Last Week of May

Wow--May went by fast!  Last Tuesday Cole spent the morning with us, and we went to the Nature Center, Heifer International, Chick-fil-a and the park.  I think the boys had a good time!  They get along so well and are really easy and fun.

They both liked trying out the night-vision goggles and looking at the gar.

Wednesday Rhett and Crosby had their last haircuts with Mrs. Debbie :( then we met Micaela, Emily and Ali + kids at the trampoline park.  I'd promised the kids a trip there if they met their reading goals for the semester, which they did.  I only took a few pictures there, and they were all blurry, but everyone had a great time jumping around for an hour and a half!

On Friday, Crosby and I went to the school for Rhett's 4th grade play/presentation.  The class did their research projects on the Dust Bowl, worked in groups of three to do information boards and wrote a class play which they performed that afternoon.  We enjoyed it!

Friday was Lane's last day on the ACH transport rotation.  He sent me this neat picture from the helicopter: rice fields somewhere between Little Rock and Helena, AR.

Friday night Alexee was invited to spend the night with her dear friend Addison.  She was super excited about this.  Addison's mom sent me this picture of the girls in their matching dresses on the way to Larry's Pizza.  

Saturday was my nephew's birthday.  We picked Alexee up from the sleepover and went straight to Jeryn's party.  It was at an indoor riding arena, and the kids loved it!  They had a calf scramble, stick-horse relay race, horseback rides, a cowboy boot piñata, and coyote cake (Jeryn's request)!

Calf Scramble

Jeryn ready to begin the stick-horse race

Alexee helping pick up the relay cones

piñata time

Happy Happy 7th Birthday, Jeryn!  We love you!

R, A and C taking rides

Saturday afternoon Lane's parents came over to visit, and they took us to a delicious dinner at Cock of the Walk in Maumelle.  They have the best appetizers:  onion rings, fried pickles, cornbread, slaw & greens...I think we were full before our meals even arrived!

Not only is the food good, but it's fun to go feed the ducks and turtles after dinner.  Thank you, Bobba & Grammy!

After church on Sunday we had brunch at Mimi's Cafe with our friends Brad & Leslie and their two sweet kids--great to see them!  It wasn't planned, but our kids were all color-coordinated in blue and orange.  :)  It was hard to keep everyone still for a photo after breakfast, but we tried:

Memorial Day Weekend

The kids and I arrived at the new house around 6:00, I think.  We picked up a pizza, and Lane got there a little later.  It's not as fun having to go in separate vehicles, but it just worked out better this way because of L's weekend work schedule.  Friday night the kids played outside for a long time while we taped off the dining room for painting.  The room was a dark chocolate brown and I wanted to make it a little lighter.  Lane wanted to keep the ceiling color as it was, so our goal was to lighten the walls a few shades, but still keep it darker than the color in the kitchen and living area for contrast.  I know it doesn't look like a dramatic difference, but I do like it better. 

Here's the room with the finished paint.  I was so glad to get the china cabinet in place and put everything back in it.  Those boxes sitting in the kitchen were bothering me!  We still haven't hung any pictures on the walls, so that will help the room too.  We are looking forward to being there full-time so we can get organized--our short visits are never enough to feel like we accomplish much.

The previous owners had told us we'd see deer in the yard, and we finally did!  There were two in the back yard (eating the bushes, unfortunately), but they were pretty and it was nice to see them.  :)  We also heard the wild turkey gobbling again (but never saw him--the sound was coming from the woods behind the deer).

And the rose bushes were in full-bloom this weekend, too!  I thought they looked so pretty!

Sunday afternoon the kids and I left to go visit my parents, and Lane had to come back to LR for a shift on Monday.  I'd noticed this star wall a while back and thought it would be a fun place to take a patriotic photo of the kids, so I had them wear their red, white and blue and hop out of the car for a quick pic.  (Too bad the weeds were sky-high behind them-ha!) 

We went straight to the cabin at the river and had the best time!  The kids went fishing and found crawdads, we roasted hot dogs and s'mores and picked up rocks.  

Bogart was nervous the entire time and got way too many ticks (gross).  I kind-of wished he had gone home with Lane!  I think he was worried about the kids being in the water.  He barked and whined the entire time they were splashing around, but would stop when they'd get out of the water.  He is really protective of the kids, which is sweet, but the water was knee-deep and they had on life jackets!

Evenings are so pretty there.

"Camping" in the loft

Monday morning my sister and her kids joined us and we celebrated Jeryn's 7th birthday a few days early with cake and ice cream!  Happy Birthday, J, we love you!

Crosby & Landon had a lot of fun playing too!

We had an awesome lunch:  Dad fried fish, hushpuppies and potatoes and Mom made cole slaw, corn on the cob and baked beans.  I wish I was eating that again right now!  

We were sad to have to leave, but the kids had school on Tuesday (our school goes until JUNE 11 because of the snow days!).  I think this one must have had a great time and played really hard:

When we got back into town I dropped the boys and Bogart off with Lane to start baths then I took Alexee by her sweet friend Chloe's house to say good-bye. They were in Kindergarten together last year and have played together a lot this year too.  Chloe's family was leaving the next morning for a month-long trip to China, so we will already be moved when she returns.  It made me sad to hear them say good-bye, but I'm so glad they became friends.  The relationships we make along the way are the biggest blessings!

Field Day and Catching Up

Lately...

Alexee lost another tooth (pulled it herself).  

Rhett did a great job on his presentation on France.

The pool opened here at the apartment!  R & A tried so hard to convince C to jump off the side of the pool, but he just wasn't ready.  He said he would do it after swim lessons.  

We had a fun park play date with friends after school one day.  The girls worked on their book.  :)

Crosby went shopping for his first peewee football, worked through a Kindergarten workbook and had a picnic at the park.

Thursday, May 22nd was Field Day for 1st Grade.  I'm so glad someone came up with the great idea to give each class a different color t-shirt.  It made it so much easier to keep track of the class!  Crosby and I packed a small cooler and joined the class for the morning.  It was hot, and I think the kids were all hungry and tired by mid-morning, but it was a good day!  I checked Alexee out of class after lunch and she and Crosby went home with Emily, Kylie and Cole for a playdate.

 The Purple Team!  A sweet group of kids!

 Ready for the race, and cheering for classmates:

I stayed for lunch with Rhett and a few of his friends which was fun.  Crosby and Cole had fun together while their sisters were in Field Day.

Friday we went back to school to see Rhett in 4th grade Field Day!

 They had many fun activities:  frisbee, golf, the crab crawl, etc.

 My sweet boys.

We left that afternoon for a fun Memorial Day Weekend trip to Missouri and then to my parents' cabin on the river...will post pics from that soon.  Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend.