Beginning Of Summer

Halle and Syd enjoyed swimming yesterday at Kim's pool. The water is still too cold for me and the babies. Jeffrey got in for a little bit but he did say that he was getting too old for swimming when it was that cold! :)

Halle picked up from where she left off last summer. I did make her get in the shallow end for a minute so she could show me that she could still swim before she jumped off the diving board. She wasn't too thrilled about it but she showed me she still had it and then took off. For a little thing, she sure can make a big splash with her canning balls. She also turned a few flips off the board which scares me every time....

Syd loves the water as well. She jumped right in and took off. The life jacket she is wearing is the best life jacket I have ever seen. Papa Rick bought them last year and it still fits great. Halle has one that she wears in the boat. They fit great and don't ride up around their necks or bottoms. She loves it and she is getting good at kicking and swimming. We may try to teach her how to swim without it this summer.

The babies were passed around so much that they were happy to take a nap in their stroller. When it warms up a bit we will see if they are as fond of the water as Halle and Syd are. I'm looking forward to a great summer!!

Kris Wins!!!

So by now everyone knows that I am a huge fan of Kris Allen... I was literally holding my breath on Wednesday for the announcement. I had a few friends over and we really enjoyed the entire show. Kris' performance with Keith Urban was so great and I even enjoyed Adam's performance with Kiss.

I'm so happy Kris won and can't wait to purchase his first cd!

MawMaw Turns 93

My great grandmother turned 93 this week. She has 4 children, 13 grandchildren , and too many great and great greats to count!!

Several of us were able to attend her party on Saturday. The girls had a great time playing with their cousins and eating a good pot luck meal.

I know I say this often but I feel truly blessed to have such wonderful family.

Another Project

Halle had to do another project for school. This time her class had been studying oceans. I thought her ocean turned out pretty well considering it was hard finding stuff to go in it. We finally bought fish aquarium stuff, which worked nicely. This one was for a grade so I will let you know how she (we) did. LOL

My Lil' Fisherman

Dad took Halle fishing yesterday and unlike the last trip, they really caught alot of fish. Halle was so excited. Dad said that she really caught several fish all by herself. When Jeffrey, Sydney, and I got to the boat ramp to pick her up, she started telling me that she caught the biggest fish of all. I said, "really?" She said, "yeah, I caught Pa!" LOL She had hooked him behind his ear. He said that she barely got him. I asked how in the world she could hook him if she was in the back on the boat and he was in the front of the boat. Dad said that she had to be in the front with him because she didn't like being in the back by herself. I think it is because she is smart and she knows that the person in the front always catches more fish! :)

While Pa and Halle were going down the lake Halle's cap blew off. They turned around to get it and Halle dipped netted it. When they started back to their location, Halle held on tight to Pa. She said that she didn't want to be blown out too! :)

They didn't keep all the fish they caught because some were too small. When Halle would throw one back, everytime she would say, "Now you go find your momma and make her take you to the dentist because you've had a hook in your mouth!" Then she would say, "I hope we don't have your momma in our live well!"

Jeffrey asked what bait they used to catch all the fish. Halle announced really loud that they caught them all on this bait right here and held it up for all the other fishermen to see. Jeffrey started laughing and told her not to tell those kinds of secrets to anyone but him!

They fished from 3 until 8 so Halle did get a little tired. She told me that Pa woke her up yelling to get the dip net. They caught the fish but unfortunately it was one that could not be weighed for the tourney.

Syd enjoyed LOOKING at the fish. Halle tried to get her to hold one but she never did. She finally touched one. One of the fishermen walked up and asked what Pa and Halle caught, meaning how much they caught. Syd yelled at him, "FISH." We all thought that was funny. Kids take things so literal.

Halle was glad she went fishing even if they didn't win any money. I told Pa that pretty soon he would have 4 little girls to take fishing! :)

Kris In The Finals!!!

Now I know some of you had to have heard me screaming last Wednesday night!!! Once again I woke a baby.... The other one I had in my arms and she screamed with me. However I think she was screaming because I scared her not because she was happy Kris made it to the finals. :)

The look on his face was priceless.... I paused the tv to capture the look. Too funny, He seemed shocked but really excited to hear his named called first.

I felt bad that Danny went home but now that Kris is competing against Adam, I really think Kris is going to win! I think Kris will get the Danny votes.

Kris and Adam are so different. Adam is this bad boy, rock and roll, up in your face musician. Kris is a christian guy, humble, down to earth musician, who was a music leader in his church. I'm not sure if there has ever been 2 completely different artists in the finals of idol.

I can't wait for Tuesday and Wednesday! Don't forget to vote, vote, vote!

Mom Celebrates 55 Years

As mom put it, she is now the speed limit..... She turned 55 on May 9. We had a little party for her on Saturday and enjoyed some good food. Syd kept asking when the party was going to start. LOL I tried to tell her that adult parties weren't the same as kid parties. Halle thought the party should have been at the park. Personally I think this was because she wanted to go to the park. ;)

It was raining that day so no park but Halle and Syd enjoyed riding their bikes under the carport. Carlee and Kalee ate cheerios that day for the first time. I love the stare down I captured in the picture. I'm sure Kalee was trying to get one of Carlee's cheerios.... yesterday I caught Kalee once again taking away a toy from Carlee. Not only did she take a book from her but then after she got it she took her arm and pushed Carlee over. I think it's time to start spatting some hands! ;)

Too Much Water For Even The Dam

It has been 41 years almost to the day since water has spilled over the dam at SWAHA. It went over the dam May 18, 1968, and now it is going over again. About 2:30 on May 14 water began spilling over the dam.

