LOVE LOVE LOVE Spring!

I have always thought that Fall was my favorite season, but I know now that Spring definitely is..it has to be! I just love being outside while not melting or freezing, admiring the gorgeous flowers, being tickled by soft caterpillars, hearing the giggles and squeals of my kids while they play in the sprinkler, waiting patiently for a crawfish to nibble on my meat tied to a string so i can yank him out of his cool water creek, playing in the rain, and a new one this year...observing the mating season of our sweet puppy, Brownie. Well, I guess she is no longer a puppy any more! I am just glad the kids haven't asked too many questions. ;)

These past three days of our spring break have been complete bliss for me while enjoyed all of the above and more. I have also enjoyed how much my kids are playing so well together too! It just makes me smile over and over listening to them interact.

Last week, the kids had Easter parties to attend and we have a few more this week as well. I was able to snap a couple of cute pics along the way!

Landon's class had their party at Mrs. Angel's house. Here they are lined up to hunt them down!

Craft station

And here are some pictures from the last two days while we stayed at home:

Playing in the rain

Crawfishing, Kennedy wouldn't go near them!

Sunburned Spring

Hello Spring!!!!!!! I am so pumped! I was dreading this winter thinking it was going to be a long one, but it was pretty mild. And thank goodness spring is here which means getting outside, crawfish, and beach time!!!!

We made our first trip to the condo of the year and only planned for a short 4 day trip. Well, it turned into a 12 day trip for me and the kids...lots of laundry done each day since I didn't pack much for us to wear. And I didn't realize how warm it was either! A good friend of mine who lives in Birmingham made a trip down for a few days with her 3 year old daughter and 5 year old son which worked out perfect for our kids. They got along great but had to head back home on Wednesday. It was so nice to catch up with my sweet friend and for some late night girl talks.

I can already tell this is going to be a fun year at the condo with the kids. I absolutely love their ages right now (5 and 3) and they are playing so well together. After 13 plus trips down to the beach the past two years, this was the first trip I had both kids by myself on the drive down and while at the condo. I guess i usually have one kid in Lance's car or have someone with me in the car to help with the kids needs. They were great and i survived!!

The first two days were nasty and wet and then it was followed up with a couple of days of fog. Lance was due to arrive on Wednesday just as the weather was turning ideal. The kids and I were supposed to head back to Ruston on Thursday to allow Lance host some of directors for their annual weekend of meetings down in Orange Beach. After looking at the forecast and visiting with lance about the possibility of us staying during his meetings, we got it worked out to where we could stay through the weekend and then even into the next week since no one was coming into the condo. With the forecast looking great, I asked my friend Becky smith with her three boys to come down for a few days. It was a great way to kick off the beach season! Here are just a couple of pictures i was able to capture:

water was freezing but those crazy boys didn't mind AT ALL!

Lander and Landon

George and Kennedy

Beary Night

Last night Lance and Kennedy went to the "Beary" father/daughter banquet at church and Kennedy was so excited. She got to pick out whatever she wanted to wear and she was on cloud nine. Before leaving, she said her daddy was so handsome and I thought Lance was going to melt! it was too cute.

While they were out, Landon and I got to go an impromptu date. I really wanted to take him to the HS basketball championship games, but I let him pick. Of course his choice was to go eat inside Fox's pizza and then get a treat at Eskimo Joes! Which I didn't mind at all!

Then it was back home to pack for our beach trip in the morning. i am hoping to leave right after Landon's soccer game which is at 11am. I am hoping it will rain it out, but it's not looking like it! Lance will stay home but will plan on coming down wednesday night. The kids and i will have to leave on thursday since lance has CTB guys coming in for a strategic meeting taking place down there. I hope the weather is nice!

This week was busy while i prepared for a coaching clinic I helped with in conjunction with the HS championships that were in town. Coach Barmore spoke to the group of coaches Friday morning and i was a nervous wreck for getting him involved with something that i really didn't have control over and had no idea what to expect. Of course he was amazing and it brought so many memories of playing and coaching for him. Such an amazing teacher and motivator of the game and it's a shame that he is no longer coaching. He enjoyed himself (i hope) and it went smooth (for the most part). ;)

This week, Landon got accepted into A E Phillips lab school on Tech's campus. We were pretty excited about the news and looking forward to seeing who will be his classmates will be next fall. It's hard to believe that I will be sending him off to kindergarten next year! Kennedy will attend Temple's 4 year preK program and will hopefully have Teresa Mann as her teacher. Landon had her this past year and she is 'oh so fabulous!'

