Best Weekend Ever!!

I had the best weekend ever!!!!!! My brother and his family came to visit for a few days, from Florida!! They live about 9 hours away and we don't see them very often. They stayed at Mom and Dad's house and we were over there every day to spend time with everyone. Arnold and the girls hadn't even met baby Ava in person yet, so it was extra special! I couldn't believe how much she had grown!

Saturday I went over to Mom's and spent lots of time cuddling Ava of course!! Then us girls went to a luncheon at Mom's church. They had all sorts of appetizers, salads and desserts. We got to see some old friends and meet some new people, too. Everyone oohed and ahhed over Ava and had fun watching Brielle run around excited. They pulled tickets for door prizes and I won some flowers! I am bad with plants so I hope I don't kill them but they are beautiful! Ariel won a certificate thing to Hannah's BBQ! Yummy place but she's from out of state so that was funny! 

After the lunch we went back to Mom and Dad's house to hang out. Arnold and the kids went with his dad to an airplane show out of town... so they joined us later that evening. Brielle warmed up to us quickly and was running around spending time on everyone's laps and having a good time with Mom and Dad's dogs.. she even went up and kissed one on the mouth ;) 

That evening some more of our family who live a few hours away came in to town for the night to see Alex's family! They had never met the baby either, so they were excited. We had a HOUSE FULL of people and it was crazy and chaotic but a lot of fun. Mom made this amazing dip for an appetizer and the whole plate was gone so fast! Then for dinner she made ham and BBQ and baked potatoes. (I could eat at her house every night!!!! ;) We stayed out on the deck until it was dark and all sat around and talked. It was such a perfect evening for family time!!

Sunday we went to church while Mom and Dad took Alex and family to Grandfather Mountain for the day. I know they had an awesome time. My sister in law loves the moutains! We keep begging them to move to NC and she says she would.. but I'm not so sure my brother would!! ;) We went back over to their house again Sunday evening for another dinner. 

Monday, Alex and Ariel had plans so the girls stayed at Mom's house and we watched the girls all day while they were gone. I forgot how exhausting having ones that small is! I guess I blocked that part of my life out of my mind-- when I had 3 little ones running around! ;) I went to get Ava out of bed and she reached up and pulled my hair and laughed! Then I went to get Brielle and she said "hi! I pooped!" oh yes she did indeed! She was even halfway out of her diaper already so it was a mess! good thing I love them so much! ;) We spent the morning playing, watching Sesame Street and stuff like that. I left in the early afternoon to pick the kids up from school and go by the book fair and let them pick a few things out. Then we headed back over to their house AGAIN. The kids did their homework there and thankfully Mom took over HW duty and helped them while I rocked a fussy Ava.. she is starting to teethe and wasn't happy! She finally fell asleep and I passed out too in the recliner! Dad took a picture of us when he got home from work and thought it was hilarious! 

Alex and Ariel didn't get back til nearly 8pm that evening. By then I was passed out a 2nd time with Ava and she was sleeping again too. It was a long, rough day, but it was worth it to spend all that time with my nieces! Then we all had dinner together one last time. We tried to watch the premiere of the Big Bang Theory but there was too much going on, so don't tell me about it yet!! ;) We started to give hugs goodbye and Brielle started crying!! :( She already hates goodbyes!! I think I kissed poor Ava to death! ;) When I drove home I was nearly in tears. I just am going to miss them so much! But I am thankful for the few days we had, and can't wait til we can see them again at Christmas!!!! :)

Mom holding her sweet Brielle at the church luncheon

The beautiful Mums I won. They are sitting on my kitchen table now and look so nice for Fall!

I couldn't resist getting Brielle this shirt the other day before they came in! From Children's place! We are already besties! It's true! ;)

Ava has grown so much! Already cooing and laughing and wearing 9 months clothes! And of course she looks EXACTLY like her Daddy! It's freaky!!!! ;)

My beautiful nieces! They are my whole world!!! :)

Ava enjoyed some tummy time on her blanket!

The kids were so excited to meet Ava for the first time!

Brooke asked to hold her right away!

Brielle plopped right down in Brooke's lap and wanted her to read a book!

Ava liked meeting her Uncle Arnold! Even though she looks very uninterested ;)

Selfies with Ava!!!! ;)

We wanted to get a pic of Mom and Dad with all FIVE of their grand kids! First time all together! After snapping about 20 times, I got a good one!

