Where's The Spirit?

Ella Kate has been looking forward to cheer camp at MRA all summer.  Her time with the "real cheerleaders" did not disappoint.  Today, we got to go and watch a little pep rally and see all the moves the girls learned this week.

 EK said her favorite part was getting to do her jump when her name was called.

 Walker was EK's biggest cheerleader.  He stood and waved at her and clapped for her the whole time.

 Sweet girl even got a certificate.  She was so proud! It's hard to believe that in a few days she will be an official MRA kindergartener!!!!  She's going to love it!!!!

Our Visit with Jordan

We were all so excited to have Jordan in town for a few days.  

 Papaw and Aunt Carolyn joined us all at Mom and Dad's to visit and eat lunch together.  The kids enjoyed entertaining everyone and it was just so nice to get to spend time together.

 Jordan's BFF Mackenzie came over with her little boy.  Walker was not too happy about having to share his toys, but they were able to agree on the perfect hiding spot.  The empty toy cabinet made for some happy little boys!

 Don the Donkey was the bday gift that Jordan sent to Walker.  He LOVES that thing and wanted to take it to Mom's so Jordan could see it being put to use.

Nothing makes me happier than getting to spend time with family and friends.  I only wish that everyone could be together more often!!!!  Come back soon Jo!

A Whole Lot of Randomness

So, it seems that I have become quite the blog slacker.  Here is an attempt to bring things up to speed.  Our dancer from the IBC won the silver, so that was pretty cool.  I told y'all he was legit good!

Walker apparently found my phone and took 264 pictures that looked just like this.  No seriously, 264 identical pictures.  Just what I always wanted!

J spent 10 days in Peru with some of his students.  They did construction, backyard Bible clubs, worked in an orphanage, and did door to door visiting.  Our church has been going to the same place for years, so he said it was truly amazing to see the relationships that have formed through the years.  It seemed like a very fruitful time for them.  As for the rest of us at home, I am thankful for facetime because 10 days is a LONG time!

J gave EK a lego set for her birthday.  She is obsessed and does such a good job following the directions to build her princess castle.  She is so proud.

We visited with my Papaw on my birthday and EK read several books to him.  She's pretty proud of that too.

These two are so silly.  They love to peek a boo behind trees or anything else for that matter.  Our photographer friend Kelly has trained them well!

I love my sweet babies!

We so loved having Jordan in town for a few days! Virginia is just too far from Mississippi!

J and I just got home from 5 days in Panama City with 1800 jr high and high school students (only 54 were ours) at Big Stuf camp.  Fun, right?  I'm not sure when the last time that just J and I had a picture taken, but somehow we ended up with 4 in our 5 days!

Our group had an incredible time worshiping together, hanging out, and just enjoying the beautiful beach.

I am thankful to both sets of our parents for tag teaming the babysitting duties so that I could be a part of the trip.  The kids spent the first part of the week with the Nelsons.  They had a big time shopping at the Dollar Tree, eating lots of Happy Meals in order to collect all the Beanie Babies and eating ice cream at 10 pm.  Grandparents are allowed to do that, you know.

One more picture from our trip.  I am not a selfie person, but I did send this picture to the other leaders. I rode in a van of 8th grade boys.  Y'all.  There are no words to describe the smell.  It could peel paint.  Unbelievable. And my hair is sticking up bc I had been hanging my head out the window.

When we got out of the car yesterday after church, Walker asked to have his picture taken, so I of course obliged.  It was fun to be at the beach, but it was way better to be home with my little ones!!!

Happy 4th Y'all!

Our 4th was SUPER laid back and was just the kind of day we needed!!! Ella Kate and Walker painted this pallet flag.  I'm pretty obsessed and already have plans to do a Christmas theme on the reverse side.

We had lunch with my parents and spent the morning just playing with them.

 After lunch, we picked up J at the airport!!!! So thankful for the opportunities that he had to serve in Peru and so very grateful to have him home safely!!!!!

 EK is pretty obsessed with the new headbands that her daddy brought her from his trip.

 We spent the rest of the day just relaxing at home and then headed to Madison for the fireworks.  As luck would have it, a fire truck parked in the same parking lot where we were waiting.  Oh my...that was one happy little boy!!!!!!

 Time for the fireworks...finally!!!!

I love that EK has her arm around her brother.  They were so funny and provided us with endless commentary throughout the display.  EK was constantly saying, "Oh, I like that one the best! That's my favorite!" and Walker would say, "It goes POP!!!!!"  "That's so funny!!!" over and over again!  It was so fabulous to celebrate together and we are so blessed to live in the US of A!

While Daddy is Away...

J has been in Peru for the last 10 days, so the kids and I have filled our days burning up the road visiting with family and friends.  It has helped to stay busy because 10 days is A LONG TIME!!!!  We went to Columbus for a few days to hang out with the Nelsons.  Not 5 minutes after we pulled in to the driveway, my kids had changed into their swim suits to play in the little pool.  Pretty smart thinking since it was 98 degrees.  Yikes.

They also made a ridiculous number of laps around the house on all the different riding toys.  They got pretty smart and asked Nana to make a "car wash."  She stood with the water hose sprayer thing and sprayed them as they looped by her.

We went over to the Sykes' house for a little pool time and birthday celebration.  Sweet Hunter and Sarah Kat made cupcakes for EK and decorated the dining room for a little party.  We all had a blast!

Walker always wants to know where Pop is at all times.  They are buddies!!!  So we did a lot of "Pop watching" and looking for his lawn mower.  Meemaw moved to a new room at the place where she lives.  The kids loved exploring her new home and especially loved the birds and fish that are in the lobby.  EK pushed Meemaw all the way to dinner.  She was so proud to be such a big helper.

We met up with the Gordon's one night at Chick Fil A.  Walker's behavior was less than stellar, but EK had a big time playing with Mary Reeves.  We went by their house for a few minutes to play after dinner.  I love getting to see this sweet family and I CAN NOT WAIT for the girls trip in a few weeks with Meaghan and several more of our BFFs!!!!!

We got back home yesterday and are SLOWLY getting back to normal.  Walker does not sleep particularly well away from home, so that makes for some grumpy days and bad attitudes.  Thankfully,  J will be home tomorrow and we can get back to the way things should be!!!!

A Day in the Life of a Birthday Girl

When it came to the day of Ella Kate's real birthday, she had very specific ideas as to what we should do. 

1) go to church

2) eat at Newk's

3) go to Build A Bear for a My Little Pony

4) nap at Kay Kay's

5) go to Dollar Tree

6) eat ice cream

With the exception of the nap, we hit everything on her list and had such a nice day celebrating our favorite 5 year old!

 We opened a few presents at Kay Kay and G's after church and then headed to Newk's.  We eat there A LOT, but it is my kids favorite!  We snapped a few pictures outside the restaurant after we finished eating.

EK saw a commercial showing that Build A Bear carries the My Little Pony friends.  She begged and begged for me to take her, so I told her that I would give her that for her birthday.  She was giddy and had such a fun time making her very own Twilight Sparkle.

 EK served us some tasty tea from her new tea set that Aunt Jordan and Uncle Ross sent her.  She is smitten with it!

 Speaking of smitten....these 2!

 The ice cream sundae portion of the day served as a nice refresher for Robert and Haley.  They spent the weekend tearing down and rebuilding my parents deck! They did an awesome job!

 Nana and Pop came to stay with us on EK's birthday night.  The kids were so excited to see them and we so appreciate Pop taking care of the yard since J is gone.

 Happy birthday to our sweet girl!!! We love you to the moon and back!!!