We're goin' to the zoo, zoo, zoo...

On Monday, we went with our friends to the Atlanta zoo. Melinda bought a season pass, and she got some free passes, so it was very little money for all of us to go. We took: Collin, Cayleigh, Mason, Mallory, Ava, Dawson, Amanda, Adam, Aubrey, Brendan and Baylee. It was quite a crowd! The kids had a great time. When I asked, Mallory's favorite animals were the pandas and Mason loved everything.

It was hot, and it rained during lunch. We ended up sitting just outside the Cyclorama doors to have our picnic. The kids didn't care. By the time we started to eat lunch, they were just hungry. They would have sat in the rain. The kids played on the cool playground and went to the petting zoo. Each child chose two activites to do, also. Mason chose to go rock climbing and Mallory wanted to ride the carousel (of course!). Then we all rode the little train that went around the Children's Zoo. It was fun and the kids had a great time.


One of the last things we did before leaving was go to the parakeet house. You could buy sticks with food on it to feed the birds. It was a big cage with lots of parakeets. They would just fly around to anyone who had a stick and eat off their stick. The kids were a little nervous at first (as was I) but when they got the hang of it, they loved it. The birds would actually fly right to you.

By the time we got in the car, everyone was really ready to go home. We'd been there since 9:45 and we left around 3:30. It was a long, hooooooooot, day. But a trip everyone will remember!






















Mallory was facinated by Willie B.




















They both loved feeding the birds.














Mallory and Brendan watch as the panda has a snack.




















Mason got half-way up and decided that was far enough! Go Baylee!





There are a bunch of pink flamingos when you go in the gate to the zoo. The kids were facinated!

More summer fun!

The kids had another fun day at VBS this morning. Afterwards, we went swimming at Melinda's pool. The kids have a great time there and didn't want to leave today. (Mason wants to move into her neighborhood!) It was crowded today but the kids (all 11 of them) didn't seem to mind.

Mason is getting braver when he jumps into the pool. He's taking a running start and jumping as far as his little legs will take him. And, yes, I do feed him!

Ayden, Mason and Ava started the jumping together to see who could jump off first. Makes me a nervous wreck. Look how close Ava is to the side!

Bradley had a great time at the pool. He didn't hesitate in the water and didn't want to leave!




















This is Mallory's favorite thing to do. She can float all by herself and go wherever she wants to in that float.



The kids are having a great summer. We've got lots planned (or atleast our planner, Emily, keeps everything planned. Thanks, Em!

We had supper club at Ma's house tonight. This was the last one for a few weeks. They are taking a family trip to New York next week, so we'll not have our club for two weeks. It makes me sad! I'll miss them.

Bradley Dean

Andrea's son, Bradley, came to visit this week. We picked him up yesterday afternoon in Chattanooga. They went to VBS this morning, had lunch at Wendy's, saw a magician at the library, went to Mallory's cheer practice tonight and finished out the night with dinner at the Mexican restaurant. He probably felt like he was on a roller-coaster. But he's been a trooper. I get tickled at him every time we get in the car. He wants to know where we are going and exactly how long it will take us to get there. He's become my new "back seat driver". I ran over a curb this afternoon at Wendy's and he says, "Aunt Staci, Those curbs are everywhere. You have to watch out for them!" I laughed so hard. It was a busy day, and I didn't have my camera with me. I promise some pictures tomorrow.

He went to bed without complaint, even though I think 8:00 was early for him. He only got up once, but he just wanted water. Bless his heart! I hope he has a good time!

Good night, my sweet angels!

Our newest adventure...

Mallory has never been involved in any organized...anything. So when Cheerleading was offered through the church's Upward program, I thought it would really be something she was in to. She LOVES it! She doesn't quite "get it" yet, but she's practicing and loves to wear her uniform. Her first game was Monday night and it went pretty well, considering: it was hot, the bugs were bad, I forgot bug spray, and the uniform really didn't fit her that well.

Gracie joined in the fun and is fitting in well with us Baptists!















Bless her heart! She does what the other girls do for "spirit", and most of them just kick their leg out! She's so cute!














2 x 4 plus 8 is 16...all for Upward...stand up and lean. A lean, lean, lean, lean....















Space girls, spread out so you don't kick each other when you show your "spirit"!

They really are very cute. And they really are learning alot. The games are Monday nights at 7:00. Anyone is welcome to join. Just bring a chair...and some bug spray!

