Friday, August 23, 2013

BACK TO SCHOOL FEAST: 2013

we had our annual back to school supper wednesday night. we waited until dave was home. hallie was totally grouchy about...salad (?) maybe....i sat in the wrong spot? i don't remember and i'm sure she doesn't either. she is totally BEAT after school. i love it. wear her out!
 
 
 
 
 
wooohoo!
 
anyway, we just had tacos, fresh fruit and corn, chips and salsa (minus the salsa, because i forgot) and ice cream sandwiches for dessert. good times. oh, and of course we had sparkling cider in fancy goblets, even though hallie refused to "cheers!" with me.
 
 
 
 
how rude.
 
the theme for this year is "FOCUS" and "BE A FRIEND." i want her to be friendly to everyone and stick up for anyone being picked on. i want her to stay away from bratty, mean girls and boys and be niiiiiiice.
 
 

Thursday, August 22, 2013

45.

bug bites.
 
 
this poor girl. she must have sugar in her blood.
 
and apparently rolling around in grass and climbing trees all day long makes for a GREAT summer, but also for GREAT bug bait.
 
and try putting anti-itch cream on raw bites. much screaming ensued.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

CONCERTS IN THE PARK.

sunday nights in jacksonville are really happenin'. they do some rocking concerts in community park and we've been picking up grandma lucille and rockin' out the last two sundays.
 
just me, the kiddos, lucille and lots of old people in lawn chairs. 
 
 
 
 
 
my kids ate a lot of cheetos, and hallie ended up listening to her "phone" most of the time. but i hope they remember these times with lucille. maybe i'm just extra sentimental these days, but it means something to me to do stuff like this with her.
 
she enjoys it and so do i.

SECOND GRADE.

well, a success so far! she has had two GREAT days and i'm sure today will be great too.
 
we have an after-school nanny to chauffeur hallie to various activities after school and then head back to my work by 4:30pm. it's working out perfectly. it's nice to get the activities done right after school so that we have freeeeeee evenings. nothing better.
 
she's growing up so much. so fast.

 

 
 mrs. bourn!
 
what, you want a comparison? okay!
 
pre-k
 
(sniff, sniff. SOB)
 
Kindergarten
 
1st
 
2nd
 
the end.
 

Monday, August 19, 2013

I HAVE NO WORDS.

today was hallie's first day of second grade. i have pictures and could tell you all about how excited she was this morning...and i will. later.
 
but right now all i can think about are two teenagers, two young kids, someone's babies, who will not be starting school at all this year.
 
this is a pretty tight community. our kids go to jacksonville schools, but our hearts are in a small community just north, where we go to church. it's where dave grew up, where he went to school and where most of our friends reside.
 
and our community lost two kiddos on saturday night in a terrible car accident.
 
a sophomore and a senior, girl and boy.
 
brother and sister.
 
i can't even fathom what those parents are going through right now. both their children. their only children. gone.
 
it makes me want to scream and cry and never let my children out of my sight.
 
it also makes me feel out of control, since obviously we have no control.
 
but God does. and He's the only one who does. there's a plan, there's something in this mess that means something. i just don't know if we will ever find out in our lifetime.
 
i pray for the families.
 
i pray for the friends and all of the kid mourning right now. there are so many.
 
i pray for the person (another community member) who hit them. it wasn't his fault, but his life will forever be different.
 
it is heartbreaking. so, so heartbreaking. it's hard to think about anything else.
 
but i have my own babies and they are growing up before my eyes.
 
i don't want to miss a single second.
 
rest in peace, peyton and zoe o'neil.

Friday, August 16, 2013

REDECORATING. OFFICE EDITION.

i want to redecorate my office. i do.
 
there is nothing worse than working in a space for 8-9 hours a day that has very little reflection on your personality.
 
actually, there are lots of things worse than that. but still.
 
i want my office to be a pretty place. if it had a window, even better. i mean it does have a window, a huuuuge one, but it looks out into our main reception/hallway area. so no natural light. boo.
 
i also don't want to spend anymore, so there's that. this will be tricky.
 
first things first, i added some plants. i'm breathing better already ;)
 
 
 
next up is some simple, graphic art. it was originally supposed to be in the basement bathroom, but i think that it is very appropriate, since i work at a college. perfect, actually. and, it's pink.
 
 
 
i also brought in a little wooden cup that my dad made from a chunk of wood. (see above).
 
next up is some chalkboard paint. oh yes.
 
and a new clock that has been in henry's closet forever. i'm basically raiding my old stuff.
 
yay!
 
 

Thursday, August 15, 2013

NATURE.

 
 
 
 
hallie and i took a hike around our pond a few weeks ago. the cows have made some perfect walking trails and we had a blast exploring the wilderness.
 
two adventurers are we!
 
it is amazing to me how quickly i forget that we have this amazing resource right in front of our home. as soon as we got under the trees it was like a different world. my little tree climber was all over the place. she was in heaven.
 
until the spiderweb incident, but let's not talk about that. *shiiiiiver*
 
we also found a corpse of a deer (?) that was super gruesome and awesome. that held our attention for quite some time.
 
it was one of those magical afternoons. she had my full attention and we had really soaked up that time together.
 

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

EYES.

darn you, perfect eye sight! this little girl wants glasses!
 
too bad, so sad, hallie.
 
don't you worry though, if you take after your mama, you will be seriously blind by fourth grade.
 
and,
 
another comparison! yay!
 
last year:
 
check out the bandaids! and the tats! and the toe bandage. wow.
 
this year:
 
my big girl :)

Monday, August 12, 2013

SMALL-TOWN PARADES ARE MY FAVORITE. AND THE WEEKEND.

we had a lovely weekend.
 
we attended the chapin big country days parade, drew on the driveway and ended it with shopko shopping and a concert in the park with grandma lucille.
 
it was really, really nice.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Thursday, August 8, 2013

AND WE GOT A KITTEN.

named tiger.
 
so precious, but riddled with fleas. we got them under control and now he is WILD.
 
but cute wild in only the way that baby kitties can be.
 
he attacks anything that moves and puffs up at the smallest of noises. he lets us haul him around and loves zoey and lucky.
 
he is so stinkin' cute and dave hasn't had an allergic reaction once. which makes me think maybe he's over his cat allergy? so maybe we should let tiger in ;)
 
i love to just watch him be wild. i constantly say, "oh look at the baby kitty! he's so cute!

 
 
i love baby kitties.

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

ON THE ACTUAL DAY.

on her actual birthday, i took her to get her nails done. just like last year.
 
if you really know hallie, you know that she does her (own) nails about eight times a day. we go thru nail polish remover like it's popsicles. she loooooves to do her nails/have them done.
 
comparison time!
 
last year:
 
 
and...this year:
 
whomp!
 
TEETH!
 
 

then we went out to lunch and movie with papapa before meeting up with daddy at the mo/co fair.










the end.