Wednesday, August 31, 2011

more cousin birthday celebrating

All of our cousins [so far] have August birthdays.  Towards the beginning of the month, baby cousin Leo turned one.  The end of the month means celebrating cousins Carter & Callen's births.

Debbie and I loaded up my 3 kids + baby Leo one Saturday morning and headed to Birmingham to celebrate Carter & Callen's birthdays.

Carter had a "friend" party that morning.  He invited all his friends over to jump in a Toy Story bounce house, play sports, eat chicken fingers and Toy Story cake.

Carter&Owen

Carter & Owen playing football.

Leo

Baby Leo chased a ball around in the grass.

After all the kids left, the cousins had the bounce house all to themselves...

CousinsCelebrate

They had a fabulous time playing...we are so glad our two cousins are back in the South and closer to "home".

Leo2

Leo loved having the bounce house all to himself.

Leo&Owen

Then a wild indian joined him.

OwenBallBouncing

And a wild indian he was in that bounce house. He would run around and then fling himself into one of the sides.

Aunt Stacey & Uncle Jerald took the big kids back to "Aunt Stacey's Hotel" for a dip in the pool.  The little kids took some form of a rest/nap...then it was time to celebrate Callen turning 2 and Carter turning 4 with all the family.  Uncle Nicholas grilled some mean hamburgers & hot dogs.  Debbie and I whipped up some tomato pies...

tomatopie

...to go with all the other sides.

It was so fun getting to celebrate birthdays with all the cousins!

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

s c h o o l

School is back in session [it has been back for almost 3 weeks now]...back to a routine, homework & extra-curricular activities [I just can't seem to get totally back into the swing].

The Thursday before school started on the 15th, Banks and Mary Reese had Meet Your Teacher at their schools.  First we headed to Ben Davis to "Meet Mrs. Propst" with Mary Reese.  Except she knew exactly where she was going because Mrs. Propst was Banks's teacher two years ago...

MRMeetTeacher

She found her room and quickly found her desk with Eliza, Ella and Anna....

MRDesk

She was thrilled to see Mrs. Propst...

MR&MrsPropstMeetTeacher

...and Mary Bibb...

MB&MRMeetTeacher

She already knew over half of her class from either First Baptist days, gymnastics, the baseball fields or church.  There are even 2 other girls whose brothers were in Banks's First Grade Class.  She was in hog heaven!

We dropped Mary Reese & Owen off with Debbie, then we headed to Leon Sheffield to meet Banks's new teacher [at their school 1st-2nd is on one campus and 3rd-5th is on another...so they won't be at the same building until 3rd & 5th].

All the 3rd Graders met with Mrs. Poovey [the Principal] while the parents met with the teachers.  After his meeting with Mrs. Poovey, Banks joined us in the classroom...

BMeetTeacher

We loved meeting our new teachers and seeing all our friends.  Both could not wait until Monday for the first day of school!

[We headed to Atlanta for 1 last summer vacay trip.]

Monday morning we hit the ground running and have not stopped since!  It was back to quick breakfasts [that we can eat on the go if needed] and packed lunches...

QuickBreakfast&PackedLunches

One last picture before heading to our classrooms...

B&MR1Day

[One day they might thank me for always taking the time to get their picture on the first day of school...2010, 2009, 2008 & 2008, & 2007.]  Owen is back at First Baptist Preschool where we have had at least 1 child enrolled since 2003.  He was still asleep on the first day of school, so he missed all the hoop-la!

Ben Davis was the first stop on our route that morning.  Mary Reese was so excited she could hardly stand it...

MRBenDavis

She has only been waiting for 2 years to be in Mrs. Propst's 1st Grade Class...

MR1stDay

She was excited to share some special Fruity Pebbles Treats on the first day of First Grade for snack...

MR1DaySnack

[We also had some cheese staws bagged up for the teachers to snack on their first day back with their kids.]

I grabbed one last picture with Mrs. Propst, her former student & her new student before heading onto Leon Sheffield...

BMR&MrsPropst1Day

Banks walking into Leon Sheffield on his first day of 3rd Grade...

BLeonSheffield

If you can't tell, he is REAL thrilled that I made him stop, turn around and take a picture.  I am such an embarrassment if you couldn't tell!  Isn't that what parents are for?

We run into Mrs. Morris in the hall...

B&MrsMorris1Day

He let me snap a quick pic before heading to find all his friends in the little theater.


