Saturday- what a wonderful day for a wedding at the park.

Saturday Caitlin and I attended our 2nd wedding of the summer. (We have 4 more that we are invited to this year). Aaron is out of town again so it was just me and the princess. Caitlin loved this wedding because lots of her 2nd cousins were there. I kind of was dreading another outdoor wedding-- The 1st one we went to was earlier in August and it was 90-100 degrees out. We were drenched in sweat the moment we stepped out of the air conditioned car. We ended up having a ball at JB's wedding and Caitlin and I danced the night away!!

Anyways---the weather ended up being great and this wedding surprised me a few times...

First of all, there was a friendly breeze. It was soooooo nice to have that breeze. I have missed that breeze and have been patiently waiting for it and the fall weather to arrive.

2nd, there was a man dressed in a skirt and a feathered hat. Yes, I said a MAN dressed in a skirt at a wedding. All the kiddos kept asking why he was dressed that way and the only thing I could think of to tell them was it was cooler (temperature wise) to wear a skirt than pants. He ended up being a part of the 3 man band that played the washboard (and fiddle during the actual ceremony), guitar, and accordion. Hmm... maybe that last sentence explains it all.

3rd- This was a wedding of my hubby's cousin (I consider her my cousin too) so, I got to see lots of people that I don't get to see very often. Including Aaron's uncles and grandma. Caitlin was very excited to see her Great- Grandma and even asked her "Do you remember me?" That made me laugh because usually the adults say things like that but Caitlin was very interested in knowing if her G.Gma remembered her.

The wedding was very Miranda-like. She is into the simple things in life. She really is a great woman/mom/cousin and she looked so beautiful and happy.

Lillian- the prettiest flower girl ever

The reception was a pot luck- and boy were there lots of dishes to choose from. I tried to take a little of everything, well everything that was not covered in jalapenos.

Caitlin with her "wedding fan". We purchased fans for the last wedding and they were life savers!!

The bride finally got some food.

Great Grandma Christine and Great Uncle Steve enjoying the pot luck

Then I got to hang out with Adam (Aaron's cousin) and his wifey Brooke. They are insane and have 4 kiddos. I love those kids. They are so nice and help each other out. Adam and Brooke deserve a standing ovation, most of the time when people have that many kids they are all brats. Not these kids!!! We all sat around and talked and the kids played on the swings/slides for awhile.

They also started to make "dirt pies." Thankfully, there was no water around so they could not turn it into a mud pie!! Caitlin, Isabella, and Gracie collected pine cones, acorns, and leaves for at least an hour. They kept piling them up in front of where all the adults were sitting. Their little minds were running crazy with different stories. It was so great to see Caitlin playing with her cousins.

The trouble makers

We will have to all get together again very soon.

I truly love family. I love my family and all of Aaron's family. I am so blessed.

Mansfield- what a town!!!

This weekend was filled with so many adventures I hope I can remember all of them.

I guess I will start with Friday. Friday night I felt like I needed a girlfriend night so I called my friend Kari. She said she had to take her daughter (Aspen) to meet up with her dad for the weekend. So, we took a ROAD TRIP!! This was no ordinary road trip, this led us through exciting places like Rogersville and Fordland. Our favorite town was the one we ended at---Mansfield. 

 I know, I know... everyone is jealous that I got to go to Mansfield. Trust me, we did everything that there is to do there. We pulled into the gas station and parked (that is what the entire town was doing so we fit right in). Although I did feel a bit overdressed in my ripped jeans and t-shirt.

We dropped Aspen off and then we started on our adventure back home. I love being around Kari- we goof off and end up laughing and I mean we laugh A LOT!!! When we got back to town we picked out a fabulous "Chick Flick". I was so excited to have someone watch it with me. Aaron generally will not watch any chick flicks with me (I still cannot believe he took me to see Eclipse at the movie theatre.) 

After a lot of debating, we decided on Made of Honor. We dimmed the lights, kicked our feet up, and got comfy blankets and started the movie.

 Both Caitlin and Kari fell asleep during the movie so I hung out with Titus (Kari's dog that thinks he is a cat).

To sum up Friday evening- it was a girly night filled with stories and conversations that you can't tell just anyone. Thanks Kari!!

My baby is no longer a baby

So far Caitlin is LOVING school (I think). When she gets home I ask her about her day and she usually starts out with things that happened at recess or Prime Time (which is the before and after school program). Most of the stories she tells me are about kids fighting, yelling at each other, butting in line, etc. I have had to explain to her everyday that just because the older kids do bad things does not mean she should do them. I have been getting frustrated because she is so distracted with all the bad things the other kids are doing that she doesn't seem to have enough time (or energy) to tell me about the good things she has been doing. All I really want to know is what did she learn, what made her smile, what did she get to draw/color?

