This one is for LUKE

Luke,
Recently your cousins where driving aimlessly around southwest Alabama (actually there parents where but you get the idea) and they found these creatures......


You can imagine Margaret Anne's excitement when she saw these. She had to get out and take pictures for you. So, when you come this way next we have some exploring to do! Do you think you could make a box big enough for these?

Book em'

We like to play jail at our house and we happen to have a great set of (80's style) stairs to play this in. I usually pay the bail being asked to get them out.

A Birthday Tea Fit For a Princess

Margaret Anne turned 5 in September and asked to have a Princess Tea Party. She was allowed to invite 5 friends and that was hard we had a lot of friends we wanted to invite but in the end the small party was JUST RIGHT. The girls all came dressed as their favorite princesses and as a bonus they came with their princess manners! We had tea sandwhiches, chocolate dipped pretzels, fruit salad and of course Princess Cake.

What would a party be without music and dancing...those princesses really know how to cut a rug! That was not the only rug they cut, their was a princess fashion show with the one and only M.C. AUNT MARY ALICE!

Thank you family and friends for making a 5 years old party all she could have dreamed of!

Discus amongst yourselves...

Blue Lake is neither Blue nor a Lake...
It's actually a Green Pond, but that does not sound near as good!

Does anyone remember that SNL skit? The 2 ladies would get Vaklempt and then give you a topic to discus amongst yourselves. Back in the day when I was a Blue Lake counselor for the summer we would tell the middle schoolers this little line and they would look at us like we had lost our minds. We probably had but by that point in the summer we thought it was hysterical!

Now fast forward 12+ years and I am taking my girls to Blue Lake for the first time. If you have known me for very long you will know that I have love for Blue Lake that runs deep and I want my girls to have the same love. So far so good. We headed up for Pensacola FUMC's family retreat for the weekend, I have been attending this October ritual since I was a little girl. The girls loved seeing the lake, the cross's lit up on the lake at night, carving pumpkins, running up and down the halls, pajama parade, bonfires, singing songs in the chapel and having communion by the lake Sunday morning. Margaret Anne was sad on Sunday when she relized this was "our go home day". Needless to say they are ready to go back.

Yeah for passing on memories and making our own as a family!



This picture just makes me laugh. We had the timer on and it started taking multiple pictures, the rest of the pictures are of us laughing at Patrick trying to make it stop taking pictures. (we are missing several of the families we hang out with in this picture but we will get a full group shot next time)

I will see you in the morning when I get 5!

In the morning my precious Margaret Anne turns 5. She told all her friends at school she would see them in the morning when she gets 5. We are all excited about this big birthday and she has made us practice singing all week, so I think we are ready for the morning!

Life goes by so fast and to think all we have packed into her 5 years is crazy. We have moved 3 times, traveled near and far, added a sister to the family, made friends we will have for a lifetime, played on the farm and the beach, learned all about your allergies, watched you dance and girl you can dance!, know how to talk your family into just about anything, talk about your cousin Luke like he hung the moon (he might have),learned to walk...talk...laugh...swim...and love God.
Margaret Anne you bring joy, laughter and love to us everyday!
We love you.
Love,
Momma, Daddy and Lilly Kate

You mean summer is over?!

My nephew Luke aka my cousin Luke (per Margaret Anne) has moved to Vermont to live on a beautiful lake. He has made all kinds of friends and some of them are just there for the summer. So when at dinner the other night they were asking if a family had gone home for the summer, he looked up and said "is summer over?" And the sad answer to that Luke is, yes. I know we have not officially left summer but school has started and well football starts this weekend...

We have made it to school on time and with everyone dressed and fed! This morning was our first official day back at school and the girls were so excited to go...

Being sweet sisters...

How does Momma want us to pose?

Oh you mean like this...

I really should have taken a picture of us at the end of the day, I will later this week and I am determined to get a picture of all three of ready for school so that I have proof WE CAN DO IT! So next year when MA starts Kindergarten I have some encouragement.

If you where 2 what would you wear for tea?

Apparently for a sweet little Tea Party with friends

Lilly Kate would wear it allll!When I asked her to go to her room and get dressed for the tea party she pulled out all the clothes from her drawers and tried to put them all on. I think she was going for the full length gown look.

Hi Ho Hi Ho...

It's back to work I go! I am going back to work part time tomorrow morning after staying home with the girls the last 4+ years. The director of the girls school caught me on a good day last school year when she asked me if I was interested in teaching. I am a little anxious about getting myself and the girls out the door every morning on time but I am sure it will provide entertainment for the neighbors watching us head out the door.

Sorry for the lack of blog postings we have had a crazzzyy summer. I will try to catch up on what all we have done this summer since Disney World ...If I am not sound asleep by 7 p.m.


P.S. If anyone heads to Walmart and sees this precious on the shelf please buy her and I will pay you back :)

Surprises are the best!