We survived the first week...it was mainly a week for everyone to get adjusted and acclimated to their new teachers, schools and schedules.  The second week...the reality started!


Banks had homework every night except Wednesdays.  We get it all on Monday, so we know what to expect for the week.  We have a reading requirement for each nine weeks.  Test days are on Fridays...we have Spelling [unless you make a 100 on the Pretest on Thursday], Vocabulary, Daily Oral Language and Math.  Spanish grades & Vocabulary are new for us this year.  This is how we have been studying...

BVocab

I write the word on one post-it note and the definition on another.  All he has to do is match them up.

Mrs. Propst believes kids need to just be kids!  She never gives much homework...just reading each night.  Mary Reese is my reader...so it is easy, peasy with her.

But I have loved finding special things in her backpack...

MR&NewFriends

Her with her old & new friends...Mary Reese, Mia Kate, Mary Bibb & Abby.  [And technically it is not her real backpack...she got that out of the closet this summer and we still can't find it along with the matching lunchbox!]

She has started her first "Fabulous Fridays" and is thrilled with her painting classes.  Girl loves her some arts & crafts!

Thursday, August 25, 2011

hotlanta

We took full advantage of the last weekend of summer vacation by squeezing in a little overnighter to Hotlanta.  One of Jody's suppliers gave him a hotel room and some tickets to a Braves game...so off we went.

We checked into the Westin Downtown, grabbed a quick lunch at Jalapeno Charlie's and then took the glass elevator to the top of the hotel...

TurnerFieldWestin

...where we enjoyed a drink and some amazing views of Atlanta.  The kids thought it was super cool to rotate around the top of the hotel...

OTopofWestin

We headed to Turner Field a few hours before the game...

TurnerField

There is so much to do...you need to get there way before the game to enjoy it all!  Banks got to bat and pitch...

BPitching

...Mary Reese got a cheerleader tat...

BravesTat

...and Owen ran into an old friend...

BravesMickey

We shopped for some souvenirs and made our way to our seats in right field.  Banks and Mary Reese quickly got in position to snag a few autographs...

GettingAutographs

It was HOT until the sun went behind the stadium.  At one point I looked over and saw this...

HotMR

She rebounded after a frozen lemonde.

Our seats were perfect.  We were surrounded by lots of fun people.  Erin & Andrew Villarreal even spotted us from their seats a few rows up...such a small world!

We cheered on the Braves best we could...

OBraves

...but the Cubs came out on top.

A few more shots after the game...

FAM@Braves

...a rare one of the entire family...

FAM@Braves2

I didn't realize how much Mary Reese was into her flower sporting a Braves hat until I looked at these pictures.  Hysterical.

We got up the next morning and decided to hit the aquarium.  I have been dying to take the kids.  How could we stay 2 blocks away from the World's Largest Aquarium and not go?  So off we went...

Fam@GAAq

The whole family had a blast exploring the aquarium...

GAAquarium26

We saw sharks...

GAAquarium2

...crazy divers in the shark tank...

GAAquarium

...penguins...

GAAquarium3

...and albino alligator...

GAAquarium25

...belugas...

GAAquarium4

Who I couuld have personally watched all day long.

We ended our visit playing in the kids area...

OMRGAAq

Owen, are you ready to leave?

OGAAq

He decided he might be on board when we mentioned the word lunch.

We introduced ourselves and our children to...

Varsity

...one of Atlanta's finest eateries.  The Varsity.

We had a smorgasbord...

VarsityDogs

...chili cheese dogs, cheeseburgers, fries and onion rings.  This place has it down pat.  They can sling our some food.

I dare say that my kids thoroughly enjoyed their Varsity experience...

MRVarsity

...and sporting their Varsity hats...

OVarsity

I meant to get a fried pie but some how missed out.  I guess that gives me an excuse to go back.

We had a fabulous time making memories...

Varsity2

Varsity3

Can't wait to explore more of the city on our next visit!

Monday, August 22, 2011

cousin leo turns one

Our youngest cousin turned one on August 10th.  He had a super fun Dr. Seuss Birthday Bash.  Owen and the birthday boy took a little wagon ride...

Leo&OwenWagon

Owen's One-Eyed Willie look...

Leo&OwenWagon2

Usually this is the face I get when he sees me with the camera.

No party is complete without a huge blow up.  My baby was right there with the big kids...

OwenSlide

...full speed...

OwenSlide2