Roll Tide!

Bama Homecoming was so much fun.  The girls went to their first game this weekend and had a ball.  They could not get over everything going on.  We walked around, showed them the sorority houses with the lawn decorations.  They got to see where I lived while there as well as Aunt Beth's house.  We saw the team buses pull up so we ran over and got to see the players walk in.  That was fun getting to see that and the look on their faces when they saw Saban and Trent Richardson.  I think Sara Brooke thought he was much taller than he really is.  We walked the Quad and ran into some cheerleaders who were nice enough to take a picture with the girls (on Aunt Beth's camera and will post later). We just happened upon Preston Dial with his HUGE Championship Ring and they heard Denny Chimes play.  We made it back over to the Walk of Champions and you could almost feel a greatness. They loved the statue of The Bear, had no clue who Gene Stallings was but ran right over to the statue of Uncle Nick.  We found our seats and the girls were amazed at the size and what all was going on.  The players were on the field warming up and they loved it.  Mary Reese had fun cheering and doing the wave.  Sara Brooke was too busy wanting to see Richardson and Maze.  The whole way back to Aunt Beth and Uncle Spencer's house they said Thank You and that this was the best weekend ever! You know it's nice to hear that, but when you know that they really mean it, it's even better.  I think they are ready to go back, they are definetly champs at cheering ROLL TIDE! Best memories, ever!

I am so glad they had a good time, but how could you not? It was a beautiful day on the most beautiful campus with great history and wonderful football. Love my girls and love Bama! Roll Tide!

Double Digits

Yesterday, September 18, 2011, Sara Brooke turned 10!  It seems like yesterday that we were in Vermont and I was not feeling all that well but just knew I could not be in labor because I was not due for another eight days!  I should have known then that this precious child would be stubborn, hard headed, strong willed as well as beautiful, sweet, thoughtful and loving.

She loves taking pictures (espically of herself), fishing, soccer, softball, Bama football and ANYTHING with her daddy.  I could not have asked for a better daughter, most of the time.

The saying that "Time flies when you are having fun" is right.  The last ten years have flown by, I just hope at some point soon it slows down.  I have loved the last ten, I know that the next ten will be just as wonderful.  Happy Birthday Sara Brooke!

Love,

Mom

Tooth Fairy

Mary Reese lost her second tooth the other night.  Since the first one came out while she was having her tonsils out this summer, she did not know what to expect.  Needless to say, she did well.  It was time for it to come out so she and her daddy worked on getting it out so the Tooth Fairy could come.  There were tears, and lots of giggles after the fact.  She feels all grown up now.  The Tooth Fairy came, and she is already wiggling the other teeth to see if they are ready.  I guess the reward outweighs the slight pain of pulling the tooth.

Our Summer

It is hard to believe that summer is over.  It seems like just yesterday was Christmas, it just doesn't seem possible.  We had a great summer and sad to see it end.  Zoo camp, the beach, swimming at Aunt Judie and Uncle Godbee's, Caribe with friends, the Wharf, scrapbooking with Meme and Aunt Bettye, and the list goes on and on.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I am going to just leave it at that and let you enjoy the pictures.  I hope your summer was as fun and full as ours was. 

Smile, Camera, Graduation!

Well, school is out for the summer and the girls are excited.  Mary Reese had graduation and Sara Brooke had career day. 
Mary Reese got to wear a cap and gown, walk across the stage and sing a farewell song.  She received an Accelerated Reading award and the Citizenship Award for her class.
Sara Brooke wants to be a professional photographer when she grows up.  In the picture, she is wearing a "photographers hat", her camera bag and dressed like she would on a photo shoot.  She had to get up in front of the entire 4th grade class, and guests and say something about being a photographer.
The last day of school was bitter sweet, Mary Reese  was sad she was leaving Kindergarten and the best teacher ever and Sara Brooke racked up on Awards Day.  She got a Citizenship Award, All A Award and Little Feet Award for running 200 laps that equals 50 miles.  It's hard to believe that I have a 1st grader and a 5th grader, but they are smart girls and will love the next year of school.  Mary Reese is reading up a storm and Sara Brooke is having a good time so far this summer.  She just got back from Camp Dixie and will be heading to Zoo Camp in a few weeks.  Fun, fun, fun!

Until next time, lots of love and sun!

All Smiles!

 

It's been a busy weekend and was lots of fun.  Two birthday parties, family movie night, and lots of playing.  The two pictures above is what happens when you leave your camera lying around, but at least they are in focus and they are smiling. We have been working on Sara Brooke's last project for the year - Career Day! They have to find a career that they want to do when they get older and do a presentation on it.  You would think this would be fun, but no. Sara Brooke has polled the family, researched online and even asking friends at the ball park.  She did a survey and the outcome was Sports, Nature, or Photography; so she came up with Sports Photographer.  It will be presented next week, so I will let you know.  As far as Mary Reese, today is cap and gown pictures at school and I will definetly let you know how that goes as well.  So, for now, keep smiling!

