Play Dates and Dinners!

We have really had a fun week!!  Lots of time spent with great friends!  Last Wednesday we were going to go to the zoo with some friends, but it had been taken over by field trips and was soooo packed.  So, we decided to skip that and went downtown to Railroad Park instead.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day, and the kids had fun playing on the playground and just running around in the open field.  On Thursday night I got together with my friend Natalie for a while.  We'd been trying to get together for what seems like forever, so it was so much fun to hang out and catch up!  Then on Friday we had a play date with my MOPS group at the Petting Zoo at Oak Mountain State Park.  Bryant absolutely LOVED all of the animals!!  He is just like me when I was a child. :)  Once again it was a beautiful day and we had a great time.  Then on Saturday night we had some friends come over to cook out at our house.  And then on Sunday night we went out to lunch with some friends after church, and then went over to some friends house for dinner and just to hang out.  So like I said, LOTS of great time spent with friends!!  Josh and I are so blessed to have so many amazing friends in our lives!  Below are lots of pictures from the week. :)

 One of her favorite things to do now is climb onto the fireplace. :/  It is not my favorite.

Such a handsome little boy!

Rock climbing

 He made it to the top! ;)

 They're all running out their energy!!

 Bryant & Ella checking out the peacock at the petting zoo.

 Heehaw!!

 Taylor liked checking all the animals out too!

Bryant walked right up and petted the goat.  He had no fear!

Climbing fences is so fun. :)

 Lots of horses.

 The cutest farmer and donkey I've seen!

 TALL slide!

 She LOVES to swing!

 Yummy, messy pasta.

 Such a happy girl!

 Chillin'

 Harper and Bryant watching out the door.

 Taylor wanted to go outside.

 My boys!

 Bryant had so much fun playing this disc toss game with Mr. Matt.  He was already talking about going back over to Matt & Hillary's on the way home. :)

I see you!!

Until next time…

Heather

Happy Easter!!

We had a wonderful Easter weekend!!  On Thursday Bryant had his Easter party at school.  He got to do an egg hunt and have a special Easter lunch.  On Friday we went to Chickfila with Luke & Ella and the kids had lots of fun!  Then Saturday and Sunday was spent as a family.  We just hung around the house a lot on Saturday.  Then we went to our church's Easter service on Saturday night.  It was an amazing Easter celebration…what a privilege to openly worship our risen Savior!!  Afterwards we went to dinner with the Broach's (Luke & Ella).  On Sunday the Easter bunny came to see us.  I kept the baskets very simple this year.  I wasn't even going to do baskets (I know, so mean ;)), but my sister gave me an awesome idea that she does.  The kids each got 3 things in their basket.  One thing they wanted (toy), One thing they needed, and one candy.  And the reason it was 3 things is because Christ gave us 3 things during this Easter season: 1. His body on the cross, 2. New Life through His resurrection, 3. The Holy Spirit through His ascension.  So not only are they not just getting a ton of junk in their baskets (that I have to go through the trouble of finding and buying), but it is also tying the Easter bunny (secular side of the holiday) to the real reason for the holiday!  Win-Win!  Since we'd already gone to church the night before we just hung out on Sunday.  Then Sunday afternoon we headed downtown to go to a Birmingham Barons baseball game.  We all had tons of fun at this, but Bryant especially did.  They have a kids-zone at the baseball park that has different jumpies/bouncy houses at it.  It's $5 extra, but TOTALLY worth it!  Bryant just bounced and slid over and over.  It's always lots of fun to get to spend time together as a family.  :) Below are tons of pictures from our weekend.

 My Family at church!

 Love these three!!!

 Precious kiddos!

 She is just too cute.

 Me and my baby girl!!

 Handsome boy

 The kids Easter baskets!  Bryant got a big bubble wand, crocs (Target's brand…he was seriously so excited about those), and Reese's pieces shaped like a carrot.  Taylor got a small bubble wand, some sippy cups, and some Annie's bunny grahams. :)

 We had to play with our bubbles immediately.

 Taylor liked hers too…or at least the tag part. ;)

Beautiful girl in her new Masters outfit from Poppi.

 The boys sporting their new Masters shirt and Bryant's new Masters hat from Poppi.  We LOVE golf!!

 Outdoor fun

He loves to swing.

Going through the obstacle course at the Barons game.

 He made it!

 He probably slid down this thing over 25 times.

 Watching the baseball game.

 This picture makes me giggle.  The boys are intently watching the game…Taylor's just having fun!!

Sweet girl!  She still looks small in her daddy's arms. :)

Until next time…

Heather

Road Trip to North Carolina!!

We have had such a fun week!  The kids and I DROVE up to North Carolina to visit my sister and her family.  I was extremely nervous about the drive, but decided we would try it because we all wanted to see each other!  So, we went down to Opelika last Thursday afternoon and spent the night there.  This took a little over an hour off of our drive on Friday, but we also needed to take Sampson to my parents because at the time Josh was suppose to be out of town.  Anyway, it took us 9 hours to get up there on Friday, but we made it.  And it actually wasn't near as bad as I thought it would be.  I've got some good kids. :)  While in NC we had an absolute blast!  Not only did we get to see Shawn, Shelley, Tyler, & Addie, but we also got to see Andre because it was his spring break so he was there.  The kids just played and played.  Cousins are the best!  And while there we got to do an Easter Egg Hunt that one of Shelley's friends parents put on every year.  It was so fun!  We stayed until Wednesday, and it was just great.  I love my sis and her fam. :)  We drove back to Opelika on Wednesday, and it was an even more flawless trip back.  So easy, that we hung out in Opelika for a few hours and then I decided we would just go ahead and drive on back to Bham.  So that's what we did!  It was very nice to all sleep in our own beds last night.  I'm so thankful all the travels went so good because now I know we can totally handle doing it again!!  Below are TONS of pictures from our trip!

The night we got there…already having a blast together!

Y'all…isn't she so cute!!

 Precious girl is ready to hunt some eggs!!

 Sweet boys

 They are all three ready to go.

 Silly boys.  Anything Tyler did Bryant had to do too!

 This was a REAL Easter egg hunt…like hidden in bushes and trees real. :)

 He really had to reach for that one!

 Checking out their loot!

 Seriously…this is the best one I got of them. :/

 She has paint on her face from chewing on her basket.

 This picture…  No words.

 Book time!

 She can read her own book. ;)

 Boys!!  When did Andre get so big??!? ;(

 Frozen Yogurt break

 Tyler came downstairs and said, "Look, I put on khakis and wore a blue and orange shirt so that Bryant and I could match." :)

 Pillow Fight!

 Buddies :)

 Bed Head

 Meal time!!

 Showing off ALL her teeth!

Cousins!! (6,3,2,almost 1)

Until next time…

Heather