Cookout With Friends

On Saturday, June 13th Craig invited the guys that work with him to come to our house for a cookout. Mikayla had spent the night at the dance studio the night before since it was the last day of dance camp, and Drew had spent the night with Mimi and Poppi so Craig and I had gotten a date night (Side Street Pizza - yum!!). Craig and I went to pick Mikayla up from the studio Saturday morning, and then went to Costco to get all of the food, drinks, etc. When we got home, Poppi brought Drew home, and we had the kids rest awhile, and then we all played outside while waiting for everyone to arrive.

"Yella Boy's" oldest daughter, Deja, had fun watching everyone play the wii. She even enjoyed a couple games of bowling herself!Zach tries out his bowling skills.Sherri's granddaughter wants to bowl too ya'll!Yella's wife, Sherika, takes a turn at bowling while their youngest daughter Keasia smiles for the camera.

Then we pulled out the wii fit and "Yella Boy" tried his luck at ski jump. Darryl wants to see how well he can jump!

Then Sherri took a turn...

while Austin and "Yella Boy" look on. I don't think either of them were playing with the pink bear laying beside them. I think one of the little ones were playing with it! :)

Zach decided that he wanted to try his luck too...
while Sherri, her grandson, Darryl, "Yella Boy", Austin, and Keasia look on. Austin did not want his picture taken - can you tell? Jennie and her boyfriend BJ smile for the camera. They had fun just watching everyone on the fit!

Everyone seemed to have a fun time, and I'm pretty sure they got their bellies full! Craig and I had fun playing host and hostess and we will have to get everyone together again soon!!

A Camp Out - er In!

My friend Amy had surgery on January 21st, and I had mentioned having her children, Jadyn and Trevyr, spend the night at our house one night during her recovery. On Friday, February 6th when we left dance, I had 3 children in my van, and I was headed to pick up the 4th (Drew) from my mom and dad's house. From there, we headed to Chick-fil-a (the drive through of course, as I was not brave enough to take the four of them in there by myself) and then home for fun. The four of them enjoyed their supper of nuggets and waffle fries and then spent the rest of the night playing in their rooms. I really could not believe how well the night went with four children ages 4, 5, 6, and 7! They were well behaved, especially Jadyn and Trevry (my two were their usual selves), and they all got along very well - there was no fussing and fighting which shocked me because my two do that all the time. Our plan was to have popcorn as we watched a movie before bed, but the time got away from me. Instead we baked heart cookies and then watched the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. All four children used their sleeping bags as they "camped-out" in our living room. Amy came to our house the next morning so that she, Jadyn, and Trevyr could go with us to watch Drew's basketball game, and then she took our girls to dance that afternoon. All four kids seemed to have a lot of fun that night, and it really wasn't all that bad for mama either (just a little tired the next day).

Mikayla was the last one to sleep, as usual.

By 11:00, they were all sleeping peacefully.

Then, on Saturday night, March 7th while her husband was at the race, Amy asked if both Drew and Mikayla wanted to spend the night at her house. I told her she was a brave soul for keeping both of them, but they both wanted to stay. So, Craig and I dropped Drew and Mikayla off (along with some pizza) about 5:30 that night and we enjoyed a date night!!

Fun Way to Ring in the Year!

My friend Nanda called to see if the kids and I wanted to go get lunch and see a movie with a group of friends on Friday, January 2nd. I knew the kids would LOVE it, and since I enjoy getting together with friends anytime, I told her we would love to go!

We met Nanda and her two children, Bryson and Breanna, Traci and her daughter, Emily, and her cousin, Morgan, Loretta and her two children, Philip and Elizabeth, and Angie and her two children, Maddie and Dawson at Chick-fil-a for lunch at 11:30 and then decided on which movie we would go see. Did you get all that?? That made 5 adults, including me, and 10 children, including Drew and Mikayla - what were we thinking? It actually was WONDERFUL, and a lot of fun!

All of the kids were very well behaved at Chick-fil-a - even though we took up four whole tables. They played on the playground for awhile after we finished eating while us girls got to talk. Then we decided on which movie we would see (Bedtime Stories) and headed to the theater. The kids were very well behaved during the movie as well. Mikayla, Breanna, Nanda, Traci, Morgan, and I sat on one row, with Loretta, Elizabeth, Maddie, Angie, and Emily sitting directly behind us, and the boys (Philip, Bryson, Dawson, and Drew) sat at the top because the theater was so crowded. I was a little concerned at first about the boys being at the top without an adult, but they were fine! It was a good movie, I think the adults enjoyed it as much as the children. The children were all extremely well behaved. In fact, you would have never guessed we had 10 kids with us unless you counted, and that is saying something, I think!! We can't wait to do this again!!

