Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!!

On the "bumper cars" at Mr. Gatti's!

On Saturday, August 28th, our sweet baby girl turned 7 years old. Both she and Drew had practice (her softball, and him baseball) that morning, and then we came home to relax. In the early evening, Mikayla and I went for manicures and pedicures - a birthday present for us both!! Then, we all joined Mimi, Poppi, aunt Jennie, and BJ at Mr. Gatti's for her birthday dinner. I can't believe we were there for 3 hours - eating and playing games!

It is so hard to believe that our sweet princess is already 7 - it seems like just yesterday God blessed our lives with her! Mikayla, mommy and daddy hope you had a wonderful birthday, and we wish you many, many more!! You are such a blessing in our lives. Your positive, kind spirit lights up our days, and your smile is contagious! Happy Birthday, baby girl - we love you!!

Mikayla's Birthday Party 2009

Okay, so here we are, our baby girl will be celebrating another birthday in just a few short weeks - and I am just now getting to posting her party from last year. That confirms that I am almost a year behind in posting. I will have to shorten some of the past year if I ever hope to "catch up". Mikayla turned 6 on August 28, 2009, but since she wanted to have her party at a horse farm, we decided we didn't need to have it in August. Instead we decided to "beat the heat" and have her party after her actual birthday. I didn't mean to wait quite so long, as we ended up having her party on a Saturday in November. She had attended her friend, Brooke's, party at this horse farm in 2008, and ever since then, Mikayla said she wanted her party here. Shenendoah Farms is a beautiful place, and perfect for parties. They give the party guests rides on the horses for the first hour, and then they take all of the guests on a long hayride. Then, you have all the time you need for cake, ice cream, presents, etc. It waas a wonderful party, and one that we hope Mikayla will never forget! Happy 6th Birthday, Angel! We love you!Mikayla takes a silly picture with big brother, Drew!Mikayla's "Little Mermaid" cake.Mikayla and Drew look at the horses in the stables before the riding begins.When Poppi gets there, he gives Drew and Mikayla a toboggan, and then shows them a picture of Mikayla in the newspaper. It was a dancing picture.Then, of course, Drew and Mikayla have to take Poppi on a tour of the stables.Drew likes all of the animals on the farm, including this donkey.It took Mikayla a little while to warm to the idea, but once she finally got on the horse, she loved it!!Cute little cowgirl!Drew wasn't real sure at first about this either. Poppi coaxes him into getting on the horse...and he LOVED it!Mikayla is lovin' this!Mary Cathryn takes a ride with her daddy.Now, Poppi coaxes Mikayla.It worked!!Brooke looks like a cowgirl too!Soooo cute!Tyler takes a turn.Pretty little cowgirl.Gracie takes a ride with her mommy.yeehawMary Cathryn takes a ride by herself.Sarah says "yeehaw"!Gracie takes a ride by herself!Happy Birthday, sweet girl!Trevyr takes a ride on the horse.Jadyn takes her turn!Tyler's brother takes a turn!Brooke smiles pretty for the camera.Daddy and Poppi warm up by the fire.This horse got out of his stable while the kids were finishing up their riding time. The handlers were terrific with getting the horse back into the pasture with any incidents. I was worried about our cake for a minute.Now time for the hayride! Most of the boys were on one side...while most of the girls were on the other.Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday dear Mikayla, Happy Birthday to You!Blow out your candles, sweet girl!Sweet Friends!!Opening her gifts...She loved them all!!Thank you, sweet friends!!After all of her guests had left, Mikayla, Drew, Daddy, and Poppi enjoy the "bonfire".

Mikayla with her Poppi! What a wonderful party with such sweet family and friends!

Happy Birthday, Drew!!

Our sweet baby boy, Andrew Craig "Drew", was born on this day - nine years ago!! Our family had gone to the Independence Day celebration in Columbus, NC on Wednesday, July 4th, 2001. I was admitted to hospital on Thursday, July 5th where Craig and I spent the night watching the first episode of Big Brother!! Our precious little one was born the next day - Friday, July 6th, 2001 at 2:10 pm. He weighed in at 7 lbs, 8 ozs and was 20.5 inches long. He is now a healthy nine year old who keeps us on our toes. Whether he is playing soccer, basketball, baseball, or golf, we are always his biggest fans!! Happy Birthday, big boy! You make us proud in every way - every day!! We are so blessed to call you son and we look forward to all this year has in store!! Love you, Mommy, Daddy, and Mikayla

Drew's Birthday Party 2009

So, I know I have gotten out of order with my dates on here since I have now just begun trying to catch up with my blogging. I'm really not sure there is a way to "catch up" over a year's worth of activities, but I am sure trying. On Saturday, July 16th, we had Drew's 8th birthday party at the bowling alley. Drew, Mikayla, and I (and sometimes daddy, too) had been enjoying a summer full of "Kid's Bowl Free" so I wasn't surprised when Drew decided that he wanted to have his birthday party there. Some of the party decorations...Phillip relaxes before the bowling begins!Sweet Davis and AllisonBreanna, Mikayla, and Emily - the 3 amigos!Tyler, Drew, Trevyr, and Jadyn enjoy their nuggets and fries.Hunter, Zane, Blake, Bryson, and Tyler enjoy their nuggets and french fries.Breanna, Mikayla, Emily, and KiasiaDrew gets ready to blow out his candle - after we sing "Happy Birthday"!Opening Presents...Sweet Friends!!Time to bowl...Every time it was Drew's turn to bowl, it showed this picture of him on the screen!Some of the adults even take a turn - here Craig takes a turn bowling!Some of the boys - Tyler, Blake, Drew, and Phillip...More bowling fun!!Some of the girls - Allison, Emily, Jadyn, Breanna, and Mikayla...Go Mik, Go!

Mikayla and Drew pose with the sign that was in the party room!!

I didn't get a picture of all of Drew's friends signing the bowling pin for him - I wish I had photos of that. He has the pin in his room and it is sure to be something that he treasures for a long time!! Happy 8th Birthday, big boy! We all love you so much!!