Life on Country Oaks Road

Addie's 3rd Birthday

2011-12-06T07:53:00.000-08:00

It took me three days to get these pictures uploaded but I endured the excruciatingly slow Internet speeds and finally Addie's 3rd birthday post is here. This birthday was a big one for me because it meant she was going to be moving from her nursery and crib to her new big girl room. In order for this transition to take place I had to completely transform our blue and red playroom into a pink princess room. It took a little over a month of spending every free second holed up in that room but the finished result was sooooo worth it!

Before

Baby Addie in our much missed playroom.

Cleaning out all the toys took an entire day! I was really worried about where they were all going to go but in the end I gave up on my fight to keep toys out of the main part of the house and just let them take over...in an organized fashion. I do want to express my thanks to all of the grandparents for the 4 very large trash bags full of stuffed animals we managed to store in the attic without either kid realizing a loss. Please, no more stuffed animals!

Just to cover the blue bottom half of the wall with primer took 4 coats.

I really set out to take step-by-step pictures of my DIY project but this was as far as it went. After hours and hours of measuring out stripes only to find out it ended with two stripes of the same color meeting, taping the chair rail about 8 times, and meticulously touching up every single stripe border, Addie's beautiful room finally was complete...

After

TaDa!!!!

All those stuffed animals in the attic and she still has a shelf full of them!

I am super proud of her pretty robins egg blue armoire. It used to be a honey oak color but after reading many many many blogs on how to refurbish furniture I set my mind to remaking this armoire. It was so much fun!!!!!! I wanted to start painting every piece of furniture in my house! Fortunately for the sake of my furniture and Levi's sanity I was too tired to take on any new DIYs.

Addie's room was finished before her actual birthday but she was not allowed to see it until she was 3. She was really excited about her new room but was so great about never peeking.

The big day came and as soon as Addie woke up she ran to her big girl room was ready to open up her surprise.

Hours after she unveiled her big girl room I noticed that it was very quiet in the house. I peeked into Addie's room and found her pretending to be asleep. She said that she was Sleeping Beauty. I would have to agree!

That afternoon we had a big girl tea party with Nana and Mimi. We used our pretty wedding china and Addie loved drinking her water out of a wine glass.

Addie's costume birthday party was that following weekend.

I had a lot of fun with all the neat ideas for mason jars on Pinterest.

Birthday girl! AKA Super Girl!

Levi looks more like Mr. Clean than a pirate. =)

Such cuties!!!

My little dolls!

Miss Avery's costume was definitely the most creative...a kittycat butterfly. And such a beautiful one!

We had three-legged races which was a lot of fun!

Looks like someone cheated...Grandpa!

Who cares! How cute is that face!!!!!

Next came the sack races.

All the kids did such a beautiful job at decorating their pumpkins.

Avery's expression cracks me up!

Dorothy Gail is taking off!

Jack was trying to be extra still so Lauren could paint the perfect spider.

After a quick wardrobe change Addie showed off her pretty pink flower on her cheek.

Whew! Posting this blog was almost as exhausting as Addie's actual birthday! It was so much fun and she loved every second of it but I am glad I have another 10 months and 19 days before she turns 4!

Addie's First Day of Parents Day Out

2011-08-31T20:57:00.000-07:00

The day finally came when my baby girl became independent and spent an entire five hours without me. IT WAS MISERABLE...for me. Addie LOVED going to her school but I think mainly because she was excited about her new backpack, lunchbox, and super cute sparkly shoes!

Oh my goodness! This picture makes me want to cry! Our babies are so grown up!

It was Cuddle's first day of PDO too!

Both of Addie's teacher's have British accents. We are really hoping she picks it up. :)

Addie didn't even kiss us goodbye. She saw the toys and was fine. We were shocked! I guess my baby doesn't need me as much as I thought she did. :(

Because we didn't get any pictures of Addie and Lorelei together that morning, we tried to snap a few when we picked them up. This did not work out as we had imagined. Both girls were grumpy from nap time and Addie had new blisters on her heels from those super cute sparkly shoes.

Tomorrow is day two of PDO and I am dreading it!!! Addie is excited though so I guess I'll let her go. This is so much harder than I thought it would be. Even though it is just two days a week I really really really miss having my little girlfriend hanging out with me during the day.

Jack's First Day of Kindergarten

2011-08-31T19:10:00.000-07:00

WHEW!!!! This month has been INSANE!!!! August brought soccer practices, ballet classes, lots of birthday parties, a trip to Africa, and KINDERGARTEN!

We started our very exciting first day of school by waking up before the sun and eating pancakes.

Getting ready!Jack LOVES his spiderman backpack.

Jack putting his backpack in his cubby.

Colton, Jack and Daven

The boys...at least some of them.

Daddy's last pep talk.

Jack is obviously not interested in kissing Mommy goodbye.

Jack and his wonderful, amazing teacher, Mrs. Fields.

We didn't even get a wave goodbye.

This was Jack's first paper from Kindergarten. Mrs. Fields is trying to encourage Jack to write his name as "Jackson" instead of "Jack" and it came out as "JackPopeSon." I love it!

Jack's First Sleepover Party!!!

2011-08-26T07:26:00.000-07:00

Jack had his first real sleepover at the end of the summer. We invited his favorite buddies and planned a fun evening of swimming, pizza, cookies, and staying up late watching movies (and apparently jumping off the playroom refrigerator...everyone lived with no broken bones.)

The boys were all ready to go swimming before I could grab my camera and take a deep breath from the chaos that occurred the second all the boys were in one house together. I sent them outside in hopes to save my house from total destruction. They immediately became mini soldiers or warriors and went running around the woods on an important mission.

After working up a good sweat in the woods it was time to set off to the pool. We are super blessed to live next to the Lawsons for many reasons but recently those reasons have increased because now they have an awesome pool!!!!!

Landon never really got of warrior mode. He was always ready for an attack.

One....Two....

Three! JUMP!

The fun really got going once Levi got into the pool with the boys. He set up some kind of wrestle match on the giant float and the boys LOVED it!

The rest of the night was a bit of a blur but after a couple of movies our cute guys finally passed out.

But managed to wake up at the crack of dawn. They all piled up into our big chair and zoned out on some Sonic Underground while waiting for bleary eyed parents to make pancakes and pour chocolate milk.

I think they all had a blast and Jack is already talking about his next sleepover. Hmmmm...I'm not sure that is going to happen for quite a while. I'm still recovering!

Let me catch you up...

2011-08-17T10:01:00.000-07:00

I am starting to get critisized for the lack of attention I have spent on my blog this summer but I have to admit is was kind of freeing to leave the camera at home and just play. But I have picked my camera up once again and should be updating the blog more regularly now that life is once again about calendars, to do list, practices, school, etc. But for now here is a recap of our summer...at least what I have pictures of.

Jack finished Pre-K and graduated from Wesley United Methodist Kinderconnections.

I just realized that the shirt he wore for the last day of school was the shirt I put him in today for the first day of Kindergarten! Haha! Oh well.

Jack and friends waiting to walk to the stage on graduation day.

Last school picture of Jack and Rylan. :(

Addie had her big moment as well. She performed in Studio A's Dancing Thru the Decades recital! And perform she did! She loves the stage and despite the huge audience and bright lights Addie put on a show...not the dance they had practiced but her own artisic form of it. I have to say that it was one of the greatest and proudest moments of my life!

This is Addie and all her ballet girlfriends at recital practice.

I know my 2 year old daughter looks like a clown in this picture but it was right before the recital and she had to wear a TON of makeup.

All the little ballerinas were waiting for their turn on stage.

I'm not sure if these pictures can be posted but I'll give credit to the photographer, www.dancingimages.com, just in case.

Addie's cousins were staying with Miece and Pop the weekend of the recital so we kidnapped them for the evening and played at the Harbor to celebrate a crazy week of graduation and ballet recital.

Madi didn't think twice before running into the water and soaking herself!

Beautiful Haley always manages to know when to smile for the camera.

Jack is looking pretty awesome with his tatoo.

Miss Priss wouldn't get wet but kind of danced around the sprinkles.

We sat and watched the performance once everyone was changed into dry clothes. At the end of the show the performers came into the audience and grabbed the children and took them back up to the stage to dance. All the kids had a blast and loved it!

We started T-ball at some point...I can't remember if it was before school or after school but it was hot regardless. Jack's team was the River Bandits and we all got to sport our matching thick black t-shirts while doing our best to not die of heatstroke.

Princess camp came later in the summer. And I was super impressed with Studio A and all the effort that was obviously put into it. After a week of classes, Addie got to dress up as a princess and perform her dances and then have a princess party. It was pretty much the most adorable thing ever!

Addie posing with one of her teachers, Ms. Rachel.

This picture is one of many to come in the future because Leilei starts ballet with us this year!!!! YAY!!!

Addie Grace is really concentrating on the dance moves.

At the close of the summer we had our church baptism at Ja-lu pool. It is a fun celebration and the kids always look forward to it. This year Kim Cartier took some amazing pictures and shared a few of them with me. She is an incredible photographer and I cannot wait to get her to take some family pictures for us!!

In case you are wondering where the rest of Addie's bathing suit is...the strap had broke as we pulled into the parking lot so we just decided baby boobies were going to have to just show. It was better than the alternative meltdown from having to run home for a different bathing suit.

Now that I'm at the end of my post I just realized I still have pictures from Jack's 1st sleepover on my camera. So stay tuned there is more to come. Plus school pictures will be posted soon as well.

South Walton, FL 2011

2011-07-16T11:34:00.000-07:00

We once again headed to Florida for our summer vacation but this time we went with some of our best friends, Jae and Anna Stutzman and their three boys, Nathaniel, Caleb, and Evan. I have to say that this vacation has managed to kick last year's vacation's butt! It was an absolutely perfect week and I wouldn't change a thing!

Levi had taken off the Friday before we were supposed to head out so that we could get everything organized and packed. But instead we decided on Thursday night to leave Friday morning and visit New Orleans for the first night. So instead of being all tidy and organized, we threw everything in the car and set out!

We had breakfast is a neat little cafe in the French Quarter and enjoyed our morning driving through the Warehouse district.

The architecture was so unique and beautiful and there were these hidden fountains and patios in the middle of buildings.

After taking the scenic route to Florida...which meant extra "Are we there yet?"s...we finally rolled into the driveway of our new home for the next week.

Living room and Kitchen

The kid's room.

Pool. Obviously.

Jack learned how to swim without his floaties on this trip and he loved being able to jump into the pool completely free...although his landings were a little painful to watch.

On the Fourth of July we were too sunburned and exhausted from the beach to go back immediately so Levi and I took our two kiddos to Panama City Beach for some shopping and carnival rides.

