Daniel at Six

 
 
 
 

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I decided I should do some pics of Daniel since I did some of Laura Ann. I can't believe how old he looks in them!!

Family Fun for Fall Break

 
 
 
 

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We spent Fall Break in Panama City Beach. It was my first trip to Panama City since I was in high school and boy, have things changed in the past 15 years! We had originally planned to stay somewhere on 30A, as usual, but because we waited until the very last minute to book anything, our plans changed. I heard about Splash Resort at the grocery store on Wednesday, came home and booked it and we left on Friday. We kicked off our trip with dinner at Boon Docks on our way in. We got to the resort kind of late, so we only had time to explore Friday night. It was our first time to stay in a high rise (at the beach), so the kids were thrilled with the elevator rides & thought being on the 21st floor was the coolest thing ever. While the view was extraordinary, it made Dan & me a nervous wreck with the kids. I even blockaded the doors with furniture at night......like I said, I'm not used used to high rises and kids!:) We hit the beach bright and early Saturday morning and rotated between the beach, pool, and splash pad all day- only taking a break for lunch and a short rest time in our room. Sad to say that Dan didn't have near as much fun in the room watching the game Saturday afternoon as we did at the splash pad. The Tide finally ended it's winning streak with a loss to South Carolina.:( This didn't get the James family down though, we headed straight to Pier Park after the game and enjoyed dinner at The Back Porch and dessert at Kilwin's. We pretty much repeated the same thing on Sunday, but added the Miracle Strip at Pier Park after dinner, which was a HUGE hit with Daniel and Laura Ann. It turns out that the Miracle Strip Amusement Park that I visited every summer of my childhood closed in 2003, but a handful of the rides have reopened at Pier Park, mainly the Ferris wheel & carousel. Laura Ann spotted the 'carnival' while we were parking to go to dinner and there was no turning back! Although it was quick, we had a GREAT trip! The weather was absolutely fabulous and Splash Resort was super fun for the kids. I'm sure Daniel and Laura Ann would vote the splash pad and 'carnival' as their favorite parts. Dan would say the carmel/pecan coated rice crispy treat from Kilwin's. As for me, it would be falling asleep to the sound of the ocean.......there's nothing else like it......... for this beach lover, anyway!

*Laura Ann keeps us laughing all the time and this trip was no different. Here's just a couple:
-On Ferris wheel Dan said that she got quiet and he asked her if she was afraid. She said, "No, Jesus is with me so I don't ever have to be afraid." So sweet! She reminds us of this often!

-About a week ago, Dan made a joke about his hair loss, being bald, etc. & she heard him. She has been really bothered by it & keeps asking if his hair will grow back. I explained that it wouldn't, but that it is ok, a natural part of aging, etc. I have also pointed out other men who are completely bald. Anyway, one night on our trip, the subject came up again. She confidently told Dan, "It's ok Daddy, I sing a song about 'My God has Power' and He can make your hair grow back with His power." Now that is some FAITH!! :)

Husky Homecoming

 
Jeb & Daniel
 
Laura Ann, William & Kate
 
 

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I took Laura Ann to the homecoming parade Thursday afternoon. Daniel caught a ride from school with Ann and Jeb and met us there. We had a great time. There's nothing like watching a parade, collecting candy and hanging out with friends on a beautiful afternoon! Go Huskies!

Old Baker's Farm

 
 
 
 

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I went with Daniel's class on a fieldtrip Thursday to Old Baker's Farm. We picked cotton, played on hay bales, went through a hay maze, went on a hayride, picked pumpkins and saw lots of farm animals in the barn. It was a fun filled day!

Laura Ann at Four

 
 
 
 

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Happy Birthday Laura Ann!!