Caitlin has been helping me out a lot in the kitchen this week, I normally let her help me some but I have had her in there every night. I need that time with her so I can finally get some good stories out of her and also just see her smile and hear my favorite sound in the entire world... her laugh.

Here she is last night helping me make "Pigs in a Blanket"...

We have also been making collages out of old magazines

Caitlin's collage

My collage- Caitlin picked out the pics she thought I would like.

Today is her 4th day in school and I already see her needing me less. How sad is that? She is my baby but she no longer wants to be considered a baby. She has always been fairly independent- that is the way we raised her. We don't normally wait on her and get her EVERYTHING she wants. We have always tried to get her to understand that if you want something you should try to do it yourself instead of just saying "Mom- get this for me". I think my family has also done a great job at this too. This last weekend Caitlin was helping my brother in law shuck the corn.

This weekend I think we need to have some mommy/daughter time. We have a wedding on Saturday but on Sunday- the whole day is ours. I think a trip to the library is in our near future. It has been way too long since we took an adventure there.

The week of starting something new

Yesterday my beautiful princess (Caitlin) started Kindergarten. She was like a brave little soldier marching into the line of fire. She had no fears, just pure excitement to start her new journey. I am staring something myself- a blog. I have been obsessed with reading other peoples blogs for so long-why not create my own. I just have to warn you- my favorite thing to talk about is Caitlin.

I guess I should start with the preparation for the big K. We had been preparing for weeks  months for the big day known as THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN!! Over the last few months we have purchased new clothes, new shoes (which according to Caitlin--- shoes are always the most important part of the outfit), new school supplies, and a new backpack with matching lunchbox. Even though we had prepared for all of this it was still an emotional time for Caitlin. Last Friday was her last day of preschool. She had been so excited about starting at her new school she forgot that she would no longer be at that school with her friends she had grown up with. Over the last week her preschool teachers had a big party celebrating the "Graduates". They also made autograph books for all kiddos to sign and made homemade pinatas. All of this seemed so great to her until last Friday at 5:15 when I was there to pick her up. She finally realized that was the end- she would no longer be at this place she was so comfortable with. She had been going to that preschool for over 3 years. She hugged every kid and teacher over and over. And tried to explain to the younger kids that she would not be there anymore. She seemed so grown up telling them goodbye.

 After we left the preschool she said "I am going to miss everyone, I wish I could see them again." This ending broke my heart a little- I had been stressing about how she would struggle with the change of schools that I hadn't really even considered my own feelings. I had come to know and trust this little preschool. While I was at work I knew that she was locked in this building with no way to get out, no way a bigger kid could hurt her feelings or persuade her to do bad things, no way she would get lost in this little building. Elementary school was scary to think about- what would happen if all these horrible things happened?

Over the weekend we went out of town to Aunt Vicki's for her baby shower and spent the entire day on Monday having the last Mommy-Daughter day before school started. Monday night we sat in her bed and read the book "The Night Before Kindergarten". I have been searching for the perfect book to read with her for her last day of a "little kid" and this book seemed to be perfect. The last page in the book talks about how kindergarten is cool and parents shouldn't cry. So Caitlin kept telling me that over and over that she did not want me to cry because it would be uncool. She made me promise not to be "uncool" the next day.

So, yesterday morning the day we had been preparing for had arrived. I was prepared for her to have a hard time. I was prepared for her to cry out "Don't leave me Mom!". Instead I got this-

"Don't forget about the book we read- Don't be uncool!".

WHAT?!?!?!?! How did my 5 year old daughter grow up so quickly? I tried to be a follow her instructions and be a cool mom and stay out of her way. My hubby and I stood in the hallway while she ate her first breakfast at school in the gym. It felt like I took hundreds of photos. I just had to capture the moment.

 We eventually found our way back into the gym and tried to help her put her tray and silverware away and she did not need or want our help. She had it all under control- while we were in the hallway she had asked the Pime Time teacher to help her when it was time to dump her tray. My heart once again was broken- I realized at that moment that she was a Big Kid now and did not need me.

She did allow us to walk behind her to her class.

Once we were arrived to her classroom she ran to her desk and asked us to stop taking pictures- we were being uncool. I don't even think we got a goodbye.

 Over the last few months I had been so scared she would be afraid to start this day but she had no fears--she was ready for this. So, we left our baby BIG GIRL there to start this awesome new adventure.

Oh by the way- I was cool and I did not cry.