Getting wrinkles...

At the bowling ally- making silly selfies!

 

Caroline says:

"I can't really make my face have those forehead bumps!"

Thanks Caroline!

😳😳😳😳😳😳😳

 

 

We had fun bowling with Mimi!

 

Happy Late Birthday Tricia!

Let's be real...

I may have over-extended myself this fall. After coaching Caroline's soccer team, teaching Kindergarten Sunday School, coaching Drama at school plus my full time 2nd grade teaching job - I'm gonna be worn slap out!

That doesn't even get into the umpteen committees I'm on- or all of the kids' activities:

Anna- swim team, gymnastics, drama and soccer

Caroline- soccer and gymnastics

Case- thank goodness he is too young THIS year! 

Here are few photos from the last couple weeks around here:

Swimming in the rain!

Bust out the selfie stick- say- say's crew came to visit! 

 

More from this visit (sometime)!

 

Haircuts for everyone! 

 

Some late night hotel reading for these three!

 A fun 24hrs in Jackson! 

 

And.... This boy is becoming a big boy!!! 

Be back soon- but, if it isn't soon enough scroll back up and re-read first paragraph 😜

A day in the life...

I bought a "zoodler". That is what I call it at least. It makes noodles out of squash and zucchini!

 

How awesome is that?!?!

I sautéed them with a little salt and pepper, topped them with spaghetti and meatballs and voila! 

 

Nothing too fancy, but good!! 

I made the kids regular noodles. I figured Caroline would throw a major fit to try my "garden noodles"- if she had not of had plain ole buttered noodles on her plate she would have melted into a puddle to eat "zoodles". As it was- both girls tried them! Caroline tolerated them. Anna liked them!

 

I'm glad to at least have another summer vegetable option!! 

After supper- it's time for a Popsicle walk around the loop!

 

Then- game night!

Introducing... Battleship to the kids!

 

Now- bed time for the kids and some much needed R&R for me!! 

Time with cousins!

We've been hanging with the boys this week!! We did lots of swimming and playing! We even did some bowling!!! (Case won!)

 

It was a fun few days!!! Now- we're gearing up for a visit from Katie!! 

 

A GRAND week!

If you have never spent a long weekend at The Grand Hotel in Point Clear, AL you are truly missing out! AND- clearly, the weekend of 🇺🇸 July 4th 🇺🇸is the weekend to be there! 

We happen to be lucky enough to have our fantastic Uncle Luke just five miles down from the Grand! Three hotel nights and two nights with Luke made for the very best vacation!! 

Pictures:

 

(Column 1-top to bottom; 2- top to bottom; 3 top to bottom)

-Car ride down was miserable!! I65 was a nightmare, and Case screaming in the backseat did not help!! A double ear infection certainly made him a grizzly bear for a few days! 

-Family photo-op! Case was NOT having the fireworks OR the picture! #grizzly

-Anna on the Lazy River! If you stay at the Grand- go to the Member's Pool one day. You have to pay extra, but it is well worth it!!! Slide, splash-pad, and a Lazy-River!

-Case fast asleep poolside! I'm so thankful for this third child that will plop down for a nap anywhere!! Made this trip so much more fun for mommy!! 

-I got in the pool!!! The kids couldn't believe it, so- we took a picture for documentation! Apparently, I haven't been in a pool with Anna  in " like three years!" 😂

-Anna and a good bud from school! (He was one ofmy student last year!) His family (dear friends of our's) was staying the weekend at the Grand, and we were very happy and thankful to get to hang with them most of our stay! 

- Casey, Case and Caroline Lazy Rivering it! 

-"The three butterfly twins" is what they requested to be called!! One of Caroline's VERY best friends (same family) and another future best bud were there!  She was in hog heaven with these two!!!

-The Grand (and Uncle Sam) provided a s'mores campfire on the beach- the perfect place to view fireworks in Fairhope and Mobile on the 4th!  (Would have been the perfect place had Case the Hornet allowed us to watch them. #grizzly

After our fabulous stay at the Grand- we headed down to Uncle Luke's house!! 

