Easter Blessings

After Reese's birthday party she attended a friend's party.  When she finally got home and we were all together again we were rushed to get eggs decorated in preparation for the following day, Easter Sunday. 

We were rushed to get it all done and get the kids to bed at a decent time.  Good thing we did though because while they were sleeping the Easter Bunny showed up.  This time he left behind evidence.

As usual, the kids didn't disappoint with their crazy reactions. 

They quickly checked out their baskets, emptied them on the table, and got started with their Easter egg hunt through the house. 

This is the first year that Talan has been truly aware of things and was pleasantly surprised at what was inside of all of the eggs he found; "Cash Money!"


To keep with the theme that we seem to have mastered, we were rushed to get out the door and to get to church that morning.  Rushed.  Go figure.  These kids sure clean up well! 

So does their handsome Daddy. 

Our plan was to meet the Heller family for brunch after church (which was somewhere around 12:30).  In all of the chaos and after we had already left the house we realized that we didn't feed the kids breakfast.  They had only eaten loads of candy that morning and nothing more.  Whoops. 

After church, luckily, we had someone snap a family photo.  These are rare for us!

Back in the car and off to brunch.  We had a fantastic time with Uncle Eric, Aunt Heather, Olivia, Sophia, and Julia.  It was the perfect way to spend our day. 

We hope you all had a blessed Easter as well.  

Party Time!

We were out of town for Reese's actual birthday so we planned to have her party the week following.  This year she opted for a party at a place called Kidz Kabaret.  It could not have been more perfect a setting for our budding performer.  They put us in our own little room complete with a stage. 

They only had a couple of hours to fit in a lot of practicing lines, choreography, and some time to eat cake and pizza before the parents were due back for the final performance.

I was pretty happy with how the cupcakes turned out (pats myself on the back).  Microphones....again, perfect for our little performer.

Reese didn't waste any time getting into character.  She had the choice of the two lead parts: Gabriella or Sharpay.  She chose Sharpay because "she is super sassy". 

After an hour of hard work it was time to stop for a snack break.  The girls put down six pizzas between 16 of them.  They can eat! 

While the girls were distracted, Talan snuck up for his moment on stage. 

They rushed backstage as the parents were arriving to get into costume.  You can see the excitement on Reese's face when she was finally able to take to the stage. 

She is truly such a ham and so comfortable up there.  I have no idea where she gets it.  I had to give an update at today's PTA meeting.  I didn't even stand up....I did it from my seat.  And I was so nervous that I sweat through my shirt.  I wish I had an ounce of her confidence!

When the show ended the girls invited their family up onto the stage.  Talan was thrilled to pieces when Reese came and picked him out of the crowd to come and join her.

I think it's safe to say that her party was a huge success.  She had such a blast doing what she loves and being surrounded by her best girlfriends. 

Florida - Days 5 & 6

Another exciting day.  We surprised Reese by telling her that one of her early birthday gifts would be to get her ears pierced that morning.  So off we went to Destin to add some bling to her ears.

The idiot woman who pierced them missed the mark on her left ear.  She had to take it out and we had to come back that afternoon to have it redone.  Therefore, Reese had to go through all of the anxiety twice and had to walk around with one ear pierced all day.  Needless to say we were not happy.  Reese, however, took it like a champ.

From there we met our families at Baytowne Wharf for an afternoon of fun.  Our little daredevil daughter had her heart set on ziplining having seen it the night before.  Because we were celebrating her impending birthday and because she had such a great attitude about the ear piercing snafu, her wish was our command.

She loved it.  The kids spotted yet another bounce contraption and we were off to check that out next. 

This time just bouncing wasn't thrilling enough for little Miss Reese.  She had to throw a few back flips into the mix. 

She's not the only daredevil in the family.  After we insisted, put money in the machine, and shoved him in against his will Granddad took on the hurricane simulator.  Fortunately he survived the 75 mile per hour winds.  His hair, however, took a beating. 

The obstacle course proved to be a bit much for Reese but not to worry, Uncle Steve came to her rescue. 

We all worked up a pretty big appetite (spectating is hard work y'all!) so our next stop was Acme Oyster House for po-boys, gumbo, and more of the food I love most. 

Another full day of fun.  The next morning was Reese's 8th birthday.  I say this every year but it really is hard to believe that eight whole years have gone by since the day she was born.  I remember every detail of her first day alive so vividly.  I'm so proud of the young lady she has grown into.  Gosh I love that kid. 

After a quick breakfast we were back in the car and headed to Panama City Beach.  Our intention was to spend another day by the pool, soaking up the sun, but the weather turned on us.  We made the best of it which wasn't hard because we were in good company.  Reese's request was a cookie dough cheesecake so that's what I made for her.  It was so delicious! 

The most special part of the day for me was being in the company of this amazing woman, my Gram. 

So cool that we were all together for her birthday two weeks before and here we were again, celebrating another life together.  She was with us on Reese's 1st birthday and we've been able to wish her a happy birthday in person for the past 3 years now.  So special.  

After cake we all made our way back to Destin (are you dizzy yet from all of the back and forth?  We were!) to end the night with some bowling.  I wish I had pictures from that part of our day but I was too busy throwing gutter balls....again.  

That night we got home very late, got very little sleep, and got up very early the next morning for a very, very, very long drive back to Illinois.  We rolled up into the driveway at midnight and spent all day Sunday trying to recover.  You really do need a vacation after vacation sometimes.