silent Sunday -- Driveway party!

mini moto races

We love visiting dad at work.  (He's the director for a motorcycle company and he oversees the operations of 4 dealerships in the Georgia area)  We expecially love when their are fun events at work because we love to go see all the bikes in action!

I mean who wouldn't love a job in which you can wear shorts to work?!?  He's so spoiled.  He has the best job ever and I'm not even kidding. Plus, he's really good at it too!

Hayden loves to try out all the units.  He pretty much wants one of everything.  He informed us that he's almost 7 and he needs a dirt bike.  Honestly if it were up to Gary and Hayden, they would both have dirt bikes.  I'm the one that beggs them to wait.  UGGGHHH!  I've already been through a torn ACL due to Gary riding a dirt bike.  I'll have a coronary when Hayden starts riding, but I can't fight it forever. It's in these guys blood.  I'm good with just doing soccer!  ;)

Hayden is a Honda guy.  He's a fan of the red and white.  I'd love for him to get a Yamaha. I'm partial to the royal blue, and they did give us a pay check for a year or two once upon a time!

Watching the races was really fun.  The riders did a good job in the heat of the day.  They were even comical.  I loved watching them race the vintage bikes.

After the races we hung out with dad for a bit and this little lady in all her bossy-ness sat at dads desk for awhile.  She's so silly and would make a great CEO.  She looks like a natural huh?!?

After our long day of motorcycles we decided to cool off at the pool!  I'm thankful for a fun neighborhood pool for us to relax and see friends!

Happy weekend ya'll!

sweet summer!

The kiddos are so ready for summer time!  We are all going to love having a relaxed schedule.  We are looking forward to camping and going to the beach!

Today was the first day and we went to the pool and swam for a few hours.  Then Hayden rode his bike while Layla, Daisy and I walked.  After that we went to the park.  The kids played chase while I rested for 5 minutes.  

Geeezzz.  

They're keeping me busy!  

I'm loving their ages and the fact that pool days are much easier for this momma the older they get.  Hayden needs a little help in the water, but in a few weeks he'll be swimming like a fish like his sister and I'll be bored at the pool.  I definitely have to find me some neighborhood pool friends!

Here's to a fun summer in GA!

last day of school

I just love this pic of our munchkins before their last day of school.  You can see the excitement in their eyes!

Schools out for SUMMAA!

Here they are first and last days....his first grade year and her fourth grade year.

Layla was extra excited about her last day because she was having an end of school sleepover with 3 of her buddies.  They were so sweet to let Hayden tag along a bit.  He wasn't a fan of making dance videos, so when they did that he was playing Legos.  

I think they all had a great last day!  I'm thankful for fun friends and a great school!

Yearbook signing party!

 I just wanna bottle up these moments and make them last forever.  I love hearing Layla's stories about all her friends.  I enjoy hearing who's dating who.

WHAT?
Excuse me.

Yes, you heard me.

They call it 'dating' now-a-days. In fourth grade we called it 'going together', and then of course my dad would say, "Where are you going?"

This picture was supposed to be a boyfriends and girlfriends picture.

I was taking pictures like crazy.  I'm sure I embarrassed Layla to death.  

Oh well, get used to it sister....we gotta take tons of pictures to remember these days.  I'd give anything if I had a blog of my childhood memories.

So speaking of embarrassing....

I asked her to take a picture with her (first) Shhhhh!  don't tell her I'm telling you boyfriend.  She hates this picture, but I think it is awesome.   She keeps saying mom, "Why didn't I smile?" 

Speaking of boyfriends, how in the world is she just now crushing on boys?  Maybe she isn't telling me, but I was BOY CRAZY!  I was chasing boys in kindergarten, writing love notes and begging my first grade crush to be my boyfriend.  He always said no.  Hmmm.  Maybe I was to pushy.  BUT he did let me borrow his white crayon ---- Haha!  My first grade YEAR was made!! That white crayon made the best looking puffy clouds ever. He has no idea how much I loved that white crayon moment.  

Anyway, I got off on my crush story.  Back to Layla.  She asked me if I had a boyfriend in fourth grade.  I said no, but that I had plenty of boyfriends before then.  The reason I remember I didn't have a boyfriend in fourth grade is because I sneeze farted in class one day.  YEA...MOR.TI.FIED!!  I was so embarrassed.  I'm sure you're thrilled to hear that about me.

 Soooo, Layla had a great fourth grade year and I'm so happy to report that she didn't sneeze fart!  :-)

Aloha Party!

Today was Hayden's first grade end of school Aloha party.  The kids played tons of games including pineapple bowling, tube races and bag jump which in my day was the potato sack race.

They ate a fun lunch of pizza and cupcakes in the classroom.  I'm so thankful I was able to be there!  I can't believe they only have two days left.  Ssummer is so close.  Tomorrow Layla has her fourth grade party.  I'm about to have a second grader and a fifth grader!  Oh my!

happy kiddos [finally} at TopGolf

Gary and I have been to Top Golf a couple of time since moving to the Atlanta area.

