The Lilly Family

Merry Christmas!

2012-01-05T20:12:00.000-06:00

We had so much fun getting ready for Christmas...decorating, talking about Baby Jesus (and Santa too!), with Christmas programs and now....decorating Gingerbread Men cookies with G! So fun and SO yummy!

Our Christmas Eve with my family...

We must have been good this year...Santa DID come! Stephen was so excited! He woke up well before 6 am and the sunrise, ready to check out what Santa brought! He was so funny trying to wake his sleepy sisters, who just wanted to sleep a little longer (as did mom and dad!!). Once they woke enough to realize that Santa had come, they were excited and ready to ransack the tree!

Santa was good to us this year!

Langston's new doll came dressed as her favorite princess!

So did Carson's!

Stephen's new "Super Cool" bike!

Happy Faces!

Santa brought Langston's doll (Rebecca) some new clothes, including her favorite...a swim suit, swim cap and goggles!!

Carson's absolute favorite...MORE ponies!!! I love the look of excitement on her face!!

Stephen didn't even wait for the sun to come up to start putting together his new LEGO sets....thanks Santa, we need MORE lego's!!! :)

Santa also remembered the girls liked this play Cinderella's Castle from when we were in Disney World! They were so amazed that he brought it all that way and they have LOVED it!

Night Night! The girls are having a slumber party in Carson's new Tinkerbell tent that Aunt Ann & Uncle Ron gave her! Merry Christmas to all!

Christmas Programs Galore!

2012-01-05T19:52:00.000-06:00

If you have ever been to a children's Christmas program, then you know it just screams of Christmas praise and joy of so many children singing off key and happy for it! Honestly, it is one of my most favorite things....to watch our innocent and adoring little lambs praise our sweet Lord, it brings out the Christmas spirit in me...I hope it does for you too!

This year, we got to see all three of our children perform in Christmas programs. Each was very different, but they were all very special.

Apparently the new spotlights are just a bit too bright!!

That's the smile that I LOVE!!!

Canterbury's 4K is Performing their Christmas Program....my sweet one happens to be an Angel :)

Young Mary finding out she will have a baby and He will be the Messiah!

I just love her reaction!!

Hoping the Innkeeper has some room!

The arrival of Baby Jesus

'Angel's we have heard on high"!! Here is my sweet Angel!

The Wisemen offering their gifts...

Daddy with his Angel

G and Langston

Nana and Langston

Molly and Langston

I love my sweet Angel

Shortly after my sweet Angel performed, I went to see my other Angel sing a few songs for mommy's and daddy's and to give us a sweet gift. Sadly, this is the best picture I took of this sweet couple...I did take some better video feed that I will upload soon!

Merry Christmas to ALL!!!

Happy Birthday Paul!

2012-01-05T19:48:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday to the best husband and daddy anyone could ask for!!! We had a late breakfast celebration for his Birthday Breakfast due to a very early basketball game for Stephen's team, but we still enjoyed it and were able to wish Paul the happiest of birthdays!

One Little Pilgrim & One Little Indian...BOTH so cute!

2012-01-05T19:47:00.000-06:00

This year's Thanksgiving Program was extra special...not only did I have a sweet Pilgrim performing in her 4K Class, but I also had a precious little Indian performing in the same program with her 3K Class. It was really neat to have both my girls in the same program and even more sweet that they were so close to each other on stage. I just LOVE to see them perform and sing songs and get so excited about these programs, so it was so much fun to see two of my sweet babies perform at the same time....and of course, they did a wonderful job!!

Wow!

2012-01-01T00:12:00.001-06:00

Wow, is really all that I can say! I can't believe that is has been since August that I last updated this blog!!!! SOOO much has happened in between this time. I have tried my best to condense it all in to a few short posts, but there are SO many pictures and memories to go through! I did do my best to make it chronological in order :) Just scroll down to see (only) a glimpse of what you have missed since August. There are still a few to come, but this is all I could do tonight!

Oh, and here is to keeping a better log in the new year!!! Happy New Year to all!

Disney 2011! Oh, What a Magical Time!

2011-12-31T21:20:00.000-06:00

And.....we're off! After nearly a year long of planning for this trip, we are finally taking off!!! This is the first time for the kids to fly, I was a little worried about it, but they did great! They were ready to get to Disney!!!

Aloha!

Carson's first time to meet Mickey Mouse! Oh how sweet that was!

The Lilly's with Mickey & Minnie

The WHOLE gang with Mickey & Minnie!

Love this!!!

The girls with Rapunzel

Giving Pascal some love :)

Yes, 'It's A Small World' has NOT changed a bit!!!

Thunder Mountain....

Woohoo!!

Best seats in the house!

Magical Christmastime Castle!

Not sure how she pulled it off, during a VERY loud parade....but, yes, she is asleep...

And slept through a VERY loud and elaborate fireworks display! WOW!!

My Starstruck Princess meeting all her favorite Princesses and their Prince!

Well...I could not let this little one NOT have a photo opp with her MOST favorite Princess of all AND her Prince!!! Snow White wanted us to lay Carson down on the bench behind us and let the Prince kneel next to her like she was the actual Snow White, but I was afraid if Carson woke up during this, that she would LITERALLY freak out, so we conceded to a quiet photo!

Yes, she is just smitten with all of this Royalty!!

She couldn't wait to meet Rapunzel AND Flynn Rider (AKA Eugene!!!)

Ready for Epcot!

Getting Ready for the Princesses at Akershus in Norway!

Sweet Nana, people watching

Striking the Warrior pose with Mulan!

Dancing with Mexican Donald :)

Fighting off the (VERY RANDOM) Dark Forces challenge on the sidewalk!

Welcome to Hollywood Studios..."I love you Minnie Mouse, love Carson"

Getting ready for Toy Story Mania

Darth Vadar....It's time for Jedi Training!!!

Happy Faces!

Someone has their eye on someone!!

Woohoo! A kiss too!!

No dear, there is nothing on your cheek and I promise not to tell anyone or show anyone these pictures!

Yes, Aunt Casey has a thing for Pluto!!

Thunder Mountain....FRONT ROW= AWESOME!!!

We were on the 2nd row...pretty fun too!! :)

Good-bye Disney! We loved being here and CANNOT wait to come back!!

Halloween 2011

2011-12-31T20:42:00.000-06:00

Lemon-AID Stand

2011-12-31T20:30:00.000-06:00

Usually, every year, our church will offer a 'Reverse Offering', in which, during the time that you would normally give your offering, you actually receive an envelope containing an offering. Each envelope contains different amounts and each recipient is asked to make spend that money by making it go farther and doing something good with it. This year, we teamed up with 2 of our favorite family friends, the Mundys & the Hobbs and we decided to make a Lemon-AID stand to raise money to contribute towards sponsoring at least one child for The Festival of Three Kings Christmas Drive (similar to Angel Tree). The kids were very excited and did a great job and overall, we actually raised enough money to sponsor 2 children...a great accomplishment for this hard working crew! It was great fun putting it all together, watching the children take charge of it and then letting them pick out the gifts for these children in need. What a great way to start off the Advent season!

Fancy Nancy Party

2011-12-31T20:10:00.000-06:00

Langston had the most wonderful birthday this year. There is something about turning 5 that just says...."Go ALL Out!" Well, we didn't do ALL out, but we did have a fabulous and VERY fancy party with no other than, Fancy Nancy herself! The girls were SOOOO excited for her to come and they had SOOO much fun. It was truly one of the most fun parties we have had! Here are a few pics from the party....

Happy Happy 5th Birthday to MY Sweet Langston!!

2011-12-31T20:00:00.001-06:00

Here's to my sweet Angel that just turned 5! OH MY! How time does fly! It's amazing all the memories I have of carrying your in utero and up to that memorable delivery! I truly am so blessed by you as my daughter and love you so much. Thank you for the daily laughs/the daily entertainment that you provide, as well as just being you. I love you bunches my angel (oh, & yes, I like your creative style!)

Lovin' the Lake....Obviously!

2011-08-12T20:55:00.001-05:00

It seems August was truly a blur! We got to spend most of our time at the lake, a place we LOVE to be, under the company of great friends and family. We introduced more friends to the infamous "Bumble Bee", fell in love with a new tube and learned to ski! It was so hard to leave the lake and return home to get ready for school! I can't believe our summer is over! What a great summer it has been!

Best Buds!

Love this picture!

Even Mrs. Christie got to ride! And yes, we did a little showboatin'!

Can't believe it, but he got up on the first try!

Thumbs up! Great Job Stephen!

The Queen of facial expressions!

A new love...tubing! Who is this kid and what did he do with my Stephen!!!

Channeling our 80's fitness era....just need some leg warmers!

Nothing like a good sunset cruise! Thanks Doc!

More Fun on the Lake...

2011-08-01T22:25:00.000-05:00

We got to spend a fun weekend at the lake with the Kearse family. The kids were super pumped to introduce Marrison to the "Bumble Bee". Marrison hopped right on and had a blast. They are all too fearless for me!

We did stop and take a quick swim break!

We even had a little bit of rain blow through. The kids thought this was really neat and kept saying they were having a Rain Party! Oh and in case you were curious, there was no thunder or lightning!!

Sweet little Paul!