I was also able to capture this moment of Brielle reaching up and giving her Pop Pop a kiss on the cheek! I die! Cutest thing EVER! :)

Mom sure is a happy Grandma :)

Ava liked taking naps on me Monday :)

The pic Dad took, of me and Ava passed out after a long day's work ;)

Life Lately!

Took the two little ones to get their very first library cards!! (Brooke already had one from a long time ago) I can't believe it has taken me so long to do this, especially since I love reading so much! To be fair, we have SO many books here and the kids read or I read to them every day. But I thought it would be fun for them to actually go pick out books on things that interest them :)

I had been waiting on the girls to wear their new fall outfits to school! They were just precious! I love that they are matching but in different colors! Brooke asked why I was dressing her like a hippie, haha. The peace sign necklaces came with the shirts. 

Arnold and I finally joined a new lifegroup! We are so happy to be back with it, and making so many new friends from our church! And I think erika and I are happy to be with the adults instead of doing childcare this time, although we DO love the kids so very much! Now OUR kids are in childcare lol. We joined the pastor's lifegroup and it is quite popular because we had like 25 or 30 some adults at the first meeting! But I love it and we have already gotten pretty deep in our talking and prayers! 

My BFF's and  I went Friday evening to see WAR ROOM! It was the most incredible movie ever! I know sometimes Christian movies can be off base or cheesy but this one was great. The acting was good, the main character was hilarious, and the message was so, so good. There were people in the theater literally weeping, and everyone clapped at the end! I'd recommend it to everyone! And apparently the people behind us in this picture thought we were funny for taking a group selfie.. you can see them smiling, haha. 

My other BFF Jess had her baby boy on Sept 11th!!!! This is her 2nd child and now she has 2 adorable boys! Welcome to the world Holden James!!! I got to go by the hospital and cuddle him a little bit and didn't want to let him go!!! Being in the hospital always brings back so many memories of when my kids were born! We were on the same hall and everything.. and the kids always like hearing the stories of when we were there with them :)

The girls had their first game on saturday! Rachel decided to try cheer for the first time this year! She did a great job! We had an away game, and the girls' grandparents even came to see them! Our team lost, but at least everyone had fun. The girls looked so cute out there! We are waiting on their new uniforms to be delivered so they wore last year's uniforms for the first game. I am so glad Rachel decided to try this out with her big sister! She was shy at first but now she is having a blast! :)

With my sweet girls!! 

Today my awesome dad turned 64! (I mean 39... cough cough haha) We spent the evening with him and Mom last night and had low country boil! Caleb can eat his weight in shrimp! He always loves it! They even sent us home with leftovers! 

Still loving my job! So blessed! Snuggling these sweet things and keeping them happy is my goal and I wouldn't have it any other way!! 

~Brooke went to the fair with her BFF awhile back and came home with a goldfish as a prize. I hate when they give those out! But Arnold found a container for her and added rocks and water and we bought fish food. Brooke named her Golden. The poor thing only lasted 4 days. When we came in from cheer practice that one night, golden was laying on his side. The poor kids took it very hard. They have been lucky enough so far not to really deal with death and understand what's going on, so it was tough on them. Poor Caleb broke down sobbing. I felt so bad for them.. but laughed when Rachel said "man I'm glad I last longer than a goldfish!!" :)

~School is going well and I even made an A on my first sociology paper! I am proud! Our midterm project is to research back 3 or 4 generations and make a family tree poster. I actually don't like projects, I actually prefer an exam, but oh well. My parents are going to help me research their families and find old pictures and I think we are even visiting the cemetery.. fun fun. LOL. My parents are invested in my education too ;)

~Today on the way home from church I went through the drive thru to get some lunch real quick. When i got to the window the girl told me that the lady in front of me had paid for my meal! Such a fun surprise! I have done that for people a few times before but never had it done for me. I wanted to pay it forward so I went ahead and paid for the person behind me, too :) I wasn't expecting to get to see the person but I had to stop to wait on my food and when he pulled by my van he waved and mouthed "thank you" and was smiling really big. Made me feel good :) Love it when people are nice to each other for no real reason! :)

Brooke's 9-yr Interview

Grade going into: 4th

Height: 

