visiting mimi and bubba

 mikayla and mt love their mimi and bubba!

mt becomes an official river rat

well, here i am again. way behind on posting. i cannot believe almost a year has gone by. thank goodness for facebook. i purposely update my status with things i want to remember for my blog. actually i think facebook is an enabler. knowing i can look at my profile to remember the great things mikayla and mt do makes me procrastinate.

but here goes.......

the month of june was pretty low-key. the biggest thing was mt's first trip down the river and camping. we took mt for the first time and he did great. he also floated down the hiawassee and became an official river rat. all this took place on journey's 3rd annual camping trip on the hiawassee river june 10-12. this is a group shot of the majority of us. we had a lot of fun and pretty good weather. it only rained a little. it has become the running joke that if rain is needed, journey will go camping and it will be sure to flood.

here is our family pic moments before loading the truck to take us to the put-in spot on the hiawassee. mikayla is an old pro at this. this year was her 3rd trip down the hiawassee. she has also gone down the flint with me on my kayak. i am proud of her for willingly getting back in a boat with me because on that trip we flipped. i realized we were going to flip before it happened so i immediately latched onto mikayla's vest. i was not going to let go for the life of me. mikayla came up out of the water immediately yelling for her daddy and pawpaw to save her. she even rode the best rapid on the hiawassee with me on my kayak. we call it the whoopdeedoo.

this picture does not show how much fun mt really had. i think he was upset because he had to move away from the box of granola bars so i could take his picture with asher. notice tyler, our trusty guide in the background. he was especially brave because it rained pretty hard several times during the float trip.

mikayla decided she wanted to jump in the water. it was freezing cold. luckily michael was nearby to quickly pull her onto his kayak.

both of them love to camp. it is hard to see but there is a caterpillar on the leaf mikayla is holding. it is amazing how many bugs she catches with absolutely no fear. she def did not get that from me. this is probably the last time mt willingly wore shoes that were not boots.

i bought these rainboots for him just before this trip and he absolutely loves them. here is a picture of him and asher wearing their matching boots while playing in the mud. i don't think i have seen mt this dirty before.

mikayla and i huddled up trying to escape the rain.

here is a picture of a waterfall we like to hike to for a picnic. mt was amazed at the water (and a little scared). i remember he had a deathgrip on me.

after the hike michael and many others went down the ocoee river. we would meet them at certain points and take pictures. mt wanted to swap "hats" with michael.

i love this picture of mikayla. she is so beautiful.

must not forgets 6/5

i am way behind on posting because life has been so hectic. we have had end of year parties/celebrations, mikayla's 3rd dance recital and lindsey has been in the hospital. but it is now officially summer and i am looking forward to spending more time with family and relaxing.

my must not forgets for almost the last month include:

-mikayla caught an enormous grasshopper and was pretending to eat it. really gross. i think she caught about 4 throughout the game and tortured people from journey with it.

-one afternoon i went in to get mt up from his nap & the first thing i saw was his fave book, brown bear, torn to shreds all over the floor. he knew immediately he was in trouble. as i was getting onto him he had the saddest, most heartbreaking face (this is prob the first time he has really been in trouble for outright disobedience). i was giving him my stern face as i got onto him & all of a sudden he got a huge grin on his face and yelled "mommy rocks!".

-mt and emory making muscles

-i get mt so worked up. he wants to kiss me on my lips so i purposely turn my head at the last sec. so he keeps trying until finally he will grab my face between both his hands and plant one on me. but the really funny part is hearing him saying "momma kiss me" in a really frustrated voice

-we took the kids to leaping lizards

- i walked in on mikayla laying down with one of our old cell phones pretending to text. i asked her what she was doing. she told she was practicing so that when we go places people will think she is really texting and think she is famous. not sure what to think of this??

-mt was trying to get a hug from mikayla and she kept pushing him off of her. he told her "i'm going to tell your mommy". then he began yelling "hug me or i'm going to tell michael moody"

-mikayla had her 3rd dance recital and did an awesome job. her smile lit up the entire stage. my favorite part was during her tap routine (candyman) when she "stirred" the candy. she got her whole body into it. very cute.