Addie fell asleep in the booth at the restaurant.

Jack wanted to do the bungee thing again this year. Addie was big enough this year to do it and seemed really excited for her turn until...

her turn came around and then it was all too scary for baby girl so we will just try again next year.

We met the Stutzmans back at the house for hotdogs and hamburgers and then headed to Seaside for fireworks!

Everyone had a lot of fun getting to play in the ocean as the sun set.

Anna found a pink jellyfish with no stingers.

The next day we were back at the beach. And the day after that and after that and so on...

Caleb is such a cutie and I loved taking pictures of all the neat sea creatures he found.

Addie would play for a while and once she started feeling tired she would grab Cuddles, climb into the chair and fall right to sleep.

This is my awesome sand castle. The picture doesn't do it justice. I was very proud of my hard work.

All the boys were little maniacs out in the ocean. The two little boys would just jump the waves for hours as if it was nothing.

Thank you Anna for taking this picture so that there is proof that I actually went on vacation with my family.

Addie loved jumping the waves too.

Jack's little face got soooo sunburned and blistered but he never complained.

On our last evening together we dressed up and went back to the beach to take some family pictures.

I love this picture! And I love this family!

Evan is the sweetest little boy with such a kind heart and spirit and I am so glad that Jack has such a good little person as his friend.

Nathaniel was too old to hang out the the little kids much but we enjoyed having him hang out with us grownups.

All five kids got along so great together. We really had a great time being one big family for the week and Jack and Addie loved having 3 more brothers!

Sometimes Addie makes these faces that just blow me away!

I am completely in love with the two boys.

This vacation will always be special to all of us not because of the beach and ocean but because of the most amazing family we got to share it with. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and to be able to share such beautiful memories together.

Spring has Sprung

2011-04-28T07:45:00.000-07:00

Easter weekend was busy for us as it is for most families. We had several events to attend, ate more hamburgers and hotdogs than anyone should ingest in a 48 hour period, and enjoyed the excitement on our children's faces as they opened each brightly colored plastic egg to find a special treat that never dissapointed. Our first stop for Easter was the Lawson's house, or the "GIRLS HOUSE" as Jack and Addie call it. Our church had its Easter celebration in the Lawson's beautiful backyard which is conveinent for us considering it touches our backyard.

Despite the fact that I am deathly allergic to cats my children still insist on loving all over this sweet, purring death machine.
Addie pretty much planted herself in the volleyball sandcourt...which was just lovely considering we still had dinner at my parents to attend.

Yay Yay (Haley) was there. Jack was thrilled.

Then the Easter egg hunts began...

Cindy, our children's director, had thought of everything and had a fun relay race planned for the kids.

Poor Jack. He is alway having to pull his pants up! His legs are too long for a smaller size and his waist is way to skinny for anything bigger.

After church and naptime on Sunday we headed out to the Popes. We had so much fun and really enjoyed our time together.

Addie and Madi...such beautiful girlfriends and cousins.

I love this picture because it not only has the most beautiful children ever in it but also because Haley is the only one looking at the camera. That girl will stop dead in her tracks if she sees a camera and will straighten her back and smile her beautiful smile.

And we're off...

Sometimes I look at different pictures I've taken and I'm amazed at how much my little guy has grown. He looks like a little grown up in the picture to me.

After the hunt the kids sat down to see all the treasures they had collected.

Then it was time to put on our playclothes and play ball!

Haley, who has never played t-ball was a natural.

How cute is that little tongue!

Jack concentrates very hard when he prepares to throw the ball.

The little girls had plans other than t-ball...

Miece, I think we need a pink Barbie Jeep for these girls.

This is officially my first posting of my newest love...my first nephew, Ethan David Pope. He is such a sweet baby and I soaked up all the baby smells and loving I could get during our time together. You can't tell from this picture but his hair is in a mohawk...It is sooooo stinkin cute!

Addie took a short break from the fourwheelers to play with bubbles...

But didn't pass up a chance to ride with her favorite guy.

We enjoyed the rest of our evening sans camera due to the fact that my arms were full of a handsome sleeping baby.

Before Easter the kids and I spent a wonderful afternoon with our Mimi and Grandy. Jack took off with Grandy to see the baby colts so I didn't get to snap any pictures of him but I got some really beautiful shots of Miss Addie Grace in her Mimi's beautiful garden.

Checking for baby birds.

After cutting asparagus Addie wanted some lettuce too. (BTW-I am aware that fuzzy crocs are not the prettiest shoe to go with her little blue dress but I didn't want to get her white sandles dirty.)

This is the most beautiful gate for pictures.

Such a cute little face!

Mimi was gathering Addie a sweet little bouqet.

What a sweet day it was to spend with my grandparents and my children.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY LITTLE MAN!!!

2011-04-14T13:29:00.000-07:00

My sweet guy turned 5 this month and it might as well have been 35 because he thinks he is all grown up now. Apparently 5 is the pinnacle of aging and you are able to accomplish anything when you turn 5 years old...at least according to Jack. He woke up on the day of his birthday and announced to those of us still sleeping soundly that he was now officially 5 but he looked in the mirror and he wasn't any taller! He was quite disappointed. But he soon got over that once we reminded him his party was later that day!

Happy birthday Jackson Miller. You are super cool and I love everything about you. You have the most amazing imagination and can turn any boring object into entertainment for hours. You have the absolute best laugh ever!!!! It is one of my most favorite sounds. You and your sister have such a sweet relationship and you are the very best big brother. I love how protective, kind, helpful, affectionate, patient, and loving you are with Addie. You are such a big help to me me. I love that you honestly believe you have super powers. I even love that you still suck your thumb when you are tired...although that has to stop soon. You say the funniest things and give me and Daddy so many good laughs. I love to hear you talk to God. Don't ever stop. I love to watch you make friends with any random kid that happens to be within a 10 yard radius. You are such a sweet friendly little guy and nobody can resist your smile. You truly are a "different kind of person." You bring me so much joy every day and I can't believe you are growing up so fast. I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU!!!!!

My life as a sitcom

2011-03-17T08:48:00.000-07:00

Scene: Set in a health food store. Mom is having to bring both her kids to work because of Spring Break (a vacation for everyone but her) and has just set down the five bags she has loaded up with snacks, lunch, toys, movies, games, drinks, extra clothes, files, computer, etc.

MOM: "Addie, do you need to go pee pee?"

Phone rings

MOM: "Health Food Store. This is Jessica."

Bank VP: "Jessica, we have a very serious issue with your store account..."

Mom looks down at daughter and notices a VERY LARGE puddle forming at her feet. Audience gasps. Mom strips down daughter and carries her to the bathroom and sets her on the potty while daughter is crying in Mom's ear...Mom is still on the phone.

MOM: "A problem? What is going on?"

Mom runs back to the office to clean up the mess while Bank VP explains she wrote a check out of the wrong account and now doesn't have enough funds to cover it. Mom finds Jack, the big brother dancing in the pee puddle.

Jack: "Mommy!" I have to pee pee! I have to pee pee NOW!" Audience laughs.

Mom, still on the phone trying to remember account numbers to make funds transfer runs back to the bathroom where the screaming 2 year old is, pulls her off the potty, points to the son then the potty.

Addie: "MY PINK PANTS!!!! I WANT MY PINK PANTS!!!!"

Mom runs away from the screaming daughter back to the office to finish cleaning up the puddle and her phone conversation. She hangs up the phone, dresses the daughter and notices that Jack has yet to make an appearance out of the bathroom. Background music: DUN DUN DUHHHHH!
Mom opens the bathroom door to find yet another puddle on the floor!

Jack: Looks up with big brown sad puppy eyes, "Somehow pee pee got on the floor. I stood like a statue but my pee pee went everywhere." Shrugs his shoulders like it is a mystery to him and just walks away leaving pee pee footprints all the way back to the office.

Mom cleans new puddle and footprints and heads back to the office to find her not cheap self-inking stamp filled with a mixture of lotion, water and ink. Ink is all over the desk and dripping on the floor. Mom spends the next 20 minutes trying to salvage the stamp, desk and floor while sacrificing her manicured nails.

Lights fade to black...except in the real world the Mom continued to work with stained hands, came home, cleaned the house, and made dinner. By the time Dad came home the situation was already losing its harshness and made for a pretty great story to tell.

Something worth remembering

2011-03-13T12:23:00.000-07:00

I have no time to sit down and actually blog but I'm doing it anyways because I want to record this insignificant but very defining moment in our lives. Last weekend I cleared our schedule and as a family we practically lived up at our store. I was determined to rearrange the shelves which sounds simple but it was a mess!!! It took a lot of planning and organizing (thank you to my amazing second in command, Jacqui) and then the actual moving of supplements was quite an undertaking to say the least. The kids stayed at my moms the first night and Levi and I (and our friend Ashley who dropped by for some nori and got suckered into staying) spent our date night with the music turned up and vitamins everywhere. We got home somewhere close to 3 Saturday morning and woke up and was back up at the store by 9 am to continue the work. Levi brought the kids sometime that afternoon. We grabbed a bite to eat and then headed back. Levi had the opportunity that whole day to play Mr. Mom and rocked it! He packed the kid's sleeping bags, jammies, juice cups, and laptop and set it all up so that the kids could have a little camp out in our store. The kids just LOVED it! Jack said he didn't want to go home for one hundred hours (which is an eternity for a 4 year old). But there was this moment that evening that I want to remember... I was exhausted (the kind of exhaustion you get when you decide to clean out your closet and you have taken everything out and now it is time to put it all back in and you no longer have that excited drive to do it anymore) and I'm standing in the middle of this store that has always been my Mimi's and is now ours and I look over at my kids who are in their sleeping bags watching Dora and at my husband who is trying his best to organize the "Glandular" section even though he really has no clue what supplement does what and I had this realization that although our life is CRAZY BUSY, we are together, we take the craziness on as a unit, a family. It is nice that when I'm in the middle of chaos I have my family there with me. We tackle it together. I like that and I just want to remember that feeling of togetherness, the feeling that life gets insane but we will be okay because we are all in it together.

Pottytraining....check!

