Elle's 10th Birthday Weekend

We went down to Mom's beach condo for Elle's birthday weekend. The weather was amazing. The water was crystal clear. And the kids had a blast! Elle requested blueberry muffins for birthday breakfast Saturday morning. We spent most of the day at the beach and pool, taking breaks back at the condo. Birthday dinner was at Margaritaville with Kilwin's ice cream for dessert! I had also gotten a Key Lime cake from Our House and brought it down with us. We never hurt for dessert at the beach:).

She got a couple books (Island of the Blue Dolphins, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix), a swim shirt and shorts, and a four day pottery camp in Dothan. Mom gave her a week at theater camp (that should be interesting!). She got money from Grammy and GranGran, Dad and Sandi, Aunt Helen, Uncle Jim and Grandma Ruby. She bought some roller blades--or "inline skates" in her words--with some of the money. 

Sunday morning, we went to Gulf World for her to "Swim with the Dolphins". It was such a great experience! First, an instructor took the group to a classroom and taught everyone a little about dolphins. Then they watched a short video on being in the water with the dolphins. Elle was in a group of six kids, a couple were older and a couple younger. They got in the water with the trainer and dolphin. Elle's dolphin was named Cajun, and he was a rescue. He actually had a scar from a shark bite! Elle shook his fins, got a cheek kiss, held him on her knee (all 300+ pounds!), rode around on his dorsal fin, and took a belly ride holding on to his pectoral fins while he swam upside down! She also got him to do his "alligator impression". 

We spent the morning there, watching the shows and seeing all the other animals. The beach was great again for the afternoon. I bought three inner tubes and they loved playing in the waves with them. We met Aunt Tammy, Sandi and Patti for dinner at Sandbar and then headed home late Sunday night. It was such a great weekend celebrating our 10 YEAR OLD! Elle is such a precious gift. She loves to read, to play outside, to direct her brothers in play:), and is usually eager to help out around the house. We are so thankful to be her parents! These next years will be new waters as we begin to navigate the tween and teen years. Lots of reading and prayer to come!

The May whirlwind

Elle took part in the communicants class at our church this spring. They met around eight times on Sunday nights and worked through a book called Understanding the Faith. Different elders led the group. She also met with an elder to talk about trusting in Jesus for salvation and joining a local body of believers. On Sunday, May 3rd, she made a public profession of faith and joined the church! She also took part in her first communion with our church. It was a very special day!

Later that week, Reese had a Mother's Day Tea at school. They sang a few songs, recited a poem and gave us several hand made gifts. It was a blessing to work at the school so I could just zip over for his special events throughout the year!

 

The next day, Elle took part in the Alabama History Hall of Fame at her school. Each person picked a famous Alabamian, completed a report on that person, dressed in costume and gave a small speech highlighting the accomplishments of the Alabamian. Elle was Anne Sullivan, Helen Keller's teacher. She did an amazing job! She made eye contact with the audience and spoke clearly. It was so fun to watch her whole class. I learned a lot too:).  

Her friends, Governor Lurleen B. Wallace and Mia Hamm

We made a quick weekend trip to the beach for Mother's Day weekend. 

 

Baseball season ended with pizza parties and trophies at the pavilion. Both boys had a great time and learned more about the game. Reese's team concentrated on the parties and treats more than actual teaching of the game, but we had fun working with him in the yard and playing family games of wiffle ball. Grady learned coach pitch is harder than t-ball. And that practicing actually helped you get better!

And last were the awards of the school year. Grady had Honors Day May 20 and Elle May 21. Back to back mornings at Montana. Reese's kindergarten graduation program was also May 21, which was also my last day of school. It was a pretty crazy last week of school for us all! 

The kids had wonderful school years and we are so proud of them. Grady received the Principal's Honor Roll, which was for all A's on his report card the whole year. This was especially great since Conduct was a graded subject and he got several weekly B's! He also received an Accelerated Reader award and trophy. Way to go Goose! You rocked 1st grade! 

