Hot air balloons

We went to Callaway Gardens today for the Sky High Hot Air Balloon festival. We discovered we are too impatient to be ballooners! We did get to see a few lift off. We think the others decided to deflate and skip take-off. It had been hot all day with only one breeze to cool us the whole time we were there, until time for the balloons to lift off. It then became windy. The balloon that was tethered to the ground for rides blew so hard that the basket tipped over twice with lots of passengers in it. We had discussed letting the kids go up with me but decided the line was too long and also heard it only went 10-20 feet off the ground. It ended up that they never even let passengers go up on the tethered rides.

 When the first hot air balloon lifted  off the ground there were lots of oohs and aahs, followed by gasps, as the balloon's basket hit the top of a magnolia tree. The balloon went right over our heads. The mishap caused a burn in the lower portion of the balloon and the basket was rocking pretty hard for a while before it settled down. This event was followed by RuRu running toward me and proclaiming, "I don't want to go up in the basket!!!"  She had both fear and tears in her eyes. I couldn't help but laugh first, then we assured her she was NOT going on the ride. She was relieved to hear it!

 When we gave up on the balloons we went for a swim in the lake then headed home. Although the kids had fun swimming, playing shuffleboard and doing the bungee bounce (RuRu decided to skip that too) the highlight of their day was when we made a quick stop to see the Tuleys and Womacks at the chalet where they were vacationing in Pine Mountain. They were thrilled to see all of Clem's cousins again (especially James- SL and A think he's "so cute!").

The highlight of the day for Chris was seeing a HUGE rattlesnake in the road on our way home. We both spotted it as we drove past, so he turned around and went back to get a good look. It "sat" in the road for several minutes before crossing over into the grass. We were stopped on one side of the road and another vehicle was stopped the other direction because the snake was blocking its path. Everyone was gawking at the size and snapping pictures. Check out the size of its rattle! It was 2-3 inches long. 

painting fun

The older girls and I made this painting to hang on the wall over Sadie Lynne's bed. I had planned on doing it about a year ago when Chris didn't want me doing any stenciling or painting on the walls in Sadie Lynne's big girl room. Then we sold the house moved and life took over. Well, we finally got around to it. It was supposed to be a project for me and SL but she did end up letting Adelaide help a little. It is multi media and we employed various techniques (dry brush, washes, bubble wrap -the circles, corn cob rolling) and materials (lace, jewels, slick paint, beads, foam stamps, stencils and body glitter from Libby Lu!).  They had a blast and with guidance on colors and placement I think it turned out pretty good. I want to paint some words on it but SL likes it like it is- of course she said that at each stage of the project, even when it was nothing but 3 shades of green brushed randomly over the canvas. It was fun and a great creative outlet. Adelaide is raedy to paint one for her room now!

SPECIAL BIRTHDAY MOMENTS

On the girls' actual birthdays I do something special with JUST the birthday girl. They get to choose what we do or where we go (within reason). Mom usually keeps the others for me unless Chris is home. Thanks, Mom, for helping to make this special time possible!

This year on RuRu's birthday I took her to Libby Lu in Montgomery. She loved the attention and getting all dolled up. Adelaide also chose Libby Lu for her special day. As usual, she picked out her goodies with her sisters in mind, taking great joy in having something special to give them upon her return. Sadie lynne decided to forgo  the trip to Libby Lu and get her ears pierced at Claire's instead. I still can't get over how brave she was! She didn't cry or even flinch. Which reaffirmed what I already knew- most of her former tears were worthy of an Oscar- DRAMA QUEEN!  We followed up the piercing with Chick-fil-a and a heavily iced cookie form Great American Cookie. Thank you, Lara, for watching the others for me that day.

Birthday Babes

Well, we've finally gotten all the girls' birthdays behind us for the year!

 RuRu had a carnival party in the backyard at the end of May. All the kids had a great time and several guests told the girls that it was the BEST party they had ever been to. Thanks to Emmy hooking me up with the cotton candy machine and carnival games, my Mom and Joe bringing a popcorn machine and laurie letting me borrow her Bounce Around inflatable castle, it was a low cost, high fun party!  We had a face painting booth at which I painted LOTS of Hello Kitty faces (RuRu's theme of choice) and my sweet mother-in-law helped me make caramel apples. We made the cake, too, though I'm to blame for the decorating!! Notice the Hello Kitty topper. It was one you can change the clothes. We decided to dress her like an angel! I don't think anyone else caught the irony:) 

 Ruby Beth collected items for the mission team from church. They needed Bible School supplies for their June trip to Uganda. She was so proud to be able to contribute to such a great cause.  I was very impressed by her giving spirit.  Check out the picture of her with all the donations ( the clear rectangular tub plus the Target bag are filled with items from her party guests) !!!

Sadie Lynne and Adelaide celebrated their birthdays together with a party at the neighborhood pool. Ariel was their chosen theme.  We had two cakes, one for each girl. We sang "Happy Birthday" to each individually and each got to blow out candles on her own cake. We had good weather and about 30 kids in attendance.  The girls all had fun and all children got along well. They alternated between swimming and playing on the playground.  Jana took some great pictures for us.

  They collected items for the Lee Co. Humane Society (Sadie Lynne's choice) and the Community Market/Food Bank (Adelaide's choice) and enjoyed getting to deliver the donations themselves. They loved looking at the animals at the shelter-Adelaide tried to talk me into adopting a dog, pointing out that we only have 1 and Chris tried to talk me into an outside dog.  At the Community Market the donation was weighed in front of them and totaled 23lbs. The worker thanked them for their generosity.

The years seem to be flying by. It is hard to believe the girls are now 7, 5 and 3! How did that happen?!!!  I know time will only speed up, so we must enjoy celebrating their milestones along the way!