Memorial Day Parade.

One of the best things about Dacula is the Memorial Day Parade.  It never ceases to amaze me that I live in town that is less than ten miles from the Mall of Georgia, yet still celebrates Memorial Day with a parade of tractors.  God bless America!

We've been taking these guys to the parade for years.  They were pros at the whole waving, clapping, and candy catching today.

Emmy and Olivia made their parade debut today.  Livi was too little to enjoy any of the fun, but Big Nut caught a good thirty minutes of parade action before passing out.

The kids (and adults!) crowded unbelievably close to the road today.  Our oldest four loved it.

My sweet (and tall!) Harris collected lots of candy and placed it all in his bag to eat later.  Babe, on the other hand, would pick up a piece, eat it, and then repeat the process.  That girl is a sugar addict.

We had a great time.  Granti and Auntie even ran the 5K before the parade started.  I think I might make that goal of mine for next year!

Happy Memorial Day, y'all!

Last Day.

Field Day.

As one of their final Private Kindergarten parties, Harris' class (along with the rest of Primrose) celebrated the last week of school with Field Day and a Luau. 

Harry's afterschool teacher, Ms. Bethany, taught the kids an absolutely adorable song (complete with sign language!) to sing for the parents before the big feast.

Harris was so proud of the "secret song," which ended up being very sweet.  Ben wasn't able to make it because of work, so Harry made sure to give Daddy a private performance (that I WAS NOT allowed to watch) before the big day.

I am so thankful for his sweet heart.

And his silliness.

And that summer is finally here! :)

The Graduate.

I didn't cry.  I smiled, I laughed, and I let my heart swell with pride.  I love this kid.

He chose Sonic for his graduation dinner.  Unfortunately, we were in such a rush to get home from school and work, change clothes, and get to the church that we didn't have a whole lot of time left to eat.  We managed to meet Auntie, DB, and Granti at Sonic, order our food, have it delivered by a girl on roller skates (which is all Harris really wanted) and pile back in the van to eat on the drive over.  The tater tots still tasted great, so it all worked out.

In case you're wondering, Ben bought Harris' tie especially for graduation.  He was so excited; he keeps asking for a bowtie, too, and I have no doubt he'll get one for football season.

We made it to the church and found a seat (and Pop!) in plenty of time.  Harris enjoyed goofing around with his friends while waiting and we had lots of time to take lots of pictures. :)

The more pictures I took, the sillier my sweet boy became.  He has such a great sense of humor!  We laugh ALL THE TIME at home (I love my husband for making me laugh!) and it's so funny to watch Harris ham it up in public, too.

His class sang a few songs (in English and Spanish!) to start the program.  He takes his singing very seriously, in case you can't tell.  Because he is quite the rule follower, Harris worked hard to make sure he sang loud enough for the whole church to hear. 

And then come the processional.  His teachers had told me that Harris, of course, was the best behaved, most serious student during practice that morning.  I think everybody was totally unprepared for his "march" down the aisle.

He had the whole place cracking up.  And he wasn't being rude or crazy or disprespectful...just funny.  It was awesome.

I hope he does it again when he graduates high school.

We are so, so proud of our graduate!!!  We finished up the evening with more pictures, a quick stop at the graduation reception, and a cupcake from Cupcake Diva Girlz on the way home. :)

Thank you, Ms. Wendy, for loving our baby boy.  I'm pretty sure we'll still be talking about you ten years from now.





Little Doe.

Emmy's newest nickname, courtesy of Babe, is "Little Doe."

Regardless of what we call her, she is as sweet as can be.  I love spending time with her when she's awake, but one of our favorite things to do is to check in on her after she's gone to sleep.

I love that girl.

I'm Ready for Summer Break.

Mother's Day 2012.

I love being a mom.  Actually, I really love being a mom to these three crazy kids.  They test my patience, my strength, my resolve, and my sanity, but never my love. 

I am so proud of my family.

We spent a wonderful Sunday afternoon celebrating.  After church, we met Granti, Cody, Auntie, and DB at Chili's for lunch. 

Even though what we really wanted was Japanese, we're thankful to Cassidy and DB for handling the lunch plans. :)

Cassidy worked extra hard on her gift for Mom this year, proving that you're never too old to make the footprint butterfly.

After lunch, we came home, took a fantastic nap, and enjoyed hanging around the house.  Ben worked hard in the yard and planted a few different things as a gift from the kiddos.  Very sweet.

We topped off the evening with dinner at Sonic.  In the van.  Because nothing screams Mother's Day like trashing your van.

It was great fun and totally worth it, though...Sonic has now become the number one request around these parts, completely putting McDonald's to shame.  I'd say that's the best gift ever.

I am so thankful for my mom and her gift of life, my mother-in-law and the gift of her son, and my three incredible kiddos and the awesome gift and responsibility I have of mothering them.

Happy Mother's Day, indeed.