First Grade Fun Day!!!

Today was Ellie's last full day of First Grade!!  She's had an amazing year and absolutely thrived in Mrs. Cox's precious class.   Martin is a great school and Ellie is already looking forward to Second Grade this fall!

The children were treated to a Fun Day with lots of great activities.  They watched a movie, played in a bunch of jumpy castles and had a picnic lunch in the grass!

They finished off the day with an ice cream party!  Yummy!

(Abby's the class little sister!)

The children could choose from several yummy ice cream sauces and lots of toppings.  Ellie's sundae looks delicious!

The class gave special gifts to Mrs. Cox and Ms. Black.   We will certainly miss these precious ladies this summer!!!

Hanging out in Natchez

Checking out the river. . .

Daddy's girls
(notice the scary drop on the other side of the fence!  yikes!)

Ellie & sweet Granna

Papa & Granna

This photo makes me laugh every time I look at it.  Abby did NOT approve of whatever Ellie was saying! 

Delicious lunch at the Pig Out Inn.  YUMMY!!!  Such a fun day, full of special memories!

Mississippi River Flood

On Saturday, we went to Natchez to see the Mississippi River cresting at the highest stage ever recorded.  The last time it was close to this level was in 1937. 
 The smokestacks on the casino riverboat (far left of the photo) are usually way below the bridge. 

Looking from Natchez to Vidalia, Louisiana.  The levee was holding but everything in front of it was underwater.

This is a no parking sign in the historic Under the Hill area of Natchez.

Vidalia area.

Goin' Hog Wild in Brookhaven!

Today we went downtown with our cousins, Amy &  Jake and their crew, to the first annual Hog Wild BBQ contest and festival.  The girls loved petting the sweet dogs from Brookhaven Animal Rescue League.

Abby & Cache

This girl loves dogs!

Abby and her buddy Cache.  They're so funny together. 

  They have serious discussions on potty training and big girl/boy beds.  Cache gave Abby his bag of candy which was HUGE -- Cache has never shared his candy!

Chowing down on Jake's fabulous BBQ!!!

Ellie enjoying her 'Rib Lollipop'

Abby biting brisket.  Yummy!!!

Cache impressed us all with his bull riding skills!  Yee Haw!

This looks like a regular fire truck, but look closely. . . it's a firetruck grill!!!  Complete with built in BBQ, satellite TV, refrigerators, coolers, lawn chairs and patio umbrellas.  It was awesome.

Little Chefs!

Oh no, it's a crisis in Abby-land!  We're out of Feta, a staple in her diet!  She'll eat anything if it's topped with feta!

Spinach and feta, we love it for stuffed chicken.

I love that Ellie and Abby enjoy helping me in the kitchen.  We had homemade pizza & salad two nights this week.  The first night, Ellie made the pizza and Abby made our salads.  The next night they switched duties.  Here's Abby getting the pizza crust ready.  Yummy!!

Here's one of my most favorite photos of Ellie, at just about the same age Abby is now. 

Big Girl Bed!!



Abby has been asking for a big girl bed since about January!  We were (okay "we" as in Mommy)  having a hard time letting go of the baby crib.  Abby said she wanted "one of those beds you don't have to get me out of." and she wanted "a big pink bed with butterfly 'sheeps'!"  So we ordered her bed and 'sheeps' and it all arrived this week!  Yay!!  Here are photos of Abby's very last night ever in her baby crib (soooo sad!).  She would hardly pose for the above photo, she was sooo over the crib and didn't want to spend another night in it!



A few sweet moments with Daddy's little baby girl...

The bed arrived while Abby was with Ms. Dorothy so we set it all up and then picked up Abby.  She was completely surprised when she walked in and saw it all set up!  Speechless, actually!

One happy big girl!

She likes to crawl through the rails to get off the bed.

Daddy showing Abby her  new view from this side of the bedroom. 

Thank you, Daddy!!!!

New favorite reading spot!

Abby's first bedtime story time in bed.  I love the big grin on her face!  The girls are so excited they can share Abby's bed on weekends!

This is Ellie, at the same age, on her first night in a big girl bed!!

Ellie, age 2.5, posing with HER brand new big girl bed!!

Our little girls are growing up!