State Fair

 

Stephen took the kiddos to the Jackson County State Fair after school.  Stephen had the goal of taking all of the kids on the tilt a whirl.  He politely asked me to stay home knowing I may have a slight issue with rides that come out of the back of a truck.  His exact words may have been, "I think we will have more fun without you."  Whatever, safety can be fun!  

 

 

Amelia getting kissed by a pig.  Did she use hand sanitizer after this event?  I don't know because I was asked to not attend.  So if she ate pig snot with her chicken tenders, it is not on me.

 

The kids all loved the "Fun Slide."  Stephen even got them all to ride the tilt a whirl, even Amelia!  Although it took two chances and Stephen making himself nauseous in the process.  

 

And then there is this...SIGH. 

 I received this text while they were on the way home, "Don't be mad."  I was thinking they were going to bring home a stuffed animal the size of Stephen and as I tried to figure out where said stuffed animal would live, they pulled up.  "WE WON FISH!!"

Backstory: Addison pleaded and begged for a fish for her birthday last year.  She received one.  Every mother knows the end of this story.  I have been taking care of birthday fish ever since.  "Did anyone feed the fish?"  Always met with a resounding, "NO!"  Who cleans out the nasty, cloudy, disgusting bowl?  Mommy.

So, to add to the fish and two dogs that I already care for and do not particularly enjoy.  And the three kids I care for that I periodically enjoy (kidding).  They are nonstop little joy balls.  Three more fish, each with their own individual bowl to clean.  Yay.  This confirms my stance on state fairs.

BEARS

 

The day Luke had been waiting for FOREVER finally arrived!  The boys traveled to Atlanta to see a Bears/Falcons game.  Luke was thrilled!!

 

Excited!

 

My boys.

love, love, love

 

Bears Win!!!

And Luke could tell you about every play of the entire game...he loved it!

Odds and Ends

 

Luke has had an awesome start to third grade!  He was chosen by the principal and teachers to serve on Oak Park's Leadership Council.  Luke was chosen based on "leadership, classroom performance, attendance and citizenship."  Luke gets to discuss the school atmosphere with administration and voice any concerns the students may have.  Being chosen to be part of this "prestigious group" Luke was assigned morning announcements over the loudspeaker for an entire week.  Luke did an awesome job with the business part of morning announcements-lunch menu, birthdays, fundraising opportunities, the date, etc. but what made us the most proud was that he decided to lead his entire PUBLIC  school in prayer every morning.  We told him how proud we were of his bravery and confidence to share his faith with hundreds of kids that week.   He said, "Well mom, their parents might not bring them to church so at least they got to pray."  

These are some of the prayers Luke wrote throughout the week to share with his peers.  

Dear God,

Thank you for our school and a chance to learn.  Thank you for 

all the teachers and assistants who help us.  Please bless our day. Amen

Dear God,

Thank you for this beautiful day.  Please be with the St. Jude children who need your care.  Lord bless our day. Amen

Luke also was honored as student Citizen of the Month for September.  The quality trait this month's student was honored for was Responsibility.  We were very, very proud of our little man.  Now if I could just get him to be responsible around here and pick up his legos!

 

Addison and her buddy, Amanda, were just too cute not to snap a picture.

 

Cruising the Coast cruised on in again this year.  It has gotten to be humongous!!!  Over 8000 registered cars so we are pretty much stuck riding our bikes around for a long weekend due to the traffic.  We took the time to walk around and look at cars again this year.  This time the kids kept track of different categories...

Amelia kept track of decades of cars 

Luke kept track of model of cars

Addison kept track of color of cars

 

This is Addison's "happy place."  On the couch with 25 new selections to read from the library.  She will sit and read until she finishes every book.  She is quite the little reader. 

 

YIkes!!  Does this give you chills?  It does to me which is why I do not accompany Stephen when he takes the kids to the gun range.  We live in Mississippi y'all.  EVERYONE has guns and EVERYONE knows how to shoot them.  And by the way, don't ever mess with Mimi, she does not miss her target.  

Happy 38th to me!

 

How could I celebrate my birthday without these smiley kiddos?

 

My birthday buddy and I having our birthday sundaes, yummy!

 

 

 

It was such a great birthday and those three in my arms, the best and biggest blessings ever.  

 

My week was filled with lots of birthday dinners and lunches with friends, y'all sure know how to make a girl feel special.  Thanks for all the love! 

The kids picked out jewelry and tennis outfits which are always a big hit with me.  And then there is Addison.   "Daddy, I want to get mommy a new bikini for her birthday."  And that she did.  Wow!  And as you can see she wanted to model it as well.  This girl is going to give me a run for my money.

Soccer Star

 

This is Addison and her buddy, Lily, from preschool.  They are as cute as can be!

 

Addison showing her fierce soccer face.  

 

Girl power!  The other teams had about 7 or 8 players but our team members were very young and most of them ended up on the sidelines with their mommas.  So it was up to Lily, Addison and Katharine to bring the sharks a victory...we are still waiting for that victory.  Luckily, in four and five year old soccer we don't keep score officially and all the parents cheer when any child scores, from either team, because it is usually by accident if a ball makes it into the net.  

Family Time

 

The Rivalry runs deep in this family...Packers/Bears Sunday are always a fun day!  Thankfully our Green and Gold Girls beat the Blue and Orange boys.  Go Pack!  

 

Addison is all about the pose lately.

 

I figured it had been awhile since I had gotten a picture of the three of them together.  As you can see, Luke was thrilled with the idea.   Happy Fall!

Better late than never...

 

The only thing later than this birthday party, is this blog post.  I finally got around to planning Amelia's 11th Birthday party and Luke's 9th Birthday party.  Thankfully they were both in favor of a joint pool party, awesome!  I love birthday parties that are easy for me...and that the kids enjoy of course.

 

We had a great pool day in September and the kids swam, ate pizza and cake with all of their buds.  

 

Happy Birthday Luke and Amelia!