Little Slugger

This year Tripp moved out of t-ball and into the Coach Pitch league for baseball. He was on a great team called the Orioles with wonderful players and parents. He made some great friends this year and learned so much from the great coaches he had. On the Saturday before Mother's Day, right after winning the tournament, Tripp broke his right arm in multiple places, therefore ending his baseball career for the season. He had to wear a cast for 6 weeks and has just gotten into wearing a brace. He will hopefully be able to play baseball in the fall of the year to build back his skills and be ready for next Spring.

End of the Year Party!

When I say that we had the most incredible first grade experience for Tripp, I promise I am not exaggerating. He had two wonderful teachers who I cannot say enough about, Ms. Morgan and Mrs. McEachern. Tripp was one of "The Three Amigos" because all you ever heard him talk about was, "Me, Chase, and Cole". There is no telling what mischief the three of those boys got in this year! The group of students in his classroom bonded together like family when one of their classmates, Isalet was diagnosed with Leukemia in the fall. They did several fundraisers together for her, wrote to her, and even got to communicate with her via Skype. (All of this was done through the hard work of his teacher - I told you she was incredible!) On Easter Sunday morning, Isalet went home to be with Jesus and taking on the task of explaining that to her friends in the class was left up to the parents and their teachers. The children were so wonderful - their faith is so much stronger than ours. I truly believe that these students will have a bond that will carry them throughout their school years. Even if they are not in the same class in years to follow, they have incredible memories together. To celebrate at the end of the year, we had a class party at the Pearl park. We ate lots of great food and the kids played for hours. It was a great time for everyone except that we realized we were all leaving Ms. Morgan's class! Which was just has hard for the parents as it was for the students. We certainly wish she was moving up to teach them in second grade and third, and fourth. . . . :)

Brothers

These are just some of the sweet pics of my boys that I have taken over the past few months. They really do love each other (or at least that is what I tell myself while they are in one of their fighting matches)!

Deer Camp

We have been so blessed to be able to have our own place at the deer camp this year. It is our little "home away from home" Unfortunately, we've only been able to stay in it for two nights! Of course, it took a little time to get it set up and going (I wish I had a video camera when Charlie and Ronnie Pops were leveling it!) and then we had a little "issue" with someone taking our electrical copper which left us with no electricity for a while. With all of the flooding, we thought that we would be out of electricity for the whole summer, but we got lucky and they were able to get it going. Thank goodness the in-laws have a place just a few doors down with extra beds! Charlie has worked so hard to make it a perfect place for our family to have somewhere to "get away" when we need to, but also for us to spend time together during hunting season. My kids love being down there. They run and play and get extremely dirty and I don't care! They have and are making so many wonderful memories with their MamaSig and Ronnie Pops and with all of their cousins. I am so thankful for the opportunities that we have to spend there and what it means to my kiddos!

Vaiden Turns 2!

I cannot believe that my baby boy is two years old! He has grown so much in the last year and has flourished on his gluten free diet. He is growing so fast and has such a funny personality. On the Friday night of his actual birthday, we went on our traditional "Grandparent's Dinner" where just our family and all of the grandparents are invited to celebrate the birthday. We started this tradition on Tripp's first birthday and I hope we will be able to continue it throughout their lives. We chose Sal and Mookies because of their gluten free options, but when we got there and got ready to order, we were informed that they no longer served the gluten free options even though it was still on the menu. What a bummer! Oh well, we just found something he could eat and most of all he enjoyed his vanilla ice cream at the end. Because of the busyness of the summer, we decided to have a small birthday party at Chick-fil-A. When I told my dad that we were having his party on a Monday morning, he said, "You're having his party during the week?" I explained that since he was only two, we were just inviting a few of his friends an most of them either had moms that stayed at home or didn't work during the summer and this way it wouldn't be so busy at the restaurant. He said, "Well, he surely is the second child!" Yes, there is definitely a difference between the first and the second! If I had a third, I guess they would be lucky to have a birthday party! Anyway, all in all he had a great party with just a few little friends and it was the perfect party for him!

First Grade Singers

Tripp had the opportunity this year to be a part of First Grade Singers at school. They performed at several places this year and got to ride in the Christmas float in the Pearl Christmas Parade (driven by Ronnie Pops)!

Hotlanta!

Since Charlie and I are both finishing up school, we decided for vacation this year to take a short trip to Atlanta. My uncle lives there so Mom went with us so that she could relax a little and spend some time with her brother. We were super tourists! We went to the children's museum, the Georgia Aquarium, the Coca-Cola Museum, The Atlanta Zoo, CNN, Six Flags, and of course The Varsity! Vaiden and Tripp both loved the Aquarium and Tripp's favorite part of every activity was the gift shops. On the last night, we ate at an incredible restaurant, Legal Sea Food. They are ranked as one of the top restaurants for food allergy awareness. They had a great gluten free menu and Vaiden loved it! All in all, it was a fabulous vacation and a wonderful time with family!

Broken Leg!

On New Year's Eve just as we were about to walk out the door, Vaiden fell and broke his leg. Tripp broke his leg for the first time at almost the same age. Vaiden was such a big boy and was such a trooper. Weird: Tripp is right handed and has always broken bones on the right side of his body. Vaiden is going to be left handed and broke his left leg!

Easter

When I was getting my manicure, the lady asked Tripp what the Easter bunny was going to bring him. He said, "Well, my mom is turning 30 so we had to celebrate Easter last weekend." Ok, can I crawl under the table! But, we did celebrate and were able to spend a lot of time with family and friends. The Easter bunny did visit us the weekend before Easter, but I think he made up for it with everything he brought. After church on Sunday morning, we ate brunch at Julep and spent the afternoon at Charlie's grandmothers with his family. I am so thankful to have a Savior who died for me and is preparing a place for me for eternity!

30th Birthday

What would I do without her?

Wow! 30 and fabulous! This year was a special year for me on my birthday. Not only did I turn 30, but I was given the royal treatment! My birthday fell on Easter weekend this year, so it was extremely crazy trying to get birthday and Easter stuff coordinated. I know that I was not the only one doing the coordinating though. On Friday, Beth and I had manicures and pedicures to make sure that we looked extra fabulous. Then on Friday night, I was treated to an incredible dinner at the Mermaid Cafe with Rhyne, Beth, Christy, and Charlie. I then realized on Saturday that most of the people closest to me pulled out all the lies that they could! I spent most of the day with my two precious boys and at 5:00 was picked up by my sweet friend Christy to begin my adventure. I had several tasks that I had to complete which by the way had to be done while wearing a hot pink feather boa, crown, and sash. I was then blindfolded and taken to my SURPRISE birthday party. It was incredible to be there with so many of my friends and family. I am so incredibly thankful for all of the wonderful people in my life who took so much of their time and energy to make my birthday so wonderful!

Christmas 2010

This was the first Christmas that Vaiden was able to participate in all of the fun activites. Of course, he had much more fun with all of the boxes and paper than with the actual presents. As always, all of the grandparents joined us for Christmas brunch. We had Paula Deen's Breakfast casserole which has become a tradition on Christmas morning. It is sooo yummy and everyone loves it. Tripp and Vaiden both enjoyed all of their presents and most of all mommy enjoyed her afternoon nap! I am so blessed to have such wonderful family to celebrate these special times with.

Thanksgiving Cooking

We always make a ton of food for Thanksgiving lunch, and this year was no exception. This year, we tried some new gluten free recipes so that Vaiden would be able to enjoy all of the great food. Mom is always in charge of the dressing and this year she let the boys help. It was super yummy and I think Vaiden was completely satisfied!