Happy 7th Birthday Owen!

Owen turned 7 this Friday! That morning we had our family birthday breakfast and gave him his presents.

Later that day we went to his school and had lunch with his class and brought cupcakes. It was cute to meet all the kids in his 1st grade class.
He wanted to have a Lego Ninjago Party this year, so Nate and I had fun coming up with ideas for that.

We had a headband for each kid with their name on it.

They each made a paper oragami throwing star, and a Lego Ninjago shrinky dink. They used a ninja code to figure out their ninja names. We played pin the eyes on the ninjago. Then they watched the 1st episode of Ninjago. We projected it onto the wall of the playroom.
Then we had pizza and Ninjago Cupcakes!

It was a whirlwind of excitement and fun! And we were all exhausted afterwards. It was a great day.

100 Books

Owen started 1st grade this year and to jump start our reading for the year Nate and I told him that if he read 100 books he could go to the store and pick out a new toy. Today, after 4 weeks, he finished his 100th book, so we ran to the store and bought (what else?) his lego prize. He did a great job and was really determined. I'm so proud of my Owen.

Porch

Even though my kids were all born in Atlanta, they aren't southerners. There's a difference. A true southerner once told my sister that "just because kittens are born in the oven, doesn't mean you call them biscuits."  They don't say y'all or drink sweet tea. They don't call everyone ma'am and sir (which I think is really cute and endearing in the South). But they do love sitting out on Miss Beth's front porch swing in the evening.

12 Years

September 7th was our 12 year anniversary! We had a great day. We kept with the little tradition we started last year of having the kids help us make dinner. Then they got to be the waiters and bring everyone's food. They loved doing it and it was so cute. While we were eating dinner we told them stories about our wedding day and showed them our wedding album as well. It was cute that they enjoyed hearing the stories. Our menu was salad, grapes, grilled zucchini, chicken noodle soup, bread sticks, and zucchini chocolate mini muffins for dessert. It was fun for our family. Later that night after the kids were in bed, our neighbor came over and we went to a movie too. On the way there we asked each other some fun questions like these (I couldn't find the exact ones):
1.  What do you fear the most?
2.  What do you look forward to the most in the future? 
3.  What things do you enjoy doing the most with me?
4.  If you won the lottery, what are the first three things you would do? 
5.  What is one personal goal you have for your life in the next year that I can help you accomplish? 
6.  How would you describe me to someone who has never met me? 
7.  What would you say are the priorities in my life based only on your perceptions?
8.  What is currently your favorite movie?
9.  What would you change about yourself if given the chance? 
10.  What is the best thing about our marriage?
Best decision I have ever made was marrying Nate. I love you sweets. :)

First Grader

We have a first grader in the house. I can't believe how quickly my kids are all growing up. Owen was THRILLED to start 1st grade and I tried to keep my tears to a minimum. He is in school all day now 8a-2:30p. It's a long day for him and he's been pretty tired, but is enjoying it too. Here he is on his first day.

Reading Books

One of the cute things about being engaged to Nate was how excited he was to be a dad. He still is, and that is even cuter than before. One of the things his dad did and that he has always looked forward to doing is reading to our kids. So the other night when they were all piled up on Jonah's bed reading books, I couldn't help but snap a picture.