crazy...

Our Elise relaxing after a long day at school....kindergarten is close to being over....she is close to being a first grader...and close to turning 7.

It is crazy...

spring fling 2012

Like many schools, Elise's school has a big fair each Spring as a fundraiser for the school and day of fun for the families. We went last year so that she could scope out the school and see what it was all about, but it was even more fun this year now that she is a student there.

The morning was not without an interesting start though, as I got all three kids loaded into the car and then it wouldn't start!! Elise's class was one of the first to perform (all of the classes sing for the parents), and so it definitely mattered that we got there on time. David had already committed to playing in a golf tournament, so I was solo, but luckily my parents saved the day. My Mom came and picked us up and got us there in time and then my Dad came over and charged my car battery (guessing one of the kids left a door open, because my oldie but goody car has been fine ever since!).

Elise was so excited about her performance. Here she is with some of her classmates. They sang God Bless America as well as several songs about the Solar System to go along with the Spring Fling Space theme.

Bennett was very focused on getting her video so that David could see.

Here's our girl with some of her sweet classmates! The t shirts they are wearing were designed by one of the students!

Reese+Elise+Constance are definite BFF's. These girls LOVE each other!!!

Carsten is one of Elise's favorite new friends she has met this year.

And these three musketeers had a blast together!

After the performance, face painting was first on the agenda for the girls! I knew it would be. :)

Bennett had no interest at all, so it was nice to have my Mom there to help me so that she could take him to do some fun activities while I took the girls to get their faces painted.

I love this picture of Lila...

One of the reasons Elise had face painting first on her to do list was that she knew that one of her most favorite people in the world, her teacher, was working at that booth! I can't say enough about this woman. She is INCREDIBLE.

Lila was pumped to run into one of her classmates, Meredith, who also has a big sis at Elise's school.

Confetti eggs are in high demand, and after Riley got Bennett she was a good sport and let him get her!!

She is such a sweet girl...

In addition to the activity booths there were several big jumpies and slides...this HUGE alligator was definitely the Parnell kids favorite!

The girls were also into hair paint...

Elise even got AUBURN colors because that is where her teacher went to undergrad! Shhhh...don't tell David!!!

Lila was also pleasantly surprised to see Cinderella!!!!

It was a gorgeous day, and we definitely could have spent the whole day there, but we had to head home around lunch to gear up for three soccer games that afternoon, and then a big night ahead for all- Myrt's birthday party for the girls and Motorcross for the boys! It was the busiest day we have had in a LONG time, but definitely filled with fun!

I am so thankful to my parents for their help...

Easter

I am a little behind on posting..we had some major computer issues and I really thought it was a goner, but it recovered and so I am back in business!

We had a great, although quite different, Easter. After waking to see if the Easter Bunny had come, and attending church we headed over to my parents house. It was very low key, as it was just us, my parents, and Jared and Erinn. Mimi and Grandpa were supposed to join us, but he wasn't feeling up to it. So, after lunch we took the party to them for a little while. But before that we attempted to get a decent group pic of the kids....

which didn't happen...

But, David did get this sweet one of Elise...

The Easter bunny always brought us bathing suits growing up, and that is the case at our house now too. I guess he know we all love the pool! The kids also got precious suits from my parents as well! The girls were so excited that they changed into their suits before hunting for eggs at SuSu and G's.

Elise was running so fast that she ran out of her terry cloth shorts!!

They guys spent the afternoon watching The Masters, and so my Mom, Erinn, and I took the kids to swim for a little bit. We missed Phillip, Mo, Mae, and Mac a lot, and look forward to the Mize duo hunting for eggs next year!!

spring break 2012

We are having a great spring break so far! It is actually flying by, can't believe it is already Thursday!

Here are some highlights:

Elise picked out a tulip plant (tulips are my favorite) at the grocery store for me, and then wrote me this note to go with it when she got home. Got the week off to a good start. :)

We have been watching this mourning dove, which we named Josie, and her nest in our hanging fern on the back porch. At first we saw her and her two eggs...