Fun At the Park!

Since my friend, Amy, was off of work on Monday, December 29th (I know, I'm going backwards again but I forgot to take my camera and Amy so graciously emailed these pictures to me!!) we planned to get together and let the kids play. We decided that we would get lunch and meet at the park to let them play. So Drew, Mikayla, and I went by McDonald's to pick up some lunch (chicken nugget happy meals for them and a bacon ranch salad with grilled chicken for me) and then we headed to the park to meet Amy, Jadyn, and Trevyr. As we were leaving McDonald's I got a call from Amy saying that the park we had planned to take the kids to had a sign on the fence saying closed for repairs. Not to fear, there are 2 other parks close by, and we decided on one of them. Once we arrived, we found a picnic table where we could all enjoy our lunch. The weather was nice, a little windy, but nice.

After we all finished eating, the kids ran to play. When Amy and I weren't up playing with our little ones, we were doing our usual - talking! We all had so much fun and we ended up staying for more than 2 hours. The kids surely slept well that night!

Mikayla deciding if she really wants to try that!
Drew and Jadyn getting ready to play "hide and seek".
Jadyn and Mikayla take a break from playing to pose for a picture.

Drew tries to decide if he really wants to go on the monkey bars.

Look how pretty!! Look how handsome!!

Drew, Trevyr, Jadyn, and Mikayla play in the sand. This was the rare picture of Trevyr. He wouldn't be still long enough for his mom to get a picture - he is so cute!

Run, Mikayla, run!

Such Wonderful Friends!!

I have the best friends a girl could ask for!! 13 of my friends and I got together at Copper River Grill, one of my favorite restaurants, after school on Monday "just because". I have never really been one to take the time to do things like this, and apparently neither have my friends. I am in my eighth year of teaching and the kindergarten teachers have never gotten together outside of school. Don't get me wrong, I have gotten together with friends from school before - a group of us usually go out in August to celebrate our birthdays, just never with ALL my kindergarten friends. We had the best time talking, laughing, and eating. We have decided that we need to do this once every month. I had been looking forward to this get together all weekend, and it was funny hearing many of my friends saying the same thing at school on Monday. Then on Tuesday, our grade rep said everyone she saw just looked "peppier" so I think a tradition has been started for sure. I can't wait!! Thank you to my sweet, wonderful, thoughtful friends for all you do for me each and every day!! I couldn't ask for a better group of people to work with!!

Fun With Bryson and Breanna!

Since I didn't have class last Friday, Drew and Mikayla did not go to daycare. Instead, we met Nanda, Bryson, and Breanna at McDonald's for lunch and the kids played on the playground while Nanda and I chatted. After playing awhile, we brought the kids back to my mom and dad's house and let them swim for a little while! We had so much fun and can't wait to get together again soon - maybe after golf one Tuesday!

Bryson, Drew, Breanna, and Mikayla play "basketball" in the pool as Aunt Jennie looks on.

Mikayla and Breanna check out the water temperature. They look so much alike - and they act like sisters!

Drew and Bryson play "volleyball" as Mikayla watches. You can see the top of Breanna's head sticking over the float if you look carefully!

Movies!

Drew, Mikayla, and Cole after watching Horton Hears a Who.

Cole's mom, Erin, and I decided to get the kids together over spring break. We took them to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch first (see post below), and then headed to the theater. This movie was very cute, even Erin and myself laughed several times. Mikayla just adores Cole and Ms. Erin so she couldn't have been happier. Drew asked if we could get that movie on DVD, so I would say it was a hit with them. We are going to have to get them together again soon - maybe the park next time. Thank you Erin and Cole for spending the day with us - we had a lot of fun!!

Being Silly!

These are more pictures we took while at the fair. I love these, and wish I had gotten one of my mom and dad in this thing. I also wish I had gotten someone to take a picture of Craig and myself here. Josh and Jennie
Drew and Mikayla - I love this! It's easy to see how much they look alike in these pictures.
Poppi and Mikayla
Poppi and Drew

Fair 2007

One of my favorite times of year is fall - I love the colors, the smells, the weather, high school/college football games, etc. One of my favorite parts of fall is the annual fair that comes to town. I remember going every year as a little girl, and I want my children to experience this just as I did! I looked forward to going every year, and it always lived up to my expectations (I think this is because it's something that's consistent - same thing every year we knew what to expect). This has become a yearly tradition for our family. Some years we go more than once - I remember the year I had Mikayla we went three times (she was only 5 weeks old).

Tuesday night our family went to the fair. We told Drew and Mikayla that morning that we were going, so they looked forward to it all day. When I picked them up from Extra Edition, the first thing they asked was "when are we going". My dad, mom, sister, and Josh were going to meet us there. We came home for a quick "potty break" (while I love the fair I do not like the bathrooms there or really any public restroom for that matter), and then we were off.

