Saying Goodbye

Today was a sad day. It was the kids' last day at daycare. You may recall that last fall Okefenokee Technical College cut funding to their daycare program, but the Ware County BOE picked it up for the rest of the school year because so many BOE employees had children at the center. Even though the child care center was operating in the black, the BOE decided not to continue with the child care program after this school year. So, today was the final operating day for the daycare. It was very sad for everyone. The ladies at the center have taken care of my children since Olivia was 6 weeks old. We are surely going to miss going to the Little Gator Child Care Center next year. I suppose next week I'll begin my search for a new daycare.

Memorial Day with the Fords

Many consider Memorial Day weekend to be the unofficial beginning of summer. If this is the case, then we had a very nice start to our summer this year. We traveled to Valdosta today to spend time with the Ford family. We were especially excited for Owen and Olivia to meet their cousins Otto and Emory. Emory is nine months older than Olivia, and the two of them really seemed to hit it off. I'm currently formulating a plan to make a million dollars by bottling the energy that these two have. I think that Olivia and Emory could quite possibly solve the energy crisis.



Here are some pictures of the reunion. The second picture was taken at Las Bandaras Mexican Restaurant. I had never been there before, but really liked the ambiance (and the food was good, too). I think that everyone enjoyed the visit, and we are looking forward to future get-togethers.

Training Wheels

We suspected back in March that Olivia may be ready for a tricycle. So Brian, doing what he usually does, has been on the lookout for a good deal. Last week he came home not with a tricycle but with a small bicycle that had training wheels. I was a little skeptical at first as I thought that it would be too much for Olivia to handle. Not so- she is really getting the hang of it. The only part that she has trouble with is turning around. This means that when she goes out to ride the bike Brian has to stand at one end of the driveway and I have to stand at the other to help her turn. I am pleasantly surprised with the progress that she is making. Maybe in a few years she'll be ready to ride in the BRAG with her Papa!

Flowers Everywhere

There is a field down the road from our house that fills with flowers each spring. Last week, Brian pulled the kids down to the field in the wagon to play. Ever since then, Olivia has been wanting to go back. So, we decided to take the kids back today after church, and we snapped a few pictures while we were there. After all, how could we resist taking pictures in such a beautiful setting? Actually, I think that half of the town has been thinking along similar lines because there have been picture-takers in the field all week. Here are some of the better photos from this afternoon.

Congratulations, Quincy!

I am so proud of my sister, Quincy. Today she received her bachelor's degree. My parents are leaping for joy because their paying-for-college days are almost over (4 children down, 1 more to go). Quincy worked very hard to get this degree, and I am so happy for her. Congratulations, sis!

Back from the Bash

Well, the school year is almost over! We are on the home stretch now. This time of the year- the time between spring break and graduation- is always my busiest. It seems like I constantly have some school-related function to attend (Prom, Honor's Night, Baccalaureate, etc...). There is one school function, though, that I always look forward to- chaperoning the Senior trip to Grad Bash (Universal) or Grad Night (Disney). Even though the event is for the Seniors, there is one unbeatable perk for the chaperones. At Grad Bash chaperones get to use the fast lane to ride all of the rides while the students go through the regular queues. So, this ends up being the best time to ride the coasters (and you all know what a coaster fan I am).

We left last Friday morning to go to Universal Studios. After a trip to the mall, we arrived at Universal at 6:30 in the afternoon and stayed until 2:00 am. We all slept on the bus and were home by 6:00 am. It made for a long day, but it was totally worth it. As a bonus, I got to buy these cute Dr. Seuss shirts for Owen and Olivia at Universal. Olivia has really been into Dr. Seuss lately and so she loves that she and Owen get to dress like Thing 1 and Thing 2.

One of the Perks of Working at a Toy Store

When the kids and I got home today, Brian had a surprise waiting for Olivia in her room. Well, five surprises to be exact. Apparently they disassembled the Disney princess display at Toys R Us, and Brian snagged all five princesses. These lovely ladies now have a permanent home on the wall in Olivia's bedroom. Olivia could not be more thrilled with the new residents.