Jen's Baby Shower

The hosts plus the mama to be

Erin's pretty diaper cake

Cute umbrella cake...from Sam's

a special surprise was when Laura Ingalls Wilder made an appearance! :)



My sweet best friend!

Rachel has always loved Jen-Jen!

It is an extremely exciting time for me as I get to see my best friend experience the joy and unpredictability of pregnancy. She's one of those pleasant, happy pregnant people who doesn't complain but just enjoys the changes...the fun ones and the uncomfortable ones. Anyway, Jen's having a baby girl, Amelia Kate, in September. Well, I am so happy that I got to give her a baby shower and mom, Deb and Erin were kind enough to help. We had a great time and the food and decorations were great. Erin showed off some of her talented sewing skills and made a pennant banner and diaper cake in Jen's shabby-chic theme. Mom and Deb made some awesome food, like chicken salad and tomato pie. We had a great time celebrating Amelia's upcoming arrival and are just so happy for Jen!! She is my oldest and best friend...a friend that I have maintained a close relationship with for 16 years!!! We have always been able to pick up where we left off no matter how long it has been since we have seen each other or talked. Thankfully, she lives in Athens now, so I'm able to see her lots and talk to her even more! I am SO excited that Jen and Micah are about to become parents...they are going to be wonderful parents who I know will love EVERY minute of their challenging, rewarding, blessed new job!!

Love you Jen...Can't wait to meet Amelia!!

The Redmond's Pool

the slide was so cool!

Rachel's got some air!

Bradley's favorite thing about the pool

R&B enjoying a ride as Nana floats them around

While the Redmonds were away, mom and dad fed their dogs and they allowed us to use their pool. It was fun swimming in a pool with a slide AND a diving board...2 things that we haven't ever tried before. Rachel loved them both and was a little pro at doing them by the time we left. Bradley wanted to do them both, and tried the slide. But, without Nick there, I was really afraid that we'd both drown in the deep end of the pool. Thankfully, he didn't try the diving board, because, again, I was afraid I would drown him!! Bradley's favorite thing to do was lounge on the floating lounge chair. Nana was kind enough to float him around the pool.

Bradley turns 3!!!

opening up a cool remote control car from papa and gege
Rachel's sassy pose...don't know where she learned this one!

the cool shark that Bradley got

work that remote control, buddy!

still workin' it

(and looking like my daddy)

the MOST delicious dinosaur birthday cake ever!!!

from Sam's

the gang watching Bradley open presents

time to go splash around in our HUGE pool!!

(but we loved it!!)

I'm so happy with a dinosaur, a shark and a kiddie pool!

Thomas thought he needed a float in the kiddie pool! :)

just woke up...about to open my presents

(I think I look my handsome daddy did when he was a young boy!!!)

Birthday morning opening family presents

trying out the defective tent...it wouldn't stand up

Birthday afternoon...after a nap and with a new tent

Rach trying out the tunnel

Bradley in the new tent

It's hard to believe that our sweet Bradley is already 3 years old!!!! He has certainly become quite the charming and funny big boy! We had two celebrations...one with grandparents and cousins and one with just us. He got all kinds of great toys that he loves!! We bought him a tent that we ended up taking back because it was messed up. The one we replaced it with has a tunnel and the kids LOVE it! I think Bradley's favorite present was a cloth covered, battery operated triceratops that moves it's head and makes dinosaur noises. He still hasn't stopped carrying this one around! We ended up with a dinosaur cake (AGAIN) this year, but it was Bradley's party, so we didn't care. We were confused about what kind of cake he wanted about a week before the party because he was going back and forth between dinosaurs and pirates. But, we weren't even sure he knew exactly what pirates were, so we were afraid to go with that theme. Thankfully, Bradley was very excited when he saw his dinosaur cake...so excited that when he and Rachel went with Nick to pick it up, he was obsessed with it and wanted to open it, eat it, look at it, touch it, etc... It was very hard for him to wait till the party to eat any. As a result of his "patience" we did presents and cake first, then dinner. :) Hey, how often are you 3 and think things should go in this order?! :) His party was small this year...just family, which I think Bradley preferred. He loved getting to spend time with his cousins and grandparents and he wasn't overwhelmed by a huge crowd. We love our precious big boy so much and are so blessed to have him as our special middle child!

Happy 3rd Birthday sweet Bradley!!

Fernbank Museum

two cuties in front of some gigantic dinos!

Nick and the kids under a 123 foot long dino.

Sweet Trent enjoyed the museum and his rattle...

Rachel said his camo overalls made him look like he

"was going to go shoot a deer"

just your everyday lion!

Nick and Bradley make giant bubbles

2 of my precious kids at an exhibit that we couldn't figure out

Nick, Rach & Brad walking into a cave

their hands were in the footprint of a dinosaur!!

