Reece's First Beauty Walk

Over the weekend Reece was in her first beauty walk! Up until this school year, she was very shy and had no interest in them. Cue middle school and our girl has come out of her shell so much! I am shocked, honestly, at how many new friends she made right off the bat just because she is shy.

Back in the Fall when they released the date for the pageant Reece decided she wanted to do it! We went ahead and got her dress because we don't have many dress shops around here and wanted to get a good one! We ended up using a shop about an hour away. When we laid our eyes on this particular dress we both knew it had to be the one she wore! It was STUNNING!

Saturday was the big day and she and I fully enjoyed a day together getting her nails done and getting her hair and makeup done.

I'm still picking my jaw up from the floor at how beautiful she was/is! Sheesh. When we walked in our house after hair and makeup Brooks said, " WHOA Reece why are you so beautiful??" 😍 Griffin and Peyton were out of town for a soccer tournament. They made it just before crowning during intermission. I showed them a picture of her and they said, " uh hold up a minute here." 😂 I'm thankful they are protective of her!

She made the Top 10 and we are so proud of her!

Washington, DC Trip!

Reece and I recently took a whirlwind trip with the Ambassadors of her school to Washington, DC! It was a fun trip! We saw all the things and did all the things! haha! I have never been so tired in my life! It was totally worth it! I think everyone should visit at least once! We both learned a ton!!

Happy Birthday Reece!

Today our Christmas baby is 11! We hosted several of her friends last weekend for a sleepover instead of having a big party this year! It was the birthday girl's choice! We ate, giggled, crafted, giggled, played hide and seek, giggled, sang Happy Birthday, giggled, stayed up WAYYY too late and yes, giggled some more! haha!

There were nine kids in our house at once. To most it would seem too much. For us, it felt right. What does that even mean?!?!

The kids had so much fun! When everyone was gone Reece said she had lots of fun but she was ready for some alone time! hahaha!

I believe she said we are eating Mexican tonight! yay!

Happy Birthday to you, my forever baby girl and best friend!

Football and Cheer

We are well into this year's football season! Peyton is playing JV and Varsity football. Well, they only had one JV game :( He was able to start and play that entire game and had the best time! Unfortunately for him, he got the rough end of the deal when it comes to football. Last year, when he was in 8th grade he would have been able to start all the games with it being his last year in middle school. Well, the team was dissolved due to not having enough players. We had a not so great coach at the time and people didn't want to play for him. Last year he was bumped to varsity and it was good for him but also sad because he had put in so much to not be able to play. This year has been better for sure! I really love our coaching staff! They care about our kids. They pray with them and they strive to teach them. They are what I think coaches should be! I've seen our head coach put his arm around Peyton's shoulder more than once to just talk to him. I'm thankful. And, our team is better because of it! We have a very young school and the football team has had to grow from nothing. So far we have a winning record this year and school spirit is really on the rise in our community! :)

Reece is cheering for our youth league again this year! They just finished up their games and they are preparing for cheer competition!

Anniversary and Honors Day!

On May 18th we celebrated our 16th Wedding Anniversary! We were SUPER busy that week and actually only got to eat a quick lunch together in a flip house to celebrate! We are taking a trip next week ALONE and I can NOT wait! #byekids

 During the last week of school Reece had her honors day program at school! We have been blessed with really smart kids..they all make really good grades! Reece was also recently asked to be an ambassador for her school for next year! She is very excited about that because it wasn't an easy task. She had to fill out an application, answer a questionnaire, write an essay, get three teacher references AND be interviewed by a panel of four complete strangers! We are SO proud of her!

Field Tripping!

A few weeks ago I went with Reece's class to Chattanooga, TN! We had to be at the school at 5am. Now, I'm a morning person and that's normally what time I get up for the day but that was WAY too early for a field trip! Since I get car sick so easily I always opt out of riding any type of bus, even a charter bus, so I dropped Reece off and headed to our first destination! It was about a 3 hour drive. I don't particularly like driving that far by myself but I just drank a ton of coffee and listened to a few podcasts. The time went by quickly!

Our first stop was the Incline Railway. I should mention that it was super cold and rainy! We had a fun ride to the top of Lookout Mountain and the kids enjoyed a snack up there! We then rode back down and headed to the Tennessee Aquarium!

There were approximately 79,000 people there that day. IT.WAS.INSANE. I had three little girls in my group, including Reece, and was SO STRESSED out that I may lose one of them! Even one of the little girls was stressed with it being so crowded. We quickly made our way through because it was so crowded we couldn't really see. We also ate lunch there.

After that, I signed Reece out and we headed back to Tuscaloosa where we belong!