For Aunt Helen

Aunt Helen was so sweet to send Ashley a "Happy Back to School" giftcard to Children's Place so that Ashley could pick out some new school clothes (and have the autonomy to choose things I'd never let her get when Mallory and I are paying!). I haven't mastered the art of emailing pictures...it seems to take forever, when it works at all...so here you go Aunt Helen! In the first couple pics, the entire outfit (from the headband all the way to the shoes!) came from your giftcard. She was also able to get the hoodie jacket and shirt that are in pics 3 and 4. She had so much fun shopping and it was a great lesson in "getting the most for your money"...lots of things got nixed because they weren't worth what they would have cost her. She is wearing the whole green and orange outfit tomorrow, even though I told her she'd probably be burning up with all those layers (I sound just like my mom!).

First week of school

Ashley's first day of third grade was Monday, and I completely forgot to take a picture of her...she looked so cute and was so excited! So on Tyler's first day of three-year old class, which was Wednesday, I tried to take a pic of them...Tyler was so wound up he couldn't stand still, and Ashley was coming down with a cold and feeling bad, so she has her fake smile on. Not the best picture, but I saved it for posterity! Ashley again looked adorable this morning in another of her new school outfits, so I took her pic...another weird smile, but we were in a hurry, so that's all I had time for. And of course Tyler also wanted his picture taken, even though he didn't have a new outfit on (LOVE having a little boy who isn't worried about that stuff yet!). They are both doing so well and loving their new classes!

Ashley is amazing!

Ashley takes tumbling lessons once a week to help with her cheerleading skills. The gym where they usually meet got flooded a few weeks ago, so they are practicing in a "borrowed" one, which has this cool rope hanging from the ceiling. On her third try, she made it ALMOST to the top, higher than any other girl had gone. It was so cute...they were all chanting "you can do it! Believe in yourself!" She just couldn't make it any farther, but I was so proud of her for ignoring the rope burns on her legs and feet and trying so hard. And this picture really doesn't do it justice...it seemed much higher in person. I'd just be scared of how to get down once I exhausted myself to get all the way up there!

Our Mii Family

If you have a Wii, you know what a Mii is...some of our Miis came out looking so much like the real deal, I just had to share! I think Mallory's and Tyler's are the most life-like (Tyler has two because Ashley wanted to make a new one, but then she made it exactly the same but with a different color shirt and a slightly different smile), but I think they all bear some similarity to their real-life counterparts.

Starting on the top row, Grandpa Schulz (my dad), Mallory, Papaw (Mallory's dad), blue Tyler, Grandma Schulz (my mom -- hers isn't very good!). Second row -- Mamaw (Mallory's mom), red Tyler, me, Aunt Helen (Mallory's sister), and Ashley (I hate the hair on this one...it's actually a ponytail...she needs a new one now that she got her hair cut!).

Second annual Raleigh Girls Lake Weekend

So, one of my oldest friends on the planet, Heather, has a beautiful house right on Sardis Lake in Mississippi, and last year, she invited me and Carrie (well, okay, it was really more like Carrie invited us, but Heather being the good sport she is thought it was a great idea) to go down for a girls weekend to reconnect after having drifted apart over the past several years. We had an absolute blast and are now planning on doing this every summer, so this weekend was our second trip.

These are not very good pictures...I'm hoping Carrie or Heather has some better ones that they will email me! But the pictures aren't that important...what's most important is that we got to spend almost 48 hours totally relaxing, reading, talking, watching movies, sunning on the boat, etc. with no husbands/boyfriends/children/animals/etc to take care of! Everyone, moms especially, need time to recharge their batteries and just be a "girl" again, instead of a mom, or a wife, or an employee, or any of the many other roles we are expected to fill each day. And how wonderful to get to do that with two women who know every secret you have, who know exactly what you look like with no makeup on, who know which 15 pounds you've been losing and regaining for the past decade, who have witnessed your life's highs and lows and everything in between.