May

This is always a busy time of year, with all the sports, end-of-school activities, and planning for summer. Softball has kept me pretty busy, and I’m finally getting back into shape after not being able to play last year (because we didn’t have enough ladies for a team). I’ve been catching fly balls like crazy out in left field, so I guess I’m in the right spot! We’ve lost all but one game so far, but playing softball with my family and friends makes me happy, no matter the score! I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to do something I love with people I love.

James and Eliza had a great soccer season! They both played really hard and enjoyed their teams. Plus they got some exercise! I’d call that a success! The last day of school is tomorrow (which they are excited about!), and they will start swim lessons in a couple of weeks. We have a zoo membership this year, so I expect we will be going there quite a bit, too. We are looking forward to a fun summer!

My niece Emma is 3 months old now! She is just precious, and such a happy baby most of the time. We get to see her almost every week at softball games or at my mom’s house on Sundays. She is changing so fast! A few times I have had my camera nearby, and so here are pictures of the little cutie:

This is Brian pre-haircut, which was long overdue!

Brian’s hair was getting really long, and was making him really hot, so I took him to Walmart to get it cut. Here he is the morning before he got it cut:

And here it is after:

I told them I wanted it pretty short on the back and sides, and a little longer on top. What I got was something very near a buzz-cut! I keep telling myself it will grow back, and in fact it is already noticeably longer. It was just a little bit of a shock to have my cute little toddler turned into a handsome big boy in a matter of minutes! It has kept him a lot cooler when we have to be out in the heat, though!

On Mother’s Day, we climbed Pinnacle Mountain, which has become a traditional Mother’s Day activity for us. Here are a few Pinnacle Mountain shots from Mother’s Days past:

2008- See how little James and Eliza are!

I guess we skipped a few years and picked back up last year (2011)

Here are some pictures from this year:

Going up

Brian refused to let us help him on the way up (although some places I had to help!) He was so exhausted that I carried him down a lot of the way.

Eliza posed a lot with a sneaky ninja in the background.

Relaxing at the top!

We didn’t get a family photo on top of the mountain this year, but we got this one on a bench on the way down. We had a great time being together as a family. Afterwards, we ate a yummy dinner at Olive Garden. It was a wonderful Mother’s Day!

Last week I went with Eliza’s class on a field trip to the Museum of Discovery. I decided to leave my camera at home and just enjoy being there with Eliza, so I didn’t take any pictures, but I did have a fairly relaxing time! James went on a field trip to the Mid-America Science Museum this week, but Jay and I decided to skip that one this time. Jay had already been on a field trip with him this year, and I didn’t feel like going on 2 museum field trips within a few days of each other. He had a good time with his friends despite being parentless. :)

Today was the spring carnival for the kids’ school, so Brian and I went and stayed out in the sun for nearly 4 hours to be with James and Eliza. I did manage to get some cute pictures, but boy am I tired!

Bounce house! It was hard to get a good picture, but they sure had a blast!

Brian enjoyed the popcorn

Eliza waited in line a long time for the rock wall. In fact, I left her in line and went to Chik-fil-a to grab lunch for all of us, and she was still in line when I returned! I was glad, though, because I was able to get pictures of her climbing the wall!

She made it!

Eliza got a lady bug tattoo

In line again- with James this time! At least they had some rockin’ music to dance to! I’m not sure what Brian was doing here, but he did not want to look at me!

James climbing up

He made it all the way, too! And on the harder side!

Brian loved this slide!

James got a t-rex tattoo

The kids have had such a great school year! They both had great teachers, and received lots of awards for both academics and citizenship. James got the Wildcat Award for his class this month, which he has been hoping for all year. We are blessed with some amazing kiddos!

We’ll start the summer off with a fun Memorial Day weekend- we get to have our niece Hannah stay with us, and we will also be going to visit Jay’s mom. It’s been a great month!

April adventures

I can’t believe it’s May! So, what did we accomplish in the last half of April? Well:

I got to find out what having twins is like. And before Nathan left, we got all the Mayo grandkids together for a quick snapshot:

The kids started soccer! After taking a break last year, they were ready to jump in and play!

Brian is too young to play on a team, but he is a huge fan of soccer! He loves to get out and kick the ball. He’s a natural!

Jay went with James’ class on a field trip to the Coleman Quartz Mine. They brought back some pretty crystals!

We also had a stray cat show up at our house:

He was so friendly and really wanted inside, so I thought he must belong to someone. I posted signs in the neighborhood and was finally called by an elderly lady who said the description sounded like her granddaughter’s cat. They came and looked at him and joyfully confirmed that it was indeed their missing “Elliot”. He had been gone for a month from their home in Benton (a good 15 minute drive from here). I am guessing that somehow Elliot hitched a ride to the grandmother’s house (which is near ours) and didn’t know what to do once there. I am just glad we were able to reunite him with his owners!

So, May is here, and there are lots of activities going on before the kids get out of school on May 24th. Softball has started for me, so that keeps us on the run as well! Spring will be over before you know it, and on to the adventures that summer brings! And May the Fourth be with you!

What is it like to have twins?

I’m getting to find out what it’s like to have twins- at least a little bit! My nephew Nathan has been staying with us the last couple of days while his parents are on a cruise. Nathan just turned two last month, so he’s two and a half months younger than Brian. They are very similar in height, build, and hair color, and even have a few similar facial features, so it really is almost like having twins. They play and they fight, and they both come looking for me when there’s trouble. They are both napping right now (hooray!) so I thought I would post some pictures I’ve taken of my “twins”:

Nathan is good at saying “cheese”! Brian gave me a good smile this time, too.

Everyone had to have a Fudgesicle!

Nathan loves to swing almost as much as Brian!

