Martin Nature Park Adventure

We loaded up and took a little trip up to Martin Nature Park.  I have so many fun memories of this place from my childhood and I was excited to see if Olive would love it too! 

They have a great playground and that is where we started the adventure!

 Molly and Olive acting out a scene from Super Mario brothers! :)

 When it was time to go on the trail, Avery led the way!  I think these are the sweetest pictures!

 Poor Luke was feeling a little out numbered with all of these girls!  Grady was riding in his stroller so Luke didn't have a boy to walk with and he certainly wasn't going to walk with the girls!

 When we walked onto the porch of the Education Center, this little friend was climbing down the wall.  I don't know whether to be concerned or happy that Olive walked right up to it and started singing the Itsy Bitsy Spider! 

 She is really weird about "buggies" around her at our house or the park, but I think since this one was so gigantic, she may have thought he was an animal instead of a spider and so that made her not afraid!

 Inside they got to check out the birds...

 and the bunny...

 and several different insects and spiders.

 They had a small microscope for the kids to look through and they loved looking at all of the different rocks, nuts and feathers!

 After a picnic lunch, we headed out on one of the trails for a little hike!

 The parade marching through the woods.  Anna carried Olive most of the way! Thanks Anna!  Along the path, Olive announced that she saw a dinosaur in the woods.  Hmmm...a big foot sighting perhaps?!

 Group pic!  Luke was too busy exploring the trails up ahead to join the pic and Lorelei chose to stay in her stroller, but everyone else looks so happy to be hiking!

What a fun day!  When we got in the car Olive said "We need to bring Daddy here.  He would love the green twisty slide!" I think we will be making several more trips up there this summer!  Thanks friends for the fun outing!

Pop's Blue Pond

 We are so excited that Pop's new house has a pool in the backyard!  Olive refers to it as "Pop's blue pond".  Last summer Olive was, well let's say, PSYCHO in the swimming pool.  She didn't you to help her, wouldn't wear any life saving device and wanted to jump in like a big kid.  Needless to say swimming with her last year wasn't very fun.  We have gone to Pop's several times just to sit on the edge and to get familiar with the pool and yesterday we took the plunge and got in!  She had so much fun!  She kicked and splashed, rode on the "boats" and even put on her Dora life jacket!  We had a fun afternoon of swimming and are looking forward to many more!

First Bike Ride of Summer

Sunday night we decided to take a little bike ride to our favorite family date spot: Orange Leaf!  This was our first time to load up on the bikes this year and Olive was pumped!

 These two were both a little disappointed that they didn't have the Coffee yogurt, but they made do!

There is nothing better than spending time with these two!  Happy Summer!

School Is Out For The Summer!

We were so blessed this year to have Olive in a wonderful Mother's Day Out program 3 days a week.  The beginning was very rough and she had a hard time the first few weeks, but she ended up absolutely loving "school".  Here are some comparison pictures of the first day and the last day.  I can't believe how much she has grown up in such a short amount of time!  My favorite part of these pictures is the confidence she has gained, you can see it just by looking at her! 

I asked her a few questions about school, here is what she said:

Favorite teacher: "Mrs. Peggy, Mrs. Amanda and Ms. Tiana"

Favorite thing to do: "Play with Nuriel, he is so funny!" (side note: her teacher told me several weeks ago that she typically only plays with the boys.  In fact, they refer to them as "Olive and the boys"  Stephen and I decided that will make for less drama so we are good with it!)

Favorite friends: "Nuriel, Evan and Emma and Audrey"

Favorite thing to eat at school: "Mrs. Amanda has yummy cookies!" (it should also be noted that everyday when I pick her up the word NONE is circled by what she ate for lunch.  Apparently she only eats snacks at school)

Mother's Day

I am so thankful for this little lady who gave me my proudest title...Mommy!  She is fiesty, charming, funny, spunky, loud, girlie with a tom boy twist, sweet, sensitive and caring.  I look at her daily and wonder what I did to deserve getting to be her Mom!  And I pray daily that I will be the kind of Mom that God wants for me to be for her. 

 I am so blessed to have my Mom who has been an amazing example of what a Mom should be!

 She made this sweet little plaque at school and it is now sitting on my bedside table.  It made me cry when I read it for the first time.  I wouldn't trade those (okay, every) afternoon at the park for anything in the world!

These Are The Days

I truly feel like Olive is growing up before my eyes these days!  Every morning when she wakes up she is just a little bit bigger, smarter, more aware and more amazing.  The other night at supper, I asked her when she had gotten so big, to which she responded "On Tuesday".  And I think she was right.  I can't even describe how grateful I am for my current job which allows me the flexibility to be with her more and to be home with her 2 days EVERY week.  I feel like I have been given the opportunity to truly experience watching her grow and change.  Yesterday she wanted to go to the park, so I packed a picnic lunch, loaded the stroller and off we went.  This simple trip to the park was almost a magical experience and it really made me realize how blessed I am to have this precious time with her.  She makes me laugh and blows me away with what she comes up with.  I am so thankful for these days!

A Heritage of Love

Yesterday would have been my parents 38th wedding anniversary.  I am so thankful to have grown up with such an amazing example of faith, hard work, dedication, strength and love!  We were also fortunate to have grandparents who were great examples as well.  My Granny and Grandaddy (Dad's parents) were married for 58 years and my Mama and Papa (Mom's parents) were married for 65 years.  In a world where marriages dissolve in sometimes a matter of minutes, it is so refreshing to come from a family who values the institution of marriage and the commitment that it stands for.  Thank you for your example of putting someone else before yourself always.