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.

Kids' School Activities

Things have been busy lately with school activities:

On March 23rd, Crosby was one of two class representatives to the 2nd Grade spelling bee.  These kids were amazing--they exhausted the 2nd grade spelling list and had to advance to the 3rd-4th grade list in order to determine the winner!  Crosby did a great job.  He was eliminated with only 5 students remaining in the competition.

March 27th was the induction ceremony for the National Junior Honor Society.  Rhett will be serving as president for the 2017-18 school year!  We are very proud of him!

He was thankful to have his grandparents in town for the special occasion.  I know they were proud of him, too.

On April 4th, Alexee was in the 4th-6th grade Drama Club performance of Treasure Island.  She was one of the townspeople.  She learned a lot this year and really enjoyed drama club.  It was a great experience for her!  We've loved seeing her confidence grow.

The entire cast, along with Mr. & Mrs. B and Mrs. H, the wonderful drama club sponsors.

April 12 was Gifted Showcase.  Second graders did a state float parade. Crosby chose to research Arizona.  The float was required to feature several things about the state including state bird, tree, industry, flag, map and interesting facts.

Parade time!

Fourth grade students did the STREAM challenge.  They did several projects throughout the semester, and chose one to be on display that night.  Alexee chose the "float your boat" challenge.  

I think 7th grade had a similar format to 4th grade.  The kids worked in groups on various projects, then chose one thing to test individually and display at the showcase.  Rhett chose to do a paper airplane flight project.

Alexee's final boats (thank goodness Lane helped her with these!) and a few pictures from their year-end "Red Carpet" celebration at school.

And one more picture of Crosby with his Arizona project and a group photo from their year-end party.

This isn't a school activity, but on April 22nd, Alexee's club volleyball team played their last tournament for the season.  She loved playing this year!  (Crosby had fun hanging out with his buddy at the tournament too.)

No wonder the days and weeks fly by...it has been a busy school year.  I'm looking forward to summer break with the kids!