Think we tuckered him out! Can't believe he fell asleep on the boat with all the bouncing and wave action as the kids were riding the tube, but he did and he was most content!

Cheers to TEN years!!!

2011-07-28T10:18:00.000-05:00

Happy Anniversary to my one and only! It is so hard to believe ten years has gone by! Wow, how times flies! I have been so blessed with the most wonderful husband, who also happens to be the greatest father to our children I could ever have dreamed! Thank you, Paul, for ten wonderful years. Cheers to a chance encounter at Hillcrest High School many years ago! Much love and excitement looking towards the next ten!

xoxo,

Another One Bites the Dust!

2011-07-25T22:22:00.001-05:00

The Tooth Fairy is back in action!

Divisional Championships

2011-07-21T21:59:00.001-05:00

We wrapped up our first experience with Swim Team today and I could not be prouder of my little Piranhas! They did great and had a great time in spite of the heat and the long day. We were also proud that our small squad that was able to represent the Piranhas (very early in the day in the middle of the week) came in a close 2nd (of 5 teams present) behind the host team. It was a great day for all of our swimmers and it was fun to see my children enjoy being a part of it! Congrats to the 2011 Pine Tree Piranhas!

Stephen getting a pep talk before his very first relay event!

These girls look a little serious, but actually, as I was pulling out my camera, they were having a good time goofing off. Kind of funny since neither of them has ever met!

Getting read for her first event, the freestyle.

She rocked it in the water on her freestyle and won her heat! So proud! And, she beat her best time again, this time by 7 seconds! Way to go Langston!

Stephen on the blocks for Breaststroke. He had a good meet too and did very well. Way to go bud!

The thumbs up on a great experience! Looking forward to next year!

Back to the Lake, must be the weekend!

2011-07-18T21:50:00.000-05:00

Another Swim Meet!

2011-07-11T21:48:00.002-05:00

The Pine Tree Piranha's were ready for their home meet against Hoover Country Club. They all did a great job, swam hard and got another W! Congrats! Of course, I am partial to my 2 Piranha's, they did so well...I am so proud!

Langston getting ready for her freestyle

Take your mark....GO!

She swam so hard and did awesome! She beat her best time by 20 seconds and....

won her heat and got a very special ribbon! Way to go Langsey! She was so proud of her ribbon, she literally showed it to anyone who would look at it!

We had a great cheering section, Aunt Molly & Papa Joe came to watch us swim this night.

Yes, more pictures with the prized ribbon....seriously, when you are the ONLY 4 year-old on the team & typically the only 4 year old swimming in most of our meets, against 5 & 6 year olds....it's a big deal to me!

One proud momma!

Stephen getting ready for his freestyle. I love to watch them get ready to go, they look so serious. I can only imaging what they are thinking...I am quite sure I would be saying, "Dear God, just get me to the other side...alive!"

Thanks Aunt Molly for cheering us on!

MORE Lake!

2011-07-09T21:42:00.000-05:00

More time at the lake...our home away from home (other than the pool that is!!)....

Little miss priss is getting ready for some fun!

All by herself...she was so proud!

Of course, she has to give her cheering fans a wave!

Stephen gave her a pep talk beforehand...it was really sweet!

After that, it was off for a little siesta while we cruised around the lake for a ride. Mark this one in the books, it is the first nap this child has had in nearly a year!!!

The newest member of the family....meet the Bumble Bee Bomber! He is HUGE!!!

We are ready to try it out!

Woohoo! Fun times!

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-06T21:35:00.000-05:00

Wow, it's hard to believe it is already July!!! Where is summer going!!! Pretty soon we will be back to school and I am NOT ready for that. We have had such a fun summer, I am loving having my kids at home, watching them enjoy various camps they get to go to, swimming at the pool, watching them work hard for their swim team....yes, it's been a busy summer, but it has been a great one! I look forward to living it up these seemingly few remaining days we have left!

We had a wonderful 4th of July at the lake...our second home it seems! We welcomed the most exciting news...these two lovebirds (pictured below) are finally ENGAGED!!! Congrats to Molly & Chad. We look forward to the wedding festivities that lie ahead!

Wrestling the crocodile!

What a face!

Thumbs up!

"Cowabunga"!!

Takin' down the croc!

Nothin' like a little dance party on the pier! If only I had it on video!

The 4th could not be complete without a little fun game (or many) of cornhull! Happy Fourth of July to all! Many thanks & blessings to those who have served & those still serving to keep us free to celebrate this wonderful day!

Back to the Beach!

2011-07-01T20:55:00.000-05:00

We had another fun week at the beach. It was nice to get away after all the stress of pulling of helping direct Canterbury's Vacation Bible School, camps, swim meets and the daily swim practices that have us at the pool at 8am EVERY day (& somehow get sucked in to staying till noon)!! Sadly, it took me a couple of days to decompress from VBS, but once I relaxed, we had a great time. I love seeing my kids have fun, using their imaginations to build sandcastles or battlefields, going on treasure hunts and just loving life at the beach.

Working on our cannonball...not too bad, I must say!

The best we could get for a family picture!

Swim Team News... To Date!!

2011-06-15T20:38:00.000-05:00

Our first year on the swim team! Wow, what an experience! Both Stephen & Langston have loved being a part of the team and have learned so much. I was a little hesitant at first about doing the swim meets, but they have really enjoyed it. Stephen is loving being a part of the "Team" and has done so well in his first year. Langston, happens to be the only 4 year old on our Swim Team (there is a rule of being 5 to compete), and is doing great too. She is a little fish & has been for quite a while. I love watching them prepare to swim and swim in a meets...they get so serious and a bit competitive (not sure where that comes from!!). They have had a great time so far.

Our First Swim Meet!

On the start block...!!!!

I was helping during the time that Stephen's heats were up, so I only got a random shot of him getting up on the start block.

Langston's first ribbon....she got this for her personal best time on Freestyle

Stephen WON his heat for breaststroke at our AVCC meet!! Way to go man!!

Stephen with his dual personal best ribbon (for breaststroke & freestyle), he was so proud. Langston did not beat her best time for freestyle, but did get a best time ribbon for her backstroke. Sorry Langsy dear, we didn't get your picture with your ribbon!

Happy Summer!

2011-05-31T21:48:00.000-05:00

Happy Summer!!! Hard to believe it is finally here! We happily spent our first weekend of summer at the lake, enjoying a special 3rd birthday for Carson and having fun with our fam! Looking forward to a summer full of fun!

Carson asked on her birthday to jump off the high pier with daddy, so....the pictures of them jumping are not great, but she got him to jump not once or twice, but 8 times!!!

Yes, I do have a little Diva on my hands!!!

We are off to FIRST GRADE!!!!!

2011-05-27T21:34:00.000-05:00

Last day of Kindergarten!!!

Just to compare....this is our first day of Kindergarten! I can't believe I have a 1st Grader!!

Happy 3rd Party!!!

2011-05-22T22:47:00.004-05:00

Happy 3rd Birthday Carson & Wade!! We celebrated a bit early, only because we are summer babes and it was much easier to plan! We had a blast at the Wood Family farm with ponies, hayrides, hotdogs and LOTS of fun!

This cowboy & cowgirl are ready for some birthday fun!

Toothless again!

2011-05-22T22:44:00.002-05:00

Another one bites the dust!!!

THE TBall Championship Game!

2011-05-22T22:39:00.002-05:00

Our last T-Ball game was a bit interesting. The time of our game got changed and unfortunately the other team did not get the memo! So, with no team to play, we decided to have our own "Championship Game" and had a fun family friendly game.

We had a special visitor come to our game!!!

Excited about our first trophy!

Tornado Relief via Kids

2011-05-22T22:31:00.005-05:00

My children were so curious and intrigued by the devastation from the tornadoes that ripped through our state in late April, that I decided it was a learning opportunity for them to learn to be compassionate to those who are in need and help in any way we can. For children, it is hard to help in these kind of situations, but we came up with a wonderful idea. We decided to help collect toys, crayons, coloring books, books, etc. to put in small individual bags to distribute to children in shelters and devastated areas. We had a very enthusiastic group of children help stuff the bags one afternoon after school. We were able to put together 450 bags and picked up another 80 bags from a sweet neighboring church and delivered them to the Pleasant Grove area. These are some pictures from our efforts. There is still SO MUCH help needed, but at least we were able to give some smiles to some really wonderful children.

Some of our worker bees!

My car....packed to the gills!

This picture and the ones following are of only one small section of a road in Pleasant Grove. Driving through this area was overwhelming, the destruction was really awful and really don't show in these pictures.

Big Fish!

2011-05-12T22:29:00.000-05:00

My sweet little girl will be a "Big Fish" next year at school! She is so excited about her special fish on the mailbox, she actually saw it as we were on our way up the hill and unbuckled herself and was hanging out the window pointing and yelling, "Mom!!! Look at that PINK fish on our mailbox!!!" This is a very special opportunity for her and she is so excited about it. I still can't believe how big she is getting!

Happy Mother's Day!!

2011-05-09T22:17:00.001-05:00

I had the most wonderful Mother's Day! I love that my day was celebrated all week long!

