Baseball started

Hunter and Shelby had their first game of the season on Monday night. Shelby was SOOOOO excited about finally being able to play in a real game. She was always paying attention (which is more than I can say of her older brother). She had her hands on her knees in the ready position when she was on the field. She had a good time and I can't wait to watch her again next week.
Reese is getting so big. She is 5 MONTHS old this coming Saturday. I can't believe it. I am going to starte giving her some vegetables when she is 5 months. She is doing great with her cereal now. She has finally started grabbing toys when they are put in front of her. It is like it happened overnight. She will reach out and grab a toy and "play" with it. I so proud of my little Reesey. She, Bobby, and I are going to mom and dad's lake house for Labor Day weekend. Hunter and Shelby will be with their dad. We are looking forward to a little relaxing on the lake.
Tonight we have AWANA and our class again. We are looking forward to it. I need to go home and practice the kid's verses with them b/c I haven't seen them the past two days and they need to hear them before this evening!

baby zuchinni

Awana Shelby

AWANA

We had a great time at church last night. I have enrolled Hunter and Shelby in AWANA-it stands for Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed, 2 Timothy 2:15.
It is a Bible centered youth organization providing weekday clubs at church. They LOVED it! Shelby is in the "Cubbies" 3 and 4 year olds. She has a vest she wears that she can earn patches on as she memorizes Bible verses. She has her little Cubbie tote that she carries to and from class. Hunter is in the Sparks. They are divided by grade levels. They played games, went on the playground, had a lesson, and seemed to have a great time. His first verse to learn is John 3:16. His vest and tote is on order and coming soon. I took a really cute picture of Shelby with her vest and tote and will post it tonight when I download it off of my camera. Reese went into the nursery and Bobby and I stared taking a class as well. It is a marriage class and we are really excited about it. It goes for six weeks and at the end of it we are going to the premire in Knoxville of Fireproof ( a new movie). It is a Christian movie that is about dedicating yourself to your marriage. All firmen and law enforcement (and their spouses) get to get free tickets. We are really excited about it. Look it up on the internet and watch the trailer. (fireproofthemovie.com) It looks great.
We have a big weekend. Shelby and Hunter have baseball practice, we are having a neighborhood cookout on Sat. night, we have a birthday party to go to on Sunday, and I will go on a long run with my friends.
Check back for my little Cubbie picture!

First Day of School for my Baby

Hunter started 1st grade today. I am really proud of him. He loved his classroom and his teacher seems wonderful! I talked to him yesterday afternoon and he said his most favorite part was going on the 1st grade playground. I know this will be a difficult year b/c they learn so much in 1st grade, but I also know he will do great. I loved walking him into his classroom and finding his desk with him. He had a huge smile on his face and didn't care at all when I left!

Three of us

Funny girls

Shelby is such a great big sister to Reesey. She loves to help me and stays at my side every afternoon she is with me to be with Reese. Funny story-we have a really big zuchinni that was grown by a co-worker of mine. She is pretending IT is her little baby. She rocks it, feeds it, and puts it in the baby swing. I put a diaper on it the other day and she thought that was hilarious! I didn't post that picture but I will next time I get on the computer. It is too funny!

Zoo trip

Saturday I took my kids and met my good friend Stephanie and little boy Cade at the zoo. It has kind of become a ritual that we go to the zoo together. I always get the year pass and it had been a while since we had gone. Bobby was playing golf until early afternoon and Stephanie send her husband away too so it was just us and the kids. The weather was wonderful and it felt so good outside..not too hot at all. The kids loved the huge sand box at Kids Cove as usual. You can see them in the pictures in the giant bird's nest and bird's egg. They were really well behaved and we took them to McDonalds for lunch. They may have loved that as much as the zoo because they played on the playground ( a really big one for a McDonalds) for about an hour.
We went to church on Sunday and then took all the kids (Brooke was with us then) to Chilis. The kids are excited about starting Awana at church on Wednesday night. It is the kick off night and there is going to be games, dunking booth, and the fire dept. will be spraying kids with their hoses. It should be a good time.
I have a crazy week. Monday-PTA committee meeting at Chilis, Tues-Board meeting at Children's Center (Shelby and Reese's school), Wed-kick off for Awana at church Thurs-NOTHING but playing with the kids Friday-hair appointment (I can't wait!!!) The kids will be at their dad's house this weekend so I will be cleaning the house, running with my friends, and taking care of little Reese.

My future baseball star........

Some more......

