First Day of Kindergarten & 3rd Grade!

My little boy is a kindergartner. Sniff sniff... I don't want him to grow up, I really, really, really don't. Every day I want to hold them both a little closer as they are growing up so fast. Two kids in elementary school and life keeps moving faster each day.  Slow down..!!

Here is my third grader - THIRD GRADE! What!?!?  I actually remember my 3rd grade teacher, Mrs Armstrong. I don't know how this is possible. She is growing up so fast, over the summer I couldn't get over how much she matured. We have to much fun together now. Hannah I have our girl time, we giggle, we laugh, we hug. The older she gets, the more I think she may actually appreciate what I do for her. Each day I get more thank you's, more hugs, more appreciation of what it takes to make it all work. This morning I was still sleeping, I never heard her get up, but sure enough, she made herself breakfast and cleaned the whole thing up herself too. Loaded the dishwasher, wiped down the counter. I had to blink to make sure I wasn't still dreaming.  So grown up, so sweet, my little Hannah.

We Hannah promise she would walk Drew to this classroom the first day of school.  She told me he grabbed her hand, and she held his hand walking him to class. So adorable, I wish I had that on camera. Now a week later Drew swears he knows everywhere he is going so Hannah walks him to the stairs and off he goes.

One last Lucy hug before they headed to the bus stop. So happy on that first day, so easy to get out of bed, and ready to go. That lasted the first two days, and the rest of the week... well, that went about how most of last year went. Lots of hurrying up, running around looking for shoes, yelling to hurry of up or you will miss the bus and so on.

Their first week went great, I think they both like their teachers and will have a great year. Hannah worked really hard all summer on her math, Drew practiced some handwriting and I am crossing fingers they have a good year all together.  Here's to the school year being in full swing, and summer coming to an early end.  Go East Side Tigers! :)

Reynolds Plantation Weekend - Lake Oconee

We relaxed...

Enjoyed the gorgeous views

Spent amazing quality family time together

Had some fun playing on the water

Laughter from one, a little fear from the other

Someone surfed the waves

And played "wipe out" from the boat to the tube. This picture of Drew is pretty typical

And cannon balls.

It was a perfect little weekend getaway, just 90 miles from Atlanta.  Reynolds Plantation is gorgeous, we stayed the the Ritz, pampered ourselves, went boating, rented jet skis, paddle boarded, kayaked, played on a water trampoline, and fished. Not to be forgotten, smores by the fire in the evening, watching fireworks while the kids were swimming in the pool until 11pm.   That is is what I called a packed in 24 hours.

While this summer is quickly coming to an end with school starting in a week.. I am hoping we get a chance to go back next summer and spend even longer there. It was beautiful, relaxing and awesome family time with just the 4 of us.

Atlanta Braves Baseball Camp 2015!

Drew went to Atlanta Braves baseball camp last week and had an awesome time. He told me it was his favorite camp all summer and basketball came in 2nd place now. It was an adorable camp and on day 1 when the campers arrived they got suited up with their own braves uniform they had to wear for the week. Drew thought that was pretty awesome.  He looks cute too :)  One day 4 Drew got named team captain for his age group.  He got equipped with a wrist band and special black eye things that say team captain on them.

I got to go watch Drew on the last day play in the world series and hit a home run. The big kids got the two baseball fields for their series, and the little kids had to make their own field :(

Drew was playing center field when I got there and made some great catches.

 I loved watching him. Always entertaining and fun. I love how hard he tries at every sport he plays. Always, always 110%.   One the last day of camp they spent the day at turner field stadium. They got to play on the big field with some of the braves players, hang out in the dug out, get a tour, and autographs with players. Then on Sunday, included in the camp are tickets to the Braves and Cubs game that Todd and Drew went to. They had a blast and Drew had fun telling his dad everything he learned about the stadium.   My little baseball in the making. Still his favorite sport so far. So fun to watch!

Lucy has nothing to do with Braves camp, but wanted to get an updated picture of her up at 5 months old. She is a cutie. Full of puppy energy and loves to jump and chew on anything in her path. We are down about 10 pairs of flip flops, but other than the damage has been minimal.  We love our little Lucy.

Hannah and I were at the camp watching Drew and I love how Hannah gets a kick out of watching the little ones play, and always laughs at Drew. She was standing there giving him the thumbs up with a smile cheering him on.  Love my sweet Hannah.

Now, onto the weekend filled with a swim meet and lake oconee. One week until school starts. Argh! The summer has gone way to fast for us. We haven't done a whole lot but still feels like somehow it got away from us. At the same time, I am excited for fall. The cooler weather, and getting to watch the kids play soccer and some flag football this fall. Should be a lot of fun!

Go Hannah Go!!!