 

He spoiled us to the core!!! Absolutely rotten!! 

(Top to bottom)

-Uncle Luke with his "Grand-N's" -(great nieces and nephews. Is that a thing? He is their great-uncle! He adorably calls them the "Grand N's". I'm adopting it!)

- First night we got a cooking lesson! He taught us how he makes the best deviled eggs ever! (The only ones I'll eat!)

- Day two was "Popsicle Day"- every day was! My kids had no less than three Popsicles each day! 

Here they are enjoying Popsicles and checking the crab traps!

- Uncle Luke bought the kids fishing poles; took them fishing; then, as if that wasn't enough- he gave them prizes for biggest fish (Case), first fish (Anna), and prettiest fish (Caroline)!!! 

Again- three little apple cores! #rotten

- Happily worn out!!!! Signs of a GRAND day!

As mentioned above, "Untle Lute" (as Case says), got the kids all set up for fishing off his Bay!!

Pictures: 

 

(in no particular order.)

- The three Grand-N's gearing up for a fun day on the dock! 

-Caroline caught croakers, cats, and a couple of red fish! I don't know what is what, but I know she caught a ton, and she had an absolute blast!

-Anna caught the first fish. A Croaker! She got the hang of casting and reeling! Perhaps a natural! She caught a ton too! Loved every minute of it!

- Case-boy caught the two big sheepshead! He was so excited!!  He didn't want to touch any of the fish, but he sure liked reeling them in!

- Uncle Luke and Casey were so patient with re-hooking the bait, and helping them reel their fish in! It was a SUPER fun morning (and afternoon)!

I am NOT a natural! On the few occasions Case got a little tired of fishing I took over his rod. I didn't catch anything for the longest time! Then- FINALLY I had a real fighter on the line! I screamed, "I hooked one! I got a fish! Yeah-baby!" Then, I reeled in this bad boy:

 

Yep! The tiniest little cat you've ever seen! But, don't be fooled! I can (and did) catch a smaller fish! Unfortunately it fell off the hook and through the cracks of the dock back in to the water. Yes- it was small enough to slip right through the crack! 🙄🙄🙄

We were fishing with little pieces of shrimp. I felt a little nibble and started reeling- yep! I had one! When I pulled it out of the water I literally thought it was the bait!! I said, "awe. He got off! Wait!!! No he didn't! (Enter hysterical laughter) LOOK AT MY FISH!!!"

You had to see it to believe it!! It was the size of my pinky finger!! I can still hear Anna and Caroline cracking up!! Made my whole day!! #catchingbait🐟

We had a great time the entire time!!

 

No captions needed!! The kids were in heaven ALL week long!!!

AND- don't you think I didn't break several times for selfies!!! 

 

What a blast!! Can't wait for next time!! There WILL be an next time! We are making the 4th at the Grand and annual event!! We may have to go back to "Untle Lute's House" and have countless Popsicles, multiple bowls of ice cream, and endless fun next year too!! 

The kids were SO sad to leave this morning!!! About an hour left in our drive I snapped these:

 

You think there was ever a dull moment in that 6 hours??? There was NOT!! Never is in this life, but that is why I love it so!!!

#bestvaykayever #applecores #rotten #grandhotel

#fourth  #attaboyluther #grandn's #untlelute

My life....always!

 This picture adequately describes my life!

- Laundry always lingering around; clumped up on couch waiting to be folded, stacks all folded waiting to be put away, and dirty clothes literally dropped to the floor waiting (a VERY LONG wait) for the owner (usually a little tot but sometimes a grown woman) to rightfully place them in the hamper! 

-My lovely decorative Pottery Barn pillows nonchalantly thrown all over the room, smushed to death from being sat on and used for fort building 99% of the time! 

- my absolute favorite part of this picture is the three little yogurt containers- all three half eaten with the spoons sticking out! Notice how they are ALL three sitting in my favorite morning perch just waiting for me to come over with my morning coffee and dispose of them- 🙄🙄🙄

There is so much to be seen- my clipboard frames that I thought were so clever because I could easily change out photos- yep, have pictures from two and a half years ago still hanging!

