My Lil' Slugger

Tonight was Gray's last game. As we were walking out the door, Colt got sick. Praise the Lord for PeePaw & MeeMaw! They were almost at the field, and they turned around and drove all the way here to pick up and take Gray to his last game. I was so sad that I missed it. Colt has been sick for the past two games, and he was fast asleep the time before. I haven't made the last three games, and Allen told me that Gray has really been doing well. I'm still SOOO proud of my lil' slugger!!! Way to go, Gray!!! Here he is sporting his new medal!!! I think my days of getting a normal smiling shot of him are over. HA!!!

Again with the "How you doin'!" HA!!! Love my boy!!!

Second Grade, Here I Come!!!

Gray as he stepped inside from the bus on his last day of first grade. I have a SECOND grader!!! Can you believe it??? Check out the GIGANTIC Pixie-stick that his teacher gave him!!

I typically serve breakfast in bed on the first morning of summer break. The house was lively with lots of kids this year. Gray wasn't about to stay in bed when there were kiddoes here to play. He asked to be served on the couch with his tray this morning. What was his request??? Toast, eggs, and chocolate milk for my big guy...

So proud to be a 2nd grader!!!

Summer Fun

AHHH... The first evening of summer break...

Nothing says summer like running through the sprinkler!

It took a little bit for Colt to get used to the idea.

Yes, I've relaxed a bit about the water guns.

This one cracks me up!!! Colt is watching intently as the water is just beginning to rise.

Can't you just hear the squeals of laughter with this one???

Gray is growing up entirely too fast!!! Seriously, people!!! Look how tall he is!!!

Colt left the water to come cuddle with his mommy in his towel. I LOVE this kid's smile!!! :)

WaAaAaAa...

DING DONG!!!!

Can you hear those wedding bells ringing??? My lil' brother is FINALLY getting married!!! What's even better is that we LOVE Kathleen!!! She's a teacher with Jefferson County schools so she has had my respect from day one!!! Even better... She grew up with 3 brothers so she totally knows how to hold her own with Adam!!! HA!!! Don't hate, Adam. You know that you like to dish it out!!! You need a strong lady to put up with it. HA!!! ;)

the happy couple

A few weeks ago, my sister and I threw a shower to welcome Kathleen to our family. Here's a pic of our table deco... Can you guess the color of choice for the wedding???

Our spread of appetizers...
chicken salad puffs, potato salad bites, fruit and cheese skewers...

...veggies & dip, meatballs, and chicken/bacon nuggets....
YUMMO!!!

Kathleen with her family...(I'm not sure why the photo cropped the faces in the pic. ???) From left to right... K~'s grandma, K~'s mom, K~, K~'s god-daughter and flower girl, Hannah, and her mom and matron-of-honor, Heather... Let's hope little Hannah can rein in my two boys and get them down the aisle!!!

Shot of some of the guests...

...and another...

K~ opening our gift.... Melanie and I decided that since Kathleen comes from a family of boys that she needed some sisterly advice about what she could REALLY expect in a marriage. We thought long and hard about the perfect items to fill the basket. A few of them...

A roll of toilet paper... Get used to the idea of changing it... He's NEVER going to do it!!! HA!!!

A pair of tongs to pick up the dirty clothes that are strewn about the house...

Take-out menus for when you want the night off...

A honey-do list... Get him trained early...

The best part... a book called Pat the Hubby. The book is fully interactive. This particular page shows how you can help your hubby roll down his window to encourage him to ask for directions when he is lost. BAHAHAHAHA....

After K~ finished opening her gifts, we dove into the cuppie bar. We just happened to find a fabulous baker who could whip out seven different kinds of yummy mini-cuppies. MmMmMm...

Sisters... Sisters... There were never such devoted sisters...

SIDENOTE: I need to mention how much my best friend ROCKS!!! Jenn stuck with Mel and me throughout the entire weekend. Late night Friday night-prepping, Saturday-baking, cooking and decorating, and Sunday-helping us serve and even managed to have all of the dishes done before the final guest left!!! JENN, YOU'RE THE BEST!!! LOVE YA'!!!

#1 for Family Fun...