It started with a very sweet program that Langston's class put on for all of us moms. She was so excited about it and kept telling me how great it was going to be and how it was going to be followed by lunch and art. Well, it was a fabulous performance that was followed by a very special luncheon and art show! I loved every minute of it and loved having that special moment with my sweet little girl.

Langston's "Pointilism" Project

Langston's creativity at work

The class butterfly mobile...I LOVED this, it was so cute!

Langston with her teacher Ms. Sarah &....

Ms. Bonnie! We love our teachers, they are so wonderful!

I also got a special treat from Stephen's class. They did a special "Muffins for Mom" program and breakfast. It is always fun to watch your children perform for you, what a sweet morning!

Muffins in the lunchroom

Best Buds! Love to see these kiddos having fun!

Back to the Zoo!

2011-04-24T22:06:00.002-05:00

Okay, so we have avoided the Zoo during construction.....No worries, we came back and LOVE the new exhibit. They did a really great job with the new Trails of Africa exhibit and WE LOVE IT!!

We happened to be walking past the exhibit for the giraffes and other animals, in an area where there is a very tall fence and shrubbery so I guess give some privacy to the animals behind it....Well, we happened upon, and will say were VERY surprised by the invasive giraffe that decided to break through the fence and feed on the shrubbery. We really were not paying attention to this little area of greenery.....that is until a little/large giraffe poked his neck out and said hello as he decided to eat the leaves RIGHT in front of us. It was ALL I could do to keep my kids from petting it! You can see in the picture above where he is feeding on the shrubbery....

I thought this was a good picture showing this giraffe taking out the fence!

ROAR!!! My little lion!!!

Just Sayin', I'm a Cutie!

2011-04-24T22:01:00.001-05:00

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T21:59:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful and blessed Easter with our family. I absolutely love Easter at our church, it is so special and so moving. I love everything about it, the music, the smell of Eater Lilies and the most wonderful news...our Lord is Risen! I hope your Easter was wonderfully blessed!

My three babies, how sweet they are!

Putting flowers on the cross

Aunt Ryan with Stephen

This little thing was not at all interested in having her picture taken! This is how most of her pictures look!

I love my sweet little man!

Doc & G with the kiddos

Well, this was the best we could do for a family shot! Guess it will do!

My two favorite guys!

Sweet Langston!

Little Miss Attitude...

Take Two!

She did actually want her picture with Doc!

Nana with her babies!

The Baskets!

It was so fun to see Carson get in to the egg hunt this year. She had so much fun!

While Carson & Stephen were checking out the goodies in their eggs....

This little fish was getting ready for a swim! Yes, this is my water bug, she is ready and wanting to swim any time, any day! The water was a bit chilly but she did not seem to mind at all!

Huntin' Eggs at Canterbury

2011-04-24T21:46:00.002-05:00

We had a blast at the annual Easter Egg Hunt at our church. This year went way beyond expectations with the egg hunts being going off every 15 minutes, based on age, which worked out REALLY well. We had a wonderful time with best friends and family!

Hugs & Kisses

2011-04-01T08:00:00.001-05:00

Hugs and kisses, love Carson!

Tball Time!

2011-03-31T20:02:00.000-05:00

Stephen had his first Tball game on Saturday and I am happy to report it was a lot of fun. He's got a great group of boys on his team and I know they will have lots of fun this season! Of course I took LOTS of pictures, but I will spare you and post just a few :)

I love seeing their names on the back of the jersey!

The "Mtn. Brook Spartan White Sox"!!

The coach gave Stephen the game ball....to say he was excited about this is an understatement!!

Healthy Chocolate!!!

2011-03-30T11:15:00.003-05:00

Several months ago, a friend introduced me to a very young company, Xocai, and I immediately fell in love with their products.....HEALTHY CHOCOLATE!!! After much consideration, we jumped in to the opportunity to be the first Independent Distributors of this product, in Birmingham. We've been amazed at the response and interest from everyone here in town! Because this blog is my place to share experiences and show off my family, I have created a new blog to highlight this wonderful product. I will be updating it frequently with information and new about all of our products. I hope you will check it out at www.goodhealthgoodchocolate.blogspot.com! Let me know what you think and if you would like to try some!

Grandpals Day

2011-03-28T21:12:00.002-05:00

Stephen's school hosts an annual "Grandpals Day". It's really a sweet thing, they invite their grandparents (or aunts/uncles/cousins/family friends, etc. if your grandparents can't make it) to come to the school in the morning and see a short program, have breakfast with them in the cafeteria and then see their classrooms. I got to be on the committee this year, so I was able to take pictures of this sweet event. It was so much fun to see all the grandparents, aunts, uncles, family friends, etc. have such a great time with the kids.

The Program

Goofing off with some friends!

Stephen & Doc

Stephen & Joe Jo

Stephen is showing "his entourage" his workspace and the checklist they have to do together.

Stephen's Entourage! They all had so much fun!

Spring Break 2011

2011-03-28T20:38:00.005-05:00

We had the most wonderful Spring Break this year at the beach. The weather was so wonderful....who would have expected the temps would be in the 70's with just a gentle wind....in MARCH!!! It was fabulous. We played outside ALL day, each day and had the most fun we could have had. I actually was sad to see my kids go back to school at the end of the week, it was fun playing and having a good time with them. We also got to bring our Nana with us. She was excited about the trip and actually enjoyed spending the days on the beach with us too! All in all, it was a great Spring Break!

My little princess!

Our Star Wars battle scene...this sand castle is protected by it's many deflector sheilds, a.k.a. shells!

Nana with the kiddos! Loving the beach!

And he wonders how his feet got burned!!!! Damn 'Angry Birds'!!!

Where's Langston!!???

My Prissy Love Bug

Lovin' on Nana!

Ask Carson, "Who's your best friend?" and she will answer, "My Nana"! It's the sweetest thing to hear considering my Nana is MY grandmother and HER greatgrandmother. They get to spend a lot of time together and have so much fun, it's so neat to get to see that!

Me & MY Nana :)

Wow! How Time Flies!!

2011-03-28T20:14:00.003-05:00

Wow! How time flies! It seems it has been WAY too long since my last post, nearly 2 months! Hard to believe, but we have been busy with life and new business opportunities. It's been wild! We have had a great March and have loved the weather...until today!! It's hard to go from beautiful skies, reasonably high temps to massive rains and now cold....again!!! Spring, where are you!!!

I've enjoyed getting outside again with the kids and having fun at the park and riding bikes, etc. It's been fun. Stephen started Tball and had his first game this past Saturday. The White Sox played great and all the boys had a blast. Stephen was the lucky recipient of the game ball. To say he was excited about it is an understatement!! He's taken that ball EVERYWHERE, to show EVERYONE! I am so glad he is having fun!

The girls are doing great and just enjoying life. It's been kind of a low key spring for them, as many of their activities have come to an and we just haven't renewed them yet, but I am enjoying getting to spend more time with them at the park and doing other fun things with them. I keep thinking I want to sign them up for this and that, but I have come to realize that I only have 1 more year with Langston before she goes to "Big School" and Carson will follow her the next year, so I want to soak it up....most days (wink wink!!)!

I've also been working on a fun business adventure that I have fallen in love with, and falls in to one of my favorite categories....health and nutrition! I will post more on it very soon. Right now I want to show off my most favorites....my kiddos! Enjoy the posts to come!!

Langston, Langston, Langston!

2011-02-08T20:03:00.003-06:00

Langston has had some fun times at school lately, largely due to her "Start Student" status! Each child gets TWO weeks they are deemed "Star Student" and they bring in posters and pictures and all kinds of things that they love so they can share it with their friends. Oh, and they also get to be line leader, which is a HUGE deal!! After her two weeks of star status, she traded off with a friend, but we got to celebrate a fun birthday with one of our teachers!

The children donned party hats and carried maracas and walked in to their room singing Happy Birthday to their sweet teacher waiting on them to arrive from carpool. They also gave her a nice big Birthday hug!

Happy Birthday!

Daddy got to surprise the Start Student with one of our favorite books to share and each lunch with her and her friends. I love this picture because she looks so proud to have her daddy there!

I will leave you with this picture...all was a bit TOO quiet one day and I realized it was because I had not heard Langston in quite a while...some days, that just isn't a good thing! I found her reading books in secret hiding space in Dad's office. And yes, I left her exactly where I found her!!

Winter Iceland!

2011-01-10T21:16:00.004-06:00

We woke up this morning and....

WOW! Look at all this snow-ice!

Ready to roll in the snow

Cheese!

Paul & Langston sledding in the front yard

We attempted snow angels, but they are just about impossible when you try them on icy snow. Poor child, she kept trying and kept saying "not working momma, not working!"

Heading up the hill for some real sledding.....gotta love how Carson travels!

Yumm...streetsicles! I wasn't aware that she had pulled up a section of the icy road and was snacking on it. By the time I saw her, she'd been enjoying it for quite a while. Oh well, at least it wasn't yellow!

Woohoo!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T21:00:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year to All! We celebrated the arrival of a new decade at the lake and had the most wonderful time. It was so peaceful and rejuvinating for all of us. We enjoyed exploring in the woods at the farm, watching the Tide ROLL OVER Michigan State and some good quality time. I hope you all had a wonderful celebration as well!

