Halloween 2011

Well, it's me again...the blogging slacker! Sorry I've been missing in action lately. Sigh.  Oh well, here we go again.  Halloween 2011 was a great one.  Evan decided he wanted to be a Cincinnati Reds baseball player (since he eats, drinks, breathes, and sleeps sports these days). Elliott was Woody from Toy Story.  I guess I'm partial but I'm pretty sure they were the two cutest spooks around! Enjoy the pictures. 

Evan at his Halloween party with his pumpkin that we carved together!

Noah, Evan, and Jarrett

Evan and Macy

Aunt Stacy really made Evan's costume by adding his name and number to the jersey!

Elliott "Woody"

(This would be one of the only pictures I got of Elliott wearing a hat and not screaming. He was less-than-willing to wear his costume. :)

My sweet babies

(What? You didn't know Woody had a paci? :)

Mommy and her boys

Mamaw with the Stice boys...LOVE IT!

Mamaw and Papaw Stice with the boys

One of the perks of Halloween...driving from Grammy's to Granna's.

All the Stice "grands"

  

Woody and Jessie...SWEET!

When I see these two I always go back to the many times Lesley and I dreamed about these babies!

Okay, I know I say this a lot, but I'm going to try and do better. I have summer vacation and fall cruise pictures to post soon!

Easter 2011

Look at me...two posts in two days...I'm on a roll! :-)

Easter 2011 was a wonderful weekend for us!  On Saturday, we celebrated with the Stices at David and Sandy's. (I forgot my camera.)  We had a yummy supper and then the kids had an egg hunt!  On Easter morning, the Easter Bunny came to see the boys.  We were up bright and early and attended Sunrise Service at Pleasant Union.  That service has always been so special to me and I always want it to be a special part of our family's Easter traditions.  After sunrise, we came home and caught a quick nap before we had church. Finally, we ended the day at Mom and Dad's. Jen, Doug, and Harper came up and we had a wonderful lunch.  It was a great weekend!!!! Enjoy the pictures!

**Side Note: Even though I had to drag my husband kicking and screaming, I managed to clothe us in matching outfits! I think on Easter, one darn day a year, that we should all coordinate.  Though I almost had to strangle a certain 32 year old man (I'll leave him nameless to protect his identity), I think in the end we looked pretty good! :-)

Evan and Elliott must have been good boys this year!

Elliott coloring in his Mickey coloring book from the Easter Bunny!

Me and my sweet babies

Have I mentioned how much I love these two? 

A special thanks to Stacy for the sweet Easter baskets!

I love how Elliott is trying to be as big as Evan.

The Stices after Sunrise Service

Grammy, Papaw, and the boys

My sweet family

The Stices

Me, Steph, and Lesley

Brandie and Me

The boys made fun of the girls for taking pictures, so they thought they deserved a group shot!

My little family

And, though it didn't occur until a week after Easter due to the weather, we did get to have an Easter Egg hunt at Sunday School.  Elliott found the prize egg, but don't worry, Evan managed to talk him into sharing his chocolate rabbit! :-)

The best picture we could get with LOTS of kids excited about an egg hunt! :-)

Elliott was on a mission!

Evan counting his eggs.

Happy Mother's Day

Mother's Day 2011 has been my best ever!  Yesterday, Mom, the boys, and I met Jen, Doug, Harper, Greg, and Frances in Nashville for lunch.  After that, Mom, the boys, and I hit Rivergate Mall for some shopping.  We had such a great time!  Today, the boys and I went to Sunday School with Mom and Dad.  After that, Shaun grilled steaks for us and we had the best time just visiting at home.  Tonight we met all the Stices at Sahara to celebrate with Sandy.  I am so, so, so thankful for my family! I love them more than words can say!!!!

At lunch with Mom and the siblings...

My two greatest blessings in this world.  I love them more than anything!

My mama...NO WORDS can say how much I love this woman!

Grammy and her boys.

Sandy with all her kids

Granna and her grandbabies

Since this blog is to help me remember important moments in our lives, I am going to chronicle some of this weekend's highlights.

I have three favorite memories...

