Yancey Family Reunion

My Mamaw Faye passed away the year Bryan and I got married. She was such an awesome lady! She was a great cook, she could grow anything in her garden. She loved doing crafts and fishing. She was also hilarious! She loved her family and spent all of her time taking care of them. Since she's been gone, we really haven't gotten the whole family together. Luckily we put an end to that last weekend with the Yancey Family Reunion. (Her maiden name was Yancey.)
It was such a hot day, but so great to see everyone. Bry somehow got talked in to grilling everyone's food for them so I spent most of the day trying to keep up with the kiddos. I'm pretty sure the highlight of the day was when Bubba looked up and said "Hey, look at that!" Bre and I looked over and out of the trees comes a huge goat. He just trotted right up to us! The boys took one look at him and ran for the hills! Presley on the other hand was smitten as she is with most animals. We could not stop laughing at the absurdity of it! Like, who does this happen to? A goat just walks up out of nowhere?! Really?

Another funny thing was when Bre and Bailey decided to declare war on Dad with a water fight. They got him pretty good. Dad and Peyton ended up getting me even though I was just standing there minding my own business! There will be payback! Dad, his sister Lisa, and his brothers, Chris and Mike.

Bry at the grill. It's his own fault for being such a good cook. :)

Bubba and Seth after cooling off in the pool.

Bailey and Cameron

Sweet Lily sleeping the day away. Jo tried to stay inside as much as she could. It was way too hot outside for this little one. (Check out her foot. She hangs out in a little pouch Jo carries around. It is the sweetest thing!)
Austin, Luke, Brandon and Presley playing in the sandbox.

Bailey holding the frog Austin caught.

Ella taking her turn with the frog. I love her sweet face in this picture!
If I titled my pictures this one would be "The Bullfighter". Carson looks like he is ready to take on the goat! :)

Presley with her arms out trying to get a hug from the goat.

After the initial shock of seeing the goat, the boys went back to playing in the sandbox. A few minutes later the goat decided to join them. When they looked up and saw him, they took off again! If you listen, you'll hear Presley in the background singing "na na na na boo boo" and taunting the goat. He comes over and shocks us both by giving her a little headbutt in the tummy! A little scary at the time, but hilarious now...

A Lot of Changes

When Bryan lost his job we knew that a lot of things were going to change. One of the major things was that we weren't going to be able to afford Bailey's tuition anymore. This was so devastating to me. I changed schools 9 times from 1st grade through 9th. It was extremely hard on me and so I swore that I would do my best to keep that from happening with my kids. The other thing that was important to me was that Bailey could attend a school where she would learn about God and be surrounded by teachers and classmates who loved the Lord. We had some money saved up so that we could probably have sent her this year but we really needed to pay off bills with that. So, I decided to talk to Bailey about it and pray about it and then Bry and I would decide what to do.
I asked her a few weeks before school started how she would feel about going to Tara Oaks. At first she teared up, which almost had me panicking. We talked about it for a while, about how she would be able to walk to school, make friends in the neighborhood, etc. Before the talk was over she was begging me to go there! I was completely shocked and so relieved.
We've had a couple of tough moments since then. She misses the prayer time at ECS, the bible classes, her friends and the familiarity. She hates being the new girl. But overall, she has handled it SO well! She is such a little trooper. I can't explain how proud I am of her attitude and her courage.
One of the major perks for her has been the dress code. She is able to wear regular clothes, jewelry and fingernail polish! It has really opened my eyes to how much my little girl has grown up and I'm not sure if I'm ready for that! She is just too beautiful . I keep saying that I dread the day when the boys her age realize the girls don't have cooties!
I took pics of her first few days and I had to add one from this time last year. Boy, what a difference a year (and a new school) makes!!

Bay on her first day of school last year. On her first day of school this year.

At her desk. So beautiful!

The whole fam went to pick her up the first day. She loves walking to and from school. Especially when it's just me and her.

She has to tuck her shirt in if it isn't a baby doll or one of these with the bands around the bottom. She made sure everything she bought wouldn't have to be tucked in. :)
She found out she could wear tank tops if she wore a sweater or something over them. She is finding all of the loopholes in the dress code! :)
She calls this her "nerdy" outfit. She loves it though.