Serenity in the woods...

that is until we arrived!!

checking out wildlife prints

we found turkey & deer...prints that is, they most certainly heard us coming and took shelter in the woods!

Busted! Okay, we also spent some time being couch potatoes. Langston and Stephen hijacked my iPad and were thrilled to find some new movies for them!

Happy New Year!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T22:12:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas to ALL!!! We had the most wonderful Christmas, I hope you did as well!

Santa thought we were goood...

2 Goal Posts! An Art Easel! A Princess Castle! And there are still presents to open! WHAT!!!

Langston LOVES her Tinkerbell fairies Barbie set she got from Santa!

Paul is happy our memorabilia from our fun time in Pasadena in January, now has a happy home in his office! I had the program, ticket stubs and a few pictures from the game mated and framed for him. He really loved it!

ibelieve that ALL of these were for ME!!!!! By the way....the iPad ROCKS!

Merry Christmas & Roll Tide! I really wish this picture had turned out cuter...what could be cuter than monogrammed pj's and alabama tobogans!

Carson & her castle...

Langston & her new art easel....Watch out Picasso!

Our snowy football game...

The kick-off on the new goal post(s) Santa brought....It's Good!!!

Can you guess who won the game!!!

Casey & Nana

Ryan & Casey

My little Angel, Carson & Aunt Kat!

Molly & Chad

I have to say this is a poignant picture...this is actually the 25th picture of my parents celebrating Christmas in this house and will actually be the last Christmas they will celebrate in this home that I have grown up in! Yes, you read that correctly...my parents are officially moving....when they sell their house. This is a very hard concept for all of us to imagine, not being in this house to celebrate holidays, birthdays or just a whatever night. My grandparents had their 50th wedding anniversary celebration in this home...I had my wedding reception in this home...Each of my 3 children had their Christening celebrations as well as their first birthday celebrations in this home, and those are just a few of the big milestones. Can you imagine building the home of your dreams and spending over 25 wonderful years in it! It's truly hard to believe, this was really a special and overwhelming Christmas for my family.

Dirty Santa with the Lilly Family

Oh Holy Night

2010-12-24T23:17:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas Eve! We enjoyed the most wonderful service at Canterbury tonight, it never ceases to amaze me at how special and celebratory the services seem to be year after year. They always leave me with a special, sincere feeling of hope and awe at the most wondeful occasion, the birth of our Lord and Savior. Thank you for bringing us all in to the spirit of this most Holy Season.

We also enjoyed a wonderful dinner and some gifts from my family....

Merry Christmas from me and my babes!

My family....

I have to brag and say that my children are really the most gracious children you can imagine. If you give them a gift, they will thank you repeatedly and tell you how much they appreciate their gift. It's really sweet and amazing that they understand the thought of that and I am so proud of them for it. Here, Stephen is thanking Doc & G for his annual monogramed silver Mint Julep glass.

Carson is excited about her silver goblet...

Thanks G for my new glass!

Aunt Ryan knew EXACTLY what I wanted!

Come inside, it's fun inside...it's the "Minnie Mouse" clubhouse.....

Aunt Molly & Rapunzel....

My tired angels in their sweet Christmas PJ's....thank you to my sweet BFF for getting them ready for me in time!

A peak after Santa left...Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Santa Claus is Comin" to Town...

2010-12-21T23:35:00.000-06:00

Well, in spite of my last post of hoping for good health, I belive I spoke too quickly...we succumbed to more sickness, but FINALLY, after a good diagnosis of walking pneumonia for two of my sweet babes and a few more antibiotics, we were actually sounding and feeling much better. So much so that we decided we could attend our special dinner with the big man himself....Santa! The kids loved seeing him, no one cried or got upset, everyone got to tell him EXACTLY what they wanted and Nana even came with us! Can it get any better! We loved it and had a great time...we are ready for Santa's big visit!

Ho Ho Ho!

Nana even got to meet Santa!

We had the BEST veiw from our table, we could see ALL of the city, even Aunt Kat's condo!!

Getting some sillies out! hehe!

Dancin' with Dad!

Merry Christmas from atop Red Mountain!

The one man band with the silly dog playing the drums....

Dancing with Nana! Who knew she still had the moves!

Holiday Happenings

2010-12-18T20:09:00.005-06:00

Well, Thanksgiving came and went and left us with some awful germs! It seems we have been sick more in the last several weeks than we have been healthy. Strep (x3), walking pneumonia, stomach bug & strep again, strep again for 2 others, stomach bug for EVERYONE and the flu for 1. Whew! We've had a rough go of things lately, but we are FINALLY feeling better and on the mend. Here's to good health in the New Year!

In spite of all the chaos going around our house, we were able to celebrate Paul's birthday and the kids did manage to make it to school....for the last 2 days! We are looking forward to a wonderful break and a great Christmas. We wish you all a blessed Christmas!

Here are a few of the pictures from our recent holiday events...

Happy Birthday Paul! We love you!

Stephen's Holiday Program. Each grade (K-3), performed individually...of course the Kindergarten was the best!!

The whole Kindergarten class, they were so cute & did a great job!

Shortly after Stephen's performance, the parents were given a special treat in Langston's class. Here they are patiently waiting for all the parents to arrive...

Their sweet singing wished us all a Merry Christmas and they presented us with a special gift they made for us.

Langston with her teacher Mrs. Sarah. We love Mrs. Sarah! Mrs. Bonnie (whom we also love dearly, unfortunately could not be there as she was home with the dreaded stomach bug :(...we hope she is feeling much better!)

On Friday, Stephen was excited & surprised that his Joe-Joe came to school to be the Friday "Mystery Reader".

He also had is class Holiday party that was lots of fun. Each child made a card for a Veteran living in a Veteran's home. They were all very creative!

Stephen's card was of course football related....he made an Alabama "A" out of candy cane stickers and drew a field. It is apparently snowing on the field! Hopefully there is a Veteran who will be glad to receive a Merry Roll Tide!

My Little Indian

2010-11-23T18:46:00.004-06:00

Langston had her Thanksgiving program at school today and I am proud to say that my little Indian was the cutest of them all! So, I may be a bit biased, but she did a great job and we were so proud to watch her and her friends sing and dance to songs about Pilgrims, Indians & Turkeys. The entire 3K, 4K & 5K performed together, each being either an Indian, a Pilgrim or a Turkey. They all did a great job, it was a wonderful way to kick off our Thanksgiving holiday.

My little Indian with a few of her classmates

My little Indian dancing to a song

My two favorite Indians

Langston had quite a few fans to watch her perform. Nanny & Joe Joe were there...

As well as our sweet G. We also had our Nana, Aunt Casey, Aunt Molly & of course Mom & Dad cheering us on as well. Unfortunately we didn't get an opportunity to get pictures with our fun Aunts or Nana.

The "Celebration" (as Langston called it), in her classroom after the program. We all got to go back to her room for desserts and to play in her room. Langston we sweet enough to take a few "to go" treats for Carson, who was down the hall in her class and did not make the show!

Rolling with the Tide!

2010-11-18T22:14:00.005-06:00

Well, we decided to be the greatest parents in the world tonight and take our children to the Alabama vs. Georgia State game in Tuscaloosa.....on a school night!! Sweet Carson sat this trip out and got to spend some quality time at Doc & G's house. She was so excited to have ALL the toys and total free rain of the house, without her siblings taking things or telling her what to do. In fact, she was so excited that she nearly sprinted to her G and gave her the biggest hug and then turned to me and said, "Bye, Mommy!" Gotta love that!

Stephen & Langston were so pumped to go to the game, it was fun to listen to them talking about it on the way to Tuscaloosa. We left straight from carpool pickup and headed to T-town to take in the festivities on the quad and walk around and see everything. Of course, with it being a later game (6:30 kick-off), it was dark early and one of my little football lovers was dying to get into the stadium. I honestly can say that only one time before tonight (and that was for the BCS Championship in Pasadena last year), walked in to the stadium a full hour before kick-off! But we did and they loved it. We got to watch pre-game practice and pick out all of our favorite players on the field and they got so excited when the team finally ran out of the tunnel for the game.

We were excited for Langston to be at her first Alabama game and she was happy to be there. Stephen tried to tell her everything that was going to happen.....she was just happy to have the $4 houndstooth shaker she just had to have when we saw them selling them on the quad. We had to have a few lessons on proper shaker handling while in your seats. She did pretty well, only one or two near eye injuries! Haha! They both did great at the game, especially considering they are usually in bed reading stories at the time of kick-off. We had only planned to stay to halftime, which we stuck to and which was quite a disappointment to Stephen, he really wanted to see the whole game, but hey...it was a school night, right! Here are some pictures from a most fun evening!

Langston's first time to go to a game!

Of course when we walked up to the quad, wa-la! We came across the band prepping for their pre-game festivities and Langston managed to find a few friends to pose with her! She actually found several....anyone wearing a sparkly outfit or carrying pom pons were pointed out, but she chose to have her picture taken with the cheerleaders because she was wearing her cheerleader outfit too. She was so proud!

This is Stephen with the World's Best Kindergarten teacher in the WORLD!! He loves Mrs. Waud and knows that she sits very close to our seats. He was looking for her the minute he walked in to the stadium and spotted her when she came up the stairs. I think it was nearly impossible for her to miss him as he was jumping up and down yelling her name! She was so sweet and came to sit with us for a few minutes. He thought that was so cool!

