"Just A Minute"

As we were heading out the door to go to the free movie at Regal this morning, Taylor disappears. I called for her and she had run upstairs. I hear her say "Just a Minute" in this sweet lady like voice. Two seconds later, she is rounding the corner at the top of the stairs with her leather cat purse and a charm bracelet on her wrist. It was tooooo cute! My little lady could not leave the house until she had her purse and jewelry. Miss Beauty Queen!

Joshua's 6th Birthday

Joshua had a great birthday today and got to share the day this year with Daddy for Father's Day. The last time that happened was when Joshua was born. We started out the morning with French Toast for Daddy and Daddy got to open his Father's Day gifts: sandals and a photo book from me, as well as cards from Joshua and Taylor. Joshua and Taylor each decorated the cards with stickers. Taylor picked out the card she gave Daddy because she was with me the day I bought the cards. She picked out a Minnie Mouse Father's Day card, which was so "Taylor". It cracked me up that they make Minnie Mouse Father's Day cards, but they do...for girls like Taylor. Joshua got to open up a gift from my friend Julie Jones which was sports cards with mosaic stickers that make up mosaic pictures that you can hang up on the wall...he then got to open cards that he had gotten in the mail from family. We then spent the day outside in the octagon pool, which we all fit into, and just enjoyed relaxing after a full busy day yesterday. Joshua and Daddy loved squirting each other with water guns and it was great to just hang out with no planned agenda. We came in late afternoon and got dressed to go out to dinner. Doug was in the mood for Italian Oven, so that is where we went. We even had the staff sing "Happy Birthday" to Joshua which he was surprised with. They gave him fried dough pieces with chocolate syrup and powdered sugar (which tasted like funnel cakes), but he didn't want to try it...so Doug and I enjoyed eating some of it. We then headed back home for cake (Oreo marble cake from Publix) and gifts...of course! Joshua loved the cake and was very excited to open his gifts. He got a dual light saber (big hit!!) that lights up and makes light saber sounds. He also got a Star Wars Echo Base lego set, a firetruck/boat/ATV lego set, a Del Sol Frisbee that turns blue in the sun, and a helicopter/boomerang that comes back to you when thrown. He also got the Star Wars Trilogy (4,5,and6) from Gran and Grandaddy and a Star Wars storm trooper dart gun that he picked out with money that they had sent. He got his birthday gifts in Indiana at the Children's Museum from Grandpa and Grandma that he got to pick out. He chose some Automoblox cars and a Star Wars speed racer. He got money to spend from Aunt Chris and Great Aunt Merry and Uncle Bob. He also got the Star Wars Echo Base legos from Aunt Angela and Uncle Doug which Joshua decided to exchange for a remote control car. Joshua got talk with his aunt and uncle, and his grandparents and he really enjoyed getting to talk with Daniel and telling him all about the gifts he got...very animated conversation with Daniel! We are so glad that Joshua and Daddy got to have a really fun birthday/Father's Day combo this year!!

Joshua's 6th Birthday Party

We had Joshua's sixth birthday party today. Lots fun and lots of preparation! Joshua picked the "Star Wars" theme for his party and so we had a Star Wars cake, Darth Vader pinata, and Star Wars party favors and plates. We had a water theme this year, as last year's party was sooo hot outside, and we were all hot in the sun. This year, we tried to cool things off a bit with a slip and slide, octagon 10X10 pool, and we had the trampoline for the kids a well. The kids seemed to have a great time with the water play. Six kids came and we had two older siblings as well: Saylor Phillips, Samantha Azua, Colleen Cameron and her sister, Jonathan Funk and his brother Matthew, Patrick Scott, and Jack Powell. Taylor seemed to have a great time hanging out with the older kids as well. She held her own. We had a little bit of thunder at the end of the party, but the rain held out, and we only had to have the kids come inside to finish their cake. Joshua got some really great gifts from his friends. Colleen got him a Super Soaker water gun, Samantha-a remote control car, Saylor-moon sand, Patrick-Match Box truck, Jonathan-Star Wars legos, and Jack-R2D2 trouble game. Happy Birthday, Joshua!!

Trip to Indiana

We took a week long trip to Indiana this summer and had a nice visit with Grandma and Grandpa. We took a trip to South Bend and walked around the East Race kayaking and sport area on the river, and went to the South Bend Chocolate Factory and the kids had fun playing in the kids playground area. Someday we'll have to come back for the tour of the factory. We went to Culver one day and walked along the beach area and through the woods to Culver Military Academy. The day was really pretty and the walk was beautiful. The kids had fun on the playground by the Culver beach, and I think that Daddy had fun playing there, too! We also ate at the A&W Rootbeer stand where I grew up eating...you can either eat at the drive in area in your car or sit at the picnic tables on the other side. We ate outside. We also went to the Indianapolis Children's Museum on a Target free evening so we go to see the museum for free. It was a really nice museum...I know that I went there as a kid, but I don't remember it looking like it did. It was a four level museum with a huge dinosaur exhibit, Barbie exhibit, current day Egypt exhibit, and much much more. The kids and all of us had a great time at the museum. We drove up to Michigan one day and went to Fenn Valley Winery. The next stop was Holland. I remembered the city having a lot of Dutch dancing, tulips and cute shops. Now, you have to pay to see the old windmill from Holland, so we decided not to do that. We went to a small Dutch shopping area and I bought some small wooden shoes for the Christmas tree and then we left and went to Saugatuck. I wish that we would have spent all of our time at Saugatuck because it was nicer than I even remembered from high school. It was off of Lake Michigan and was full of quaint shops and gorgeous yachts and boats docked by the shore. We ate dinner at a local upscale burger restaurant on the water and then did a little bit of shopping. Next time, we'll head straight to Saugatuck for the day...about a 2+ hour drive from Plymouth. Back at home, the kids enjoyed playing with my old toys, and Taylor got to play with my Barbies and clothes and I found my old baby doll clothes as well. We also got to see Uncle Bob and Aunt Merry on Memorial Day at their house for lunch and got to see my cousins as well. On the way back to GA, we stopped in KY and visited Mammoth Cave. We took two tours that day and the kids enjoyed it for the most part. The tours were a bit long for them, but they still had a good time. Great trip to Indiana, and we packed a lot in! The kids really enjoyed their visit with Grandma and Grandpa!