California

Wow! We had such a great time in California celebrating Caitlin's graduation. Of the seven (soon to be eight!) grandkids, there are six who are 5 and under. They all got along amazingly well - like they played together all the time. What a joy to all be together. The next high school graduation celebration will be Audrey's in 2020. SCARY!! I won't even think about how old we'll all be when that happens! Hopefully we'll all be able to be together again and think about all the great memories we've had over the years. We talked about doing another all-family summer vacation next summer - let's do it!! Start saving now and let's head to New Mexico!

While in San Diego, Kevin and I had the opportunity to go to the US Open on Friday. What a treat! And yes, I really do like watching golf! I don't do it just for Kevin's sake - for those that know me well, you know I'm not that nice! haha... We got to see Tiger and Phil make their way through the 18th hole and we parked ourselves at the 7th hole to see several groups go by - including Rocco Mediate's. What a beautiful course and the weather was wonderful!

Here are some pics from our trip. Wish we could do it more often. Love you all! - Holly

The graduates

It's hard to believe that Audrey has finished Kindergarten! She officially "graduated" on May 22. They wore caps and gowns and even got diplomas. It was so sweet to watch them do their recitation together for the last time as a class. We feel so blessed to have her at Covenant - a place where God comes first. We couldn't be happier about her first year in school. The day before graduation, Audrey had a field day - the kindergarten classes had friendly competitions with water balloon fights, races, tag, and some crazy game where they had to run to a pile of clothes, put them on and spin around and then take the clothes off and run back to tag the next person. I had never heard of that one, but they had fun doing it! Most importantly, Audrey received the sportsmanship award for the kindergarten classes (for the girls.) Her sweet friend Bronson, our carpool buddy, received the award for the kindergarten boys. Must be all that good advice Sharon and I give during our weekly carpool drives! Ha!! We just have sweet kids. I was very proud of Audrey.


Not to be out done, Tatum had a last-day-of-school party and she also received a diploma. She will now officially be in the "older threes" class next year! She's had a great first year of preschool and she's changed so much in the past year. The other day she told me she was done with "the Tatum talk" and then she kept asking me if I noticed how much her words had changed. She's a nut! I think she just wants to be big like Audrey. She's already claiming to be four and it's hard to convince her otherwise!


Can't forget Hudson - he's just crazy! He is obsessed with Nemo these days - he's always walking around saying "Nemo, Nemo, no!!" and "but" (boat). He can also say "shark bait," but I would have no way of knowing how to spell his version of how he pronounces it! It's cute. He is constantly telling Tatum (Taydoo) "no!" and running away from her or something. He calls himself "honey," which I guess is a way of saying Huddy.


Summer is here - time for lazy days and not having to get up at the crack of dawn. Look for our next post in the next few days -- we went camping with the girls!!

Happy Mother's Day!

The girls wanted to send some love to Mamaw in California! Happy Mother's Day Mom!! Wish we were there to hug your neck and tell you ourselves. But we'll see you very soon! We feel so blessed that our kids have such amazing grandmothers who both love the Lord and, we know, pray continuously for our kids. Your example and love for them is a huge blessing from God. To Mamaw and Geebee - we can't say thanks enough for all you do for our family. We love you!!

The video

You're probably sick of the swingset! Too bad. I'm testing out posting video from our new camera. It's awesome. This is my second attempt - hopefully it will work! It's not near as entertaining as Keely's post (check our her blog - homecooks.blogspot.com). But hopefully it will work!

Motorcyle Mania!

We are so proud of our nephew Colton, who at almost 5, is more talented on his motorcycle than most adults! He is going to participate in his first race later this month. Wow! Of course, my brother Mike is just about the most fearless person I know so I shouldn't be surprised that his son is as well!! But I did want to show that the apple doesn't far fall from the tree in our house as well as far as riding motorcycles is concerned! Just take a look at the FEAR on the faces of our daughters as they cautiously sit on the bike with Uncle Alan. They actually rode with him for a bit...but like their mama - they are a bit nervous!!! I guess we won't be signing them up for motorcross races any time soon!! These pics were taken May 2007. -- H

Our new Horned Frog!!

We are so proud of Caitlin getting into TCU! What a major accomplishment. She came to visit a few weeks ago and I think she got her fill on Sonic during the seven days she was here! We were either at Sonic, doing something related to TCU or playing cards (SkipBo and Phase 10!) She beat me most of the time. We can't wait until August when she is here. I know the California crew will miss her like crazy -- but what an adventure she'll have here.

If you want to know more about what a Horned Frog is, here's a link! It will tell you all you need to know! :)

http://www.admissions.tcu.edu/funstuff/horned_frog.asp

H

The playhouse

The playhouse is done! Wow - it's incredible! I think it took Kevin about 20 hours to put together. The kids love it! Even Hudson is learning to climb up. When he wants help up, he says "Come on, Come on." At least, that's what I know he's saying! It's much more kid-friendly than the pond, and so far we haven't found RATS nesting there, which is what we found when we disassembled the pond! Yuck!

On the picture of the three kids, I told them to make a funny face - Hudson immediately went for the nose pick. What a kid! The girls have already imagined spending the night in the clubhouse. I'll let Kevin handle that one!

Now that I'm not having trouble with posting pictures on our blog, I'll do my best to keep it updated. -- H