DANCE!

Both girls have been taking dance this past year and have loved every minute of it.  Mary Reese has been taking jazz and tap while Sara Brooke has been doing HipHop.  I have to say, both are quite good.  All good things must come to an end, as the recital is in a couple of weeks.  I can't wait to watch them dance!

Enjoy the Sunshine!

It has been crazy at our house with the start of school and everything that comes with it. Sara Brooke is playing soccer, taking dance and still playing her guitar. Mary Reese is taking dance and getting her guitar lessons from Daddy.

When we are not running around from all the activities or watching Bama play football, we like to go fishing. We have had such beautiful weather lately, we decided to get out and enjoy the sunshine!

We went to Orange Beach to Uncle Godbee and Aunt Judie's pier, and had a ball! Both the girls caught huge catfish and loved every second of it.

Another Milestone

This past week was the first week of school, and it could not have gone better. Mary Reese started Kindergarten, and Sara Brooke started 4th grade at the Middle School. They are both very lucky, they have WONDERFUL teachers.

Mary Reese has Mrs. Kenney, and she loves her. The first day I picked her up in the car line, she was upset because she was not ready to read. She did not have any homework this week, but she is learning to read already. She had a couple of words that the teacher wanted to make sure that the students could recognize the letters. Mary Reese wanted to write and sound out the words to be able to read them, so I told her to write them three times. She asked me if she could write them four times because she was going to need to know them before she was 16. She then informed me that Sara Brooke was about to be 16 and already knew the words, so she really needed to study. She took the paper to school the next day that had the words on them so she could show Mrs. Kenney, and she brought it home and showed me, she was so proud. Mrs. Kenney had drawn a smiley face on it and wrote "AWESOME!", needless to say, Mary Reese was very proud.

Sara Brooke was very nervous starting at a new school, and she only knew a couple of people in her class and was not sure who she was going to hang out with at Snack and Lunch. She has since made new friends, and is loving everything about school. She has Mrs. Blackmon for homeroom, Language Arts and Alabama History. She has Mrs. Alms for Science and Math. I think the fact that she has more than one teacher is very cool. A good friend of ours is the PE coach, and she could not think of Stacy's last name to call her Mrs. Lipscomb. She is learning volleyball and thinking that she might play for the Raiders when she gets into 6th grade. She had her first test on Friday, and needless to say, she made an A.

Both are doing great and loving school, which makes me very happy.

Almost Over

We have had a wonderful summer. It started with some fishing and dance recital, with a Jimmy Buffet concert thrown in the middle. We are now in school mode. Tonight we went to meet Mary Reese's teacher and got to see her room. She was so excited and is going to have a great year! I think Kindergarten is going to be fun and full of fun.

Sara Brooke gets to meet her teacher next week, and I think she is ready. I think 4th grade is going to be a great experience and know she will do great. It will be a change for her, she will at the middle school. I am a bit nervous about both, but I know they will be great and do a wonderful job!

Here are a few memories from the busy, fun, WARM summer!

Island Time

Jimmy Buffet came to Gulf Shores for a free concert, which I am sure you are aware. We got VIP wristbands, which was very exciting, and the girls could have not been anymore anxious. There were thousands of people enjoying the beautiful day on the beaches, and thank goodness there was a small breeze every now and then. We got to the VIP section and found a spot where we could see the stage and also give the girls a bit of room to play in the sand while we waited to hear Jimmy Buffet and Friends.

Sara Brooke enjoyed listening to the music and watched the big screens for any glimpse of Jimmy playing his many guitars. She loves playing her guitar and watching anyone else play, so this was a big highlight in the summer events. Mary Reese enjoyed playing in the sand, and after getting her "castle" built, she took a break and watched for a few minutes, up on daddy's shoulders. She told me that her favorite song was "Cheeseburger in Paradise", very fitting.

The day was beautiful, the music was fun and it was nice to get to the beach. Maybe next time we will just take our Jimmy Buffet CD and listen where there is less of a crowd.

Zoo Camp

Well, I finally broke down and did a blog. I guess I will follow in the footsteps of my sister-in-law and tell you about my wonderful family here.

I will begin with Sara Brooke and Mary Reese's week at Zoo Camp. They had a ball! They made projects for the animal cages, learned about all sorts of animals, made butter, and even got in the cages with Lemurs and baby Joey's! At the end of the day, because it was so hot, they got to Slip N Slide and get in baby pools. I think this was the highlight of the summer, so far.