2011-02-23T12:48:00.000-08:00

I officially no longer have babies in diapers!!!! Last Friday was the official potty training day and it was quite an adventure. Because Jack's potty training took a couple of years I have put off training Addie and now she has a ballet recital in May and required to wear her costume sans panties (and especially big bulky diapers). So I realized it is time to start with the training and this time I was going to do it right, give 110%. And I did!
After Addie and I dropped Jack off at school we came back home to discover a tea party and our new big girl doll! Addie loves having tea parties and this party was extra special because we used the beautiful little china tea cups I've been collecting for Addie. Addie's doll was a big part of our day. The "bible" of potty training said that the first part of the day should be spent having Addie train her doll but every doll that pees looks like an infant and I wanted Addie's doll to look like a big girl. So I found this beautiful blond princess Aurora doll and knew Addie would fall in love with her like I did. I made the doll panties from cutting up old baby blankets and duck tape and tucked one of Levi's travel size contact solution bottles into her dress so that when I squeezed her she went peepee. I can be pretty resourceful when I need to be.

Addie got several special potty books and movies (of which I have the "Bye bye peepee" jingle fused into my head.)

We spent all morning watching our new movies and reading our books to Chloe (aka Princess Aurora) with interruptions to run to the potty to give Chloe potty practice.

I was initially afraid Addie wouldn't be very potty trainable because she hates potties because they are "yucky" so I glammed out the kid's potty with as much pink as I could find. She LOVED it and wanted to take her new princess potty seat and pink stool everywhere!

After lunch it was time for nap! So Chloe had to wear her new princess pull-ups and Addie insisted that she wear them too!

After naptime Addie walked into the living room rubbing her eyes and I told her that she had one more present to find and unwrap. This woke her up and she started running all over the place searching for her last present.

She finally found it and proceeded to pull out and throw over her head ever pair of her new panties. We put them on and sat on the potty...for 30 minutes. Nothing happened. Then the UPS truck turned down our driveway which could only mean one thing...our new shoes were here!!!! So before putting on panties we opened our new shoes and put them on! We danced around the house to the Justin Beiber's Baby when all of a sudden Addie ran to the bathroom screaming "POOOOOOPOOOO!!!" and slammed the door. I, of course, ran after her and opened the door to find my pretty little princess stomping around in the mushy diahrea poop in her brand spankin new shoes!!! By the end of the day I was a little dissapointed because we didn't have one successful potty attempt. The next morning we started fresh and new at 6am! It was an exhausting but very satisfying day. We had way more successes than accidents and I perfected my Barney act...well it wasn't so much Barney as it was a cheerleader on speed.

By the end of the third day I had exhasted my vocal cords with many repetitions of ABCs, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Baby Shark, This Little Light of Mine, Jesus Loves Me, and Twinkle Twinkle but it was all worth it because had NO accidents all day long!

So I officially have no more babies in diapers and I'm sad but relieved to have this one thing off my todo list. Congratulations Addie Grace! You are such a big girl!!!!

Valentines day

2011-02-15T20:56:00.000-08:00

We celebrated valentines day the weekend before actual V-Day. It was pretty fantastic...Levi and I took off for the day to do some furniture shopping only to come to the conclusion that furniture is expensive and our car barks so we should probably do some prioritizing before making a big purchase. So despite my disappointment from not coming home with a complete new living room we ended up making the most of our day. Because we never are at home sans kids we decided to take advantage of this opportunity of Nana keeping the kids overnight and instead of spending $100+ at some restaurant we decided to spend 100+ on groceries, go home and spend 2 hours preparing a meal that took us 10 minutes to eat. I know it sounds kind of crazy but it was a blast! We made sushi all by ourselves thanks to ehow.com and I have to say that it compares to our fav sushi restaurants Kenichi and Steel.

And because we could not remember half of the 13 valentines days we have had together I set the camera up to snap a few pictures so that at least we would have some tangible record that this date took place.

Then on the actual valentines day Jack had his cute party at school...

Here he is licking his cup like a cat during the group prayer. Nice.

I took around 30 pictures of them eating while constantly yelling their names and telling them to look at the camera and not once did they both look at the same time. This was the best out of 30.

Addie got stuck in the middle of the easel. Oops.

Okay, Stef, so this is probably the worst picture ever of our two handsome boys but it was the best one I got of them that day.

Take a look....

2011-02-10T11:00:00.000-08:00

I have gone through a small tote of the kid's spring and summer clothes and I thought that I would post them here and if anyone is interested in buying them from me you can email me at jessicadpope@gmail.com. I usually sell the kid's old clothes at the JBF sale but this year I had scheduling conflicts so I'm going to give this a shot. Take a look and see if there is anything you like. There will be more to come...if I ever get in the mood to clean out another tote again. Whew! It is exhausting!

ITEM #1 Hollywood Ranch Top and Pants Set

Size 12 Months (Addie wore this for about 2 hours for max...practically new)

Asking price: $40

Item #2 Ralph Lauren Bubble

Size 12-18 months

Asking price: $7

Item #3 Gymboree Dress and Bloomers

Size: 3-6 months

Asking price: $12

Item #4 Boutique Dress (I cut out the tag and can't remember the brand but I bought it at the Mother Goose boutique in Canton)

Size 18 months

Asking Price: $15

Item #5 Circo Dress and matching bloomers (not shown)

Size: 18 months

Asking Price: $4

Item #6 Youngland swing top and pants

Size: 18 months

Asking Price: $8

Item #7 Nannette Swing Top (Looks super cute with pink leggings)

Size: 18 months

Asking Price: $5

Item #8 Baby Gap Dress

Size: 6-12 months

Asking Price $15

Item #9 Ooh! La, La! Couture Dress

Size: 9-12 months (This still fit Addie at 2)

Asking price: $40

Item #10 Children's Place Independence Day Bathing Suit

Size: Tag says 9 months but Addie wore this at 6 months and it was tight!

Asking Price: $3

Item #11 Lillie Avenue Pants (Goes really great with cute pink top)

Size: 18 months

Asking price: $7

Item #12 Old Navy Bubble

Size:6-12 Months

Asking price: $4

Item #13 Carter's White Eyelet Dress

Size: 6 months

Asking Price: $5

Item #14 Baby Gap Onesie and Matching Capris (not shown but can provide picture upon request)

Size: 3-6 months

Asking Price: $10

Item #14 Old Navy 3/4 Sleeve Cardi

Size: 18-24 months

Asking Price: $5

Item #15 Gymboree Flower Top and Matching Denim capris

Size: 3-6 months

Asking Price: $15

(There is not a dark spot on the pants...not sure why the picture shows there to be)

Item #16 Cherokee Dress

Size: 18 months

Asking price: $3

# 17 Genuine Kids Gold Sandals

Size: 4

Asking Price: $3

Item #18 Circo Floral Bow Shoes

Size: 3

Asking Price $3

Item #19 Circo Butterfly flipflops

Size: 5

Asking price: $5

Item #20 Circo Bling Bling Sandals

Size: 5

Asking Price: $4

Item #21 Old Navy polo

Size: 3t

Asking Price: $5

Item #22 Children's Place shorts

Size: 4t

Asking price: $5

If you are interested at all or want to bargain on price just shoot me an email. I can send more detailed pictures if you request as well. If you want to see any of the item in person I can always leave them up at my store and if you live in or near Greenville you can stop by whenever and take a more thorough look.

Our snow pics

2011-02-06T18:17:00.000-08:00

As everyone knows...it snowed... a lot. We spent 30 minutes layering the kids and ourselves with clothing so that we could play outside in the freezing snow for 10 minutes. But pictures make those 10 minutes last a lifetime. (Corney...I know, don't care.)

I'm not quite sure what Addie's face is doing in this picture. Is it a smile, is it a frown, is she growling?
I took this picture of Jack as he was anticipating a rather large snowball being thrown by Daddy.

This picture is definitely a smile. And why is she smiling?....

Because Daddy was running to rescue her and carry her the rest of the way.

Jack's hat was covering his eyes but he still had pretty good aim when throwing his snowballs.

I have to show off Levi's yellow dish gloves. I have to admit as ridiculous as it looks it was a pretty good idea to cover his fabric gloves with these bright rubber ones.

Addie and Daddy made snow angels together. Pretty sweet.

I'm not sure when Levi wrote this but I was going out to my car and I saw this sweet little message written in the snow. I'm kind of loved a little bit.

A very sad day

2011-02-06T17:43:00.001-08:00

We had a pretty rough day yesterday. Because Jack decided to cut off a chunk of his own hair the day before we had to finish the job professionally. I'm not really sure what Jack thought when we told him we had to get the rest of his hair cut in order to make his head look normal again but once he realized his hair was no longer going to be long he became very upset.
We attempted to keep it kind of long and shaggy but he had cut his bangs so high up that it still looked ridiculous so we had to go for the full on cut.

And then...tada!!!! Our Jack with the shortest hair he has had since birth! He hates it! In fact hate isn't a strong enough word. He cried and cried and cried yesterday. He keeps saying that his hair is just not growing fast enough. He continually reaches up as if to measure how much has grown every 5 minutes and then tears up once he realizes no progress has been made. We even took him to Chick-fil-a afterwards to try to cheer him up but as soon as we pulled into the parking lot he said that he was going to just stay in the car because he didn't want other humans (yes, humans) to see his short hair. We made him reveal his new look anyways to the nice people of Chik-fil-a but it was a lunch filled with more tears. He even refused to go into the play area because he didn't want other kids to see him. We finally convinced him to go in and he had a good time but the second he remembered he had short hair he would tear up again.

We made it through church today even though Jack refused to go in initially but once everyone started noticing and complimenting him on how grown up he looks and how awesome his hair is he started to brighten up a little more. I think he is starting to like it a little more...at least I'm hoping. My heart is broken that this silly situation has put him in such a sad little state. Who knew 4 year old boys were so sensitive about their hair? If you happen to see Jack please make a huge deal about how awesome he looks with short hair...use the word "awesome" it is way better than cool.

It finally happened

2011-02-04T17:11:00.000-08:00

Today was the day. I knew it was coming. Every parent expects it to happen praying that it never will. But the inevitable usually happens. Today Jack Cut His Hair. DUH DUH DUN!!!!!!!!

Levi and I had been in our bedroom folding laundry while Jack was supposedly watching cartoons in the living room. Now let me just stop here. I know what you are thinking. Why weren't you watching him? It's a good question but really this is not unusual for me to take advantage of Addie's nap time by folding a load of laundry while watching a grown up (aka "tweener") show such as One Tree Hill or Gossip Girl (make fun of me on your own time). I have a perfect view from my bed into the living room and I usually sense when Jack is being mischievous and all I have to do is give him the mommy look. But today Jack was stealthy. I'm actually quite impressed. He managed to sneak into the kitchen (which I can also see from my room), pull the chair to the counter, grab the kitchen shears out of the wood block, push the chair to the kitchen sink and cut off his beautiful hair, then put the kitchen shears back, replaced the chair, and went on about his cartoon watching as if nothing had happened. And because he acted so normal I didn't even notice his new look until I started making dinner and glanced into the sink and saw...

