Birthday Party

Bryan's Dad's birthday is on the 23rd--the day after Bryan's--so I thought it would be fun to throw a birthday party for the two of them!

 

We had sweet tea and lemonade.  And mason jars...always mason jars!

 

We had fruit salad and circus animals--Bryan's favorite!

 

I made macaroni and cheese and baked beans.

Bryan made burgers to grill with hot dogs!

And for dessert, I made the birthday boys' favorites--peach cobbler and pecan pie!

 

We had such a fun time celebrating Bryan and his Dad and spending time with our family!

Bryan's Birthday

Friday was Bryan's birthday! 

 

The kids and I had fun working to make his birthday great!

One of our birthday traditions is that you get to pick what you want me to make for your dinner and birthday dessert on your actual birthday.  It took Bryan until Friday morning to finally decide what he wanted!  He chose cheeseburger meatloaf (who chooses meatloaf?!), loaded mashed potatoes, roasted carrots, sautéed spinach, and homemade biscuits.  And for dessert, he requested blueberry cheesecake.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Jackson always loves helping him blow the candles out!

Sarah made him the sweetest card!

He was excited to get the final season of 24!

 

We had so much fun celebrating Papa Bear!

Happy Birthday, Bryan!

Today, my best friend turns 31! Bryan is the most amazing husband, Daddy, and man of God! Sarah, Jackson, and I are so blessed to call him ours!

Sarah's Spring Concert

Last night, Sarah's band had their Spring Concert!

They did awesome!  And you could tell they've been practicing a lot!

Sweet Sarah received a medal for making a "1" on her solo performance Tuesday night, and she wore it to the concert!

We are so proud of our baby, and we love that she loves band--just like we did!

 

They played two pieces last night, but "Hound Dog" was our favorite!

Last Day of School!

Today, was Jackson's last day of preschool!  It's been so fun to watch him grow this year, and we are so proud of him!

 

This was our baby on his first day of school in September!

And this is our big boy today!

He was so excited to finish preschool...and he may or may not believe that kindergarten begins tomorrow!

I can't believe that he's finished with preschool.  And I really can't believe that next month he'll be 5, and then off to kindergarten in August, and then leaving home for college!!

After school, Daddy and I took him to get our traditional end of the year treat!

He made this at school today, and I thought it was too cute!

 

Jackson has had such a great year!  His two teachers, Ms. Jennifer and Ms. Amy, loved on him like crazy, and for that, we are so grateful!  Jackson knows how to write every letter, spell a ton of words, and can read so many words!  Some of these things we've taught him and continue to teach him at home, but a lot of things he's learned at school!  They've also taught him even more about Jesus, which is the most important thing!  We are so stinkin' proud of him and can't wait to see where kindergarten takes him!

Sarah's Solo

This afternoon, Sarah had her first solo performance of her band career!  She has been working with her private lesson's teacher on a piece of music that was chosen specifically for her for the past couple of months.  Today, a pianist accompanied her while she played for a judge.  She let me come in the room with her, but wanted Daddy to stay in the hallway with Jackson--she didn't want him to be loud while she was playing!

 

She did awesome!  We are so proud of our sweet, little trumpet player!  As soon as we left the room, Jackson yelled, "Great job, Sissy!"  It was so cute!  He also said that when he gets big, he wants to play the trumpet just like Sissy!

Jackson's Preschool Graduation!

Today, this adorable 4 year old graduated from preschool!

 

We love our church, and we adore it's preschool!  It's full of amazing teachers who pour God's love into our little man!

 How cute are they filing in?!

I still can't believe our baby is big enough to have walked across a stage in a cap and gown!

First, his sweet teacher, Ms. Amy asked him where his other arm is!  Ha!

Then, she asked J what he wanted to be when he grew up.  He replied a teacher!  Bryan and I think he only said that because a couple of his friends before him did.  This afternoon, I asked Jack again, and he said a "bear zoo keeper and a policeman!"  Luckily, he can be anything he wants...and he still has plenty of time to decide!

Ms. Jennifer gave him his diploma!

So stinkin' cute!

 

Is he a charmer or what?!  And I love how his sweet friend next to him is smiling right at my camera!

 

This one cracks me up!

After both of the four-year-old preschool classes had received their diplomas, they all sang a song about being whatever God called them to be.  It brought tears to my eyes!

Then, we watched a sweet video that included a baby picture and a recent picture of each graduate!

The cutest little preschool graduate!

We are so proud of Jackson!

 

After we coerced Jackson into taking these pictures with us, I asked if the grandparents wanted to take pictures with him, but J was so ready to get the cupcake he'd been promised!

So, he finally got his cupcake!

Then, we took pictures with my Dad...

...and Grand Nana!

Bryan's Dad also came, but he was on the phone when we were snapping these.  We really appreciate them being there to celebrate little Jackson!

I still can't believe he's old enough to be graduating preschool!