June is Birthday party madness....

I have had lots of birthdays this month and thought I would just write one blog about them all!

It started June 3 with Jeans birthdays. We traveled to Miami, Florida for her birthday. We had a great family vacation and I got to meet a lot of Eddie's family I had never met before.

We got back from Florida on Blains birthday. So, we took his gift over to him and stayed to visit for a little bit. Blain is now 10! He has really grown and matured a lot the past couple of years.

Next, was my niece Gracie's birthday party. Most of the family was there for her 1st birthday party. It is so hard to believe that she is already one year old. She is walking and starting to talk. She is really growing up so fast! Grandma made her a big doll and a froggie which were favorite toys of ours when we were growing up.

Of course in the middle of all the madness was Father's day. I didn't really plan anything this year but mom and dad came to lunch and to visit for the day. Ruth had no plans and decided to come for the day as well. It was a nice relaxing day spent with family.

Then, LeeAnn had a party scheduled with her best friend Jenna. Unfortunately, Jenna got strep throat and had to cancel. So, we took her her gift so she would at least be able to open her present. Later, the sleepover was back on and they were happy campers.

Next, was a busy weekend of parties. First on Saturday, was my nephew Jason's. He is really into Star Wars and had a Star Wars theme. The boys really loved all the party favors. All of the family got to come for Jason's party and it was awesome to have all the cousins together. We got great pics of all of them. Jason is 5 and that is so hard for me to believe too~! All of the kids are growing to fast!

Then today, was Mia's birthday party. She is 6! She had a princess theme. All of the family was there for Mia's party today and again it was good to have all of the cousins together from the Edwards side of the family. there were way to many people there to attempt a picture of all the kids together but I got shots of all of them separately. We also took a trip to the zoo on Mia's actual birthday. I have lots of good shots from that day.

One more birthday to go....Olivia's. Then maybe I can have a break! LOL

Here are pics from all of the parties.....

Vacation in Miami, Florida

Well, I finally got to go on a vacation and have a good time. I rode on a plane for the first time since high school. And of course I was extremely anxious about it. But we made it safely there and obviously safely home. It was a nice trip. I got to meet a lot of Eddie's family that I had never met before after 18 years of marriage! I met his Aunt Aggie and Uncle Gary(that's who we stayed with and they were so welcoming and did so much for us!) Also, I met their daughter (Eddie's cousin) Helen and her husband Dave. She has a son Austin who is 14 and a step daughter who is 13. Also they recently took in her sister-in-laws two children after a terrible tragedy. They are Holly who is 10 and Jaden who is 3. I also met his Aunt Penny and her two children Kyle and Cody. And I met his Aunt Terry and Uncle Larry. It was a great trip. We went to the beach and to the Keys and out on Gary's boat. LeeAnn loved collecting shells with Helen on the beach. This was her first time on a plane and her first trip to the beach and she loved both! She especially loved Aggie's pool though. she spent a LOT of time in the pool while we were there. Aggie and Gary had the whole family over every night for dinner and a pool party. It was a lot of fun! I took over 200 pictures so it will be hard to share all the pics but I will share a few.

Adventures in babysitting

Posin' on the bridge
Gracie LOVED the park!

Let me go Brother!
Aren't they so cute?

Ronnie loves his sister!
Fun with cousins!
We love to be silly!

Miss Attitude!
Gracie's beautiful smile!
Gracie wasn't to fond of Eddie! :)

I had such a fun time babysitting my niece and nephew this weekend. I had Ronnie and Gracie overnight Friday and most of the day Saturday. Gracie has really grown so much since I have watched her last and I can't believe how much she has changed. I lovingly refer to her as "high maintanence baby" because she likes to be where you are and if she is unhappy she lets you know. Also, she is one you always have to keep your eye on. But she has really developed a little personality and she was so much fun to watch. As was Ronnie her older brother. He is such a great big brother! She would be crawling all over him and taking his toys and he acted as if she wasn't even there! It was quite comical to watch. And he was very comforting to her when she was upset. And LeeAnn, well, let's just say she wants to be a big sister so bad! She was like a little mommy to Gracie. She carried her from room to room like Gracie didn't weigh a thing. (and Gracie is quite big for her age....not just chunky but tall too!) Anyway, they all had a blast and today I took them to the park. Gracie loved it there! I took tons of pictures so I had to choose the best ones to put on here. Now, LeeAnn is spending the night with Ronnie and Gracie. Hopefully she doesn't drive them nuts trying to be little miss bossy butt! I am just glad that they enjoy being around each other and have such a good relationship with their cousins! Now onto the pictures!

LeeAnn's birthday

I guess no matter how old my baby girl gets her birthday will always be a special day for me. It was nine years ago today that I got the best gift in the world! Her birthday always takes me back to the pregnancy I endured just to have her. And all the wonderful memories I have of her the past nine years.