I immediately yelled, "Jack! NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" And Levi and I both saw our son's new do at the same time and burst out laughing. He kind of resembles Jim Carey's character off of Dumb and Dumber. So now we have to cut it all off. He has always had longish hair and we are both pretty torn up about our son's gorgeous hair being gone. But hey, it's hair. It grows back, right. I'm sure my dad will be pleased...I'm almost wondering if he didn't put Jack up to it. :) But my boy will be cute regardless his hair style and I almost feel relief that this event has finally taken place and we survived it.

I'm back...

2011-01-06T18:50:00.000-08:00

So I haven't exactly kept up with my blog over the holidays but I have my reasons. My camera was incapacitated through Thanksgiving due to us having left our battery charger in Arkansas and not realizing we needed to charge the camera until one week before Turkey Day and then Amazon didn't come through on the quick delivery option. =( So no pictures from Thanksgiving but I did manage to snap a few precious moments during the Christmas holidays.

We always kick off the Christmas season with a trip to the Christmas Tree Farm with Uncle Matt and Nana. As always we had a lot of fun and Jack was thrilled to get to hang out with his Uncle Matt all day long.

Then came the insanity...shopping, shopping, shopping, taking Christmas card pictures, ordering Christmas cards, writing the Christmas letter, addressing, stamping, stuffing, wrapping, cooking, etc, etc. We did have a lot of fun with the Christmas card and the kids loved getting to jump on Mommy and Daddy's bed.

There were so many adorable, silly, and sometimes plain hilarious pictures but they couldn't all be included in the card but here are some of my favorites.

Jack and Addie love to kiss each other but they want to be the one doing the kissing. When Jack tries to kiss Addie she will giggle and squirm away and when Addie tries to kiss Jack he quickly escapes.

Before Jack's school let out for Christmas break we had his absolutely adorable Christmas program. He was a very handsome reindeer but I didn't get any very good pictures because our seats were so far from the stage. But I managed to take a few after the program.

Addie Grace and Leilei were being silly and performing their own little program on the floor.

Jack and Rylan in their reindeer costumes for their last Christmas program together. Sniff sniff.

Santa came and visited the kids and Jack and Addie had a long list of Christmas wishes to give him.

I wanted to get a picture of both girls in the Christmas wagon but Lorelei wasn't in the posing mood but I think this picture is much better this way!

Then it was Christmas Eve!!! We get up and head next door to my Dad's for breakfast with the family.

Everyone crowds the kitchen and gets to chopping, dicing, mixing, eating, drinking, talking and laughing. It really is as picture perfect as it seems.

Then we take the yearly family picture. I look a little odd but don't judge...I had to run from clear across the room and strike a pose before the camera snapped, then run back, check the picture for closed eyes, reset the camera and do it all over again. I think this picture was actually take three or four so give me a break.

This is typical. I'm in all the video and Levi is in all the still pictures.

After unwrapping all the gifts Jack seemed to have the most fun with Addie's magnetic dress up dolls. Levi wasn't too thrilled with his new interest but I thought it was cute.

Addie Grace posed like the little diva she is but was a little confused over the strange dog toy she used as a phone.

Christmas Eve night is our little family's special time together. We make reindeer snacks, read the Christmas story, watch a Christmas movie, and the kids open the gifts they each bought for the other.

Jack bought Addie a set of dress up play accessories including dangle earrings. I just LOVE this picture! Have you ever seen anything more adorable than Daddy putting giant pink sparkly earrings on his daughter while holding the pink heart mirror? My heart melts a little every time I look at it.

Our glamor girl.

Jack also bought Addie her first Barbie and Ken and pink Jeep. She loved pushing the Jeep around more than playing with the barbies which thrilled Levi.

Then it was CHRISTMAS DAY!!!!! And you can tell from my sweet babies faces and puffy eyes that it was very early when we had to get our day started in order to fit in our very full schedule.

Addie was the most excited about getting pink socks! Poor baby. I've been dressing her in her brother's old socks (featured in the picture) and every time she would ask for pink socks I would tell her to ask Santa. She was so happy Santa came through!!!! But I will say that a couple of days ago she did ask to wear her brother's socks again. She thinks there is something special about wearing his stuff. Kind of cute...as long as it isn't in public. =)

Santa also brought Addie her first stick of mascarra! Don't freak out, it's clear. She is always getting into mine regardless of where I put it so I thought she should have her own and this way when she drops it on the carpet it won't leave a huge black stain.

I didn't get many pictures of Jack because he tore through his Santa gifts as fast as he could, found his DS game and parked it on the chair and didn't move.

Santa gave each kid a candy necklace and Addie LOVED hers! She wouldn't take it out of her mouth! Just see for yourself...

We got dressed and headed to breakfast with the Popes which is a lot of fun because there are a lot of little Popes running around creating quite a bit chaos.

Addie posed in her Madonna headband.

Every year I always manage to get the sweetest picture of Jack and Haley. These two have a bond that amazes me. They love to be with eachother and they just absolutely cherish the other.

These are the bigs of the little Popes. Haley looks beautiful as always. Rylan looks as handsome as ever and Jack...well, he's ummmmm cheesing really hard.

These are our kiddos until my little nephew Ethan gets here. Then there will be one more to the mix. Can't wait!!! (Now Jack looks more swauve and debonair.)

Next we rush to my Mimi's for the best lunch ever. I pretty much forgot about my picture the entire time until before we left and I had my brother snap a quick family pic.

Then we run home to drop off the loads of gifts and get ready to head to Miece and Pops for another Pope Christmas.

We always enjoy this sweet little end to our Christmas day, especially the daddies...

So yes, I had a great Christmas. I hope you did too. I'll try to keep my camera battery charged so I can keep you all updated on this awesome 2011 year!

Jack's fall party

2010-11-01T13:21:00.000-07:00

The very first party Jack and Rylan had at school when they were 2 years old was the fall/halloween party. The girls were only a couple of days old and the boys seemed so big now that they were big brothers. But here we are 2 years later for the boys' last halloween school party and they all seem so big, so grown up.

The party was so cute. Jennifer and Anna did such a cute job.

These cute little spider cupcakes were the craft for party and the kids had so much fun with them. I thought they were such a cute idea!

Addie watched while Jack worked diligently on his spider.

It's the Addie glare!!!!!! Be afraid, be very afraid.

Addie put on JackJack's hat. I think she makes a cute firegirl.

Mouth is full but smiling!

Little Leilei wasn't in the mood to pose.

Ms. Anna led story time and Addie sat between Jack and Rylan and listened intently while Lorelei did her own thing...such a little diva.

My sweet loves.

Pretty two year old girlies.

You can't really tell from the picture but that is a rubber duck that Addie is gnawing on intently.

The boy's club.

Such cuties!!!

Happy Birthday ADDIE!!!!

2010-10-31T14:01:00.000-07:00

Addie's 2nd birthday is officially over. Whew! But to be honest I had a lot of fun planning this one and I enjoyed the actual party. Usually I feel stressed but I guess now that I've got a few birthday parties under my belt I don't really care if little things go wrong...and they did. But no biggie.

I started all my craft projects a month in advance and really enjoyed being "scrappy." I lack creative talent but I am pretty good at copying other people's ideas. I saw these really cute pinwheel gift bags on etsy and almost purchased them. But then my little light bulb went off and I googled "how to make a pinwheel" and the rest is history.

These little pinwheels went into the cupcakes but unfortunately caused my cupcakes to have the ability for takeoff in the wind so it caused a minor problem.

I also copied this idea off of etsy. These are cute little matchbook notepads and are so easy to make from scraps of paper. They went perfectly with the pretty little fall leaf crayon party favors.

I had to snap a few pics before the party of the birthday girl eating a cupcake just in case another opportunity didn't present itself.

This is the party favor and cupcake table. I had these super cute cupcake stands to display the cupcakes on but because of our wind/pinwheel situation I had to anchor them in a tray.

I just love these little crayon party favors. You can find them at www.crayoncouture.com. They have all different shapes and even added the cute little message tag for free!

Since Addie's party was fall themed we served chili and hot dogs. I made two batches just so we could freeze the left overs and eat it later but most of it got eaten up at the party!

We had to staple the table clothes to the tables because it was so windy. Thanks Levi for taking care of that.

Anyone need any hay bales? I'm not quite sure what to do with them now.

Guests start arriving and Jack greets Grandy with a huge hug!

Addie loves Pop's hat and Pop.

I just realized I got the pictures out of order but it takes too long to upload so we will just pretend we did presents first.

First present Addie opened was a Minnie Mouse doll and book. She hasn't let Minnie go yet.

Addie's first perfume.

Our baby girls loves jewelry.

When we sang happy birthday to Addie she loved every second. Who knew she loved the spotlight?

We had to pretend to blow out the candles because it was too windy.

Rylan, aka Mario, Madi the puppy, Haley the kitty, and Jack the fireman all lined up for cupcakes.

A kiss for the birthday girl.

I LOVE THIS!

We attempted to take a group picture. That cute tushy is little Leilei. I'm not quite sure why her booty was in the air but I think it is super cute!

Beautiful fall fairy princess Elizabeth and handsome fireman Jack on the seesaws.

The Pope clan.

Jack, Rylan and Dakota hanging out, being boys.

Beautiful princess Avery.

More boy stuff.

I love this picture because Dakota, the ninja looks like he is peeking up Kaileigh's skirt.

We are so fortunate to have our very own playground. Thank you Daddy, Levi, Matt, and Keith for building it for us.

Addie visiting with Nana, Mimi, and Grandy.

As guests began to leave and the sun began to set, Jack and a couple of his cousins found a frog and had a great time passing it around. Little Madison even held it but I didn't get a picture in time. And yes, I am aware that Jack's overalls are on backward. Oops.

Jack showed the birthday girl the frog. She actually touched it. I was so proud...and a little grossed out.

The party was over and Addie gave her Pops one last goodbye high five...with her mouth full of crackers.

Thank you to all of our family and friends for making Addie's second birthday so much fun. I'm so glad you could be a part of her special day!

