Magan's Last Day of Summer...

Well, it came once again this summer...MAGAN's LAST DAY!!!  The kids were VERY upset that she was off to her Sophomore year of college, but we were quick to remind them that she would be back to visit very soon!

 

There is just no words to tell you how blessed we are to have Magan stay with our kids. There is just something about Magan that my kids can't get enough of...probably the fact that she is constantly playing, singing, teaching them cheers, taking them swimming, to the park, etc could be the reason!

 

Magan started watching the kids in January last year, and has become a permanent member of our family!  We were sad to see her go, but know that we will see her in a few short months when she comes home for Thanksgiving!

Lunch with the Carter Man...

This sweet boy turned 8 on August 20th, so what better way to spend my lunch than with him.  I had been in NY earlier that week, so my first stop when I got home was to see my SWEET boy!  What says HAPPY BIRTHDAY better than a nerds slush from Sonic!!!!

 

Love this sweet guy who made me a MOM!

Back to the BIG APPLE....

I feel like I am getting more and more at home in NY...NOT!!!  Although, I have gone there at least once a month or every other month for the last year and a half.  I used to be so scared of this city and all the people, buildings, and TAXIs.  But now I feel like I could get you around or give you good suggestions of things to do if you were going there...

 

This time I got to go with one of my good friends Jennifer who I actually get to work with everyday!  We have always wanted to go on a trip together where I wasn't puking in the hotel from the stomach bug (San Diego last year).  It was so fun, and the weather was PERFECT...

 

Our hotel has this amazing rooftop, so once evening when we were done with work we took advantage of the weather and went up there before dinner...this was our first rooftop of the night...

 After dinner with our team, we decided to go to another rooftop and enjoy the view at night...we are a bunch of crazy girls, but we always have a good time!  The Empire State Building behind us is where our Corporate Office is, so if you wonder where I am when I am in NY it is right there in that building!!!  Good times with a great friend...

#roughlife

Making our Mark...

One of the final touches of our house was getting the concrete poured!  We were so excited to get to make our mark at the new house...

 

The kids loved getting to put their hands in the concrete, yet were scared and weirded out at the same time.  I think they felt they were doing something wrong when we told them to put their hands in it.

 

I love that we will forever have our mark on our first house that we all built together...

I promise one day I will do a post just on our new house... :)

First Days of School 2014...

These were bittersweet days...this is the last year that we will have a kid at Lifeway Christian School PreK, and then can you believe that we have a 2nd grader and 2 Kindergarteners...CRAZY!

 

Here is Molly on her first day...she started the Thursday before the big kids which was fun!  It was her own special day...

 We have loved Mrs. Ostrand for years, and are very lucky that Molly gets to be one of her little chickens...

 Then comes Monday morning, where K, B & C all started school!  They were SO excited about school and their teachers...I hope they are always this excited about starting school...

 Molly needed to join the fun....love these sweet moments...I mean look at the girls with their hands on Carter's shoulders.

Small Town Life...

I love the feel of a small town, and all the little things that go on in a small town.  Don't get me wrong, I loved living in Lexington, but nothing beats small towns.

 

Welcome to the Decatur BBQ parade...although small, the kids still loved getting to watch the parade and of course grab up all the candy that they could....

 Love this picture...

 Trying to get all 4 of us in a picture, not the easiest....but at least we are all in it.  And if you are wondering where Chris and Carter are, well I think at this point they are putting in wood floors at the new house...that was such a fun weekend for them I'm sure...

 While the boys are off working, the girls are taking some time to cool off in Nana's pool...Best relaxing weekend...I love that my little ponies are keeping them entertained while swimming...

Bring on the next weekend of Gravette Day...we had the parade, and then as soon as we were finished with that and got home it started POURING down rain...

 

We had to go back up to Gravette that afternoon after the rain stopped and look who we ran into..some of our favorites...Ms Susie and Mackenzie...love them.

 Followed by MORE swimming...I know we lead such a ROUGH life...

Safari Fun...

I sure do love these 2 sweet girls, and how much they LOVE on our kids.  They always have the best time when they are with Ashlyn and Halle, and this day was no different. 

 

This was one of the last few weeks before school started, so we wanted to make the most of the week.  And why not start it off with a little trip to the safari...

#soblessed