Elle also got the Principal's Honor Roll award and an Accelerated Reader award and trophy. Elle was the 5th top reader in the whole school! She got a Good Citizen award for maintaining A's in conduct all year as well. You were an awesome 4th grader Elle!

 

And then I came back for the third day in a row for Grady's Author's Tea. Each first grader wrote and illustrated a book. They took turns reading them for their parents. Grady dedicated his book, The Big Game, to Reese:). He also wanted to wear his blazer which made him look even more distinguished! 

Easter 2015

The kids and I were out of school for Good Friday so I let Elle have a friend spend the night Thursday night. This is only the second time she has had spend the night company. I'm not a huge fan of spend the night company, but I also want our house to be the house where kids {specifically my kids!} want to hang, so I guess I should be a little more open to having other kids around.... And it went great and they had a great time. I made spaghetti for dinner {her friend's favorite--score #1!}. When the boys went to bed, I let them watch a movie on the computer in bed {very cool to them--score #2!}. They fell asleep about 9:45 {score #3 for me!} and didn't emerge until about 7:30 the next morning. I made chocolate chip pancakes and sausage for breakfast {always a score!}. Later on in the morning, we used peeps and made play dough. A very sticky, but exciting and interesting adventure {I'm up to about 5 points now!}. Overall, a great time for everybody!

I can't remember now what we did on Saturday but it probably involved playing outside, getting the gardens ready, yard work, etc. I had no candy or Easter Baskets for the kids Sunday morning. They have so much as it is! After a great morning at Sunday School {I played Easter Story Jeopardy with my 3rd and 4th graders--another score!} and worship, we came home and I made a traditional Easter lunch of popcorn shrimp, corn on the cob, and roasted brussel sprouts:). We all ate on the porch and enjoyed the beautiful weather.

We did boil about a dozen and a half eggs to dye. We used six of our own chicken eggs to experiment and see how they would turn out once dyed. I also never picked up an egg dying kit, but thanks to the 'ole world wide web, we made our own dye with vinegar and food coloring! We even tie-dyed a few by using some olive oil.

Then we hid the eggs for the kids about 267 times in the front and back yards:). OK, maybe not quite that many times, but it sure seemed like it. Whatever the case, they had a blast finding them and worked together and were content to find their designated amount of eggs. It was one of the most relaxing, enjoyable Easter weekends I can remember, popcorn shrimp and all!

Baseball season begins!

Here we go again! But this year we have TWO players. They are both very excited about playing and have been practicing for the past couple of weeks.

They both had practice games this week. Unfortunately, opening ceremonies was cancelled Friday night due to bad weather. But Saturday was sunny and beautiful and a great day to play some baseball. 

Reese had to be at Heard Magnet School at 8:00 to take his test for entrance in to Montana next year. We were there until about 10:30 which meant he missed his first game?! Grady played at 10:30 and then they both got to play in the afternoon. It was a fun day at the ball park!

I wish I could say Elle has been a supportive fan, but she mainly loves to go so she can run around with friends:). And they all love to get fries. There are few things better than ball park french fries....

My favorite quote was from Reese on practice game night. I bought some powerades for them to have after their games {they don't drink soda, so the post-game free coke doesn't appeal to them}. 

On the way to the game, I say,
"Reese, are you so excited?"

Reese: "I can't wait... to taste that Powerade!"

Ellary Anne Phillips

My sister-in-law gave birth to a precious baby girl by c-section, a little over 7 weeks early. She was 4.8 pounds and they are both doing well at Sacred Heart in Pensacola. So thankful to the Lord for NICU's and medicine and doctors and nurses who help make things go well with potentially scary situations. Can't wait to meet this beautiful baby girl!

Welcome to the world, sweet Ellary! We love you!