First Tooth!

2010-11-02T15:50:00.001-05:00

A sure sign of growing up is losing your first tooth....

Last night, when Stephen chomped down on this yummy piece of chocolate, his tooth popped out. Unfortunately, he had no idea what happened until it was too late and we believe he swallowed the tooth. We searched everywhere for it, but had no luck. No worries, we wrote the Tooth Fairy a note explaining what happened and she was very understanding!

Happy Halloween

2010-11-01T15:25:00.000-05:00

We had another fun Halloween with friends. We kicked things off with the parade through Crestline and followed up with some good 'ole trick-o-treating! It was a fun night!

The parade gang

A wingless Tinkerbell...she was NOT a fan of the wings, even though they looked really cute on her!

The Trick-o-treating gang....they are READY for some candy!

We made a stop by our sweet Nana's house to pick up a special treat.

We also stopped by Doc & G's to pick up a special treat and got to play with this fun pumpkin!

Roll Tide! Homecoming 2010

2010-10-18T21:12:00.006-05:00

After Stephen's soccer game, we headed to Tuscaloosa for Homecoming. This was the first year we brought all three of the children. It was fun....and chaotic! But what's new, right!!?? The kids loved the parade and enjoyed seeing the sights of campus, especially the jump zone on the quad. We didn't make it to the game, thanks to such a late kick off that was literally an hour and a half after my kids bedtime, but we had a great time. The only complaint came from Langston, she really wanted to see the "Crystal Ball" in the museum. We had planned on taking them through the museum to see the Championship trophy, etc, but there was just too much going on for us to get there. We'll have to save that one for next time!!

Getting ready for the festivities! Roll Tide Roll!

Homecoming Parade...Gotta love Big Al!

Langston's favorites, not so surprising! The cheerleaders!

Yea Alabama....

Cheering them on!

What a stylish ride!

If you have watched any Alabama games on TV, you have seen this guy somewhere during the game! We ran into him and Stephen got his picture with him. Funniest quote was from Stephen..."What are you supposed to be for Halloween!" I was kind of wondering the same thing!!!

Fun with Aunt Molly!

Roll Tide!

LOVE this one! What a sweetie!

Too much fun in T-town will lead to this....I have now figured out how to get my children to nap!!!

We had so much fun, Roll Tide!

More Soccer!

2010-10-18T20:59:00.002-05:00

Before we headed to T-town for Homecoming, Stephen had an early soccer game. He did great an scored 2 goals! Go Stephen!

I love the Julio Jones in the background! I think he was just as excited about Stephen's goal as we were!

BWF Boosterthon 2010

2010-10-13T19:53:00.005-05:00

Stephen's school held their annual Boosterthon last week. Each child is responsible for securing pledges for laps they will run at their fun run. I was so proud of Stephen, he ran all 35 of the laps and did a great job! They also raised a lot of money for their school, great job to the "World's Wackiest Waudo's"!!

His Class running out of the tunnel! They thought this was the coolest thing!

All laps done! Great job Stephen!

Random

2010-10-13T19:30:00.000-05:00

Stephen thinks policemen are the coolest thing right now. His class is doing a study on our community and we had to get a picture somewhere in the community. He decided he wanted to have his picture with a real policeman. The officer let us pose in front of his squad car and gave him a "super cool" Junior Mtn. Brook Police Badge. He was so impressed and so excited to meet a real officer.

While doing some laundry, I came across this little angel! What A hoot!

Happy 4th Birthday Langston!

2010-09-25T21:41:00.000-05:00

Happy 4th Birthday to my sweet Langston! It's so hard to believe that four years ago you rocked my world with your presence. You are such a sweet and energetic little thing, who loves all things girly and loves to entertain us with your songs, dances and energy! We love you so much.

In celebration of her birthday, sweet G took Langston to shop for her favorite things....shoes! Here is the load we came home with and a model of one of the pairs. Apparently (and not surprising for Langston, this year is a year of sparkles and dedazzles! Gotta love Lelli Kelly's...right??!)

Her pinkalicous cake with a few of her new sparkly duds as centerpieces!

Happy Birthday sweet angel!

Our new pinkalicous dress and crown

Langston loves gymnastics and wanted to have her birthday party at the gymnastics center this year. It was a blast and (note to moms who need a super easy party idea), it was the easiest party I have EVER had! The kids (boys & girls....and even a few dads) had a blast and the staff at Mountain Brook Gymnastics did EVERYTHING! It was great to sit back and watch the kids have a great time and not fuss over things to do!

Langston with her sweet friend Lizzy

The Warm Up

Playing in the big pit

Daddy found some fun activities too! Seriously, there were 3 dads there and I thought, by how much fun they were having and how much they wanted to "play" on the equipment there, that I would be required to pay for them as attendees of the party or either sign some kind of liability waiver for them!

The group shot...minus a few who chose not to be camera friendly today!!!

Fall Sunday Soccer

2010-09-19T21:06:00.000-05:00

Langston kicked off her fall Sunday Soccer season with a great game. After watching Stephen play for a couple of weeks, she was so eager to get out on the field and play and have fun. She did a great job and even scored 2 goals for her team! So proud of my little girl!

Pre-game pep talk

First Goal! So proud!

After game cheer for the team! They all played hard and had LOTS of fun!

While Langston and her bestest friend were playing, I got to play with these two, also bestest of friends and I must say...WAY TOO CUTE! Here, I like to think they are discussing what kind of game advice they should give their siblings, but in reality they are sharing/fighting over gummies!

Love this picture and love this little guy! He is such a cutie!

Goal!

2010-09-14T20:56:00.003-05:00

Stephen started his fall soccer league this past week and had his first game on Saturday. He enjoyed playing last spring, but never really took to getting physical in the game....more just following the pack running after the ball. Paul and I were so excited to see him energetic and really getting in to the game this week. He was all over the field and having so much fun. He scored not only his very first goal, but his first 8 goals in this game! We couldn't be more proud! It was great to see him having so much fun and doing so well.

Waiting for the game to start

Taking the ball at midfield....

GOAL! I love the expression on his face! He was so excited!

Just a Day In the Life....

2010-09-12T22:16:00.003-05:00

Just a little of what we've been up to.....

Messing around with Daddy!

Stephen's 1st homework assignment was a number vest. The entire grade made letter or number vests, you had to decorate them with things that started with your letter or the number of items your number was....we had to collect 20 things.

FINALLY! The first day of preschool for this little booger!!! (and her little I don't want my picture taken attitude!)

And this one too! Yes, she had to bring her stinkin' smelly pillow with her!

Nursery Rhyme dress up day...Stephen was Jack, we wrapped his broken "crown" with gauze and sent him with his pail. He was happy to find a sweet little girl dressed as Jill!

Finally the First Day of MDO!

2010-09-07T20:53:00.000-05:00

We welcomed this day for weeks! Mother's Day Out and Preschool finally started back!!! YEEAA!!!!!! My girls have been so ready for something new and exciting since Stephen started back to school and they have been with me ALL the time!! I know I, oops, I mean they are going to have a great day!

Well, they aren't the best pictures, but it's what I got!

Happy Birthday Stephen!

2010-08-25T21:13:00.000-05:00

It seems that just a few SHORT six years ago, this little angel came into the world and brought us such wonderful joy. It's hard to believe that six years has already passed since Stephen's birth. He is a remarkably happy child with a wild imagination and creative side, who LOVES anything to do with Star Wars. Stephen, you are a wonderful blessing and we love you SO much! Happy Birthday little man!

My sweet little baby!

I got to eat lunch with Stephen and his class at school. It's been a LONG time since I was in the lunchroom at BWF, not much has changed....except that it's my child there now! We had a great time and I loved seeing his class. They are a cute bunch!

The cake....

Happy Birthday!

Our new Battle of Endor Lego Set...this should be fun to put together!

Plo Koon's Starfigher Lego Set...can you tell we love Star Wars AND legos!!

I thought this was a great picture of Paul's parents. What a sweet couple!

Well, we accomplished the Battle of Endor....it only took 5 hours! Note to self, we need lego sets with less than 1000 pieces! This is the front view, it's pretty cool! Stephen loved it....and it for ummm, 4 hours before it was "blown up"! It now resides in large ziploc bag!

The Big Day!

2010-08-17T18:18:00.005-05:00

Well, the next generation of Cowley's has arrived at Brookwood Forest! It's hard to believe that my children will walk the same halls as I did. Of course the school is totally different and updated now, I honestly could not find my way anywhere if I had to, but it's neat that they will grow up where I did and even see or have some of the teachers I knew when I was a child.

I was so good this morning bringing him into his class, I did not cry....although I really wanted to sob! He was so grown up about going inside, showing Paul & I where his room is and walking in so calmly that I really had great peace about it. I have been so worried about him adjusting to a new environment, new friends, new schedule, etc., but he did so well and seemed so at ease, it really made me so proud of him. When he came around the corner at carpool, with a big smile on his face, it nearly melted my heart. He really likes his new teacher, Mrs. Waud (whom his aunt had in Kindergarten too!), she is great! He came home excited about his day. His favorites were library, snack & lunch (either I packed a really good snack & lunch or the boy was just hungry today!). He has a class full of fun new friends, I know he is going to have a great year. It will be so much fun to watch him grow and learn so much this year....but it's still so hard to believe that it's time for him to be in "big school"! Enjoy the pictures from our day....