And not to be outdone by his sister, Mason is playing flag football. He got on a team at the last minute on Monday night, so his jersey didn't even match. He was so excited! I don't really understand the game yet, but we'll learn.

Gulf Shores 2009 (Take 2)

We had a great time at our trip to the beach. The kids love the beach and never wanted to leave it. Here are some of the clips we got from the trip.

Our family photo. Mallory wasn't too happy because she'd been up a long time, had been at the beach all day, and was ready for bed.

Abby loved the swings. She must have ridden this ride 3-4 times and was more beautiful each time!




















This was Mason's favorite ride. This year he was finally tall enough to ride the kiddie carts by himself. He was so afraid to bump the other cars that he would sometimes stop to let other carts go past him.















After a long day at the beach and night at the "carnival"!















Mason loves the beach!




















Two little boys built this little pool on the beach. Mallory thought it was so cool and spent most of the day sitting right in this spot. She would collect sea shells and hermit crabs and put them in the pool to watch. She was so cute.



















Look at those muscles!















They held on to their last ticket so they could convince their dad to take them back to the "carnival" before we left town. It worked!















We wanted to take the kids to play putt-putt because Mallory had never been before. At each hole, Mason would "line up" his shot. It was so funny to watch him imitate something he had seen a grown-up do on TV. And he was very serious about it!

Overall, it was a great trip! Our condo was beautiful and the view from it was awesome. We ate breakfast every morning from the balcony. We'll definitely be going back.

Off to the beach

Well, the kids and I are headed to my mom's house in a little while. We are leaving with her in the morning for the beach. Gulf Shores, Al. to be exact. We have an amazing condo (for cheap!) and three days in the sun. I can't wait and the kids are really excited too.

Bubbles, bubbles, bubbles

Last month, at our Spring Fling, some friends of ours gave the kids a bubble machine. Last night while we were in the back yard, Christian turned it on for the kids. They absolutely loved it!! And, WOW! It makes a lot of bubbles. The box said 4000 per minute and I believe it. These are just some of the cute shots we took of them. Thanks Julia and Katie for the bubble machine!

So much for...

...A quiet morning. You'll probably get lots of posts from me this summer like this one. The kids decided to break out their new water toy at 9:00 this morning.







Can you tell they are ready to go to the beach?

Lazy summer days

I took this picture this morning, because this is how we start most every summer morning.

Can you see them in there?

They both take all of their blankets, pillows, and stuffed animals out of their beds from the night before, and bring them to the living room to watch cartoons. We do have more furniture to sit on, but they prefer to sit right on top of each other. They can stay this way until either Mason gets hungry or Mallory gets down too many times. Then Mason will complain and ask her to move to the couch. This usually occurs around 10:00.

I just think its cute that they start their day like this, with all of their "friends" and each other.

On another note, I've had to devise a plan for Mason's eating habits. The other day, he wanted something to eat every 20 mins. So today, I set the timer and told him he'd have to wait until the timer went off. I'm setting it for 2 hour intervals. Otherwise, he'd want something from the kitchen at every commercial. Lets see if this works!

Summer fever/Updates

Mallory is feeling much better today. She spent two days on a cranberry juice diet, and we decided that chips and cheese would have to be put on hold for a while. Poor baby. She felt so bad. I felt bad for her, but she discovered that she loves cranberry juice!

We started our day today looking at a new house. We are in desperate need of more space, and the housing market is prime for buyers right now. If you know my husband, you know that making a decision on something takes him a long time. He takes forever (FOREVER!) to make up his mind. I've found more houses than you can count, but Christian is always looking for the best deal. Or is afraid to settle on something because "something better" may just be around the corner. Today, however, we did agree on this house. It was so cute. It was just off the square in Covington, which is prime property. It was 4br/3bth, and had a fenced in backyard. It was built in 1955 and had lots of character. And....it is a great price.

However, I'm just afraid that it won't be big enough. We have lots of big furniture. We inherited two big pieces of furniture from Christian's side of the family, and they are pieces I don't really want to give up. But this house was really cute. Mason said, "I don't want that to be my new house because it doesn't have stairs." Can you tell where his priorities are?

Later we met our friends for some walking and a concert on the square in Covington. It was southern rock, and we took a picnic. The kids had a great time playing in the grass/dirt/ants while we listened to the music. Melinda, however, had to make a quick trip to the drug store. Her daughter, Aubrey, got a piece of a peanut butter cookie in her mouth, but she's allergic to peanuts. It was only a few minutes (3-5) before Aubrey was scratching her tongue and drooling. Bless her heart! A few sips of Benedryl later, she was running around with everyone else.

