When California meets Alabama!

 OH I love Blake and Margie Murphy!

So, when they came home, I knew I would have to get my hands on their babies and see them!

We had a great afternoon spending time with them and having dinner before heading back home.

Hank is just the cutest and once I figured out his language, we had the best time! ha! For a bit........I could not understand anything he was saying, but he sure wanted to talk to me and tell me all the things! :)

Sweet Goldie is just tiny and precious and it was so nice to get to hold her and see how she is just growing!

Throw Meg and Miles, etc in the mix.........and it was a perfection of an afternoon!

Sweet and tiny Goldie! She is just so dainty! 

Hank man! My goodness he reminds me so much of baby Blake!

Ice cream for the win after a great dinner at La Paz!

Her 1st big girl paycheck!

She was SOOOOO excited when she got her first paycheck in her hands yesterday!

For whatever reason, the Community Center gives the first paycheck to them instead of direct deposit but the remainder will be.

So, when I picked her up yesterday.....

from her first FULL day of working...................

she was tired, said the kids were bad and all of them were misbehaving in the water to where she had to blow her whistle 'like 500 times' ...................... and she said her eye was swollen (though it really wasnt as you can see in the picture (she's a bit dramatic :) ) shut because she got sunscreen in it.....

OH, and she was starving. 

Ha....

sooo, nothing Chick-fila, a shower and opening her first check didnt fix once she was home! (BUT, for the record, she went to a pool party with friends not long after being home....and she was no longer tired and just fine enough to go and do that... may I add!) :)

She's learning, being responsible....isnt as easy as it may look!

She did like the check and said that her next shift (tomorrow) she was going to tell all those rowdy boys...that they have to sit out of the pool if they dont behave. OH, I cant wait to see how that is going to go! :)

When we cant get enough Auburn pictures!

 It is ALWAYS a must to get a picture.............by the sign!

OH, we love Auburn! I really need to look through alllll my pictures and count how many of these like this I have from allll the years! :)

Oh favorite place!

OH, we love Auburn!

 We LOVE Auburn!

Everything about Auburn!

We always enjoy going down and spending a couple of days and it was just the perfect time to kick off Summer and relax!

We left early Saturday morning and came back Tuesday afternoon! We piled all the fun, food, shopping, swimming, and more into our trip!

We also always have a blast with our travel partners..........the Rays!

My view from the time we got there until really late that night!

My best travel friend!

They were twinning!

These two always have fun swimming together!

Tyler and I enjoyed pickeball every morning! We havent played in a long time so it was fun getting back out there!

We had great dinners! Amsterdam Cafe for the win! Also, the hotel restaurant, Bow and Arrow and Newks were hits too!

Fire pit and 'ghost stories' for the win!

I mean..........look at this concentration! She didnt win but she was in the finals so she got a Chick Fila gift card!

My favorite time of day is late evening! So this was my favorite view!

Monday it came a brief rain..................so we hung out in the covered portion to let it pass but these two...and Calhoun played in the rain!

After dinner we walked the campus! SO nice!

Have to take a selfie on the hotel selfie wall!

Getting their free drinks/milkshakes that they all won after some fun shopping! We had a great trip and already ready for our next adventures with the crew!

Wordless Wednesday!

 

Off to go and do great things!

 We had the honor to celebrate one of our favorite Class of 2024 graduates! I am personally so excited to see the great things all of the graduates will do that we know! It is SO hard to believe that these kids that are graduating are friends of the family, of Alexis', etc and that I have watched them grow since they were little. 

This guy is one of our favorites, though, and he is off to do great things in Maryland! Scholarship to do what he loves and play baseball! We are so excited for him and his future!

Proud of you Holt!

And...I felt VERY short while taking this picture! :)

When you get to retire!

 I have a LONG ways to go before I am able to retire. I made the joke that by the time I retire, everyone that I have been giving/decorating/setting up retirement parties for....will no longer be around.

then they informed me..............that is in fact...........true.

Sooo.....I enjoy hosting and doing parties, etc so I feel honored when I am asked to do someone's special day whether it is retirement, birthday or whatever!

To celebrate Cindy Tubbs..............is a blast! She is the most fun, happy, caring person I know! We are all going to miss her come Fall when she is off in retirement land and loving it!

It was SO nice to see past co-workers that came to celebrate her as well! It was a great afternoon!

We sure do love the lady in black!

NEVER a dull moment with all the women in this picture! (I know, that includes me!) :)

Her first REAL job!

 I mean....we opened a checking account!

She is about to drive!

She has her first REAL job!

Time just FLIES!

My goodness.................all these changes! It is just mind blowing!

I went to pick her up yesterday from the Community Center and I just HAD to spy and see what she was up to! ha!

