Water Day

My friend, Stacy, invited us to meet her family at a local water park today. I've lived here nine years and have never been--we've been missing out on big fun! My sister and niece and Ali and Lawson also came. We had a really good time doing the tube rides. Rhett wasn't scared--after every one he said, "let's go again!".

(I realize I look goofy in this hat, but after sunburning my face at the lake a few weeks ago, I decided I didn't care. Dad called me "Kenny Chesney" when he saw me wearing it a while back--ha ha!)

Lunch break (he was getting tired by this point)Micaela and Jaiden

Mic and R

We had someone take our picture as we were walking out the gate.

(I didn't take very many pics because my camera was in the locker most of the time.) Thanks, Stacy, for organizing this trip!

Dental Appointment & Date

Rhett went in for his second dental check-up this afternoon, and he did great. He wasn't at all nervous. In fact, he seemed a little bored with the (very patient and kind) hygienist's thorough explanations of everything she did. I think he was wishing she'd hurry because I'd promised him we'd go to a movie and get popcorn if we were out of the dentist's office in time. He looked so cute with his feet crossed in the chair. I asked the hygienist if she'd mind me snapping a few pictures, and she said she has kids and completely understands wanting to document everything. I hope she doesn't mind being pictured on our blog. Rhett chose the bubblegum flavored toothpaste again this time, and he got a new toothbrush (I think he chose the one with the dinosaur from Toy Story). I'm thankful that we live in a place where we have access to medical care, including dental. It's something that's easy to take for granted, but it's such a blessing.
They offered him sunglasses because of the bright light. She asked him if he'd like to open the container of toothpaste for her, and he slid the glasses up on top of his head while he opened it! :)
We did make it for the 3:25 showing of Wall-E. However, he was bored by the time they showed 20 minutes of previews, it was too loud (according to him), and the actual movie scared him for some reason. There was no dialog, just robot/mechanical noises and big space ships with fire, etc. I convinced him to stay a little longer by having him sit on my lap, but he kept asking when we could go home, so we left about an hour into the movie. It was worth going just to hang out with him and eat buttery movie popcorn for a little while. He loved the popcorn--he ate the majority of our small bag. As we were walking into the movie, he said, "I miss Daddy and Alexee, but I like getting to spend time with just you." :) Do you think that made my day!? This is one sweet boy!

Chez Ami Show

Today I hosted my second Chez Ami clothing trunk show. It was really fun transforming the house into a kids' clothing boutique for a few hours! The Chez Ami consultant, Melanie, is really sweet--I've enjoyed getting to know her. The fall clothes are really cute (even cuter in person than in the catalog, I thought).

This is part of the Christmas/peppermint line...I ordered R & A coordinating outfits from this collection.Clothes were hanging everywhere! Alexee liked to pick them up and toss them in the floor and then laugh. :)
Two cute kids multi-tasking...being fitted for outfits while relaxing and taking their bottles.
And another really fun part of the morning--seeing my new blog friend, Leigh Ann! We've recently started reading each others' blogs through a mutual friend, Kelly, then e-mailed some (we found out we live in the same town). I invited her to come shop, and I'm so glad she came! Her little girl is precious...I just wish I could have met her little boy, too. Maybe next time! Here we are posing in the dining room. We met in person once before at a local restaurant, but neither of us had a camera, so we snapped a pic today. :) Great to see you, Leigh Ann!
Becca and I having an in-depth discussion about coordinating boy/girl outfits for her 1 year old twins.
Meanwhile, the "big kids" played upstairs. Rhett and a friend playing a game...
My niece, Jaiden, and a friend...
Then, to make the party even more fun, my parents were in town, so they came by! They took my sister and her kids and Rhett out for lunch while Alexee and I stayed behind and finished up the show. They had a good time and even brought me a to-go order--thanks! I didn't get a picture of them with Rhett & Jaiden because they'd gone back upstairs to play, but this is Mo & Granddad with Alexee and Jeryn. I like that Dad is doing the Elmo puppet book in this first picture. It was so good to see them...what a great day it has been!

We love parties!

What's better than one birthday party on a Saturday?...TWO parties! This was Rhett's kind of day! First we went to his friend Olivia's party at a local gymnastics center. I'm going to see if Lane can replace our back deck with a foam cube pit--the kids loved it!!! Alexee has no fear when it comes to stuff like this--she jumped right in and loved to be tossed onto the foam.
There was a great slide that went into the foam. Here's Rhett climbing out after sliding.
Tossing Alexee.
A quick "cheeese" before jumping back in.
Rhett sitting with the beautiful Birthday Girl as she opened her gift from him.