As soon as we pulled in the parking lot the kids started squealing, and yelling "I see the rides, I see the rides". This to me is priceless - to see their excitement makes me even that much more excited (not hard since I love the fair too!).

Drew, Daddy, and Mikayla can't wait to get inside that gate!

Once we got inside, we ran into Garrett (was in my class last year, and played on the same baseball team with Drew) and his family. Mikayla, Drew, and Garrett ride the spinning bears.

Drew loves the bumper cars. Mikayla remembered that she didn't like riding this by herself at the beach this year, and didn't go on.

As we were waiting in line for the teacups, Annabeth (from dance) ran over to Mikayla. They were excited to ride this ride together!

Mikayla rode the roller coaster all by herself twice, and loved it. Check out that smile!

Drew likes the helicopters because they really "fly".

I LOVE Drew's face in this picture! It's like he's thinking "come on daddy do you have to act like that?" Everyone that knows Drew knows that he acts just like his daddy. In fact, his teacher said that to me today!

Here Drew and Mikayla ride the roller coaster together. They like to ride in front whenever possible, and they like to hold their hands up. Drew still doesn't look like he's having much fun here, but I promise he enjoyed himself!

Jennie and Mimi take a break as Drew and Mikayla enjoy the rides!

Mimi and Poppi look on with Drew and Mikayla as they see what the "new" bumper boats are all about!

Of course they both had to try them, and loved them! I don't think they wanted to get out. The whole time I was thinking I would not want to be the operator of this ride - they had to stand in the pool the whole time and help the boats move around.

One of my favorite pictures from the night. They were riding the boats that go around on a track (like the motorcycles) and just before the ride stopped I looked and they had their arms around each other (where they criss-crossed in the back), and I just had to get a picture! My children are perfect by no means, but when they are sweet, they are super, duper sweet!

Mikayla rode the "drop zone" for the first time this year. Drew was going to ride beside her, but decided to get off before the ride started. This is normally one of his favorites, so I'm thinking he was getting tired. Mikayla didn't mind riding by herself (without Drew), and rode it again and again. I think this was her favorite ride of the night. In the photo above she made a new friend while riding, and in the one below she is being brave (holding her arms up). This was hilarious to watch. She would hold her hands up while the ride went up but as soon as it dropped (more like bounced) down, she would grab the bar and scream! Too Cute!

Ooohhh my mom is going to get me for putting this picture on here, but I couldn't resist one of them eating. Part of the reason I LOVE going to the fair is for the food. My uncle has been at the fair the past two years selling food (he owns The Hot dog Cafe here in town), and we enjoy some of his.

After we ate it was time to see the animals - another one of my favorite parts. Drew and Mikayla look at the cows first!

Next we see the horses. Mikayla is telling Drew "he is gonna bite you"! He didn't bite. I think all the animals could smell the mustard/food on Drew's clothes because none were afraid of getting very close to him.

We all had a super time at the fair, and Mikayla was already asking to go back last night! I am glad we went when we did though because we saw last night/this morning on the news that they had raised the rates. When we went, it cost 5 dollars each for Craig and myself because we weren't riding anything. We paid 14 dollars each for Drew and Mikayla so they could have unlimited rides. We saw that as of yesterday, everyone paid 14 dollars to get in whether they rode rides or not. We saved 28 dollars just by going a day early. If they continue with those prices we may have to find another annual tradition...

Happy Labor Day

To celebrate Labor Day we decided to have family and friends over for supper and to watch (part of) the Clemson/Florida State game. We were planning to cookout, but decided to get hash instead. Food was delicious and the time with our family and friends was precious as always!

As for the game: Craig and his family are huge Clemson fans, and the "Bowden Bowl" is always a big game to watch! Craig loved the first half of the game, but during the second half he was getting a lil' frustrated!! Drew and Trish play with the Nerf guns while waiting on supper. Poppi, and Uncle Jonathan were also in on the act. Jennie enjoys her food!
Drew pours his own tea with daddy's help. Look at my poor husband...he didn't have any clothes, so he had to wear mine! LOL I really just think he wanted all the attention on him - he said "what do you think they'll say about my clothes?"

Poppi and Mikayla acting silly - you can tell my dad LOVES to have his picture taken?
Jonathan shares a chip with Jessica. Don't let that sweet smile fool ya - Mikayla has her Mimi (and Poppi too)wrapped around her little finger! Drew does as well - here he's being our silly little monkey!

Everyone seemed to have a wonderful time tonight! Craig recovered once the time clock of the game read 00:00 and the scoreboard showed Clemson had won!