Mario Party!!!

 Carter had a Mario Obstacle course bday party last week. Oh my goodness...it. was. wild! When they first got there, they ran around for a few minutes, and then it was time to conquer the homemade obstacle course made mostly from items in my garage :) They had to crawl through the tunnel, run around the cones, spin on the bat, shoot the ball in the basket, ride the plasma car, carry the egg in the spoon, jump over the noodles, and run through the finish line ribbon to receive their Mario medal. It was hysterical! And you would have thought they were competing in the Olympic games! Hahaha! Anyway after everyone had a turn, we ate, sang Happy bday, and ate some more, and the rest of the party looked like the below pic...little boys whapping each other with noodles and running around like hooligans. Such a special day for my buddy.

Happy 6th Birthday, Buddy!

This day six years ago, I had no idea how my life was about to change. You were the one who turned me into Mama simply by being born. What a joyous day it was! I remember every single detail like it was yesterday.

I've watched you grow, learn, and become a big brother TWICE. You never cease to amaze me with how much you've grown and changed.

In the course of just a couple of years you've gone from a timid, stick close to mama toddler to a confident, sports loving, Mario conquering, leader of the pack, competitve, motivated, social little guy. 

This past year especially you've grown leaps and bounds. You absolutely loved your first year at big school last year, and on the first day of school Monday, you walked in like you owned the place...excuse me, ran in! I'm so proud of you and so thankful for how the Lord is working in your heart. 

I've seen you recognize your own sin this past year and make strides in self-control, selflessness, and obedience. I'm so thankful for how God is working on your character and changing you. I pray that you will continue to understand the gospel bit by bit and that Jesus would become your first love. 

So let's think back over this past year...you've started big school like we said, you took taekwondo, but turned in your belt for a baseball bat. You mastered swimming, lost TWO teeth, built a gazillion lego sets, played way too much minecraft, worn pajamas 23 out of 24 hours a day, wrestled COUNTLESS hours with your brother, laughed more than any kid on the planet (you find humor in EVERYTHING!), learned to ride your bike without training wheels, drank a million gallons of chocolate milk, and lots more that I'm missing I'm sure. 

What a year!

I love you, sweet boy. Thank you for not being too big for hugs and kisses and singing and rocking with mama yet. I've loved our dates this year, and all our many conversations about how life works. I love watching you discover God's wonderful world. You are smart, handsome, an encourager, a gift giver, but most importantly, you are a covenant child of God. I am beyond thankful that I get to be your mom. You are the best!

I love you,

Mama
 

Summer's End

 

Well the days of eating ice cream by the pool will soon be a thing of the past. We are coming up on our last week of summer. I cannot believe it. Fastest summer ever. But we are ready for school now! The boys are ready to be with their friends, mama is ready for routine, and you KNOW we are all ready for some rebel football!

 

But what a great summer it was! I'm so thankful for all the fun things we got to do, great places we went, and of course memories made and getting lots of time with my littlest peeps.

 

This kiddo is about to be SIX! I just love him.

Bath tub buddies :) These two are such siblings. They argue, play, laugh, all of the above. Carter has taken more of a parental role with Emerson, but Coop is full on her brother. So funny how their relationships are all SO different.

 

Meet my sweet friend, Zarabeth. We've become friends through church, and this summer she started coming over to play every couple of weeks. We've had so much fun. She LOVES Molly the cat as you can see. Thankful for her.

 

Are you ready???? E is!

 

Making a "hideout" right in the middle of the house. Not so hidden, but I wasn't going to burst their bubble.

 

Two weeks ago was our fourth annual Backyard Bible Club at the Arbors. Wow. I can't believe we've been out there four years now. It's an apartment complex here in Oxford made up of all tongues, tribes, and nations. It's been such a blessing to take the gospel there (along with cupcakes and crafts of course!) I love these kiddos so much.

  

I've had some time on my hands to get creative this summer, so I made this pic collage from an old print I had hanging in my room. I have SO many pictures that I would love to have hanging in my house, but no where to put them. So I found this idea, and I'm loving it in my room.

Turner Time!

 

Coop's new trick. He often does this when he's getting in trouble, and I'm trying to have a serious conversation with him. Lovely.

First tent camp out.... in the playroom :)

 

We squeezed in a trip the Hot Springs, AR last weekend. We had a ball! We started with putt putt which was a huge hit.

 

Emerson got hot, so we she some clothes.

 Taking a break. 

 

We rented a boat one day, and it was so nice. We tubed and swam and really really enjoyed being on the lake.

 BB and Pawpaw came with us. We loved having them. I grew up going to Hot Springs every summer, so it was so much fun to go back with my parents and MY kids. Sweet times. 

 

Pawpaw did all the driving for us. 

Carter and I had a ball on the tube. 

Emerson even got a turn!

Dada and Coop. We all tubed with each other. Even Joel and I got out there together, and my dad slung us all over. LOTS of laughs.

 

Carter has become very interested in games lately. Checkers, Old Maid, Slapjack, etc... So needless to say, we did lots of game playing.

 

This crazy crew! Carter insisted on being dressed exactly like Joel this night, so Pawpaw with his red shirt jumped in the party :)

 

But sadly the trip ended a little early when Emerson got the stomach bug!!! Ugh! But no one else got it, so thankfully it wasn't too bad. Poor thing. It was a sad day to see her so sick. Thankfully she bounced back super fast and was all better the next morning.

We love BWW :)

 

Minnie love

What a great summer! Bring on the school year!