Will's Library Card

I took Will to the library today to get a library card.  The library is in our neighborhood so it is definitely convenient.  I decided that Will was probably old enough to go and pick out a book or two.

Once we signed up for our library card, we headed over to the children's section to pick out a book.  Will picked a book titled "Who's Afraid of Tigers?"  I thought that was a good choice.

After he picked his book, he wanted to do some puzzles.

We left and came home to read our book!

Will was really happy about his book. When Clay got home I told Will to tell him where we went and he said "Daddy, we went to the....I can't say that word."  He couldn't pronounce the word "library".  So cute!

Also, our library participates in the Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.  I signed Will up and he will get one free book each month until he goes to school.

First Day of Preschool

Will starts his first official day of preschool today.  He is going to be at the same daycare center he has been at since he was 3 months old, but today they start their Pre-K program.  This will be the first year that it will be scheduled school time during the morning.

I went to orientation last week and got to learn about all the things he would be doing during the year.  He has the same teacher he had during the summer and we love her, so it should be a  great year.  Will has already learned so much from her and I know that will continue.

Of course, I was that mom that had to get a picture of him at the house and then one in his classroom.

There will be eight children in his class including him.  There are 7 boys and 1 little girl. We should all say a special prayer for that little girl. I can't even imagine. Ha! 

I hope that he learns so much this year and has a great time.  I know that things that he learns now will be the foundation for his entire education.  I am thankful that we have a good christian daycare to send him to and that he has a teacher that loves what she does.  I pray they all have a great year!

Craig and Mary Beth's Engagement Party

Craig and Mary Beth got engaged a few months ago so Saturday night we finally got an opportunity for everyone to come together and celebrate their upcoming wedding.  They wanted to get the wedding party together so we could all meet and kick-off the wedding celebrations.  We were invited because Will is going to be their RING BEARER!!!  I am so excited and a little nervous.  We have 9 months to practice before the wedding in June.

We are so honored that they would ask Will to be a part of their big day. 

The party had a tailgate theme and everything was decked out in Alabama gear.  Even though we are big Auburn fans, it was still fun to hang out and celebrate with our friends. Craig, Mary Beth, and their families did such a great job with the food and decorations!

Will was very well behaved and I was glad to see that they had set up some outdoor games so we could be outside and he could run around.  Of course, Will's favorite part of the whole night was the cake!  He kept telling us it was Craig's happy birthday party.  So cute.

Later, Mary Beth set up her laptop with a Veggie Tales video and Will was all over that. He laid down in the floor to watch it.  He was glued to Jordan the whole night, so he made Jordan lay with him and cover up with a blanket.

I am so glad we got the opportunity to celebrate with Craig and Mary Beth and we can't wait for all the wedding fun!

The Golf Tournament

Our church's first annual golf tournament was Saturday.  I was so glad it was finally here. Clay planned the whole thing and it has been a stressful couple of weeks.  Thankfully, the weather was perfect and everyone had a great time. 

Will has been talking about the golf tournament for weeks. He couldn't wait to go.  He was also so excited because he was going to get to play golf with his Pawpaw.  It is seriously all he talked about.  He did really well considering we got up very early that morning.

Once we arrived at the golf course, we set up our registration table and all the golfers had a chance to go to the driving range to warm up. I was in charge of all the administrative tasks and Kristen and Ashley came to help me.

At 8 am the tournament started and the golfers were off to their first hole.  Will rode with Clay and his dad.  He thought he was big stuff. 

Our pastor saying a few words before the tournament started.

Will listening to all the rules.

Will on Hole #10 with Daddy, Uncle John, and Pawpaw.

While the tournament was going on, Kristen and Ashley helped me set up the room where we were going to have lunch and give away prizes.  Kristen was trying to move this grill and I am almost certain that the grill weighed more than she did. 

We also had a lot of other great prizes that Clay was able to collect. 

The whole day went well and I was really glad Clay was able to pull it off in such a short amount of time.  We had 43 golfers and I think everyone of them said how much they enjoyed it and couldn't wait to do it again!

The score sheets waiting to be filled out.

Arts and Crafts

Will is really into arts and crafts right now.  He always wants to color, use scissors, or use glue.  He usually brings something home from daycare everyday.  He will go into great detail about what he made and how they made it.  A few of his favorites have been a ladybug and flower.  I think he liked those two because his teacher let them glue on eyes.

When we were at the store the other day, he insisted we but glue. I will admit I was a little hesitant.  A two-year-old and glue just don't seem to make a good team.   That night we did a little project.  I let him use the glue all by himself and he loved it. He actually did a really good job too.  No big mess to clean up. 

August Beach Trip 2011

This post is long with lots of photos!

A while back, Kristen and I started talking about taking a trip to the beach together to get away for a few days.  Kristen has had a lot going on these last few months and with my surgery last month taking a toll, we both felt like it was time to take a break from reality and just rest.  And in my opinion, the beach is the best place to do that! 

We left out on Wednesday and came home Sunday.  Of course, Jordan, Clay, and Will were with us and my mom joined us too!

Wednesday, we drove all day and didn't arrive at the beach until late.  Jordan and Kristen were already there so as soon as we pulled in, we headed out for dinner.  We went to this little beach side cafe that Clay and I like and it was the perfect place to kick off our stress free trip!

There was a little place out front, where the kids could play and it took Will all of three seconds to kick his shoes off and jump in the sand. He was in heaven. 

Thursday, we got up and headed to the beach. It was such a nice day and we couldn't wait to relax on the beach all day. The water was a little yucky from seaweed, but that didn't stop us from having a good time.  Also, Jordan beat his ADD beach record. He said normally he only likes being a the beach for like 20 minutes and then he is done, but because Will was there to entertain him, he stayed out there with us the whole time.  After some beach fun, we headed back up to the condo for a nap. 

That night we ate at Doc's (mom's favorite!) and then played putt-putt golf (Will's favorite!).  We ran into some friends from church at the putt-putt course and played with them.  It was fun!  Will even got his first legitimate hole-in-one.  He placed the ball at the start of the hole and hit it--it rolled right into the cup!  He was so excited and so were we.  I am sure everyone there thought we were nuts!

Friday we woke up and it was raining.  We weren't going to let that stop us, so we went and grabbed some breakfast at Waffle House until the rain stopped. By the time we got home, the weather had cleared up and it was time for another day at the beach. Jordan and Clay joined us for a little while and then they headed out to play golf.  We spent most of the day on the beach and then went to the pool for a little while. Will was really brave and jumped off the side of the pool to me.  I was so proud of him.  He is growing up so fast.

That night, we decided to go to a Japanese steak house.  We thought it would be fun and that Will would enjoy it. Guess what?!? We were wrong. As soon as the chef did one small fire trick, Will was done and wanted nothing to do with it.  I took him in the bathroom and tried to calm him down.  He just kept telling me "Mommy, let's go sit in the car."  It broke my heart but I knew there was no reason for him to be scared so we stayed.  Thankfully, right behind the grill where we were seated there was a little 2 person table. The restaurant allowed us to sit there so Will and I had a little date, and he seemed fine as long as we were at the little table.

One dinner was over, we headed to The Track to play in the arcade.  Will loves the "racecar store". He calls it that because of the go-carts.  Kristen, Jordan, and Clay won some tickets so that Will could pick out some prizes.

Saturday was our last full day.  That morning we got up and Marlin (John's Auburn roommate) came over to visit us. He is a police office in Gulf Shores and we hadn't seen him since football season. Will thought it was so awesome that a police officer came to see us.  Will even got to see the police car. This was probably the highlight of his life!

After, Marlin left, we headed to the zoo. Gulf Shores has a small zoo called "The Little Zoo That Could."  Will has never been to the zoo before and since this one is much smaller than the Birmingham Zoo, I thought it might be a great place to go for his first zoo experience.  The zoo was so cute and had lots of different kinds of animals.  The only down side was it was 5,000 degrees outside. It was seriously the hottest I have ever been in my life!!!  Will really enjoyed it. I think his favorite animals were the baby goats.  Kristen fell in love with a sheep that we saw and now she claims she is going to get a sheep. HA! 

We officially drained ourselves physically at the zoo due to the heat, so we decided to head over to LuLu's for lunch. Kristen and Jordan had never been.  It is a fun place to eat with kids because there is a lot going on.  After we finished eating, I took Will down to see the boats.  He told me "I want to ride on the big boat (aka yacht)" and I told him he needs to become a doctor. Maybe one day!

We spent the afternoon at the beach soaking up the last bit of sand and sun before our return home.  Will had fun playing. I was so happy that he really enjoyed the beach this time. Sometimes it is hit or miss with him. We all had a much better time because he loved it so much. 

Will was really tired on Saturday afternoon. I think he was worn out from all the activities. We planned to all go to eat at the Oyster House, but Will kept telling us he wanted to stay home.  My mom (who is the best mom ever!) agreed to stay at home with him so that me, Clay, Kristen, and Jordan could go out to eat.  It was a nice way to end our trip.  A meal with only adults.  As usual, something funny had to happen.  Our waitress was obviously from another country and every time we asked for something, here reply was "yes, please".  That became our theme for this trip "YES, PLEASE"!

Sunday, we woke up and packed our cars to head home.  We only got about two blocks from the condo when Kristen called and said their car wouldn't start. It took us about an hour to get the battery charged even for the engine to turn over. 

We got on the road and headed to Lambert's Cafe for some lunch.  After lunch, it was a non-stop trip to the house.

It was great trip with great people. I am so happy that we have friends, like Kristen and Jordan, that we can do things like this with. Not only are we all great friends, but they love Will so much and that means the world to me.  And of course, I was so excited that Mom went with us.  She helps me and Clay with Will so much and Will loves his Mawmaw.  Great trip - Great people - Great fun! Can't wait to do it again soon!!!!

Softball

Clay is playing on a co-ed softball team this fall and the season started yesterday.  We were afraid that the team was not going to be able to play because it was raining pretty hard about 30 minutes before the game was supposed to start.  Thankfully, the rain moved through our area and it cleared up just in time for the game!  Clay put the team together so all the people on the team are our friends. It's fun getting to see them play together and it's nice to hang with such great friends. Also, Robby and Robbin agreed to sponsor the team!  So the Triple R Metals Co-Ed Softball team hit the field for their first game!

I was going to try to get some pictures during the game, but because we were rushing to get to the field, I forgot my camera at home. Also, Kristen and I are in charge of keeping the book so between that and keeping an eye on Will, I didn't have time to take any photos.  We are hoping that next Monday the weather is nice so we can get a team photo.

Of course, Will is part of the team too!  Our friend, who made the team shirts, was kind enough to make a little shirt for Will.  He was so excited to wear his "baseball jerseee."

Will enjoyed watching the game but it lasted past his bedtime so he got a little cranky towards the end. Thankfully next week's game starts an hour earlier. I am definitely going to have to find him baby sitter for some of the games because they don't start until 8:15 or 9:15 pm.

We ended up losing the game 7-3 but everyone did such a great job.  I think for their first time playing together in an actual game, they held their own.  I can't wait to see what the rest of the season holds for the team and I know that it going to be fun!