Weight: 65lbs

Clothes Size: 10/12

Shoe Size: 4

Party theme this year: Beach theme

Gifts this year: Crafty stuff, Beados, Hideaway pet, clothes, justice water bottle, accessories

Bday Dinner choice this year: Olive Garden

Sleeps with every night: Leopard, Elephant, Bunny

Best Friend: Zoey and Emma

What are you afraid of? dark rooms when I'm alone

What do you want to be when you grow up? Veterinarian 

What do you want to be for Halloween this year? Bumblebee

What do want for Christmas this year? Wubble Bubble ball, American Girl stuff (bed, etc)

~FAVORITES~

Color- light blue

Toy- Leopard Beanie Boo

Animal: Owls and Kangaroos

Food: Pizza

Drink: Hi-C

Snack: fruitsnacks

Dessert: Push up pops 

Season: winter

Holiday: Christmas

Restaurant: Cheesecake Factory

Game: Animal Jam

Show: Gravity Falls

Movie: Paddington 

Book: Dork Diaries

Thing to do: Play with friends

Thing to do outside: Swing

Part of school: Gym

Thing to wear: Dresses

Life Lately

The kids started back to school last week. I think they were ready to be honest, because they were starting to get restless, and miss their friends. They all looked so cute in their new outfits we had picked out. Brooke was supposed to wear a cute new skirt we got her, but it was way too big on her :( The kids had a great first week, have seemed to be behaving, and Caleb said he already made a new friend. A few of their best friends were in their classes, so they were thrilled-- but I told their teachers to watch out! ;) Their teachers are all pretty awesome and I like them a lot. They all seem very caring and helpful and willing to talk to me whenever I might need something! I hope this year is great! :)

Rach got a haircut for the start of school! She looks soo cute now, especially with her missing tooth and short hair!! I can't believe she is a first grader already! :)

Rachel's first day of school outfit. She was so cute!

Saturday morning Arnold was a trooper and got up early with me and the kids and we went to a few yardsales, and then shopping at the mall. I hit up the awesome sale at Crazy 8 and got the girls some boots and jean jackets, and we got a few things at Jc Penney. While we were there we made sure to stop by the coffee shop and visit Amanda and get coffee and cookies ;) The kids ended up being really grouchy after awhile so we left the mall and went to lunch at Mellow Mushroom. While we were waiting on the food, Arnold drew this picture of me and him :) He has always loved to draw. 

Had to take picture with me and my Shelly Belly for National Dog Day!

Friday evening we went over to Mom and Dad's for dinner. They grilled steaks. They know how much my hubby loves steak and picked out a HUGE one for him. he was in heaven. And yes, he ate it all! I was picking on him the whole night. We sat outside on the deck and ate and talked until it got dark. It was relaxing and the best way to spend a Friday evening! And this time of year it's not that hot outside anymore!

Saturday evening we went to a big Lifegroup thing at church. It was a dinner and a meeting of sorts, getting people interested in life groups or joining a new one. We were in one a few years back but our leader moved away and we haven't found a new one since. Arnold, Erika and I all signed up for a new one and we can't WAIT to start this week! Erika and I actually used to work the childcare for that lifegroup, so we are familiar with the people already, and look forward to getting to know them better. I am a little worried about throwing my 3 crazy kids into the mix but we will see! ;)

The pastors from the campuses put on a skit. It was hilarious. Our pastor is second from left. I didn't even recognize him at first! He was channeling his inner gangsta! He broke it down with some rap and I got it on video ;) It was such a fun night! :)

Sunday morning Erika came to help me out in childcare! We had a great time, and decided to take a picture of the girls. We were commenting on how much taller Rachel is than Kenzie. And we decided to take a picture of me and Erika then. same deal ;) Every short girl needs a tall best friend ;)

I was off work yesterday so I went out to do some shopping in the morning. There were a few fall decorations I was wanting, and some more fall clothes for the kids. Since I was in the area, I met arnold for lunch at Chili's on his break. Love their potato soup ;) Lunch is about the only time we get a chance for a date anymore, so it was nice!! 

Arnold and I rented Aloha from redbox and watched it last night when the kids went to bed. It had looked good and has a great cast, but it wasn't that great of a movie. It was a little confusing and didn't have a very good plot. Oh well, at least we spent some more time together!!