy 4th Birthday Addie!  Because she is SO big now, Addie asked for cupcakes instead of a cake.  We did her favorite thing and went swimming on her birthday.  Addie loves to help Momma cook and is on the counter constantly asking if she can watch.  Besides swimming she loves to play with her big sisters and be in charge of Brynlee.  She is most excited to be four because she gets to go to preschool!

She scored a lot of neat gifts and had a great birthday.  Thanks to Grandma, Nana and Papa for your thoughtful gifts. She loves them...obviously!

Graduation...Finally!

 On August 5th, BJ FINALLY graduated from POST.  Hallelujah! It's been a long 10 months, but well worth it. Congratulations babe!

BJ's big brother Travis and his family came down for the ceremony and we were able to play quite a bit during their stay. We feel so lucky to have had family here for the big occasion!

BJ's Mom was able to come with her friend as well! It is always awesome to see Grandma!

                          Our proud family...the girls were so proud of their Daddy.