The kids were not happy with us going without them, but we decided to try it out and make sure it was fun before taking them.  You know, we wouldn't want to take them somewhere lame. ;) heeheehee!

We took them today!  The wait was crazy long, so we drove to check out a nearby lake and then we went back.  The wait was a bit shorter but we still had to wait.  We ate a few appetizers and the kiddos go the donut holes.  Top Golf serves infusable donut holes.  It is brilliant!!

I love my guys!!

We had a wonderful time and the kids seemed to love golfing at Top Golf.  Layla was doing amazing.  At one point Hayden was complimenting Layla on her swing.  He said, "wow those golf lessons really paid off!"  I'm surprised he remembers her taking golf lessons in Texas.

Ahhhh!  I love this girl!  This is what our selfies have turned into.  Silly stinker!

We had a fun day golfing.  At one point it was raining and we were completely dry.  

Yay for indoor golfing!

my latest job performance review

Parenting these two kiddos is my full time job.  For now it is my number one job.  I think someday I will have a work outside the home job again, but for now I am thankful I get to focus on these kiddos.  I get to be here when they get off the bus after school.  I get to be here all summer long.  

With all jobs my job can be hard.  Sometimes I feel like a glorified maid.  Sometimes I feel like a short order cook.  On those weird emotional days the mom guilt creeps into my brain and I just feel awful for moving these two kiddos from Texas to Ohio to Georgia all within a few years.  I know people move all the time, but as a kid I didn't.  I went to the same school my whole grade school career.  Our family lived in several different houses, but all in the same town.   I know I don't have to raise my kids the way I was raised.  BUT I've still felt like we could break our kids by moving them. Guess what...

They are not broken.  They may be better than I was as a kid.  

They are doing wonderful and they are loving it here in Georgia.  

How do I know this?  

Because earlier today Layla stood gazing out the window and she said, "Mom, I love it here.  I love our house and my school and my friends.  I can't wait to help you and dad get our backyard cleaned up and looking better."

She said she liked it here!!!!!

  I can't blame her.  The weather is amazing.  We live in a fun part of town near stores and fun restaurants.  We have huge trees and lakes all around us.  We have a perfect house for our family right now at this stage of our lives.  I think I'm doing ok at my job, with Gary's help of course, and we are guiding these children down the right path.

 I feel a sense of relief that us moving and starting over twice in a few years hasn't broken the children.  It's made them stronger and you know what? It's made me stronger and seeing them grow and learn and face the moving fears has helped me.  I'm learning so much about my adult self through all this.  God knows what he's doing and he knew what he was doing giving me this job of being a mom.  I think I've learned more about myself since having kids.  I'm growing up myself!

momma, baby and my lily

This isn't a great picture because I was sitting on the top deck and I had to zoom in with my phone, but what a fun capture none the less.

We saw a mommy deer and her baby walking in the alley way behind our house.  There is a small creek bed that flows down to the lake and the deer love to graze on who knows what along the way.  Lily spotted the baby standing alone and she was just as tall as it.  It was so sweet and the mom wandered off and Lily decided to stand still and have a stare off with the fawn.

The momma must have smelled the quiet Lily and she came back stomping.  She was not a happy momma, but Lily never moved.  She was just watching the baby and really I think she wanted to play.  Lily is just so sweet.  She wants a new friend! 

Finally the momma got to her baby and turned it around and off they went down the creek bed.  Most people in the neighborhood complain about the deer.  Heck, the are almost tame and they eat everything you plant, but I'm personally enjoying them.  The haven't jumped our fence yet, and they are just so fun to watch.  It's not rare to see them standing in the middle of the road, or up near a front door step eating whatever they can.  I joke that it's wild kingdom in our area!  

Mommy day out!

This afternoon I met my new friend Piper for brunch and then we went to the swimming pool to relax a bit.  Summer is fast approaching and we wanted to have some relaxing momma time before the kiddos are home 24/7.

I'm trying to protect my face from the sun so I have a great view while laying around in a lounge chair.  I was the person that made fun of funny beach hats, and now I love them.

All the children all over the place were attending school and the life guards looked bored, so we decided to try out the water slide.  WOW...so much fun.  We laughed so hard.  She was on one slide and I was on the other and she managed to get this picture that perfectly matches my personality.  Mouth open screaming and yelling!   What a fun time!!

fourth grade musical treat!

This morning Gary and I went to see Layla's music performance at school.

She made me giggle.  She was all business.  She sang every word and barely cracked a smile.  The group of kiddos were so cute and they put on a great show!

I'm thankful for some of the great kiddos Layla hangs out with!

