Olympics Day 2011

Mary Elizabeth ran in her first race at Montevallo's 2011 Alumni Olympics day. Mike, Chris and I ran the 5k and LuLu and ME ran the 1 mile. Actually they ran/walked the first half mile then LuLu carried ME the second half mile. ME won the prize for being the youngest participant and she was so proud!

The torch is passed

I got out my Breyer horses Saturday and we got the barns from Joe and LuLu's house. ME was thrilled! I played with these for hours on end when I was little and it is great to see my girl enjoy them just as much!

Fan of the month

I know this is an old photo, but I couldn't resist submitting it. Lands' End seemed to like it too! I also got a $100 gift card! We are huge fans of their swimsuits. They are all ME and I wear. Mike even has one now.

Race day

Okay I may have lost my mind, but I've started running and I think I like it! I ran my first 5K on July 9th and finished in 32:46 minutes. Mike ran too and he did really well finishing in 28:30. Scottie ran, but she didn't seem to enjoy iy too much! Mary Elizabeth and LuLu came to cheer us on and take pictures. Next race is August 6th, so I hope I'll improve my time just a bit.

Summertime

Thanks to my friend Crystal for bringing her kids to play this morning and taking these cute photos of my girl.

Beach trip 2011

We had a fabulous beach trip this year. LuLu, ME, Molly and I went down on Sunday and

so it was "girls only" for the first few days. Mike and my dad came down late Wed. LuLu and Joe got their own place and stayed until Sat, then we left Sun. We spent 5 full days at the beach and ME was so much fun! We played in the sand, splashed in the ocean and went for walks on the beach. We also enjoyed the village, riding on the carousel, playing on the playground and driving the remote control boats. Thursday was LuLu's birthday and Joe took us all out for a special dinner. LuLu played a lot of tennis and I got to run 4 mornings. It was the first time that Molly had gone to the beach with us. She is 13 now and hasn't done well lately if I have been gone overnight. I also would have worried about her if she had stayed at home. She has been such a good dog and I know every day is special now, so I couldn't leave her! Surprisingly she did very well on our trip. A week is the only way to go, so I'm going to start saving my pennies for next year's trip!

Georgia Aquarium

This past weekend we took a short trip to Atlanta to visit the GA Aquarium. Mike had a race Saturday morning so he and a buddy went Friday night for the race then ME and I drove over on Saturday. Once we arrived in Atlanta we met Mike and went to Centennial Park to play. The park is great! The playgrounds had a good combo of shade and sun and there is plenty to see and do. We went to eat that night at a restaurant next to our hotel and met one of Mike's good friends who lives in Atlanta now. Bedtime at the hotel went okay I suppose. ME was very concerned, but she went to sleep (in the bed with me) about 10:45 eastern. It was the first time we had not taken her "tent" that she likes to sleep in. She is such a good sleeper that I thought it wouldn't matter, but she was not very happy about sleeping in a strange bed! Sunday morning we ate breakfast at the hotel then went to the Aquarium. If you have not been I highly recommend it! We all three had a great time. The Dolphin show is also a must. ME lasted close to 3 hours then it was obvious it was time to go! A word of warning however, the exit is through the gift shop. I think it is just wrong to do that to parents. So plan ahead to purchase or prepare your kid with the "we don't really need this" speech!

Things ME says....

We were riding to storytime today and ME started a discussion about growing up (she noticed you have to be big to drive a car and touch the leaves on trees, she also wants to wear my flower flip-flops). The conversation was pretty entertaining and concluded with her saying that being little doesn't last forever, kids have to grow up! However, when prompted she did say she would still be my "little girl" when she grows up!

Father's Day

We had such a nice Father's Day. We started the day at church, then came home for a quick lunch and headed to the pool. Swimming lessons have helped ME be so much more comfortable in the water. She doesn't really swim, but she does wear her vest and wants to play games. The best one was when I was the momma crow, ME was the baby crow and Mike was the baby monster. It went on for ages! Where do they think up these thigs? Crows and monsters?!

Storytime at the Arborteum

A friend of mine invited us to a storytime that her church is sponsoring. It has been so much fun. Each storytime includes a craft, story, songs, games and closes with another craft. It is a lot to cram into 45 min-1 hour, but the ladies do it with ease! I think it is good for ME to visit as many activities like this as possible because she is so shy and reserved in new situations. She starts of quiet and reserved, but by the end she is interacting with the other kids and adults.

American Village

After swimming lessons on June 14th we went to the Flag Day celebration at the American Village in Montevallo. The celebration wasn't really as festive I thought it was going to be, but there was a tour so we joined in. ME was such a good tourist! She sat and listened at each stop and didn't get antzy until the end.

Swimming lessons

Mary Elizabeth is taking her first swim lessons this summer. She is in a class of 3-5 year olds and is the youngest one. She has done well, but it is always surprising to me how quiet and shy my girl is in new situations! She spent the first day just hanging on to the wall and fussing for me to get her out. She is starting to open up and the instructors have been good. She is always behind the other kids, but each day she tries 1 more new thing. Today she held on to one of the instructors hands and kicked while he pulled her around. We still have 4 more lessons next week so I am hoping she will continue to get braver and more confident.

Easter 2011

I know I am so behind in posting, but here are photos from Easter finally! Mary Elizabeth really enjoyed coloring eggs this year and she had the hunting eggs thing down pat. The favorite gift from the Easter bunny was a Tangled DVD. I think we watch it every day!

Enjoying the great outdoors

We have been in the new house for a year now and we are loving it. The photos of ME are from the past few weeks enjoying playing in the yard.

Sweet girl

ME is ready for bed and we are watching Blue's Clues. She just turned around and said, "You are my best momma in the whole wide world!" and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I don't know where that came from out of the blue, but it sure was sweet! I wouldn't trade her for anything!

Spring Break 2011

Spring break is off to a good start. My friend Crystal and her 2 kids came to ride and play yesterday. Then Pat came over to see ME in the afternoon. This morning I had to go to the dentist and ME went with me. She was so cute, she sat in the corner and "read" then when I was getting my teeth cleaned she came and held my hand! after that we stopped at Joe's office for a visit then got Chick-fil-a for lunch and did our grogery shopping for the week. Tomorrow we are off to see Scottie!