And then the other day I was able to catch a pic of the first hatchling!

Just realizing these pics are kind of out of order, but oh well. Yesterday was a pretty rainy day and so we hung out inside and played some games.

Elise cracked me up with her answer to the above, and so I had to take a pic and send it to Aunt Mo. People have been telling her non-stop, and honestly stop us all the time, that she looks like Reese Witherspoon's child (or a young Reese). She had no clue who that was, so I showed her a picture. So, yesterday when she picked this question her answer was, "Well, since Reese Witherspoon isn't in our family, I guess I'll have to go with Mo."

Pretty funny. And true!!

Tuesday night we took Grandpa on an outing to Times Grill. He isn't feeling well at all, and so we were thrilled he was up to going out. I think it was hard for him, but hopefully worth it to get a change of scenery and some time with the kids...who were in very entertaining moods that night. We topped the night off with a snoball, which he had been craving!

The girls had friends spend the night Sunday night, and had breakfast all together on the patio Monday morning. Think it is pretty obvious that they had a great time!

Lila and her friend, GiGi.

Elise and Constance.

We have mostly spent all of our time at the pool and the kids (and me) are loving it!! They are all swimming great and so it is a pretty enjoyable outing for all of us. They beg to go each day, and so I have a feeling, like last year, that is where we will be spending most of our time this summer! Looking forward to it already!!

pre-spring break prep

We had a super busy and fun week leading up to spring break! I must say, I think it is perfect timing and I am definitely looking forward to a low key week next week...I think we all need it!

Thursday my Mom and Dad watched Lila and Bennett for a while so I could go to Elise's class Easter party. We had a great time doing an egg hunt and decorating these bunny masks! I know she is really going to miss her class next year; and I am too!! We still have a few fun things to look forward to coming up though...

David and I squeezed in a fun date night on Thursday night. We were invited to a wine dinner with some of the guys (and wives) that he plays golf with. It was fun to get dressed up and do something different!

I am still getting used to my much darker hair...but a nice change (and better for the budget) and I am was happy that deShea made us pose for a picture. We have so few!

I avoided drinking most of the wine at the wine dinner because I knew I had a fun morning ahead of me Friday with some time in Elise's classroom and the Lila and Bennett's Easter party. Elise's class is hatching chicks and I was mesmerized by the egg candling we did Friday morning. We could see the little chick moving around inside of the egg. So amazing! The kids are having a blast learning about and observing the process, and Elise has plans to read more books about raising chicks over the break so that she will be prepared in case we get the opportunity to chick-sit! :)

Lila and Bennett's party was tons of fun and super busy- so much so that I didn't even take one picture! We also did an egg hunt, made thumb print Easter cards, and played games. The kids had a great time!

Friday was the grand opening of Posh in Covington! We are so excited that Jared and Erinn opened a store here and plan on moving back. Looking forward to that! A group of my girlfriends went to the store Friday night, shopped and then grabbed dinner. It was lots of fun and I was so appreciative of the support they showed the new store!

Yesterday morning was the annual Easter Bunny Breakfast at Beau Chene, and we were thankful that we were able to squeeze it in before our first soccer game of the day. It did make for quite a long day, but we wouldn't have missed the breakfast for the world, and are glad we at least got to spend some time there before heading off to the ball field. Kate made the reservations for us and we had a great time catching up with them and watching the kiddos have fun! There were lots of other friends there and I do wish we would have had a little more time, but at least we got to go, right?

Lila and Bennett were super cooperative before hand, posing for pictures!

Lila and Myrt had a great time discussing sandals and chocolate milk! HA!

The balloon man is always a hit!

Fun with friends....

Getting too big to all fit on the bunny's lap! :(

The rest of the day was spent at soccer games. It was pretty brutally hot (already!), but the kids had a great day and good games. Lila was on fire with at least 4 goals, Bennett still loves to play defense, and Elise is getting better and better and we were so proud of her hustle yesterday! Needless to say the kids were wiped and so David and I had them in bed by 7 and then enjoyed a glass of wine and early bedtime ourselves!! What a week!