i'm officially a soccer mom

sara beth has been wanting to play soccer for about a year.  last year she did gymnastics, so we had to wait until this fall.  she has only had the gymboree so far which consisted of 2 shortened games. but, she loved it!  

her fan club--sam, leigh, and kate

it was drizzling so there was grass all over sam.  he couldn't stand it. i looked over several times and saw this view!  what a sweet daddy to clean his shoes over and over!

her team

in action

she is supposed to have a game tomorrow, but because of the weather i bet we don't!

She has an account now!

About six weeks ago we took SB to the bank to open a savings account. You can see the pride in her face!  Now, about once a month we take her to the bank to put her savings in there.  Since she only puts a quarter in a week, it will take a while, but one day maybe she can use it to put a down payment on a house!

We debated for months and months about allowances and ended up just wasting a lot of time!  We finally just decided on a very simple system that we can actually follow through on!  She and Leigh get $2 a week in quarters.  One quarter they put in the offering plate at church, one in the bank, and six they put in the spending jar.  They have each picked out an item they are saving for.  Also, they have done some work for each grandparent that has helped them earn a few more dollars.  I can't wait for them to go and buy their toys.

(We took all their money that they had and divided it into thirds.  One third went into savings and the rest into spending.  You have to have $25 to open an account.  I think Leigh has about 8 more dollars to open a bank account.)

Hattiesburg

My friend from college, Emily, invited Rebecca and me to Hattiesburg about a month ago.  Well, actually...that may not be true, we might have invited ourselves!  Either way, we went, had a blast, tore up their brand new house, and came home very tired! But, we made some fun memories while we were there!

I hope they were having more fun that this picture shows! :)

fruit right off the trees

Fun on the Farm

Stranger Danger

I feel like this is a must read as a parent.  I found it to be a good way to talk to your kiddos about this without making them too fearful!

Stranger Danger

both at 4

love these two! sara beth's pants weren't as short as i remembered, but she was definitely taller than leigh is now!

4 year old

Today was Leigh's first day of school, so we had her Back to School Party last night.  When I asked her what she wanted she quickly picked cheese sandwiches and milkshakes.  I sort of laughed out loud because I have NEVER made a milkshake!  You can tell by her face how excited she was about her special dinner!

This girl has my eyes and can't see a single thing without glasses!

Her teacher is Mrs. Julie Gordon and she has the CUTEST room!  Sam quickly made himself at home and played with the Gordon Grocery Store.

McCalara, Miller, and Leigh checked out the gingerbread house.

Leigh and Mrs. Gordon

I told her I was leaving so she could have her tea party and she gave me a thumbs up!

While Graham and Leigh were at the tea party, Sam and Jake had fun playing with some toys.

And check out this cool airplane the park has now!

First Grade

To celebrate first grade we had our annual back to school dinner.  She picked really easy stuff this year--shrimp, salad, and sprite.  Leigh and Sam were with my mother in law because we had a parents meeting at 8:30 the next morning.  It was a special time with our biggest girl!

Sara Beth with Mrs. Nowell