Our 11th Anniversary trip

We went to Memphis for our anniversary for the weekend. We stayed at the Park Place Hotel which is in Germantown. It was a very nice hotel, we were quite impressed. The first night, we went to Cozymel’s for dinner. It was COLD that night and I about froze to the car!

Then the next day, we slept in (Yea!) and headed to Tunica to the outlet mall. After having GREAT success with shopping, we headed to the Germantown mall and then headed to the movies. After seeing the Informant! (not a great flick…we were the ONLY ones in the theater. Literally), we went to Bahama Breeze for dinner. It was FANTASTIC! We killed some time after that at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and Barnes and Noble. I was beginning to miss the girls SO much so I was glad we were going home the next day.

On Sunday, we got up and headed down to Beale Street. It was a cold and rainy day, so it was not crowded at all! We ate at the Hard Rock Café and had some wonderful food. The whole upstairs was dedicated to Elvis memoriabilia. I took the picture of the jacket from Jail House Rock (the song that Olivia is doing her solo to this year). After leaving there, we went back home. It had been a good weekend.

Our New Refrigerator--Sept 21

We finally got a new refrigerator! We have never had a new one, they were always hand-me-downs. But we broke down and got one! We have always wanted a side-by-side, but were pretty limited due to the cabinets above the fridge being quite low. We did find one though, and it looks amazing! It is so nice to actually SEE what is in the fridge (there are lights on the top and bottom shelves AND in the freezer!) And the lock on the ice maker/water dispenser are a MUST with Bella around. Ha!

Cooper's 2nd birthday party

Cooper had his birthday party the next day (Saturday). It was a farm theme. Unfortunately, it rained so party didn’t get to have all of the elements Emily had planned, but I don’t think Cooper cared (or noticed). Isn’t he a doll?

My 31st birthday

On my birthday this year, our school counselor made a sign for my classroom door. Then, one of my students even make her writing piece about my birthday (they get to free-write on Fridays) Isn’t that cute?



I had told Brian I wanted this birthday to be pretty simple. I wanted a new ceiling fan in our bedroom and so after a few fan purchases (even one that was installed and we realized it was too big for our sloping ceiling...), he finally got one installed. I love it! Well, that night Brian and I went to Loca Luna for dinner (delicious!) and then went to see a movie. Lots of fun!

Labor Day Checklist

I had BIG plans for Labor Day weekend—and it was the ONLY time I have ever accomplished everything on the list! First, we organized Bella’s room by moving a storage system from Liv’s closet to her room. Then I organized all of the toys, spray painted her new/refurbished headboard for her new “big girl bed”, and got new bedding for her room. Then I painted her chest of drawers and put on new drawer pulls, and painted her lamp, and HOPE sign. Her room is amazing!




Then, we straightened up Liv’s room and started working on creating and installing a ballet barre in her room. First, we took closet mirrors, stripped the frames off (breaking only 2…LOL), and installed them on the wall. Then we stained and sealed the wooden closet rod, and installed it on the wall. Olivia is absolutely BESIDE HERSELF! We did the whole job for less than $60. I’m pretty proud of it. Now, if she will just use it…



We had a labor day/birthday dinner at Mom’s on Monday evening as well. I LOVE getting things check off of my list!!!

Two MONTHS??

Seriously? I've gone practically two months w/o posting ANYTHING? I probably have no one left to read this thing! Well, here come a ton of posts all at once... May not have the pictures to go with them right now, but they will--so check back.

Bella's First Day of Preschool

Belle started NLR Montessori on Monday, Aug. 24th. She was SO excited to have a big backpack and a LUNCHBOX! She has never taken her lunch to school before. And then to think it was the Tinkerbell lunchbox from Ms. Judy made it all the more special!

I took her inside, took some pictures of her in her room and had to leave to get to work. But Bella seemed so happy to be there. A friend is picking her up each day from school at 2:30 and bringing her to me at school. THAT should be interesting. :)

I get the biggest kick out of her each morning getting out of the car and running up the stairs with her backpack yelling, "bye mommy! love you!". Man, I love that!

ETA: Later in the week, Bella had her first homework assignment. :) She had to make this life-size cut out look like, and represent her. Isn't it adorable?

Liv made company again!

Ok, so maybe it wasn't a shocker, but it is a tradition. :) Liv with her name on the company poster. Actually, I think everyone makes company...tryouts mainly determine what groups you are in. :) Anyway, had to take her picture with it just the same!

Saying goodbye...

It was bittersweet when we were preparing for Belle to go to NLR Montessori. We were very happy for her to start preschool, but it was heart-breaking for her to leave Ms. Judy at JFK Learning Center. Bella's last week there, her teacher kept saying she couldn't think about her leaving or else she'd cry. And the last day I brought her in, she couldn't even look at me, and just said, "today is going to be tough".

Brian and I both went to pick Bella up from daycare that last Friday (August 21st). We had brought the recital DVD so Ms. Judy could see Bella's dance--I figured she'd get a kick out of that! She did, then Bella opened her present from her...it was a Tinkerbell lunchbox, ABC sticker book, crayons and a Tinkerbell activity book. She said that Bella reminds her SO much of Tinkerbell...

We took a few pictures of Belle and Ms. Judy (those are SO special to me!!!) and then we all cried and hugged. I did NOT want to leave her! She was such a blessing to us. I always told her that she came to us at just the right time in our lives. She will ALWAYS have a special place in our hearts!!! We will ALWAYS love Ms. Judy!

First day of 2nd grade

LISA Academy started on August 19th. Here is Liv on her first day of 2nd grade...Mrs.Crace's class. She was quite proud of her new Sketcher's and her messenger bag (searched all over for that thing...ended up finding it online!) So far, she says 2nd grade is perfect! Let's hope she keeps feeling that way!