1. Yesterday, while walking down the mall, out of the clear blue, Mom looked at me and said, "You're such a good Mom." Tears welled up in my eyes.  Such a compliment coming from the world's greatest mom. I told her it was because I had such a good example to follow. :-)

2. Evan asked the blessing today at lunch.  As he finished he said, "And thank you God for giving me the best Mommy." I love that boy!

3. My husband has done everything in his power to make this day special for me.  First, he got me two Pandora beads for my bracelet (the baby carriage and the smooth silver heart). Next, he fed and bathed both boys so I could get ready for church. Then he cooked lunch and capped two quarts of strawberries.  I <3 him!

Happy Mother's Day Everyone!!!!!

Evan's 7th Birthday Party

My sweet "big" baby boy celebrated his upcoming birthday with some of his classmates yesterday at Extreme Gymnastics in Glasgow.  This year the theme of the party was Super Mario since all Evan seems to think about is playing his beloved Wii and Nintendo DSi. :-)

In case you didn't notice in the picture above, Mrs. Donna Long completely outdid herself on Evan's cake this year! I wish I had taken a picture of his expression when we went in her house to get it!  It far exceeded either of our expectations, and, as I say every year, I think this is my favorite cake she's ever made for us! But, I have a sneaky suspicion that I'll be saying that again next year! :-)

Evan with some of his buddies

And again

Blowing out the candles

Opening one of his MANY gifts!  His friends were TOO good to him! :-)

Unfortunately, our party ended on a sour note! As we were loading the van AFTER the party, Evan told me that he wasn't feeling well. By the time we got him home, he was running a fever and his tonsils were covered in white spots!  We are home today with a confirmed case of strep after a visit to see Dr. Kniery! Looks like we'll be here again tomorrow! :-(

Elliott doesn't seem to mind that Evan isn't feeling well .He just sees it as an opportunity to snuggle with his idol! :-)  I figure it won't hurt! I'm sure we'll all have it before it's over with anyway!

And lastly...

looks like Grammy is going to make a reader out of Elliott afterall! :-)

(Notice the book is upside down. He doesn't seem to care!)

February So Far...

I thought I'd update on what's been happening in February...so far.  On February 10th, Shaun celebrated his 32nd birthday!  He decided he didn't want to go out, but instead, picked a menu for me to cook.  I invited his parents and grandparents to help us celebrate.

Shaun and Evan with Shaun's favorite, Riley's cake.

Right as the flash went off, Shaun decided to be funny! :-)

Our Little Family

Shaun and his grandparents

Shaun and his parents

Evan was sick with a stomach bug on Valentine's Day, so he had to miss his party at school. Never fear though, he was able to take in his Valentines and homemade box the next day!

I have not one creative bone in my body. Thankfully, Lesley has lots of creative bones. She helped me think of this idea and Evan LOVED making his monster box! It turned out so cute!

And, lastly, I apparently have a memory problem! There. I said it.  Seriously! Back a few years ago, I was so "with it." I was always on time, always knew where everything was, always had my laundry done, always had everything organized. Fast forward to the present, and I'm just a mess most of the time! I mean, my house stays relatively picked up, my family looks good most of the time, we get where we need to be within a few minutes of when we're supposed to be there, but I'm just not "with it" anymore!  Here is a prime example.  Last Sunday was Macy's birthday party! Evan had been looking forward to this movie party for weeks! He couldn't wait to see Gnomeo and Juliet. I RSVPed and even offered to take Jarrett with me so Lera could rest on her  only day off.  However, Sunday morning I was sick and Shaun offered to take the boys so I could rest.  He called 30 minutes later to tell me that no one was at the theater.  Come to find out, the party was in Glasgow and I had sent my husband, son, and his buddy to Bowling Green!  What in the world?  The worst part is that I talk to Stephanie at least twice a day. How the fact that I was planning to go to Bowling Green for the party never came up is still a mystery.  Anyway, to redeem myself, I took Evan, Jarrett, and Macy to see Gnomeo and Juliet on Friday night!

...in 3D!

At the end of the night, none of them could remember that I ruined the party for them! They were all thrilled with our fun afternoon and thought I was the coolest mom ever! :-) I am SO GLAD that Evan has such great friends!

Hope everyone has a great week!