Labor Day Weekend

What a beautiful, long, fun weekend it has been. So this will be a long post. The weather has been so nice. Ten degrees cooler, and it will be perfect! Our weekend has been filled with several birthday parties, food, shopping, and playing outside. And last but certainly not least... college football! Kyle has been in state of awe for the last 3 days-ha.

Friday evening Nana and Poppa came over to celebrate Nana's birthday. (Her actual birthday isn't until the 9th of this month, but Poppa will be out of town that day.) Kyle grilled while we all watched the games and C & B played until they could hardly go anymore.

Poppa and Kyle though it would be a great idea to push C and B down the slope of our driveway as fast as they could in the wagon and cars. Around the 10th time down the driveway, I discovered what they were doing and what all the squealing and laughing was about. I hope that the facial expressions and the blurriness of the pictures shows just how fun this activity was ... and just how fast they were going. Good gracious!!

This is really Kyle's idea of heaven. Grilling, nice weather, and watching a football game outside. In his defense, it was rather nice :)

We've never really made a big deal out of our parents birthdays in the past. Something about grandchildren seems to change of meaning of everything. Plus, there is no possible way we could adequately thank our parents for all the help they are to us. We hope that birthday cake and candles are a start though ;)

Saturday morning I took Collin to a birthday party for one of his friends. Then he went dove hunting with Poppy- so much fun! Brantlee stayed with Lolly for the morning. Mom took some great pictures of B to use on her upcoming birthday invitation. She will be 2 years old in one month, and we are celebrating with a Minnie Mouse party at the park. We can't wait!

And speaking of birthday, I had to share this funny (typical) story. Mee Maw had planned to get Brantlee a little rocking chair for her birthday, so she will have something to rock her babies in. Caring for babies is a big part of B's life these days. Anyway, we go over to visit with MeeMaw, PawPaw and Pammie after church on Sunday and guess what she has... not one, not two, but THREE rocking chairs. One for all 3 great grandchildren!!! She just couldn't stand the thought of the other two not having their own rocking chair! It was so sweet, and just like my MeeMaw. She is so generous and always has been. She loves these babies so, so very much. Thank you MeeMaw and Paw Paw. The rocking chairs are already a huge hit!

Later Sunday afternoon, we went celebrate cousin Kaden's 4th birthday. Again, it was so nice outside, and all the kids had a blast playing.
Isn't this cake adorable??! Brandy is becoming a pro with this cake-making business. She really is so talented. And the cakes taste as amazing as they look!

Collin, Karsen, and birthday boy Kaden!

Here is our sweet B swinging away in her little floral dress with pink piggy tails.

The next think I know, she has taken off her shoes, her feet are filthy, she has ripped out her pony tail holders, there is dirt smeared all over her face and under her fingernails, and she is driving Kaden's four-wheeler. Sigh. Oh well, that's our B :)

Dear Santa, This tree house is really cool. I'm thinking I need something like this for Christmas. Thanks, Collin

Collin and Fischer are hard at work. These two boys are the best of friends. They are inseperable!

A hint of fall maybe?

Okay maybe it's just wishful thinking. BUT it has been a tad cooler these last fews days. We are all so, so ready for fall. However, I do believe that Collin and Brantlee are going to be disappointed when they can't strip down to nothing and play in the water hose. This activity has been a lifesaver this summer.

Don't drink the water B! (too late apparently)

Cheese! Too bright to see

"Let Bant Blee have a turn"- Brantlee

That's how she says her name these days. It's hilarious!

Last Sunday we celebrated Lolly's birthday. She had just a little help blowing out the candles ;)

Last and certainly not least... we are pleased to announce that the Cragers are getting a new baby- a Springer Spaniel!! It will be a girl, and we are picking her up this weekend! At this point we are still undecided on a name. We have narrowed it down to two: Stella or Ginger. Collin and I are sold on Stella. Kyle likes Ginger. Brantlee is the wild card and goes back and forth between "Tella" and "Ginga." She has even suggested we name her Miss Dog-ha. That's our favorite!

We went to Pet Smart Tuesday evening to pick out a crate, collar, etc. Guess who was more interested in the fish display?? Go figure.

Have a great weekend! Can't wait to post some pictures of the new addition :)

LASIK Success!

Kyle is seeing the world in a whole new light. Literally. His Lasik surgery went great Friday! Whew! We are all breathing a sigh of relief. Poor Kyle has been in glasses and/or contacts since the 4th grade, so this is a major change for him.

His vision is continually improving, and he feels great. We can already notice a difference in the way his eyes look. They are brighter and healthier looking. The entire Lasik process is nothing short of amazing. I was able to watch the entire process by looking into the actual surgical room and a screen that zeros in on each eye. It blew my mind how it all works. So much so that I took pictures of the screen with my cell phone- ha! I know I am possibly the only person dorky enough to do this, but I am okay with that fact.

This is an actual picture of Kyle's eye after it was cut and was receiving laser treatment. Cool right?! We think so too :)

Pre-Op and full of nerves

Post-OP (the next day) feeling and seeing great!

Here are some pictures from this last Friday before and after school.

I took Collin to school for the 1st time Friday, and he didn't cry the first tear at drop-off. We are still not sure what they do at school, but it must be great is all I can say ;)

Brantlee grabbed Collin's other backpack and thought she should go to school too. But she knows much better than that. Her mommy would NEVER let this baby go out of the house with such bedhead-ha!!

Now that's much better ;)

All smiles and ready for a nice weekend.

