On Track

Reid had his 3rd 9 week assembly on Wednesday. Just have to brag on my boy...
Posing on stage with his "On Track" award which means he is at or above where he needs to be at this point in 2nd grade.

If they gave out an award for cuteness, he would have snagged that one too!

Congratulations, Reid! We are so proud of you, Wildman!

Let the Planning Begin...

I always try to get a jump start on planning Reid's birthday. I have to work out all the little details from invitations to party favors to ensure all is just right for our little guy on his special day. I had a "vision" for his invitation this year from the moment we decided where it would be. I began creating them last night and after a few stressful moments due to uncooperative sticky paper and a last minute trip to Hobby Lobby with the Hubs for reinforcement materials, it finally all came together. See what you think...

The front of the invite.

Side view

A close up.

Birthday Weekend at Oaklawn

We wrapped up Josh's Birthday Week in our usual fashion by spending the weekend at Oaklawn in Hot Springs. We went down Friday night with our good friends, Kara, Kenneth and Ryan. The weather was perfect, the food was delicious and the laughs didn't stop.

We stayed at Embassy Suites both nights. I wanted something special waiting on Josh to surprise him so I mailed some decorations to the hotel earlier that week and they decorated the room for me.



They had a bottle of champagne on ice waiting as well as some chocolate covered strawberries. Mmmmm!

Good friends = Good times!

Kara and Kenneth

Josh and Ryan intensely deciding on which horse to wager on. All the guys researched, read and really thought about which horses to bet on. Kara and I took the less detailed approach and usually ended up winning!

Me and my love. It just doesn't get any better than this!

I hope you had a wonderful birthday, Josh. You deserve the world! I love you!

Our St. Patty's Day Birthday Boy

Today isn't just St. Patrick's Day...it's my love's birthday! He is 32 and still as hot as ever! Words really don't do justice to the kind of man/husband/dad he is. We hope his birthday week makes him feel as special as he makes Reid and I feel each day! We started celebrating his birthday week on Saturday with a family golf outing. We all three have grown to love golf and spending that time together. We always have so much fun.






Then we capped off the day with pizza and games at Hog Wild. Reid was so excited to surprise Josh with this that he made Josh sit in the back with him so he could cover his eyes the whole way there. Too cute!
Sunday we continued the celebration by meeting Josh's Grandma and Aunt for lunch in Cauksville. What? You don't know where Cauksville is? Don't worry...neither did I! But we ate at a cute little diner called Shane's that is located beside a pond that is full of ducks. We might just have to venture over to Cauksville more often!

For Monday of Josh's Birthday Week, Reid and I had his undergrad and graduate diplomas framed. He has been wanting to do this for a while, but never did. So, Reid and I had it done for him. :)

Tuesday was extra special because Josh and I got to take the day off and go on Reid's field trip with him. Josh also got a cute pair of green shamrock boxers! Maybe they will bring him some Irish luck at Oaklawn this weekend!

Wednesday brought a surprise breakfast and lunch from his favorite burger joint, CJ's!

I also picked up his birthday cake and he got to enjoy a slice of that a day early! I had originally planned on making him one from scratch, but with 2 soccer games, a track meet, board meeting, field trip and leaving town early Friday, there just wasn't enough time. Josh was ok with it though because it doesn't get much better than a cake from PattiCakes Bakery!

Today brought him being awoken to a round of Happy Birthday sung by yours truly and a cupcake with a candle so he can make his birthday wish.

Next was biscuits and gravy (one of his favorites). Reid also has another special surprise for him planned at the soccer game. Can you guess? After catching part of the high school baseball game (another favorite of ours) we will head to Reid's soccer game then celebrate this evening by going out to dinner.

Tomorrow will bring our annual trip to Hot Springs for a weekend at the races. Check back for more pictures and how we continued to celebrate our St. Patty's Day birthday boy!

Responsibility

Josh and I have wanted to create a chore chart for Reid for a few months now. We knew it was time to start instilling the value of a dollar in our boy and thought a daily list of chores would be a good start. Yes, he still has to help out with other things around the house as just part of being in a family, but this also allows him to earn some spending money. The latter part is rather important since he is a shopper like his mama. :)

So...Josh had the ever so clever idea to use a Connect Four board as the way Reid would indicate whether he completed his chores or not. I loved the idea so I went to work and created this...

When Reid completes a chore, he inserts a red checker. If he does not do the chore, then he puts a black one in the slot. So far, he has not had any black checkers. The kicker is we will not remind him of his chores. He has sole responsiblity and he is doing marvelous so far. The boy likes hearing change in his pocket....