-our entire family (minus linds, mom, and dad - hospital) went to the braves game. on sundays they allow the kids to run the bases. it was really fun to watch them have such fun doing it.

-mikayla feeding millworms to nanoo's birds. she has no problem picking them up

i'll be the prettiest girl in heaven

a few months ago michael told mikayla that she was the prettiest girl in the world. mikayla replied that mommy (meaning me) was the prettiest mommy in the world. pretty sweet, huh. she went on to inform me that when she was a mommy she would then be the prettiest mommy and i would be the prettiest grandmother. still sweet. she elaborated further that when she was a grandmother she would be the prettiest and i would be the prettiest girl in heaven. still thinking it's sweet. but then she tells me that once she is in heaven she will be the prettiest girl in heaven and i no longer will be. ouch!

must not forgets 5/9

this weeks faves:

-i enjoyed a private chuckle as michael tried to explain to mikayla satire as used by jonathan swift in gulliver's travels. each night michael reads to mikayla a book. they have been working their way through the children's version of classics line. so far they have read great expectations, little women, robin hood, and king arthur.

-much to michael's frustration, i have taught mt to call him michael moody. it is hilarious. i didn't realize mt had such a southern accent until now.

-mt is cracking me up. i laid him down for his nap one day this week. a few seconds after shutting the door he starts hollaring "momma my pillows not working". so i go in and he tells me his pillow is broken. after showing me what he meant i realized he was laying on a feather pillow and he didn't like the lack of support his toy story pillow gives him.

say a little prayer for you

the other week, while riding in the car, mikayla proposed a new game for us to play. she said she would go first, and pray for one thing. then i would go and pray for something else. i told her that was a great idea. mikayla started by praying for lindsey. she said the sweetest prayer mentioning lindsey's "sick kidney that's not really hers but actually papa's". after that i prayed. i expected mikayla to go again but before she had a chance, mt piped up praying for his motorcycle. it is always precious to hear my children pray.

must not forgets 5/2

faves of the week:

-lindsey filled in for me at "moms and muffins" at mt's school. i met them at the park afterwards and linds gave me the flower the kids gave their moms. mt saw it and told me "not yours mommy, lindsey's flower"

-this pic is a result of me allowing michael to dress mt. the loafers have built in cushions, yet michael insists on mt wearing socks so he does not get blisters. this is an on-going discussion between us ;)

-on friday, lindsey and i went to mother's day tea with mikayla. her class sang three songs about moms for us.

i loved the smirk/smile on her face - she was so excited but slightly embarrassed at the attention. afterwards we went to pick up mt from the carpool line. mikayla ran down the hall to get him and his whole class is yelling "hey mikayla" then mt jumps up.

he starts hollaring to everyone "bye y'all" and "bye adisen". then he runs down the hall to us.

-linds, mikayla, mt and i were running errands. i stop to get gas and mikayla starts crying hysterically. somehow she got a staple stuck between her two front teeth. lindsey and i were dying laughing and of course we had to get a picture.

-lindsey introduced mt and mikayla to pop rox on saturday. mt was not sure what to think at first but was quickly hooked.

-i laid mt down for his nap sunday after church and tried to snuggle a second with him he told me "get out mommy and shut the door". oh the love.....(i guess he didn't realize it was mother's day)

okaloosa island

we had the chance to go to okaloosa island during my spring break with lindsey, tyler, and the stricklands. it was an incredible week from the beautiful weather, relaxing while the sitters kept the kids during naptime and evenings out, to hanging out with incredible friends.

michael discovered bocci ball and was instantly hooked.

we took hugh with us and he was a great help with all the little kids - very patient. he also served as the judge for who had the closest ball in bocci ball.

mikayla had a blast, spending most of her time in the hot tub. both her and hugh spent many hours helping michael dig the largest hole on record. all the kids rode waves on the kayaks and enjoyed ice cream and seeing "how to tame a dragon".

