Alyssa turns 3!

Alyssa had a minnie mouse themed birthday. She kept changing her mind between Minnie, Tinker Bell, and Dora. So, off to Walmart we went to get decor, so the decision was made...Minnie! I usually make the kids birthday cakes, but haven't done themed ones for the boys in a long time so I googled minne cake images and came across something similar to this. I was very happy with the way it turned out. Minnie's head is rice crispy treat shaped into balls and covered in dark chocolate. The white dots on the cake (minnie dress) are mini marshmellows cut in half. It turned out very yummy!
The moonwalk was a huge hit, as always. The kids loved it. Alyssa is big enough to get in it by herself now, so she kept herself busy playing in the backyard between the moonwalk, trampoline, and swingset. She had such a fun day.

Happy Birthday sweetie!

Easter

The kids always love Easter festivities. They get to munch on candy all day from start with Easter baskets at their bedside to end being stuffed with lots of great food at MeMe's. They had fun with their egg hunts and lots of goodies. I have to take my quick shot at a group photo before loading up the car since I know I probably won't get the opportunity again. After all that sugar/candy, they don't sit still very well. ha!

Ladies Night Out

Who knew I could actually move a paint brush to create something that looks halfway decent...or so that I could at least hang it in my house!

I had an evening out with some girl friends to an event called 'Corks n Canvas'. We had our wine and paint brushes ready to go. It was quite fun! Everyone's masterpiece turned out so unique. Mine will go in our bedroom. Even Rick liked it!

Beach, here we come!

Rick, Alyssa, & I headed to the one of the closest beaches, Hilton Head SC, to Atlanta for a long weekend.

Daddy helping Alyssa building sand castles, only for her to stomp through them shortly after.

She absolutely loved running around the beach. Every morning after waking, she wanted to put on her swim suit to go to the water.

They're were lots of very large yacht's in the marina.

I've officially hit the mid-thirties

Rick made my birthday cake and even decorated it! Yummy chocolate!

All the kids made me birthday cards, even Alyssa. She likes to draw her hand on cards as her stamp. Family members get the same imprint in their special occasion cards.

Alyssa figured a way to grab the sprinklers to spray it right in her mouth. At least she stayed hydrated in the heat!

Our get together with friends fell on the same day as my birthday. What a great way to celebrate the big 35. All the lil girls hanging in the pool. They had a blast and looked so cute.

Big girl bed

Alyssa has officially moved to her big girl bed! Now we have the nightly back and forth routine to get her to say in bed. Fortunately, once she finally settles in, she's there for the night. She loves her new bed!

Now, I just have to take down the crib. :(

Memorial Weekend Camping Trip

We went up to Lake Harwell in SC for the long holiday weekend. We had fun when we could...it rained every day we were there! We spent the last day huddled in the tent waiting for the rain to lighten up and dash items to pack in the car. Of course, as soon as we're all packed up and have to check out..the sun comes out!

It has rained everytime we have camped. I think I will have to change our plans if rain is in the forecast the next camping trip.

The kids still had a blast. They could either get wet from the lake or just stand around and let it fall on them.

Snuggled in the tent playing games was a great pasttime when the boys couldn't get in the lake.

Rick handled the grill pretty well...we only lost 2 burgers to the pit. ha!

Bright chalk still works on wet cement.

Alyssa kept herself entertained in the blow up pool most of the time. She loved it!

Alyssa turns 2!

My little girl is growing up so fast!

Most of her cousins came over to help her celebrate such a lil milestone for her.

Haylee had on her adorable tu tu.

She actually stood still for a photo.

Lil Eila was trying to keep up!

Bristin turned 2 as well. He is 2 days older than Alyssa.

The Pennington cousins.

Alyssa racked up on the gifts. Mom & Bill re-did the pink babydoll high chair on the left that was mine as a lil girl. She's really into baby dolls now.

Yummy cupcake! Happy Birdday to you!

Zoo

Ashley & I took the girls, Alyssa, Alexia, & Haylee to the zoo in Atlanta. It was my and & Alyssa's first time. We have a membership now so we can visit as often as we'd like!

Alexia & Alyssa are anxiously waiting for the next siting of animals.

Haylee is lovin the ride!

We stopped at the petting zoo. Alexia jumped right in to get a brush. She went around to as many animals as she could to get a brushing in.

This is about as close as Alyssa would get to the animals. ha! She liked looking at them, but was not about to get close enough to touch them.

This is the cutest picture! They were mezmorized by seeing a panda.

We definitely got our work out in! Picking up the girls to see some of the animals. Pulling them around the whole place. They loved it!

Behind the girls, you can see a zebra and giraffe.

This is hilarious. Alyssa has already found her own nose and does this every time she thinks something may be in there. It was funny that she poked her fingers up the gorilla's nose as soon as she walked up to the statue.

Us big girls had just as much fun as the little girls with our visit to the zoo. We'll definitely be going back!

Easter

We had friends and family over on Easter day for a scrumptous lunch by Chef Candace, who unknowingly left the pasta salad and rolls in the fridge. None the less all was full. Our delectable dirt cake was complete with Easter decor by mom. The Easter Egg hunt was a hit with the kids. It got quite hot out, but we enjoyed being outdoors anyway.

Alyssa was pretty competitive with the hunt. She didn't care that she had eggs spilling over the top of her bucket as she walked, she still wanted more!

She enjoyed her flower headband from her Easter basket that morning.

The kids dyed and decorated eggs with their cousins which was a first. They had a great time & were very creative! Even Alyssa wanted to color and dye an egg, but she didn't make it to the dye before she bit right into the shell.

Slide

Alyssa loves being outside! Even when the weather was still too cold to play outside, she wanted to go. Almost everyday we get home from daycare now, she starts the chanting, 'outside!, outside!'. She got this slide or as she calls it 'house' from Aunt Marci about a week ago since Landon had outgrown it a bit and she loves it! Thanks Aunt Marci!

Christmas in Mississippi

We went to the coast (MS) the day after Christmas to go see Grandma & family.

Grandma was trying to snap photo's of the kids opening their gifts.

Here are Andy & Sonya's twin girls, Allie & Emma, in their outfits that I made them for Christmas. I made them for my other young neices as well. It was quite the project to get so many sewn for Christmas. They turned out cute.

We took a trip into New Orleans to take a look around in the quarter. This is Andy & Sonya, my brother and sis-in-law.

We ate at a cafe in near the French Market. Yummy Muffaletta!

Sonya had a hard time believing this 'statue' wasn't real. After she gave him a tip, he winked at her. She was tickled!