The Wilderness

This past weekend we met up with some of Matt's family for a weekend at The Wilderness. The kids were really excited as they love being with their cousins. It was a great chance for Matt to see his brother and sister before he leaves (which is 30 days). This year Caleb and Kelsey were tall enough to ride the tube slides by themselves as well as the big water slide, Storm Chaser! They were so excited. Madison and Shelby were big enough to body surf this time and Shelby was able to ride the tube slides as long as she was with an adult.Madison braved the wave pool for the first time and found she loved it! On Monday we spent a couple of hours at the water park and the crowd had thinned out considerably...we were able to ride a slide and then walk right back on. We were so glad we were able to spend the time with Matt's family and can't wait to go back again.

Shelby body surfing


Madison body surfing


Corey was surfing and fell....couldn't resist taking a picture!


Madison enjoying the wave pool...it was the first time for her!


Caleb loves Runaway Canyon


Saturday we had a 7 AM wake-up call in the form of the fire alarm going off. We had to leave the building and everything. Matt and I had 5 of the kids in our room so we rounded up their shoes and headed down. I grabbed my purse so I had car keys and we were able to sit in the car where it was warm until we were given the go ahead to go back to our room. Needless to say we hope this doesn't happen again :)

My Little Valentine!

Madison had her Valentine's Day party at school on Friday since she doesn't have school on Monday. I was really hoping to get to attend but got called to sub (I have worked a 4 day work week the last 4 weeks..looking forward to this month's paycheck). I thought I might have a moment to run down there with my camera and grab a quick picture but sadly didn't :(

Here is my sweet girl working on her Valentine's Day cards


And here she is ready for her party...sporting a new tutu (this girl loves tutus)


And on another note...Madison was Superstar this past week. She was able to bring in her favorite toy (her American Girl doll), her favorite book (I am a Rainbow) and share her favorite snack (oreos) with the class. She was thrilled. She also was line leader for the whole week. Here she is headed to school one day this past week.

Weekend in Memphis

Last weekend I joined Matt for his Drill Weekend in Memphis. I was excited about meeting a couple of his buddies that I haven't met before (they attended the same school as kids but when their school closed and Matt transferred to Harding they kinda lost touch and they reconnected a couple of years ago). I was also very excited about seeing one of my childhood friends, Jennifer! I haven't seen her in 2 years so we had lots of catching up to do...if I could just convince her to move up her!

We also took my Grandmother back to Memphis. She will be coming back up here in March and we miss her so much already!

Saturday evening Matt and I met John and Jennifer for dinner. We went to this great little place in Midtown that another friends of ours' (who happens to be John's sister) is the manager at. We enjoyed great food and the best company. It was great to catch up.

This isn't the best picture of us but at least we remembered to take a picture!


Sunday, I went to church where I grew up. It was great to see so many familiar faces.

Sunday evening Matt and I went to a Super Bowl Party hosted by one of his friends whom I had never met. We had a great time. Andy made lots of yummy food and I allowed myself to indulge (though I am working my butt of this week since I worked hard to lose 12 lbs over the last few weeks).

Monday morning we woke up to snow! I couldn't believe it. The last 2 times I have gone to Memphis (and I hadn't been there in 5 yrs up until Jan of this year) it has snowed. It better not snow when I take Matt to Memphis in March to leave for Basic or I will be staying there...I don't drive in the snow. We didn't think it would be a big deal until we got right outside Jackson. The interstate was horrible. We were going 30 mph and cars were only driving in 1 lane. We couldn't even see the other side of the interstate. Matt seriously considered pulling over and spending the night b/c the roads were so bad. It took us 2 hrs to drive 60 miles! I by us I mean Matt...I sat in the passenger seat with my eyes closed praying we wouldn't wreck.

This is what the drive looked like....look at the ice on the windshield!


And this is from my window..it looks blurry but that is the snow coming down. We were barely moving when I took this picture!