Happy Birthday Tyson -

We have been so busy, I can't believe I am just now posting Tyson's birthday. It came and went along with Thanksgiving ...

Tyson turned 5 years old ... wow! He has grown into such an amazing little boy. He is such a loving child. I could not be more proud. He is respectful, smart, incredibly funny, cheerful, full of energy ... definitely mischievous at times. He is all boy and don't get me wrong, we have our struggles but they are mild and correctable. He learns from his mistakes and will always take chances. He is outgoing, makes friends easy, keeps old friends and never forgets. Tyson loves his family, he prays for everyone individually. He never misses a beat and loves to make sure we have a hard time keeping up. He has taught me so much in these past 5 years ... such a blessing.

We celebrated Martial Arts style ... at his request ... Acworth Martial Arts did an amazing job. Tyson and 25 of his closest friends (yes, I said 25) participated in board breaking, trampoline flipping, acrobat swinging fun!

This one might make you dizzy ...

Halloween a little late ...

The kids had so much fun this year, the weather was perfect ... and we have more candy than we know what to do with.

We had a vampire, bat girl and ninja ... fabulous bunch!

Trying to get a group photo ...

Off they go ... first house

This was a fun year. The twins understood the concept after a few houses and big brother leading the way!

Thank goodness for wonderful weather and a neighborhood that goes over the top. Plenty of hayrides and families that put a lot of time into activities for the kids. They had a blast!

Just what we needed ...

We took a fall road trip ... Tyson said he wanted to have a picnic on the side of the mountains ... so to the top of the Smokies we went. We took a little detour on the way home from the Midwest. It was the perfect time of year and an impromptu trip ... just what we needed.

I am going to say this but don't judge me ... it is really hard to take the kids out of their routine and stay anywhere other than home so we just don't. Finally we decided it was time to get out of our comfort zone. So we rented a cabin in the Smokies ... and it was perfect!

Just us .. and a log cabin ... our perfect family of 5. It was a good adventure, now we know we can do it. I am not going to lie, there was a lot of packing, unpacking, packing, unpacking, crying, screaming, crying, screaming ... but most importantly a ton of smiles and laughter. Priceless.

Happy Halloween!

Mr. and Mrs. Chris Jones!

Brian's brother finally tied the knot ... and we are so happy for the two of them!

Congratulations Chris and Melissa! Thanks for letting us be part of your day!

On the way to the rehearsal dinner in style.

Looking beautiful waiting to walk down the aisle

Mommy and her baby girl

Taking pictures with uncle Chris ... "sorry about the flower" - Tyson

Tyson and his sidekick for the night, Riley - they were adorable

All dressed up and ready for the party!

So sweet 

Bestman and Maid of Honor making a debut

This was the only way we could keep Jaxson in his seat ... he danced the night away

Happy couple

Grandma Jones and her baby ...

 

He did not stop all night ...

The cast made for a great addition to Tyson's outfit :)

Cheers to a great time!

That old box ...

Today I was cleaning out my closet ... much needed ... and had one of those stop what you are doing moments to check out what was stuffed in that box from several years ago. I came across a t-shirt painted with bubble paint from my senior year of highschool. I remember it clearly, we had our top 10 reasons why we wanted to be procrastinators when we grew up. Then we decided to bubble paint them on t-shirts and wear them to school. Wow ... it seems like yesterday ... girls you know who you are ... and yes, I still have the shirt stuffed in a box along with prom pictures, tiaras, cheerleader outfits and more :)

So ... fast forward to 2011. Incredible how my dream to procrastinate is so far off from the what I became. I am happy to say that is one goal I did not meet in life. I hardly have time to think about the word procrastinate ... much less practice the meaning. We had a lot of fun then. When you get the 7 of us together, we could talk for days about the fun we had, the stupid things we did and the places we ventured out to.

