Guess What!!!

In case you haven't heard, check out the pictures!

1st Day of Kindergarten!

Well, I knew this day would come, but I didn't realize how fast! It's hard to believe that our little girl started her first day of kindergarten today! Of course, we all had to take her to school together, and along with all the other kindergarten parents, we walked her to her classroom. She began her day with a friendly greeting from her new teacher, Mrs. Blanton, and was quickly introduced to the beginning of her new arrival routine. I'll have to admit I found myself holding back the tears as I watched her do her thing! We are very excited about her new school, Ashley River Creative Arts, which is a K-5 magnet school. We had to do a lottery back in Feb. to get in. They had over 200 people try and we were number 49! They had 40 spots, and luckily, after 2 weeks, we were called that we had a spot! Anyway, we are very excited and happy for her. However, I think Caleb is a little sad about not having his sister around. He just asked me a few minutes ago if we could go get Abby Grace! She stays until 3 today, so I am anxious to hear how her day went. I'll keep you posted!

Celebrating Easter

This Easter was the first time we have ever celebrated away from family, which we missed. However, we had a great time with several egg hunts, church, brunch in downtown Charleston, and dinner at Brian and Meg's. Anyway, these are just some of my favorite pictures from our Easter events.

Clay and Jennifer's Wedding, Day 2, The Wedding

These pictures were all taken before the ceremony...Abby Grace was so excited about being the flower girl!






A few shots from the wedding ceremony...

Clay and Jennifer's Wedding, Day 1, The Rehearsal & Dinner

The rehearsal seemed to go pretty smoothly as the kids thoroughly enjoyed running around in the grass! After the practice, Brian and I took the kids back to my parents' house so that they could stay with them while we went to the dinner at The Club. We had a wonderful dinner and enjoyed a great slideshow of Clay and Jennifer, followed by many toasts for the bride and groom. After the dinner, we weren't done yet, because we had an "After the Party, Party" to go to at the Isaminger's. We had a great time at all and managed to get home a little after midnight to get just enough rest for the next day!

Clay and Jennifer's Wedding, Day 1, The Bridesmaid Luncheon

The big day finally came and quickly went, but we had such a great time celebrating it! To begin the festivities, Abby Grace and I attended the Bridesmaids' Luncheon in Trace Crossings that Friday morning. Abby Grace had a great time being with the girls and especially liked her presents from Jennifer. She got a beautiful pearl bracelet, personalized lunchbox, and fun black shoes for the reception. She was also thrilled that Gracie (Abby Grace's American Girl Doll) also got a present--a flower girl dress! After the luncheon, we all headed to Aveda to have a "relaxing" afternoon of pedicures and manicures... Okay, so it wasn't that relaxing! The appointment time was messed up, and no one working that day knew what they were doing (especially if you wanted anything French!). I mean, come on, Abby Grace even knows you need to take off the old polish before putting on new! Poor Jennifer; it was all a little stressful, but it all worked out in the end. Then, it was race home, change clothes, and back out again for the rehearsal at the Sonnet House.

More Christmas

A few highlights of the Christmas season...

During the first week of December, we went to the Holiday Extravaganza at the SC Aquarium. The event included free food and drinks, Santa, crafts, games, and the Polar Express 4-D experience. The kids had so much fun and especially liked getting a "bell from Santa's sleigh" after the movie.

Later on in the month, Abby Grace played a "star" in her Christmas program at school. Caleb and Grant had just as much fun watching the show together. Abby Grace did a wonderful job; she just smiled and sang her heart out! We were very proud of her, especially since she was very reluctant about performing before the show began. That night, we had a great time seeing the lights and Santa at the Holiday Festival of Lights at James Island County Park. The kids loved the lights, riding on the train and carousel, eating s'mores, and seeing Santa. This Santa had to be the real one himself, because he was the jolliest, happiest Santa I have ever seen! I think he flew in from the North Pole that afternoon to see the kids; he just took so much time and care in asking what the kids wanted for Christmas and in telling them to be good!

Catching Up with Christmas

Okay, wow! It has been since September when I last posted anything! I guess we have had a few busy months! I think we have spent most of our fall traveling...Auburn football games, Callaway Gardens, San Antonio, Birmingham, Atlanta, and back to Birmingham again! I have so many pictures I want to post from some of those trips, so this January you may see some of those make an appearance.

Anyway, since we are working on getting the last Christmas decorations down, I'll focus on Christmas for now! I love Christmas so much--for all the obvious reasons but especially for the joy it brings our family, especially Abby Grace and Caleb. They were at the perfect age this past Christmas; I'll have to admit that the magic was at full force at our house. The kids loved the decorations, singing, playing with the nativity, seeing Santa, the lights... basically, anything Christmas, they loved it! My favorite moments had to be either the kids singing "Away in a Manger" or looking for Clifford (our elf on the shelf) every morning. As always, Christmas seems to come and go with a blink of an eye, so here we are already with a bare house, almost free of Christmas decorations, except for our Auburn tree (still up for obvious reasons...there's just a little game coming up) and our North Pole village (the kids love it so much, we haven't had the heart to take it down yet), and I am missing Christmas! So I'll reminisce and post some pictures from Christmas day...the kids were so excited to see if Santa had come, and he did in full force as usual! Abby Grace was excited to have an American Girl Doll and accessories, some Disney "prince" dolls, and Rudolph! Caleb loved his fireman jacket, car, legos, and baseball tee. Then we had our traditional "breakfast casserole" breakfast, opened presents from each other, and then hurried to dress and pack the car for Birmingham!