Back to School for Bryar!!

This little stud constantly keeps me on my toes, or laughing until my belly hurts. He's a spitting image of his Daddy, and loves all things involving a super hero.

He's been waiting oh so not very patiently to return to preschool with me and the time finally came this past week. He was more than excited to return although a little upset that his previous friends had moved on to kindergarten. 

Of course he didn't let it slow him down, and he's already off to making a few new friends. 

I'm so thankful for his free spirit and his ability to go along with things, even though he isn't a fan of change. 

What's the story behind this shirt? Well... I came across this kid on Pinterest one night and couldn't help but to giggle at the fact that his pose was hysterically identical to B's. 

So I asked a friend to help a sister out, and make on similar because the link didn't work. All in all though, our boy is totally a stud.

We couldn't leave the house for school without getting a photo with Daddy and Gunner. What would a celebration be without our best friend? Sadly, Charli Beth was running a bit behind and didn't make the cut for photos this school year. 

This will be Bryar's first full year of preschool with us since he started at his third birthday. Some have asked why he is able to begin so early, and the answer is that any child with a delay or special need is able to start school at the age of three. You can either qualify by testing or through first steps. Being that Bryar was in first steps, (a government therapy program) for a speech delay, he was able to transfer into preschool. He will have one more full year of preschool next year before transitioning into Kindergarten. It seems like such a long time from now, but I can guarantee that the days will fly by. 

My personal "Mommy" goals for Bryar this year are:

-To have fun! 

- Continue with letter and number recognition

- Play hard! 

- Take a good nap everyday!

- Not to play in the dreaded music center

- Learn 3D shapes

- Make wonderful memories 

Charli Beth is in 4th Grade!!!

Summer fun is over and school is back in session as of August 11. Although, just because summer break is over it hopefully doesn't mean that all of the fun has ended...right? 

We sure hope not! But for now, we are still getting back into the groove of early bedtime routines, along with ball practice, and getting up early. I do believe that the hardest of all has been the acceptance that Charli Beth is now a fourth grader. 

Doesn't that sound so old? I just can't even handle it. But what I can handle is her being SO stinking adorable.

No one, and I mean no one better leave a comment saying how this will probably be her last year of bows, ruffles and "grade shirts." Because more than likely I'll be entered into a mental institute. 

I can also say that I love that she {still} wants to be a barrel racing champion. A girl that never gives up on her goals, will forever have my heart. 

She is in complete love with her new backpack and lunchbox. We even giggled at the fact that she has the bed set from Garnet Hill as well. Her love for horses, is still growing strong. 

Charli Beth's classroom is in hopes of gaining a new teacher in the next few weeks. Her original teacher left to be with her Husband and daughter in another part of the state due to job changes. Although, we love and already dearly miss this teacher, I pray that we are able to find a perfect match! 

But I must say that Charli Beth was overly ecstatic to have sweet Mrs. Downing covering for them.  Every child loves her in this same exact way. It's such a blessing to see teachers love their kids like they do. 

Last but not least I was do grateful that Charli's bestie snapped a shot of us before school started. 

I pray this year brings new learning excitements to all of our children. We can pray for so many thing for our babes as they begin a new school year but what matters most is their happiness, safety and lifetime memories. 

May this year be amazing :)

Goodbye Gallbladder

Today marks the 15th episode of Blue Bloods, 3 movies and 6 naps that I have taken since Friday. I'm honestly not use to laying around this much and it's slightly driving me bonkers. But to finally have the issue of having my gallbladder removed, makes it all worth it. 

The surgery was an easy process, and I was so thankful for the laparasopic procedure. I have a large scar that runs down my abdomen and at first look, it was a big possibility that an open procedure would be the route. 

Once surgery was over, I was in minimal pain but of course very sleepy. When I felt able to sit up, we called for my nurse to come in and help with the process to be safe. We're actually very lucky that we did because upon sitting up I instantly went down. I had no idea that my blood pressure was running low already, and sitting up only made it go even more so. 

Once laying back down, I was perfectly okay and back to sleep. We tried this process a few more times and each time it was the same, along with the dizziness causing nausea. Of course this was only due to the anesthetic that was given to me, and all is well now. Poor Curtis had to wait around all day while I slept off medicine. 

We somehow made it to the car around 4, and came home to bed. 

It really hasn't been too bad, and recovery has been a blessing with the help of my entire family. The kids have been staying with relatives since Thursday night. Last night they came by for a visit for a few minutes, and Charli Beth left this note for me to see as I headed to bed. 

Aren't kids just amazing? I miss them oh so very much but tonight they will be back home. I hope to be back to work tomorrow, but will be taking it slow for just a few more days. 

