PROUD MOMMA!!!!!!!!!!!

Excuse me while I brag on my boy..... :-)

We went for Brayton's Kindergarten testing today and it went extremely well. It looks like we have one smart cookie on our hands (we always knew that, ha! ha!). The teacher that tested him said he had one of the highest scores she had ever seen. There were several other teachers standing around that chimed in as well. The were all very impressed and went on and on about how smart he was :-) Of course, Frank and I were grinning ear to ear and couldn't stop! And you know me, tears swelled up in my eyes and I just wanted to hug him to pieces! (I'd feel that way NO MATTER WHAT...even he didn't know a thing!)

He scored PERFECTLY on the math portion. The score he made today is the "goal" score they have set for the end of the year. She asked him to count to 100, and he did. He told her he could keep counting if she wanted him to, but she didn't, ha! ha!

He scored high on the literacy portion also. He seems very excited and anxious to get started. I'm starting to warm up the idea, too. The teacher that tested him was very sweet and Brayton liked her a lot...so, we requested her :-). We'll go for registration on Wednesday (Aug 5) meet the teacher on the 14th and start school on the 17th!

We still need to go school supply shopping and do all the fun stuff. I'm getting excited. Nervous, but excited. I wish he'd want a cute little lunch box and back pack, but I know it's gonna be something like ninjas or Star Wars or GI Joe....that's OK, though. I'm ordering cute little Tshirts, too....can't wait to reveal them :-)

Frank is off this week and we hope to get some things done around the house (pressure washing, cleaning out the garage, organizing the playroom and my office). We also want to do some fun things with Brayton before school. I know a movie and children's museum is on our list. I also want to take him to Possibly Piccaso.

The beach was fun last week, but we're so glad to be back home. I'll save the details for another post.


Uh, I hate a post with no pictures....sorry!!!!

summer, summer, summerTIME!

Remember that song from Will Smith? Summer, summer, summertime! ha! ha!

whew! It has been some kind of crazy around here. Where does the time go? Between karate practice, soccer games (for Daddy), free movies, birthday parties and water park days....it seems like we stay on the GO!

Brayton (& Brinlee) LOVE these home made popcicles we've been making!

We've also enjoyed some lazy days at home. Seems like when we are home we have a yard full of kids...I love it! Sleeping late is definitely something we've been doing a lot of! We've got to start getting to bed earlier and practicing getting up at the crack of dawn! ha! Speaking of that, I FINALLY registered Brayton for school this past Monday. I missed early registration. Well, not really missed it, more like..didn't go! I think I have been in denial, plus I am a major procrastinator! I think he is starting to get more excited about school. He did say he didn't want to go because when he gets up early "his eyes hurt"...poor fella.

Our basket full of garden goodies. The garden is about dead now:-( Hopefully we'll still get 2 watermelons from it, though!

Brinlee is growing and changing everyday. She says "ball" and "momma" and "tanks" (thanks).
She really tries to say a lot, can't always understand it, but she tries. This morning she got off the couch all be herself. She LOVES to play ball. Her new things this month are guacamole and asparagus...she loves them both. She also cracks up laughing with this cheesy little smile and fake laugh when she hears others laughing. It cracks me up and melts my heart. She is definitely a clown! She is an animal at the water park! The girl is not afraid one bit! She keeps going and going, and when she finally falls under....it's all good. She's learned how to hold her breath under water already! She dances and looks around to make sure someone is looking at her while she is doing it, she loves to be the center of attention.

We had VBS at my mom's church last week. It was the Studio Go theme and Brayton LOVED it! Brinlee and I stayed most nights, too, so she got a little certificate, too! VBS at our church was at the beginning of the summer. It was Camp E.D.G.E. (Experiencing, Discovering, God Everywhere). I helped with the 7-8 year olds...whew, what a group. I have lots to look forward to!

VBS at Stallsville. This is where they have their bible story.

Believe it or not, Brayton and I have started discussing birthday options. I hate to say it, but it will be here before we know it. I love me some birthday parties, so I try to start planning early.
We have it narrowed down to these:
wolverine and xmen
ben 10
karate
ghost busters
star wars
Ben 10 and Star Wars is old news...karate, wolverine and ghostbusters are his new obsessions. I can hardly keep up anymore. Oh, and magic.

this is from Michael's Star Wars party we went to a few weeks ago. Brayton just loved it and thought it was so cool. They all had Jedi suits, cute!

Michael and Brayton

We leave for Myrtle Beach on Friday for a week. Frank has training so we're gonna make a family trip out of it. First we'll go to my grandma's to visit her. We'll head to the beach on Sunday and we'll have some special visitors waiting on us...Ge Ge and Pa Pa! YAY! They decided to take a little vacation, too!
When I get back I will FINALLY post Brinlee's 1 year slideshow and our MB pics!

Grandma and Brinlee! Two Peas in a Pod!

I can't wait to see her!

Fathers Day

I wasn't even going to post...but then decided I need to, this is my scrapbook after all.

