The Big Rainy

This past weekend, we headed south to visit Pops on his birthday. Pops has wanted to take the kiddos to New Orleans to visit the zoo and aquarium for some time now, and this weekend seemed like the perfect time to do that and celebrate Pop's birthday too!

The only problem was the RAIN. It rained and rained and rained. Fortunately, we found plenty to keep us occupied even if an outdoor trip to the zoo wasn't possible.

Kathryn would have been happy staying in the hotel foyer. She loved the arrangement of yellow roses and insisted on smelling them every time we walked by. Here she is posing like a "lady" in front of her flowers.

After lunch at Deanies, we hit St. Charles for a ride on the trolley car or "train" as Walker and Kathryn called it. They loved the ride, and the adults didn't mind it either!

Waiting on the trolley

Enjoying the ride

That night, we enjoyed dinner at Superior Grill. I know, who eats Mexican food in New Orleans. Remember, however, that we had two three year olds with us and child-friendly restaurant was the most important criteria for the evening.

Here's a picture of me with the birthday boy!

Tula and Walker

Kathryn didn't quite make it through dinner. We didn't plan on it taking us so long to get seated. Apparantly everyone in New Orleans also wanted Superior Grill! Kathryn never leaves any quesadilla behind, but this night was an exception.

Here was the nice turn down service...

and here was the best part of the turn down...PRALINES!

Mommy liked the pralines, and Kathryn liked wearing the slippers (sorry this picture is so blurry!).

Saturday, we made it to the aquarium. Walker had the alligator on his list of things to see (again, another blurry picture!).

I think they liked climbing on all of the displays almost as much as they enjoyed all of the sea life.

Afterwards, we enjoyed the best part of any trip to New Orleans...lunch at Mother's. It was as delicious as always!

Happy Birthday, Pops! We enjoyed every minute of our weekend!

Howdy, Partners!

If you've been around my two for any length of time, you know two things about them: they love Toy Story 2, and they love fruit snacks! So, you can imagine how much they love these....


Well, they love most of them. When they are eating these fruit snacks, Kathryn always has to give the Woody snacks in her package to Walker, and in return, Walker gives Kathryn all of the Buzz snacks in his package. Neither of them like "Mr. Zurg" (as they call him), so they normally give those to Matt. They always kindly give me Jessie.

You can imagine my surprise when I picked up the kids from school today, and they gave me these...

Kathryn had saved the Jessie snacks (red) and Walker had saved "Mr. Zurg" (purple)from their lunch. Needless to say, they were all hot and stuck together (and a little dirty, I might add), but the kids were so proud of their gift.

I am sure at this point their teacher is just a bit perturbed with me. Walker came home last Thursday telling me he cried for me at school. Kathryn later told me the full story that Walker cried because I sent him Spiderman fruit snacks instead of the Toy Story fruit snacks I sent Kathryn. Did I mention I tried to get them in separate rooms???

I am thinking this Thursday, we may just leave the fruit snacks at home!

Wow! What a Weekend!

We have had so much fun this Labor Day weekend starting with swim lessons Friday morning. Walker and Kathryn love the water, and Ms. Julie is very patient to tackle these two at once!

Right after swim lessons, we headed to the zoo to catch up with Walker and Kathryn's new friends, Worthy and Claire. The kids kept us on the move, so I didn't get very good pictures. My two loved the petting zoo portion and especially the goats!

Nana and Papa came into town for the holiday. We met up with them at Ross Bridge where the kids were able to practice some of their new swimming techniques (the pool had a FUN slide that was located in the deep end so we were back to wearing our life jackets!).

After we had a good, long nap from all that swimming, we headed to Uncle Daniel and Aunt Cori's to watch the game. Here's Walker in his "basketball" jersey as he calls it. He kept wanting to know if we were going to watch the basketball game too:) Wrong season and wrong state, Little Buddy!

Sunday, we were back to the pool. Walker honestly could have gone down the slide one thousand times which is why I don't have a picture of him from last night. We couldn't keep him out of the water!

Kathryn and Daniel had fun showing off their balloon creations. If you are in the B'ham area and would like a fun party idea, the ladies at Bama Balloons are fabulous and their balloons are amazing! I am sure it will not surprise any of you that Kathryn chose an Ariel balloon!

We did drag Walker out of the pool to get a picture taken with the bagpiper! Kathryn LOVED him and followed him around and danced with the music.