We had a very special birthday celebration with LeeAnn this year. Last night we had the parents/LeeAnn's grandparents over for dinner and dessert. She got to open her presents last night since we had such a busy day planned for today. She got a lot of nice things and got to spend quality time with her grandparents. Also, her Best Friend Jenna came over to spend the night and go with us to the zoo and Pinheads today. They got along great the whole time and never once had an argument. Jenna is a very sweet little girl and I am glad to have made friends with her family as well. I have never let LeeAnn go with friends from school cause nobody has ever taken the time to get to know us. I am paranoid and just won't leave her with just anybody. Jenna's mom is the same way and really wanted to meet us and get to know us before letting Jenna go with us. That made me like her from the start. After talking with her at great length I can tell that we are a lot alike in many ways....especially our parenting style. I know that the girls will be seeing a lot of each other this summer and she is the type of kid that I don't mind having over because she is a great kid!

Anyway, we went to the zoo and had a great day. The weather was gorgeous except for a couple little sprinkles but it never did rain. They noticed every little thing about the animals and it was quite entertaining. Jenna loved the dolphin show and wanted to get wet in the splash zone where LeeAnn did not want to get wet. They rode the pony and the carousel and both agreed that they didn't like the roller coaster. (The hill was to big.)

After the zoo we went to Pinheads and watched the girls bowl two games. They were really doing good by the end. Jenna really is strong and had umph behind her ball. She got several spares during the games. LeeAnn got nine pins several times but got a spare and a strike her last two balls. She was so excited! As it worked out each girl won a game so that was good. Then they went to the arcade and played some games. They played this musical game where you stomped on the arrow the lit up and you had to do it at the exact time it was lit. Mom and I decided that looked like fun so we did it as well. Unfortunately nobody took pictures of us doing that cause I am sure it was hilarious! It was fun though and great exercise. All in all it was a great day! We just dropped Jenna off at home and spent an hour or so talking with her mom and grandparents. The girls were sad to leave each other but we assured them they would be able to play together again soon.

Thanks to all who made LeeAnn's birthday a great one. John and Jean for the nice gifts and Mom and dad as well. Also, to Mom and Dad for taking us to the zoo and being a special part of her day. Also thanks to her Aunts who gave her presents and left her messages on myspace. She was so excited to be turning nine! Sorry this was so lengthy....now for some pics....

Getting together with family for Mother's day.

Well, yesterday was Mother's day and I had a really good day. We started Mother's day with dinner Saturday night for Eddie's mom (and dad) We visited all evening and had a great time. I didn't take any pictures that night though for some reason. Eddie had to work Sunday so that was the only bummer about my day. But he did get me a swing for the backyard and two hanging basket plants. He is in the process of putting the swing together as I type this. :) Anyway, on Mother's day we went to Ruth's and the whole family was there. It had been since Christmas I think since we were all together. The kids had a blast playing together. And four of the six spent the night with grandma the night before. So, they had lots of quality time together. LeeAnn loves to play with her cousins on both sides of the family. I am so glad that she has good relationships with them!

I have been really depressed lately over my health and my weight and I just don't feel good most of the time. I decided this morning that I have GOT to get back on my diet and start eating better. I am short of breath all the time and after what happened to dad that scares me. Eddie keeps saying that I am just out of shape. So, today after work I got on my exercise bike and rode for about twenty minutes. I couldn't peddle fast though cause I just couldn't breath. Lord help me I am going to get in shape this summer if it kills me! ( and it probably will) So, anyway, tomorrow I find out the results of my MRI and then I will go from there. Here are a few pics from Mother's day.

LeeAnn's Spring concert

WOW! That's all I can say to describe the amazing talent that is in the Anderson Area Children's choir. I am so proud and blessed that LeeAnn is a part of that organization. Her choir teacher for the past two years has been Sue Hartzell. She is an amazing lady who we have known forever from our church. She has so much patience and love for children. Unfortunately, LeeAnn will be moving up next year to the next level. It is bittersweet for us. Because we are proud of our girl for all her accomplishments and all that she has learned to move on to this next level, but at the same time we really love Mrs. Hartzell and hate to leave her. :( The concert yesterday was a combination of all the choirs from second grade all the way through high school. I can't even begin to express how talented this group of young people are. Sandi Patti's twins sang a duet with the oldest choir and they were absolutely amazing! I hope that someday LeeAnn will be able to pursue a career in music because I think she is definitely capable of it. She loves music more than anything. She is constantly singing no matter what she is doing. And she likes to make up her own songs. I am going to post some pictures that I took yesterday and there is one that I have already posted with us and Mrs. Hartzell. I just wanted to include that one again since she is so special to us. We love you Mrs. Sue and we will miss you! (We'll still see ya around though)

After the concert, mom, dad, me, Eddie, LeeAnn, and Jean all went out for dinner at Cracker Barrel. It was such a gorgeous day and we had a great time. Thanks mom and dad and Jean for going to see LeeAnn's final concert. It meant a lot to her! Unfortunately, Eddie had to work and missed it but I bought a CD recording of it. It won't be the same but at least he can hear the music they sang.