Who Doesn't Love to Look at Pictures??? =P

Aunt Sarah and Matthew being silly
Grant and the go-kart
Uncle Phillip and Matthew
Uncle Phillip and Grant
Cousins: (l-r) Sandra, Sarah, Cathy, Darla, Beth, Laura
Me and Laura

Just thought I'd post some more of the random pictures that I took while in AR this weekend. Enjoy!!

Grandad's 90th Birthday Party

This weekend we traveled to Judsonia, AR to celebrate 90 years of life that my Grandad has been blessed to live. His actual birthday is July 4th... a Firecracker Baby!...but this weekend was the best time for most out-of-state family to be able to attend. His 4 sons, 10 grandchildren (there are 11 of us... one couldn't attend), and 11 great grandchildren (there are 12... again, one couldn't attend) were able to celebrate with him. There were also numerous other family members and friends that came, too. We took pictures, ate, laughed, visited, ate, played and ate some more. Grandad spoke a bit about his long life... jobs he's held, his children and grandchildren, places to which he's traveled. Ninety years is a long time to accomplish much!! It was a wonderful time of being with family. =)

At the Playground

After registering for school, I let the boys play on the playgrounds there. They had so much fun!! Swings, slides, fireman's poles, monkey bars... oh, my!! Here are a few pics of their morning fun!

Registering For School

I took the boys today and registered them for school. Matthew will be in 3rd grade and Grant will be in Kindergarten. They will be attending Lewisburg Elementary. The school building is new... about a year old.... and is located about 10 minutes from our house. The boys will be riding the bus to school. They are so excited about that. We'll see how long that lasts... Matthew is used to us taking him and picking him up from school everyday. There are approximately 900-1,000 kids that attend the school. Each grade has their own hallway and it is color-coded. Grant's classroom is located in the Red Hallway and Matthew's is in the Yellow Hallway. The building houses K-5th grade. There are new middle and high school buildings being built, also. We met the guidance counselor, Mrs. Pierce, and she gave us a semi-tour of the school.
The boys are really looking forward to going to a new school and meeting new friends. I hope it will be a good year for both of them!

School Check-Up @ the Doctor's Office

This is Dr. Hussain. The boys have been seeing her since we moved back to Memphis in 2001. She's been Grant's doctor from the very beginning... he saw her for the first time when he was 2 weeks old. An ear infection! Poor thing. Anyway...
Today was the day for before school check-ups. Since Grant will be in Kindergarten this year, he had to get shots. Three of them in the thigh. Ouch! He cried for a minute, but really was a big boy about it. Even got TWO suckers as a reward afterward! =)
Stats: Matthew is 8 years old and weighs a whopping 52 pounds. He stands 4 ft. 3 in. tall. He's in the 25th-40th %ile in each category. Grant is 5 years old and weighs all of 35 pounds. He's grown to 3 ft. 7 inches in heighth. He's the lil' fella standing in the 10th %ile for each category. They're both small, but healthy! Gotta love those lil' guys!! =)

Paying Bills, Etc...

Oh my goodness gracious!! I have about run the tires off of my car today with all the running around I've done. After living here for a couple of months, we decided to finally get our MS driver's licenses. Had to be at the center by 8 am because they only do out of state transfers from 8-11 am. There was already a bit of a line when we got there at 7:45. I had no problem getting mine, but Chris hit a bit of a snag... his wallet had been stolen before we moved from Memphis and he never got another copy of his SS card. Of course, they needed your actual card to verify your SS number and he didn't have his. Thankfully, there's a SS place right in town and he was able to run over there, get a copy of his card and then come back. Whew! Moving on... Okay, I have to admit that I (we... Chris didn't know either, really) was a bit naive about our utilities when we moved into this house. Everything was on and working (lights, water, etc...) when we moved in. Soooo.... I just assumed that somehow, somewhere in the process of purchasing the home and lot, our names were transferred to these services. After 2 and a half months of not receiving a bill, we finally got a note from the builder asking us to please go get the services put in our name. The builder had been paying our bills for us the whole time!! Why he waited so long to notify us, I don't know, but... This whole day was spent driving all over the country (okay, not really, but it felt like it!!) getting the gas, water, sewer, and electric (yes... 4 different places!!) all put in our name. We are almost legitimate MS citizens, now. We still have to get our car tags changed over, but that's going to have to come next paycheck!! Car tags here are not a set fee... they charge you a portion of your vehicle's value... we're looking at a few hundred dollars! OUCH!!
Whew!! It's been quite a day, but feels good to have accomplished so much. I'm ready for a nap! ;)

Playdate

Today was a playdate for Grant with his lil' girlfriend, Emma. They met 2 years ago at Mother's Day Out. They paired up in class from the first time they met and have developed such a cute relationship with each other. Grant was invited to Emma's birthday party earlier this year and he was the only little boy there! heehee She just insisted that he come, too! ;)
Above you'll see pictures of the two of them over the last couple of years. Aren't they cute?? ;)

Summer 2006 Update

Boy! So much going on this summer. Back in May, we sold our house in Memphis after 9 days on the market (FSBO). After much searching and deciding where to live, we chose to live in Olive Branch, MS. We had a new house built and it was completed by the middle of May. We have about an acre of land and woods on 2 sides of us. The boys are loving it!! We have great neighbors (that are over all the time! heehee) and a nice location. Come visit when you can!!
Grant's birthday was in April... he turned 5. Matthew's was in June... he turned 8. Mine was in June... and I turned, well, ahem... heehee The boys and I made a trip to visit my BIL/SIL and their kids in June. Then, we spent a weekend in Hot Springs, AR for a mini-vacation. Took the boys to Magic Springs and out on the lake. Had a great time! At the end of June, I made a trip to NY with my siblings and Dad to visit my mother's family. It was so nice relaxing and visiting with everyone. Whew! Hope we're home for a while now.
School will start for the boys on August 14. Grant will be in Kindergarten (where did my baby go??) and Matthew will be in the 3rd grade. I'm hoping to watch at least 2 kids in my home... as usual.
We've had some illnesses here and there, but we are all well, now. Thankfully, I never caught anything the others had... moms just can't get sick, right?? ;)
We've got more to cram in before summer ends, but it will all be fun!! heehee

Pictures

For those of you who may not have seen any recent pics of our family (I'm sure that can't be many the way I email pics!! heehee) here are a few to take a peek at.

A New Idea

Recently, I've been inspired by other friends who have created their own blogs to create one myself. Seems like the boys are doing something silly every other day and I'd like to share those fun, family experiences with others. I'll post when I can (because you know that moms have lots of time on our hands!! heehee) and add pictures here and there. I'm sure you'll find something interesting to read and/or a picture or two to make you laugh occasionally. Enjoy!!
~Cathy