I was pooped when we got home, so the kids let me lay on the couch with them and watch cartoons. We ended the day with some ice cream from Brusters, spagetti, and a bath. The kids were pooped by that time, and they were in bed by 7:30.

Another day in our lives. The kids are enjoying their summer break, and counting down the days to the beach! 6 days left!!!!!!

Okay, okay...

So I know I'm in big trouble with my mom. I haven't posted in nearly a week. (If I get this post done in time, it will be just under 7 days.) Its been a busy week. We had our last day of school (Yippee!), Mason's Pre-K graduation, we've been house hunting. That's never an easy process with Christian Lawrence. And just when I think we've settled on a house, he finds another one he wants to go look at before he makes the final decision. (Did I mention that this process has been on-going for 7 years?) One day I shall have a new house. Hope it happens soon, because we are quickly running out of room.

Oh yeah, we had our last soccer game last week and the end of the season awards banquet. It was fun for the kids and everyone got an award.





And to top things off, I think Mallory is sick. I'm going to call tomorrow morning to get her in to the doctor. I think its a UTI, so hopefully they can treat it quickly. She is just laying around the house, and isn't eating much. I feel so bad for her, and I haven't been able to get her to drink much. She truly is my child. When she's sick, she just wants to lay around and be petted by her mommy. I was (and still am) just like that!

On the upside, we head to the beach next weekend. Mother and I are taking the kids on Thursday morning to Gulf Shores. Daddy and Christian will come that evening after work. We got a great condo with beautiful views. I hope to get lots of relaxing time on the beach.

Until my next post...

Kindergarten Graduation

Mason's Kindergarten graduation was this past Monday night. He did so well during the program. They put on a long program (53 minutes) for the audience, but reciting scripture, reading poetry, reading from their books, and singing songs. It was really neat to see what he had learned in such a short period of time.

He received two awards: Friendliest and Best Reader

Mason's reciting the 2 vowel rule

Receiving his diploma from Mr. Tim and Dr. Allen

Elijah, Caroline, Daniel and Mason reciting a poem

Doesn't he look handsome? and so grown up!

The pledges

SNAKES ALIVE!

So, I sat down this afternoon to blog about Mason's graduation (which I will do later), when Mason came in from outside to ask me about the house broom. When I asked him what he needed it for, he says, "To move the snake off the driveway."

So I venture out to see what he's talking about, only to find Mallory petting it on the back. I thought it might be dead, but I got closer and found out that it was still moving.

New Header

Thank you to Emily's friend, Michele, for my new header. I love it!!!!!!!! It fits my children perfectly! Thanks so much, Michele!

Birthday wishes

Labor pain = 30 minutes

Recovery time = two weeks

Lost nights of sleep = 11 weeks

Happy laughter from a beautiful baby girl = Priceless for a lifetime

Mommy and Daddy love you very much, Mallory! Happy birthday!

Happy 4th Birthday, Mallory!

Every year for the past few years, we've had big birthday parties for Mason. This year, Christian said we had to do something big for Mallory's party. I agreed, so we asked Mallory what she wanted. Her answer was to go to the "jumpy place". (This is our gymnastics studio.) When I checked, however, they were having a competition on May 16th, so we couldn't have a party. So I asked her again and she opted for a princess party at the house. So I got together with my mom for ideas, invited all of Mallory's girlfriends from school, and this is what we got:

My princess opening her gifts!

Everyone enjoying their meal

The Princesses of the party!

Mallory after her complete make-over

Mallory and Ada making flip-flops

Ava, Reese and Ms. Emily making flip-flops

So cute in my birthday suit!

Each princess and prince had a seated place at the table

Props to my mom for making the flower centerpieces - beautiful!

The lunch table before the guests arrived

The party was great! Everyone had a great time and Mallory got just what she wanted. Thanks again to my mom for making the flower arrangements, gift bag tags and place cards, and for all her help. Thank you, Nanny, for cutting all the strips of fabric for the flip-flops. Thanks to Christian for missing a game of golf with his buddies, so he could help me set up and move all the furniture. Thanks Dad for the two trips to the grocery store. Thanks to my friends for helping with the finger nail polish, hair-dos and flip-flops! I couldn't do it without you!