Baseball game

We were planning to meet friends at the baseball game, but it turns out everyone canceled on us :-(  It was really busy - a popular game against U of SC.  We didn't stay for that long - we couldn't see the game, the grassy area the kids usually all play on was occupied by people watching the game. 

But..we got to see the Tiger, who took some of Gage's cotton candy and made them giggle when he smooshed it all over his face and had blue cotton stuck all over his tiger face.

They were super excited to see the tiger and told him that they moved to Al and really missed him. So, he grabbed his heart, and grabbed both of then into a big hug.

Can you tell gage was pretty wiped out when we left?! 

The boyfriend ;-)

Ever since I said we might meet up with Ross to play...savannah has been giddy. Ross loves savannah. Savannah loves Ross but won't admit it. His mom Anna said Ross still talks about savannah everyday...and tells his friends that she is his girlfriend. Savannah insists that she will not have a boyfriend until she is 16.  They were so excited to see each other - Ross stole her shoe and ran away (classic boy-who-likes-girl move) so she wouId have to chase him to get it.  They all had a blast. Gage used to play with Sullivan everyday as we waited to her Ross & Savannah from preschool in Clemson. Charlie the little guy is a new addition...and he is a hoot!

Clemson botanical gardens

One of our favorite stops...the botanical gardens....and...the red caboose. Love it :-)

It really felt like spring here. Same weather as AL, but the botanical gardens are full of early spring flowers. 

Savannah took time to smell the flowers...lots of flowers!

And...we found a turtle. I never knew turtles hiss...but this one did!! She was touching his shell and he kept hissing at her!

And..I have no photo...but moments after telling the kids to be careful they didn't slip because the pine needles were Slippery....I slid down the hill on my butt. At least I didn't land in the water!!

And at this point...gage had to poop so we had to hightail it to the potty. And...it turns out it was a false alarm. Ahhhh..boys!

Clemson trip

We were invited to a baby shower in Clemson for out old neighbor...so we made the trip!!! Our first morning we were up and out early..and we found a new Clemson Tiger statue!

Then...we had a play date with Savannah's best friend in Clemson...Kelsey. They had a great time playing together. Actually, Kelsey's parents kept it a secret, so when we pulled in the driveway and Kelsey looked outside..it was a big surprise and she ran out yelling Savannah's name and giving her a big hug. It was super cute!

They were so excited that they got to see each other when they are both 7 - Kelsey is a year older...and there is only a 3 week span that they overlap in age. 

Gage and Kate used to play together every day when we waited to get savannah from school when we lived here. This was definitely a great stop during our trip - s & k really adore each other :-)

Next up...a baby shower! Here's melissa, the mom to be.

And Judy, her mom

She is the definition of a good neighbor.

It was a fun day to catch up with our old friends!!

party

Savannah had her birthday party with a few of her closest buddies. The painted nails, did a fashion show, and played like sweet crazies.

She was a huge fan is the tissue paper Pompoms I hung up!

Gage even hung out with the girls! He threatened to hunker down in my room and watch a movie..but within minutes is them arriving he was running around yelling bawk bawk pretending to be a chicken chasing them! 

After having to cancel one week because everyone was sick...it was worth the wait. I am so happy she has the sweetest little friends :-) 

shrinky dinks!

Gramma and grandpa Rapp sent shrinky dinks for valentines day!! They were mesmerized...for 3 minutes ;-)

a girl and her bike

It's taken a while, but savannah finally loves her bike. We're talking about taking training wheels off this spring! 

Childrens museum

Membership has its benefits - you can go all the time..and we do!! 

This is Gage's favorite thing to do - drive the farm truck while old music and a video of an old diet road play...savannah loads up the truck bed with fruit & veggies and handles gassing up!

This is the flying ball booth. When we left this time, we went out for ice cream. When gage took his sweatshirt off, ping pong balls went rolling everywhere - apparently they got stuck inside his good!!

Happy 7th birthday!

Savannah was anxiously waiting for daddy to get home tonight so she could open her presents!! Somehow...gage ended up with quite a few too!!

He loved his chompy shark!!

Savannah got lots of American girl things (okay, they are knock offs because AG is crazy expensive). She got a bath tub, a hair stylist chair, party accessories, a riding outfit...and great Barbie stable Legos...nail polish and barrettes that change color in the sun...movies...3 sets of magic tree house books. She was so happy with everything!

And, Adam had fun with this crazy balloon that gage got in his valentines day basket from school ;-)

Finally...it was time for cake. Gage decorated this all by himself today. And...the candles turned out to be the kind that keep relighting themselves!!

Happy birthday to my little valentine's day baby. It does not seem possible that she is 7 years old today! I am so very lucky to have such a smart, sweet, silly, thoughtful, and incredibly independent girlie. It's funny...I can't help but think of that teeny-tiny, skinny little chicken-legged, alert as all get-out little baby whenever I look at her today. I can't bear to think that in 7 more years she will be a teenager!! Where does the time go?

Big boy comb

Now that gage has a big boy haircut, he needs to comb his hair. He calls this his "big boy comb". Here he is after a bath combing his hair and brushing his teeth (we still have NO cavities...for either of them!!). I don't know why we bother combing, though...he has permanent bed head. No matter how much we comb it...he always looks like he just rolled out of bed lately!

Gage gage

Look at this great picture gage drew of mommy. And...look at how great he is doing writing his name!!! :-)

Grandparents Day

Today was Grandparents' Day at Savannah's school. Since we sadly don't have any of our grams and gramps close enough to come, Gage and I were substitutes! He got to go through the lunch line just like a big kid!

Savannah was sad that she had a substitute teacher on her birthday, but really excited that we got to spend the day with her.

Mommy, of course, was there since early morning setting up, and the kids had to stay late with me cleaning up. Three weeks of grandparent days in a row (one for each grade) is a too much!! But...I will say that the grandparents love it and really appreciate getting to visit the kids' classrooms, have lunch with them, etc. Maybe one of these days we will love closer to our grands!!!