Happy Birthday Will

October 29th- happy birthday to my man~ the world's BEST husband and daddy (to us:)! Will turned the big 38 on Monday (but who's counting?) We had his favorite meal for dinner, ate birthday cake, and then opened presents. Actually, Sara Kennedy and Cooper opened his presents and he just watched. I told you he was good daddy! What a fun night~ Blowing out the candles- look at Will holding Cooper's hands down
Camo cake~ anyone who knows Will knows he adores hunting and being outside
Opening Daddy's presents

Pumpkin Carving

" Hmm, what do we have here?"
Sara Kennedy diligently working on her pumpkin face design!
Cooper's 1 minute attn. span kicking in- who needs pumpkins when you have a babydoll, stroller, AND a pink hat!
Mommy and SK working on the masterpiece~
Daddy's little pumpkins!

What a busy weekend! I'm just now catching my breath. Saturday afternoon Will, the kids and I carved our pumpkin. I don't know who gets more excited about this yearly tradition- Will or the kids. He has us design our pumpkin on paper before we start carving. And you can't draw on the pumpkin with a marker it MUST be a pencil! He scoops out the seeds and lets me do the carving. We had so much fun. Although Cooper Man was not very interested in pumpkin carving.

Kitty Cats and Bears, Oh My!

Rain, Rain go away! Praise God we aren't having wild fires, though. With all the rain and cool weather this week~ we haven't gotten to go outside. I'm so thankful Sara Kennedy and Cooper play so well together. They both got new slippers this week. Cooper thought it was hilarious that big sister could slide around on the floor with her slippers. So, they've been playing run and slide. Sara Kennedy's are glittery Hello Kitty slippers and Coopers are big, scary bears~ oh my!

Play Group

We had our annual Play Group Halloween get together last night. We always ask, "Why do we torture ourselves trying to get a picture?" This year was no different. Rob Mayo was there and asked with a look of horror on his face, "Is this what playgroup is like? And y'all actually think it's fun?" It really is sheer madness when we all get together~ but we love it. Maybe it's because we used to be teachers or maybe we're our of our minds~ But it's so much fun!! It's hard to believe that 5 years ago these moms and I were teaching school and none of us had any kids, boy have things changed! Jett as (Fat Girl, that's what she calls herself in her Bat Girl costume :) and SK as a bunny (we're putting our recital costume from the Spring to good use:) Cooper is going to be a turtle~ so they're The Tortoise and The Hare
Picnic in the middle of the floor~ Swayze the pirate, Cooper the turtle, Mason the spider (he was hot in his costume- it's so cute and his talented mama, Jennifer made it), Bat Girl, and the Bunny ~ baby Stone was Robin (he's in the high chair, Sharea said he'd eat everybody's food if she let him down.
Baby Stone (Robin) getting some Pirate lovin'
Group picture~ not happening. Please look at baby Keaton (the chicken in the Bumbo chair) about to fall over backwards from her fit- by the end of the pictures she was almost upside down. When we finished Steph took her suit off and she was so hot :)
Little Miss Muffet?? Making his Daddy proud (and of course I had to take a picture to show Will)

Twinkle Toes

Sara Kennedy had Parent's Observation at Ballet class yesterday. She did so good. (All of our friends and family remember last year's episode i.e. tongue hanging out of mouth the entire time!!!) Glory be to God~ we had none of that this year:) Will didn't think he could make it, but at the last minute got to come. She was thrilled and she made us so proud!They dance to all of the old songs that sound like they're on the record player just like when I took dance when I was little. It reminds me so much of my childhood!

Here, they are being caterpillars with Ms. Heidi~ she has the patience of Job!
Our beautiful ballerina
"Gettin down"

The Corn Maze

Impossible to get a group picture of eight 4 year olds.
Good friends! I have a feeling these two will be pretty much inseparable for most of their school days!

Wow~ who knew being the mommy of a 4 year old could keep you so busy? We've been on the go, non-stop lately. Last week we went to the Corn Maze with SK's class. It was so much fun. I'm so thankful for this "season" in my life where I can be home with our kids and take part in these special times.

Yesterday we went to Rob, Jennifer, and Mason Mayo's 2nd Annual Pumpkin Patch hayride on their farm in the country. It was so much fun!! We got to visit with some of our friends, eat yummy treats, and watch the kids pick a pumpkin and some gourds. Thanks Rob and Jennifer for making this something we look forward to in the Fall!

