Last Day of School!

WOW. Every day, month and year flies by when you have kids. Or maybe it is just part of getting older. But this year seems to be on fast forward. It really seems like yesterday that Crockett was walking into St. Luke's for his first day of school. I thought he seemed so big then... Now he really seems like a big boy! I love it because I can see how much he has learned and how much he LOVES learning. He made lots of friends and kind of became his own person. This was such a wonderful way to start Crockett's "school years". He really looked forward to school and will be excited to go back next year. He is ready to be in Braidy's class :) (He is going to be kind of sad when he realizes that Braidy isn't in that class anymore.) We are very blessed to be a part of a school that LOVES the children and instills in them a LOVE for Jesus and the Bible everyday. Can't wait for next year, but until then... HOORAY FOR SUMMER!!!

 1st Day of School

 Last Day of School

End of the Year Picnic

How quickly May has gone by! To celebrate the end of the year, Crockett's class had an end of the year picnic. We all met at the park with toys, snacks, baby brothers and lots of friends! The kids got to play all morning, and fortunately, we lucked out with beautiful weather! Bowen even got to play in the sand with some new friends, which he loved. For a while, anyways. I made a quick trip to my sister's house in the middle of the picnic to deposit my super-fussy baby. Mrs. Ford tried to hold him and he slapped her hand away... hope she forgives him before he becomes one of her BEARS :) We sent a sack lunch with the kids and they all sat and ate together. After they said their blessing. Might be my favorite part of this year. Love how much they have taught Crockett about the Bible, and how much he has loved learning about it. After lunch, and a juice box and dessert, they were all off to play again. Crockett ran around with Jack and Addisyn, his 2 best buddies all year long. Although, he loved everyone in his class and is still talking about them. The kids gave Mrs. Ford her gift and thanked her for being such a wonderful teacher. We just loved her and are so thankful for the love and encouragement she gave to Crockett (and us) all year. This was such a wonderful year and we are blessed to be a part of such a special school!

Bowen Barrett - 11 Months Old!

I can't believe I am counting down the days to Bowen's 1st birthday. It does not seem like a year ago when we were still waiting to meet this little guy. I feel like he has been a part of me, and my family, forever. He steals my heart a little more everyday. You just can't help but smile when you see him... Even at 3 (and 4 and 5) in the morning. Trust me. I am so lucky to be his mommy, and Crockett's. I couldn't have been blessed with two sweeter, happier boys. They make each day better than the day before. This year has been AMAZING.

Bowen Barrett, you are 11 months old and such a big boy! Luckily, for me anyways, you have stopped growing so quickly. You now weigh 22.11 lbs, wearing size 4 diapers and size 12-18 or 18-24 clothes. I think you are in a size 4 shoe, but you have only worn shoes a handful of times, so that is a guesstimate :) They are so difficult to get on and stay on! You are into EVERYTHING! ALL OVER THE PLACE! You know the kitchen inside and out. You love taunting me with Saydi's food and water. The more I tell you NO!, the more you reach for it. It is a game you LOVE playing. You get this mischievous look in your eyes... I think you get that from your daddy! You love emptying out drawers. And Crockett's toy cabinets. You LOVE your big brother and his room is your favorite place to be. You will stay in there for hours, even when he isn't there. He loves you too. He is such a great big brother and takes care of you and worries when you are upset. You are so lucky to have someone that will be such a great friend! You love to play outside and I really need to get your swing up. You always go right toward the balls. Maybe you will be our athlete :) You love to eat real food. You just eat whatever we are having these days: pork chops, green beans, salisbury steaks, blueberries, barbecue, watermelon, potatoes, anything as long as it isn't baby food. You eat SO MUCH BETTER than Crockett. Thank goodness. Hope that continues. You still are a terrible sleeper. I have been letting you cry some, only because I am just so tired. But you still wake up about every 3 or 4 hours. You nap twice a day, about 9:30 and 2. I love how you get the biggest grin on your face when you see me walk into your room. My heart smiles. You are so happy and talkative. You don't cry very often at all, but lately you whine and I am thinking you are about to get a new tooth. I love my sweet, cuddly, happy, bright-eyed Bowen Bear SO much and I can't imagine my life without him. We have truly been blessed  beyond measure and I will treasure the last few weeks with my 'baby'.

Funny Story

Crockett has been getting in our bed at night for as long as I can remember. I LOVE his snuggles, but he HAS to be on my little pillow too, meaning I get about a quarter of the bed. Lately I have been getting up with Bowen all night too, and it just became too much. I decided that we should try to BRIBE Crockett with a toy to get him to sleep in his bed ALL NIGHT LONG. He will usually do anything for a new toy, and this was no different. I told him he needed to sleep in his bed, all night long, all by himself, for 7 nights and he could pick out a new toy. He was EXCITED!! So the first night, at about 3 in the am, I hear "Momma.. Momma.. MOMMA!!!" He doesn't get out of his bed, but he wants me to sleep with him. So I lay down for a few minutes until he goes back to sleep. This goes on for about the first 4 nights. On the 5th night, at about 3 am, I hear footsteps and before I know it, Crockett is a the side of my bed. He tells me "Momma, I have lots of toys. I don't need a new one." And he gets in my bed and snuggles as close as he can :) I couldn't help but laugh. He must have put a lot of thought into that! Sweet boy. What am I going to do with him!?!?!?!

