Memorial Day Weekend, Part 1

Lane had the day off on Saturday, so we all went to Hot Springs for the day to see Grammy & Bobba and take the kids to Mid-America Museum. 

We had lunch at Jose's before going to the museum.  They had fun building airplanes at this recycling station.

This gave me the idea to start saving some things like this for the kids to use for projects.  There were paper towel rolls, strawberry containers, milk jugs and egg cartons.  These items, along with a roll of heavy-duty tape, provided a lot of entertainment.

Rhett and Alexee inside the hurricane simulator!  Crazy!  I think it went up to 80 mph!

Later Crosby and I tried it with them.

The museum currently has a special "Shipwreck" exhibit that is really neat.  

Crosby and Alexee making shadow puppets behind the giant screen (I think C was being a bear).

at the museum entrance

with Grammy

back at the condo

And a picture with Grammy and Bobba (but Crosby was tired and didn't want his picture made.)

A fun start to the holiday weekend!

Awards Ceremony

Last Thursday Ms. Reed had an awards ceremony/party for her students.  She brought cookies and juice and recognized the kids for their achievements in her 2nd grade class.  

We are proud of Rhett!  He received awards for reading, writing, math, spelling and good behavior.  Ms. R gave him this ribbon for having the most Accelerated Reading points this semester.

R and his friend, Gabe, got the "Bookworm Awards" for their love of reading (even when it was time for the class to move on to the next subject!)

Great job in the 2nd Grade--we love you!  I can't believe how this school year flew by!

***

One morning we sat out on the patio and made construction paper birds.  Alexee loves crafts!

 

Nate and Rhett on their last morning of carpool this year! 

Welcome, summer!

Brunch & Boyingtons

Tuesday morning the girls on our street (plus kids not in school) came over for a little going-away breakfast for our neighbor, Deema.  In June, Deema's family will be moving to Saudi Arabia for her husband's job.  She has been such a kind neighbor, and Rhett, Alexee and Crosby have all enjoyed riding bikes/playing outside with her four sweet children.  They will be missed!

My friend, Cameron, let me stop by her yard to cut these periwinkle hydrangeas for my table--aren't they beautiful?  The ones on the right that are a different color came from another friend, Emily.  Emily and her daughter delivered a bouquet to our door one day last week--what a pleasant surprise! I am enjoying having lots of fresh flowers in our house! 

I tried this punch recipe (Southern Living/Pinterest) that I thought was good:

• Sparkling Punch
• 1 (12-oz.) can frozen pink lemonade concentrate, thawed
• 4 cups white cranberry juice cocktail
• 1 qt. club soda, chilled (**I used diet Ginger Ale)
• Garnish: fresh mint sprigs (I got to use my mint plant in the back yard!)  :)
• Preparation
• 1. Stir together lemonade concentrate and cranberry juice cocktail in a large pitcher. Cover and chill at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours. Stir in club soda just before serving. Garnish, if desired.

Alexee and Crosby were in charge of the kids' tables.  They were excited about having lots of kids over to play with.  There were nine kids, including A & C.  Other neighbors helped with the food, and I thought we had a tasty menu!  Lindsey brought a fruit tray, Jennifer brought blueberry muffins and an assortment of breads and Laura made a goat cheese and asparagus tart and a vegetable quiche.  I also tried another recipe from Pinterest for Overnight Peaches & Cream French Toast--I would definitely make it again!

Peaches & Cream French Toast (I don't know why this formatting is not working!) :(

• 1 8-oz. loaf French bread, sliced

• 8 large eggs 

• 2 cups whole milk 

• 1/4 cup sugar 

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 15-oz. cans sliced peaches packed in juice, drained

• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Arrange bread in a tight, flat layer in dish.

• 2. In a large bowl, whisk eggs with milk, sugar and vanilla until blended; pour over bread. Arrange peaches on top and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.

• 3. Remove baking dish from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour cream into a small pan; bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Drizzle over peaches and bake, uncovered, until casserole is lightly browned on top and just cooked through, 45 to 55 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
• 
  
• (Back) Becky, Lindsey, Jennifer, me & Deema; (Front) Addison, Laura, Crosby & Lisa
• 
• *****
• Wednesday night was our last Bible Study/Community Group meeting for the semester.  It's been such a good year with new friends!  While Lane and I were there, Jillian and Kyle took the kids to Purple Cow for dinner.  When I saw on Facebook that morning that it was their anniversary, I felt so bad that they were coming to our house to babysit on their special day.  I sent Jillian a text to ask if she wanted me to make other arrangements, but she assured me they wanted to come over!  :)  They're such a NEAT couple, and the kids L-O-V-E them both.  We first met them when they kept Crosby in the church nursery, and they have continued to be a HUGE blessing to us since then.  I'm so thankful to know them.
• The kids made them an anniversary banner.
• 
• I was very thankful to hear that the kids had all been really good at dinner--I was nervous about someone else taking them to a restaurant.  (Not at all because I didn't think J & K could handle it, I just didn't want it to be a stressful, unenjoyable experience...not that that's ever the case!  ha!)  Anyway, I was so glad to get a good report when I got home and happy they'd all had a fun night.  Thank you, Jillian and Kyle for being so wonderful to our family!  Happy Anniversary!

Field Day, Gymnastics & Grandparents

Yesterday was field day at Rhett's school.  I enjoyed hanging out with R and his team for a couple of hours! 

With his friend, Jackson

 Tug-of-war...Go Green Team!

 I think the purple team won, but Rhett did NOT give up!

 A lot of the kids were signing the field day t-shirts which I thought was cute.

Rhett ate lunch with his class, then I let him check out early and come home with me.  On our way home we stopped by a friend's lemonade stand in our neighborhood.  It was the perfect treat for a hot day--thanks, Kylie!

Last night Jillian babysat while Lane and I went to dinner and a movie (Avengers).  We ate at Bravo because it's right next to the theater.  As we were walking into the restaurant, we realized that we were there exactly a year ago for L's graduation dinner...Wow, a year sure flew by!  Here we are looking goofy in our 3D glasses before the show--ha!  The movie was good, and it's always nice to have a night out together.  

The kids had a fun night with Ms. Jillian, too.  She was so sweet to pick up a pizza and bring cupcakes for dessert.

This morning we went to watch Alexee in her spring gymnastics performance.  She has learned so much and did a great job showing her skills today!

Alexee with her trophy!

The four of us--Lane was on call today :(

Wonderful job, sweet girl!

We loved having my parents spend the afternoon with us.  We met them for lunch, then they came over to our house to play and visit.

Crosby wanted to take our picture

Mo & Cros

Crosby took this picture of Alexee & Bogart

Granddad, Rhett & Alexee

Mom took these of the kids playing in the back yard.  I think Alexee was pretending to plant seeds:

We all went to the park for just a little while before Mom and Dad had to leave.  I'm so glad they decided to make a day trip to see us today--we've been missing them!

We love you, Mo & Granddad!