Baseball Pictures are coming

I will probably go home tonight (after the crazy house settles down) and post my pictures of my Shelby playing baseball in the backyard. Bobby had the kids out (along with a TON of neighborhood kids too) playing baseball in our backyard. Shelby did SOOOO good. She is hitting stronger and stronger. Hunter is getting better too. He is able to hit faster pitches now. Shelby looks so cute in her little purple helmet, her batting gloves, her new pants from Poppa, and her #5 jersey. Bobby's new nickname for her is "Five". She loves it and it really pumps her up when she hears..."Let's go number five!!!!!"
Reese is 12 pounds 13 oz now at 4 months. I am proud of how she has grown. The say they double their birthweight by now and she has more than done that. She rolled over a couple of days ago from her front to her back. I think is was a little bit of an accident, though!
We are going to the zoo tomorrow. It is only supposed to be a high of 82 with low humidity so it should be really nice. I will take some picture of Reese's first trip to the zoo too.
Have a good Friday. :)

My friend's birthday

Sorry, I will not have pictures again this time, but I can still update.
Last night some friends of mine went out to dinner for my good friend Shawna's birthday. We went to Soho Cafe, an asian restaurant. I had to bring little Reese because Bobby was on evening shift. Hunter and Shelby were at their dad's house that night too. We enjoyed friendship and good conversation. Reese was a little restless, but she did good overall. She is getting used to being toted around all the time.
I have registered Hunter AND Shelby for fall baseball. Shelby is SO excited to finally be able to play. Supposedly you are not supposed to start T-ball until you are 4 years old (which Shelby doesn't turn until this Dec. 29), but I feel that she is ready. I talked to someone on the board at the ballfield and they said if I think she is ready to sign her up! She has her pink helmet, pink and black cleats, new bat, glove, and batting gloves...all complements of her Poppa. I am really looking forward to seeing her play and beating all of those boys!! Bobby is going to be her assistant coach. Hunter and his friend Logan are going to be on the same team again. Hunter is getting better and better and understanding the rules of baseball more now.
Well, off to work. I get to pick the kids up today and have them until Monday now so I am looking forward to seeing my babies today. We are going to go the zoo on Saturday with my friend Stephanie and her son, Cade. We have a year zoo pass and haven't used it in a long time. I know the kids will enjoy going there. The high is supposed to be 82 that day so it will feel really nice outside!

Gatlinburg in a Day

When Bobby got home from playing golf on Saturday afternoon he surprised me with a little trip to Gatlinburg. So..we quickly packed stuff for overnight and left. We had reservations at The Peddler--our favorite restaurant there. They have the best salad bar I have ever been to. Reese was such a good little traveler and loved her first trip to Gatlinburg. We walked along the street with Reese in the stroller and enjoyed each other's company. It was nice to have some time with him since we have such busy lives with his two jobs, my job, and our kids. The next morning we got dressed, had a pancake breakfast, and went down to Bass Pro Shop. We enjoyed shopping around there for a while and ate lunch in the Fish Company there. They had great bread! Our waitress was not all there, though.
We got home around 3:00 or so. It was such a nice relaxing weekend. I even had energy to do a lot of cleaning that was a little overdue yesterday afternoon.
Hunter starts 1st grade in one week from today. I helped with a breakfast for the teachers this morning since it was there first day back. I am on the Teacher Appreciation Committee at West Hills Elementary. I don't have much time to help too much, but I do what I can.

My little Reesey

My little Reesey is holding herself up better and better everyday. Mom sent a little playmat that helps her to prop up and practice holding her head up while she is on her belly. She likes it a lot. Reese turned 4 months old a few days ago. It has flown by! I went back to work 2 weeks ago now and we are doing great. Her school loves her so much because she is such a easy-going, well-behaved little baby. I am so proud of her!

Hunter turned 6

My little baby turned six years old on July 17th. We had a party for him at Bounce House on the 26th. Here is a picture of the cake that I made just for us at home on his birthday. He wanted violet icing so I tried my best to make it. I don't know if it shows up in the picture or not. Reese has also started having rice cereal. I give her about a tablespoon or so every evening while we have supper. He is a picture of Reese eating for the first time with her brother feeding her.
I ran 6.3 miles today with my best friend, Ariana. We both had our babies in the jogging stroller. I was proud that I ran that with Reese in tow. She is still in her infant carrier that snaps in the jogging stroller until she gets a little bigger. It is more comfortable for her and more work for me!

The First of (hopefully) Many

My sister finally started one so I may as well start one too!
We have such a crazy life with our four children that this may be the only way that some of our family can keep up with us.
I hope to write as often as I can and post pictures too. I know they are fun to look at.
Thanks for the inspiration, Ash!

I will start this weekend...and maybe you'll see some pictures too!