So Much To Say...

here's a quick synopsis of what we've been up to since the last post...


*Splashing around in the backyard due to the extreme heat (notice that Joseph has placed a chair in the pool and is about to jump from it!)



*Anna Elise getting to see her first stage performance of the The Backyardigans (her awesome Daddy took her and they had sooo much fun!) Notice the title is 'Tale of the Mighty Knights' and AE keeps calling it, "The Tale of the Nighty Nights!" Too cute.













*Games of chase before winding down for the evening





*Getting ready for Pre-Season Football (Geaux Saints!), which means lots of Who Dat?! and Tiger Roars are ahead

*Sneaking onto the kitchen counters and creatively eating our snacks (that would be a soft potty seat topper that he is sitting and scooting around on!)















*Attending a birthday party at a local gymnastics facility (what a blast!!)





*Quick family beach trip to Gulf Shores, AL. Joseph was so scared of the sand at first, but he got over his fears and was soon dumping buckets of it on his head and running straight to the ocean. AE fell in love with the beach last year and kept asking when we were going back this year...she got her way! We met a couple from Georgia (north of Atlanta, actually) who had two kids the same ages as ours and they all got along swimmingly. Their son, Preston is pictured with Anna Elise, but I don't have a really good picture of their, daughter Vivienne (please forgive my spelling!), who was adorable and so smart and well-behaved! The woman pictured with AE and Jobo was their nanny on the nights Jason and I went out to dinner. Her name is Glenda and she's the best!! She played with the kids and even bought them a little stuffed pelican and seal. Thank you, Ms. Glenda!! The last picture in this set is of all of the jellyfish that people kept catching. They were really bad this time of year and so many kids kept getting stung. Made you just want to stay in the pool, which was great because it was only 2 ft. deep (perfect for the young ones).

*Shopping for school supplies and being filmed on the local news (thank goodness there were no interviews done!) Okay, so my daughter and I are famous now, what can we say?! :)

http://arkansasmatters.com/media_player.php?media_id=86531


Thank goodness they didn't get us on camera once we had passed the school supplies section. AE had found a Bratz doll that she refused to let go of and had to be carried out of the store screaming. It was NOT pleasant!!

Later Tater!!

Saturday night and everything's all right!

After much persuading from my husband, and the fact that everyone is asleep, I have decided to sit down and recap the past week or so. AE attended her first Vacation Bible School (VBS) and had a blast! It was a long week, with her attending Mother's Day Out in the day and then going to VBS at night, but it was sooo worth it!

Jason and I met several friends downtown for a concert on Friday night...B.B. King and Willie Nelson. It was sooo HOT outside, but they were worth seeing. It was a lot of fun. Jason and I were meeting Abby and Damon and Michelle and Lindsey, but we also ran into Rod and Amy, so we had a good little group to sit with and enjoy the show.

It's been so hot lately, that the kids have been either inside enjoying the wonderful air conditioning or outside playing in the sprinklers/baby pools.

As you can see from the last picture, our living room was turned into a romper room (thanks, Daddy!). See what happens when I leave the room and leave Daddy in charge?! Ha!

For those of you who don't realize exactly how active my children are, especially the younger one, check out the video above. Enjoy!

Well, that's about all we've done lately. Hope you all have a great week ahead! Until the next posting...

These boots were made for walkin'

or playing dress up, playing outside in, you name it and my kiddos have done it. I have the proof, here it is...

We didn't do too much this past weekend...played outside, went to a birthday party at the JumpZone, Jason and I managed to go out to eat Saturday night without the kids, and then church on Sunday and a brief visit with my Dad in the afternoon. Joseph kept asking for "Pawpaw" after church, so we decided to pay him a visit. While the kids and I were inside my Dad's house playing, Jason and my Dad killed a copperhead snake that was curled up in a flower bed by the walkway leading to the pool. Glad I wasn't around for that!!! Eww!

Anna Elise had a playdate yesterday afternoon with one of her best friends, Rachel. They had a blast and are looking forward to the next one! She was supposed to attend Mother's Day Out today, but managed to put on the waterworks for me and I couldn't make her stay...I would have felt too bad. So, we headed on to the park for a Mommy & Me scheduled playdate. It was a lot of fun, but we managed to stay there for 3 hours!!! Am I crazy or what?! Joseph is still napping and Anna Elise is counting down the minutes until it's time to leave for swimming lessons.

Sorry it's taken me so long to post...I've found another addiction, Facebook. Jason has to pull me away from the computer sometimes....not healthy! :) I'll try to stay on top of my blogging, though. I haven't forgotten you all!

I have a much needed GNO (Girls' Night Out) planned for this Friday and I can't wait! We're going to eat at a restaurant I've been wanting to try and possibly go see a movie afterwards (Mamma Mia!, which I doubt my husband would agree to see, so it's great that my girlfriends are interested in it).

Hope everyone is having a great week. Good luck to my friend, LAH, who will be speaking before legislators tomorrow morning regarding her son's Autism story. Wish her luck. For those of you who aren't familiar with Leigh Ann, you should check out her webpage...

TTFN!

FEVER!

