Happy Birthday Daddy!

Chris turned 33 this week. Here are pictures from the party at Gigi's house.

I can't tell you how exciting it was for me to get a picture with everyone (Jonah) actually looking at the camera.
Baby Luke with Cousin Isaac.


In case you are wondering what we got for Daddy, I will remind you of his Father's Day, Birthday, Christmas, Valentine's present... The AMG. Other than that, there are some new clothes and PS3 Guitar Hero.

The Princess and the Tea

Maya and Gigi hosted a Princess Tea party last weekend. Not for a birthday or any other special occasion, but just for fun! Isn't that great? So many days seem to be filled with 'need to's' and 'have to's' (or what we think we need or have to do... but that's another post) that I think it's wonderful to get to do something fun, just because you want to. Maya loves princesses and tea parties so Gigi invited some friends and their daughters/granddaughters over last Sunday for a Princess Tea Party. It was frilly and fabulous. Maya was in heaven!

Please notice the precious princess castle cake that our dear and talented friend, Marissa, made (and graciously invited Maya to help with.) Thank you, Marissa!

Princesses Cora, Maya and Lauren

Omi, Gigi, Princess Maya, Princess Cora and me! See? I do get in pictures occasionally (but only when I have cropping authority.)

Beautiful princess sisters, Leah and Maddie.

Three beloved generations of Villagers and the awesome Wilson girls.

My Amish friend, Jan (inside joke), and her sweet daughter Marissa, the cake artist.

Snow White (Princess Cora) getting ready to fit her tiara.

Lovely Princess Leah and her magic mirror.

So what else do princesses do besides sip tea, you ask? Well, dance, of course!


And in case you were wondering where Jonah was during all of this girliness... He was Opa's fishing buddy! When he got home he proudly spread his arms out wide and said, "I caught a fish thiiiis big!" Too cute, my buddy boy, toooo cute.

A Walk in the Park

We had some fun at Crockett Park on Friday. It has always been Maya's favorite park. I assumed it was because of the castle in the middle, but she informed me that it's really because she loves the tire swing. (And I love the shade!)

La pièce de résistance - the tire swing. (Oh, how I love simple pleasures.)

Scaling Mt. Everest.

"Whoaaaaa!"
A brief break in their play planning for Mommy and the camera.

Luke practicing a little mulch munching. (Ok, it was cheerios. But he was very tempted by that mulch too.)
I decided I needed some proof that I was there too, in case someday my kids ever wonder if I really existed. My Mom fusses that I always sneak out of pictures or delete the ones that I'm in. I promise, as soon as I figure out how to airbrush them, you'll see me in more pictures. (I'm still looking for that magical camera lens that makes you lose 10 pounds with every shot.)

And two more happies for you:

Digital Scrapbook

I am a proud, card holding member of the 'Scrapbooking Drop Out Club'. Although, I don't think I can even call myself a drop out since I never really got started. I scrapbooked one time and ended up with six pages after NINE HOURS of work. Clearly not my forte. I decided that the goal of one day completing our three little baby albums is probably about all I can manage. Hey, we all have our gifts and scrapbooking is obviously not mine. So, here's a quick 'digital scrapbooking' session fo ya. Enjoy! (And please use your imagination to add in all those cute little decorations.)

Maya loves to help with her baby brother. She is very careful with him and as you can tell from the next picture, did a much cleaner job feeding him the peas than I did with the carrots.

Before bath...

...and after bath.

Here is Jonah (how'd you guess?) after his first class at MyGym. He loves it!

If you like the shirt check out EmTanner's other designs (the lunch boxes and plates are adorable.) You can also read my review on Mommies with Style which includes a great coupon code.

Daddy and Lukie having fun at the birthday picnic for Uncle Brian at Arrington Vinyards. "The only thing that seperates us from the animals is our ability to accessorize!" - Clairee in 'Steel Magnolias'.

Sweet self portrait - I didn't know she had taken it until I uploaded my other pictures. When did she have my camera?

Oh, it must have been the same time Daddy was taking pictures of his new love - the AMG.

Lukers missing out on some sibling fun in the sun.

Maya's favorite pastime. (She will not have a computer in her room, she will not have a computer in her room, she will not... or a phone, or a boy... where is that child containment bubble when you need it.)She's even got Jonah in on it too.

And this is why, my friends, he gets ten million kisses a day. What a cutie patootie!!

Testing out that gift for music he gets from my side of the family... ha ha ha. Maybe one of them will be blessed with my singing voice. Ok, that wasn't even funny, just scary. If you ever 'see' me singing but no sound is coming out, don't make fun, just be thankful.

Do you like the fishing hat we made for my Dad? Well, you can't just give someone a gift card. You have to have a fun way to wrap it. Presentation is everything, you know? :) HAPPY BIRTHDAY OPA!! 68 years young. WE LOVE YOU! One of Dad's favorite sayings: "Do not resent to grow old. Many are denied the priviledge."

And in closing, I'll leave you with this little gem of a shot. Chris showing my Mom why she should really invest in a different style of reading glasses.

Rockin' Grandma

Last week Chris and I went to Douglas Corner to watch his mom (Carol Tornquist a.k.a. "Gigi") play with her friend Rob Galbraith (Ronnie Milsap's producer.) I caught this clip with my camera. Gigi is on the far right on the keyboard. Go Gigi, go! (Remember to scroll down and pause the blog playlist before playing the video.)

Here's our Gigi with Bruce Dees and Rob after the show. (Chester Thompson, David Hungate, Jack Pearson and Kira Small were also part of the group.)

Bring the Rain

I have been heartbroken and weeping today because of this incredible story of a beautiful girl, a faithful mother and a glorious God. If you are somewhere where you can't cry right now, then read it later and pray for this family. You will be blessed. I have learned much, hugged tighter and prayed more faithfully since reading it. Bless you Angie and Audrey.

Like Fish to Water

Don't you just love Summertime? All you need is a little bit of water to have a whole lot of fun. The kids are all doing great and having lots of fun this summer. I guess I thought since we weren't taking any trips until September (Rosemary Beach here we come! WooHoo!) that it was going to be a nice slow, quiet summer. (You all know I like slow and quiet.) Toots is loving the summer camp she goes to two days a week. She and Buddy also have swim lessons twice a week and they both go to gymnastics every week too. Whew!

Can you believe Pookers is 8 months old already? Within the last two months he's started sitting up on his own, gotten his first tooth (and is already working on the second one), started crawling, can pull up to standing and will even take little steps while holding your hands. Apparently my kids didn't read my memo about liking things to progress slowly (or quietly!)

Now why doesn't all back fat look this cute? He's just so yummy!

And how 'bout this little bit of brotherly love?