Sesame Street LIVE

Kate & Gabe are a little old for Sesame Street, and Grant is a little young, but we were still excited to take the kids to the show today!  They were mostly excited too....

The show was pretty cute and even held Grant's attention almost until intermission.  :)

Then the second half started.....Grant crashed and Gabe followed soon after.

He is still recovering from having been sick a couple says ago.  :(

After a short nap they were all back up and ready for more fun!!

Turtle Rescue

We were coming down our street after school today and I noticed this little turtle trying to cross the road.  Of course we had to stop the car, rescue our little friend, and bring him home!  I think the turtle started to wish we would have just left him alone after all the playtime, but hopefully he knows we really just wanted to save him.  :)  After about 30 minutes we left him in the yard to run away and hide!

Gabe & Casyn also discovered all the new pumpkins added to our front porch.

Let's see how many actually make it to Halloween!

Out for a ride...

There will come a day when I will look back on pictures like this and truly miss these days.  I love these afternoons, sitting in the shade in a golf cart, catching up with friends, and watching our children laugh and play in the cul-de-sac.  We don't get to do this as often as I wish, but I sure do love when we can!

Gotham City

My sweet boy turned 5 just a couple weeks ago and right before his birthday Alexa from Eli Rose Photography contacted us about taking his picture using some of the props for his party.  Well, if you know me, you know I would never turn down pictures!!  We carried our boxes across the street to the railroad track, set up a makeshift Gotham City, and raced against the setting sun!  Oh, and did I mention that Gabe did NOT want to have his picture taken tonight!??  : /  Gabe can sometimes be social and funny and other times shy and whiny....tonight happened to be a shy and whiny night.  But, Alexa was AMAZING with him and somehow got incredible shots tonight!  I was truly shocked to see how great these turned out.....having been "behind the scenes" for the photo shoot!

It is rare that Kate has a shy day (though it does happen on occasion believe it of not!), and thankfully tonight was NOT a shy night for her.  Instead, she was fully in BatGirl mode and would have gladly taken over the whole photoshoot had we let her.  :)

Backyard Critters

Our backyard is truly amazing!  Well, I wish we had grass, but I'm going to work on that!  ;)  Aside from the dirt, everything else is just so beautiful.  I don't know if I will ever get tired of walking out and looking out on our pond and the hundreds of fish, loads of turtles, and even our little Alli the Alligator.  It's so peaceful!

I wonder what these two are talking about???

I was excited to capture this large bird soaring over the pond today!

And when the sun goes down, we are greeted by raccoons and opossums!

Tooth #4

I had lunch at school with Kate today and saw that her top front tooth was very loose.  She was flipping it around and proudly showing a couple other kids at the table.  Leaving the cafeteria I told her teacher that she was really hoping to lose a tooth a school.  Well guess what....she did!  Kate got off the bus yesterday with a tooth in a little treasure box!  She was so excited!!!  Apparently she went in the bathroom right after lunch, wrapped her tooth with toilet paper, and yanked it out!  Gross!!

Last night she was so excited to put her tiny little tooth in her Tooth Fairy pillow.

This morning I woke her up a little early to have time to check out her goodies.  She was sleepy, but also so excited!!

Kate loves the money, but I think the thing she is most excited about each time is her tiny little letter.

Thank you Tooth Fairy for the sweet note and golden goodies!!!

*** Okay, so I am just going to take a minute on this post to vent.  Kate was so excited about the Tooth Fairy and took her letter and gold to school to show off to all of her friends.  But when she got home, she was a little "off."  She said everyone in class, including her teacher, were amazed with her stuff....everyone, that is, except one little first grader who rides home on Kate's bus.  I understand and respect that we all make different choices in how we raise our children, but I also expect that if I am parenting within normal range, you will respect my choices and I will respect yours, even if we may differ on a few things.  Well, apparently this little girl is one of those anti-Magic families who make it their mission to spoil other's fun.  I have some great friends who don't "do" Santa and all the other magical people, but they would never let their children say anything hurtful to my kids or any other children and try to enlighten them on "the truth."  They respect my decision to have fun with the holidays and I fully respect their decision to be Scrooge!  Ha!  Just kidding!!!  The families I am thinking about are amazing parents and SO much fun!!  :)  Anyway, back to this little girl.  On the short ride home from school, she told Kate that Santa is dead and I made up everything about the Tooth Fairy.  I was so upset!  Kate was upset too.  I think I handled the situation as best as I could, and I am pretty sure Kate still fully believes.  It's just so frustrating because these magical years go by so quickly and I will not let a little six year old ruin it for us without a fight!  :)  Kate has wanted to talk about this alot and I think she is just wanting to be reassured that everything is okay.  I know these next couple of years are going to be difficult to navigate on this issue, and I honestly don't know how we'll go about it.  But for now, the Tooth Fairy is going to keep on coming to our house!!