Anna Elise developed a fever virus last Sunday and continued to run fever until about Thursday. We (being myself, AE, Joseph and Jacq {my mother-in-law}) had planned to visit Eureka Springs for a couple of days, but had to postpone our trip until another time due to FEVER. It was the craziest thing...the only symptom was the fever and boy did it get high, almost 105 at one point. Nothing to do but give fluids, Tylenol or Motrin, and make sure she got plenty of rest. So, no trip to Eureka Springs, swimming lessons or Mother's Day Out.

But...we had already planned a trip to the Buffalo River for Thursday and Friday and since the fever had broken and she was up running around again, we decided to go. One of our dear friends, Mo, came to visit us and go canoeing. So, the kiddos hung out with Jacq at the cottage and playing along the riverbank, while Jason, Mo and I canoed for a few hours. We thought the canoe would have three seats, but it only had two, so I came away with wonderful bumps and bruises but worth it! I don't have any pictures to show you since we took a disposable camera with us on the river and I haven't gotten them developed yet. Sorry!

We returned home on Friday and spent some of the evening with some more good friends. It was the first year that Anna Elise was able to stay up for the fireworks and she seemed to enjoy them. She did fall fast asleep on the way home, though! Here are a couple of pictures of AE, Mo, Jason and me before we left for the evening....

We had the best intentions of going swimming on Saturday and Sunday, but about the time we were ready to go it started to rain. Bummer!

All of our company left on Sunday, so it's back to same ol' same ol' starting today. Now, if I just had the energy to clean up, all would be well.

Have a great week everyone!

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On a different note...

Friends of friends had a major accident occur to their son the night of the 4th. He was hit in the back of the neck by a Roman candle and is suffering from 3rd degree burns from his ear to his collar bone. He is scheduled for surgery on Tuesday and is expected to remain in the hospital for 10 days. Please join me in praying for him and his family during this difficult time. Thanks.

Monday, Monday

...and so much to catch up on! We had a family reunion in the north central part of the state. The last two of my grandmother's sisters and my grandmother were in attendance as well as the other sisters' & brother's families. We had a great time, even though we spent most of it herding the kiddos instead of visiting with all of the relatives. We did get a great picture of my family, though.

From left to right...Jason holding Anna Elise, my brother Rob, my grandmother Geneva, my dad Jim. and me holding Joseph. Just wish my mom could have been there as well.

Last week, Anna Elise started her summer camp program, which is really just a summer Mother's Day Out, but I had to change the name in order for it to sound cool to her. Imagine that!

Here she is in the car holding her Webkinz Chihuahua that her Jacq gave her for Christmas. She affectionately named the dog, Kitty.

By the middle of the week, both kids had appointments to get their hair cut. Anna Elise told me she wanted her hair cut to her ears...I told her no and had only an inch cut off and light layering done. I did give in to another hair cut at a later date that would shorten it to her shoulders, but no higher. I don't want to lose her curls!!!

You can't tell much from this picture, but they do have new 'do's! They were also enjoying cold popsicles on a hot afternoon!

We had some sprinkler action going on during the week, which involved soaked clothes and then naked bodies. And it never fails with a little boy, the minute the diaper comes off, pee pee ensues! I think it's finally connecting with Joseph that pee pee comes from his wee wee and that he can have some control over it. I got a few snapshots of him trying to make himself pee pee, but I probably shouldn't post them here...

Friday night, I attended an all-school class renion with some of my girlfriends for our old alma mater. Apparently, the school is supposed to be relocating to a different location and the old building is being torn down, hence the need for an all-school reunion. Of course, it was the 40th reunion for the class of '68, so it was a very special weekend. I attended the banquet with three very good friends, Abby M., Michelle C., and Suzanna A. (who met up with us at the banquet). While we were there, we listened to speakers, danced, ate/drank, and caught up with more good friends that we hadn't seen or spoken to in awhile. It was a really fun night, but we missed the people who could not attend (won't mention any names, but I think you know who you are!). They had good excuses, though, so we'll forgive them at this time. Anyway, I'm attaching some pics from that night. Oh, I wasn't able to attend the Family day on Saturday, so Abby M., I apologize and I hope you weren't too mad at me for that! Here are the pics...

That brings us to Father's Day...Jason and Joseph were caught watching the LSU Tigers play the North Carolina Tarheels in the College World Series. They lost, but they have another chance to redeem themselves on Tuesday night against Rice. Geaux Tigers!!! Wait, I forgot, I haven't downloaded those pictures yet, so I'll include them in another post.

Well, that's about it for now. I hope everyone has a great week!!

Features

I was stumped for a title for this post. Features came to mind after reading Leigh Ann's entry about her son's eyelashes (the kind every woman wishes she had!). My kids were also blessed with long eyelashes, although not from me, and that's one of many features I love about them.

AE has beautiful, long curls and big blue eyes (though they tend to be more gray as she ages), and I just love the one dimple she has on the left side of her face. Too cute! She also has this belly laugh that is so infectious, if you hear it you can't help but laugh as well.

Joseph is small for his age, but so darn cute. He also gets compliments of how pretty he is and I take no offense to that either. I think he's rather 'purty' myself!

Hope everyone is having is having a great week! Happy Hump Day! :)