Nick and I took the kids to Fernbank a couple of weeks ago and it was a blast!!!! We knew Bradley would love it with all the dinosaurs, but both kids were equally as excited. They just walked around in awe of everything they saw. There were so many exhibits, like dinosaurs, but there were also early American artifacts, a shells exhibit, a star-cyclorama thing with the constellations, an Okefenokee exhibit and 2 small children's interactive areas where the kids could play and experiment with things. There was a really cool interactive/experiment area for older kids and adults where we got to try all sorts of illusions and mind games. We had such a GREAT time exploring the whole museum and the kids were sad when we had to leave. Even Trent had fun...using a stroller for the first time ever...and he didn't complain or fuss the entire day!! We can't wait to go back OR try another neat museum!

SO many changes...

Okay, so the pictures I'm posting are from Rachel's 1st day of Kindergarten at Monroe Elementary. Nick and I had discussed many options before Kindergarten began and we thought we should at least give public school a "go". Well, Rachel LOVED it...the teacher, the class, the lunch, her bookbag and lunchbox, her new friends...etc... The problem is, Nick and I weren't so sure. The make-up of the school was much more diverse than we had thought...(I'm not even sure that there was another white girl in Rachel's class) plus the school system is less than status quo AND it was a 15 mile drive one way...so that would be about 60 miles every day since we would not even consider letting her ride the schoolbus. Anyway, we have decided to homeschool our precious girl. I was so apprehensive at first when we discussed this option, thinking that there was NO way I would be able to teach Rachel anything with Bradley and Trent at home. But, then I figured, I could do as good a job as the school she was going to be attending and it would just take some adjusting our schedule to make it work. So, we have become a homeschooling family...for the time being anyway. We will re-evaluate when we sell our house and see if homeschooling is working for us or not. I'm actually excited that I get to teach my daughter, who is so precious to me and who I've always loved spending every minute with. I'm not denying that it won't be challenging, but I know it will be worth it. We'll have some trial and error as we see how we can plan our day and how the boys handle it! I feel so lucky that I get to keep Rachel at home...I always thought she would have a "normal" Kindergarten experience away from home. Anyway, I'm sure I'll have LOTS to blog about homeschooling and the many joys that it brings.

Fun Times with the Lanes

AJ...not sure what to think, but glad to be out of the car!

Juj...ready to play

Rach doing a pose

Bradley playing with dinosaurs in the sand...his favorite thing to do!!

opening up some great presents!

Juj swimming with the swim dog

Rachel jumping in and showing off her swimming skills

Pop and Rach

(reminds me of myself with dad!)

Rachel trying to get Bradley to play

Daddy and his little waterbug

Alex' preferred position

Bradley enjoying his float and water gun

the extent of Trent's pool activities--

don't he and Pop look pretty comfy?!

5 of the 8 Duke grandchildren!

Such sweet, precious kids!

We had a great weekend visiting with our precious cousins! Friday night was a blast at Nana and Pop's...eating a yummy meal of grilled chicken and salads. The kids (literally) ran circles around the upstairs. Rach and Bradley discovered the laundry chute and decided it would be a good idea to put all of Nana's Christmas stuffed animals down it. Juju didn't participate, but did report the incident to Nana. I'm sure it was all Rachel's idea and Bradley just followed her lead. :) Better get a lock on that thing, nana, or else either Rachel or Bradley is liable to be the next ones to go down it. :) Bradley was a shadow behind whatever Rachel and Julia wanted to do. Alex was an observer and very interested in seeing what everyone was doing, but mostly wanting to be with his mommy and his nana. Trent was a little quiet angel...only asking to nurse when he was hungry. Even more special was that Aunt Wendy, Uncle Matt, Juj and Alex brought birthday presents for Rachel and Bradley. The kids were ecstatic with the cool gifts they got. Bradley wouldn't put his dinosaurs down for days! Rachel's already made 4 bracelets with her new kit. Saturday, we all spent the morning swimming at Gege and Papa's. That was a blast! All the kids enjoyed it. The girls always have a blast playing and swimming together. Alex enjoyed the tanning ledge and just walking around outside the pool. Bradley enjoyed his float and eating snacks at the table. Trent enjoyed sleeping on the chaise lounge with Pop. Nana and Pop brought all kinds of deli meat for sandwiches plus chips and salads...it was delicious!!! After that, Nana and Pop went home to rest while the rest of us went back to our house so the kids could play. Rach and Juj had so much fun playing together all afternoon. We ended the night with some pitiful Little Caesar's Pizza and a bath. We all had such a great time and are so thankful for the Lanes! What a precious family...we love them so much!!!