Mountain Laurel Festval

The Mountain Laurel Festival was this past weekend- what else are we supposed to do for fun ina small town? Anyway, we all got together on the Gailey lawn and watched the parade. Here are a few shots from the day (I stole a few from Beth's blog and some I took myself).. Madeline and Brit check out the band...it's a little too loud for Brit.

Jack things that mom is WAY more excting than the dinky parade.

Where did all these kids come from?

Amy & Hudson and Stacey's sister with her second born.

Andrea and little Andrew.

Hudson would rather nap.

A rare glimpse into Andrew's eyes.

"Look, I found the candy!"

Cora Clayton

Hayden grabls up the candy as fast as he can.

What's Your Mama's Name?

Britton's attempt to say my name...

Happy First Fourth!

We celebrated Tate's Birthday with a family gathering on Mother's day since my mom was in town. This is his first Fourth Birthday party- the second 4th will be in two weeks with his friends. I am sad because a few crucial picture files got corrupted (the one where he excitedly opens the Leapster that Derek and I got him, among others). We managed to salvage a few shots though. He was so excited about the cake that GG got for him and was very appreciative of all the gifts he received. He even lat Brit play with all of his new CARS.

I cannot believe it has been almost 4 years since I became a mama. I am enjoying Tate SO much at this age. He has such a great personality and is usually very well-behaved. I look forward to many more years with him!

Uh-Oh Cheerio

This is what I came in on the other day AFTER I had already cleaned up the contents of an entire bag of pretzels (including a gazillion salt crystals) that Brit decided to sling all over the hallway. It is days like this that I feel a little discouraged. Like, no matter what I clean or straighten, some mini-tornado is right behind me leaving a trail of disaster behind. The pictures really do not do the mess justice because the Cheerios were covering the entire floor of his bedroom- it was a big box!

Seis de Mayo

My little Britton usually takes a while to warm up to things- people, activities, new skills and letting his guard down enough to act silly. Before we left for Preschool today, he took me over to the mustache and sombrero and asked me to put them on him today. He wore his getup to school and by 10am the mustache was still oh him!

Cinco De Mayo

We had a little impromptu gathering tonight to celebrate Cinco De Mayo. No, neither Derek nor I are of Hispanic decent and as a matter of fact, according to my husband, Cinco De Mayo is a holiday created by a beer company that has no historical significance.






No matter. For us it was an excuse to get together with friends, eat yummy food and make chocolate chimmichangas! Tim and Joni brought their 4-yo son Drew who happens to be one of Tate's favorite buddies. Josh and Laura brought their 4-month old son Jack who sported a mean mustache and sombrero. James & Andrea brought little 4 week old Andrew who slept for most of the time.











The menu consisted of steak & chicken fajitas, beef burritos, rice, beans and this incredible homemade salsa that Joni brought. For dessert I treated everyone to chocolate chimmichangas a la mode which are pure sin but worth every calorie.


After dinner everyone went outside and we let the kids destroy the first pinata and then the adults took shots at another one. I think I will be picking candy out of our yard for the next month!



















Anyway, it was a nice break from the usual Monday night routine and just what I needed to relieve the stress that this week has already brought on. If I can get through this week, I'll be oh so ready for Summer!

Adventures in Mothering

A new year of MOPS officially began yesterday with the last 07-08 ST meeting and the first one of 08-09. I am thrilled to be working with such an incredible goup of women and am looking forward to a wonderful MOPS year. Our last MOPS meeting of 07-08 is May 9th and I cannot believe we've made it through an entire year! God has blessed this ministry beyond measure and I cannot wait to see all of the wonderful things that will happen next year. I have learned SO much since we chartered in Jan 07- about myself, my new friends and most of all God. HE is SO AMAZING!! We have a summer packed with play dates, Mom's nights Out and MOPS and POPs events...check out our blog that Laura has been dilligently updating: http://habershammops.blogspot.com/.

On another note- I watched Joni's son Drew and Missy's son Trevor the other day and they had a blast playing with the boys. Here are some fun pics of them together:

Put Put

We took the boys put-putting on Sunday afternoon. It was the first time they had ever been and they LOVED IT! It was nice to introduce them to something new. Tate really got into hitting the ball into the hole, but Brit liked holding the ball and dropping it in the hole. I was a little worried when it came time for the last hole- knowing that it would disappear into the ground. We told them that it was time for the balls to "go home" and they were ok with that. It was a great afternoon of family fun. :-)

We're growing a garden