One of my fellow procrastinator t-shirt besties came to visit with her family a few weeks back (Aimee)
We spent the night talking about our children ... and work ... and houses ... and cars ... and grown up things.

Getting our children together ... what we used to talk about. How they would all be best friends (little did I know I would live 3 States away) Not everything turned out the way I painted it to be when I was 17 years old ... but I would not change it ... EVER!

Look how cute they are ... we have a lot to teach them!

It went by so fast ... highschool to now. Back then the challenges were thought to be some of the hardest I would ever face in my life. My mother RUINED my life when she did not let me go on that roadtrip with my friends (in the snow).

Mom ... let me tell you ... I SO understand now. Then it was a tragedy ... now it exactly what I would do!

It is good to open those boxes sometimes. Good to remember the road that got me here ... just my random thoughts today.

Pre-K or Highschool!

"Mom, seriously ... I am in Pre-K now, don't you know"

"What comes after Pre-K ... College?"

"I think I want to sign up for dance .... I saw all of the pretty girls go there"

"When can I drive a car like cousin Billy ... after Pre-K?"

Big changes for this school year. Tyson went into the GA Pre-K program (thank you GA for having such wonderful education programs) and the twins are going 3 full days a week now!

Tyson is on the public Kindergarten full day schedule preparing him for the big leap to elementary school next year. He goes 5 days a week 7:45 - 2:45. He is adjusting well and enjoying every minute. Check out his school blog site here.

The twins HAD to have backpacks like big brother ... they could fit in them but it is so cute!

It is incredible to watch them all interact at this age. Jaxson is Tyson's shadow following his every move and repeating his every word. Tyson digs it and has really developed well into the "big brother" character. They have their moments when they are all needy and we have to throw our hands in the air in realization that we cannot always please them all at once. Really, it builds independence in them and that is a huge lesson in our house right now. We are constantly checking things off the “list” … brushing teeth, getting dressed, washing hands, buckling the seat belt …  in time I am sure I will miss doing these things for them. Right now … I keep checking them off the list J

Between my preschooler who thinks he is going on 16 and terrible two's x 2 ... we are enjoying life! They are an adventure everyday ... and we are BUSY!

Welcom baby Elijah and baby Cadence

God just keeps giving us blessings. Two of my closest friends welcomed new additions: I had to share

Baby Elijah ... what a handsome boy. Congrats Andrea and Matt!

Beautiful Cadance. Congrats Rachel and Brogan!

Precious gifts from above ... we love you!!

Keeping up w/ the Jones'

My confession ... I have the blogger blues ... I just ran out of steam ...


Between the hours Brian and I have been putting in at work ... and spending as much time with our precious kiddo's ... keeping up with the Jones' ... literally has been a task and a half.

So the camera has been coming out less, the laptop practically non-existent after work hours and we are just trying to enjoy as much of the summer as we have left.

We belong to a community with several subdivisions ... we recently located this in one of the neighborhoods we had yet to check out ... yes, a year and a half later we just found this pool.

Tyson and Jaxson ... Non.Stop!

Our little sun queen ...

Spending a lot of time at the lake with good friends!

And giving out a ton of wakeboard lessons ... look at Ryan go. First try out this season and caught on like a pro!

School starts so soon ... enjoy the rest while you can!!

A Job Well Done!

We have been in project mode around our house. The goal for the summer was to complete the backyard. Luckily I have an incredibly talented "do-it-yourself" husband. Not only does he create the blueprint he executes his idea's himself. I am so thankful for his hard work on this major project. The outcome is unbelievable. Our backyard was an overgrown mess when we moved in this house. There was a small wooden deck with dirty outdoor carpet starting from the walkout.  It is so nice to feel like we can use this space now. Backyard BBQ invitations to come!

I took these pictures right before dark after I watered the plants ... I probably could have picked a better time ... but check out the finished product!

The sidewalk from the driveway down to the patio ... smart thinking!

Next the deck and the stairs from the main level .... he is not done yet!