The walk in...

Peering inside the door, telling us, "dad, mom, this is my new room!"

Mrs. Waud giving him directions on what to do.

Mrs. Waud & Stephen

The scene when I finally left!

The Big Day is Here!

2010-08-16T20:38:00.003-05:00

The day has come....it is time for my baby to go to Kindergarten. I have such a mix of emotions about this HUGE milestone. I am excited for him, he has an awesome teacher and a great group of kids in his class. He is truly going to have so much fun. However, I am also sad! I can't believe my baby is old enough to start school! I have enjoyed having the summer with him, while the girls were in mother's day out, to do fun things, have lunch together and goof around. I'm going to miss you buddy, but I know you will have a blast this year!

Our new backpack and lunchbox....Star Wars theme of course! I guess we're ready!

Our meet & greet with our new teacher, Mrs. Waud and our new class. She read one of my favorite books to the children....The Kissing Hand and then gave each one of them a heart shaped sticker to give to their moms to remind us moms they love us too! I thought that was so sweet....you'll have to read the book if you don't understand!

A view of the class listening to the story

After the meet & great, his new class enjoyed a pool party. This is Stephen with his buddy Rodney, we are so excited he will be in his class this year!

Everyone having fun! Thanks Doc & G for letting us have fun in your pool!

Now, if we, I mean I, can survive tomorrow...the first day of Kindergarten!

Coming & Going

2010-08-16T19:57:00.004-05:00

It seems we have been coming & going a lot lately, trying to enjoy the tail end of summer! We've spent quite a bit of time at the lake having fun. Here are some pictures from our many adventures....

Paul & Stephen took a spin on the canoe

Some of got a ride on the YOLOyak...while someone else did the work!

We also enjoyed hanging out on the boat. This pic makes me laugh...In spite of what you may think, Paul was in fact in focused on driving....he was also focused on conversation!

Carson found this harmonica at the house & provided live entertainment for us!

Stephen & Paul had a blast on the tube,

Stephen is King of the water! He loved this thing and spent HOURS riding on it!

We stopped for popsicles, they were super yummy as it was super hot outside!

Happy girl!

One more time mom, please!

2010-07-19T20:55:00.004-05:00

After a quick workout at the gym today, we were heading to Doc & G's to go swimming....that is until Langston discovered the pool there and decided she wanted to do this.....

I wasn't quite sure if she would jump off the diving board or not. She kept looking around the line to see how the other kids jumping were doing and at one point noted how very deep the water is right here.

But, she climbed on and made her way to the end...

Adjusted her goggles....

and leaped right off! She did great, popped right up and swam to the side of the pool holding out her finger and saying, "one more time mom, please?". After 7 jumps, she finally decided she was ready for lunch and wanted to go home! I guess she was satisfied with herself!

Star Wars

2010-07-07T21:04:00.007-05:00

We took a little trip today for to our very own Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville to see the one and only, Star Wars exhibit on display there. Stephen is so in to Star Wars, that we thought it would be a fun trip to take him on and let him see some of the original set props, costumes and designs for the movies. It was really quite impressive. They did a good job of displaying everything and tying science into the exhibit with different areas where kids could make their own robots, floating cars (like in the movies), etc. Most everything was displayed behind heavy glass, which made taking pictures difficult because you could not use flash, but we took some anyways and you can check them out below. We did take a trip on the simulated Millennium Falcon, which I must say, unless you are an avid pin collector (they give you a special pin after you ride) I would save they extra money and bypass that event. It really wasn't worth the extra $! But the exhibit was really neat and we enjoyed it. I think I got most of the names right, but I will have to let Stephen double check me in the morning. He loves Star Wars and knows ALL of the characters....it's kind of scary!!!

We brought Doc with us today...I thought this was a neat picture of them going in to the museum.

The Millennium Falcon. A lot of the fighter planes they used in the movies, were actually this size so they move them around and film them in different directions, speed and styles.

Luke's X-Wing Fighter

Luke's Sand Speeder. Apparently this was the actual one they used in the movie, Empire Strikes Back.

R2-D2

Princess Leia, R2-D2 & C3PO

Stephen with the actual Darth Vadar costume. Like I said, it was hard to take pictures with the glass behind you!

Storm Trooper

Weapons

Snow Trooper

Master Yoda

A Jawa

A replica of a Jawa's cruiser

Obi Wan Kenobi's costume

Han Solo and Chewbacca's costume

Stephen riding a simulated land cruiser ride

Doc & Stephen building their own R2 Droid

Stephen working on the droid

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-07T20:04:00.006-05:00

We had a fabulous 4th of July filled with LOTS of swimming, boating, LOTS of food and LOTS of family!! Between the 18 adults and the kiddos we brought, the house was full, but we had a great time. I hope your celebration of our freedom was just a fun! Thanks to all those before us and those fighting today, that have ensured and keep ensuring our freedom so we can enjoy times like these.

Lazy time in the water! Carson A.K.A The Floating Baby, loves just hanging out in the water. She is typically so happy hanging out in the water (unless you are Coach John....sorry coach, she just isn't in to taking instruction!!! I guess I have another strong willed child in the making!!)

Stephen & Paul had fun on the double rider tube. Stephen thought it was so cool, it was so much fun to see him in action!

Look mom, no hands and I'm standing up!!!

Langston wasn't as excited about the ride, but I got on with her anyways. It's surprising to me, she is so comfortable in the water swimming, doing flips (which she taught herself in the pool), she loves it. She is my most adventurous child, but this was not in her book of things she wanted to do this weekend! No worries, we made it a short trip!

Doc loves to surprise the kids with fun toys he picks up from time to time. This weekend he brought puppets, sunglasses and a velcro dart board! Carson and he are chatting it up with the panda bear, I thought this was so cute.

Carson in her new hollywood shades, making her best attempt at puppeteering!

G brought a huge bottle of bubbles and a bag full of bubble toys. Carson loves bubbles and was in hog heaven. She still however, does not grasp the concept that she doesn't need to eat the bubbles off the wand before blowing them. It was quite funny. And of course, now I realize that I will never be able to wash her mouth out with soap when she is in trouble!!!

Chad, building a coozie tower with Carson. She had so much fun knocking them down! Chad was so sweet to keep putting them up and letting her swipe her little hand at them time and time again!

We did whip out the wii and challenged the gang to some wii sporting events. Bowling was a big hit, my 5 year old so nearly beat 3 grown men! He doesn't know he barely lost in the last frame, you certainly could tell by his celebration victory dance! It was fun, can't wait till the next challenge!

Happy 4th of July!

Look Doc, we both have flags on our shirts!!

Nana even ventured out on the boat to watch the kids have fun. She enjoyed herself too!

Even Carson got in on the water action. She wasn't quite sure what to think at first, but she seemed to enjoy it by the end!

Langston decided to sit this one out and chose to take a boat ride nap instead. I am constantly amazed that she will not and has not napped since she was about 15 months old, but get her on a boat and she is fast asleep! Maybe we should move into a houseboat!

A shot of some of the geese that live around us.

Beach Trip

2010-07-01T21:31:00.005-05:00

This is my beach, the sand and gulf that I grew up on in the summers and look forward to watching my children grow up on. It's a beautiful place, so peaceful and relaxing. It's so hard for me to watch and believe what is happening to our gulf and our beaches. We just returned from enjoying some more time at the beach and were fortunate that things really have not gotten bad in our area of Perdido Key. That's not to say we never saw any oil in the water or on the beach, but it's just not as bad as it could be and is further down the road. I think the most disturbing thing to me was the absence of the normal beach wildlife we always see. There were very few pelicans flying around, we never saw the group of dolphins that swim right out in front of us, we saw very few fish and the cranes that were always hanging out along the shore were not to be found. To say the least, it was eerie and it was sad and just keeps you thinking that they are seeking healthier waters. It's hard to imagine what is in store for our gulf and that the future of it will be completely different from what we have all known.

Luckily, for us, there are hundreds (probably thousands) of people organized in helping clean up our beaches. This guy and several others rode up and down the beach all day looking at the shoreline and looking out in the gulf for signs of anything that needed to be cleaned up.

We did see some signs of the oil in the water and on the beach. This was probably the biggest ball we saw.

The people cleaning up anything that washed ashore were stationed EVERYWHERE! You could see white tents up and down each way of the beach. They worked hard raking and shoveling anything that resembled oil and did a great job.

Of course we saw sea gulls....little vultures. I was able to get this picture of them lined up only because they seemed to love my sweet baby Carson, whom I must say is rarely without a snack. They followed her around like our dogs does at home. I think she gave in and just tossed a whole bag of chips in the sand and ran. If you look closely, you can see one of them with a cheese puff in there mouth!

Lucky for us, the water was deemed safe and we took advantage of that. Like I said, we did see some small things in the water, mostly just things that looked like flakes with a burnt orange color. We avoided it and kept up our fun times.

We searched for shells,

and even surfed some waves.

Getting the sillies out at LuLu's

Enjoying crab claws!

