Take 2... Take 57.... #willshouldnotbeinchargeofthecameraever

I was blessed with two baby sisters.

God saw fit to give me a few more soliders in my sibling army, but these girls are the originals.

Bless them.

They have been my little sisters for 30 and 26 years.

I wouldn't want to do life along with ANYONE else.

Both of them happened to marry really fantastic guys.

Occasionally we get to enjoy time together!

This dinner was a FIRST for all of us and it was awesome!

I so enjoy spending time with the guys and the girls too!

The conversation was interesting and the laughter never stopped.

After dinner we ventured off to dessert....

And we asked Sir William Pitts to come take our photo.

There were about 90 pictures that looked like this one below... before we got to the ONE shot that looked acceptable.

Just one shot.

most of them look like this...

Man, I love these people.

Finally, summer!

Strategically placed baby bell blocks the nekkid baby bottom.

Oh, this one.

I love her so.

And him.

When did he get so grown up?

I miss chubby hands.

Ice cream in the yard daily.

Or driveway.

And the Queen was pushing the Princess around the yard for good measure.

I love sweet summertime.

Weddings

Y'all.

I love weddings.

I also love that I live in Georgia and can say that 'Y'all' is a complete sentence.

Because, it is.

I so enjoy spending time with people at weddings.

I like dressing up and dancing.

I like that people are mostly happy at weddings.

The smiles and tears shared are always full of joy.

I seriously had a blast at this wedding.

We enjoyed spending time with Flat Leigh Anne and Flat Buddy.

The bride and groom are awesome people and I love them both dearly.

Not to mention, they look fabulous together and I seriously love them both.

Probably the best night of the summer.

Hands down.

Graduation Tears

Every single year, it never fails that a piece of my heart walks out of the school building on the last day of the school year.  Some years there are more pieces than others, but there is always at least ONE.  This past spring these ladies walked through our halls for the last time as a student and they crossed a stage to receive a diploma.  The tears I cried that day were immeasurable and they pride I felt was just as grand.  I am so excited to see where the journey beyond AHS takes these young ladies.  They are genuine women of integrity and I cannot wait to see what their lives hold. 

This year was unique for me as a teacher.  I had the privilege of watching my brother in law's younger brothers graduate from AHS.  My brother in law is a Marine and I'm very proud of him for choosing to do that.  There is a point in the graduation ceremony where our administrators have all graduates who are joining the military stand to be recognized.  As a mother, sister, friend, teacher, and general human being I sobbed at that moment in time.  The pride and fear and overwhelming sense of amazement at those men and women was indescribable.  I was so grateful that these young people were capable and willing to make a decision to join a noble force in our world. 

What an honor to have known and taught SO MANY SOLIDERS!

My Britt--starting at LSU this fall.

My Bailie--starting at JSU this fall.

My Jamie--starting at school in Ga this fall.

V town

Clearly, summer isn't my prime time to blog.  I guess I'm too busy from May-August to actually sit and do this.  We are actually living and going and doing.  Sitting down to blog would require quiet time and nobody talking to me or needing me to be the referee or asking me for a snack.  

Not happening.  

So we visited Vidalia in April for The Onion Festival.

A good time was had by all.

Hayes searched for 'the mysterious red deer' while we were on our safari.

Libby enjoyed time with 'the girl cousins and Emma's mom' while we visited.

Spencer climbed stuff she wasn't supposed to and ate chalk.

The best thing about a 4 month delay on publishing these entries is that Spencer has SO much hair now!

Still working on my pirate face.

I'll get it before he turns 6...

Bikes and sleepover.

Forgive me...

I've done a picture purge on my phone, which means I'm documenting the millions of photos that I should have shared about 5 months ago.  

Like this...

Sean got a 'new to him bike' and drove it from Vidalia to D'ville.

He wrecked it less than 4 miles from our house.

Drove for 3 hours before he put it down.

After that, I picked Kendall up from the hospital and let Bethany give Sean the stink eye...

Poor Sean.  Except, not really.

Kendall apparently doesn't ever fall asleep.

Ever.

Everyone was shocked when she managed to pass out with Libby in her bunk bed without any assistance from any adults.  She sure did!  Granted, she took a bit longer than the Cochrans, but she made it asleep and I documented it for proof.  She's a sweet girl.  We were honored to have her and so grateful that Sean was okay.

Cliff Diving

Since THIS is what she looks like about 98% of the time....

This is what happens to her face after she stops... suddenly....

on the floor.

Forehead, meet corner.

Corner, meet forehead.

Elizabeth turns 4.

This sassy girl turned 4 today!  She is stubborn and has a vocabulary that most grown folks strive to use.  She is vibrant and funny and she keeps us laughing.  She is a wonderful child and an absolute challenge to raise.  Proud to be her momma. 

Mason Creek

I have two sweet girls who are less than afraid of most the things in the world.

We spend more time rescuing them from pending death or injury than we do anything else...

The creek was no exception.

See, Spencer?  You just put your feet in like this and Mommy won't care...

Hayesface goes to Kindergarten

I only cried a little bit.

I only cried a little bit about 5 times during the day.

He was anxious and excited for his first day of Kindergarten.  He couldn't get out of his carseat fast enough.  He was SO excited to be a Winston Wildcat and be a part of a BIG school.  He is the best example of an eager learner and the best 'first day of school' kid ever.  He jumped out of the van and I had to remind him not to run across the parking lot.  He was thrilled to walk into the building and embrace his new journey.  

Thumbs up in the car before we left the house.

Me:  Hayes, what is your bus number?

Hayes:  315.

Being the good seatbelt mom, I fixed his strap after the photo.  I'm aware that it was not correct and not safe for travel.  Thanks for your concern about my kiddo... but I promise, I worry more about him than you do.  Ever. 

Me:  Hayes, what is your bus number?

Hayes:  315.

5 minutes later...

Me:  Hayes, what is your bus number?

Hayes:  315.

10 minutes later...

Me:  Hayes, what is your bus number?

Hayes:  Mommy, we have talked about this 3 times already.  Don't ask me again.

Me:  Okay, well... what is your bus number just in case I forget?

Hayes:  Mommy.  315.

So... we were on time for school and I was THRILLED at that.  Time management:  not my strongest suit.  Working on that.  I made him go back up there in the evening after dinner and take photos with this sign.  I wanted to document it and make sure we had no rush and no photo bombers.  Also, I didn't cry any after school.

Hayes managed to drink his drink, eat apples, and socialize at lunch.  He inhaled his snack after school.  I packed a sandwich, chips, and apples for lunch.  Kid is going to have to eat more than that!  Right?!

I think I'll take a photo with the school sign each year so we can document start to finish!

All smiles.  Day 1, done.  179 to go!