Bouncy Baby

Grant may not sit and roll like the doctors would like him to, but this baby sure can bounce!!!  :)

Ali the Alligator

When my mom first suggested our house to us, all I saw was a tiny backyard with a creepy pond about five feet from the house.  When I fell in love with the house, amazingly enough, I fell in love with the backyard and it's potential beauty.  We cleared it, fenced in the yard, and loved it even more!  I was then prepared to find all sorts of creepy things lurking in the beginning, but was amazed to only find our pond full of turtles and fish...until today!  I was looking out into the water and did a double take as I spotted this thing sunbathing in the middle of the water....A Baby Alligator!!  Gabe was home when I found it and I was so glad that Kate was almost home on the bus so that she too would get to see our little pond friend.  She was so excited and has named her Ali (because it has to be a girl!).  Who knows how long she will stick around, but for now she is fun to see.

 Today was an exciting day for Kate.  Gabe has been bringing home his friends Casyn & Gavin after Happy Apple, but today she gets to bring home her friends Mallory & Wyatt!  They are riding the bus for the first time today....to our house to play!!!  But, notice the truck behind the bus.  That would be their dad following closely behind to check out the bus route.  We are the fourth stop on the route, and other than some slightly rude back of the bus kids flicking him off the whole ride     : / the route seems fairly safe.  Good to know!

Sweet kids...

I seriously have the best job in the whole world!  I get to hang out with my babies and their friends every afternoon!!!  I end the day tired and my house gets a little crazy, but I wouldn't trade it for any job that took me away from Kate, Gabe, & Grant!  I am so blessed to be able to stay home with them while they are little!

Casyn & Gabe.....such sweet kids!!!

Dave & Busters

Jon's Aunt Carolyn was in town and having surgery so we took the kids for a trip to Jacksonville to visit with her when Jon got off work.  It was late when we left the hospital, but the kids still needed to eat dinner and we thought they deserved a fun night for enduring the long drive and being so good in the hospital.  So, we took them to one of our favorite places...Dave & Busters!!  Grant was a little overwhelmed at first I think, but we all had a great time, played lots of games, won lots of tickets, and came home with fun prizes.  :)

Gabe's Birthday Dinner

Instead of going out to dinner for Gabe's birthday tonight, my mom made him his favorite meal...breakfast!!  And while it was cooking, Gabe decorated his leftover birthday cake from the party with about 50 Army men.  They were everywhere, even sinking deep into the cake.  :)

Eggs, bacon, egg-in-a-hole, and a waffle tower...what more could you want?!?

I wonder what he is wishing for???

Gabe, we have had so much fun celebrating with you.  But, how are you already FIVE???

You are such a sweet and funny boy and truly an amazing gift from God!  We love you!!!

Gabe's Happy Apple Birthday!

Today is the day....my sweet boy is FIVE!!!!

And what better place is there to be on your birthday than.....Happy Apple!

You just gotta love all these sweet Green Apples.

Gabe has fun with all the boys, but he loves all his girls too...

Sometimes Gabe can be shy, but today he was so proud and excited to stand in front of his classmates.

He held the flag for the pledge and song, then shared his age with everyone and stood proud as they sang Happy Birthday.  Love you Gabe!  Enjoy your final birthday at Happy Apple!!

Grant got to sing and dance with Mrs. Blansett and the Purple Apples this morning.

After running a few errands, it was time to come back to Happy Apple to celebrate with Gabe.  As a special surprise, I checked Kate out of school for an hour to join in on the fun....she was sooo excited!

Gabe didn't want cupcakes; he wanted ice cream sandwiches with cars on top...so that's what he got!

My Birthday Boy!!

Gabe with his friends and my toothless Kate.  :)

Yes, he was a pretty happy boy!

Sam & Gabe....crazy kids!!!

Grant slept through the whole party.

Time for recess!!!

Mrs Lentz & Riley....love these ladies and I love how much they love Gabe.  :)

After school the celebrating continued.

Gabe chose lunch...at McDonalds of course because "they have the best toys!"