Having fun in the fountain. Too bad for us, we did not pick the same night to go that Jimmy Buffett decided to surprise everyone and play!

One of the kids favorite things...."Daddy throw me!!!" This was endless...

Cheese!

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-23T21:03:00.004-05:00

We spent the best Father's Day Weekend at the lake and enjoyed every minute of it! The weather was beautiful and the company was even better. Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful dad's in my life! Here are some fun pictures of our great weekend....

This water baby is ready to dive right in & still is cracking me up in this get up!

Langston REALLY wanted to jump off the top pier...but may have had second thoughts once she got up there are realized how tall it was! Unfortunately for her, her daddy was holding her and well, he....

jumped anyways!

Stephen, to our surprise, walked right up and jumped off....4 times! Not sure after the last jump if he will venture up there again this summer, but we were impressed!

My sweet 3rd child....just happy to be around! She is truly the sweetest and most adorable thing! She loved being on the boat.

Langston and her G

Like her older siblings, Carson got some one on one education on how to drive a boat. Hey, we live on the lake in the summer, we teach them young! Of course we wouldn't totally trust her to navigate on her own quite yet, but only because...

She was obsessed with blowing the horn and doing that meant that she took her eyes off the water and completely dove towards the horn button! Carsey! Come on!

The look of utter satisfaction after EACH time she honked the horn....which was LOTS of times!!!

We brought out this new trainer skier thing. I didn't think my kids would get on the old school trainer skiis we used when we were learning, so we thought this would be a fun way to introduce them. On the first ride, they were a bit undecided, but they did it again and really enjoyed it. We had fun pulling them around the lake, it reminded me of old times when my dad would literally drag us all over the lake ALL day, skiing and tubing and our all time favorite, the ski bob.

Hi Mom!

Langston's very serious pose before getting started....

Thumbs up!

Happy Father's Day!

Afternoon Fun!

2010-06-23T20:36:00.004-05:00

A few weekends back, we decided that for some afternoon fun, we needed a fun 33 foot slip-n-slide! Of course, it was for the kids.....and maybe a little for us too!!! It was a fun time, I highly recommend it!!!

33 feet of pure water fun!

Paul was the official child thrower...they needed someone to help them out! I thought these shots of Carson were too funny....

Whew! That was fun!

Okay, this is the only picture I will post of a big kid on the slide!

After an afternoon of water fun, we settled on some good 'ole pizza on the porch. What a cute bunch!

Good Bye Old Fossil!

2010-06-23T20:30:00.003-05:00

When we bought our house two years ago from a sweet old couple in their 90's, who built the house in the 60's and seemingly did nothing to it since then, we knew we would have LOTS to do, however, we underestimated the lasting value of the old upstairs HVAC unit. This old dinosaur was one of the late greats.....28 years old and finally (much to the utter disappointment of Paul's wallet) bit the dust. We hoped to put a band-aid on it, but with the temp upstairs reading 95 degrees for 3 days while we attempted, it was time for an upgrade (especially when your kids came down pouring with sweat after just getting dressed!). It was a sad day when they hauled this off and left a nice invoice for us!!

Carson & Wade's 2nd Birthday Party

2010-06-23T19:42:00.004-05:00

Carson and her sweet bud Wade shared a birthday party together this year. We brought out the frogs and the bugs....and of course some lady bugs too! It was a buggy theme, and it was loads of fun. We had a water slide for the kids to play in and had a place to dig for fun bugs....fake ones of course!! It was a fun afternoon and a great way to celebrate two special kiddos turning 2!

Froggy fun!

Carson enjoyed digging for worms, but I think she liked dunking them in the water bowl even more to wash them off!

Who wouldn't have fun playing on this!

Look out here I come!!!

These precious cakes were SO adorable and SO yummy! Angie did them herself! Great job Ang...they were almost too cute to cut into!!!

Wade was quite certain of what he was supposed to do with his candle, Carson on the other hand just wanted to watch and attempt to blow hers out from a distance and then of course try to dig in to the cake with her hands!

Yummy Yummy

Carson is really quite girly and loves girly things like baby dolls, jewelry, purses, SHOES, and LOVES hats (of any kind!!) She was so happy when she got a special new bracelet and a playful hat from Nana and LOVED her new baby G & Doc gave her. She had this wide open grin with each gift she opened, it was so cute how really excited she was about each one.

We gave her some new furniture for her dolls. I painted them and dressed them up a bit and they turned out really cute. I am still working on the dresser and the bedding...yes, I know does a doll really need bedding???

Carson loved the bed so much, I think she thought this might be her new big girl bed....sorry dear!

Beach

2010-06-06T21:05:00.004-05:00

We had the best time at beach. It was so much fun to be in the sand and listening to the sound of the gulf. Of course, there was the much anticipated worry of the oil heading our way, but we tried our best to just have fun and that we did! Daddy got to come down for the long weekend and have fun with us, but when he had to leave to head back to work, we decided to hang out for a few more days and some of our favorite people joined us. It was a fun week and certainly never a dull moment!

Langston is my water bug...literally! She would live in the pool if given the opportunity. She LOVES swimming and is really quite good at it for her age (3). She learned last spring how to swim on her own and is now doing the breaststroke in short distances and can swim the length of the pool on her back. It's kind of funny to watch her strokes because sometimes it can be a bit lopsided! But we're working on it!! In this picture, we are working on our dives. This we are not so graceful at, they tend to be more of a belly flop! But it doesn't seem to stop her.

We saw some of the most beautiful rainbows while we were there and most of them were in really odd places. Normally, I see them from cloud to land, but this one was just layed out across the sky. We also saw one that was a perfect halo around the sun, it was really unique, but also really neat.

Stephen & his beach buddy Chase, burying themselves in the sand. They had fun together!

My other sweet water bug. However, this little bug does NOT know how to swim, but she would certainly object if she heard me say that! She wears her "boop" around the water because she literally will just jump right in...and of course sink! No worries, she is in swim lessons! She does love the water and has been dubbed the "Floating Baby" the way she will just float and maneuver her way around the pool. She just loves it!

This little man has some charm and is the sweetest little thing! He's Carson's bestest and we just adore him. I love your hugs Wade-man!

Bedtime....can you imagine how this would play out if we really let them have a slumber party! They were so cute and thought they were so funny trying to hide under the covers. We obviously could not see you (or the huge bumps under the covers), but we sure could hear your giggles as you THOUGHT you were hiding from us!!!

Taking the leap! These two are a mess...enough said!

We left the beach with sad faces, we didn't want to leave because we love being there, but also because the uncertainty of the oil mess and when we will get to come back. We spend as much time as possible at the beach during the summer, but with the uncertainty of things, I was sad leaving thinking this could be our only trip there this summer. Hats off to all of the hard workers that were already prepping for the oil to come and to those who now (as I post this) are hard at work cleaning up our beautiful beaches and gulf.

Fun in the Sun

2010-05-30T17:06:00.003-05:00

What a perfect way to kick off the summer....a trip to the beach! The weather is a bit fussy you could say. Threatening storms one minute and gloriously sunny the next. Hasn't seemed to stop us though, we are having a great time.

Carson loves the new addition we picked up at the store. Unfortunately for her siblings, she does NOT love to share it!

Stephen caught up with a friend he met last year at the beach. These two are off to catch some fish! Wish you could have seen them, they were so funny in their attempts!

Making sand pies....um Langston, how does it taste!!??

Carson very much wants to be just like her big brother & sis....when she sees them go fill buckets with water to build sand castles, she tries her best to copy what they are doing. Unfortunately for this particular try, she caught more sand than water!

Horsing around with daddy! Nothing is more fun to them than playtime with dad!

Happy 2nd Birthday Carson!

2010-05-29T23:37:00.004-05:00

Hard to believe that my baby is now 2 years old! Yes, that's right, 2 years has quickly passed right before my eyes! She is the sweetest child you could ever come across, with the most easy going personality and excitement about everything. She LOVES shoes, clothes and purses....my wallet is saying OUCH right now just anticipating the future! She is quite girly, loving dolls, dress up and all the things you can imagine little girls would have so much fun with. I love how flexible she is. She can love her doll and find some way to incorporate her doll play with any of Stephen's Star Wars characters and have so much fun pretending they all go together. She is constant amazement of her older siblings and wants to do everything they do and love to play with them. I just love to watch all of them interact and play together, it's so sweet. She loves telling you how silly you are, especially her Nana (which, I know Nana just melts at the words "Nana, you silly!) She also likes to talk about how silly she is. We are working in to our independence phase, where we want to pick out our clothes, wear other people's shoes (even if they are the size 13's daddy wears) and we HAVE to have a bow that may or may not match our outfit, which will only stay in our curly mess of hair (that I just love by the way), for maybe a few minutes.

We celebrated an impromptu party with her friends at school on the last day (a day before the actual birthday), with a special treat from Savages Bakery. They kids loved the cookies and I enjoyed seeing them all have fun at lunch. We also took the birthday girl to the beach and had a little party for her with a fun beach themed cake. She loved the cake and in spite of us singing happy birthday to her, she was digging her paws into the icing and enjoying tastes before we even finished our song. It was pretty funny!

Her actual birthday, May 28th, celebration

Digging in to the cake before we could even sing Happy Birthday!