He likes basketball, too. I really like this picture!

Brian and Nathan play well together as long as they each have their own object- in this case, a basketball! So glad Mamaw got Brian an extra ball with this goal she gave him for his birthday! Brian is actually trying to let a roly-poly crawl between his legs in this picture.

Bathtime!

Brian really wanted to get in Nathan’s bed. Well, it is Brian’s pack-n-play that we use for traveling, so maybe he was feeling a little possessive.

Having an extra Brian-sized person around can be challenging! Like when I picked the kids up from school and had to carry both 2-year-olds up to the building to get James and Eliza. My arm is sore! And I went to the post office today to mail our taxes at the last minute, so I had to take Brian and Nathan with me. I tried to have Brian walk, and carried Nathan, but Brian decided to have a meltdown at that moment and was inconsolable. He got mad because one of the doors at the post office was locked in place and he really wanted it to open. He wouldn’t stop screaming, so the nice lady behind the counter picked him up and let him “help”. She gave him stickers (which were unused mailing labels) and held him until everything was finished. Then she gave some stickers to Nathan, and we were able to get home without further incident. But it was pretty crazy!

Tonight I will no longer get to have twins. Nathan will be spending the rest of the week with my mom at Adrienne’s house, where she is taking care of baby Emma since Adrienne started back to work on Monday. Having the two two-year-olds has been lots of fun, even if it has been challenging! Now my mom gets to relive the days of having a toddler and a newborn to take care of! Good luck, Mammy!

Easter family photos

One of our long-standing Easter traditions is taking a family picture in our dressy clothes. I love to go back and see how we’ve changed from year to year. I had Jay go back and find pictures from as early as 2002:

This is at Jay’s grandmother’s house in Philadelphia, MS. It was just the two of us in 2002. We look so young!

James makes his first Easter appearance in 2004.

Still just James in 2005, but Eliza was on-the-way! I was 5 months pregnant in this picture.

James and Eliza make Easter much more exciting! This was in Jackson, TN, visiting Jill and Robbie in 2006.

We were so cute in 2007!

In 2008, James was 4 and Eliza was 2. We spent this Easter in Mississippi with Jay’s family.

2009- at Granny’s house in Memphis

2010- Brian shows up!

Looking good in 2011!

And here is 2012.

We usually go to Memphis to be with my family on Easter, but this year we decided to have a relaxing Easter weekend at home. I actually got to sing in the choir on Easter Sunday, something I am rarely in town for. Saturday we had a little egg-hunt at James’ friend Geoffrey’s house:

Brian was serious about “hunting” eggs!

Eliza found the most eggs, probably because she was most eager!

Geoffrey has a trampoline, which the kids really enjoyed

The kids got some goodies in their Easter baskets Sunday morning. Jay and I joked about the “Easter Bunny” bringing them clay and chalk… is that like Santa giving the bad kids coal? They also got a fair amount of candy. Anyway, they were delighted with what they got!

Benjamin and Bridget came over late Sunday afternoon, and we enjoyed hanging out with them. They finished off the remains of the meal I had cooked earlier, and blew bubbles and played board games until it was time for the kids to go to bed. It was a great ending to a wonderful Easter weekend.

Easter celebrations and traditions are a lot of fun, but it is important to remember what we are celebrating. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth to die for our sins, taking the punishment that was rightfully ours and allowing us to be reconciled to God. He didn’t stay dead, though! He rose from the grave, bringing eternal life to all those who place their faith and trust in him. Thank you, Lord!

Spring break fun!

Beware: lots of pictures below! We started spring break with a road trip to Memphis, and ended it with one, too! Last weekend we visited my family and celebrated my nephew Nathan’s 2nd birthday. We also got to keep Jack, my cousin David’s son (that would be my first cousin-once-removed, and my kids’ second cousin, for those of you out there keeping score.) Jack is 16 months old, so along with Brian (who turned 2 in December) and Nathan (who was having his 2nd birthday), we had little blond boys everywhere! It was also my new niece Emma’s debut in Memphis, for the relatives there who had not gotten to see her yet. We had a wild time!

Here’s Jack:

And Nathan:

And Brian:

They loved playing together! Eliza got in on the action, too:

I really don’t know what they were looking at here, but it must be interesting:

I tried and tried to get some pictures of the three boys together, and the only way I managed to get them still for long enough was to give them their cups and let them drink. They were pretty hot and tired at this point:

I love their faces here:

They also took a break for some fruit snacks:

Nathan had an Elmo party for his second birthday! Lots of decorations and presents:

We only got one picture of Emma that weekend- with Aunt Alayne holding her:

We came back Sunday night because Jay had to work Monday, so the kids and I relaxed at home, trying to recuperate from our crazy weekend! Tuesday we took some sandwiches to the park for a picnic, and the kids played on the playground for a while:

We made a Walmart run after that for some groceries, and got caught in a downpour as we were trying to leave. We all had to change clothes when we got home because we were soaked! Wednesday it rained most of the day, and we took a trip to the library to get some books. Thursday the weather was beautiful, and I took the kids to the zoo. The animals were all out, and we really enjoyed ourselves:

The new penguin exhibit is so neat!

The giraffes were pushing each other around, so James and Eliza decided to imitate them.

After the zoo, we had lunch with Daddy at UALR:

Friday we headed back to Memphis for a weekend with Mamaw (Jay’s mom), and Jill, Robbie, and Hannah. We stayed at a hotel with them and had a great time. We were too busy playing to take many pictures! Here are a couple that Jay took with his phone:

We went to Shelby Farms and explored their new Woodland Discovery Playground.

The park has a wonderful kite-flying field, too!

It was a great spring break, but, like always, it went by way too fast!