Madalyn's First Dance Recital: "CATS"

 This summer Madalyn performed in her very first dance recital.  If I were a bett'n Momma I'd say this is the first of many.  She did excellent and loved every minute of it.  She has been taking ballet and tap for one year this month and really seems to enjoy.  She enjoyed dancing so much on stage that her and two other girls in her class decided they were going to keep dancing on stage for their ballet routine.  There entire class walked off stage at the correct time but not Maddy and her partners in crime.  And what a coincidence all three of these girls Mommy's dance together on the pom squad in high school.  Madalyn looked absolutely adorable and did such a good job.

 Excuse this picture I'm still having a little trouble.  The girls and one boy put all their feet in a circle and it looked so cute.  Maddy is over to the left with her arms on her knees looking forward.  I think she looks a lot like me in this picture.

 Madalyn was very excited to get flowers from Mommy and Daddy and Nanny and PawPaw.  She also got a trophy for having perfect attendance. 

 Madalyn would like to thank her hair and make-up artist, Mom.  Just kidding I do think I did a pretty good job though, even while monitoring the behavior of my 19 month old hanging from the rafters.  Thank you Sarah and family for spending a late night with Peyton.  We've had about a month off from dance but are starting back next week.  Madalyn's dance teacher has decided she is ready to move up, so she will continue with ballet, tap,  but will add in jazz.  We'll see how it goes!!!

Thank you so much to all who came to Madalyn's first dance recital.  We were glad you could be with us.

Happy Birthday U.S.A.

Happy Fourth of July!!!  We feel very lucky to celebrate this holiday and remember those who sacrafice so much for our freedom.    We spent a great day with family and friends.  It was disappointing we didn't get to see any fireworks this year, but Maddy and Peyton definitely kept us entertained.  Maddy said the pledge of alliegance on several occassions, Grandma Lynnie was smiling down, I'm sure of it.  Uncle Colby was home for about 24 hours before he heads to Hollywood, the place of bright lights and big stars.  He has had dreams of pursuing an acting career for a long time.  We could not be more excited for him.  We wish him safe travels the rest of the way and best of luck in show business once he arrives.  

Short Trip & Lots of Celebration

A few weeks ago Jason and I and the kids traveled with my mom and dad to Springfield, Missouri.  We wanted to celebrate with Raney as she graduated with her Bachelor's Degree.  Miss Raney will be getting married next September and Madalyn Grace is going to be a flower girl.  Since all of Raney's bridesmaids were in town she wanted to do a fitting.  They had no flower girl dresses for Maddy to try on so she just tried on shoes, and boots.  Yes if you notice in the picture she has one high heel on and one beautiful pink boot.  The boots were my favorite.  She paraded around that dressing room like Miranda Lambert getting ready to go on stage.

Maddy with the beautiful bride-to-be and her bridesmaids.

Pool action.  Our hotel had an indoor pool, so we let the kids take a dip before bed.  Peyton smiling of course and Maddy practicing her synchronize swimming.  She is planning on the 2026 Olympics.  It was a great trip Raney, Randy, and Patty.  So happy we were able to celebrate with all of you.  Thank you having us.

Funny Faces & Special Gifts

I remember Maddy having funny faces at this age and now we are starting to see Peyton's.  I just happened to snap this picture, capturing such a funny face.

I wanted to share my Mother's Day presents from Madalyn and Peyton because I thought they were so sweet.  Peyton's present is on the left, he put together a jar full of Fruit Loops and I believe he had help putting together a little bracelet.  Madalyn planted the flower for me on the right and there was a little poem on the flower pot.  It said, "My heart you touch, My hand you hold, Please accept this marigold, I planted it with a finger or two, Because it's Mother's Day and I love you."    

Can we say DIVA.  What a nice day for a picnic lunch.

Pearly whites!!!  He's got'em and he loves to show them off!

Hoppy Fourth Birthday Madalyn Grace

Yeah I'm back!!!  Madalyn celebrated her fourth birthday on April 8th.  Hard to believe she is four-years-old.  While planning for Peyton's birthday I realized Madalyn's was the same weekend as Easter.  Looking on my favorite blog for party ideas I discovered the Hoppy Birthday theme.  How cute!!!  I think everything turned out absolutely adorable starting from the top with the birthday girl, our special guests Belle & Jasmine, the invitations, the printables, the kids during the Easter egg hunt and even the weather turned out wonderful.  Thank you so much to everyone that came and helped us celebrate with Madalyn.  We had colorful cupcakes with whipped icing and little bunny peeps for dessert!

Maddy and Molly in her bunny outfit.  These girls are such good friends!!!

Treat bags for the kiddos, and take home bags with lollipops and bubbles.Treat bags for the kiddos, and take home bags with lollipops and bubbles.

My nephew made party fans for me.  Thanks Cam for all your help.

My nephew made party fans for me.  Thanks Cam for all your help.