mt loved the sand. he would throw himself down in it with no hesitation. he was great the whole trip. even at nap time he went straight down, after telling me he preferred to sleep in his own bed at home that is.

leaving a legacy

i love the conversations mikayla and i have driving places. mikayla wanted to know if she would be a little girl when she was in heaven. so i told her how the bible tells us that we will have perfect bodies in heaven. she thought a minute then said that’s not true because remember how those mean robbers hid behind the bushes on the road and then beat up that man and left him to die. so he didn’t have a perfect body in heaven. i then explained to her how that happened a long time ago but not in heaven. on earth? she asked me. i told her yes. a few minutes later mikayla asked me if people would tell stories about her after she died. i told her yes. she wanted to know who. i told her all the people who loved and knew her would tell stories about her. the conversation ended with mikayla saying, i guess i need to start being really, really good.

little women and life plans

michael has started reading to mikayla these kid version classics. so far they have read great expectations, robin hood, and king arthur. they are about to start reading little women (one of my favorites) so i was introducing mikayla to the characters. i told her about amy, who loved to paint and was very concerned with being pretty. (mikayla commented kindof like me and my babysitter amy). i told her about beth who was extremely sweet but very sick. (that’s like lindsey). jo, i told her, was a tomboy who loved to read. (mikayla said that is exactly like me but i am a womanboy) when i got to meg & her getting married, mikayla said she didn't have a plan for marriage yet because she was too young to figure that out. she paused and then said when she was 6 she would decide who she was going to marry. then she told me she already had a job plan. when she was tara’s age she would be an artist for sixty eighty years. then when she was a mommy she would be a teacher to little kids. finally when she was in heaven she would share all of her stuff with everyone.

“i not charlie”

last night in the car mt dropped his gum. he immediately turned to me crying about his lost gum. he wanted another piece to replace it. i told him sorry charlie, no more gum. with an extremely indignant face he yelled at me through his tears “i not charlie!”

mikayla’s unique style

tears, frustration, sharp words used to be the norm for both mine and mikayla’s mornings. all over what she wore to school/church that day. she either didn’t like the clothes i had bought for her or i didn’t like the combination of clothes that she wanted to wear. but all has changed now. last weekend i took mikayla shopping, gave her a budget and allowed her to completely pick out what she wanted to buy. i informed her teachers that mikayla’s attire was a battle i no longer would be fighting. i wanted them to be prepared for whatever mikayla chose to wear. the very first day i could tell she was testing me. mikayla picked out to wear jeans, 2 skirts, and a shirt. i didn’t even blink an eye when she showed me what she would be wearing that day. i will say that when i picked her up from school that day she was minus one skirt. most days mikayla dresses fairly normal with a slight flair. i am really glad i decided to give over control. the only rule i stipulated was that she could not wear a piece of clothing two days in a row. otherwise she would wear her favorite purple dress every single day. our mornings are much better now.

where does she get this?!?!?

the following is copied and pasted from a post by one of my best friend’s sister-in-laws. she helped babysit all our kids while we went out.

today, me and chase went by jessica's house to help cammie out with all those kids for a while. as kk strutted by holding her plate of pizza, she turns to chase and says, "what, you've never seen a woman carrying pizza before?" we all died laughing! :) she is adorable.

her personality is so funny to me. she has a good mixture of her aunt’s lindsey and meredith in her.

Personal Hygiene Concern

On the way home in the car I asked Mikayla if she would like a clue to her Valentines’ Day Present. Of course she said yes, so I told her that her present was something she could use over and over again. The smile disappeared from her face as she confidently and reluctantly said, “It soap isn’t it?”

-Michael

i’m not stupid!!!

one of my favorite mikayla stories happened as she was riding home with mimi and bubba. bubba was upset because the car behind him was tailgating. mimi asked bubba what was wrong and he replied he was mad at the stupid person behind him. well, mikayla happened to be sitting directly behind bubba and took great offense to his remark. she loudly informed bubba that she was not stupid. with a great chuckle bubba explained to mikayla he was not calling her stupid but the driver behind him. mikayla went on to lecture bubba that stupid was not a nice word and he should not call other people that.