Garbage Can Audit

I think only Grace's Papa will be proud of this and it is for him that I post it.
Grace is continuing to do her chores and earn her allowance. One of her "favorite" chores is to empty the trash cans from the bathrooms into the main garbage can. I was watching her bring in the bathroom can into the kitchen out of the corner of my eye. I saw her walk in, put the can down, reach her hand in, pull out an empty toilet paper roll, put it on the table, and then emptied the can and left the kitchen. All without saying a word. She then came back and grabbed the roll to play with.
At least it wasn't food...

Welcome Cousin Aubrey!

We were so excited to be able to go over to Chattanooga to welcome Grace and Kate's new cousin- Aubrey! Here is Aubrey's last picture in her mommy's tummy with Kate- While we were waiting for delivery, we all ate lunch. We saw one of Laura's doctors walk into the cafeteria and she told us that all had gone well- we were so glad.

We all went back to Laura's room to wait. Grace was in charge of the watch from the hallway.And finally she came to see us!

"I Have An Idea" by Grace

"Why don't you get your camera, take a picture of us and put it on your computer so all your friends can see how cute we are. Sound like a plan?"

Big Weekend

After such busy days with the wedding and parties, Kate finally crashed- she couldn't even finish her bottle :o(

Happy 1st Birthday Liam!

When we got Liam's party invitation in the mail we couldn't believe he was 1! We decided to go to his party to check it out. We had a great time and he did turn 1- hard to believe how fast the time went!Kate's first ride in a swing- she loved it!

Congratulations Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Joel!

We were all excited to be a part of Jennifer and Joel's special day. I asked Grace if she was going to get married one day and she said "Well, if I meet my prince..."Jack and his sistersGrace and Caleigh decided there should be dancing and made their own dance floor
Before we pulled out of the parking lot...Miss Jessica was so kind to watch the girls so they could get some much needed sleep. Grace ASKED for a nap as soon as we got to her house. It was a busy few days!

Rehearsal Dinner

We had a good time catching up with Jack's family at Joel and Jennifer's Rehearsal Dinner.Too much partying for Kate ;o)Everyone wants to dance with the bride!

Happy 30th Birthday Aunt Jennifer!

Just before her big wedding day, Aunt Jennifer had a birthday and we were all excited to be able to celebrate it with her. It was also a good chance for us to get to meet Joel's family before the wedding festivities . We all had a good time eating and celebrating!

Can't Live With, Can't Live Without Them

We have been very lucky to be able to carpool with our friends, the Boryczkas, to Mother's Day Out this year. Little Tad is a year younger than Grace but they get along well. It's funny to listen to their little conversations on the way to/from school. They are usually one-sided but Grace never seems to give up or really realize Tad can't really talk yet. He has words but not really answers to her "How was your day? What do you have for lunch?, "Who you play with today?" It's funny because it's the exact questions we ask her.
Tad got into the car today and after a few minutes I heard "Tad! Tad! Hey- you not tell me I look beautiful today!" Poor Tad was just looking out the window pointing at trucks, he had no idea he had already done something wrong. I decided to cut him a break and told Grace that he did tell her that- she didn't hear him. She replied, in a disgusted tone- "No he didn't Mommy- he didn't even look at me. He need to look at me to see how beautiful I am!"
Poor Tad- I'd say one day you will learn but I don't know that you guys ever do... ;o)

FPA Golf Tournament/My Little Helper?

I am President of the Financial Planning Association and one of our goals this year was to hold our first ever golf tournament. Jack and I helped put the event together and one of our main jobs was to put together the goodie bags. I thought this would be a good job for Grace too. She was excited to help with the assembly line and was actually helpful putting things in the bags. She was putting the pens in first and then putting a sleeve of balls in next. I suggested she put the balls in first since they were bigger and she very adamantly told me no. I tried to explain my reasoning but she came right back with her reasoning. She put the balls in and then said "Look- if I put the balls in first, I not get the pen in" as she tapped the pen on top of the box of balls- nevermind all the space around the balls in the bag.... So, not only did she argue, she made up evidence to prove her point. I told Jack to sign her up for his law firm now because she is going to be good...

Oh- and the golf tournament was a great success!

Working at the Carwash

If You Love Something, Set it Free

Grace's caterpillars turned into 5 beautiful butterflies that were very busy in their "cage" every day. Two problems- 1- they looked a little crowded 2-they were only supposed to live 10-20 days. We weren't excited about explaining their death to Grace (Grace still thinks the cat Monster is on a trip) so we decided to let them go. We spent many days explaining to Grace that her friends needed to live outside and they wouldn't be coming back. She seemed fine with it so after church, we all went outside to say goodbye.

Kate saying her last goodbyes

Grace yelling "Fly! Fly!" They didn't really fly off like we had imagined.

Note the cat legs coming into the picture...we almost had to have the death talk right there..

So pretty!

Once they finally flew away, Grace spent the next ten minutes yelling for them to come back. She finally figured out they weren't coming and seemed fine with it. She still looks for them when she is out playing ;o)