Again from my favorite party site I found the tutorial to make this Easter egg wreath.  And I actually got the motivation to make two.  One for the front door and one for Madalyn's play house.Happy Birthday to you!!!  Look at Cal hiding out in the background.  Clever little guy.

More of the cupcakes and party decorations.  You would not believe I found most of my party decorations at the Dollar Tree!

Our little fenced in petting zoo.  We took them for free from a local photographer that takes our pictures occasionally.  Maddy named them Belle and Jasmine, just like the Princesses.  However, we did take them to a local pet store less than a month later.  Because honestly, we are dog people but not so much bunny people.  They were adorable and oh so soft but just no for us.  A tough life lesson that Maddy had to deal with "effected her for a total of about 30 minutes."  We prayed they will be adopted by a good family that will love them unconditionally.

We dyed Easter eggs ahead of time and the kids were able to decorate them with stickers.  It was a cute idea but could've been planned out a little better 'party planner.'

Maddy posing with her presents.

The Easter egg hunters.  Miss Lauren and Mr. Cal during the Easter egg hunt.  I hope the kids had a great time.

Thank you again to all who helped us celebrate.  Madalyn enjoyed playing with all of her friends.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. So thankful for the weather it was absolutely beautiful. It was a little stressful at work last week, therefore I took Friday off and spent it with my hubby on his last day of spring break!!! Peyton sported his "Charmer" shirt for St. Patty's Day!!! Teething as usual but check out that little boy's haircut. No more wings all though you see fly away hair in this picture.Jason, Maddy and I enjoyed Shamrock Shakes!!! She looks scared but they were pretty good. Cheers!!!

Peyton's first ride in the race car with a crazy driver!!! Once he figured out his own steering wheel he wanted Sissy's.

Happy Birthday Keith!!! Hope you had a great one. Maddy and cousin Cal enjoying Winnie the Pooh. Cal was pretending it was in 3D and Maddy wanted to be a cheerleader, shocking!!!

Peyton's Winter ONEderland

I wanted to share the pictures from Peyton's birthday party. I had a lot of fun putting it together and thought it turned out really good. First the birthday boy himself. We had to help him out a little bit but hee loved his cake.
Here are the treat bags. "Thank you for making my birthday SNOW ONEderful!!!

We had hot chocolate for the colder wintery day. Even though it was probably one of the warmest. For those that chose differently we had ice cold water from the igloo and peppermint punch.

Sticks of Snowballs

Proud father and a happy little boy. We bought extra marshmallows dumped them in the middle of the floor and let the little ones have a snowball fight in the house. They had so much fun and it was really cute. We were finding marshmallows under the furniture for a week.

Here is his cake and the cupcakes, they were yummy. Loved the printables I ordered. They turned out so cute and were very easy. Since it was a Winter Onederaland party the cakes were displayed on an ice skating rink with snow around the edges.

Full shot of the cake table and Happy Birthday banner.

I made this banner and the birthday hat to coordinate the others I ordered.

Close up of the birthday banner. Don't compare this one is way better.

Sweet treats for the party guests.

I had a blast planning and coming up with the ideas to fit our budget. I found a great website that I love and inspired me. Maddy's birthday is on Easter this year and the website has great ideas for combining the two. Thanks for all who came to help us celebrate Peyton's 1st Birthday. We had a great time and hope everyone else did too.

Couch for Sale

We are looking to sale our couch, chair, and ottoman. We have had this furniture for about nine years now. Amazing, can't believe it has been that long. We love the furniture but it is time for something new. The upholestry is still in fairly good shape. The couch came from Ashley Furniture and the material is durapella and we have been very happy with how it has worn. As you can see it is a bone color and with two kids and two dogs I think it still looks pretty good. We are asking $350 for all three pieces. If anyone is interested or might know of someone that would be interested please get a hold of me and we will work out the logistics.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Just wanted to share our Valentine Babies. Hope everyone has a wonderful day. Of course they had adorable Valentine attire for girls, but I could not find my poor baby boy a Valentine shirt (that I liked) anywhere. Therefore I did what any wonderful Mom would do I made him one last night at 10:30 p.m. The front: Hot Stuff and the back: XOXO!!! Call me early next year for orders ha ha!!!

Happy Birthday Peyton Myles!!!

Our baby boy is One. Can hardly believe. Here are some great pics from the party. Stay tuned for more pics to include the party details and a very fun and friendly snowball fight!!! Peyton and PawPaw just before everyone started arriving. Thank you to Lois Jean Linens for the adorable birthday outfit.The family minus one member. Maddy did not want to have her picture taken at this moment. My positive re-frame, "Special picture with the Birthday Boy."

His cake looked adorable and tasted excellent. Peyton seem to enjoy his first taste of sugar.

Thank you to all who came to help celebrate Peyton's birthday. I hope everyone had a snwonderful time.