Two negatives equal a positive

2010-10-26T09:28:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Levi and I finally got a chance to get away for a romantic overnight date. We had attempted this weekend twice already with it falling through each time due to someone getting sick. So we were starting to feel like it would never happen. But alas, it did and it was perfect...but only because it was not so perfect. I've come to learn that it is the imperfections that make me and Levi so perfect for each other. We stayed in this really beautiful hotel, The Stoneleigh and ate at our favorite sushi restaurant, Kenichi (If you go, request tap water and do not order the "fresh wasabi" these two things alone will save you $30 on your bill, we learned the hard way). But even though we were pretending for the night to live this fancy expensive life of no kids and high heels we had this constant reminder of real life and that reminder came in the form of a loud annoying "SQUEEK SQUEEK SQUEEK!" Let me explain:

Earlier this year my Montero started to have some minor issues. We took it to a mechanic and were told that it needed a new engine! Ouch! We really love, well loved, our Montero and weren't financially ready to buy another car (we have a rule that we pay cash only and right now we could only afford a used Neon which didn't really sound appealing). So we got a new engine. We thought it was the right decision. This way we could drive around in our already very used Montero while the kids were young and goldfish and apple juice were still a necessity for longer shopping trips and errand running while saving up for a nicer car where perishables will not be allowed. But then the air conditioning broke. So the Montero went back into the shop...and stayed in the shop. For over 3 months the Montero was being worked on for one reason or another. So after $6,000 and a lot of wasted time the very problem that we had gotten a new engine for still existed and now every time I hit the brake (and sometime when I don't) my car goes, "SQUEEK SQUEEK SQUEEK!" loudly. So loud that people around me look at me. We have been told by two mechanics that this problem is going to cost another$2,000 to fix but the Montero is still completely safe to drive...just annoying. So I have swallowed all my pride, not that there ever was a lot considering the Montero is missing part of the front fender and has a huge dent in the side, and I drive the Montero despite the weird looks. Stefanie says it sounds like a turkey gobble. Well, Happy Thanksgiving.

So back to our date night...Here we are at a hotel where you have to valet and we pull up with our gobbling SUV...not cool, very embarrassing. One valet guy, whom I'm guessing probably drives that used Neon we could afford, actually made a comment about our car being the squeeky car when Levi called down to have it brought up so we could go to dinner. But for some reason because Levi and I both shared this embarrassment together it all of a sudden became the funniest thing and not so embarrassing anymore. We laughed all night long about the ridiculousness of our situation and I can think of only a few things I like better than laughing with Levi. So whatever, we may drive the most embarrassing car and we may not fit into the fancy social scene of uptown Dallas but we work, our marriage works, we have fun and we laugh together and I kind of think that all of that is well worth the weird looks.

Levi Pope, there isn't anyone on this planet I would rather be embarrassed with more. You make me smile all the time and I love the squeeky, not so perfect life we have together.

Halloween Preview

2010-10-21T19:10:00.000-07:00

I always try to get some pictures of the kids in their costumes before they chow down on the chocolate candy and smear it on their costumes so we got all dressed up and went into our backyard/forest and snapped a few pics. The setting was perfect for Addie's fall fairy princess costume but not so much for Fireman Jack. I still may take him to the fire station to get a few there. But this is what we got today.

Cute spurts

2010-10-21T13:41:00.000-07:00

It seems like we go through times where nothing interesting happens and then there are these little spurts where every time I turn around the kids are being so stinkin cute that I'm running for my camera. This last week was one of those little spurts.

The kids have gotten bored with all the millions of toys, video games, movies, books, games, and shows that are available to them and they broke out my Christmas dishes and had a tea party. I'll admit I helped. In fact, I tried to show them how to properly set the table for tea but they decided it was way more fun to try to pile all of the dishes onto the coffee table. I was pretty shocked but they played tea party for over an hour. It was well worth the anxiety of worrying about them breaking a dish.

Then last Saturday Jack had 2 big soccer games during Fun Fest in which we were asked to bring a baked good. I love to cook but baking isn't really my thing. But I wanted to make it fun since it was our Friday night activity (yes, we live very exciting lives). So we made cake pops. I found the idea on the website, www.bakerella.com. Our's didn't really turn out as pretty as the website's but they were a lot of fun to make...even Levi got in on the fun. They ended up tasting really yummy but you can't go wrong with cake mixed with icing, dipped in chocolate, dipped again in white chocolate, and then sprinkled with love...and sprinkles.

Jack ate more than he sprinkled. And I just realized that my kid's germs were probably all over those sprinkles since they were eating as much as they were sprinkling. Oops.

This is the only picture I got of Addie and I hate putting it in here because she kind of looks like a deer in headlights. She was probably getting in trouble.

Our fall sprinkles.

The finished product. As Addie would say...TaDa!

Then just a couple of days ago I walked into my bedroom to find this...

Addie had gotten my mascara and hid on the far side of my bed and proceeded to apply it to her optical region...it ended up mostly on her nose. She thought she was so pretty that I couldn't get on to her. So I snapped some pictures instead.

We will work on our makeup application in a few years.

And then to close I have a funny story about my sweet boy Jack. This is a conversation we had on the way home from swimming lessons.

Me: "Jack, when we get home we are going to put on our jammies and go straight to bed."

Jack: "Okay, I'll put on my jammies, watch a tv show and go straight to bed."

Me: "No tv show, just bed."

Jack: "But I'll run away." (It is his newest threat. It's getting old.)

Me: "Jackson, what did I tell you about saying that?"

Jack: "Not to. But if you don't let me watch my tv show I'll run away."

Me: "Jackson Miller! When you say that you are going to run away it is disrespectful to Mommy, Daddy and God. God chose to put you in our home with Mommy and Daddy and by saying that you are going to run away you are saying that God made a bad choice, and God always makes the best choice. God doesn't like it when we run away. Remember when Jonah ran away...he got swallowed by a whale."

Jack: "But Momma...there aren't any whales in Texas."

Warty Pumpkins

2010-10-12T14:11:00.000-07:00

Last week Jack's class had their first field trip of the year to the pumpkin patch. This was one of the coolest pumpkin patches I've ever been to. It had all kinds of neat types of pumpkins including some that looked a little warty, which was kind of gross but it didn't keep me from bringing one home and displaying it on my fireplace hearth. The kids had so much fun and I plan on going back with Levi and the kids for some better pictures and maybe to pick up a few more bumpy pumpkins.

Jack seemed to always be messing with someone.

It started out cold that morning so I bundled Addie up in her super cute new cardi boots but it warmed up fast. I think I was just looking for an opportunity to stick them on her and I kind of jumped the gun. Oops.

Each kid got to pick out a tiny pumpkin to take home. Jack loved his and treated it like a little pet.

This was so stinkin cute...Addie saw her brother and ran to him and gave him a big hug. Then Rylan wanted in on the hugging and then Landon joined in.

Pretty soon Addie was in the middle of a group hug. She loved every second.

Rylan, Jack and Evan cheesing for my camera while waiting in line for the maze.

Jack took Addie through the maze...well, drug Addie through the maze.

Addie loves doing anything with Jack. Anytime Jack will hold her hand she is on cloud nine.

Jack and Evan being scarecrows.

Addie Grace being a scarecrow too.

Addie loved the little pumpkins and started her own pile on the table to purchase.

I was really impressed with the pumpkin patch and the kids had so much fun. If you are looking for some fun family time Wesley United Methodist has a great pumpkin patch to try!

Still pretty cute

2010-10-06T21:55:00.000-07:00

Addie's 2nd birthday is coming up at the end of October and that means taking birthday pictures, making party favors, planning a theme, ordering invitations, buying a party outfit, etc, etc. It's a lot of work when it comes to party planning and even though I am very aware that all I am doing is adding stress to my life I still make it more work than it has to be. But the very first step is getting the perfect picture for the birthday invitation. I took these before we went out for dinner and it was kind of spur of the moment but we got some cute ones. Addie was in a sweet mood so there were so many to choose from. These are the pictures that didn't make the cut for the invitation but I thought were still cute. I'll post the finished invitation soon along with my craft project I have taken on for the party favors.

This is soooo typical Addie Grace. That is the look she gives everyone, especially strangers. I always feel so bad when someone comes up to me at the store to say how pretty my daughter is and all she does is glare at them with this very serious expression.

She kept trying to eat these gourds. But she eats dirt so I guess gourds are an improvement.

I was trying to get her to put her elbows on her knees and rest her chin on her hands...this is what I got instead.

And we're eating the pumpkin again.

By this point she knows she is not supposed to eat them but she is just putting it up close to her mouth to see if I get on to her again. What a stinker!

Soccer Mom

2010-10-06T21:27:00.000-07:00

It has happened. I'm a soccer mom. It is kind of surreal. For some reason when I had Jack I felt like this stage was soooo far away. I imagined that by the time Jack would be wearing a uniform I would be wearing frontbutt jeans and driving a Volvo. But thank goodness that hasn't happened yet...I would take a Volvo right now though. (We won't get into the car issue today.) And after last Saturday I have also realized that not only am I a soccer mom but I am kind of one of those crazy soccer moms that screams a lot...even at games where the score isn't even kept. But I love this new role. I love cheering for my kid. I love packing snacks for the team. I love dressing Addie in her Hawks cheerleading outfit, now officially complete with the orange pompoms that I bought last night. I love Jack's smile when he is running around chasing a ball or the kid on his team. I love making friends with the other crazy soccer moms. I love laughing with my family about Jack's super moves. I love it all. I think I was made for this...to be a soccer mom.

I couldn't get either kid to look my direction so this is the best picture out of the 20 that I took of the two of them together. Maybe I'll get a better one this Saturday or the next or the next or the next.
This is what happens after 20 pictures are snapped and Mom isn't willing to give up trying to get the perfect one...absolute meltdown.

Missy wouldn't not smile all morning for a picture. It probably didn't help that she had a runny nose. Poor baby.

This is Jack and his buddy Landon before the game. Landon is our star player. I love to watch him play because he is really into it and if he can't get to the ball he will just kick whoever is closest in the shins. I know, it sounds kind of painful for the other kid but that is what shin guards are for. It is really funny to watch.

Jack's cousin Rylan played before we did. I snapped this pic between games. I think it is so cute. It looks like Jack is trying to give Rylan advice. So funny.

These are the Hawks...in all their orange glory. Next year we are pulling for a team that wears blue or even red. Orange is just sooooo well, orange.

This is just one of Jack's super hero moves. Where he lacks skill he makes up for with flare.

I love this picture because it represents Jack throughout the whole game. He wore this huge grin on his sweet face the entire time. Even though we lost (the ref may not have kept score but I sure did) he loved every second and had sooooo much fun.

He also made a girlfriend. In fact, he spent most of his time making friends with the other team and ref. It was pretty cute.

Good game....even if we lost.

Our star player. We have got to work on his "cheese" smile.