We were among a few hundred people to go see this rare event yesterday. If you haven't gone to see it, it is well worth the trip. It was strange to see the water spilling over but it was also way cool to think you were seeing something that rarely happens and may never happen again in your lifetime.

I heard on the radio yesterday that Howard county had gotten roughly 14 inches on rain in the month on May already. At this point the average is about 2 inches. A spokesperson from the corp at Lake Greeson said that he expected the water to go over the dam for the next several days especially if more rain fell on Saturday as predicted. They are unable to generate any water due to the high levels of the rivers. He said that the river downstream was at a 20 and it needed to be at a 14 before any water could be generated out of the lake.

Mother's Day 2009

This Mother's Day I feel truly blessed to be the mother of 4 healthy, sweet, beautiful girls! Someone asked me what I was getting for Mother's Day this year and I told them that I get my gift daily through my little ones....

Halle, Sydney, Carlee, and Kalee are the best part of me! Yeah if someone would have told me a few years ago that I was going to be the mother of 4 children I would have told them that they were crazy! But now I can't imagine my life without them. Each one is special and I thank God for giving them to me!

We had a wonderful, rainy mother's day. I'm blessed to have my mother and grandmother living close to me. Not all the family could make it this year but most of us were there to celebrate.

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

I feel like I'm living in Seattle these days. I try not to complain too much because I know about July and August I will be wishing for rain!

My brother took this first picture when he was going home yesterday. He sat in traffic in Ashdown for over an hour. He drives a Pontiac Torrent and water got in his car it was so deep. I can only imagine what happened to little cars going through it!

The picture of the dam at Swaha was taken today. It hasn't gone over since May 1968 but I think it might just go over again! My mom has a cabin just down from the dam. She's not too worried, hope she's right!

Kris Allen Madness!!

We were 6 of an estimated 10,000 at Little Rock Friday to see Kris Allen, the next American Idol! The girls loved it! He sang 3 songs and was amazed at the turnout for him. I think he was overwhelmed over the number of people that turned out to see him. He sang the babies to sleep. Poor things didn't enjoy it quite as much as the big girls did. It was hot and humid Friday but atleast it wasn't raining!

He was escorted around town by state troopers and rode in in the stretch limo that truly amazed Halle. I was wishing we had police escorts! The parking was terrible. We finally found a spot that technically was not a parking spot at the Clinton Library. People were parked everywhere!

Some of the best signs said things like, We eat ICE in Arkansas for lunch and We have the KRIS FLU. Halle enjoyed getting to miss school for the performance. We didn't make the trip on to Conway but an estimated 20,000 turned out for his performance there.

We will definately be watching and voting tomorrow!!!

Vote Kris!!!

As you can all probably tell from my new playlist, our house is big Kris fans! We were nervous last night that he might leave this week but I like to think that due to my voting for 2 solid hours, I helped pull him through. Halle and I are planning on going to Little Rock tomorrow to see him.....hopefully we can get close enough to get a good picture.

Toy Fight, Story Of My Life!

Fighting over the same toy............ Kalee got it. Carlee was not happy!

Look there is 2!!! And you guessed it, Kalee not interested anymore.

Last Softball Game

Halle played her last softball game Saturday. She enjoyed the season. All 3 teams will have a softball party the 28th at the water park. She is looking forward to it!

Look Who Else Is Pulling Up

Carlee is now pulling up. She is not cruising around furniture like Kalee but she is proud of herself.

Their hair is now long enough to pull up in a rubberband. I think they look like big girls now. They will soon be 11 months..... time to start planning their 1st birthday!

Carlee on left, Kalee on right.

Movie Earth

Tuesday Halle's first grade class went on a field trip to see the movie Earth.

When she got home I was asking her about her day and how she liked the movie. She began to tell me all about how animals were eating and killing other animals in great detail. It all sounded a little too graphic for me but she enjoyed it and didn't have any nightmares that night. :)

Her daddy had read that the movie might not be a good one to take your younger children to see. He told me this after she had already left for the day......

Parents beware that although Halle enjoyed it not all little kids will. I don't think I will be taking Syd to see this one......

Playing With The Big Girls

Kalee enjoys playing in the toy room with the big girls. I use to put things on top of this table to keep the babies from getting it. These days I have had to move items to higher ground. :) Kalee is pulling up to everything! She is even starting to stroll around things. I'm sure it won't be much longer until this little one is walking!

Carlee was enjoying daddy time in the rocker when I took this picture.....

Battle of the Books

Last Friday Halle participated in the battle of the books at Gillam. Her teacher chose her and one other student from her class and the other first grade teacher chose 2 students. Halle, Peyton, Maddi, and Kennedy got 2nd loosing to Ashdown.

The girls read about 20 books and were quizzed on them. Plus they had to know the authors of the books.

Parents were not allowed to go but Halle told me that the Ashdown team was a group of boys. She informed me that those mean ol' boys beat them! LOL They were excited to get 2nd and were really proud of themselves. They got a ribbon and are suppose to be getting trophies according to Halle.

They got to go play at the park in DeQueen afterwards. I think Halle enjoyed this and getting to ride a bus more than she did the battle of the books! :) She told me that she was so nervous that she could barely speak. Plus she was afraid that they might not be able to understand her because she is still talking differently due to her having no top front teeth.

She enjoyed the day out of school!