Last Sunday, PeePaw & MeeMaw took our entire family to Holiday World. The last time we made the trek to Santa Claus, Indiana, Gray was close to Colt's age and I was pregnant with Colt. Gray remembered just a bit from that trip but knew that it was going to be a blast from commercials advertising it. I'm pretty sure Colt didn't know what to expect, but he was ecstatic because he saw Gray getting excited. After all, monkey see... monkey do... :)

THE photo that we all have from our childhood days... :)

Since this was Colt's first amusement park experience, he was a bit uneasy with the first ride. It didn't take him long to warm up. :)

Gray on the kiddie version of this ride...

YEP! I'm pretty sure he was all about Holiday World after his first ride on the planes. He couldn't wait to climb aboard his his favorite horse.

Water bumper cars... NOTICE... All of the kids that were on this ride, and one of the two attendants felt the need to stay close to my boys. HmMm...??? I know you're surprised!!! HA!

After the kiddie section, Gray took off to ride The Raven (a REAL wooden rollercoaster-He insisted that he wanted to ride it...) with daddy and Auntie Melanie. Uncle Adam and Auntie Kathleen brought Colt a yummy lemonade to cool off. It was one STEAMY day!!!!

"MeeMaw, do you want a drink?"

Auntie Melanie reported that Gray was super excited on The Raven until they started flying down the first hill. He was leery about getting on the next ride. He passed up riding the Scrambler. I was sooo glad to see the swings around the next corner. Gray ran to get on while I crossed my fingers that he would enjoy this one. The second he jumped off, he ran to get right back on again while yelling, "One more time, Mom!"

Colt wasn't quite tall enough for some of the rides. He was such a good sport throughout the morning, but he REALLY wanted to ride the swings. He stretched on his tippy-toes. "Am I tall enough now, Mom?"

Our first trip on the antique cars, PeePaw piled into the back seat of the first car for Gray to chauffeur. Colt and I followed in the next car with Colt steering while I pushed the pedal. This was Gray's first attempt at driving, and his little legs just weren't strong enough to press that heavy pedal consistently around the entire track. Every few minutes, he lifted his foot off the pedal to readjust; every few minutes, I would do the same so we wouldn't bump into his car. After a bit, Colt caught on to how the pedal would make the car move, and he started stepping on top of my foot as I would lift to make our car slow to a stop. Get with the program, mommy!!! These may be antique cars, but we can make it go FAST!!! Sooo cute!!! :)

You can't ride the antique cars just once. I think this was a pic of the second, third, fourth... ????

I think we've hit an all time record!!! I'm in TWO pics in this post!!!! How did that happen??? Auntie Melanie jumped in and started snapping pics when I passed the camera off to get on a ride. Thanks, Auntie Melanie!!!

All aboard...

"How you doin'?"

and again...

Auntie Melanie took Gray to the kiddie coaster while I was chasing Colt around the playground area. After I captured him, we walked up to find Gray riding the coaster with this little girl. Auntie Melanie reported that Gray was standing in line between a little girl and a little boy. He chose to approach the little girl and said "You can ride with me if you want to..." Lord, please help me!!! I think I'm in trouble with this one!!!

Exiting the playground area, Auntie Melanie noticed this water feature. I'm pretty sure it was the hit of the day! Colt wasn't too sure at first, but where Auntie Melanie goes, he's sure to follow.

Hey, wait!!!

Gray getting in on the action...

HILARIOUS... Can't you just hear the squeals of laughter with this one?

About mid-afternoon, Colt was ready for his nap. All of you mommas know what I mean!!! ;) Since Colt was tired, and Gray had school the next day, we decided to cut the day a bit short and left the park around 4:00.

Twenty minutes later, Colt was out like a light, and...

Gray was still mad!!! HA!

Crossing over...

Last Monday, Gray's cub scout troop hosted a potluck picnic for the scouts and their families. After we chowed down on some yummy food, the leaders presented year-end patches, ribbons, and service stars to the scouts. Gray received several patches and a star pin for his first year of service as a tiger scout.

The ceremony ended with each of the scouts receiving their new color of neckerchief signifying the level of scout they are. Orange is for tigers... Yellow is for wolves... Off with the old... On with the new...

Crossing over... Gray is now the proud member of the wolf den.