44 and 22

Today marks Roper's 22-month birthday and Mason's 44-month birthday. This is significant because Roper was born on Mason's 22-month birthday. And for all of you nerds out there, you will appreciate that for today and today only Mason is exactly twice Roper's age. (I stopped counting Mason's age in months a LONG time ago...I just think the 22/44 thing is interesting).

The strange thing is that when Roper was born Mason seemed to be very much a big boy...but now at the same age, Roper is still very much my baby.

And I know this is a picture from last summer, but I've really had beach brain for the past few weeks...I seriously need some salt water in my life.



And a few more...I can't resist...

Cecil the Turtle

Over the past few weeks we have seen what we believe to be the same turtle in our front yard several different times. Each time we've seen him he has been under the same shrub. Mason and Graem have named him Cecil.

This morning the boys and I went on a walk in our neighborhood and we came across a turtle. Mason shouted, "Cecil, what are you doing way over here?!?" He insisted that we load Cecil up in the stroller to take him back to our yard.

Thankfully turtles have shells to protect them from predators little boys.













Run for your life, Cecil!

Muffins with Mom

Mason's preschool class had a "Muffins with Mom" program this week in honor of Mother's Day. If you are friends with me on Facebook, you already know that Mason decided to be a leader and not a follower during the music segment of the program.



The children sang 4 songs for us...for the first song Mason sat quietly and just smiled at me. The second song started up..."The Wheels on the Bus"...a few words into it and Mason starts belting out the words to the Fireman Sam song. Yes, he is still Fireman Sam's biggest fan. It was equally hilarious and embarrassing! I didn't want to laugh because I didn't want him or his teachers to think I encourage/endorse this type of behavior...but it was really funny! The other mothers sitting around me were all asking, "What in the world is Mason singing?" One of them said, "His voice really projects!" Between songs one of the little girls in his class said, "Mason isn't singing the right notes!!"



During the third song, Mason picked back up with Fireman Sam. He was singing his heart out! They finished up with "Happy Mother's Day to You" (a la "Happy Birthday")...and thankfully, he sang along with the right words for that one!



How blessed I am to be the mama of this little man!

2 Birthdays...Not Enough Pictures!

I have been putting off this post because truth be told, I'm disappointed in my picture-taking skills. If you have been reading my blog long enough, you know that I'm somewhat of a binge photographer. Too often I tote my camera around, lose track of time, and realize I haven't snapped a single picture! My blog has kept me more accountable for documenting events and my DSLR has cultivated a love of photography...yet I still fall short all too often!

Moving on with it...last weekend we celebrated 2 BIG birthdays! One of my closest friends, Sally, turned the big 3-0 and she insisted that she did not want a party. Her husband thought otherwise, and planned hands-down the most well-orchestrated surprise party I have ever been a part of! I can assure you that Sally was absolutely clueless about what her husband had in store for her. The whole thing was pulled off without a hitch. Tara and I took the birthday girl out to a fabulous dinner while all the party guests were congregating at her house. And my only picture of the night was during dinner...



So what is my excuse for this negligence? Pure laziness. :) Tara was snapping away and I knew she would have an abundance of good pictures. Check them out here.

The next party was for my Daddy. His age equals Sally's age x2. :) My mama and brother and I threw him a big shin-dig down at the pond. The day was absolutely gorgeous and people came from all over the southeast to celebrate with him! I really wanted a picture of me and the old man...but you know the story. :) I was helping mama with the food, chasing after two rambunctious boys, visiting with people that I haven't seen since Daddy's 50th birthday party or longer...and the pictures I have are really random...

Roper eating a pickle...



Roper and Robert playing...these two have so much fun together...



Ruthanna...



And Graem and Will re-stitching the cornhole bags.



My excuse for this randomness? I blame Sally's party the night before. :) I was up too late and had too much to drink and just didn't get the pictures I should have.

So even though I don't have the proof in pictures, this was such a wonderful weekend celebrating milestone birthdays of two of my favorite people!

For Kate and William...

My visit to the palace...this was 10 years ago! Wow.

Amanda, me, Jessica & Jenn.



Although I didn't get a photo with one of the Buckingham Palace guards (you know, the ones with the tall fuzzy hats)...I did get a photo with this handsome guard outside of Edinburgh Castle. I know, such a shameless tourist!!

Simplifying...

One area of domestic life that often overwhelms me is LAUNDRY. It is a neverending battle. Me versus the clothes.

Amanda had the wheels turning in my head with this post. She found her hamper at Kohl's over a year ago. I checked the store and their website...no luck at the store and the one I found on their website seemed to be priced way too high for a laundry hamper (I seriously can't justify paying $93+shipping for storage for dirty clothes). Pottery Barn had a nice one, but it only had two sections and I wanted three, plus it was even more expensive -- $179, on sale for $149. No thank you. I swore off Wal-Mart (the store) back in December...but I'm not opposed to shopping on their website, which is where I found my favorite new home accessory. After shipping and all, it was less than $30. Money well spent!



I put it together myself, no special tools required, in less than ten minutes.

No more dumping of clothes in my bathroom floor to sort into piles to figure out if I have enough whites, darks or brights for a load. The hampers equal out to about the size my machine will accomodate for a load, so I can just eyeball it!

We Heart Strawberries

We joined some friends at the strawberry patch last week and came home with a bucket full of delicious berries! I didn't attempt to tote my camera around while picking strawberries, but when we got back to the car I had to snap a few pictures of my boys covered in strawberry juice!





Check out Auralee's blog for more pictures.