Anderson's 2nd Birthday

Our sweet Anderson turned 2 on August 13. His actual birthday turned out to be a quite a nightmare. The grandparents had come over that evening with pizza to celebrate when we got a devastating phone call. Our sweet Connie very unexpectedly went to be with Jesus. I realize I'm starting his birthday post with this, but I know it will be something we always remember about his 2nd birthday. Connie was a very special person. She was the life of the party, always went out of her way to make you feel special, and worked harder than anyone I know. She loved her babies and was going to go to the ends of the Earth to give them the best life possible. We remember Connie always, but I know we will also especially remember her as we think about Anderson's birthday. She is loved and missed dearly.

Due to such tragic news, we decided to postpone his birthday party. We were still determined to have a little get together for our boy. One random Sunday in September we were able to let him play on the farm as we originally intended. Just as we expected, he loved every minute.

I'm pretty impressed with my husband's mad cupcake skills if I must say so myself!

We definitely took this time to be thankful for each moment. 

Back to School

Wow is all I can say. Time is flying, and it makes me so sad. Our big Payton is in FIRST grade this year. She has precious Mrs. Culp as her teacher and is loving everything first grade has to offer. Daddy took her to Meet the Teacher and Payton was thrilled to find out that one of her good friends from kindergarten, Madi, was in her class again this year.

First day of 1st grade for Payton and first day of my 9th year of teaching.

As for Harper, she was absolutely thrilled to start school this year because she was going to be in the BIG class! She loves school and the structure that comes along with it, so she was counting down the days.

She got glasses just a few days before school started. Mrs. Carpenter and Mrs. Bazzell are her teachers this year and they are absolutely fabulous! She goes to school Monday-Thursday. She already knew most of the kids in her class, so that was a huge plus also.

Anderson boy started the 2 year old class! Mrs. Hackett is one of his teachers again this year, as well as Mrs. G. He goes on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday. I think the first few days of CDO and preschool were pretty rough on Bamama after being home all summer, but he has adjusted well and now loves going!

We are so thankful for the amazing teachers who love and teach our babies each day. I seriously can't say enough good things about them all!

Harper's 4th Birthday

Our sweet girl waited forever to turn 4! She was so excited. We celebrated with a fun, yet HOT party in the backyard. We had a bounce house, bubbles, karaoke, a piñata, a cookout, and lots of friends and family!

I know I've done a poor job of updating the blog. What I want to remember about Harper at 4 is that she knows what she wants out of life, even if that means half of the skittles are left because she refuses to eat certain colors. Harper has a quiet, yet fierce personality. She is full of joy, loves watching tv, dislikes food (but loves eating), loves her siblings to pieces, doesn't like to work on academics but is a bright little girl, and we like to call her our little "peanut." This summer she learned to swim pretty well, but only on her own time. She wasn't going to do it until SHE was ready, just like most aspects of her life. She and her sissy started sleeping together this summer and it's the sweetest thing. It's easy to tell by these pictures that her smile can light up a room. Harper Bug, we absolutely love you to pieces. You make life interesting at times, but there's one thing for sure, you keep us laughing ALL the time. Thank you for the perfect gift you are to your Daddy and me!

Summer 2015- Colorado

This past summer was filled with lots of fun, trips, events, and anything else you can imagine. I didn't do a great job capturing it on the "big camera" but have lots of evidence of our fun on my phone. The girls started the summer with cheer camp. We spent Memorial Day weekend at the lake with family and friends. The following week we all did VBS. The kids had an awesome lemonade stand to raise money for kids in Haiti. This has really stuck with Payton even months later. Harper finally decided swimming wasn't as bad and scary as she thought and really took off! We had sleep overs with cousins, playdates, and left for almost two weeks to Colorado! This trip was long awaited and everyone was so excited. It was the first flight for Anderson and Harper and everyone did surprisingly well! We went to visit Aunt Pam and Uncle Gary at their campground and it was two weeks of pure fun! The kids played and played, we explored, rode four wheelers, went up mountains, visited Taos, the Pueblo Indians, fished, and enjoyed family. It was a wonderful trip, and one that I hope the kiddos will remember forever.

After returning we celebrated Harper's birthday, the 4th at the lake, two trips to the beach, Dad had surgery, and we got ready to head back to school. Like I said, most of our snapshots are on my phone, but we had an awesome summer together! It was nice that this year Anderson was a little older and we could stay gone for longer periods of time. I"m so thankful for our sweet time together in the summers.