gifts, otters & instruments, oh my!

i'm pleased to report that everyone survived the first full week of school! and not just survived...enjoyed it!

here is what the girls took their teachers as "first day of school gifts." however, i must confess that the gifts didn't quite make it on day one! :)

as with the majority of our little projects, it was easy-peasy and budget friendly! i simply put a rubber-band around an old formula can, dumped out several boxes of new crayons and let the girls tuck them underneath in any pattern they wanted.

add some cute ribbon with a hot glue gun (it hides the rubber-band) and there you go!

of course no home-made gift would be complete without a cheesy tag to go along!


the start of school hasn't slowed us down too much...we've been busy doing all kinds of fun things. take a look...

**we went to an otters minor league baseball game**







**we also enjoyed an outdoor symphony orchestra concert**

{if you're wondering about this sweet face that keeps showing up in the pictures, it's my dear friend, cortney...or "aunt cortney" to the kids!}

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back to school

As I mentioned in the last post, there were bound to be tears on the girls' first day of school. And I was right! Did my babies cry? Of course not...they were bouncing around like little bundles of caffeine! I'm afraid it was me. But in my defense, I wasn't the only Mommy walking around with red-rimmed eyes!

Take a look at my precious munchkins...

breakfast on the first day of school! their request: homemade waffles!

my 2nd grader!

my kindergartner!

at school



after school...they survivied!



I am so thankful to the Lord that He blessed us with another kiddo so I wasn't home alone yesterday. I got to spend it with this happy little brown-eyed monkey...



Here's a video I took of Sam and Ellee in the car pick-up line while we were waiting for Addie. He absolutely adores his sisters and the feelings are mutual! She had him laughing that deep belly laugh that is so contagious...

navitat

Navitat: “Navitat” combines “navigation” with “habitat;” two words that express our passion and relate to your adventure with us.


As Lee and I looked back over our 10 years of marital bliss, we decided it could be summed up with one word...adventure! In 10 years, we've lived all over the country, traveled all over the world and had amazing adventures together! So what better way to celebrate this milestone than to add another experience to the list?!?




We enjoyed a weekend in Asheville, NC and spent most of one day in the trees! We went on one of Navitat's Canopy Tours. {Here is their website if you're interested.} Basically, it's a 3 1/2 hour long zip line course that includes sky bridges, repelling and other exciting elements! At one point, we were flying through the trees (literally!!) at 45 mph. And we're not talking little dogwood trees...we were over 200 feet in the air going from one mountain to another, crossing a valley.

getting geared up


zip "school"


here we go...




repelling


the short sky bridge


the long (and intimidating!) sky bridge



great times were had by all!

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On a similar note, tomorrow begins another chapter of adventure around our house. It's the first day of school!! And somehow, my girls have grown without my permission and we now have 2 school-aged kids. Addie will be starting 2nd grade and Ellee...well, it's Kindergarten time.

It's sure to be a day full of excitement and tears (on my part, of course!)

10 years

happy 10 year anniversary to my perfect match!

10 things I love about Lee...

1. the crazy amount of discipline he has.
2. his southpark voice.
3. the way he knows what my poor, sensitive tummy can handle better than i do!
4. his willingness to surprise me with a drink from starbucks...a place that is out of his comfort zone!
5. the way he loves and enjoys our kiddos.
6. how he never complains about my many requests for photo opts!
7. how he lets me fall asleep with my glasses on (every night!) and then quietly removes them without waking me up.
8. how we can look at each and laugh and no one else gets it!
9. the way he can make me feel totally confident that everything will be ok, even if it won't.
10. his eyes...one of the first things i noticed about him.

these are just a few of the things i love about my husband. i am beyond thankful for the past 10 years with this incredible man!