The Unexpected

This week was Collin's first week at Laurel Christian Preschool. We have all been very, very anxious these last few weeks just wondering how he would handle starting preschool, even though he only goes 3 days a week. I'll be honest here. I/we expected lots of panic, fear, tears, clinging, crying, etc. I just knew we would experience a repeat scenario of when we were politely kicked out of a mother's day out program when he was one year old because he could not handle the seperation.

For weeks now people have said, "Oh I bet he will surprise you," or "He is just going to love it. Just give it time." I would just smile and think to myself how they didn't understand our situation. And guess what.

They were right.

Without any shame, I will confess that I am still eating my words. He LOVES it. I am in a state of shock - the good kind- of how well this whole week has gone. Now don't get me wrong, drop offs have been a little tear-filled. After that, the teachers says he has been great!! In our family right now, we feel like we have overcome the world. He has been so excited about the songs, the painting, and the playground. One thing to note here is that Kyle has been taking him in the mornings. Does this break my heart into a million pieces?? I won't even go there. BUT it will be easier on Collin and me if his daddy takes him. Plus Kyle loves it!

Before orientation Monday night where we met his teacher Mrs. Hunt and saw his classroom for the first time.

The 1st day of school :)


Brantlee has been the most excited about it all.
Wishing big brother a great first day!

In trying to prepare Collin for school, we have been talking about his teacher Mrs. Hunt and how great she is. Well, apparently Collin has not been the only one listening. Brantlee requested that Mrs. Hunt rock her to sleep for her nap today- ha!

Also, this morning Kyle had both Brantlee and Collin in the car because he is off today, as usual on Fridays. When he pulled up to the school Collin started crying a little because he didn't want to get out. When he got out of the car and they began to pull off, Brantlee started crying because she wanted to go to school to see Mrs. Hunt. Actually, the child cried for the next 5 minutes over this. Oh mercy.... it's just the difference in children. HA!

We have faith and are so hopeful that this year will continue to go as smoothly as it has this week. How could we have ever doubted?

"But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind." James 1:6

Out and about and beating the heat

I feel like we been on the go so much this past week, but we haven't done anything really exciting. Nothing too much to blog about just some pictures. It is important to note that this was the last week of summer break for Collin and me. I think we both have mixed emotions about it - ha.

Look at these too rascals in my makeup. Collin went with the lipstick while Brantlee decided she needed some concealer to hide all her blemishes.

These 2 + lots of toys= One wet mommy or daddy

Friday night we dined out at Crescent City. And notice Kyle in the spectacles??? He is having Lasik eye surgery soon, and he has to wear glasses for 2 weeks prior. Doesn't he look so handsome in them?!


This is why my new favorite grocery store is Kroger. Enough said.

This past Tuesday we all went to eat to celebrate Kyle finishing his Doctorate! It will be official the end of August, and this will certainly deserve its own post.

Roooaaaarrr!

Dragons, castles and a Spiderman shirt. I just love the "boyness"!!

Sleeping beauty :) Her first nap in the big girl bed earlier last week.

Isn't this bed ginormous for such a small person?? But we went ahead and converted the crib to the full bed. We already had the mattress that wasn't being used. Plus it just gives a little more room in case she has a bad night. We put up a rail just for more security. So far she loves it and is sleeping like a champ in it! However, she doesn't make any noise when she wakes up, and we have found her standing by our bed in the mornings or roaming through the kitchen after a nap ;)

Today we had a playdate with MeeMaw, Paw Paw and Pammie.

Then we hurried off to a birthday party.

The kiddos spent the rest of the day playing in their diaper/underwear because it is SO FLIPPIN HOT!! These two are also EXHAUSTED and running on fumes. We are shooting for an early bedtime for them and a movie night for mommy and daddy. We shall see...

After 6 Years of Marriage...

• We pretty much know that only one of us is going to buy a card on a special occasion. And we are okay with this. This time it was Kyle :)
• We have completely different ideas on handling major purchases. I like to save, save, save and then pay cash and never look back, just so it isn't hanging over our head. Kyle prefers to finance with a 0% interest rate in order to build good credit at every possible opportunity. We have learned to compromise.
• He likes to go ahead and fork out the money to buy everything, including croutons (not kidding), in bulk to be sure we NEVER run out of something important. I am way to frugal (cheap), and I'll buy the smallest container of something and swing through the Dollar General if we get in a tight.
• We both seem to have this instinct in the middle of the night on which one of us needs to get up with a crying child. Without speaking, we both know whose night it is or who needs sleep the most. This also applies to early wake up calls. After 2 babies in 15 months, this instinct just comes with the territory.
• We still cannot make a decision. Period. We are both plagued with indecisiveness. I hope we can resolve this problem in the next 6 years.
• Kyle can impersonate my wake up routine with precision... it's hilarious. But he wouldn't dare laugh at me while it's going on.
• We both know that Kyle is the master of making coffee. It just turns out better when he makes it.
• "we are on the same team" is our motto. A week or so before Brantlee was born, Kyle told me that no matter how frustrated we got at each other, we had to remember those words. And he was so right.
• we have seen through our many failed attempts to be a good spouse or parent that marriages just don't work without our Heavenly Father as the center of all we do. Slowly but surely, we are being molded into what He wants us to be.

We actually celebrated our 6th anniverary last weekend with a quick trip to the coast. We ate at Ruth's Chris, and it was beyond fabulous! Because Kyle made the reservations online, he specified that it was our anniversary. Our table had little confetti hearts sprinkled all over it. It made me laugh a little. Then our dessert came out looking like this...

it made my day!

We also spent some quality time on Mississippi's crystal clear beaches ;) And when I say quality, I mean we were the only people on the beach for miles. We sat out there and talked and just enjoyed the quietness. That's right, just us and the jelly fish and stingray.

Have you ever???!!