On Tuesday, the girls went on a field trip.....Grandmama also joined us! We went to a corn maize at a farm. It was one of the best field trips I have ever been on. We started out on a hay ride which The Belle claimed that she got "farm sick" on because we went in a big circle. After the hay ride we had a lesson from a retired teacher about corn and cows (the girls got to even milk a pretend cow) we also had a hoe-down. Then we got lost in the corn maize. Thankfully, the corn was only about 5ft tall so we could at least see the direction we had to go to get out. Once we finally found our way out the girls went on a cow train ride. This ride was the craftiest thing I have ever seen (look at the pictures closely; the kids are sitting in 55 gallon barrels that were converted into seats; seat belts were included). The pictures do not even begin to show just how much fun the kids had on the ride! After the ride we ate a picnic lunch and the kids played on the farm playground. This is definitely a trip we will go on again!

I am so proud of The Belle and The May! They both finished their first 5k. Husband and I ran with The Belle, Nana and Grandmama walked with The May, and Pappy strolled around with The Lynn (the two of them make great cheerleaders). We were shocked when The Belle won 2nd place in her age category. She is SO proud of her medal. The May is now convinced that she can run a 5k too. Her favorite part of the race was the free chocolate doughnuts. I don't blame her; a girl needs to carb up after walking a 5k!
It was lots of fun and we can't wait for the next one!

Sopping Snickers

Every night at bedtime I read a chapter book to the girls. We finished my all time favorite children's book this week; The Boxcar Children. Husband thought he would give reading to the girls a try. His book choice; Treasure Island. After the first chapter The Belle and The May had to sleep together because The May couldn't stop thinking about Black Dog and his wooden leg. The Belle let us know last night that they would have to sleep together for at least another 38 nights since there are 39 chapters in the book! So, I decided we needed to change books. Treasure Island can wait a couple more years. After convincing The May that she really would love Charlotte's Web just as much as Treasure Island (if not more) we started it. Let me just say, it took some strong convincing; she REALLY wanted to read that book. Some of the language in classic children's literature is different. For example, they use words like queer to describe a noise or an expression on someone's face. My girls had no idea what that meant! My favorite explanation happened last night...

Fern is running through the wet grass and gets her sneakers sopping wet. I automatically think the girls won't know what sopping means. But, The Belle was quick to explain that sopping meant really wet so on we read. The Belle stopped me and said "why is her candy bar wet?". It took me a few seconds and then I realized she thought sneakers was snickers!!! The funny thing is that The Belle hasn't ever eaten a snickers because she doesn't like nuts and I'm really not sure when the last time she saw one was. Obviously, I have never referred to their tennis shoes and sneakers.
I just love how their minds think!!!

Jude Turned 5

We celebrated Jude's 5th birthday on Saturday. We were so excited to have all of the 6 cousins together for the first time! We started the morning off with an x-games birthday party.







We ended the night with a camp out at our house. Thanks to Aunt Sarah for setting up the tent. She had a little help in the daylight by my sweet husband but, she did the majority of the work in the dark. Believe it or not the kids slept really well in the tent (for the exception of The Lynn; after her first evacuation we brought her inside).






The kids played ALL day Sunday and were the dirtiest kids I have ever seen in my entire life. I literally bathed each one of mine three times.

It Pays To Be Cavity Free!

We had a very busy weekend but it was lots of fun! Friday the girls were invited to Triple Play for being cavity free at their 6 month check up. Their sweet dentist rented out the entire place just for her cavity free patients. I think that is quite the incentive to brush and floss!

The Belle in Training

The Belle has been asking to run a 5k for about a year now. We finally gave in and signed her up for one at the beach in a few weeks. Her daddy began training with her yesterday. She successfully ran a mile and asked if she could do it again when she finished. We thought it would be best if she rode her bike instead of doing too much in one day. I was so impressed at how much she enjoyed running!



We also signed The May up as a walker for the 5k. She was sure that since she is now 5 years old that she would be fine walking 3.1 miles......we will see!! The May and The Lynn rode bikes during The Belle's training. I should really look into a bikeathon next!

The May turned 5!

We had several days of celebrating our sweet May's 5th birthday! She started her birthday out by taking 80 (homemade) cupcakes to school and wearing a special "birthday girl" shirt that she specifically requested.



We started a dinner birthday tradition several years ago with the girls. They get to choose where they want to eat for their birthday. The May chose O'Charley's; ironically enough, I went into labor with her at O'Charley's 5 years ago! The waiter overheard us talking about it and gave The May a dessert for her birthday!




Saturday morning we had a Madeline themed party at the park (you can see in all the pictures how WINDY it was!!). We started off by reading "Madeline". Then the kids painted Madeline hats out of paper plates and bowls followed by a fun game of pin the hat on Madeline (the May colored the majority of Madeline herself). Special thanks to Mrs. Kelly who overnighted a special Madeline shirt all the way from California for The May to wear on her big day! The girls were so excited to play with all of her presents yesterday after church. She really loves playing school and thanks to Nana she pretty much got a classroom for her birthday. Thankfully, Nana came over after church and helped me organize The Lynn's room into a classroom/playroom.






I ordered The May a special Madeline clip to wear to her party off of Etsy. Unfortunately, it didn't arrive until Saturday afternoon (and the party was over). I thought it was so cute and thankfully I did get a picture of The May with her shirt and clip.


I still can't believe my sweet girl is 5!