Fun Filled Days

As we arrived home from vacation, I made it my goal to soak up as much Summer as we possibly could. Since we had nothing, and I mean nothing in our house to eat we headed to the grocery. While there I decided to let the kids pick out their own toppings for a homemade pizza. I can honestly say that they had so very much fun with this, and even loved their pizza. Myself on the other hand, not so much. 

We tried to head to the local water park but just as we got there they closed due to thunder. So we headed to no other place than Chick-Fil-A to wait out the storm.  When it was over we decided to drive over the splash pad. 

We were the only family there and as you can see, these two truly enjoyed it. 

The next day, this little firecracker and I headed off for our yearly girls trip to Holiday World. It was actually chilly that morning but we had SO much fun together. 

The water rides, log ride, and greasy food was wonderful but it sure knocked me on my bottom for the rest of the day. We decided to stay the night with my parents the next day so we could make our yearly school shopping trip to Opry Mills.

While we were out we in Nashville, we swung by for Charli Beth's first American Girl store. Miss Willow was truly pampered with a new hair style, glasss and earrings. Wasn't she the cutest thing ever? She is now loving her AG dolls more than ever. I hope she continues her love for quiet sometime but that she never wants to go back to their restaurant while there. Eek! 

Charli Beth's last day of Summer break up as spent with Meme at work helping out. This little guy had to go back to his daycare while I had meetings. He handled it so well, until we pulled into the parking lot and he just had to pull my Mommy strings by saying, "Oh Mommy, I'm going to miss you so much today."

And just like that Summer was gone. It was a wonderful fun filled, memory making time and I am truly sad to se it go. 

Gulf Shores, Alabama

Over the Summer Curtis and I began our research into a cheap vacation. We knew that we didn't want to go anywhere far again this year. By we knew we wanted to pick somewhere that could be full of yummy food. Because we are foodies after all ;)

A few years ago on the way home from the national K9 competition we spent the night in Gulf Shores. While there we tried a restaurant that has now become our family favorite. So, we decided to start looking into a short trip there. After obsessively searching VRBO, I found a cute yet incredibly cheap condo. We then decided to keep it as a surprise from the kids until we headed out. 

That my friends was incredibly hard... 

But it worked! I somehow packed them the night before and had them to help me clean the house. The next day, my Mother and Sister law as well as the kids and I worked corn for 12 hours. It was a long fun filled day shucking, cutting and preparing it to freeze. By the end of the day, it's safe to say that we were a bit stir crazy. 

After dinner we told the kids about our trip and that we needed to head home to bed, so we could leave early. They were overly excited and maybe even a bit hoer but somehow we accomplished going to bed.

This was our first family altogether vacation, and who would've thought that three hours down the road the kids and I would blow the auxiliary fuse in the car. Whoops! So we spent the next hour trying to find an auto zone, getting it fixed and grabbing breakfast. 

We eventually made it to Gulf Shores and were all ready to spend the next few days playing in the water! 

Can't you see the excitement? Haha. Probably not because this little dude and his Dad much prefer the pool than the sandy beaches. We played out in the ocean for a while until Curtis was stung by a jelly fish. I watched it swim away, so we all decided it was time to get out. His sting ended up turning into a smiley face, which seriously cracked me up. I doubt it was funny to him.. 

That night we ate at DeSoto's for their very famous in our book crab legs. This place is a must eat in that area and by far the best we've ever had. I'm a horrible blogger and forgot to take a photo before I choked them down. 

Charli Beth was stung by a jelly fish on the leg but was a complete champ about it. I suppose they really weren't joking with the marine life flags that were out. 

Bryar used his super powers to clear all of the fish from the area of course. 

Charli and Curtis went back out into the water. While she was on her board Curtis noticed a fish that looked very similar to a sting ray swim past Charli's foot as she began to say, "ouch!" Next thing we know her foot was in a rash and hurting pretty bad. Once again, she was a complete champ. 

We're really not sure what it was but she did experience some stomach issues throughout the day. We hated that it happened, and decided after that the ocean was enough for us. 

Charli and I stayed out by the sand to play and then started noticing Jelly Fish. As we told people to becareful, we thought it would be neat to catch one. So, of course our little redneck selves used a net a picked one..or sixteen out. 

Eek! They're so creepy looking! 

Thankfully, we took a dolphin cruise that made up for it. It was absolutely incredibly to see such beautiful animals. 

I highly recommended this proficient cruise line. They were so very tactful and respectful to the animals in the water. No even overheard them say that they had to turn around to make sure a dolphin would not get stuck in a net they noticed. That to me, is the perfect company!

We also went crab hunting/fishing together which was so much fun. I had no idea what a fisherman, I am ;) 

We ended our vacation eating even more seafood and doing tons of "totally cool" belly flops into the pool. Both of the kids loved our simple time together and it was so fun spending time with one another as a family. 

We have now titled this vacation as the one of, "Jelly fish and other marine life!" It was all totally worth it though :)