Can I get a YEE HAW!!!

I never make Carson do anything when it comes to extra stuff at school, however I MADE him go to the Western Dance. I told him that I really wanted him to go and have fun, dance, hang with his friends, and I promised him he would have a good time. After weeks of arguing about it he finally accepted that I was serious and so he went to the dance. I did not make him dress up or make him dance, but after a few songs and LOTS of cookies he decided to join his friends on the dance floor. Of course they spent the first few songs being goofy and making fun of each other but it's funny how as the time went on they were all dancing seriously....I mean come on-they had some cute 5th grade girls to impress. I was so proud of Carson. His dad absolutely will not dance so I expected the same but he proved me wrong. I told him sports weren't everything and that being well rounded was a great gift to have. I'm so glad I stuck to my word--on our way home he said "Okay Mom you're right I had a really good time". YEE HAW for Carson and for me!!!

Yet again...another dress up day for Ryleigh--this time it was 'Grandma and Grandpa' day. Dress up days happen so often at our house that I pretty much just keep the Halloween box open and accessible. Gotta love kindergarten!!!

Happy Valentines Day!!!
This year for Valentines, Cara decided to make a pig for her box and Ryleigh a Hershey's Kiss. I thought they both turned out pretty cute. Luckily Carson has passed the box phase. Valentines was a pretty quiet day for us. Dave had to fly and we actually didn't have any extras going on that night so I took my kids to get a nice romantic Mexican dinner. I love my husband and my kids to pieces. Happy V-day!!!

My boys are growing up waaaaay too fast

It was becoming super obvious to Dave and I that Carson would need braces sooner than later. It's not that his teeth were super crooked but his over bite was pretty bad (like his mommas). I knew once his profile started looking like 'Bart Simpson' that it was time to visit the orthodontist. He got Carson in right away and we have now begun the process. Here's Carson getting his appliance (kind of like a head gear but in his mouth). He'll wear it for about a year and then braces for another year. His mouth already looks so different. He's such a handsome boy already but if I had to rate him now between 1 and 10 he'd be an 11 !!!!!! So let's just say our savings account just went down a few thousand dollars OUCH!!!! It is worth every penny when it comes to dental work on our kids though.

This little guy is growing up way too fast. I took him in for his 5 month appointment and every measurement was in the 95th percentile. It's not like Dave and I are small people but I have never had a kid in the 95th.

20 lbs.
29 in. long
head 19.5 in-big enough to hold that big brain he's got growing inside haha!!

Those of you who have been around him recently know that he is such a talker...so much so that I have to say shhhhh....at times. As cute as it is-it's super loud and continuous. I guess he's just trying to keep up with his brother and sisters.

Love these two boys!!!

The Baby Bullet
My Mom was watching an infomercial one night and saw this. She sent my sister in law Angela and me one and I love it. It's my new favorite toy. Yep, I am THAT mom now...a baby food making junky. I get excited to make it and love that it's so healthy for my little guy. No preservatives....nothing-just the fruit or vegetable and water. Evan is loving his new food and his little bobble head just goes crazy when it's feeding time. THANKS MOM!!!! You can go ahead and keep watching infomercials and keep sending me fun stuff haha!!!

2 WORDS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE THAT I ABSOLUTELY HATE

SCIENCE FAIR

Well we did more than procrastinate at our house this year...in fact Carson decided to start his project 2 days before it was due. We all kept putting it off and putting it off and then boom it hit us right in the face. My brother Reiley gave us this idea and we just put it into action. Thanks Reiley, the idea is always the hardest part. So to answer the question " Where is the best place to store popcorn-to get more out of the bag for your money"?...the freezer. I know weird. Lesson learned--Procrastination is never a good idea.....example below of why :)
So of course Dave got called out leaving me to help Carson. I'm really not smart when it comes to school stuff. I don't mind admitting that because I'm just not. So I was more stressed than Carson. You can tell by my kitchen how life just got ignored those two days. Yep, there it is folks...to all of you who tell me I have a clean house, well these clearly state the truth...it's definitely not always clean.

Tara Oaks Sock Hop

So to get ready for the Sock Hop I showed my girls a Before & After picture of Olivia Newton John on "Grease" and told them to choose what 50's style they wanted to dress up as....No suprise Ryleigh chose the BEFORE and Cara the AFTER.

Cara with her best buddy Tyler Collier. She just adores him. They're inseperable!! That's what happens when you grow up right across the street from eachother and spend every single (not kidding) day together.
Cara and Ryleigh showing us what they've got. This dance was so cute. The P.E. teachers taught all of the kids the "Bunny Hop", "The Shimmy", and they also had a hula hoop contest.

So to all of you who are always commenting on how often my girls have to dress up, YES....it's almost weekly. It gets a little insane at times. However this one was way fun.

Kindergarten Nursery Rhyme Day
Ryleigh chose to be "Little Bo Peep" on Nursery Rhyme day. She cracks us up, she is so serious, she doesn't even crack a smile when she's performing. I was in Utah with my Mom while she was having surgery so this was all on Dave's shoulders. From the looks of it he did a great job. Sometimes all of this kindergarten stuff tends to be a little much, but once we're there we always enjoy it. (video below)

~ Ballin' around~
This is Carson's second season playing with the Collierville United Methodist Church. He's been with this same group of boys and had these same coaches for two years now. They have a great sense of teamwork. This is the one and only sport where I have seen Carson telling his coach he needs a timeout. That boy runs and runs until he's red in the face and can't give anymore. We've really seen him improve on his talent the past two years. Unfortunately the season here doesn't last long. Baseball and Football are a religion down South and basketball tends to get over looked. So for now it's shootin hoops in the driveway :)

Tubby Time

PHEW!!!!~finally done with Christmas pictures. I took way too many, but it's so hard not to capture all of the memories. Grandma Shauna loves buying clothes for her granddaughters....Most of our eyes light up when we walk into Nordstroms or Banana Republic, but hers light up when she walks into any Children's clothing store. Natalie and I love it!!! Aren't they beauties!!!!