Mae's First Day of Preschool 2011

Well, second year of Preschool! Here we go! Mae goes 2 days a week, for a few hours, and really seems to enjoy it. I have to admit, I do, too!! I end up missing her by the afternoon, but those few hours without ANY kids are precious!! Her teacher this year is Mrs. Karen, and she has some kiddos in her class from last year. Last year, she slept in a crib all year--refused the nap mat. This year--crib isn't an option! So, we'll see how the nap mat goes! The baby is growing up.

Patriotic Princess

Love this outfit on her! She generally cooperates fairly well for photos, but I have noticed the cheesy, fake smile stage coming on...

Summertime At Papa and Grammy's

We enjoyed a day of outdoor water fun at Papa and Grammy's house during the summer...the water slide/pool was somewhat in the shade so somehow we didn't all just evaporate in the heat! Alli and Leo were there, too, as well as the Morrow family with little Brynlee. Jack really was there, too, but he's a little harder to capture on film!

Arranged Marriage

Well, he may be a little young, but we think we've found Macie's match! We have thoroughly enjoyed getting to hang out with Clay and Sara Selby, Bryan's former roommate and our friends from our A&M days. They have two sweet girls, Annalise and Kate, and Baby Davis (he's almost 2, now). He's adorable, and almost as big as Mae, and she thinks he's great. Bryan thought it would be fun to "girl Davis up" especially for his daddy--sometimes I wonder just how much maturing they have done since college!

Leo (and Alli) Comes to Visit!

Alli and Leo came to stay with us a couple of days...what fun! Although we see them fairly often, there hasn't been much time to just sit around and just play! Leo is adorable, and so easy-going. Quite a nice change from my children...though I love them!! The kids love him, but I think Jack is the most enamored--he can't seem to keep his hands off him, off his face, off his hands...all the places dirty 5 year old boys shouldn't touch on clean babies!! It's so sweet, though. We are pretty sad that Scott, Alli, and Leo will be moving to Oklahoma, although I feel like it's a great thing for them--Alli got a professor job at OC, and Scott has already heard back from a job, too--they'll be far, but what a fun place to go visit them!

Crazy Girl

Just had to grab this shot of Mae...she is always doing funny things...

sometimes even a picture can't capture it, and I'm usually not fast enough with the video camera! She is actually "shaking her booty" here, and making herself laugh so hard she eventually falls over!! After seeing the picture, I also realized what a brown little berry she is...has her father's skin, thank goodness!

Camp Kichaca

Our church has a kids' camp for ages 3rd-6th grades, and Callie got to go this year! I was fortunate enough to be able to go, too! I went in the capacity of camp nurse, kitchen help, co-lifeguard, photographer...so fun! It really was a great experience, and a little nostalgic. It brought back so many memories of my growing-up years, when I LOVED camp--so many special memories and life experiences and I am so excited for Callie to have something similar. Another interesting thing is that this camp is the same one that Bryan went to as a teen. Talk about life coming back around! A big thank you to my fellow parent staff members--thanks for the many laughs! Drew, our family minister, did a great job of directing, and we had lots of teens that stepped up to help. Callie had a great time. Although I was glad to be there for her first camp experience, I really did try to stay "away", with only the occasional interference. 8 years old is pretty young to be responsible for all hygiene issues...wow. At one point, I came in to the cabin to check on her, and she and a bunkmate were doing their bathroom cleaning duty...cleaning counters, potties...with their own personal washrags!!! For those of you who have been to pretty baseline camps...eww......! Another special thing for me is a kid named Griffin. He recently went through 14 months of treatment for cancer, and is now in REMISSION!! His last chemo treatment was just 2 months ago, and he was a trooper at camp. He did make me a bit nervous, and I think I followed him around like a puppy, constantly reminding him to drink water, take it easy, etc...He is a phenomenal kid, and such faith and acceptance in the face of such a difficult trial. He won Best Camper for the boys, and Callie won for the girls!! So proud of her.