Arkansas again

2010-10-05T08:44:00.000-07:00

Every year we go to Shepherd of the Ozarks in Arkansas to ride four wheelers with Levi's mom and Nannie. I'm always afraid it is going to be boring or monotonous since we have gone to the same place and done the same thing over and over again and despite the fact that many of the pictures I took look identical to the pictures from last years trip (just bigger kids) we always manage to do it a little bit differently. This year had the added excitement of Levi's Nannie's alzheimers keeping us on our toes...and biting our tongues. =) But really it is little things like repetitive questions or comments that make us smile when we get home and talk about our crazy trip.
I think Levi has made this trip 15 times and I've been going since I was a junior in high school so we have quite a few of these long drives under our belt. But this was the first year that we have run into the problem of having a flat tire on the way...let alone 2 flat tires. Addie posed in front of the trailer during our first stop while Levi changed out the tire.

One flat tire isn't that big of a deal because you have a spare....

Two flat tires kind of sucks. I snapped this pictures outside of the tire shop where we stopped after driving on the second flat tire for an hour going 20 MPH while Nannie continually asked us why we were driving so slow on the shoulder. Fun times.

But we did finally make it to SOTO. The kids ran around checking out all the bedrooms and cool hiding places. Addie unfortunately loved the stairs so I had to stay on alert at all times. Just thinking about it again makes me nervous. But I did let her play on the lower half so I could get a few pics.

I had to throw this one in because I just thought Nannie's socks were so funny...especially with capris.

We set out the first day to begin our adventures.

We stopped first at the cool petting zoo.

The kids especially liked the lemurs. I just liked to hear the way Addie said, "lemur." It sounded like "leeeeeemore."

Then the annual Bufford the Buffalo visit.

Addie wasn't a fan of Bufford so she hung out on the four wheeler.

Then we made it to the creek where we spent 90% of our time because by noon it was sooooo HOT! It was the hottest it has ever been for our Arkansas trip. Jack tried in the beginning to not get his shorts wet. Good try, Buddy.

Addie Grace getting her feet wet.

Oh, look, a picture of me. Whenever we go anywhere and take a bunch of pictures it always looks like Levi is a single dad out with his kids because I am always behind the camera.

I love Levi's expression in this picture. You can just tell he absolutely adores his baby girl.

It didn't take long before shirts came off. And little later after that so did shorts and diapers.

This is one tradition that hasn't changed from year to year...jumping off rocks. Levi and the kids stayed entertained for quite awhile with this activity.

Addie has to keep up with the boys.

And Levi jumps too...he just makes the biggest splash.

Oops. I got these pictures out of order. Oh well. I just think it is cute that the kids are just sitting there watching their Daddy.

Jack finally got up the courage to jump off the tall rock. I was so proud of him.

I think he was pretty proud of himself too.

Here I am again. Imagine that. Us girls took over the four wheeler for a little while.

But then my riding partner fell asleep.

We had dinner with family friends, Al and Barb McDonald. Then enjoyed the evening on the balcony.

We managed to find time to snap a family picture. It wasn't easy, but Levi managed to push the button and fly across the river to get in the picture before the picture took. I think some of Jack's super powers must have rubbed of on his dad.

The infamous muscle picture. I don't know what is going on with Jack's muscles??? He does that weird pose every year.

Miece (Karalu) and Nannie were awesome and took every hill and dip they came across.

Nannie is in her element in Arkansas. I can't believe she is 83 and still riding four wheelers!

When Levi and I started thinking about having children I think this was his dream...it wasn't exactly mine but I'm glad he got his way.

One afternoon we had a picnic by the river.

My loves.

Because it was so crazy hot we got to tube on the river the last afternoon.

Jack loved the the tubes.

One funny note about this picture is we were letting Addie run around naked because we only had one more diaper with us and we didn't want to waste it if she wanted to get back in the water. She was content to run around with Cuddles, but then she just squatted and pooped right on the bridge! See, new experiences every year.

Back to School

2010-09-14T13:28:00.000-07:00

I'm a little late in posting Jack's 1st day of school pics. They aren't very good because the kids had messed with the settings on my camera and I didn't notice until I uploaded the pictures. Plus the kids weren't in a very photographic mood. Jack was too excited to get to class and Addie was being a diva and refused to let me pick out her outfit and insisted on wearing her sunglasses and a headband with a huge poof on the side. Oh well...

This is in front of the school.

Jack walked in all by himself. I followed of course but only to take pictures and get a kiss.

I made Jack pose with some of his friends. This is Landon. Landon is actually on our soccer team so there will be more pictures of him to come.

Jack posing by his cubby.

Sniff. This is Jack and Rylan's last year in school together. Next year they will go their seperate ways and be big boys all alone in Kindergarten. So sad.

Evan joined the picture fun. I love all these boys. It is so much fun to be "Jack's mom."

The beautiful wedding of my super beautiful baby sis.

2010-09-11T14:59:00.000-07:00

I promised wedding pictures and finally, here they are...

Laci and her bridal party. I look a little spacey but the other girls are so beautiful!!!!

Addie wanted to wear some makeup too! And apparently show off her baby boobies.

For some reason this picture uploaded super small, but my baby sis looks absolutely beautiful in it.

My new brother-in-law.

My little sweeties. They did so good.

Daddy and Laci.

The ceremony.

Mr. and Mrs. Peter Chung.

So sweet!

Addie kept puffing up her cheeks for some reason.

Jack can't keep his eyes off the camera.

Our family.

Wedding Party

Love this!

And this.

I stuck this one in here because it is such a cute idea. Instead of a guest book, Laci bought this pretty address keeper and had everyone write all their info down.

This isn't the most beautiful picture but I had to put it in here because I can tell from the expression on my sister's face that she is saying, "Ha Jess, I told you I was going to eat at my wedding. Naner naner boo boo!" She and I had a mini disagreement over whether or not she would actually eat at her own wedding...she won.

Hmmm...I am a little bit in love.

The toast...glad that is over with.

Laci and Peter snuck out for some private time in the gazebo...well not so private.

This was such a sweet moment...the kind every girl hopes for. We are so lucky to have such a loving Daddy.

Dancing

I cried all night long!!!! But right before Laci and Peter left I got to have a few minutes with Laci alone and that really got the tears rolling.

I love Laci's expression...as if she was really surprised we were throwing roses at her.

Off to the honeymoon!

See you later Granddad.

2010-09-06T08:06:00.000-07:00

Last week a great man left us and went on to be with Jesus. That great man is Levi's grandfather, my children's great grandfather, Granddad. His death has given me a lot to think about. I think about the sadness, the void, the let down from the expectation to see him in his recliner when walking through the door. Watching my family miss him is the hardest of all. I love him, I miss him, he is my grandfather too, but not like his sons, his granddaughter and his grandsons love and miss him. I cannot put into words what this Pope family represents but I can try.

All these men in the Pope family, Granddad, Keith (my father-in-law), Craig (my uncle-in-law) and their son's, Levi, Elias and Justin are not just family, they are a team, a unit. They are bonded by something more than blood. I don't know if it is Crawford Smith, or the fact that this family was mostly male before all us girls came along, or maybe the values this family represents, but the Pope family is something really super special. I do think Crawford Smith (the family company) has a big role in this family's bond and I am just so thankful for such an amazing opportunity that Levi had to work with the men in his family from a very young age. It made him the man he is today and I love that man. Even now, the baby and only girl (for a long time) of the family, Kayla works along side her dad, uncle and brother. How special. I hope that Jack gets the same opportunity as his dad, uncle and cousins. But I think all of this adds to the sadness of Granddad's death. Because they not only lost a loved one but the leader of the family and the family business.

I also thought about how cool the visitation and funeral were. It meant so much to the family to see the ridiculously long line at the visitation. It was so long we should have passed out water just so those at the end would stay hydrated. And the funeral was so sweat, so beautiful. Granddad was loved. The end. He was loved as a grandfather, a dad, a brother, friend. He represented something beyond just the man. He represented the beauty of little Greenville, Texas. Honesty, family, honor, simplicity, hard work. But the cool part of it all is that these qualities have been passed down to his children and their children. I see it in the men in my family. Levi and I will teach it to our children. Granddad has left a legacy and we will treasure it.

Lastly, I have thought about the joy. The joy of hugging Jesus, of sitting in His lap, of holding his hand and walking beside Him. Granddad is experiencing that and more right now! Just typing those words brings happy tears to my eyes because I know that someday that will be me. I cannot imaging how scary death is for those who have no hope, no knowledge or belief in the promise God made us. But for Granddad Pope I know there is no sadness for him. There is only joy, peace, and overwhelming love. Yes, we miss him, but only for a short time. We will see him again. How awesome is that!!!!! Until then, we will honor the life he lived here in Greenville, Texas, USA, Earth. We love you Granddad and we will see you later.

Sometimes I'm a cool mom

2010-08-24T18:26:00.000-07:00

I have mixed feelings about summer coming to an end. I love the structure we keep during the school year. I love laying out clothes the night before, getting to bed on time, packing lunches, and just being on a schedule. But during the summer I also love having the freedom to let the kids stay up and watch one more episode of Jimmy Neutron (which by the way, is the most awesome cartoon in the whole wide world!), counting swimming as bath time and eating chips, dip, and chocolate chip cookies for dinner. But alas, here we are back to structure and schedules. So I thought I would let the kids have one last real good summer day without worrying about naptime, staying clean, eating healthy and just have FUN! I suggested that the kids go play in the mud. Jack thought this was the coolest idea ever. Don't get me wrong, he has played in the mud plenty of times but never at Mom's suggestion so this was extra cool mud time. Addie was just excited because Jack was excited and ran around the house yelling, "Addie! Mud! Addie! Mud!" So we get into our bathing suits, turn on the sprinkler, and I just wait for the mud throwing to begin. But it doesn't...

Both of the kids just tip toe around as if the mud is going to explode at any moment. Addie tasted a little but then was done with it. Jack was so worried about getting his swim trunks muddy. SERIOUSLY???? Are these my kids? I don't know if it was because the whole thing was my suggestion that threw them off or what but they were not feeling it...yet.

So I had to do the only thing any good parent would do when their kids need a little encouragement. I picked up a huge glob of mud and threw it right into Jack's perfectly clean swim trunks. Then smeared it all over Addie. That got them motivated and by the end of the afternoon we were covered. Everywhere. Literally. But it was soooooo worth the hour long group shower because Jack came and gave me a big disgusting hug not caring that he was rubbing his face into the mud on my tummy and said, "Momma, I just love you. " That little boy just melts my heart!

My Important List

2010-08-20T09:10:00.000-07:00

A while back I was washing dishes and I noticed this sweet little message written in the sand. We had brought a plastic bottle full of Destin sand home and it had moisture in it so I had poured it into a bowl and sat it in the widow to dry out. Levi was in Arizona when I saw his handiwork and it made my day. I was smiling like an idiot all day long. Which then got me thinking. I seem to take for granted so many of the beautiful blessings God has for me because I am too busy to stop and read the writing in the sand. So I started making a list of all the things that make me happy. Here is what I have so far, in no particular order...

1. Sweet messages that Levi leaves around the house. I have a lipstick "I love you" on the mirror in the bathroom that I refuse to clean away. It is probably stained there by now anyways.

2. Coloring with Addie.

3.Touching foots with Jack

4.When Levi calls me Beautiful or Darling (sounds more like Darlin).

5. When Levi calls Addie Beautiful or Darling.

6. Family dinner nights at my Dad's with my siblings.

7. When Jack tells me he loves me bunches and bunches and bunches.

8. Addie's perfect little mouth.

9. Waking up during the night and feeling Levi's foot always touching mine.

10. Every time I pull into work and Mom's giant black truck is waiting in the parking lot to help me bring in the kids and our loads of stuff.

11. Netflix

12. Levi, Jack and Addie's puffy eyes in the morning.

13. Text messages from Levi

14. Talking on the phone to Stef while our kids tear our houses apart in the background.

15. Cooking

16. The 23 minutes of complete "me time" during an episode of Wonderpets.

17. Watching Addie in ballet class.

18. Reading back through my prayer journal

19.Going for long drives with Levi.

20.When Jack holds Addie's hand.

21. Sitting in our big chair with a good book and hot green tea.

22. Jack's laugh.

23. Addie's laugh.

24. When Levi tells me about his day and tries to dummy down the programming speak so that I can understand.

25. Coffee with my sister.

26. My planner.

27. When my Mimi passes down her magazines.

28. When Jack says, "That's amazing!" about anything.

29. The way Addie says, "No." It almost comes out as two syllables and ends with her lips in a pucker.

30. The way Addie says, "Cockadoodledoo."

31. Jack's super hero moves.

32. When the kids are napping and the house has been put back together.

33. My store.

34. My "I love you" mug that mom gave me when I moved out.

35. Our home.

36. Putting together big puzzles with Jack.

37. Going out to eat for breakfast.

38. Uncle Matt.

39. Painting Addie's toenails.

40. Playing hide and go seek.

41. Getting mail.

42. Jack's hair.

43. Running.

44. Date nights that aren't over until the next day.

45. Addie's blue eyes.

46. Soup

47. The chalkboard in my kitchen.

48. Doing laundry while watching a movie.

49. When Levi kisses my forehead or my temple.

50. Jack's imagination.

51. The movie "Nothing to Lose."

52. The perfect smell of the mountains in summer.

53. Levi's grilled cheese sandwiches.

54. Anyone with the last name of Lawson

55. Listening to Jack tell anybody who will listen that his JoJo has a baby in her tummy and he is going to see the baby when the doctor takes him out at the hospital.

56. Coffee with cream and sugar.

57. Living next door to my parents.

58. Getting cuddly with Jack.

59. Addie's Cuddles

60. My every day dishes.

61. Addie's curls.

62. Cut flowers in the bud vases from Levi's Nannie's house.

This could go on and on but I have to say that making this short little list helps me keep my priorities in check. When I start to freak out because I feel like I have no clothes in my closet that is in fact full of clothes or when I grind my teeth every time my stupid check engine light comes on in my very old yet paid for Montero I just think about this list and remember that these are the things that are important. These things bring true happiness. These things are my world.

Little Ballerina

2010-08-18T11:16:00.000-07:00

Addie started ballet last week and it was the CUTEST THING EVER!!!!! She is a little young (it is a 2 year old class and Addie doesn't turn 2 until the very end of October) but she did soooo good! I knew she would love it because she is always dancing, clapping, twirling, singing, and hopping but I was worried that she would be nervous to leave me and go to her class since the only time we are apart is for less than an hour on Sunday mornings. But she couldn't have cared less about leaving me. She just turned and followed all of the very cute and teeny ballerinas right into their studio. Ms. Ashli asked that we not watch from the window because it may be distracting so all of us proud parents gathered around the tv in the lobby keeping our fingers crossed that our little girls would do the moves and not go running for the door the minute they realized Mommy was no where to be seen. Jack was with me and every time it would be Addie's turn to point her toes, hop, walk with the princess wand, or twirl, he would get so excited for her. He was such a proud big brother. I thought my heart would explode out of my chest because I just love the way Jack dotes on his little sis. But who wouldn't really? She is absolutely the most adorable little ballerina ever! (At least we think so.)

I tried to snap a few pictures before we left for ballet class but she was so excited I only got a couple.

Here she is showing us her moves.

Jack snapped one of me and my little dancer.

There she goes walking to her class like a big girl.

Not exactly the best vacation ever.

2010-08-03T15:08:00.000-07:00

Levi is working is Arizona for a while and so to break up the long distance the kids and I flew back with him to spend a week. I had pictured a nice relaxing week of sleeping in late, watching cartoons, playing the Wii, shopping, swimming in the hotel pool, site seeing and most importantly being with my husband. But I was mistaken...

The trip started at 5am. So right there I should have known this couldn't go well. But the kids were so excited once we got to the airport, especially Jack. I on the other hand was not too thrilled with my role as a mule. WE HAD SO MUCH LUGGAGE! We brought one big suitcase, one smaller suitcase, a large duffel bag, a large tote, Addie's car seat and Jack's booster, plus this huge backpack filled with laptops from Levi's work. We had a lot of time to blow at the airport and I was nervous that the kids would get antsy but they LOVED watching the airplanes.
I'm sure it took a whole bottle of Windex to clean all their little nose smudges and finger prints off the windows. Oh well.

Jack kept asking to do the slide thing. I didn't understand until he showed me in the "just in case we crash" manual and inside is the picture of the emergency exit with a man sliding down the inflatable slide. I tired to explain that he really didn't want to have to go down the slide but he wasn't convinced.

Back to my story...we arrive in Arizona, drive for 1.5 hours and end up in Sierra Vista. We get checked into our hotel and soon discover that there is no cartoon network, the Internet is SLOW, and the Wii that added 5 pounds to my luggage cannot be hooked up to the dinosaur of a TV. Okay, I can handle this. No biggie. We will just go to the pool.

We are swimming for maybe 10 minutes before Jack announces he's had a poopoo accident. WHAT?!?!?! This was the first introduction to "THE WEEK OF DIARRHEA." Dun dun daaaaaaa!

Let's just say that in 3 days we had gone through every pair of underwear and shorts that I had packed for Jack. Every time we would go do something such as play at the park, we would get 10 minutes into it and then all of a sudden the PooPoo monster would attack. So the kids and I spent 3 hours of the third day in the hotel's laundry room. This was not fun considering I had to wash Addie's Cuddles because she got ketchup on her. This was the longest hour and a half of my life. It didn't matter what I tried, Addie stayed right by the washer and dryer crying, "CUCAH!" (She can say Cuddles but she still calls her Cucah.)

We spent a large part of every day in the room napping. Levi would get up and go to work sometimes as early as 4:30am and therefore the rest of us were awake at 4:30am as well. So our days started very early which meant nap time was a must.

The kids had to share a bed and I was a little nervous that they would kick and wake each other up but it didn't matter how much they tossed and turned they both slept soundly.

I thought this was soooo cute!

The best part of the whole trip was the times we got to spend with Levi. We actually got to eat dinner together every night which was sooooo nice!

By the 4th day the kids and I were getting a little stir crazy. We had already visited the mall, which was a half step up from Crossroads and only because it had a Dillards. The park had lost it appeal due to the lack of necessary bathrooms. So I thought that this would be a great day to pick up lunch and have a picnic by the pool and then go for a swim. After ordering our $20 sandwiches from the hotel restaurant, putting on bathing suits, packing towels, blowing up floaties, applying sunblock, searching for everyone's sunglasses and then one more potty break we went down to the pool only to discover caution tape all around it. Not that I would have gotten in that pool without it because it was pretty obvious that the water was far from clean. (Apparently there had been a party by the pool the night before and I don't even want to know what made the pool the foggy mess that it was.)

So plan B...I get us all dressed and we head for Tombstone. We had quite a drive to get there but despite the fact that it is just souvenir shop after souvenir shop filled with overpriced breakable items my kids would just love to get their clumsy little hands on, we still had a pretty good time. We stopped into one of the fudge shops and the kids got to try the different flavors, even bubble gum. We went to a petting zoo and got to see goats, donkeys, horses (which Addie continued to yell, "MOO!" at) and an emu. So not that impressive. We were really hoping for a Gila monster or roadrunner since we were in the desert but at this point we would take what entertainment we could get.

We got to take a ride in the stage coach and although the kids didn't care one bit what the driver was describing about the tour they had a great time!

They didn't want to sit on the same seat as me so they moved to their own. So grown up.

I know! Weird picture right? This is only one of the many crazy things that makes me believe that Arizona has some issues. I mean, who rakes their rocks? And for that matter, why not have grass? I know the answer is because it is the desert but don't you see grass in this picture? So it is possible.

Stef, this picture is for you. I thought you would get a good laugh at Jack's long body and short shirt.

The absolute best part of the whole trip was our drive up in the mountains. we drove up for two hours and still didn't get to the top. But we did get some really beautiful pictures. It is sad that the camera doesn't really show how high up we were but if you look closely you can see a rainbow. It was so pretty!

Oh, okay. So here is another thing that is kind of off about Arizona. I understand that it is close to the border and all but do they really stick the illegals in that sad little stray dog carrier thing on the bed of the truck? Get a van border patrol.

Once we drove as high as our rental Corolla could go we got out and started to hike. This was fun for the first hour...

Then it started to rain. Should have figured.

Jack hurt his foot and couldn't walk the rest of the way back so for the hour back we had to carry the kids. I took Jack even though he is the heavier one because Addie is much harder to carry because she is sooooo squirmy.

Back in the Corolla, wet but happy.

So even though it wasn't the best trip ever it was still better than the alternative, which is what I am enduring at this moment and that is missing my guy. He only has two weeks left and I am flying up this weekend for a romantic spa getaway (SO EXCITED) so I just keep counting down the days.

Sidenote: For all you killers and crazys, my giant super strong dad lives next door to me and he will so kill you if you even think about bothering me and the kids while Levi is gone. Seriously, don't even go there. You WILL end up dead. Just letting you know.

Best Vacation EVER

2010-07-11T10:37:00.000-07:00

Levi has been working A LOT, like not getting home until 2am a lot. Don't get me wrong...we are so grateful for his job and for the satisfaction that comes from it but it has gotten out of hand a little bit. And on top of the late hours he is about to leave for a month. So his boss practically forced him to take a week of vacation before he leaves. THANK YOU!!!! So we decided to go to Destin, FL...a week before we would leave. But it worked out and we found the cutest beach cottage, reserved it, and started packing. We left at 2am on July 4th for our long 13 hour drive.

