Surprise!

Pictures, pictures, and more pictures! Yesterday, I threw a surprise birthday party for Mikey.  His actual birthday is on Wednesday.  We had lots of fun and he was very surprised!  We boiled crawfish, had Conecuh sausage, pasta salad, a garden salad, watermelon, fruit salad, brocolli salad, chex mix, chips and dip, french bread, dirty rice, and I'm sure I'm forgetting something else! 

Here he is walking in...two of his friends, Mike and Jeremy took him to lunch while I got the surprise ready and guests arrived.  He is holding a basket of peanuts he took home with him from the restaraunt... guess they were really good peanuts!

Crawfish in fighting stance before we boiled them....

My friend Michelle's daughter, Marlee, playing with the crawfish... she loved them!

Rinsing the crawfish to get them clean...

Andy and Mikey

Mikey and Elaine (his mom)

McClain (Michelle's little boy)

Grady loves the birthday candles....

36 candles!

About the blow them out...

Stephanie and Michelle

Jeremy and Mikey (this was late in the evening!)

Last night, Grady went to stay overnight at his Grandma's house!  That's the first time I have let him stay away from home, and I have to say, it was nice to not have to worry about him while we were enjoying our company.  And he did just fine.  :)  We didn't pick him up until about 3 o'clock this afternoon.  Thanks Elaine! 

And happy birthday, Mikey!

Gulf Breeze Zoo

This morning, Grady and I went to the zoo. Our bank, Pen Air Credit Union, has a program for children called the Penny Savers Club and Grady is a member so we were invited to a birthday party for "Penny the Porpoise" (the mascot of the Penny Savers Club). I was excited about it because Grady is at the age where he enjoys things like this. It didn't really cross my mind that it would be 95 degrees, and feel like 105! We were SO HOT to say the least! Grady did really enjoy it at first because he was able to feed all the animals. But after that, we were ready to go! Since it is so hot outside, most of the animals are just laying around in the shaded areas and it was hard to see them. So after we walked around the zoo for a little while, we stopped by the party for some juice and didn't even hang around for cake! I really don't like to sweat unless I mean to sweat! Needless to say, we both came home and fell into bed and Grady is still sleeping... going on three and a half hours now. I guess the heat got to us!

Here are some pictures of him feeding the "farm" animals:

Back at the car... SOOOOOOO hot!

Oil Spill

Pensacola Beach, today, June 23rd.

Gymboree

I have been taking Grady to Play and Learn classes at Gymboree since I got out of school for the summer.  We go on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday for the class.  He loves it!  It's all indoors, but there is so much equipment for him to play with and we get to stay out of the heat.  I wasn't really sure what to expect, but the classes are really neat... we sing songs, play games, and at the end, it's Grady's favorite part- getting his "Gymbo" tattoo.  It's just a stamp, but all day long he points at his foot and says "Bobo!" 

Here are some pictures of him at Open Gym.  They have Open Gym 4 times a week and it is when the gym is open to all members, but there are no classes taught.  There were just a few other kids there yesterday, so he had practically the whole gym to himself...

(He was having fun yesterday, but he was sleepy, so he is not smiling in any of the pictures!  He looks a little out of it!)

Mikey came with us to class today and afterwards we were walking around the mall when Grady saw those little rides that all malls have.  I hate these things.  I used to always see kids on them and think, I'm never letting my kid ride on those dirty things.  Well, when your kid REALLY wants to ride on those things, it's hard to say no! 

Luckily, as soon as we put the 75 cents in and the machine started rocking, he wanted OUT!

