Paul and Leslie

David had the opportunity to take pictures of Paul and Leslie Black's wedding tonight. It was a really sweet wedding blending two families. The wedding took place at the home of  Leslie's mom. It was outside around the pool with a pretty lake in the background. It was a really nice family affair. Here are a few of my favorites...

Grenada Pageant

McKenzie won her age division in the Little Miss Magnolia preliminary pageant, the Miss Grenada Pageant!  By winning this pageant she gets to go to the Little Miss Magnolia State Pageant again next July!  Way to go McKenzie!!!

The two young ladies in the back with the big crowns were two of the judges.

Wordless Wednesday

Trip to Cleveland

Saturday Betty and I decided to take the kids to Cleveland to go to the railroad museum, eat, shop, and show them where we went to college. 

Matt loves trains and I think Max is starting to like them, too.  Almost every time Matt plays trains now, Max sits right in the middle of the tracks.

We got to Cleveland for lunch and ate at Hey Joe's in The Warehouse District.  It's a remodeled warehouse area that now houses a restaurant (Hey Joe's) and bakery (The Sweetery) and a beauty shop.

 This was in front of The Sweetery.  It was a neat looking place.

 This is inside Hey Joe's.  The number on the wall is the number of burgers sold this year.  It's now at least 11,235 after my big cheeseburger!

 We went to The Sweetery after lunch for dessert.  I got a strawberry cupcake, McKenzie got an M&M cupcake, Matt got a cinnamon roll, and Betty got a whoopie pie which is the cream stuffed things in the picture above.

 After lunch the girls dropped Matt and me off at the railroad museum.  Matt really enjoyed watching the model trains.  It was really neat how they had all of the stuff set up.

 If you look in the top right-hand corner of this picture you'll see Miss Mississippi being interviewed by someone from WABG.  I texted Betty and told her that she and WABG were there if they wanted to come in for a minute and they did.

McKenzie got an autographed picture from Miss Mississippi and we got this picture of them together.

Here you can see Matt's true love.  Miss Mississippi is sitting five feet behind him and he couldn't care less!  He was all about the trains!

 At Hey Joe's

 Hey Joe's

After the museum and the girls' shopping we showed the kids the Delta State campus and showed them where Nana and Grand used to live and where Andy and Jan used to live.  We had a really good time!

Friends

Saturday we were so excited to have our friends the Bewleys come and visit us. Becky and I have been friends for years. They moved 1000 miles away eight years ago and live in Baltimore now.  Every summer she and her girls visit her parents in Ridgeland and always make a side trip to Grenada to see old friends. I am so glad we are on the list! Although we talk on the phone and email, its always good to see each other in person. Becky is the type of friend that you just pick up where you left off and that's exactly what we did! The kids got along great so we really had a wonderful visit! They were sweet to bring McKenzie and Matt gifts...books that I know they will enjoy so much. So, Becky I know you read our blog, thanks for making a special effort to come see us. Can't wait to see all of you again! Each year we take a group picture. Here are a few David took for us...

 Tonight we found out some good news for McKenzie.  She tried out for the 5th grade show choir, Pizzazz, today after school.  Seventy-four students tried out and they picked 7 girls and 7 boys for the group.  They posted the list of students who made it on the school web site tonight and we were so excited to see McKenzie's name on that list!  Congratulations McKenzie!  We're proud of you!  Here's a link to the Pizzazz page.

First Day

Today has been McKenzie's first day of 5th grade and Matt started kindergarten. It's hard to believe that summer is over and school is here and it is soooo hot! The kids were ready to go this morning especially Matt. Thank goodness after going Tuesday and meeting Matt's teacher he started getting excited about going to school. Matt's teacher is Cecelia Granholm. We are thrilled to get her. He is in a multiage class and we know that Mrs. Granholm is going to give him a great start to school.
I dropped McKenzie off first and we are not allowed to walk her in but we said our goodbyes in the car and she was off to her class. She was excited about seeing her friends. McKenzie is in a looping class where you have the same teacher for two years. We are so blessed to have Mrs. Christa King again. They are adding a third teacher to her group. She will go to Mrs. Montgomery (our new teacher) for Science and Mrs. Armstrong again this year for Math. McKenzie seemed more relaxed and confident this year, so we are thankful for that. I also think it helped her feelings to know that her brother was now in school all day and not half day then home for the rest of the day. I can't blame her!
After dropping McKenzie off at GUES, I found a parking spot near the Lower Elementary. Matt and I began our long walk to his class. I had a knot the size of Texas in my throat and I was praying I wouldn't see anyone that might make the water works start. I saw a few people but was able to keep it together. Matt was happy so that really helped make it a good drop off. We found his class and I sat him down at a table with one of his t-ball friends. Matt was content  and settled so I told him bye. I wouldn't look back at him one last time because I knew I would lose it for sure! So I got out of there fast and actually made it home before I lost it. I am doing better now and can't wait to go get them and find out all about their day. Lots of people have been prayng for us and we have all felt it today!  We appreciate it so much! Now for a few pictures. The first is one of Matt that I took with my phone. Ugh! Heartbreaking....what a little sweetie.

The next is one taken by a teacher friend at his school. She snapped it at lunch then texted it to us. He looks like he is doing great!

The next few pictures are taken right before we left for school. McKenzie and Matt were excited about their new backpacks and lunch boxes. McKenzie loves everything peace signs and Matt chose superheroes for his new backpack. Enjoy the pictures!!