Pumpkin Patch 2018

We were finally able to coordinate our schedules and make it to the pumpkin patch for our annual cousin pictures before it was too late!  Getting a two year old and three babies to cooperate for a picture took a little bit of work but we finally got a couple of good ones!

The girls

The boys

The Browns

The Rowlands

The Harsheys- Thank goodness for this wagon! We weren't sure how we were going to get a picture of all the babies together since they aren't sitting up yet.  The wagon was the perfect solution!

The "bigs"- Parker and Addison

The "middles"- Eden and Aubrey

The "littles"- Lily and Ryan

My beautiful Eden

Sweet Hadley

Lily and Luke

Eden & Luke

Hadley

Addison & Luke

Eden & Hadley

Overall, our trip was a huge success!  I can't imagine what next year will be like when they are all mobile!! 

Happy 8th Birthday Lily!

Today our sweet Lily turned 8! We've been celebrating her birthday all weekend!  On Friday, we met at Rosa's for her family birthday dinner.  Lily was excited because Meredith, Craig, Holland and the triplets were all able to come.  It was their first outing at a restaurant and they all did so well! 

Lily requested a "bump" cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes this year.

Our "littles" aren't so little anymore!

Lily and Aubrey and their new matching glasses!

Lily got a seat pet from Emily and MerMer and a new volleyball practice belt from Granna.

The babies did so well at the restaurant!

Today we started the day with presents before school.

Mrs. Humphreys surprised Lily with her favorite candy- a HUGE Laffy Taffy!

For dinner, Lily requested that we stay home and have pizza.

Of course, we had to have another round of cake!

Lily asked for a birthday shirt to wear on her special day.  I thought it turned out cute!

We had a great weekend celebrating a very special girl!  Lily brings so much joy to our family and we hope she felt very loved today!

8 Years Old

My precious Lily Claire-
    I can't tell you how many times daddy and I have looked at each other and said "We can't imagine our life without Lily!"  God sure knew what he was doing when he blessed our family with you 8 years ago!  You came into this world in a flash and you haven't slowed down since!  You keep me on my toes and fill my days with laughter! I can't believe you are turning 8 today!  Here are some of the things I want to remember about you as you start another year:

- You continue to grow taller and taller!  You are the tallest in your class and tower over some of your friends.  You wear size 10/12 clothes and size 6 shoe.  We are going to be sharing shoes before too long!

- You are a good friend and make new friends easily.  You were sad when Jery wasn't in your class this year but have quickly become close friends with Addi and Ellie.

- You are so smart and continue to do well in school.  You are a good reader but it's a battle to get you to read at home.  You have the ability to read chapter books but don't always have the confidence to try them.

- You have developed a love of writing in Mrs. Humphreys' class.  You have great ideas and share stories you've written with me all of the time.

- You are not a picky eater and are always willing to try at least one bite of something new.  Your new favorite thing is sushi.  You love hamburgers, fruit, and the brisket quesadillas at Barerra's.

- You still love to snuggle every morning and every night (and sometimes during the day too!).  You still fit perfectly in my lap and I dread the day you get too big for me to rock.

- You make me laugh every day with the things you say.  Sometimes at night while we are rocking before bed, we both get to giggling so hard we can't stop!  I hope you'll always love to laugh with me!

- You have a sassy side to you that comes out sometimes, but I admire how quick you are able to apologize and move on.

- You and Eden are so close but can fight like cats and dogs!  I pray you will always share a close bond with each other and be each other's best friends for many years to come.

Lily, you make the world a happy place and I'm so proud to be your mom!  I can't wait to watch you blossom over the next year!  Your passion and love for life is going to help you achieve great things! I hope today was everything you hoped it would be and more!

I love you to the moon and back. Mommy

Lily's Birthday Sleepover

The only thing Lily wanted for her birthday was a sleepover with her two best friends, Jery and Addi.  I wanted to do something fun and memorable with them so Lily and I decided it would be fun to take them to The Melting Pot for dessert fondue.  We picked the girls up and went to Chick Fil A for lunch.  We had some time to kill before our reservation so we went to Five Below and I let each girl pick out one thing. 

The girls weren't sure what to think about having fondue! We chose two different chocolates to try- plain milk chocolate and caramel turtle chocolate.

When they brought them to the table, they set them on fire!

The girls loved dipping their food in the chocolate!

Jery loved dipping her food in the chocolate but wasn't sure about eating it!!

It was such a fun, unique experience and I think all the girls really enjoyed it!

After we got home, they played and watched movies until bedtime.  We brought all the mattresses into the living room so they could all sleep together.  It was exactly what Lily wanted and I'm glad we could make this birthday wish come true!

Career Day

Our Kindergarten classes were having Career Week this week and learning about different people who work around the community.  One of our teachers (who is actually one of Cory's patients) was having a hard time getting parents to come in and share, so she asked me if Cory would come in and tell her students about being an optometrist.  After a little (or a lot!) of begging from me, Cory finally agreed to come.  

When I stopped by the classroom this morning, I laughed when I saw their morning message on the board!

Cory did a great job and the kids loved him!  They all wanted to tell him about what they wanted to be when they grew up!!

I know it wasn't his favorite thing but I'm thankful that he stepped out of his comfort zone and helped some kindergartners out!