Our little Hannah made the Cobb County swim team today by qualifying in the 25 backstroke for the state meet in 2 weeks.  We are so proud of our little Hannah we can hardly stand it.   She swam her little heart out. For the state qualifying meet you can only choose two events to race in and need to have a qualifying time to enter. We choose the 50 freestyle and 25 back for her, and she did the back in the IM relay and the freestyle in the free relay as well.   In the preliminaries she placed 5th place both in the 50 free and 25 back. She advanced to the finals, and only the top 3 go on to state championships.

50 Free was up first and she ended up 6th place, but she still had a great time and was her best swim ever. After the 50 Free she really wanted to win in the back. She went to the cool down pool for a little to practice. She headed off in her unassuming ways and ended up finishing 3rd place in the finals. She made it, she did it!! Todd and I didn't even believe the times on the board at first since she and the 4th and 5th place finalist were neck and neck the whole race. She dropped over 2 seconds off her time today!

We were SO excited for her not just because she worked hard and tried her best, but what made me the proudest was the whole group of parents and kids cheering her on and screaming jumping up and down about her finishing in the top 3. You know when other parents have tears in their eyes over your kid, you have special kid on your hands.

Hannah's little friends are some amazing athletes that are always the first in the races, on the select teams, and seem to excel at every sport they try.  While Hannah is good at what she does, I think sometimes she feels left out and it is hard to keep up with the group around her. Today she was the biggest winner there in just about everyone's eyes. Everyone was pulling for her and wanting her to win more than I think she did.   Now, she can go to the state meet with her team and friends and feel part of it all.

Hannah walked around the corner back to the bleachers after the race with the biggest grin on her face you have ever seen. I don't think I will ever forget that moment for the rest of my life. She felt good about herself, and her friends cheered her on. The underdog finally won. Lila's mom, Susan , eyes were filled with tears of happiness. It was such a fun day and I couldn't be more proud of her.

Now with 2 weeks until the state finals, Hannah will be working on her starts for backstroke and I think we will have a good race on our hands!

Not to be left out, Drew also swam today and did amazing. He was in the 6 and under age group and finished 11th in the 25 free style and 7th in the 25 backstroke. While those places may not sound all that great, he was the only 5 year old in the top 25 at all. Next year he is going to have a great year.  He can't wait!

We are a proud family today and couldn't be any happier for our little Hannah.

Happy 4th of July 2015

I am week late on this, but that is nothing new :) We had a great 4th of July weekend this year . We kicked off the weekend with Todd and I running the 4th of July Peachtree 10k race. It is the largest 10k in the country with over 60k people running. It was a lot of people, and a lot of rain. I was running in the pouring rain that lasted the whole 6 miles.  Once we got home though, the clouds started to part and made for a perfect day for the kids Ashebrooke parade and pool game.

Drew and Hannah decorated their bikes and Drew's 4 wheeler.  They were so excited about it and had fun with it.

Drew pre parade having some fun and photo bombing just about every picture I tried to take

Here is Lila and her beloved dog Coco. Coco is an adorable hilarious little dog. She has no problem riding in a basket on a bike getting dressed, like.. no big deal.

Here is my little sweet heart Hannah! All the kids had a great day swimming and playing games. That evening we went to the Jaillets for a cook out and then headed to the neighborhood part for fireworks with the rest of the neighborhood. It was a really nice time and all the kids were out. I love that they get to make so many fun memories with the kids as the grow up.

Atlanta Kids Triathlon 2015

Here are the finishers!!  Drew and Hannah did their first ever kids sprint triathlon this morning. After waking up at 5am and heading to Alpharetta,  they made it!! It was 50 yd swim, 1.5 Mile bike and a 500 yd run. Easy peasy.....   They both finished in around 12 minutes or so with the largest amount of time spent in the transition time between swim and bike. Drew took a while to get those shoes on and helmet buckled.

Here is Hannah heading out of the pool heading into her bike portion.

Drew just starting out on the bike, looking a little concerned like he didn't know where to go :) Yesterday at the walk through they kept telling the kids to just read the signs so they know where to go. He looked at me in tears saying " I don't know how to read, I am going to get lost". I told him to follow the crowd and he would be fine :)

This picture is a little dark, but there is Hannah finishing her run.. and she was running hard.

This was Drew starting his run while smiling, when he finished his run he wasn't smiling anymore...

After he crossed the finish line and told me he thought he was going to throw up. He was in an all out sprint, and I am guessing his chicken biscuit for breakfast didn't help.

And finally Hannah in her swim, she did awesome and was passing other kids during the swim. Drew struggled in the swim and lost a lot of time. He jumped in, his goggles fell off, then he was looking for them and swam the first lap with his head above water until he reached the end and could put them back on. Finally the second lap he made up a lot of time and caught up. If it wasn't for his goggle mishap I think he would had come in 2nd or 3rd place.. which is awesome since it was the 6 yr old group and he was the only 5 year old doing it.