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The second party we attended was for our friends Logan and Madelyn. They are siblings, ages 2 and 4, that have July and August birthdays so they one big party together at the skating rink! Everyone brought a riding toy--it was so fun! Rhett took his bike, and Alexee took a little car that plays music (it belonged to Rhett when he was a baby).

They found this car unattended and took it for a spin. I like how Alexee is reaching through to honk the horn.

This is another sweet and beautiful Birthday Girl, Maddie.
And here are Maddie and Logan eating cake and ice cream together. They're great kids!
More siblings enjoying cake and ice cream.
Thanks Olivia, Madelyn and Logan for including us in your fun birthday celebrations!

Rhett & Zachary

I guess the kids were too excited to sleep in today--Rhett and Zachary were up early, ready to play! Alexee woke up a little later and joined them on the couch for some Disney cartoons. Rhett's not a big eater these days, and MK says that Z isn't either. But you wouldn't know it by the amount of bacon these two ate this morning! I lost count of how many strips I microwaved (yes, the lazy bacon), but I do know that I finished one box and then opened and finished another! :) I was really hoping it wouldn't make them sick when they started bouncing around at the birthday party they were attending later in the morning! They were having a race to see who could drink their OJ first in this picture:
MK surprised me with one of these great baskets that she's mentioned on her blog...I think she called them, "life-changing"...so I have high expectations for this basket! I love the cheerful, periwinkle color she brought for me. I know I'll find a lot of uses for it. I usually have to make three or four trips to the garage to bring "junk" in from the car, so this just might simplify things!
She also brought me this neat coffee table book--I can't wait to sit down and look at it! (Hopper is my maiden name...no relation)
MK, we're SO glad y'all came to visit. Rhett was gloomy this afternoon and I asked him what was wrong and he said that he wished Z didn't have to leave yet. Once you've recovered from your trip here (you might need a few months), we'll come see you guys!

Happy Birthday, Holly!

Happy Birthday to my friend, Holly (middle)! She and Heather (left) were roommates and lived across the hall from me at OBU in 1995. This picture was from our beach trip back in May. Holly is so sweet and so much fun to be around! I wish I could see her more often.

Fall Canvas

I haven't been painting very much lately, but I did this scarecrow for Mary Katherine this week. It was fun to do--I'd sit and paint for hours if I didn't have other things that needed to be done. I'm also working on a name canvas for Heather's little boy...I'll post it when I'm finished.

Biker Boys

Yesterday morning we met friends at an indoor playground then went to lunch (I didn't take pictures at either place). Then Mary Katherine and the boys spent the night last night. After dinner, when it was slightly cooler, we went out to ride bikes. Zachary can ride without training wheels, and he rides FAST! Rhett went up to MK and asked, "Mrs. Mary Katherine, would you feel better if Zachary was wearing a helmet?". Bless his heart, he acts like an old man sometimes. Since his bike wreck at school a while back, R is extra timid on his bike--he'll still ride, but he doesn't want to go fast at all.

I just love all these sweet boys!

Zoo outing with friends

We are so excited to have our friends, the Milams, visiting from Texas for a few days! This morning we met them at the zoo, then we ate lunch at the kids' favorite, Purple Cow. It was good to see them again--the last time was in February when we visited them in TX.

Rhett climbing on the neat, metal giraffe statue

Trent, Zachary, Alexee & Rhett

Trent excited to see a lizard

We'd never seen the lion this close to the glass before. This was just seconds before she decided to jump up and paw the glass two inches from my head. Luckily, I didn't see it happen because I had my back to the glass, but it scared Mary Katherine!

Alexee is still trying to win T's heart (she started early--she kissed him when she was about 8 months old). She kept putting her hand on his knee when we'd have the strollers parked beside each other. We couldn't seem to ever get the camera out fast enough to capture that though.

Zachary took this picture--didn't he do a good job!? (me, MK and Becca)

Cute cute kids! Zachary, Trent, Olivia, Alexee & Rhett

Trent, please marry Alexee! :) Look at those eyes! He liked the scoop of purple ice cream he had for dessert.