Southern Style Bloody Mary

Gary is great at making adult beverages.  I guess it's all those years ago when he was a bartender.   Anyway, sometimes I crave a nice spicy Bloody Mary and if Gary knows anything it's spicy.  I decided to share his recipe because it's just too good not to.

I feel so healthy when I drink a Bloody Mary.  You know you have to get your veggie in! ;)

Cheers friends!

Dragonflies soccer

Today was the Dragonflies last soccer game of the spring season.  It was a fantastic season and I am so proud of Layla.

I can remember a time in Ohio when Layla played soccer and she hated it!  She didn't want to go to practice, and absolutely hated the games.  I know she loved the sport, but coaches and teammates are so important when playing a sport.  

This season in Georgia she was blessed with a coach that rocked.  He knew how to build the girls up.  He saw their strengths and weaknesses and helped each and every girl get better and build more confidence.  I'm not sure if he's coaching again next season, but if he does we would love to have him coach Layla again.  She improved and acquired so many new skills this season.  It was so fun to watch her grow and learn and I couldn't be more proud.

She took a hard ball to the chest on Saturday.  She got the wind knocked out of her, but she recovered and played again later in the game.  The game was rough and they fought hard, but ended the season with a loss.  I don't think anyone on the team really lost though.  They all gained tons of memories and friends to last forever.  It was a winning season for sure!!

tiny chef

This little lady loves to be in the kitchen as much as I do.  She begged all evening to make homeade dog treats and wanted to make them while I was busy in the kitchen cooking.  Our kitchen isn't super large so I kept saying NO!

 Finally she wore me down.  

She found a pinterest recipe for dog treats and had them whipped up and in the freezer in no time.

The pups devoured their treats and have more leftover for days to come. 

 I love my mini chef and so do Lily and Daisy!

My Obagi Journey

I'm a simple girl when it comes to skin care.  I don't wear foundation, but I love me some moisturizer.  I make my mother cringe. Why?  Because she is an aesthetician, a skin care professional.  I wash my face with Dove soap, I use a Loreal toner and a Loreal moisturizer with SPF 15.  Sometimes at night I take my makeup off with my favorite face wipes I buy at BigLots for one whole dollar.  $1.00!!!  Yes, cucumber scented pre-moistened wipes make me happy at night before bed, as does my anti-aging St. Ives night cream.  So, I'm on a pretty inexpensive skin care regimen.  I feel like I have been blessed with good skin.  I'm 38 years old for the next few weeks.  On April 24, 2015  

I saw this....

DO YOU SEE THAT SUN SPOT?  I had tons of them when I was pregnant with each kid.  Then they went away.  Well, I'm not pregnant friends.  I'm just getting old and I'm not having those little baby feet walking across my forehead. 

On Tuesday I started using a 6 step program made by Obagi.  I'm doing it and I'm writing about it because I want to show the results.  I want to make sure that when Layla goes back and reads our online scrapbook, this blog, she will remember to wash her face and put on sunscreen.  

Ain't nobody got time for bad skin.

As I approach my 39th birthday here in a few weeks I will be on my way to better skin.  My family blessed me with some of the Obagi products for Mother's Day and my upcoming birthday.  The only things I am asking for for my birthday are beach hats!! I want all the cute and fun hats and caps I can find.  I'm gonna be outside so much this summer, but I'll have my face under cover!

tiny baker

Layla loves to cook and be in the kitchen with me.

She decided to bake cupcakes!  She did everything all by herself with help from Hayden.  He's a great helper and he puts up with Layla's bossy attitude.  

She made tie-dyed cupcakes and decorated them including added a filling.  She's fancy and pretty good as a baker.  She's going to do big things in the kitchen this summer.  I'll have her cooking dinner for us every night! ;)

She even made a few double stacked cupcakes and the green and yellow cupcakes are Baylor cupcakes.

Yummy yummy!

first grade field day

Hayden's field day was bright and early this morning.  Gary and I went to school to hang out for a bit.

Hayden loved his sno-cone and he loved running and playing even more.  He is so competitive!

My favorite game was this one above....

The kids had to fill a bucket with water with a cup that has holes in the bottom.  It's so funny to watch them giggle and laugh as they try to strategically fill the bucket!  They love getting soaking wet!  

What a fun way to start the week.  

Only 12 more days of school and then summer is here!!  WooHoo!

Mother's Day 2015

I enjoyed a fun day on the lake today for Mother's Day!

Gary got to do alittle wake boarding and I got to do some sun tanning.

We took snacks and drinks and pretty much spent all day on the water!

The kids tubed so much that the back of Layla's thighs got sunburned.  She's hating the burn, but she had so much fun on that tube with her buddies.

We did some floating in the water and jumping off the boat.

It was a great way to spend Mother's Day!  I'm so happy for the warm sun!  I feel like I got more sun here in Georgia in one day than I ever got in Ohio.  It's great to be back in the south!!