hi five

hi, five!

this five year old loves all things legos, star wars, soccer, basketball, the grizzlies, the cavaliers, and winning. 

carter's birthday festivities began with a cinnamon roll breakfast, of course.

after opening a couple of gifts, he chose chuck e cheese for his birthday dinner.

mimi, poppa, grandma, and grandpa came to play!

we partied hard!!!

oh, and i kicked john's booty in skee ball!

happy birthday, carter man!  love you bunches!!!

a field trip

carter had his very first field trip and he got to ride a bus and everything!

they went to a local farm and played and feed animals and rode a train and hung out with friends and picked pumpkins and had a hayride and the list could go on and on!!!

i'm so glad that i got to hang out with my carter man on his first field trip!

august randoms

carter began his first ever season of soccer

puppy went missing for a few days and we (ahem, i) were very upset about it.  we found a look a like puppy on amazon and ordered it immediately, but, as we already knew, it wasn't the same.  we had searched the house inside out and we decided that he dropped it in the driveway while walking from the car to the house one day after school.  life just wasn't going to be the same anymore and some of us were dealing with it better than others.  then, a miracle happened!  puppy was found!!!  we found it in grace's bed where we had already looked about 15 times.  hallelujah!  we were so happy and carter started sniffing away.  he had to make up for lost time!

we might have a little soccer star here.

we had the awana kickoff and our last meeting in the community center.

completely out of nowhere, he just thanked me for teaching him how to wipe his bottom.  i guess this parenting thing isn't always a thankless job!

Carter's Trike-A-Thon

Carter had the opportunity to participate in the St. Jude

Trike-A-Thon at school.  He raised some money for the hospital and they taught him about bicycle safety.  The kids then were able to use their knowledge about bicycle safety at school.

This little dude joyfully emptied out his bank and gave every penny he had to St. Jude.  He wants to give every coin that he finds to St. Jude and I'm pretty sure he talked Mimi into giving a little more than she had planned on.

I'm so glad I was there to cheer this guy and all the other cute preschoolers on!

He rode hard for a good hour.

He never slowed down and he never stopped smiling!

And, he totally killed that Trike-A-Thon!

Carter's First School Program

Carter had his first school program today.  He had been practicing for weeks and we were all so excited that the big day was here at last!

He did a wonderful job...singing, paying attention, smiling!!!

He got to play a zookeeper because he "loves all of God's creatures!"

During the awards ceremony, he received "Best Behavior!"  What?!?  I'm so thankful that he knows how to make good choices and wants to please his teacher.

We are always surprised by this guy.  He amazes us every day!!!

And, we are so thankful for this lady.  She has made Carter's first year at school a wonderful one!  He has learned so much and has grown in many different ways this year.  Thank you, Mrs. Boone, for loving our Carter Man!!!

party people

grace and carter were super excited to celebrate their birthdays especially since their party included pjs and cereal!!!

when the guests arrived, they began making their fruit loop necklaces.

next, we tossed pancakes.  there were lots of giggles during this game.  carter and pierce were chunking the pancakes at each other.  andrew kept trying to eat his and then turned it into a hat.  allie had to dodge them.  pancakes landed in lots of unusual places.

the kids enjoyed lots of yummy breakfast foods...cereal, donuts, pancakes, and fruit.  mmm!!!

before our friends left, we played one last game...

this may have been the most entertaining!

we loved having friends and family over to celebrate!!!