{ DARE Grads }

The girls learned a lot in their DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) class this year.  They learned about staying away from drugs, but also talked about friendship, bullying and other topics that will be helpful going forward.

They had graduation today so I had to go and snap some pictures, though not very good ones!

Sarah's class was early in the program.

Emma Taylor's class was last!

Here are all of the 5th grade graduates.  They're pretty excited because their reward for completing the DARE class is a trip to the skating rink tomorrow.  So much fun!

 My two sweeties!

{ ice skating didn't work out }

The BancorpSouth arena has ice skating on the weekends during the winter months.  The girls (Harrison, not so much) love skating and have gone a few times with their friends this season.  Even though they loved going with their friends, they wanted us to take them too.  I was excited about trying to skate again and snapping some fun pictures of the girls in action.

Sadly, that didn't happen.  We showed up at the arena with at least 200 (not an exaggeration) other people waiting to get fitted for skates and hit the ice.  Boo!  Sarah had cheer practice later in the afternoon and I doubted they'd let all those people skate anyway.  We went with Plan B and hit the roller rink instead.

We used to go to the skating rink a lot when the kids were younger, but birthday parties have evolved and we don't head that way much anymore.

The girls seemed to enjoy Plan B!

{ Cora Beth + Knox }

Cora Beth loved hanging out with Knox during H's birthday dinner.  She decided she liked his kennel and even shared it with him some of the time.  She has a dog at home, so she loves dogs and isn't afraid of them at all.

She just made herself at home in his kennel and when he saw it, he wanted to get in on the action!

Knox is giving her kisses in the last picture.  So funny.  These two definitely kept us entertained!

{ 8th Birthday Dinner }

Harrison's birthday party will be in a few weeks, but we wanted to go ahead and celebrate with the family on his actual birthday.  So Saturday night we ordered pizza and had cupcakes and ice cream.  Super easy and just what Harrison likes!

I love this Instagram picture with my fave 8 year old.

He got some fun gifts from his sisters and Cora Beth and money from everyone else.  He loved that!  His big present this year was an iPad Mini.  He loved it too!

Making a wish.

 I hope it was a good one!

It's hard to believe Harrison is 8 years old already.  Eight years have flown by, but they've sure been fun!

{ Eight is great! }

Here's the first picture of my little sleepyhead as an 8 year old!  

It's hard to believe it's birthday time again and that Harrison has been with us for 8 years!  His favorites  right now are Minecraft, Legos and anything football.  He loves the color red and going to school - especially field trip day when he gets to ride the school bus!  :)  He is a sweet little brother (most of the time) to his sisters and even though they bug him at times, he really misses them when they aren't around.  I can't imagine our family without our favorite 8 year old!

Happy Birthday, Harrison!  Eight is going to be awesome!

{ Tween Room Redo #2 }

We got started on Sarah's room just after the new year.  She picked out new bedding before Christmas and finally decided what color she wanted her furniture to be - PURPLE!

The sun is so bright that it's hard to tell, but I think the purple furniture looks great with her light yellow walls and the bedding.

We were even able to find coordinating cheer mats for the girls for Christmas.  This is a total cheerleader room.  Plenty of room to practice tumbling and cheer posters and artwork on the walls!

I still need to touch up a few things, replace the lamp (or at least the shade) and hang a few more things on the walls, but the room is pretty much done.  I'm so happy Sarah loves it!

Anna Grace is up next!  She finally decided on bedding last night, so it's been ordered and should be here soon.  She also decided she wants her walls painted the same shade of purple as Sarah's furniture.  I think it's going to look super!  I love seeing their personalities come out in their bedroom updates.

{ Tween Room Redo }

Emma Taylor decided her room was looking babyish, so she was ready for a change to make it more "her."  She knew exactly what she wanted...zebra stripes and turquoise furniture.  The new room screams "Emma Taylor!"

This is what it looked like before, with a little Christmas decor in the mix.

I didn't intentionally take "before" pictures, but happened to snap some on a day that the room was clean.  A clean room isn't the norm, so I thought it was worth documenting.  :)  
I especially love the purple stain on the floor, which is some sort of gel stuff that is squished into the carpet and is now hardened.  Lovely!

This is the furniture she got when she was almost two and a half and moved out of her crib.  It's still in great shape and appropriate for her age (I think), just needed a paint job.

Here's the new room.  I just love how it turned out and more importantly, SHE loves how it turned out!

I should have snapped pictures of the whole room as soon as it was complete.  The next pictures already have the "lived in" look.  Ha!

We still have a few things to hang on the walls and some frame mats to change out and we'll be finished.  Now we just need her to keep it clean!  :)

{ Happy Birthday, Sarah! }

Hard to believe it, but this girl is 11 years old today!  Eleven! 

We celebrated her birthday with the family on Sunday.  She picked Chili's for her birthday lunch spot.

Cora Beth and Sarah 

 One end of the table.  Anna Grace, Papa D, Lee and I were at the other end.

 Playing her games.

She just got lots of presents for Christmas, so she got money for her birthday...

 and One Direction concert tickets!

 Cheer shorts from Aunt Candace.  She can never have too many of those!

Hope your wish comes true!  We love you tons and hope you have the best birthday yet!

{ Contacts! }

Look who isn't wearing glasses anymore!  

Anna Grace looks super cute in her glasses, but decided she'd had enough of smudgy glasses getting in her way.  She was a little nervous about touching her eyes at first, but she's gotten used to putting in and taking out her contacts quickly.  I think she looks great!

She's been busy during Christmas break.  She also had two teeth pulled in order to get ready for her second set of braces.  Lots of changes in the new year for this girl!

{ Ice Skating }

Lexie invited Sarah and Emma Taylor for a sleepover on last night and took them ice skating.  They had such a great time!

Lexie's mom, Kim, sent me this sweet picture!

I've been wanting to take the kids skating for awhile, but it hasn't worked into my plans yet.  I'm hoping we'll make it to the BCS Arena before the skating season is over so I can try it myself.  I haven't really ice skated since I was maybe 6 years old, so it should be interesting!

{ Happy New Year! }

I hope everyone has a very happy and healthy 2014!

Lee and I are relaxing and enjoying a traditional New Year's Day meal with friends this afternoon.  The kids will all be home this afternoon, so it will be a happy day indeed!