We made a little bed in the back that Jack was able to go right back to sleep in. It was so great because the kids could play and nap back there which made the trip go sooooo much smoother. (I know it is terribly dangerous to not have our kids in seat belts and you can judge me all you want. It was necessary.)

Addie was not too happy to be woken up at 2 in the morning.

The hammock that hung in the screened in porch was a family favorite.

1st day on the beach.

We let Addie go without a diaper but then her bathing suit bottoms wouldn't stay up...it didn't help that they kept filling up with sand.

10 minutes before we set out for the beach on the first day I managed to drop the curling iron right on my chest. You can't really tell from the picture but it looked like my skin was rotting off. Pretty.

Addie was trying to get the sand off her hands so she could suck her thumb. She gave up and decided to stick it in there dirty.

Jack swimming in our private pool...which was AWESOME!!!

We ate most meals sitting out in the screened in porch.

Some down time. The boys playing the Wii while Addie Grace and I read. Typical.

We went to Panama Beach one day and found some really fun things to do there. Jack really enjoyed his Superman ice cream.

The only picture of me and Levi sans kids. Jack needs to work on centering.

Jack saw these cool bouncy things and convinced us he had enough courage to do it. So we payed the $10 so he could bounce on a trampoline for 5 minutes.

I just had to get a picture of those curls!

Waiting in line.

How cute is he!?!?!

I was actually kind of jealous after watching Jack jump on this thing. It was super cool and he was able to do all these really neat flips.

Then back to the beach .

The kids ran around playing chase.

Jack and Levi spent 90% of the time playing in the waves.

We managed to pull some people aside to take a family picture of us.

Addie loved the birds. She kept yelling, "QUACK QUACK!!!" at them and calling them ducks...close enough.

Addie had this odd facination with looking at the ocean upside down.

I love that smile.

Me and my girl.

Addie running to Daddy...

and then back to me.

I think by the end of the week the kids' little cheeks must have been hurting from all the huge nonstop smiles they had on their faces.

Love him!!!!

Addie had to sit in time out...she was not happy about it.

The many faces of Addie Grace.

Me and my little guy.

There she goes again...

Cool shades.

We took a walk on the beach in the evening.

On our way home we stopped in Louisianna and ate dinner at this cool creole boat house restaruant. We sat out on the deck over the river and got to feed these giant turtles. It was pretty cool and the kids loved it.

Then we spent the night in Shreveport in one of the Casino hotels. It was pretty funny. There was a jacuzzi tub in the middle or our room and the kids thought it was the coolest thing ever. Levi was pretty excited about watching tv while bathing too.

The we all slept in the same huge bed on our very last night of vacation. It was pretty perfect. I didn't get a whole lot of sleep because Addie insisted on sleeping sideways but at least I got her head...Levi had to deal with her feet and Jack's constant rubbing.

On the last trek home we stopped at the Tyler Zoo. The kids really enjoyed this. In fact, they kind of ran the whole show. Addie was in charge of the wagon while Jack led the way with the map.

This was so cute...we didn't even tell them to hold hands. They are so sweet!

It was so freaking hot so we got the kids some cool animal cups and rested before setting off for home.

Now vacation is officially over. Levi is at work, I should be doing laundry, Jack is at VBS, and Addie is destroying the house. But I have to say that our Destin vacation was exactly what our little family needed, a chance to reconnect, refresh, and just love on eachother nonstop. I can't wait until we go back next year!

I am a survivor

2010-06-09T07:14:00.000-07:00

I somehow managed to survive this last month but looking back on it makes me wonder how. The craziness all started with Levi's graduation. I was beaming with pride the whole time...seriously. It was the longest ceremony I have ever attended which was only made longer by the fact that our kids were having to endure it as well. But it was worth it to see my husband, the Masters Grad, walk across the stage for 3 whole seconds.

This is a post graduation picture. The kids were grumpy and in desperate need of naps. Wish I had thought to take pictures before so that the kids would at least have smiled. Oh well.

Levi was showing Jack his diploma and Jack literally said, "That is really cool, Daddy." Sooooooo sweet.

Levi and his baby girl. I love how her little arm is around his shoulder. She always pats him on the back while he holds her.

I planned a surprise party for Levi's graduation and managed to pull it off, thanks to my sister and brother. It was sooooo hard to keep it a secret. I'm very surprised Levi didn't ask me why I was running around like a crazy person trying to clean every speck of dust before we left for graduation.

We weren't supposed to show up to the party until 7:15 so I had to stall. He never questioned the fact that we stopped at the Harbor to get ice cream, walked all the way to ColdStone and then I decided I didn't really feel like ice cream after all, we walked all the way back to the parking lot, I then decided I needed to pee at Target, we went to Target where I sat in the bathroom talking to my sis, then shopped for Addie some shoes, and then was ready to go home. He never questioned it once. He must be used to my craziness.

The party was perfect and it was so great to have our loved ones celebrate this very special day with us. Thank Kim Cartier for making the most perfect cake. I wish I had a better picture of it but it turned out beautiful and soooooo yummy. In fact, there was not one piece to throw away.

The next weekend was the bridesmaid luncheon which was beautiful but I didn't take any pictures. Laci did a great job picking the place and gifts. We ate lunch at a neat little restaurant in downtown Rockwall called Zanatas. They have amazing food and great house wine. She gave each girl a monogrammed tote bag and big fluffy white robes (which we all wore while getting ready for the wedding.)

Then the following weekend was the lingerie shower and bachelorette party. I had fun with the lingerie party because I kept it very simple and intimate. All the food was very sweet and pink. I made berry cups with cool whip, a double mocha brownie trifle (YUMMMMM), strawberry cupcakes with pretty little pearls on top for decoration, and champagne raspberry sherbet punch. (I bought 15 huge bottles of champagne from Costco for Laci's showers and Levi's graduation party and we still have 9 left!)

The spread.

My absolutely beautiful sister. I don't have any pictures of her opening her gifts but she has more lingerie than Victoria's Secret! And even the grandmothers bought her really cute and pretty sets. This little shower was a lot of fun because it was Laci's best friends, mom, grandmother, mom-in-law, and aunt-in-law and we all just sat around eating sweets, drinking pink punch and oohing and ahhing over all of Laci's pretty little lingerie.

After all the grown-ups left =), we all changed into our less covering clothes, reapplied makeup, pulled out the bachelorette crown, special straws and wand, beaded necklaces and headed out for the real party.

Even though Laci and I are both completely grown, (Laci has been on her own for 2 years and I have a husband and 2 kids) our Daddy DEMANDED that Levi go with us! Can you imagine? Your husband or brother-in-law following you around at a bachelorette party? But it ended up being a really great idea because I was able to have a good time...okay, really good time, the kind where your throw up afterwards, without having to be responsible for all the girls...that was Levi's job. It was so much fun to actually go out and have fun with my baby sister. We are separated by almost 7 years so we never have really hung out as friends but this night definitely set the foundation for a wonderful friendship.

The very next weekend was...dun dun daaaaaaa...the wedding!!!!!! The wedding craziness actually began on Wednesday. We still had a lot of last minute things to take care of such as making the programs, creating the seating chart, making table cards, putting together the favors, and packing for the honeymoon. Between Laci, our mom, grandmother, and myself we managed to get it all accomplished before the wedding. Thursday was the rehearsal and dinner. The rehearsal was kind of crazy. My family was late because we had to go get Jack's tux and when we got there it looked like a wedding was going on so we didn't know where to go. But we finally got to the chapel and realized that another wedding was about to happen, they were just waiting on me so that we could run through the rehearsal first. So we practiced once...kind of, and then were shooed out. It was weird. Later we found out that it was a spur of the moment wedding and everyone was very kind and apologetic about the situation. But the dinner was just perfect and beautiful. Laci's mother-in-law is perfect. I just love her and she planned the dinner at the Dairy Manor. When we arrived there were hors d'oeurves with Portuguese wine served. (Lucy, Laci's mother-in-law is Portuguese) Then dinner was served and Lucy had a viol inst and pianist there to serenade us. A special song was even written for Laci and was played before the mothers made their toasts. It was just beautiful!

The next day was so special to me. I am tearing up just thinking about it. It was my last day with my baby sis before she became a married woman. We got up early and Laci, our mom, and I went and had mani/pedis, picked up our bridesmaid dresses (which were beautiful...Thank you Cassie), went shopping for more lingerie, and then came home to just hang out and tie up loose ends.

This is before we left for the day's activities.

Mommy and daughter on the day before the big day!

Laci and I stayed up until about 2 just talking, making a wedding playlist, and strategically packing every piece of clothing she owns into one suitcase and carry on. I think she took 40 pairs of panties with her! NO JOKE. I walked back to my house crawled into bed and 5 hours later woke back up and walked back to my parents to have breakfast with my very awake and excited sister. We had breakfast in her bed while watching Beaches. Afterwards, we still had 3 hours before we even needed to get in the shower so we went for a run in the 100 degree weather! We eventually set off for the wedding somehow managing to not forget anything which is amazing considering we had my SUV packed to the ceiling.

All of the pre-wedding stuff was kind of crazy. Laci wanted me and our mom to handle everything so that she could just enjoy her day so I was constantly running back and forth trying to show groomsmen how to dress themselves in a tux, solve the disastrous seating arrangement situation, fix Laci's hair and dress her, pose for pictures, dress my kids, and get myself ready in the process. But it all came together. I cannot say enough that my baby sister made the most beautiful bride I have ever seen in my life! She literally glowed. I didn't take any pictures the whole time but apparently Levi had brought my camera and somebody ended up taking some pictures on it. I was disappointed that I don't have any of Laci in her gown but I will post some as soon as the photographer allows. But there were some pictures of the kids who were the most adorable ring bearer and flower girl ever!

Addie Grace and Grandpa...and Cuddles.

My handsome little man. He loved that he got to actual wear a flower! So cute.

Jack kissed me and then we made him do it again for a picture...the second time wasn't as sweet. You can tell he is too busy looking at the camera.

Then Addie wanted to get in on the kissing action. She loves to kiss her big brother. Anytime Jack kisses me or Levi, Addie immediately runs up to him waiting for her turn.

Now it is Mommy's turn.

Jack loves his Uncle Matt and Uncle Matt's iphone.

My dainty little angle stuffing her face.

More wedding pictures are coming soon. I am just sooooo ready for my sister to come home so I can hear all about the honeymoon and I can tell her about all the behind the scenes wedding craziness that she missed. Plus I just miss my sister.