Mother's Day 2013

I am so blessed to have the best job in the world! I get to stay home with my boys. I get to see all the good, bad, ugly, beautiful, sad, precious moments, and everything in between. Although some days I want to pull my hair out, I wouldn't trade this for anything in the world. My boys are my best buds, my sidekicks and my biggest fans. I treasure all these moments, because I know they will be off on their own in the blink of an eye.
This year for Mother's Day, Chris and my brother-in-law, Ryan, cooked for us. And we were lucky enough to get to have lunch with Poppa and JJ, too. It was a delicious meal! Too bad Mother's Day can't happen once a week! I got to take a little nap and got flowers and the most precious card. It was a perfect, very special day. We are all so lucky to have so many AWESOME Mother's in our lives. Each one has played a major role in making me (and the rest of us) the person and mother I am today. We all love you so much, Lulu, MiMi, Mummer, JJ, Memo and More Grandma. Happy Mother's Day!

Crockett's Last Game

When we started soccer, as parent's, our expectations were pretty low. We just wanted Crockett to have a great time and make some new friends. The season flew by so quickly and, I must say, we were SO impressed with Crockett's improvement! At the last game of the season, Crockett was in the middle of the action and stopped the ball a couple of times and kicked it away from the other team several times. He was so excited Poppa, JJ and Carsyn were even there to see it!! One or two quarters was about his limit. I saw him ask Coach Mike if they were done yet in the middle of the first quarter :) He had his occasional silly moments, as he became known for... Like looking through his "nociars" to look for bulls and making silly faces. We had plenty of entertaining moments! He really had such a great time and we were so proud of how hard he played! After the last game, all the boys got medals. They were so excited! Crockett told me "I have always wanted a medal!!!" It was so cute. They all played so hard (there were only 6 on our team because 2 boys never showed up) and gave it all they had. They were all pretty sweet too and got along great. To celebrate a great season, Coach Mike treated all the boys to a pizza party and Evan's mom made a cake. They had so much fun together. We really got lucky with this Galaxy team and we are already excited about the Fall season!!! Way to Go, Galaxy! So proud of this team!

Crockett even got the rest of the team looking for cows... and they finally found some :)

Block Party!!!

We are so blessed to live on a beautiful street with some really amazing neighbors! We are friends with many and all the kiddos LOVE playing together. So after talking about it for a while, my sister, Monica, and Emilie Galanos decided it was time to have a BLOCK PARTY!! They got everything together, cute invitations, food, Mon had the city block off the street... It was all set! The day of, it RAINED, and RAINED, and RAINED. Luckily, by the afternoon, it began to clear up. I am not sure there was a Plan B! It turned out to be a perfect evening to get together. Everyone except for 2 or 3 houses showed up. It was SO great to be able to put names with faces and get to know everyone a little bit better. Ryan smoked brisket and everyone else brought sides and dessert. Needless to say, there was TONS of food! The kids started things off with a bike parade. They all decorated their bikes and rode down the street for everyone to see. They all had so much fun. There were bikes EVERYWHERE! Shortly after, Emilie and Mon had arranged for a fire truck to come! The kids thought it was AWESOME! The firemen were so kind to let all the kids climb into the truck and try on their hats and "drive". They showed them where everything is on the truck and even let the kids spray the big hose! It was so much fun watching the kids and firemen together! We all stayed outside and visited until it got dark, or in my case, until Bowen started biting my arm :) I love being a part of such a friendly block. I think that is something very special about this neighborhood. Although our time on this block is coming to an end, we are so happy to have gotten to know so many wonderful people and look forward to seeing EVERYONE again!!

Farewell, Murfee

My husband really likes to make fun of me, but it is true... I am such a dork. My elementary school, Murfee, is closing and being torn down. They are going to build a beautiful, state-of-the-art new school in it's place, which I know will be wonderful for the community, but that doesn't take away the sadness I feel. I started going there in the 2nd grade and can name each teacher I had and tell you where every room was, and most of my classmates. In fact, I still keep in touch with the majority of my classmates. I made SO many friends and memories in that building, and so as dumb as it sounds, the thought of the walls coming down kind of breaks my heart. On Thursday, they invited all current and former students and faculty to come and reminisce. Monica, my mom and I, along with our posse of boys, went and roamed the halls. We got to sign the walls in the cafeteria and look through old yearbooks and class pictures and even talk to a few of our favorite teachers. We went out to the Outside Learning Center for a presentation, where I happened upon a brick with our names on it. As we stood outside and listened to the speakers and closed with the school song, it was evident to me, as EVERYONE sang the school song, that I was not the only one having a hard time with Murfee's impending demolition. It was a special place for so many people. I am so glad I have those memories and that I am one of "those people" that remembers all of the things that made those years of my childhood special.

The Beginning

After several moves, and several rental houses, we are finally ready to settle into something permanent! We have finalized our plans and work should begin VERY soon on our NEW HOUSE!! We are all so excited to begin this new part of our lives. (Although it will be VERY hard to move from our wonderful neighbors :( I am already dreading that part!) It is going to be so nice to have some space that is OURS, once again!