I captured Landon on video saying the Lord's prayer...thought it was cute!

Daffodils!!!

I have never taken pictures with the kids in Daffodils so I thought i would snap a few pictures of the kids while they were in bloom. Yes, they were in bloom during February (i took these about 2 or 3 weeks ago!) Very unusual and early Spring we are having (I guess we can call it Spring???). I am crossing my fingers that we will not have another cold snap come through.

anyway, I actually have two different days that we went. After we went the first time, Kennedy wanted to go back so she can wear her new favorite dress that she wears every chance she can get (and she wanted to pick some flowers for Alec, our neighbor). I had a Matilda Jane clothing party and this was the dress that she would not take off. And thank goodness ours came in the mail a week later (she thinks Jessica, the sales rep, actually had to make this dress for her. Ha!). Anyway, we were already in the dress and I thought, what the heck, let's stop by there on our way to pick up dinner...and it was just the two of us. The lighting wasn't that great, but we made it work! She was in a great mood so i got some funny pictures of her being so animated!

Landon started up soccer and he had his second game yesterday. It's amazing what a year can do. He understands what is going on and is really into who wins, scores, etc. He is very aggressive, which i love, but I just wish he wouldn't push everyone down, especially his own teammates. He was a little better yesterday. He has scored 4 goals total (2 last week and 2 this week) and I have yet to get it on video. Bad mom! Or pictures for that matter. Bad, bad mom! I do have some videos...but just not downloaded. Bad mom! I had kennedy in my arms most of the morning yesterday since she wasn't feeling well and Lance wasn't there.

Kennedy has been sick this past week. It started last sunday morning with a couple of episodes of throwing up, but that was about it. She started coughing on wednesday and by Friday, she had snot, low fever, cough and a hoarse voice. We have missed a play date and church this weekend, but it didn't keep her from going to the circus today! My in laws wanted to take them to monroe for the circus and they had a big time. They both came back saying that it was "awesome". I enjoyed the nice quiet house while they were gone...especially since Lance is out of town playing golf at Pebble Beach! I know!! Nice! He left thursday and should be home monday night. This is two weeks in a row that he has gone out of town. We have been missing him!

Forgotten February

February absolutely flew by! It was a very uneventful month for the most part, but fun! Kennedy's highlight was probably attending her bff from school, Rubye Ann's, birthday party. It was princess themed and absolutely precious. Sarah went all out and even dressed up herself. The girls got to dress up and put on jewelry, go through an etiquette class, practice waving and then got crowned by the Queen. Super cute!

I had a one day basketball clinic on President's day that went over pretty well. I have finally reached a point in my Hall of Hoops business where I am ready to take it to the next level. It feels good to feel motivated about something I am really passionate about. So, it's going to be a busy summer with Hall of hoops! I think a lot had to do with me finally biting the bullet and getting a professional website done. I am very proud and delighted with how it turned out. click here if you wanna check it out!

I got talked into doing some pictures through Barnes and i am so glad i did it. I absolutely love the ages my kids are right now and the window is closing in on the how much longer I will be able to take 'cute' pictures. I wanted to take more pictures of what we did, but here is one of them. Maybe when i get my order i can snap a pic to put on here. It is such a cute idea and I did not know that there was a red caboose in Ruston! I even got a free iPhone cover for my phone with their picture on it. They had them dress up in vintage clothing...super cute.

Here is a picture of a play date we had with Jackson and Tucker Smith while their mom was in the hospital.

january updates

i know, boring title, right?!? My creative juices are shut off! I still haven't shared our fun adventures from last weekend so I need to catch up to speed!!

Our crew headed to Pilot Point, tx for my cousin's wedding. It was a beautiful setting at a lodge on a lake. The kids were so pumped up to see all their cousins and have a dance party. Kennedy had been practicing all week so she was more than ready.

It was a perfect evening of weather and good times. I didn't bring my camera into the ceremony so no pics from there. Here is one from before we left for the ceremony:

the next morning, lance, kids and my mom got to ride horses at the lodge where we stayed. It was very chilly and I was worried about how we would manage an hour ride, but once we got going, it warmed up. The kids loved it and kennedy talked non stop to our horse, Bailey. ;) Our tour guide even told me that i have a talker on my hands!! You think!?