Last Day of School

Today was the last day of school for the children and Friday is my official last day for the summer.  This year was a great year with a really well behaved and sweet class.  They were all so sweet to each other (most of the time!) and were very considerate of each other, which is sometimes rare at their age!  I will miss them, but at the same time, I was ready for them to go!  Here is a picture of me with my class at our end of the year party-

On the last day of school, which is always a half day, teachers do something called "Celebration".  It is a Pea Ridge tradition and we work hard on it.  All the students come in the cafeteria and watch their teachers perform dances, skits, songs, etc.  We all get dressed up and come out all together singing "Celebrate Good Times" and the kids go NUTS. They absolutely love it. I always think how much I would have looked forward to that if my elementary school had something like that when I was a kid. But it's intimidating getting up on the stage, even in front of little kids!  It's also stressful this time of year and adding dance practice to your afternoon schedule everyday is sometimes a hassle, but when it's all said and done, we are always glad to have done it and we always have fun.  New teachers are always amazed by this production!

This year, my grade level did a dance to Lady Gaga's song Telephone. (I never thought I would know every word to that song, but I have been reciting it for days... "stop calling, stop calling, I don't wanna talk anymore"... ugh!!!!)  We started out by performing a ballet (b/c third graders take a field trip to the ballet every year) and then said, "We're no good at this ballet stuff, let's try something we're good at"... and then we ripped our hair down from the bun and broke it down.  (As best we could for teachers and not professional dancers!).  Here is a picture of my grade level before the performance-

I came home after work and took a nap because I was so worn out!  Tomorrow and Friday are post-planning days, and then it's me and Grady for the summer!

It's been the same old, same old at our house... Grady is still a handful, but we are enjoying him everyday (minus the meltdowns).  He has learned to count, do ring around the rosie, and Mama's proudest accomplishment- burp on command!  I can't figure out how to post a video, so if someone can teach me, I'll video him and post it.  Here are some random pictures from the past several days...

Eating grapes on the side of the tub while I am trying to relax!!!  (I realize this is a little strange.)

Eating popcorn with Daddy...

And watching out for Grandma to arrive...

Memorial Day Weekend

Now that it's warming up, Grady wants to spend even more time outside.  So, a few weeks ago, we bought a little sprinkler for Grady to play in since we don't have a pool.  He loves it, but when the water goes in his face, it takes his breath away.  Also, he only really likes it when we run through it with him, which requires us getting soaking wet as well!

This past weekend, Mikey's sister Jenine came for a visit.  We had a great weekend and enjoyed seeing her.  We had some people over for a barbeque on Saturday and Mikey smoked some ribs and brisket and grilled hamburgers and hot dogs.  He is the grill master! :)  It was so nice to be able to relax and hang out with friends and not worry about what Grady was doing or where he was... since we were at home, I felt pretty confident he was just doing his usual thing!  Also, Jenine was a big help and kept her eye on him... even came and got me at bedtime to tell me Grady was ready for bed!  He went right to sleep and did not utter a peep, even though people stayed really late and we were not quiet!  I guess I can relax a little about the noise level now that I know he'll sleep regardless... maybe I will stop covering the speaker on the alarm every time I open the door, using my hand to get ice instead of the dispenser, etc! Sunday morning, Grady went to Grandma's so Mikey and I could rest and relax.  It had been a while since I'd had a margarita, so I may have overindulged on Saturday!  I needed a break on Sunday! 

Grady playing with his new friend at the barbeque

We also got a little pool for Grady to play in.  He LOVES it.

Jenine and Grady

Making "fishy face"

I missed seeing my brother, sister in law, and nieces this weekend, though.  They were at the farm visiting my dad, but it was a full house and I didn't think there would be room for us all... but I am sad I missed them! (Hope you guys had a good visit!)

Only one more week and I'll be out of school for the summer. This time of year just drags on and on and on... Grady and I have a busy summer... Gymboree classes, story time at the bookstore, swimming lessons (hopefully), and a trip to San Diego!!!!!! So excited about that!

Mikey is still enjoying his job, but the hours are hard and he is having a really hard time sleeping during the day.  Our evenings usually result in him taking a "nap" right after Grady goes to bed and me doing my own thing for a while!  That's getting old!  It will be challenging this summer since we'll be home all day while he's trying to sleep.  But, despite that, I am just glad he enjoys working for this company and likes the people he works with.

I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend!