AMERICAN GIRL GOES POTTER

Grambot and PawPaw sent Cora a pair of Gryffindor doll uniforms for her Easter bucket, so Tenney and Logan played dress up today.

THE KING

The 4th Grade GATES students held their Mississippi Living History Museum today, so after a month of prep work (research, speech writing and practicing, prop creation, and costume purchasing), I drove a celebrity to school. Meet our little King: Elvis Presley!

(James shared a presentation table with Patrick House, winner of The Biggest Loser in 2010, played by his son Caden, and Thalia Mara, who opened, directed, and instructed at Mississippi's first professional ballet company, played by James' dance friend Mikayla. Also pictured above are some famous football and baseball players from the table next to them who wanted to be included.)

FATHER DAUGHTER DINNER DANCE 2019

Our little beauty chose a long, lacy, purple dress and loose curls for her daddy-daughter dinner dance party look this year. It shocked me how much older she looked, but she loved it and we thought she was just the prettiest thing ever. I took her outside for a little photoshoot while Jay finished getting ready, then snapped a few pictures of the two of them, and soon they were off to the YMCA for a limo ride to dinner at The Anthony, followed by a dance party. Cora had some of her sweet friends there with their daddies, and she just had the best night partying with her buddies and being treated like a princess by her daddy. I got to hear all about it when they got home - still giddy and smiling from ear to ear!

(She picked all her poses... and wanted a picture of the buttons on her back)

(Showing off her new boots, with heels - the dress was too long without them!)

She chose his outfit again this year. While the tie doesn't match her dress, it has sharks on it, and she thought that was the coolest one in his closet.

Arriving on the red carpet (another mom sent me the photo - James and I were having a mommy/son night doing all his favorite things, at home)

Cora and "Addy Pink Socks" (soccer friend who wears pink socks on the field) with their corsages

Autumn, Cora, Addy, Presley, Addisyn (and someone I don't know, sorry!) in the limo

Sweet, sweet memories for these lucky girls! I hope they keep doing this event for many years!

HEARN PLAYDATE

Sarah offered to bring the kids home with her after school today because it was a 60% day and she had to work (from home, and it's easier when her kids are occupied with friends), and we quickly accepted her offer! The kids were thrilled, and we were able to work full days (without teleworking!)

While the boys played video games, the girls played dress-up. Cara Beth gave Cora a best friends necklace for Christmas, and because we discovered they owned the same dress (Cora's was from her Lydia costume, CB's was from her choral performance last week), Cora packed hers so they could be twins. No idea where the second pair of black mary janes came from, but these girls are just too darn cute!

Video games and a treat (Sarah said they barely moved for hours...)

The girls even prepared a "healthy" snack for themselves, the boys, and the moms...

We are so grateful for the village that cares for our kids - thank you Sarah!

CALIFORNIA THANKSGIVING 2019

We arrived late on Saturday night, and while the kids made it through the drive to NOLA (including a fun lunch with alligator at Middendorf's), the lengthy wait at the airport, and the nonstop flight, they passed out almost as soon as they were buckled into PawPaw's Suburban.

James discovered the fun of Sunday morning comics!

After Cora helped PawPaw tidy the yard, we took Grambot for a walk around the neighborhood.

Then we headed up to Elk Grove to meet Taryn, Eli, and Addy, and the Sanchez-Munger crew for a bowling and arcade adventure!

(Just an example of how hard it can be to take a "nice" photo with Sophie...)

The bowling alley had a pretty good restaurant (and pitcher beer specials), so we took a break there for a bit before hitting the arcade.

On Monday we took a drive up out of the valley (and away from the smoke and hazardous air conditions from the Camp fire) to take a cave tour, but the cave was closed, so we went gem mining instead.

This fountain took us all by surprise when Cora's side arched all the way over to hit James:

On Tuesday we went to see Grandma and Grandpa's new apartment and visit with Grandma over coffee in the downstairs bistro, and Cora was shocked to see a version of herself in the photo Grandma keeps of her grandkids:

On Wednesday we had an early Thanksgiving celebration (because David had to work on Thanksgiving) with an amazing meal made by Taryn (and some yummy side dishes made by mom). It rained all day, so we weren't able to take the kids to a playground or go for a walk after lunch, but the rain cleared the air and we all breathed a sigh of relief!

Jay took some (indoor) family portraits for us before lunch:

We played a lot of games and had a great time just hanging out!

On Thanksgiving we had a quiet day at home and the kids got to enjoy some time in Grambot and PawPaw's backyard for the first time since we arrived!

We even made s'mores!

On our last day in town, the kids stole PawPaw's chair for a bit, helped decorate the Christmas tree, and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening with their cousins.

(We had to wait on David to get home from work and we kept hoping he'd get sent home early)

The kids were so sad to leave their cousins that night, knowing they wouldn't see them again for about a year, but they were definitely tired...

Baby Doll, especially, was exhausted after a week of late nights and too much fun. Asleep in the car on the way to the airport, asleep in the airplane, and asleep again on the drive home from NOLA.

While it's always fun to travel and see family, it's always good to get home to your pets and your own bed too. I was surprised just how much I missed Binx and Obby (pretty sure they missed me most too), and we discovered that Claw'dia missed Jay a lot too (and has since become quite the lovey-dovey cuddle cat with him).

(Buster spent one more night with Zy because Lawrence and Christine sent us this picture and asked us if we could let him stay, since he was already snuggled in to bed.)