happy number 40

despite garry's continual requests for "no big 40th birthday bash," i made the choice to plan one anyway! the mere thought of taking on such a task seemed simple in the beginning, however, the normal turn of events led to a more daunting task (shall we never forget, that we chose to enlist the help of our puppy friend the week of the acutal event). what on earth was i thinking? nevertheless...garry's parents and sister flew in from north carolina and atlanta, to make the event even that much more special! upon garry's entrance, they were hidden at the back of the 50 guest pack...and garry was beyond pleased at his discovery of them! that moment made it all worth it! the house was a mini party company beginning the second he left for work on friday morning. several friends and family helped decorate, and assist the caterer for the entire day...while others fulfilled kid duty, cake pick up (and take back & pick up) duty, video compliation duty (thanks dad!), grocery errand duty, puppy duty, and keep garry far, far away duty! thank you, thank you, thank you all for offering your generous help...i am sincerely grateful for your many sacrifices! i could not have been more pleased with the final event, for it was truly an evening to remember! garry even said as the night came to an end, that it "was the greatest party he had every been a part of" with the deepest of gratitude, and tears in his eyes! love you gar! are you really 40 already?

welcome home dodger

 

 

 

today was the day that we brought our new puppy, dodger, home! he had been brushed & wrapped him in a big blue bow to greet us! dodger was a great traveler on the 40 minute trip home, sleeping most of the way, between austin & coleman. so far, we are enjoying him very much...he has a very calm disposition (hope he stays that way, too)! time will tell!

here dodger

 

a pic after coleman opened his early birthday present, including a dog collar, leash, treats, and dog brush! he was a little confused, stating, "i thought i was getting a dog for my birthday!" after we let him know that we would be picking him up tomorrow, he was thrilled beyond belief! on monday, we will begin yet another chapter of our lives...the addition of a furry friend to our family! we picked out "dodger" last monday. he is an 8 week old goldendoodle, and is cute as can be! more pics to follow i am quite sure!

celebrating sallie

 

 

 

 

we spent the weekend in fayetteville with sallie, rich & renee for sallie's dedication. it was such fun to spend time with the fam...swimming, food, fun, & fellowship! no pics of the actual dedication, oops...just pics of the fun we had! we love you baby sallie!

coleman takes to the skies

coleman had the opportunity to go flying on saturday with dad and uncle trevor, in a cessna 182. coleman became motion sick due to the bumpy ride in the wind, but still managed to enjoy the flight over kansas! he wanted to deliver the barf bag to his brother austin as a joke, but thankfully chose to pitch it upon landing! despite his upset tummy, coleman still managed to thoroughly enjoy the day with two very special guys!

hampton's 1/2 birthday

 

hampton celebrated her 3 1/2 year birthday at preschool today! since she has a summer birthday, the 1/2 birthday celebration at school is extra special! she was able to bring in her choice of a snack, which included her favorite things...mac-n-cheese, strawberries and strawberry & banana smoothie. she shared a bag of her favorite things as the class listened intently, followed by a class interview session! too cute!

three cheers for the red, white & blue

hampton recites the pledge of allegiance and sings her favorite patriotic song, in honor of president's day!

happy heart day

 
 a couple of pics from coleman's valentine's day party at school! the class (and hampton, too) feasted on doughnuts, strawberries, cheese, crackers & cherry 7-up! they also enjoyed playing bingo, making bookmarks, painting hearts, and of course, exchanging valentines! coleman made a very special one for a girl in his class...as soon as i can get my hands on it, i will post a pic! hoping you all had a happy day!

shall we dance

 
 
 
 a few pics from hampton's most recent "observation class," where mema, aunt ju-ju & evie attended! thankfully, evie was able to participate, as she just could not sit on the sidelines and "watch"! they all had great fun! hampton absolutely LOVES dance and has recently learned to skip and gallop! yeah!

somewhere over the rainbow

 

a quick pic after a busy day...a true "land of oz" rainbow after a brief rain this afternoon. the kids were mesmerized, as it was actually a double rainbow (the second one doesn't show much in this pic). wishing you a wish on a rainbow...for dreams really do come true!

buttons...do you like them

buttons? do you like them? I'm your real mother, silly! a fun pic of coleman, hampton & me created after heading to see the new movie "coraline." it was eerie, creepy, bizarre...nearly a horror flick for kids, though i am not certain it is necessarily "for kids." luckily, my children seemed fine with it...guess i will know for sure, if they all sleep through the night without horrible nightmares! fun family day, anyway!

coleman is poppin'

i had the privilege of experiencing the "mc popper's" of coleman's second grade class today...a school tradition at martin elementary! his class determined their company name, after they interviewed for positions within the company. coleman was in sales, which meant he sold popcorn initially and collected the money. he then was responsible for delivering his product to the various classrooms who had ordered! they filled nearly 200 bags, in assembly line fashion! what a treat! the funniest part was watching the students performing "quality control!" coleman had a few tastes!

playtime

 

 

 

hampton had her friend taci over to play after kids day out on thursday. they had fun cruising with ice cream cones in hand, as they listened to their favorite tunes on the radio! even more time was spent playing in the pink sand...it was everywhere! luckily it was a beautiful day outside! there were tears (as always) upon taci's departure. we anxiously await the years of friendship to come!

fun at the park

 
 
 
 we met jen and evie at the park for lunch and fun in the beautiful sunshine...sunny, yes...warm, not so much! despite the chilly breezes, hampton and evie enjoyed swinging, sliding and running around! we spent several minutes looking at the pool (actually, evie was ready for a dip), wishing for warmer weather to return! it is such fun to watch the girls play, as jen and i can actually have quick convos to catch up! look forward to many more days like this!