Fun Day

We met Lydia at the mall today so that the boys could play together one more time before they leave this weekend. They had a great time running around, eating Chick fil A, and playing in the lion fountains. My plan was to take Andrew home for a nap before we went to get Evie from preschool, but he wasn't having any of that so we went to Ben & Jerry's for free cone day instead. Not the best logic (no nap so let's get sugar!), but it was fun anyway. I also learned don't give a toddler bright purple ice cream. It will make a mess! Notice Andrew's new hat. $0.80 at Children's Place. I love clearance bins!

William and Andrew on the caterpillar
Andrew loved riding with William in the sit n stand stroller
Boys playing in the fountain
Berry Berry Sorbet @ Ben and Jerry's

Farewell Cookout

Our Sunday School teachers hosted a going away cookout tonight for the Mearse family. Stanley and Lydia have been wonderful friends to us and our boys are such good buddies. We are so sad to see them go, but we know God has big plans for them in Louisiana.

The kids enjoying the yummy food

All the little ones (except baby Shawn)

Our class

A reminder of East Tennessee for Stanley and Lydia

tired toddler and cute craft

The boy who refuses to nap...passed out during a Little People movie at 4 pm

Cute plates that we decorated at MOPS. We have done such wonderful crafts this year! A big thanks to Jovelyn for writing the kids' names. My handwriting is terrible.

Orange and White Game

We took Evie on her first trip to Neyland Stadium today. She was a very good girl and had a wonderful time! Her first question was "Where's the baskets?" Can you tell she watched a lot of basketball this season?! She got to go down close to the field and wave to Smokey, but if you ask her what she saw her answer will be, "Clarinets, trombones, trumpets, tubas." She was very excited to see the band!

Daddy and Evie

Evie and Nana

Evie's Birthday Party

We celebrated with Evie's preschool friends this morning at Chuck E Cheese. Evie had a lot of fun playing games and going on the slide with her friends. Sleeping Beauty came to her party in the form of a 3 foot doll and plush fairies. Evie and I had fun with the princess theme!

Our area at Chuck E Cheese
Evie had fun playing the bee game Blowing out the birthday candle
An Evie balloon

Happy Birthday Evie!

Evie had a wonderful day! She asked for a bike for her birthday, so Mommy and Daddy didn't disappoint. She rode it for a minute and then little miss safety told us she needed a helmet. We knew that Auntie Laura had gotten her one for her birthday, but we hadn't opened the other presents yet. She did really well on her bike, but she had her first little bike wreck and skinned her knees. After trying out the bike we met Nana and Papa at Wasabi for dinner. Our waitress was so wonderful! Since Evie couldn't eat the cake she had the sushi bar make a star out of cucumbers and two rice cakes with candles in them. We also went to Bruster's for italian ice and then back home for presents!

Evie's first time on a bicycle

Wasabi sushi "cake"

Italian ice at Bruster's

A sleeping beauty crown, a crown necklace, a cinderella dress, and a pink kitty!

A Cinderella necklace!

Riding the bike outfitted in a princess helmet and knee pads

Happy Birthday at Preschool

Evie was so excited to share her birthday with her preschool friends. We made cupcakes (purple of course!) for her to take to snack time. Mrs.Dawn and Ms.Sarah were so sweet to take Andrew to Chuck E Cheese so Mommy could go see Evie at chapel. We are so blessed to be able to send our children to a preschool program where everyone loves them and teaches them about God's love. The videos below are priceless! Evie and her friend Alaina are dancing in the aisle in the first one. Evie's buddy Ross is dancing on stage while Evie and Alaina bounce around below him in the second one. It is incredible to see all the little ones get so excited about worship!

Pre-birthday celebrations

Evie got some special visitors for her birthday. On Saturday Auntie Laura came down and we took Evie shopping with her birthday money from Granny Ani. She got a financial lesson at the Disney store and had a great time choosing her treasures!

Evie with her purchases

On Monday Papaw Rick took us to a double birthday lunch. His birthday is the 13th and Evie's is the 15th.

Lunch at Calhoun's

A princess card from Papaw Rick

Bunnies and bowling

Our MOPS craft today was boo-boo bunnies. They were too cute not to share a picture!Final scores! Video of the kids bowling is below.

Special Day

Phil was able to stay home with us today, so Evie got to have some special time with Mommy and Daddy while Andrew was at preschool. We had her 4 year pictures taken, went to gymnastics, and had lunch at Wasabi! A big thank you to Mrs.Rhonda for monogramming Evie's birthday dress. She was so thrilled with it!

Granny Ani's Birthday

We went to Granny Ani's last night to celebrate her birthday. The kids loved eating their dinner outside on her deck. After dinner we took them for a walk around the pond.

Having dinner on the deck

They found one worm, but Andrew squished it into two worms. At least they didn't have to share it!

And then there were four

Andrew and I checked on our little bird when we got home from the playground this morning and saw three eggs. This afternoon when we got home from preschool we found four. I googled robins and found out that four is their stopping point, so I think she is now ready to keep them warm until they hatch.

A full nest

Mama bird on her nest

Baby birdies

Bird eggs in our tree
Andrew checking out the eggs
Evie picking "daffodillies"

Plan accordingly...

April 25, 26, 27. Click here to see a list of tax exempt items.

Wheat!

In our continuing saga of Andrew's allergy and sinus issues, he is back eating wheat this week. His nose is finally all cleared up from surgery and three rounds of antibiotics since then, so we are attempting a wheat challenge again. He started out on Tuesday with one piece of bread. No problems, so he had bread and pasta on Wednesday. Still doing great, so we are giving him tons of wheat now. Cheerios, pretzels, macaroni, chicken patty, jelly sandwiches, crackers...the boy has been in bliss! He is doing just fine so far, but I am watching for signs of acid reflux, which can also irritate the sinuses.

Yay for pretzels!