Surprises really are great especially when you get to see the reaction of your precious 4year old. Margaret Anne has begged and sweetly asked to go to Disney World she even made it her wish when they made wishing wells at school. So, Patrick and I talked about it and decided to take her for her Birthday which is the beginning of September. We were all set and starting to make reservations when MA started to miss her friend aka sister Isabella (our next door neighbor in St. Louis) BADDD. She even had several days she cried for her sister. Well as it would so happen the Pantano's where headed to Orlando/Disney the first couple of weeks in July. That is when we decided to throw all our plans out the window and meet the Pantano's in Orlando. It was a complete surprise to both the girls and they where truly surprised. I forgot just how sweet it was to hear those 2 girls talk and giggle they just kept hugging each other the first couple of days. Then the next thing you know it was like we had never left St. Louis it felt like just any old day we would all be hanging out except in HOT Orlando. Patrick and I always knew the Pantano's where great neighbors but the true friends we became was a surprise to us all. The girls would tell you we are not friends we are family they are sisters (people would ask are you best friends and MA would say NO we are SISTERS) and I have to agree!

We had a great time in Orlando at the pools, CoCo Beach (no oil!) and of course Disney World. We have hundreds of pictures of the girls and princesses but I will leave you with these few for now....

Grocery Store from the view of a 4 year old

We made our daily adventure (that is what we call outings) to Walmart a few weeks ago. I only like heading there when I need a lot of groceries and we are in need of plastic crap. Well I told y'all a few weeks ago that I could not find the cord to my camera for the computer so when I finally did this was on the screen among hundreds of others. Although this came from my iphone it somehow did not catch my eye until put with all the other photos.
Margaret Anne likes to play with my phone while we are out and I admit I let her and I see from these pictures she found the camera app while at Walmart. So have a good laugh at what she took, I know I did. From these pictures I understand why they put junk food at the bottom of the grocery shelves.

The End

Lilly Kate is 2 (definitely)

Lilly Kate turned 2 on May 22nd and it was like she got some secret memo about being a 2 year old. She has always been into everything and a high energy 1 year old but on her birthday she decided that saying NO to everything is hilarious! On the other hand she has started talking a lot and now she is not near as frustrated about trying to tell us what she wants.

We had a great day and we celebrated with a cookout and a visit from Patrick's family. This year I was determined to make a cake that tasted and looked like all the cakes at other Birthday parties. I know this makes me sound like a bad cook but it is because of Margaret Anne's allergies I have to be creative in making a cake. I have gotten better over the past 4 years and this cake had the look and the taste.

Here is an example of her new independence she got 2 new nightgowns and she was determined to wear both and actually she's still convinced this is the way to wear them.

Lilly Kate running to her new roller coaster

WEEEE! IF you need a gift for a toddler I would highly recommend this roller coaster it actually kept the entire cookout entertained

Grovin' with her Mae Mae at the cookout

Happy Birthday to my sweet Lilly Kate

A lot of catching up to do

I know I know I have a lot of catching up to do... First things first we are in our new house!! We could not be happier. The Adair family and the Vitale family (my sister and her husband) all lived together from December to the 1st week of May and... we made it! We owe a great deal of thanks to them for allowing us to live with them while (we were loud and messy but funny, we sure did laugh a lot) we sold our house in St. Louis and then found a house here in Pensacola.

We bought a house in the Inverness neighborhood and we love it. Our home was built in 1989 and still has the blue carpet and dark wood trim to boot. We are going to slowly replace the carpet and paint but it is slow going when you just came from a house we worked constantly on. So we are taking a little break from updating and embracing our 1989 house and all her 80's charm.

Thank you to everyone who has helped us during our move especially my sister Lauren and brother in law Rick for taking care of so much at our St. Louis house while it was for sale and under contract. We can't forget the Pantano's who moved items and helped when problems arose. My favorite part is when the new owners wanted the toilet in the attic moved out before closing and Jeff went and got it and put it in his driveway right next to their back door!

The girls are enjoying the back yard and running around like Wild Indians.

Lilly having a little jello break in the new kitchen

*we only eat jello at the table or outside with Lilly!


My little Indian with the help of her MaeMae
This picture is for my aunt Smithy do you recognize the swimsuit?

Be back soon with more posts, like I said I have a lot of catching up to do!

Moving

Oh my goodness...We have moved into our new home in Pensacola and we are up to our eyeballs with boxes! I am going to find the camera in one of these boxes and get some pictures on this blog. I hope everyone had a great Mothers Day.

Easter Grass

I can honestly say that if I never see Easter Grass again that will be OK with me. When you see the last pictures you will know why. We had a great day and it was beautiful here a great day to say, Jesus has Risen, He has Risen Indeed!

Black Eyed Peas was blaring in the background to this Easter Grass Dance Party!

Everyone needs an Easter Bonnet

Last weekend the Adair family plus Mae Mae headed out to UWF for the Festival on The Green. It was a beautiful day and I remember when I went to the Festival on The Green as a child. It was fun taking the girls to something that I grew up doing. I am sure this first year home will be filled with memories of my childhood while taking the girls to activities and just "stuff" around town.

At the festival they had this booth where they made you an Easter Bonnet out of paper. To our surprise Lilly Kate sat still with the help of her Dad. Margaret Anne had no problem sitting still for something that had to do with fashion. We laughed and laughed at these pictures there are actually a lot more but I had to decide on just a few to share.






We had a great Easter filled with friends and family as well as the most fabulous Easter Grass Dance Party! I will post those pictures next...