Punch and Cookies

Saturday, McKenzie and her friend Haley decided to have a punch and cookie sale.  We picked up the cookie mix and punch mix at the store Saturday morning and the girls made a sign for their stand.  After we got home McKenzie and Haley went around to some of the houses in the neighborhood to advertise their sale.  They started at 12:30 and planned to go until 3:00, but they closed up shop at 2:00.  They ended up making $30!  They were so excited and had a great time.

It's now about 3:45 and McKenzie has passed out on her bed.  She spent the night with Haley last night and they stayed up late.  The late night and all the hard work today has worn her out!

There She Is......

Sunday afternoon McKenzie participated in her first beauty pageant.  She enjoys watching Toddlers and Tiara's on TLC and she told us a few months ago that she'd like to be in a pageant.  We found one in Batesville that was a "Sunday dress" pageant - no pageant dress, no fake hair, no fake tans, etc.  We figured we'd let her do this pageant and have fun and move on.  After all, we told her, all the other girls have probably been doing a lot of pageants and this was McKenzie's first one.  Well......she won her age division. She also won best eyes and smile in her division.  Now we get to go to the state pageant in Vicksburg next July! It is the Little Miss Magnolia pageant.  McKenzie did great and had a lot of fun.  Here are a few pictures....

Home Improvements

It has been awhile since we blogged. I guess we have been busy with the start of school. McKenzie and Matt are doing great at their new schools. McKenzie is enjoying making new friends, her teachers Mrs. King and Mrs. Armstrong and GUES. Matt entertains us daily with the cute things he says about preschool. McKenzie is the type child that tells all and Matt chooses if and when he tells us anything! He started Ms Mary's preschool a couple of weeks ago. He really likes his teachers Ms. Michelle and Ms. Ann. He goes every morning from 8-11. I really like this schedule, don't have to give him up just yet! He is enjoying coming home and resting and playing in the afternoons. Hopefully, this will ease both of us into kindergarten next year.
I really haven't had a lot of time during the day to myself since Matt was born so I am enjoying my three hours each morning. It has given me time to get some projects done around here. Here are some things that we have done...

First, this is the old entry hall fixture.

I didn't like it, so I found this cute iron carriage house style one from Ballard Designs. I love that catalog. They have the cutest things.

We are slowly marking things off our list of home improvements. The first thing inside I wanted to tackle was the mantle. I really didn't care for this style mantel. I wanted something different. I found a great carpenter through my aunt Betty. He built her mantle. He is super creative and says he doesn't build two mantels just alike. I think he did a great job. It is not painted yet so I will show after photos soon.

The second project was tackling our boring, bland bookcase. I wanted to use moldings to dress it up and make it more like a piece of furniture. The same carpenter helped with this, too.I like the way it turned out. I am going to have it painted to match the fireplace mantle.  They will be painted a color called sand fossil. Our den is  dark so this is really going to brighten it during the daytime.

Matt's First Day

Monday was Matt's first day of preschool.  He had been pretty excited about going this past weekend but then Monday morning he came up to me and said, "Daddy, I'm not excited about going to school.".  That almost started Betty's waterworks but she held it together.  Betty loaded the kids in the car and took McKenzie to school first.  By the way, did you know that there are 57 school buses at the elementary school?  Matt counts them.  Every. Single. Day.

Anyway, after dropping McKenzie off they headed to Matt's preschool.  Matt got out of the car and wanted to put his Thomas backpack on.

Betty held his hand and walked him to his class.....but she wouldn't look at him!  She said she had to hold it together at least until she left.  Matt walked in and talked to his teacher first and then went right in and started playing.  Betty did well, too, until the ride home.  I talked to her a little bit later and she was doing good and actually enjoying her time alone and getting some stuff done.

Matt had a good time at school, but we haven't heard a lot about it.  He's telling us bits and pieces about it as he's ready.  He (and Betty) did really well and he's excited about going back!

Lunch With Granny

Granny (Betty's grandmother) has had some computer problems recently and she asked me to help her.  She offered to pay me and I told her I would only accept food!  So, Saturday she had us over for lunch.  We always enjoy eating at Granny's because she's such a good cook and we have fun visiting, too.

This is McKenzie's reaction to finding out what Granny was cooking!  Roast, rice and gravy, butter beans, green beans, squash casserole, chocolate cake and ice cream!  I was doing a similar dance behind the camera!

Matt just kicked back and waiting for the dinner bell to ring.

Thanks for the meal, Granny!  It was great!!!

I have to share my experience I had at Wal-Mart Saturday morning.  Caleb, Matt, and I were walking out of Wal-Mart and a sweet older lady smiled at me and I said "Hello".  She responded, "I enjoy your singing so much!".  I thanked her but I was surprised since I didn't know her.  She said that she goes to the Presbyterian church and they don't have church on Sunday nights and she watches our church on TV.  Then she said, "I like your Dad, too.  He's a good leader.".  She was talking about Andy!!!!  I've enjoyed that all day!

Andy, my brother.

Andy, my DAD!!!!

McKenzie's First Day

Thursday was McKenzie's first day at her new school.  Here's the obligatory "first day picture".  She was very excited about going and got ready early and was ready to go, so Betty got to beat the brutal first day traffic.  Betty made it pretty good......not too many tears. 

McKenzie came home and said she had a great day and she loved it! She met some nice new friends and she loves her teacher.  I asked her who she was sitting by and she said, "I'm at a table with a bunch of boys.".  I said, "Yuck!", thinking she was disappointed about that.  She replied, "Yeah, but they're cute!".  I want names and addresses!  We might need to have a parent-teacher conference soon!

Monday will be the real test for Betty's tear ducts when Matt starts preschool.  Betty's not the only one who doesn't want to see Matt go to school.  Check out this picture of Matt and Max.

Max is laying on Matt's backpack!  It looks like he either wants to keep Matt from going to school, or he wants to go with him!

Wordless Wednesday

The Children's Museum

This weekend we took one last trip to do something fun before school starts.  We went to the Children's Museum of Memphis.

They have lots of fun exhibits and things for kids to play and pretend.

Matt got to "drive" a van.....

...while McKenzie was across the "street" at the bank getting money for the grocery store.

Officer Matty O'Cummings

Here's Matt in the dental exhibit.

The kids loved the grocery store!  This has always been McKenzie's favorite part of the Children's Museum.  Matt enjoyed running the "cash regger".

Playing with the boats and "fishing" in the miniature Mississippi River is Matt's favorite.

This is at the airplane exhibit which features a real jet fuselage and cockpit and this slide.

This is my creation on the word board in the art exhibit.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Wonder Monkey!

After the Children's Museum we went to Barnes and Noble where Matt loves to play with the Thomas train set.

Then this little girl came up and said a couple of things to him and he froze up like a deer in the headlights.

After the book store and a couple of other stores we ate supper at the Side Porch and then went by The Busy Bakery in Bartlett for dessert.  I helped McKenzie with her cupcake and it was delicious!

McKenzie goes Tuesday to find out who her teacher is and then her school starts Thursday.  Matt will be starting preschool on the 9th.  McKenzie will be going to Grenada Upper Elementary this year and this will be Matt's first year of school so both of them are excited and a little nervous.  We've had a great summer and hopefully we'll have a great school year, too!