Overall, the kids had fun and it was a good experience for them. While I have no doubt either of them will be triathlete's, it is a fun experience for all kids of all levels to try. And.. they had fun and want to do it again, that is all that counts.

Atlanta Braves vs Pittsburgh Pirates

Last Saturday night we went to the Braves game to watch them play against the Pirates..... as that was the team that Drew was on for East Side Baseball this past season. He wanted to make sure he wore his uniform shirt. He was one excited little guy to see the pirates in person.

We got there early and went to the kids corner so they could play a little. Drew walked right up to a little game and went to bat.

We had VIP tickets, so we were able to go to the 755 club and eat dinner while the teams were warming up through the first inning. It was kind of nice and a perfect setting to have dinner!!

We ended up with great seats just a few rows behind home plate. Hannah decided she thought that Freddie Freeman was really cute and we had fun watching him when he got up to bat.

It was a great family night and we have tickets next month to see the Braves vs the Cubs that came with Drews Atlanta Braves baseball camp... which he can't wait for.

Pre-School Graduate!

Check out our little graduate! So cute!!! Last Sunday was Drew's pre-school graduation. He was so excited and the kids all performed some really cute little songs.

Here is Salih, they have been good friends for a few years now and I have a feeling they will be seeing each other on the baseball fields over time. They are doing a camp together this summer and I have seen Salih play... good little hitter!

Family photo with our graduate4

Here is Drew and Trent, one of his best little buddies from Goddard. They have had some playdates and I am sure there will be more over the summer!!

And here comes to girls. This is Drew and Kennedy, one of his little girlfriends. We have a cute video of them dancing. Kennedy's mom tells me she is in love with Drew.

Oh wait, and here is Leah, another girldfriend. Leah's mom also tells me she is in love with Drew. Not sure what Drew does all day at school, but he has won over the little girls.  Drew did tell me he prefers blondes the other day :)

They did awards at the graduation ceremony and Drew got "most athletic boy" and his little girlfriend Leah got more athletic girl. Now I know why they get along so well!!!

And finally Drew's picture before we left for his last day at Goddard on Thursday. I have to say, I went to pick him up around 11:30am so we could get Hannah off the bus together and I actually got really choked up. Drew saw me and started running towards me, then all the kids followed. When I told the kids it was his last day, they all started hugging him and the little girls asked if they could get their pictures with him, oh, and text it to their moms :) Drew gave his hugs and said his goodbye's. It was sweet and endearing. In the car he told me he was sad, but was "going to keep it together".

And just like that, I have two kids in elementary school. Time seems to just keep getting faster. Between school, work, travel, sports... It is all becoming a blur, but I would not change it for the world. I have two amazingly wonderful kids that make each day an adventure. I can't wait to see how Drew does at Kindergarten in the fall. He is super excited to ride the bus with the big kids!!

Hannah's last day of 2nd grade!

I have never been so excited for a school year to be over! I think I may have been even more excited than the kids this year. Ready for summer, here we come! Hannah finished 2nd grade and will be going on to 3rd grade in the fall. It started out as a rough year with math and getting used to her teacher, but got a lot better throughout the year. She got a math tutor, studied hard and had a lot of perseverance to get through the year.  I am hoping next year she finds a teacher she clicks with a little better, and hoping for her math to start clicking as well!!

Hannah's summer is going to be filled with fun and relaxation. She has a soccer camp planned, VBS, and Summer Show Offs came which is a little singing dancing camp that her and her friend Maddies are going to together. Her first swim meet is already this week... and the water is still really cold, I am feeling bad for those kids!   Hannah has requested a lot of little play dates with her friends and plenty of sleepovers to go with it. We are going to make sure she has a great summer and is ready for 3rd grade!  

Mother's Day and East Side Pirates Baseball !

Check out the little love of my life handing me a rose for mother's day. All the little boys were so darn cute, all excited to give their moms roses. Too cute.

Here is my pitcher... all serious and did an awesome job todays stopping lots of balls and getting the ball the first base.

He loves to dive for the ball, and did a darn good job at it stopping some great hits today. the dirtier Drew is after a game, the happier.

Check him out in action... love it.

Today Drew got the game ball! The first play of the game he was at pitcher and the batter hit a great hit high up in the air. Drew focussed and caught the ball for the first out of the game.   We lost today, but regardless, he made some great plays and hits. The other team was insanely good. We have a game next Saturday, if we win we play in the championship on Sunday. If we lose, we are done for the season. Drew loved every minute of baseball this year. I have a feeling we will be spending a lot of time at Fullers park over the years.   I am proud of you little guy. We make my heart swell with pride.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there, and happy mother's day to my mom. Thank you for all your sacrifices over the years. Love you and thank you for all your do.

And to Hannah and Drew, thanks for a great day. I am so blessed to be their mom and love every moment of it. Every year is a new adventure and I look forward to all of them! Love you kiddos!!