Aunt Cori and Little D! We still have Monday ahead of us. But, wow, what a weekend!

Rise and Shine

Remember my son, the one that wants to wake up early to play computer??? Well, he was up at 5:45 a.m. this morning. He must not have received the memo that it is the weekend and people normally sleep in on those days! As a result, by 8:30 a.m., we had exhausted everything two kids could possibly do inside on a rainy morning.

So, we were in need of a reason to get out of the house. Quite frankly, I can't think of a better reason to get out of the house on a rainy Saturday morning than this....

That's right, Krispy Kreme doughnuts! Definitely worth getting out in all of the yuckiness!

Rise and Shine

So, why did my son want to wake up at 5:00 a.m. this morning? This is why....

Can you say like father like son? In a matter of one week, Walker has turned into a computer wiz! Notice the envelope in front of the keyboard. This is where I wrote out the password, so he can practice logging onto the computer. He has mastered the mouse and tons of games on the Nick Jr. website.

We even went to the library yesterday to check out some more games. I love his interest in computers, but I have to admit the early hours are killing me! I'm kind of hoping the newness will wear off soon:)

And what is Kathryn interested in these days? Oh, the usual--princesses and flowers--but she also has a new love...

This is Kathryn standing beside the frog at the library. She LOVES this frog. Well, I have to admit he's a close second to Sam the tarantula. Sam has molted, however, and has been put away for a few weeks. So, move over Sam and hello to the frog!

I guess a frog is appropriate for this little princess:)

On a different note, here's hoping everyone has a relaxing Labor Day weekend!!

Back to School

I though it would never get here, but Walker and Kathryn finally started school on Tuesday! You would think as excited as I was for them to start that I would have been a bit more organized. But in true "first day of school" fashion, we left the house without their backpacks. Thankfully, we were only a few minutes down the road!

I was obviously more interested in taking pictures than putting bags in the car. And Kathryn was more interested in bringing the entire house with her. This was all of the stuff we had to empty out of her backpack so she could fit her lunchbox and change of clothes!

In true school spirit, she wanted to wear her "Aubie bow."

Walker was all smiles. What a big boy!

Kathryn's instructions for this picture were for her to stand by one tire and Walker to stand by the other (notice I very nonchalantly replaced the Auburn bow for one that matched!).

This was my first and last day to walk them into school. The 3 and 4 year olds use the carpool line, so from now on, they'll walk in like big boys and girls without mommy!

We are looking forward to a fun-filled year!

Calling All Mommies!

(Photo courtesy of Sugar and Spice Mommy)

Hello, to all you mommies out there! Have I got great news for you! My most favorite "minister to mommies", Jean Stockdale, is beginning a new Bible study this fall on the book of Ephesians. For those of you who had the privilege of studying through Phillipians with Jean in the Spring, I know you are as excited as I am to embark on this new study with her!

If you are in the Memphis area, this semester's study begins Thursday, September 17. I encourage you to be a part of this wonderful ministry! You can go here for more information and for registration.

What's GREAT news for those of you like me, who are unable to attend the study in person, is the opportunity that Jean will now be offering for online Bible studies. This provides you the luxury of hearing Jean's messages, studying through the workbook and communicating with other mommas from the comfort of your own home!

Sounds great, doesn't it? I know I'm excited about this new online opportunity. If you would like to join me in this semester's study online, please leave a comment with your email address, and I will be in touch with more information. Or, as always, you can find out more by visiting Jean's blog.

But let me rewind and provide some background information for my non-Memphis friends. Jean is a faboulous wife, mother and grandmother, but even more importantly than all of those things, she is a devoted student of God's word, constantly seeking the Lord, His word, and His will. She mines precious nuggets of truth from the Bible which she in turn uses to encourage mommas in the everyday, ordinary things of life as well as the most important thing--raising our children up in the ways of the Lord.

At Bellevue, I had the privilege of sitting under Jean for three years and truly soaking up the wisdom and the truth of God's word. I do not over exaggerate when I say, I don't know where I would be today (as a wife or a mother), if not for the challenge of spending time in God's word and learning through these studies. The Lord truly had me in this fabulous ministry "for such a time as this."

For those of you in the Birmingham area, who perhaps have never had the privilege of hearing Jean speak, she will be at Hunter Street Baptist Church on Tuesday, September 15. If anyone is interested in attending, please again leave a comment and your email and we'll make it a date!