LOOK at her out there................................ so official!.........................

and so grown!

She said she loved it! She said she is going to love the money too! :)

Wordless Wednesday!

 

WOW from the beginning to the end of 6th grade!

 WOW at how Lily has grown!

My goodness in a year's time................how much she has changed!

Just blooming!

Beginning of 6th grade!

End of 6th grade! WOW!

Sooo many awards!

 I cant even keep up with allllll the awards that Lily got today!

I do know one was the All A's Club Award

I do know she got the Presidential Award for having high ACAP scores

She got the Physical Fitness Award

Ambassador Award

(and I will have to look at the others to name once I am home and can look at them!) :)

The class of 2030!

All A's babbbbyyy!!

Our girl! She is ready for the High School and SO excited too!

Last day with Mrs. Phillips!

Always best friends!

The cheering section and Lily! :)

A Daddy and his girls

Fam pic!

Look at all that bling!

Her District track medals!

 They didnt have them ready for the District meet.....

but Lily got them at practice yesterday!

Her District track meet medals!

SO proud of her!

1st in 1600 and 2nd place in 800! Look at her GO!

Class of...............2030!

 WOW!.........I really did think that 2026 would be SO FAR away.....

and that 2030 was just unthinkable.................

when both girls were babies and me thinking of when they were going to graduate high school.

BUT...........

to see it play out and be almost here

is just mind blowing!

To see it on Lily's shirt and know that she is venturing into the High School this Fall....makes me sad and so happy and excited for her all at the same time!

So today marked her last day of 6th grade!

Tomorrow is just awards day so she isnt counting it as a day! :)

Our working girl!

 Alexis has officially become a working girl!

She had her first job duties Sunday and she loved it! Though it wasnt anything concerning lifeguarding, they have those 'other duties' as assigned so she had to work the Cheaha Challenge bike race.

She also had to work it the first part of the morning for her DD hours......so she had a FULL dose of all things Cheaha Challenge!

She enjoyed it though...and is really going to love the paycheck!

Getting her DD hours in at the Finish line!

The Cheaha Challenge is a HUGE event that people come from other states to race in. The was the huge Finish Line that she worked!

This picture cracks me up! I was driving......but not honking! That was Tyler! ha! We went to check on her and bring her dinner while she was doing her JOB! :) 

She had to direct traffic and the racers on the corner of Francis and Church! She had to blow the air horn as each biker raced by too! 
As you can tell...................we were embarrassing her! ha!

A buddy kind of night!

 Since Lily's track meet was cancelled (even though Saturday would have been a perfection of a day to have it) Reese was disappointed that she wasnt able to go with us to support her.......so she came and spent the night with us instead. Lily was SO excited to have Reese with us!

We had dinner and they 'hung' out and made bracelets the whole time they were together so we really didnt hear much out of them! :)

Reese cant go with us when the meet is rescheduled so now Lauren will be going with us! Whew, thankful Lily has such good and sweet friends that we can alternate like we have had to!

A FULL of emotions kind of day!

 Allll the things happened yesterday!

SO much in one day that I sit back and am just amazed at how GOD plays out events in people's lives and how some people can have the most amazing day ever and in the same hours, someone else could have one of the worst.

But, His hand is in it all.

So, let me break it down for you!

All in one day............

THIS beautiful little one....turned ONE! My goodness I cannot believe Goldie is one!

THIS little precious girl got to come HOME from Baltimore! PRAISE!

This special person in green had his visitation service while he watched from Heaven. He will be SO missed! He is a huge part of my growing up and our family. He had SO many people come in his honor that showed what type of person he was. He was loved by many!

Hate when funerals are where family get to catch up but it was nice to see a ton of family that we havent seen in a long time!

And then....hope for the future in a day's time too! Miss Libby felt the love with all of her family and friends during her Graduation party. War Eagle to her and excited for her and her future!

You just never know how someone's day is and can go. You may be having the best day ever while the person next to you isnt. That is why it is always best to just be kind and thankful for each day!

Last day of school and FIELD Day!

 Alexis had her LAST day of Sophomore year yesterday! No end of the school year pictures anymore.....{insert tears here}

But I did snag this picture this morning! Alexis volunteered with her Key Club group to help the Elementary school with their Field Day! She will be at the Elementary school all day with the little kids!

Though Lily does NOT consider herself a little kid...............it is her Field Day today!

She has been READY for Field Day this whole school year. MAN, they make it so competitive! So, cant wait to hear if her class placed or not!

The hopeful Field Day champion! 

UPDATE! Lily's class WON the main event and got the trophy! Alexis took this picture since she was helping work and sent it to me. Lily and her buddies!