Memorial Day Weekend

Lane worked evening shifts during Memorial Day weekend so we stayed home Friday and Saturday, all went to church on Sunday then the kids and I went to Mom and Dad's for the night.  We grilled burgers and hot dogs and ate outside.

We were also celebrating my nephew's 10th birthday.  They had birthday cake the night before, and my Grandmother made him two of his favorite (buttermilk) pies on Sunday.  Dad and I attempted to make s'mores on the grill, but we burned the graham crackers and melted the graham wrapper to the pan!  Most people chose pie instead of s'mores for dessert!  :)

This sweet picture on the left came up on Facebook Timehop for Memorial Day...Crosby at our cul-de-sac picnic in Little Rock, Memorial Day 2010.  And on the right, he's driving around the farm!

Happy Memorial Day!

We are thankful for our freedom and for those who sacrifice for our country!

On Monday the kids spent most of the day playing outside with their cousins.  We came home early enough to swim with Lane before he had to leave.  It was a good day.

Can't believe my little nephew is 9 months old already!  We'll be celebrating his first birthday before long!  He's such a good baby.  We always love getting to see him.  We drove out into the field to check on the big kids who were climbing on hay bales.  

The catalpa trees were blooming.  I loved these when I was a kid!

My Mom got Alexee this pink cat cake because she said that everyone else had had their own birthday cake with their name on it, but Alexee wasn't in Flippin on her Birthday.  She loved this, of course...cake and cats!  :)

Baby Dedication & Mother's Day

On May 14th we went to church with my sister's family for my nephew's baby dedication ceremony.  He is a such a precious gift from the Lord!

My sister's sweet family.

It was also Mother's Day!  

It is a blessing and a joy to be their Mom.

And I'm so grateful for my Mom!  I loved getting to spend the day together.

Micaela had lunch ready at her house after church, and we opened Mother's Day and Baby Dedication gifts.

I'm very excited about my new cookware from Mom and Dad.  The kids were tired from staying up late and playing, so they took naps on the 2.5 hour drive home.  I wish I could have done that too!  :)

Alexee cut this pretty bouquet for me for Mother's Day.  She's so thoughtful!  (Maybe it is from Bogart, too?  He seemed to think he should pose for the photo.)

And we are also so very thankful for Lane's mother (Grammy) and my Grandmother/"Mo Nina" on Mother's Day...and every day!  We love you!

Easter Weekend

I love Easter weekend!  Easter is my favorite holiday!

We were out of school on Good Friday, so the kids and I made a quick, one-night trip to my parents' house to see them, my grandparents and my sister and her kids.  The weather was perfect.  We had burgers and hot dogs and ate outside Friday night.  

Mom gave the kids chocolate rabbits for Easter.  

It was also warm enough for the first swim that weekend!  And Crosby spent the night with a friend/classmate (Thurs. night) for his friend's birthday.  They had a lot of fun coloring Easter eggs and going out for donuts the next morning.

Looking forward to a fun summer of swimming.

We made cut-out sugar cookies Saturday afternoon.

Easter baskets Sunday morning.

It was raining and we were running late so our photos were indoors and rushed.  Rhett-13, Alexee-10, Crosby-8.

Our only family photo from Easter 2017

Church parking lot, only Alexee's bow made it into the picture.

Lunch was ready when we got home.  We had pork tenderloin (a recipe my friend Heather sent to me to try), potato casserole, baked pineapple casserole, grape salad, rolls and banana pudding for dessert.  Rhett also made lemonade.  

I got these cute blue egg dessert plates at Target.

Our Teenager!

I can't believe it, but our first child is a teenager!  How do the years go by so quickly!?  We were just planning his nursery, learning how to put his infant carrier in the car and watching Blue's Clues together.  Now he's my tech support, he can cook a meal by himself and he likes to practice driving when we're at my parents' farm.  

Happy 13th Birthday, Rhett!

We love you, and we are super proud of you!

The day he was born, his 1st birthday and his 13th birthday

We had cinnamon rolls, eggs and bacon for his birthday breakfast.  (I'm terrible about remembering to buy birthday candles, but we happened to have a "3" in the drawer so he added a "1" in front of it.)  :)

I let him choose what we had for dinner that night, and he chose shrimp enchiladas with poblano cream sauce.  He even did most of the cooking!  Maybe he'll be a famous chef someday. 

Alexee had a basketball game that night so after dinner we went out for donuts (instead of birthday cake) before the game.

donut decisions

As it usually does, his birthday fell during Spring Break, so his school lunch celebration took place the following Monday.  He asked me to bring Panda Express.  I loved getting to have lunch with him at the JH campus for the first time.  

*****

And less than 24 hours after Rhett turned 13, my niece turned 13!  (What a crazy few days that was in 2004...I was still in the hospital with Rhett when my sister went into labor!)  These two have always been super close friends.  They are such special blessings to our family.  We love you both, R & J!

Snowy March B-Day Celebration

On March 11 we got a spring snow!  Alexee had a volleyball tournament 45 minutes north of here, and by the time we got back home, the ground was covered with snow.  The roads remained clear though, which was great, so we carried on with our plans to go to Flippin for our annual March birthday party.  It snowed on us all the way there, but we had no trouble at all.  

Snow on the redbud tree in our front yard

It had snowed a lot more in Flippin.  It was so pretty!  Strange to see it on the blossoming trees though.

No coats...It didn't really even seem cold!  

I love the tree-lined road by my parents' house.

So Saturday evening was our family party to celebrate all the March Birthdays:  Micaela's, Rhett's, Jaiden's and Crosby's.  Mom made chicken tacos, chips & dip and we had cake and ice cream for dessert.  She got these cute little individual cakes for the birthday people and a large cake to share.

Crosby--soon to be 8 & Rhett--soon to be a TEENAGER! 

I can't believe how big my nephew is already!  We don't get to see him enough.  He's sitting up and reaching for everything...he seemed to love C's glasses. :)  He's such a sweet baby.

I think Jaiden had one of her "laugh attacks".   :)

Happy Birthday to these sweet kids!  We love you all!

My parents asked Crosby what he might like for his birthday, and he sent them a picture of a snake rubik's cube.  He was excited to get one (and has spent many hours since then improving his time working the puzzle).

SO FUN having a baby to play with!

In preparation for swimming season, Crosby also received some pool toys!

My parents and grandparents with all the kids.  A fun time together!