Ryland turns 8

It is hard to believe my baby is already 8!  He is a total sweetheart and very athletic. He enjoys hunting, playing in the dirt, jiu jitsu, and everything Minecraft.  Happy Birthday, Ryland! 

Baseballl Opening Day 2017

Here goes nothing!  All three are playing baseball this season!  Let's go Dragons!

Dollar Days

Ryland participated in the second grade Dollar Days at Old Union.  He had to start a business and sell services or goods to his classmates.  There were several great ideas, and  the kids loved his.  He sold a turn at Nintendo for $4 Dragon Dollars.  The boys lined up to take a turn at one of the many games he had available.

Ryland spent the bulk of his money at his buddy, Alexa's, booth.  He purchased an arm full of loom bracelets. 

Ridley also enjoyed some of the fun.  She purchased hair coloring.

The blonde hair is now multi-colored!

Donuts with Mom

It was a busy, hectic, and early morning!  I enjoyed donuts with my three precious kiddos before Ryland and Reed headed to class.  The cafe was packed and the line was long for official photos, so we improvised with one of the donut inflatables and an empty corner.  Happy Friday!

Brother

Ryland has always been sweet and protective.  Today we were at Reed's baseball practice, when they wanted to go play at the park.  Ryland's buddy, Alexa, was there, and they play really well together.  I told Ryland he could go to the park with Alexa, and then Ridley chimed in that she wanted to go too.  Ryland spoke up that he would watch out for her and make sure she was OK.  I caught this picture as the three of them crossed the street heading to the park.  I love how Ryland is holding Ridley's hand.  Love seeing their sweet friendship.  

Boy Style Craft

Ryland and John Chris made a paper AR today.  They worked on it for hours and followed the YouTube instructions very carefully, and Ryland is thrilled with the final product.  This is a boy craft at its best!

OUES Celebrates Valentines' Day

The Valentine parties at OUES were great this year!  Lots of candy, games, and crafts with lots of friends. 

The boxes were created in half the time as previous years, and they turned out perfect.  The boys' friends and teachers thought they were awesome.

The treats were a big hit with the friends, but the teachers were happy to see them go home.  Hahaha!  Score!

Jump Rope for Heart 2017

Old Union had another successful Jump Rope for Heart raising thousands of dollars for the cause.  The boys had fun getting better at jump roping and showed off some great skills.  Ryland was so much better at jumping this year.  He showed off with some glow in the dark jump roping.

Reed did awesome!  For his first year, I was blown away by his skills.  He is light years ahead of Ryland two years ago.  There are definitely advantages to being the second child.  

100 Days Smarter

It is the 100th day of school.  Ryland celebrated by dressing up like an old man.  

Urban Air Take Over

Ryland's class won the top earner for the Dragon Dash.  For their reward, they all were rewarded with a class party at Urban Air

Reed also enjoyed the fun with his friend, Molly.  Ridley was too fast and crazy for me to catch.  

Jui Jitsu Belt Stripes

Reed & Ryland received advancing stripes this afternoon, which came as a total surprise.  Coach was great with Reed and told him that he could do anything he sets his mind to, if he can stop playing.  Reed couldn't stop checking himself out in the mirror.  Kid cracks me up.

Ryland's talk with Coach was more serious and about believing in his skills.  Ryland lets all his frustration out on the mat, and I love to see his drive.

The Jiu Jitsu crew after hours and hours of classes. 

Boys' Breakfast

In order to have a quiet morning so Ridley could catch some more sleep, the boys resorted to a picnic in the master bathroom floor.  I asked them why, and they matter of factly told me the heated floor.  Made sense to me.  Enjoy your cereal, boys! 

Emory's Birthday Party

We headed to Dallas to celebrate Emory's third birthday.  With back to back parties, the kids were getting a little worn out.  Nothing a little cake and juice couldn't fix, and we would never miss celebrating our best friend, Miss Emory.  I was able to get a picture of our fabulous five kiddos before they completely went nuts.

The little girls enjoyed manicures in between play time and cupcake decorating.  Ridley was over the moon excited!

Snow Day

The weather forecasts have been all over the place.  One minute we are going to get snow, and the next minute we will miss it.  We ended up being right on the line of the front, so we enjoyed a nice dry dusting of beautiful snow.  It barely covered the coping around the pool and lightly covered the flower beds.  It was so peaceful watching it fall.

Ridley enjoyed the snow fall while waiting on her brothers to get home.  She sat in her chair patiently waiting and playing on her tablet.  

Friday night fun called for a family room pallet and a movie.  My sweet babies are getting so big.  We had a fantastic Friday.

Merry Christmas

The kids woke up excited to check out their new stuff.  They were so happy to see new toys and clothes.  Ridley's favorite item was her doll house.  Ryland's favorite item was his new bike, and Reed's favorite item was the foosball table.  

We were lazy all day and just played around the house.  We had birthday cake and sang happy birthday to Jesus, since He is the reason for the season.

Christmas Parties

We packed in the fun this morning with two Christmas parties at Old Union.  Both boys had a blast playing with their classmates and showing off.  Now we are ready to spend the next two weeks relaxing!

Six Flags

It was warm today, so we made a quick trip to Six Flags with the Nesters.  It is awesome with short lines and so few people.  Everyone had a blast!

Christmas Festival

Another awesome Christmas festival at WCUMC.  We had so much fun, and we didn't have a chance to take pictures until we were leaving.  We are so blessed to have such a wonderful church.

DYF Season Ends

The boys played their last football games of the season today.  It was beautiful outside, and we were super excited to experience Big Dragon Stadium in a new way.  Ryland's game was played on the high school field with an announcer.  It was awesome to hear him call Ryland's plays.  Way too cool!  Even though Reed didn't play at the stadium, he had a great season ending game with a touchdown.

Go Dragons!

Copycat

Ridley loves her older brothers, and she tries to do everything they do.  Good and bad.  This morning Ryland pulled his hood over his head, because he wasn't quite awake or in a good mood.  It was his way of telling us to leave him alone.  Ridley thought that this was funny, so she grabbed her blanket and made a hood.  When Ryland saw this, he burst out laughing.  The morning mood was quickly changed.  Thanks to the copycat!