Taking care of business, teeth edition

This week seemed to be all about teeth. But thankfully, Grady's teeth were not involved. Monday was a first for the Salter kids with Reese having a cavity filled. Boo! I've always held my breath each dental visit for the "all clear" from the hygienist at the end of the appointment. I had lots of cavities growing up {and still continue to deal with issues from silver fillings--although I'm almost at the end of the teeth fixer upper tunnel} and I hoped the kids would get Steven's strong teeth. Anyway, even though it seems as though Reese may have gotten my teeth genes, he was a champ and was not scared or upset at all.

Then Wednesday was another first when Elle got braces. Unlike the cavity, which I hope will be few and far between, our future with the orthodontist is looking pretty promising. Elle gets very nervous and anxious about things when she doesn't know what to expect. We were praying for God to help her, and other people were praying for her not to be anxious. And God was so gracious to answer those prayers! She did awesome! She was sore for several days and we are still eating softer foods and cutting things up in to very small bites, but overall, she is doing great. And for the record, she looks adorable with braces, if I do say so myself:).

 

 Last night, Steven and I took Elle to see Chris Tomlin in concert here in Dothan. The tickets were part of her Christmas present. The boys stayed with Dad and Sandi. We took her to eat at Cracker Barrel--she wanted pancakes and cooked carrots?!--then on to the concert. Rend Collective and Tenth Avenue North opened for Chris Tomlin. It was a great night of worship. We had a great time doing that with Elle, too. She was getting tired though and we needed to get the boys, so we slipped out before it was over. But we made it two hours and 45 minutes!

The bathroom renovation is complete and I hope to post before and afters of that soon. We are so happy with the finished result! Baseball season has started and with two boys playing this year, we are spending lots of time at the ballpark. Grady moved up a league and is playing "coach pitch" and Reese will play his first season of T-ball!! And it has NOT been nice, pretty baseball weather yet. Rainy, cold and cloudy hours of practice so far. But, we are looking forward to two fun baseball seasons!

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Yes, yes I did. I went to Universal Studios for a long weekend. Valentine's weekend in fact. Without my husband. Without my kids. But with my sister! This was our Christmas present to each other. I am not ashamed to admit that I am a huge Harry Potter fan and knew one day I would make it to Orlando and experience the books come to life. And I was not disappointed!

We made it down there Thursday night. I didn't get in until about 10:00. We booked a hotel right across the street from the park, so early the next morning, we walked over for the adventure to begin. We headed straight to the newer "Diagon Alley" and the "Escape from Gringotts" ride. AMAZING! So amazing that we would ride it a total of 5 times over the next 2 days:).

 

We went hard that first day and quite possibly logged several hundred miles walking, but we experienced and explored all the magic we wanted to. We ate lunch at The Three Broomsticks, had butterbeer in line for the ride in Hogwarts castle, perused all the wizard shops, jumped through the brick wall onto Platform 9 3/4, rode the train back and forth between Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade.

We crashed back at the hotel around 5:00 and spent the rest of the evening chilling in bed watching TV. Saturday we started over again, but spent a little more time riding some of the other rides Universal has to offer. I loved the Transformers ride, too! After eating lunch at The Leaky Cauldron,we took a mid-afternoon break and went back to the hotel for a nap. We headed back to the park around 5:00 and tried to get in as much as we could before it closed at 9:00. However, we failed to realize there was a Mardi Gras parade scheduled so at one point, I felt like we might be in New Orleans. We were shoulder to shoulder with people, pressing through, trying to move. Not necessarily my idea of fun. But we got through to open space and made it on to a couple more rides while a concert was starting up {Jessie J? I had no idea who that was, but my knowledgeable college freshman sister filled me in!}. We ended up at Hard Rock cafe for dinner. It was crowded--it was Valentine's night--and took awhile but the crowds and people were entertaining to say the least. We got back to the hotel close to midnight!

Sunday, we got up and hit the park for a couple more rides and souvenirs before heading back home. It was such a fun trip and a sweet experience to share with my sister. I can't wait to take my kiddos back for a weekend there. It will be awhile though, because they have to read all the books first. And they're not old enough to read them yet:). Thanks Maddie, for a wonderful dream come true!!