Super Daddy (Uncle)

The title of my blog is A day in the life of Super Mommy, but this blog is about my hubby who has proven many times that he is Super Daddy. The latest example has been the past couple of weeks. Jo's Papaw was in the hospital and sadly ended up passing away. They needed someone to watch their kiddos several times while she visited him and then to attend his funeral. Strangely, each time they called I was gone somewhere and Bry was home with our kids. This rarely happens. Anyway, he insisted that they bring the kids anyway and he would watch all 5 by himself until I could get home. The first time they came over there ended up being Tornado warnings. Luckily, Jo hadn't left yet so he made a spot for her and the kids in the laundry room. He put down pillows and blankets and set up his laptop with a movie for them. I am amazed at how he handled that. 2 adults, Bay, 4 kids age 4 and under and a newborn all stuffed in a laundry room! When I got home, Jo had left and he still had it all under control. He had everyone in their pjs, sipping their chocolate milk, cuddled up on the couch finishing their movie. He was in the kids rooms cleaning up the toys!
And that was just the first of several times he did that in a 2 week period! But each time he insisted that I stay where I was and that he would handle things until I got home. I am so proud of him and so grateful to have a hubby that loves his kids, nieces and nephews so much!

Ella, Presley, Seth and Luke cuddled up in the laundry room during the storm.

Seth sitting in the train table.
Bay had a bad migraine so Bry put a warm towel on her head.

Presley was telling me what was wrong with Bailey.

Presley decided that she had a headache too and wanted her Daddy to get her a warm towel.

Luke, Ella and Presley playing.
Seth LOVES his Uncle Bryan. He was attached to Bry's side almost the whole time he was here.

Luke and Ella Bella.
My little monkey climbing on her kitchen. That grin is b/c she knows she's not suppose to do that!
Seth was a little too quiet in Presley's room so when I went to check on him this is what I found. He had put every piece of her jewelry on that he could find! It was hilarious! I thought Bubs would like this picture. :)

A day in the Country

My grandparents live in Medon, Tn. Never heard of it? Not surprising. It's a very small town outside of Jackson. Their house sits on a large piece of land that my Mamaw grew up on. My uncle lives next door and up until about a year ago, my other uncle lived across the street. When we're there, we feel so removed from the craziness of the world. It's country. I have always loved my Mamaw and Papaw's house. So much so that I got married in their backyard. :)
We don't get to visit as much as we'd like, but a couple weeks ago we surprised them and showed up at their door. I brought some stuff to make for lunch and we spent the whole day just enjoying being with them and playing outside with the kids. Mamaw and Papaw ADORE their grandkids, especially the little ones. :) I can't explain how it feels to see my babies playing with my grandparents. I'm amazed at the energy that they bring out in Mamaw and Papaw. You would never know that either one of them had any pain by the way that they get out and play with the kids. And the kids LOVE them so much! It was an awesome day, one I hope to repeat very soon.

Mamaw LOVES sassy little girls and BOY did she find a prize here. :) Presley has her wrapped around her finger. (Hence the beautiful necklace around P's neck that she sweet talked Mamaw out of!) Luke, Presley and Mamaw "exploring". Bay picking peaches. The little ones were fascinated that you could find fruit somewhere other than the grocery store! :) Presley wanted to try her peach right then. So of course, Papaw obliged by peeling and slicing little pieces for her. Mamaw brought out some watermelon and Presley didn't wait for a fork. She dug right in! Bay eating some yummy watermelon. The kids were picking locust "shells" off of the trees. I was not loving that but as long as they kept them away from me, whatever. :) Papaw, always Mr. Mischief, put one on Bay's shoulder. She was o.k. with it but it was a different story when he encouraged Bay to put one on Mom. Now that was funny. :)

Ella Bella's Special Day!

I am a little late posting this but better late than never, right?
My beautiful niece turned 4 on July 21st. The next Saturday me and the girls were invited to a "girls only" party in the morning. It was very laid back and fun. The girls were invited to wear their favorite princess dresses. We made bead jewelry, had lunch and cake and just spent time enjoying each other's company.

Later that afternoon we met back at Jo and Bub's house for dinner and a family party for her. It's always fun to have all of the cousins together. It's a little loud and crazy but I LOVE it. We ate pizza, visited, played outside and had cupcakes. A special day for a VERY special little lady! Me and my girls all dressed up for the party!This was so cute! I told them to stand there for a pic and Presley leaned over and kissed Ella. I had to get one pic of Bailey and Ella where Bay's bangs weren't in her face. The girls making their jewelry. Stinkerbell!Ella and Caroline. I think I'll stay off the road when they're driving! :)The girls playing on the swing set. Ella pushing Presley on the swing. Bay and Aus swinging with Cameron and Carson. Bryan and his buddy Seth. Brando and LukeMom, Bay and BreBry, Bay and Peyton. He's such a weirdo!Peyton was playing hide and seek with the kids. They had a hard time finding him. :) Bry, Dad and Bubs. Wonder who they're gossiping about??Luke finally got to meet Lily. He was so sweet with her and so excited!