A lot happening!

I cannot believe I have not written on my blog since August!! I guess I have been busy! To start we have big news, a new baby is coming April 27th! We are all so excited, guessing everyday if its a boy or girl and coming up with all kinds of names. Lauren told me soon after watching the Adams Family that we should name the baby "Friday". I told her I didn't think I likes that name! I think Elizabeth is worried that if we have a boy its going to beat her up. I told her she did not need to worry since she will be 8 years older.
So since school started Elizabeth has been busy with Brownies, soccer, piano and just starting basketball! Lauren has enjoyed her dance and gymnastics, she's anxious to see what her dance recital costume will be this year!
We also had a amazing Halloween party this year, I will try to post the pictures in the next few days. We had about 35 people and it was a great success!

Elizabeth turned 8!

August was crazy so I am hoping that is a good enough excuse for just now posting about Elizabeth's birthday! It was a great day! We started the morning with her favorite chocolate chip pancakes, she went to school and I brought cupcakes there to celebrate with her friends. Then, that evening Grandpa Wall came to visit and we had a wonderful Birthday dinner with a M&M birthday cake! On Saturday she had around 25 friends join her for a wonderful party at the roller skating rink! We had a great time! I cannot believe my baby is eight!!

Canada 2010

Every summer we head to Canada for a couple weeks for some family time with McDonald's. We have a 1,000 mile car ride along with a couple hours in the grocery store before we finally arrive. Getting there is hard work but well worth it. The cottage has no electricity, and my cell phone does not work but the one on one family time is very special. Hunters Grandparents who live in Nashville spend their whole summer in Canada and he also has Cousins, Aunts and Uncles that come all summer long. Its really a great time to visit with family we don't always get to see.
This summer we went on a lot of picnics where the girls enjoyed catching minnows, frogs and any other creatures they came across. We also worked hard on catching enough bass for a fish dinner that ended up to be our dinner the last night. Lauren was such a sport while we fished, she would bring her Barbies or stuffed animals and keep herself busy playing on the boat while Hunter, Elizabeth and I fished. One night while Hunter and I ate dinner with his Grandparents we watched the girls play by the water with rocks, logs and sticks. Watching them was more fun for the four of us. To see them outside playing, using their imagination was priceless.
No TV, no phone, no computer, just family.

Lauren is 5!

Lauren turned 5 this past week on July 6. I cannot believe how time flies by so quickly. Hunter and I bought her a American girl doll and she has been really enjoying it. She named her, "Elizabeth" so to tell the two Elizabeth's apart we decided to call her, "baby Elizabeth".
We first celebrated in Nashville with Mimi and Grandaddy. Mimi's birthday was on July 1st so we had a wonderful Carmel cake and sang to Lauren and Mimi. Then, back in Dyersburg Lauren had a dress up tea party at a wonderful tea room called Charleen's. She had 9 little girls and they dressed up, had real tea, learned manners and enjoyed cake. Lastly, we had a little celebration in St.Louis with Grandma, Aunt Julie and Cousin Waylon. What a fun week of celebration!!

From 2010-07

From 2010-07

4TH of July!

For the 4Th of July we went to Linville, NC to celebrate Grandfather White's Birthday. We had a wonderful time!
We had a great night at a big fourth of July party. There was wonderful food, games for the kids, face painting and dancing!
Another night we went to a big picnic and enjoyed watching the kids run and play!
During the day Hunters Aunt Barbie and I hiked while Hunter got to play some golf and the girls played ping pong!
One day we also went to Grandfather Mountain with Nanny and Uncle John. The swinging bridge was a little much for Lauren and I but everyone else made their way across. Both girls loved the little zoo. The bears were so much fun to watch and almost seemed to enjoy us as much as we loved them.
This was a amazing trip and we are so thankful for the time we got to spend with family we don't usually get to see much!

Summer has been so busy but also so much fun! This past week the girls went to vacation bible school at our church in Dyersburg. They had such a great time! They loved the music and the bible stories! Everyday the older kids would put on little skits, they had some fun characters; water girl and pizza boy. They came home everyday to tell me all about what water girl and pizza boy did that day.
Elizabeth was so excited to go to vbs but at the same time did not want to miss swim team practice. She decided that she could go early and swim with the older kids from 8am -8:45, shower at the pool quickly just in time to make it to vbs at 9am (something that you can really only pull off in a small town, where everything is just around the corner). I was so impressed with her and this busy schedule! All her hard work did pay off, at the swim meet this week she won a 4Th place ribbon in butterfly and 1st in relay! We were so proud of her!
Also this week we celebrated Conner Dobies 5Th birthday! Conner invited us to see Toy Story 3 with him. The movie was great, we had so much fun!

Centerhill Lake 2010

When Elizabeth was bout 8 weeks old and I went back to work we met another family at the day care where she was enrolled. They also had a little girl, Emilija. Emiilija and Elizabeth are about 2 weeks apart in age and have been friends ever since. Hunter and I are also close with her parents Kimberly and Arunas. We have stayed friends even though we have had two moves since Nashville; St. Louis and Dyersburg. After we left Nashville we started a annual lake trip over Fathers day weekend. That trip started at Kentucky lake but this year we tried Centerhill Lake and loved it. We had a wonderful trip. We spent a day at the pool and one on the boat. This year we had a two story pontoon boat with a slide. It was a blast! We all loved the slide and Kimberly and I loved the top deck! A little thunderstorm on Saturday forced us to jump off the boat and run to the car for safety, but it only lasted about 15 min.
We enjoy watching these girls grow and the amazing friendship they have.

Swim meet!!

We had our first swim meet of the summer last night. Having to be there a hour early plus the 45 min. drive was well worth it! We went with our neighbors and good friends, Kathy and her two kids Kimberly and Conner. It was a blast. Elizabeth and Kimberly swam freestyle, breast, back and BUTTERFLY! We were so proud of them!

Last week in St Louis we also had some time to visit with our favorite 2 yr old and my nephew, Waylon. We have so much fun seeing him and learning about his favorite things; balls, baseball bats, more balls. Unlike my girls who sleep with a million stuffed animals Waylon sleeps with balls. It is hilarious!
Also, we all went to dinner at Kobe Steakhouse to celebrate Mikes college graduation. That was such a great time. Waylon cried at the fire when the chef started cooking, then Lauren cried when another table had birthdays and people came out in masks to sing. Then, Waylon cried again. I think that this resturant will have to be off limits for a while. But, we had a great time, Congrats Mike!!
Also, the girls had fun with Grandma who they just think is so great. It could be the bubble gum and candy that she gave them when I am not around. Grandma is supposed to be working on following the rules. At camp they had bring a friend day and guess who Elizabeth wanted to bring....yes Grandma. And Lauren, well I asked her where she was wanting to have her birthday party this year and she said," Grandmas house!"
We also had a great breakfast with Nanny one morning, the girls got to tell her all about camp and the fun they were having. They just love Nanny. Also, Nanny is very good at following the rules, unlike Grandma.
On the last night we had dinner with Grandpa at Mimi's cafe. The girls love to go there because for dessert they get" worms in dirt". That is chocolate pudding, crushed oreos and gummy worms. Grandpa had about 6 small shrek toys for them that he obviuosly got out of cereal boxes. I think he is stocked up on cereal for a while!
It was a great week!

My first Blog

This is my first Blog, I am so excited to be doing this finally!
Summer is here and we are having such a great time! Last week we went to St. Louis and the girls went to JUMP camp at St. Louis Family Church. What a amazing time! Around 3,200 kids and growing each year! Now that its becoming so popular traffic is a little problem but still very worth it!