Her sweet class at school enjoying butterfly cookies from Savages. Aren't they the cutest little group! She loves talking about each one of them!

In lieu of a birthday tiara, we settled for some birthday mickey ears Ms. Leslie was able to find!

One more shot of her class. They are a fun bunch!

Happy Birthday my sweet baby!!! We love you!

Funny comment of the night, Stephen said to me, in front of an audience I must add, that now that Caron is a big girl, it's time for me to go back to the baby place and get another baby! I think my mom jumped out of her chair in shock, but I happily said to him that he needed to tell that to his daddy. No comment from daddy...yet...hahahah. I just want to see the look of daddy's face:) No, just to answer your questions, there is no immediate plan to

Big Fish Play & Fun Fair

2010-05-29T22:44:00.009-05:00

The "Big Fish" at Canterbury performed the sweetest play for their fans... Jesus and his twelve dudes, with Mary & Gabrielle, was a huge hit with the parents and family that were there to watch the performance. It is such an emotional experience to see your child on stage (so to speak), performing and saying lines they have practiced very hard at learning. They all did a wonderful job and I am so proud of them, especially my sweet boy, who was Bartholomew. I don't have panoramic view on my lens, so the next 2 photos are the entire class in their costumes, before they performed their lines individually. You will have to imagine the pictures pasted together to see the entire image!

Aren't they SO sweet!

Bartholomew, A.K.A Stephen Lilly

"I am honest and true. Jesus loves a pure heart I say to you" was his line and he did wonderfully!

They took a very short intermission to change out of costumes and each came out with a letter person they had been learning over the year. They had some fun songs to sing about some of the letters, the states, etc. before each one of them had a Bible verse to recite. Stephen's verse was "Thou shall not steal" Exodus 20:15. He spoke so clearly and did a fabulous job, we couldn't be more proud of him!

Stephen with his teahers, Ms. Wini & Ms. Frances. They are two of the most patient, nurturing and loving teachers you could ask/want for your child. Thank you to both of you for such an amazing and wonderful year for all of the children!

Stephen had a small cheering section which included his favorite....G!

Mom & Dad

And Nana too! Joe-Joe was in attendance as well, but unfortunately, I did not get a great picture with he and Stephen, so hopefully Joe did and I can upload that later. Needless to say, he was well supported and loved!

Following the play, they "Big Fish" enjoyed a Fun Fair complete with a Killer Whale water slide, a pizza party and a visit from the ice cream man! You truly can't ask for more fun and they LOVED it!!!

Stephen and one of his best buds, Hudson

"The Big Fish" What a fun group, we will miss you all next year!

Tae Kwan Do Green Belt!

2010-05-29T22:18:00.003-05:00

Stephen started Tae Kwan Do last year and loved it. At the end of the year he tested and progressed to a Tiger Cut Yellow belt. He wanted to do it again this year and had a great time. He has a wonderful instructor, Mr. Smith, who is great with the kids. Their focus is mainly on personal safety and being aware of strangers and hopefully how to get away from someone who may try to take you, of course they also practice legitimate age appropriate Tae Kwan Do moves, but he does a great job of helping them be aware of self defense. Anyways, Stephen loves it and was able to test again this year, for his Tiger Cub Green Belt...and of course he passed! The parents got to watch them in their testing, so we got to see what they have been working hard on all year long.

The group getting ready. Most of them are new to TKD this year the 3 children (including Stephen), who have the patches on their uniforms and the yellow striped belts were able to participate last year and tested and passed to get their yellow belts.

Getting his new belt and certificate. He actually looked at Mr. Smith and said, "I can't believe I got this!" He was so enthusiastic about it, it was so neat to see him excited about his accomplishment.

Stephen & Mr. Smith

May Birthdays

2010-05-29T22:01:00.003-05:00

With four sisters, you would think we would be celebrating birthdays all the time, but it seems the majority of our celebrations occur in the month of May, including my own I must say!! We had a great time wishing Aunt Casey, Aunt Ryan and myself a Happy Birthday, with a fabulous dinner, great wine and of course the best company you can get! Happy Birthday to my sweet sisters!

A tired Carson with Aunt Kat

Langston LOVES her Aunt Casey! Who doesn't!!!

It seems it's impossible to get a good picture with everyone looking in the right direction and smiling (or atleast not pouting or using their gassy smile!!) but of course we can all accomodate a silly picture!!

Our best attempt at a picture. This is just the birthday girls (my sisters Ryan & Casey & myself) with my sweet kiddos who CANNOT resist a birthday party and helping blow out candles!!

Mother's Day Tea Party

2010-05-29T21:36:00.004-05:00

So I am a little late posting these days, but that seems to be how our life has been lately....to busy to keep up! Here are some pictures from Stephen's class Mother's Day Tea & Art Show. They were so cute. We were welcomed by a red carpet, where each child met his or her mom with a paper mache flower they had made and we walked the carpet together to their room. Inside, they had special artwork they had done throughout the year displayed on boards and all throughout the room. We were given a precious hand painted tea hat (made from the biggest coffee filters I have EVER seen!) and they gave us a short little program with a few songs they had been working on. It was really so sweet and I loved every minute of it! The moms got to eat our lunch at their tables (bit small for my legs to fit under ha!) and the children had an indoor picnic on the floor. It was so much fun and such a treat! Here are a few pictures, sorry they are in reverse order. I am too lazy to redo the upload!!

My sweet son and me with my special tea party hat. I must say, he did a great job coordinating the colors with my outfit!!

The picnic

The show

Our red carpet!

This was the sign at the top of the stairs so we would stop before going in to the room. I know it's kind of quirky to include this picture, but they just went all out for the special event and I thought it was so sweet, I had to include it all!

Garage Sale for Missions!

2010-04-29T14:28:00.001-05:00

For anyone interested....the United Methodist Women of Canterbury are having a large garage sale tomorrow and Saturday to raise money to support missions locally and globally. Come by if you feel the urge to shop for some great deals!

350 Overbrook Road, Birmingham, AL 35213

Sale starts tomorrow at 9am!

Spring Is Here!

2010-04-29T13:55:00.002-05:00

Well, one child went home with a friend, one brought home a friend and one is napping! This means, everyone is entertained or sleeping, so mommy gets to catch up all the things she never gets to do!! Unfortunately, that includes laundry too! Here's a little bit of what we have been up to lately....

It's been a busy spring thus far, but we have managed to enjoy it. We've loved being outside, in spite of all the yellow pollen around. We came home from school one day to find a special treat on our mailbox for Stephen. Brookwood Forest put stars and invitations to their big Spring Fling, on the mailbox of all the incoming kindergartners. It's really a local thing with the elementary schools here, they each do something different on the mailboxes, but the kids love it and get pretty excited about it. Of course, once we saw our star, we had to drive around to see who else gots stars in our neighborhood. He was also pumped about the upcoming spring party they were having. It was wild fun, with bouncy inflatables everywhere, rock climbing walls, games everywhere, kareoke & dancing, a dunking booth, putt putt golf and of course the typical candy & sweets everywhere you looked! It was lot's of fun and the kids (the entire school enjoyed the afternoon together) were having so much fun. I just hope Stephen doesn't ask where all the fun things are on the first day of school!

We are officially a BWF Ranger! Sorry, I don't have any pictures from the spring fling!

Last night, the children's choir at our church put on a little musical for their families and friends. They performed "Down by the Creekbank" and did such a great job. It was so wonderful to hear their sweet little voices, and some of them are really great singers! My sweet little angel had a speaking part:)

"Aren't the start beautiful?" was his line and he did great.

Langston wrapped up Sunday soccer this past Sunday. She was excited to receive that oh so special soccer medal!

Carson is just dying to get out there and score a goal or two!

Stephen is still playing in his soccer league, they have a few more games and then he will be finished. He's had a great time so far and has done pretty well.

Easter 2010

2010-04-11T13:00:00.005-05:00

What a great day it was to celebrate our risen Lord! We had a beautiful service at our church and followed with fun with our family, good food, an egg hunt and of course some fun treats left by the bunny! It really was a great day, I hope you and your family enjoyed it as well!

Stephen

Langston

Carson

Nothing sweeter than this little group!

The Lilly's

Carson posing for the camera

Carson loved the new stroller the Easter Bunny brought her

The Easter Bunny knew just what Stephen loves right now....Star Wars!

We love R2D2!

Langston got excited about her new bike....she was getting pretty tired of riding big brother's old Thomas the Train bike! Apparently it wasn't girly enough! Hopefully this one is prissy enough, I don't think they could slap anymore pink on it!

Playing with bubbles

Carson & Langston hunting eggs

Stephen & Langston

Carson liked hunting the eggs, but she needed some help with her basket...it was a bit big for her to carry!

Sunday Soccer

2010-04-11T12:27:00.003-05:00

Langston was excited to start Sunday Soccer this spring. She had a great time at her first "game"! It was fun to watch her and proved to be a great way to wear out some energy!

Soccer 2010!

2010-04-11T12:12:00.003-05:00

Stephen started playing in the spring intramural league and is having a great time! It's his first experience on an organized team where we have a required weekly practice and 1-2 games a week. It's fun to watch him have such a great time and learn something new.