Fun Run

Harper's class wrapped up their "Wild West" theme on Friday complete with a trail ride and bonfire.  She was so excited to dress like a cowgirl and said she spent the whole day having lots of fun.

This morning we were up bright and early to head off to Handley's school. One of their largest fundraisers was happening this morning...a 5K and Fun Run.  The students ran by grade level and Handley had a blast!

After running the kids played in bounce houses, got treats, and we all enjoyed checking out the giant raffle baskets.

This afternoon Harper had a soccer game and these little Ladybugs did a great job!

Harper's 5 Year Well Visit

Earlier this week Harper had her 5 year old check-up.  My kids all love going to the doctor to get all of the treats.  They love playing in the waiting room, getting tokens for shots, and picking lollipops and stickers as we leave.

Just for my memory her stats were:

Weight - 43 lbs. - 75th percentile
Height - 43 1/2 inches - 75th percentile

She's healthy and happy and even thought she had to get two vaccines, she tried to smile right through it.  She was proud to show off her reading skills and a little shy to answer some questions she was unsure of.  Overall though, it was a great appointment!

On the way out, Hudson also found another prize...a tree branch he wanted his picture made with. :-)

Happy Easter!!!

Yesterday our plans for the big Easter Egg hunt were rained out, but the weather was just gorgeous today!

The kids were excited to wake us up and check out their baskets to see what kind of treats the Easter Bunny brought them.

Then we all got ready for church.  It was a beautiful service with wonderful music and the perfect way to celebrate on this Easter Sunday.  He is Risen!

Next we came back to Gigi and Papa's house and as soon as Ryan, Ryan and Heather came over the kids were off for their egg hunt. Gigi and Papa had hidden all sorts of eggs for them and lots of prize eggs (with money), too!  While we were waiting we saw a little bunny hopping around.  :-)

My computer is acting up and I couldn't get any of the other egg hunt pictures to load, but here are a few of Handley.  It was a wonderful day.  Happy Easter from our family to yours!

Kindergarten Sneak-a-Peek

Today was the Kindergarten Sneak-a-Peek at the elementary school.  Harper was so excited and felt so grown-up to be there.  We sat in the cafeteria for a little bit, were introduced to all of the Kindergarten teachers, and then the kids got into groups to go with a teacher for about a half an hour to see a classroom, do a few activities, play games, etc.  Harper jumped right up when it was time for her group to go with the teacher.  While I don't like the idea of her growing up, I know that she is very ready for this next step and excited to be starting real school.  I have no doubt that she will excel next year and will love going to school with Handley.

Later this afternoon while we were waiting to pick up Handley from school, we made a run by Target.  Harper got a few Target gift cards for her birthday from my parents and Rylan.  She had been asking me when she could go pick something out, so today was the day.  Before we even got there she asked me if she would have enough money to buy something for Hudson. I told her it was her birthday present and that she didn't have to buy him something, but she insisted that he pick out a little car and he was thrilled.  I told him he needed to be really sweet to Harper since she was being so giving to him and he immediately started hugging her and saying how nice he was being.  :-)  (Side note - Each night at dinner we go around the table and everyone gets to say what their best part of the day was...tonight Hudson said his best part was when Harper bought him a car.   I just loved that!)

As we entered Target I tried to suggest that we look at the books, DVD's or maybe even some new flip-flops.  She told me she really wanted to get a toy though so we spent a solid 30 minutes walking up and down the same few aisles so she could decide what she wanted.  She hemmed and hawed about the same few items she was picking.  She'd put them in our cart, then she'd put them back, then she'd look at the larger ticket item she was eyeing.  Then she asked me how much longer until Christmas or her next birthday so she could put it on her list if she didn't get it today.  I finally had to tell her it was time to go and that sent her into a tailspin.  She felt pressured and unsure of her decisions, even though I tried to reassure her over and over that she had picked some things I knew she would love.  The whole way up to the checkout she was still fretting and at one point I took everything out of the cart and just told her we would have to come back another day when we had more time.  She finally made her decisions though and I think she is happy with them.  She chose a  scooter for her American Girl Doll, a baby carrier and a snow-cone maker.

I remembered using the same exact snow-cone maker when I was a kid and thinking it was the greatest thing, so I was excited to try it out as an after school treat for the kids.  Since I was the one doing most of the grinding today, it wasn't nearly as awesome as I remember it being years ago.  It took a good 10 minutes to get enough shaved ice to fill one teeny-tiny cup.  The kids loved it though and had fun trying to make their own.

Harper's American Girl Party

Today we celebrated Harper turning 5 with a few of her closest friends at the American Girl Cafe.  I love planning my kids birthday parties, coming up with a theme, and have fun crafting all of the details.  This year though, since we still aren't in our house and we have so much else going on, I went with simple.  When I suggest the American Girl party to Harper she was thrilled and it was great for me because after sending out invitations to 6 of her closest friends, I literally didn't have to do another thing except show up there today.  They send you invitations to use, have the food, the cake, the favors and all.  It was just the kind of party I needed for her this year.

Harper was super excited for today. She received a new matching outfit for she and her doll for her birthday and they looked super cute all dressed up.

After getting there early to look around at the store a little bit, Harper's friends started arriving and she was so excited to see everyone.  A few of the girls at the party had never been to American Girl before, so they were in awe.

Harper really wanted a "drop-off" party so the moms got to shop at the mall while Gigi and I managed the girls during lunch.  They all were so sweet and did great!  Everyone enjoyed the yummy food, had fun with their dolls, and loved the cake!

Most importantly, Harper had a blast and loved getting to celebrate with her friends.  It was the perfect way to round out our sweet girl turning 5!