The watermelon on the counter next to cookies. My favorite food (cookies) next to the most favorite summer treat of all the rest of my clan! All three of my little birds ask for this watermelon to be cut 3,459 times a day!!! 

You can look at this picture and think- man, her life is crazy, but really, I think- "I'm so blessed!" How empty my life would be without 18 loads of clothes and dishes every day- and little reminders that I have three beings depending on me!

A place to have morning coffee- MORNING COFFEE!

Life as I know it may not be the Pinterest perfect life we all want, but it's mine and I love it!!!!

Pictures to update...

 

-- One of my favorite pictures this year was from Easter!! Aren't they sweet?? 

-- Anna- Our sweet "old soul"! 

-- Caroline loved retrieving doves for Casey this fall- this picture sums her personality up perfectly!!

-- Case wore a bow tie on Easter- cutest picture of him yet!! 

-- Halloween: Lucy, Spidey, and Rapunzel. Anna is OBSESSED with I Love Lucy! We watch it every single day! 

-- Three major pieces of my heart!

-- First day of school- Anna -1st; Caroline- K; Case- 2yr olds. They all had a fantastic year!! 

-- Our little Rebels!! Loving Ole Miss!! 

-- Recovering from my major surgery back in September. You may not know, but I had a very scary and surreal health event last summer. All is back to normal now!! (Praise God!)

-- Silly selfie faces with Anna and Case

-- Silly selfies with Cliney-Bug! 

-- Me in my Elton John shades- showing Sister Sarah how selfies are made 😜

--Anna is our little sensitive soul- she has an ENORMOUS heart for Christ! Warms my soul!

--Caroline had a bad break- we all knew she would be our first broken bone. All is well now!!

--Case is our little baller- he love baseball the most! 

--Two new cats- Bruce and Fella rule the back patio around here!

Coming Back...

 I'm coming back to the blog world!! How long has it been??? Way too long!!!!! Now, I have the blogger app- so hopefully I'll be better about updating post and pics!

Let's see.... 

I'll just update you on my life right now. Soon I'll try and go in reverse for a recap, but that could take some serious time!

 

Anna is seven! Anna is like the 75 year old version of me!! She is our sensitive, fun-loving, motherly, old-soul! She loves all things crafts; all things school; all things American Girl; sushi, hot tea, gymnastics, swimming, soccer, riding her bike, playing friends and taking care of her new kitty, Little Fella!!! 

She will be in second grade this fall. She'll continue Soccer and Gymnastics and start Drama, Piano and MAYBE basketball (she says, "not a chance", but I plan on winning that war)!

 

Caroline is five!!! She is my mini-me in every way; Looks and attitude!! Makes me very nervous for those teenage years! She loves everything!! All things adventure; all things crafts; all things sports; all things outdoors and in! And mostly, all things Anna loves! She wants to do everything she can- and try everything she can't!! (---hence the broken arm pictured above; She fell off the TOP of the swing set) 😳

She is out of the cast now and I'm certain she'll be back in another one all too soon!!!She is tall and toothless. Right now her favorite thing in the world is her kitty, Bruce! 

 Case Boy is three!!! I know 😳- he grew up so fast!! He is huge and has an even bigger personality!! He loves all things tractors! All things trucks. All things baseball, Spider-Man, Baymax and Super Heros! He loves riding in and on everything! He loves telling jokes and playing tricks. Loves everything about laughter; laughing and making us laugh! 

He thinks he can do everything by himself and has no problem demanding his independence! 

He loves to eat! We have yet to find one food he doesn't like!! Although he doesn't love chocolate milk! 

 

This picture was last summer (they have changed SO much)- we all have! 

We've had a crazy year to say the least but we are all happy and healthy and loving life!!! 

 

SweetMondays is back!!! Finally!!!! 

See you soon (like tomorrow)!