My dear, sweet Granddaddy went to be with the Lord today at 12:30pm. He died at home surrounded by his family. He's been so sick, and has fought so hard... still, it doesn't make it any easier. Please keep my mom and the rest of my family in your prayers. Granddaddy is spending his Fathers Day in the arms of our Heavenly Father. He has a brand new body now, free from medicine, pain and oxygen tubes.

I have been blessed with two of the most wonderful, good hearted granddaddy's. I love them both so much and both have been very influential in my life. Both are with Jesus now...and with my Daddy in Heaven. Today is tough.

On a lighter note...I have the best BABY DADDY in the WORLD! Seriously! They don't get much better than Frank. He always makes time for his kids, ALWAYS! It is so important to him to spend quality time with them, and he makes them priority. He plays with them, he snuggles, he feeds and he bathes (he gave Brinlee a bath by HIMSELF last week during vacation bible school). He does it all. And he does it all with a smile on his face. I love him more and more everyday.

Frank and I have decided to do his "Fathers Day" next weekend. He got his card from Brayton this morning, but that's about it.

And while I may be officially "grandfatherless" and "fatherless", I still have one awesome father-in-law (A.K.A. Dad) and an amazing step dad. And most importantly, I have the love from the most important father of all, our Heavenly Father. He is the one that matters most. Without Him and His love, I'd be nothing. I am a child of God, and He is the ultimate Father.

What have we been up to?!?

OK. I am NOT a fan of long, wordy posts. I like short and sweet with lots of pictures. But, I gotta break the rules on this one...mama has some catching up to do!!!!


it's been a crazy summer already! I do wish I could document every little detail of our exciting lives, but it's just not possible!! I'm not that great at time managing to begin with. We have had a fun filled month and our summer is off to a great start! I am going to catch up on this one BIG post, with an exception of one SPECIAL post for my sweet, precious ONE YEAR OLD! Yep, my baby girl is now a one year old. More on the SWEET party and SWEET girl later....for now, here is her last month day picture sitting in her crib.

12 months

******************catching up now**********************

Mothers Day!
such an emotional and important day for me. We went to church with Tiffany, and let me just tell you...I am ready to spend every Sunday there...and then some! I love it. The message was powerful and that church has so much spirit! Afterwards, we had a cookout at mom's (and of course my favorite mother in law joined us).

I feel so honored and blessed to be a mother. I am so not worthy of the two beautiful children I have. I don't deserve them. period. They are so precious, perfect and they make my world go around. Being a mother defines who I am. Right or wrong, it's true...and I make no apologies for that. I wouldn't have it any other way. It's what I was put on this earth for. It completes me and it does define me. I strive to be the best mama I can be to my kids, and I fall short a lot of the time. I yell, I get frustrated and I also fall on my knees and ask for better days. Everyday is not perfect, but everyday is a gift...and I want to remember that and treat it as that as much as possible.

I have the best mom anyone could ask for. She is my best friend and has been for as long as I can remember. She is beautiful, inside and out. She is such a selfless person, putting everyone before herself. She is my hero. And I am so blessed to have the BEST mother-in-law ever! She is so easy to talk to. She has great advice, she is a great cook and raised the best MAN I have ever known!

**I also had Muffins with Mom at Brayton's preschool. It was so cute. They had candles on the tables with assorted mini muffins :-) He made a picture of me and this is what he wrote on the back:
My mom has brown eyes and black hair
My mom likes to clean up (bless his heart, guess it's what I do in my "spare" time, ha!)
My mom looks prettiest when she's going to a wedding (we've been going to a lot of those lately)
My mom is funniest when she tickles me (it's his favorite, the boy LOVES to be tickled)
I love my mom because she plays with me (and THIS is what matters most in life!)
Love, Brayton

We had to guess which belonged to us without seeing the childs name, of course I guessed right!
Mrs. Wendy also read the sweetest book. I think it was called "Hold on a little tighter." I don't thing there was a dry eye in the room.


We've had the LAST day of pre school. So bittersweet. The last day was celebrated with an ice cream party. Mrs Wendy also gave out "awards" with a candy theme. Of course, anyone who knows Brayton knows that he is a people pleaser and wouldn't DARE think to get in trouble at school (or church)...now with me, it's a whole other story! ha! He is also sweet, sensitive, super smart and a GREAT friend (am I braggin' or WHAT?!) Well, I am not the ONLY one who thinks so! Mr. Brayton was presented with the Mr. Goodbar award. Because he is "an overall GOOD BOY...a good student, a good friend and a good person...always willing to help out when needed." That makes a mama proud, real proud...and real emotional! After school Jeremy, Charley and Michael came home with us to play.



Mrs. Wendy and my boy :-)

He learned so much from her, she is wonderful!

Last day as a Pre Schooler...BOO HOO!

Charley, Meredith, Brayton, Michael, Jeremy, Katie,Olivia
Noah, Liam, Peyton, Gracie and Abby.
The Busy Bee's

My good boy with his "Mr Goodbar" award.