The Fair

Last Wednesday afternoon we took the kids to the fair. Even though it was really hot~ we all had a blast. Of course Cooper LOVED the carousel. Sara Kennedy only rode it once, I think she felt she was "so over" the carousel. She liked the rides that went up in the air, like the hot air balloon ride and the spinning bear (that almost made me sick). Her very favorite was the bumper cars she rode with her daddy. Cooper threw an all out fit right in the midway because he couldn't ride the bumper cars. I just stood beside him until he finished. I almost got embarassed, but decided I'd probably never see any of those people again. I love our Wednesday afternoons when Will is with us. I cherish the memories we get to make with our sweet babies!

Sal and Mookies

Saturday night we went to Sal and Mookies with Terry, Jean Elaine, and Zan, and Rebecca and Jon David. After delicious pizza we had yummy ice cream. The kids loved hanging on this fence. Check out SK's tummy hanging out! If you've never been to Sal and Mookies~ you should go, it's great (in Fondren). Zan Man, Cooper, SK, and Jon David

Fun in the Backyard with Friends

SK posing, Jon David is hiding behind the little blue beauty shop chair and Cooper is just chillin with no pants on :)

2 sweet girls!
Saturday afternoon Rebecca and Jon David and my sweet friend Ginny (one of my best friends since college) and baby Mary Claire came over for a visit. Sara Kennedy wanted to be right beside Mary Claire. Ginny was sweet enough to let her hold her and SK was in heaven. Mary Claire is the best baby ever (and one of the cutest). Ginny, Rebecca, and I sat outside on the screened porch and watched the kids play. It was so much fun to visit with them. My how our Saturday afternoons have changed from a few years ago!

WellsFest 5K

I didn't have room to post these on the original post! Run Cooper Man Run! Speed Walkers watch out!
The hardware! Look at that precious smile!

"Some" of the Martins (Alex and Bax, not pictured. Baby Martin in Rebecca's tummy)!

The 5K at WellsFest

The runners and baby Stone cheering them on! Jon David, Baxter, Jett, Sara Kennedy, Mason, and Stone
Me and my sweet mama friends, I love these girls!!
Sara Kennedy showing off her number~
Crossing the finish line with her sweet daddy, look at those little arms and legs going!
YEAH!!!

After many running sessions, the day finally came. Our 5K at WellsFest~ was Saturday and it was alot of fun. Sharea, Jennifer, and I ran in the 5K and the kids did the One Mile Fun Run. Trey ran too (after working in the ER all night, in a time of 27:??~ wow!) My running time was 33:56 (I was very excited, my goal was 35:00). Sharea and Jennifer did great too. The MOST exciting was watching the kids run. When the gun went off~ Jett wouldn't go, Casey practically drug her to get her going :) SK started CRYING! I guess the gun startled her. But once they got going it was great! Sara Kennedy actually came in THIRD place in her age group (5 and under) with a time of 13:34 AND she won a $25 gift cert. to Fleet Feet as a door prize. She was so excited. We left before the awards ceremony was over~ we thought they were finished with her age group. So, the whole way home she kept saying she wanted to win, we had the "you can't always win talk" and she was actually ok. Then, my cell rings and Rebecca told me SK won 3rd in her age group. Rebecca was sweet enough to retrieve her trophy and get it to us. When I told SK, she almost came out of her booster seat. The rest of the way home, she would say, "Who is proud of me? Raise your hand!" And we'd all raise our hands. Cooper even got in on the action of the fun run, he didn't want to stay in the stroller when he saw all of the kids running, so I let him out. And he literally ran almost the whole way~ . If there would have been a category for Speed Walkers 2 and under, I know he would have brought home the gold!

A Fun Weekend!

We had such a fun weekend. Nana came up on Friday around noon and literally played outside with SK and Coop all afternoon. The weather was perfect! She taught SK how to make a house out of pine straw. When Nana comes it's all play. She plays with the kids nonstop. They think she's their personal playmate. My mom has TERRIBLE allergies around pine straw and still~ she showed her how to make a house. The things grandparents will do :) Cooper has fallen in LOVE with a pair of gardening gloves I bought for SK last year. When he sees them, he will not take them off. We had to hide them from him the other day. Check out his sweet little hands.