Zoo Day with Nana

Nana called yesterday afternoon to say she had decided to take today off and wanted to know if we wanted to go to the zoo.  We met up late this morning with her, Aunt Kate, and Hudson and headed to the zoo.  We arrived just in time for all the school buses to load up with their kids and leave....yahoo!

The sea lions were barking loudly when we arrived and Camden was immediately enthralled.  He was making the same noise back at them.  It was cracking me up!

Aunt Kate helping them get a better view of the penguins.

Camden was SO into the animals, he was not about to pay attention for a picture!

Kate and Hudson

Enjoying the birds in the Flights of Fancy exhibit.

Three little men in a row...

Cam is such a ham. :-)

Racing the cheetahs.  He really is getting faster and faster all the time.

Seriously, these 3 are adorable! 

Nana treated them to a ride on the carousel before we headed home.

Ryker was wimping out on us on the way out, so I put him on top of the stroller to hitch a ride.  He and Hudson got a major kick out of it!

Last Day of Pre-K

Today was Ryker's last official day of preschool!  They had a Fun Day with games and dancing, etc.  They asked for some volunteers so I offered to help out.

Here is he, all ready for his last day!

One of the parent helpers made these signs and arranged the kids to hold them all up.  It said "Thanks, we love you"  It was too sweet!

They celebrated all the summer birthdays during snack time.

He loved getting sang to. :-)

Ryker and Cooper enjoyed cutting a rug during dance time

Mrs. Moody is retiring after this year.  The kids gave her a big hug to wish her well.

These two are buddies! 

They make some great silly faces! 

What a difference a school year makes!  Left: 1st Day Right: Last Day

Mother's Day

Robert got up early and went to get me donuts for breakfast.  We got ready for church and enjoyed our breakfast before heading out the door.  We came home and changed clothes and headed out shortly thereafter to go help the family do some landscaping at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  They have a wooded lot out back that the kids had a blast in!

They worked on building a fort out of huge tree limbs.  Ryker was excited to show it off to me.

Garyn was working hard.

So was Carter.

Ashlyn, Garyn, Ryker, and Carter were so proud of their creation!

These kiddos are a hoot and play so well together!

Pre-K Graduation

Tonight was Ryker's Pre-K Graduation ceremony and program.  It was such a great program and the kids did a great job.  Ryker has had such a great experience at Weekday Preschool and I know we are both sad to see his days there come to an end.  Robert and I are so proud of him though!

My big boy all ready for his program.

Waving to us.

They sang Proud to Be an American which we've been practicing for weeks.  They had a slideshow of pictures of the kids' family members who have served in the military...let's just say Ryker's family dominated the slideshow. hehe!

He was the letter X during the alphabet song.

He sang the "Let's Go Swimming" song.  He was not a fan of his floaties however.  He said afterwards that they were too tight. 

"Swimming" away

Mommy and Daddy with their big graduate

The best way to get him to smile for a picture is to promise to do a silly one too....so here's our silly one. :-)

Nana and Papaw with their boys.  Cam did surprisingly well throughout the program and I was so proud.  (He doesn't enjoy holding still for very long...)

Nana and Papaw were so proud of him!

Cooper, Ryker, and Jonah all go to church together and will be at NPE for kindergarten next year.  Ryker says they are his best friends. :-)  So glad he has such good buddies.

Ryker and Mrs. Steele.  He has truly loved having her as a teacher and she has been so good for him. We will miss her next year!

Ryker and Mrs. Goshen.  Mrs. Goshen goes to our church too and he loves seeing her at school and on Sundays.

Dave and Cara's Wedding

Today was the big day!  David and Cara said their I Do's.  I've known both Dave and Cara as long as I've known Robert.  Cara was Michelle's best friend growing up and David was the pesky little brother.  Until two years ago, when everything changed. :-)  They fell in love and we are all so thrilled to have Cara join the Brown family officially.  The wedding was gorgeous as was the bride.  Robert was the most handsome man there as he stood next to his brother in the front of the church.  All the men in the wedding party (except two) were/are military men.  They were all in their dress uniforms and they made for the studliest groom and groomsmen you've ever seen.  I sadly didn't get many pictures since Robert's duties as groomsmen kept him very busy and the boys kept me very busy (Camden in particular...imagine that!).

Jay is Robert's cousin's daughter.  I used to babysit for her and now she is babysitting for everyone else.  She loves the boys and they love her!

For the most part, this stud was my date. Check out that bow tie! ;-)

This picture cracks me up!  He and Nonna were having fun. :-)

Introducing Baby Joe Dirt!  They had a photo booth with tons of props.  Queen took the boys so I could attempt to eat for a minute and Cam came in to show me this ensemble.

It might've been one of the funniest things anyone saw all night.  The whole room was dying laughing.

Ryker had a blast with all the props.  We took several strips of photos.

He also enjoyed busting some moves on the dance floor. 

Aunt Chelle took Cam for a spin on the dance floor which he loved!

My loves. 

Daddy and Cam

Some studly Brown men (David, Robert, and Tony)

Queen was gorgeous and a huge help to me with the boys.  :-)

SSMT: Verse #9

"If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate."

-1 Corinthians 13:1 MSG