Kennedy and I on Bailey

The boys on their horse, Texas

AFter horseback riding, we got to meet up with my dear friend, Shannon Russell, (she was visiting her parents who live outside of dallas) who lives in knoxville but is about to move again to Washington (her husband is a college football coach). I think she is ready to stay put for a while! Anyway, her son, hayden, was big buds with Landon when they lived in Ruston and they picked up right where they left off. It was so cute and they had a blast at Legoland in Grapevine. Landon has been into legos since Christmas so i knew he would love it. It was extremely crowded and that drove me nuts. But the kids had fun.

the boys racing their lego cars

Getting ready to watch the 4D movie

Kennedy on the karaoke stage...she wouldn't get off!

after legoland, we headed over to Great Wolf Lodge to spend the night there. I have been wanting to go and it is really a neat place. We swam till it closed and waited in line when it opened back up the next morning! The kids loved all of it! Water was pretty chilly but other than that, pretty enjoyable.

the kids in the kid camp bunk beds (kennedy, landon, my niece,Kenzie and Hayden)

We left after lunch and I knew the kids were exhausted from the past two days. Kennedy slept all the way from Dallas until we rolled into Shreveport and she never naps in the car!

The rest of our week has been low key and pretty enjoyable. This weekend has been a lazy one too! So, i need to get back to the couch to watch some football and figure out which body back meal i am going to cook for dinner!

Happy Birthday jesus!

Hello zero drama, zero travel, and zero tantrums!!! ok, well, maybe one break down at the end of the day, but I will take it! This had to be the absolute best Christmas for me personally with it being so laid back. Not having to travel is such a blessing and I was so grateful for my family coming over to our house Christmas afternoon.

My christmas present arrived early on Friday when Lance surprised me with a new car! Too bad I had just gotten an oil change on my old car the day before! I am just glad I didn't get the new tires like I was supposed to have! ;) He got a really good deal on a 2011 GMC Denali and i love it! Our warranty had run out on my Tahoe and lance was getting nervous with how much time we spend on the road. I don't have a picture of it, but it's a pearl-ish off white color. A nice change from my last car which was gray.

Christmas eve we spent with Lance's family at his parents house. We had our delicious lunch that i look forward to for 364 days. Seriously, it's that good... and I am not talking about my contribution of the green bean casserole! Lance's mom has the best dressing that will knock Martha Stewarts socks off!! And her sweet potato pie....uuuuoooowe weee! Super yummy! We open gifts, take a break and then welcome more family who come from Shreveport for our annual game of bingo. This is the first year that Landon played and he LOVED it!! Each number that he had, he would scream out of delight to tell everyone he had it! Super cute and i had no idea that he would enjoy it so much.

Landon loving his mario characters from Big Papa and Jana

Cousin shots (kennedy, Hudson (1) and Landon

three cousins with baby Carolina Lee

Kids putting out cookies and carrots for Santa

Checking out the chimney. For some reason, this is as close as Kennedy would get

It was great seeing Lance's cousins and meeting the new addition of Carolina Lee, who is the 8 month old daughter of Philip and Destiny Deas (lance's cousin). She was a cutie pie and gave me and lance a little baby fever (just a little!).

Christmas morning came with much anticipation! It just keeps getting better with each year and I can never get enough of watching our kids faces. The kids woke up around 7:30 and the action began! Lance's family came over to witness it. Our nephew, Hudson, was also able to open his gifts that santa brought.

Opening Santa gifts...

her bat costume

The rest of the day was spending time with my family while we ate a yummy lunch...yes, I finally got my christmas cooking down!! Well, i had some help from the mother in law (dressing) and sister in law, April (green bean and squash casserole). But I did rock the turducken, sweet potato casserole, and salad! After opening gifts, we (by that i mean my dad and brother) started to assemble the new ping pong table that my parents gave to us. Then we had some serious ping pong games!! Fun!

Lance and his sister Leslea

Kennedy's favorite gift was her pink roller skates

Kennedy feeding my grandaddy Cochran

Lance and I celebrating my mad cooking skills!

Well, after two straight days of my kids being in pi's, I guess it's time to give them a bath! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and you were able to cherish your time with family while celebrating the birthday of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Glory to God for sending him our way to save us from our many sins.