Father's Day

This weekend, we celebrated our favorite guy!

Bryan is the absolute best Dad, and we are so lucky that he's our Papa Bear!

We actually started the celebration on Saturday.  I made him tortelinni with meat sauce, bacon wrapped dates, fig and priscotto pizza, and homemade creme brulee!

On Sunday morning, after he slept in, we had our updated pictures of old classics waiting for him!

Then, it was time for another one of his favorite meals--strawberry shortcake french toast, bacon, spam!, and mimosas!

 Papa Bear, we love you so much!  Thanks for being the best!

A Jeep Ride and a Burger Competition

Yesterday after we watched church online, we decided we all needed some family time!

So, for the first time ever, Bryan and I took the roof off of his Jeep, and we went for a long drive!

I don't know why it took us so long to do this, but we're glad we did!  We all had a blast!

Yesterday evening, we started our 1st Annual Burger Competetion!  Bryan came up with the idea for all 4 of us to create a different burger, and once we've had all 4, we'll decide who the winner is!  Jackson went first.  He gave his burger a breakfast spin--with a beef patty, a sausage patty, bacon, egg, and havarti cheese all on a brioche bun that was toasted with butter and maple syrup!  It was delicious!  We all judged while we were eating, and he got a 35 out of 40!

Happy Birthday, Bryan!

Today is Bryan's 36th birthday!

He is the best husband and father!  He is our absolute favorite person!  We're so glad we get to celebrate him today, because we love him so!

For his special birthday meal, Bryan chose chili cheese hot dogs and homemade potato chips.

And for dessert, he picked peach tart!

We loved celebrating him!

Last Day of School!

Today is the kids' last day of school!

This school year did not end at all they way we thought it would, or in some cases, even wanted it to.  That being said, I've really loved having them home over the past two months.  It took a couple of days for Jackson and I to get into a good rhythm of doing school at home, but after that, it was great!  He's so smart, and I loved being able to watch him do such a great job each day.  And Sarah clearly didn't need my help, but I did love having her here!

This was Sarah on her first day of school this year.

And this is her today.

This was Jackson on his first day of school.

And this is him today.

They seem so little here!

And this picture of them makes me want to cry because they really do look so much older!  I can't believe that Jackson only has a year left in intermediate school, and I really can't believe that Sarah only has a year left of high school!  

Sarah was a rockstar yet again this year!  She's number 3 in her class, and she got all "A's"--and several of those were 100's!  She received an award for Physics and countless Journalism awards!

Jackson was amazing this year!  He got all "A's" and "B's" again!  In fact, he only got 2 "B's" all year--and they were in math.  And then he moved those "B's" to a 99 by the last semester!  His teachers said he was a "joy to have in class" and that they would never forget his "kindness, intelligence, and humor!"  He also received a ticket to Six Flags because he read so much at home!  

One of Sarah's Journalism awards was receiving 1st place from the Dallas Morning News--beating out  all other entries in the state!

We did the kids' last day of school treat like we do each year, only today, we brought the goodies home with us!  

We're so proud of them, and we're looking forward to soaking them up over the summer!

Way to go, Jackson!

Last week, Jackson got dinner on the "You are special today" plate too!

He's been doing so great at his online school work!

He's been doing so great, in fact, that his name was put into a drawing with the other students that have been doing so well, and his teacher drew his name and delivered a cherry slushie to our front door!

We're so proud of him!

Way to go, Sarah!

Yesterday, Sarah received a call from the band director, that she was named drum major of the marching band for the upcoming school year!  

She ran downstairs yelling that she made it!  She was so excited!  And so were we!

Being drum major definitely mean dinner on the "You are special today" plate!

Mother's Day

Sunday was my 17th Mother's Day!  17 years of the absolute best--and most challenging!--job ever!  I love it!

These two are my heart and soul.

They're my littlest besties.

Did I mention I love this job!

Sweet Bryan wanted to cook for me, and he made the best meal!  Here, he is making the chocolate caramel tart.

And here, he is sauteing the spinach for creamed spinach!  He also made bruschetta and grilled steaks but I forgot to take pictures of those!  It was all so delicious!

Baking with my Baby

Jackson and I made a new recipe for banana pudding.

We haven't cooked together in awhile, and we were both excited to make this dessert with one another!

He's such a ham, and I love it!

Jackson said that he loved our banana pudding so much that he wanted me to make it for his birthday dessert this year!