Memorial Day at the Lake!

Week 52:  Memorial Day weekend...here we come!  To get ready for an exciting weekend at the lake, we needed to recover from being at the beach!  MV had her last Girl Scout meeting as a kindergartner.  She had to present her pet project.  Now, most of you know that we (I) know a lot of things about animals and have had many pets (and worked for a vet), but my precious child chose a hamster has her pet project.  This is the one animal that I could not tell you a thing about taking care of, so we headed to Pet Smart!  This is one of John Bay's favorite stores, he loves to go see all of the animals!  The manager at the store was amazing, he answered all of our questions so that we could do the perfect pet project!  MV was a champ and she learned all of the fact and gave an amazing presentation - who would have thought that at age 6 you would have to stand up and give a speech!

We kept up with our Alphabet Activities...it was B-Day!  We made B's (bees), made bubble art, blew  up balloons with baking soda and vinegar, and had a water Balloon fight! I was impressed with how into the water balloons the kids were...we will have to do it again (soon)!  (We have to have something to keep to beat this Louisiana heat.)

Friday we got up early and headed to the lake!  In my opinion, there is no better way to spend the weekend - relaxing at the lake, yummy food, riding in the boat and enjoying time with friends and family!  Thank goodness we got up early on Friday, we were able to let the kids swim and then head to Niffers for dinner with both families.  It is one of our favorite traditions for our lake visits!  The food is delicious and the kids love the Balloon Man!

Saturday we looked forward to a full day of fun in the sun and playing on the lake!  We were tubing and swimming all morning - at least until the water started to get a little rough.

After a mid-day boat ride and lunch, we headed over to Gigi and Jaja's for a swim in pool and to visit with them and Nancy for a little while!  We were able to wear out the kids in the pool and have a snack before we headed back to the Whatleys for more swimming and fun on the boat!

The kids are trying to get the hang of the kayak!

On Sunday, MV, Ed, and Mimi  headed to church to watch our friend's baby be baptized in the lake.  The rest of us waited at the house for the Youngbloods to arrive! 

 Once the Youngbloods got there, it was time to hit the water again (and the tube).

 After a wild and rough ride, the girls took a break and let JB ride with Ed!

 We had a fun afternoon visiting and catching up...

 ...and swimming!  They even got the moms on the tube...Allison and I thought we were going to die out there!  I couldn't let go long enough to tell them to slow down!  Ed's cousin pulled him on the tube and I think he only lasted for a couple minutes, if that, before he fell in and lost his sunglasses. 

We needed a late afternoon snack of watermelon (and a seed spitting contest)!

It is  always hard to leave the lake, but this weekend held a special memory... 

This weekend marks our one year anniversary - it was one year ago that we packed up, headed to the lake or a fun weekend and then moved to Louisiana! I can't believe it has been a year.

We can't wait to head back to the lake and see our families again!

Orange Beach

Orange Beach with the Family! 

We had so much fun spending time with all of the cousins.  We got into town Friday night and we were excited to find out that there were a lot more Whatleys in town then we had planned on - we were in time to hit the grocery store and fix a yummy piece of grouper for dinner!  The kids were so happy to see each other - I am glad that they are getting to spend some time with each other, even if it is just for a weekend here and there.  Mary Virginia and John Bay loved playing with Maggie!  They spent the first night showing her the ropes of being a "big" kid - video games, movies, and lots of new toys!

After a crazy night, sleeping 7 Whatleys in the bunk room, we were ready to play in the water and put our feet in the sand!  We stayed on the bay side, the kids were able to watch the boats and play in the water without getting knocked out by the waves!  We also had the dogs to play with in the water which was so much fun.  John Bay loved chasing Cash through the waves - I am not sure that Cash appreciated being hit with a squirt gun while he was "catching" fish and eating the waves.

This was Maggie's first trip to the beach and I think she caught on pretty quick!

Mary Virginia taught Maggie how to make sand castles.

Uncle Wade was working on the boat and the kids wanted to help!

And then it was time for swimming in the pool.  The pool was the perfect size and the kids could swim around it and play without much trouble!  There were lots of families there, which meant lots of kids to play with!  Maggie didn't want to swim, but she loved it when Ed threw her up in the air!

Mrs. Connie showed John Bay how to dance on the balcony. (What a great way to enjoy the music and friends, looking out at the water and all the boats!)

We ordered pizza - this is how Maggie chose to eat dinner!

John Bay passed out before dinner, but once he woke up and had a little pizza, he was ready to go!  We have been promising the kids that they could ride the Ferris Wheel at The Wharf for a while now, so Ed and I took them to ride!  They loved it and we did too, although I was worried about how high we were!

They were ready to ride again and again - the height had no effect on them! We can't wait until next time!  After a fun ride, it was time for ice cream.  Our usual ice cream store wasn't open, so we hit up Dip & Dots. (The kids were a little confused by this type of ice cream, but they tried it anyway and loved it!)

 

It was a fun weekend at the beach with family!  I couldn't have asked for a better time.  We hated to leave on Sunday.  The kids went swimming with Ed on Sunday morning while we all packed.  Then it was time to head to Lulu's for lunch! 
We tried all weekend to get a picture of the cousins together, but it just wasn't happening!  This was the best that we could do...

It was hard to say goodbye!  We can't wait to do it again soon and we can't wait to see our family again soon!

Kindergarten Graduation

Week 51:  This was one of those weeks were I was so excited and yet a little sad all at the same time!  This was kindergarten graduation week.  I can't believe that my "first baby" is old enough to graduate from kindergarten. 

She was so excited to show off for her brother and he was equally excited to go to the big school and watch his sister!

Here are a few pictures from graduation - I wasn't able to get as close as I would have liked!
Mary Virginia and a couple of friends waiting on the rest of the class to join them on the stage:

In our school district there is no separate music program for the students. The classroom teachers go above and beyond to teach the children songs to help them learn.  During the graduation ceremony, we were able to see and hear some of the song that they sing!

Receiving her "diploma".  MV also received an outstanding art award!  I am so proud!

The Graduates!

Receiving her library/AR award!

A quick family portrait...JB was exhausted.  The ceremony went on for a while (he was DONE)!

MV and one of her favorite classmates

This is as close as I could get them without them hurting each other (I think we are going to have a wild summer)!

MV is pretty much done with the school year as of 11:30 on graduation day, so I guess that I now have a 1st grader and one in 3K!  It is going to be a wild and crazy summer, but I am looking forward to spending time with these kiddos...

Along with the craziness of graduation and getting into the swing of summer, I have been working on a few wreaths for a friend's house.  I wanted to share the final products! 

Thanks to Mary Virginia and her request for another summer of Alphabet Activities, we are going to be busy, but having lots of fun! (I am thinking it is going to be messy too!)

You will love to see our adventures as we make it through the alphabet!

A Day!

We focused on Apples and Alligators and writing the letter A!

(I am still trying to get JB to cooperate and let me take a picture of him with his Alligator!)

This is MV with her A-Day snack...Apple Mouth!

Watch out Orange Beach - The Whatleys are on the way (all of us)!