He stood for his picture at this same spot 3 years ago :-(

The boys after school

We've started a new activity...KARATE! He is thoroughly enjoying himself, maybe a little too much. Hopefully the discipline will come later. For now, he wants to show any and everybody his new "moves." I love the Doe-Joe (is that right?) we go to. It is Christian based and the instructor is wonderful! We'll see how things go. Once soccer rolls around we'll stop karate. I don't want him to be too tired, especially with kindergarten!
(pictures to come SOON!)



We had a very, very special party for a very, very special girl. I can not believe it has been a year already! I don't know what we ever did without our little princess. She is such a blessing and a little ray of sunshine. Here's a picture for now, but I will dedicate a separate post for her birthday!







Bling, Bling!
Somebody got some bling for her birthday! You know Ge Ge was about to have a fit over this. It's not that I didn't want them done...time just slipped away so fast, plus I didn't want to be the one to take her! So, Ge Ge, Pa Pa and Aunt Debbie Jo took my girl to Dorchester Jewelers 2 hours before her party! They say she did great, even reached for the lady to hold her after it was done! They gave her a little bear for being brave. I wanted pearls, but we have to wait 6 weeks for those. We had no other choice but diamonds. It took a while for them to grow on me, but I like them now :-)...and for the record: SO DOES DADDY! He wanted them done!

We've had an impromptu trip to Pennsylvania...on an AIRPLANE!
We were actually planning a summer trip to PA all along. We were going to drive up and visit all of Frank's relatives. However, things happened a little differently. Franks grandmother (his dad's mom) passed away. He was going to fly up for the funeral to be there for his dad. Then at the last minute (night before) we decide we should ALL go and get our trip over with. I have only flown ONCE in my lifetime, and didn't think I'd be flying again anytime soon, especially with two kids. It happened so quickly I didn't even have a chance to get nervous. We had to be at the airport bright and early, so were up and ready to go at 5am! Brayton was excited!

It was a huge success and super, duper easy! The flight attendants and other passengers couldn't get over how well behaved the kids were (am I bragging again?). Flying for 3.5 hours vs. driving for 13 hours...WOW! I loved it!!! Not sure if I'll ever be able to make that drive again.

Daddy was feeding her coke to keep her happy :-)

Once we got there, we visited lots of family. It was great! We stayed with Uncle Tony and Aunt Barbara. They had 2 granddaughters (Jenna & Krista) and an indoor pool, so Brayton was in Heaven. The weather was awesome...59!! We got a nice break from the heat!

We visited Pappy who is 95 years old! He is such a cutie and he is a little spunky to be 95! Pappy is Frank's moms dad. He showed Brayton the basement, his garden and gave the kids a little cheese corn puff snack that they LOVED! He showed Brinlee his talking bird. He was in the yard watering his roses when we pulled up.

This is the house he lives in. Nana (Franks mom) grew up in this house...and so did 95 yr old Pappy! Pappy's family built this house for $6,000.00. I think that is so neat and cool!

Bless his heart, he always stands outside and watches us drive off.

I am so happy we got to see all of our family!

While we there we hit a neat-o theme park that has free admission and free parking AND was featured on the FOOD NETWORK for it's tasty food! Can't get much better than that! It's called Knobles. Very family oriented and fun, fun, fun! They had some pretty awesome roller coasters that Frank and I got to try out, too! The Twister was an older, wooden roller coaster that gave me whip lash! For real!

Frank and Brayton mining!

1 year check up

When we got back from PA Brinlee had her 1 yr well check. I hate shots. I know they are necessary, but I feel so helpless. She is a little peanut for sure.

18 lb 11oz

29 inches

10th percentile

But she's perfect :-)

WATER PARK!

We have yearly passes at the water park! YEE HAW! Brinlee has no fear. I was hoping I'd be able to sit at the edge while she played peacefully with her toys in the shallow part....WRONG! That girl wants to RUN all over the place and does not want me to hold her hand! She's a handful!

We've had playdates, water balloon fights, popsicles and sprinklers. And, we're enjoying the free movies at the Azalea Square. We are having a blast (and going crazy at times) and wishing it would last a little longer......

pool party

The tacky tattoo uncle Jr put on her while I wasn't looking. He thought it would make me mad, but it made me laugh!

enjoying the pool

the neighborhood possie...minus 2 or 3 more...

Lots of rain=Lots of MUD!

Just a swingin'

water balloon fight!

RUUUUUUUN!

summers are good for sleeping in, too :-)

One last thing, Brinlee said "Brayton" this past Monday night. I was on the phone with my mom and she heard...so I FINALLY got a witness. She said it very plain and out of nowhere!

She also likes to sit in this chair (which is in our foyer) when she goes poo poo. Maybe I'll be lucky and have another one potty train early :-)

See. Told You. One LOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG post!

Happy Summer, Everyone :-)