Slam Packed Saturday

We were barely recovering from our crazy week when we got up bright and early to start our slam packed Saturday.  6 AM is a early wake-up call during the week, but an even earlier one on the weekend.  We were happy to be up though, because it was for a fun and great cause.  It was the RT Run for Research...a 5K put on by RT every year to help raise funds for Parkinson's Disease research.

This event is really always a lot of fun because we know so many people there.  This year was no different.  A lot of our friends were running and just like last year, we had to get the stroller brigade picture.

Bless him, Robby pushed and ran with that double stroller the entire way. I was about to die just pushing Hudson up the hilly course, so I know he had more than double the extra weight with the girls.  We finished still smiling though and were ready to get the kids in line for their 1K fun run.  Handley and Harper were pumped and had been talking about the run for weeks.

They both did great and ran the entire time and finished close to the front.  Hudson wanted so badly to run with them, but was a little unsure of the whole idea, so Robby and I ran with him and he finished the race, too!

After the race the real fun began when we made our way around to see each vendor at collect our free goodies.  The kids think this is the best part of the race!

After racing Robby solicited the help of Justen and Brad to move a few things at the new house so we hung out there a while and then rushed back to Gigi and Papa's to eat lunch and get ready for Harper's soccer game.  She did awesome during her game and it sure was a hot one. We all kept saying we were ready to jump in a swimming pool after sitting out in the heat.

After her game we went back to Gigi and Papa's to get cleaned up and then made our way to the Hawk's game that night.  I wasn't sure the kids would last after such a busy day, but we stayed until almost the very end and they had so much fun.  It was no surprise when they all fell asleep on the way home.

Harper - 5 Years Old

I'm doing a major blog catch-up this evening with several posts.  This has been such an incredibly busy week and with Robby and I being out of town part of the week and then Harper's birthday and an equally busy weekend, I'm just now getting around to posting.  There were so many exciting things that happened though and I don't want to miss anything.

On Thursday morning, I woke up my sweet little 5 year old!  For the longest time, I would look at Harper and see the sweet little toddler she always was, but now I see her for what she really is...I beautiful little girl. She has been anticipating her 5th birthday for quite some time now and I was so happy her special day had finally arrived.

The morning was not as I would have liked for it to be - rushing everyone out the door bright and early to get Handley to school and then running all over town to get things to the house that needed to be there that morning - but we did make a run through the drive through to pick up donut holes for breakfast, which was a special birthday treat.

At school her teacher made her feel extra special.  She got a birthday card, crown, and bracelet to wear and she also got to blow out candles and have her friends sing "Happy Birthday" before blowing out candles and getting to enjoy a special birthday treat.

After school we didn't have time to go back to Gigi and Papa's that afternoon because of the traffic and we had to be back at Handley's school for a special 1st grade performance that evening.  So that is when the most incredible best friend in the world stepped in.  Seriously, Jen is the most thoughtful and giving person I know and I am so lucky to call her my best friend.  She invited us over for a little birthday party for Harper...complete with decorations and most importantly, cupcakes.  Harper felt so special and I was so grateful to Jen.

Later that evening we met up with Robby for a quick pizza dinner (Harper's choice), and then were off to Handley's musical performance.  She was so excited to sing with her classmates and did such a great job.

After the performance we finally got back to Gigi and Papa's house and let Harper open her gifts from us.  Hudson could not quite grasp why he wasn't getting any presents, but Harper was sweet enough to let him help open the gifts.

At five years old Harper:

• is incredibly sweet and caring. 
• has a wild hair and free spirit at times. 
• is a girly girl, but also can get down and dirty with her tomboy side.
• is incredibly sensitive and will cry at the drop of a hat. 
• knows how to "push buttons" and does so with her siblings and then plays innocent. 
• still sucks her thumb (a habit we are working very hard to break).
• has a hard time making decisions and likes to prolong the decision making process on everything. 
• is very social and loves being around her friends and all adults. 
• runs everywhere and is still like a bull in a china shop. 
• plays equally as well with Handley and she does with Hudson. 
• loves sports and will most likely end up being our athlete. 

The Masters 2014

We had an amazing time at The Masters today!  Last year was my first year attending and I had the best time.  I was hoping I could go back again this year was really looking forward to it.  Even though I'm not a golfer, just being on the ground and at the event is such a neat experience. 

At the last minute (like around 11 PM last night) we found out there were some people not able to come, so we called my brother and he jumped at the opportunity...even if it meant only getting a few hours of sleep since he'd be meeting us bright and early near Augusta the next morning.  It was his first time at the tournament and he loved every second.  

This year was even more memorable because the group we were with had connections with a pro caddy that spent most of the day with us.  He really gave us interesting behind the scenes information about the players, the caddies, and course and everything in between.  He also had access to some places not many people get to see like inside Butler's Cabin (where all of the Green Jacket winners are interviewed) and we also got to see the CBS Sports compound where all of the TV production happens. 

Everywhere you look is so beautiful.  The course and the landscaping are unlike anything you've ever seen.  I would LOVE for my yard to look half as picturesque.

Wednesday is just a practice day, so the official tournament doesn't begin until tomorrow. The good thing about going on a practice day is that you can bring cameras!  Thursday - Sunday cameras aren't allowed so I was excited to get to have some pictures.  Another interesting fact for those who don't know, cell phones are strictly prohibited.  I was a little anxious not having it with me all day (in case there was an emergency with the kids), but it is nice not to have that distraction

 Robby stayed in Augusta and gets to go again tomorrow. I'm home though and gearing up for a busy day tomorrow.  Harper's 5th birthday!!!  Also, Handley and all of the first graders are doing a musical performance at school tomorrow night. :-)