 
 
 
 

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What a day! Laura Ann started her day with a donut for breakfast (her request). We sang and blew out candles multiple times. Daniel was also thrilled to have donuts for breakfast! I was excited that her birthday fell on a day that she doesn't go to school, so I spent the day doing fun things with her- all of her choice, of course. She chose to watch a movie first- The Wiggles Go Pop, an oldie, but goodie. When we were all danced out, we read some of her favorite books and my new favorite, The Fairy Princess. For lunch, she chose McDonalds. We went through the drive thru to pick it up and headed to the playground to eat and play. Dan and I gave her our gift when we got home- a cd player with a microphone and cds. She spent the afternoon singing her heart out with the microphone, and probably managed to entertained the whole neighborhood! (I'm trying to teach her how to use the volume knob:) She had been asking all week when I was going to make her cake because she wanted to help, so we made the cake just before Daniel got home from school. She wanted a Tinkerbell cake, so we topped the cake off with Tinkerbell characters. Daniel was really sweet and made her a special card to go along with his gift, the book, Purplicious. He was excited to give her his gift when he got home and play with microphone too. The Coueys came over for dinner and to see Laura Ann for her birthday. They always give the best gifts- princess pjs, panties and a game that Laura Ann loved. She even got Mrs. Couey in the floor to play the game! After dinner, we put candles in her Tinkerbell cake and sang, multiple times again, for the last time until her 5th birthday! Sniff, sniff.........can't believe she's FOUR!!! It's been a great long weekend celebrating with you, Laura Ann! Happy, Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!

We Love Big AL!!!

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We had a blast at Jeb & Tyler's 2nd Annual Big AL Birthday Party!! Daniel had fun with his friends and Laura Ann had fun with Big AL. She played, poked and picked at him every chance she got and he most graciously endured it all. We love you Big AL! Happy Birthday Jeb & Tyler!

Rammer Jammer!!

After a fun, but totally exhausting day, Dan and I put the kids to bed early and enjoyed watching the Tide roll over the gators! And I have to give a big shout out to my husband for giving up our tickets to stay home and celebrate Laura Ann's birthday! This is the first year since she was born that we haven't been in Tuscaloosa on the Saturday of her birthday!

Gumdrops, Lollipops, Candy Galore......

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........Sweet Laura Ann is turning Four!! We had a candy shop party today to celebrate Laura Ann's fourth birthday. She was beyond excited! The bounce castle was delivered at 8:00 am, so Daniel and Laura Ann started 'partying' right away. The official party didn't start until 10:00 and consisted of decorating a candy bag, LOTS of bounce time, birthday cake, gifts and finally a visit to Laura Ann's Candy Shop. She really enjoyed all of her friends being here and getting to be the center of attention. When all of the party guests were gone, we had some special birthday time with the grandparents. Laura Ann was in total heaven with all of the new princess dresses from them. She spent the next hour changing dresses and modeling them for us. Then it was time for lunch and Big Daddy's birthday cake. We always seem to manage having Laura Ann's party the day of his birthday! Between Laura Ann's cake, Big Daddy's cake and the candy shop, we consumed a TON of sugar! Just about the time I thought I would die of exhaustion, Daniel and Laura Ann headed back out to the bounce house (would love just a tiny bit of their energy!). They spent the rest of the afternoon jumping. Our neighbors, Jeb and Merrill, were at the lake and missed the party, so they came over in the afternoon to live it up. The workers came at 5:00 to pick up the bounce castle and had to run them all out of it! So, so fun! It is kind of tradition at our house to release the balloons after the party and watch them float away, so we got all ready for Laura Ann's 'release'. It was all well and good, until the balloons got stuck in a tree in our backyard. Dan had the bright idea to throw a rake up into the tree to get them out. The rake got stuck too. Then he tried the basketball- it got stuck too. Maybe we were just delirious, but it was absolutely hysterical! After about 30 minutes, he managed to get the rake and basketball out with the football. The balloons are still there. It was a funny ending to a fabulous day.

My Favorite Roommate

 
Laura Ann, Hannah Claire & Daniel
 
Me & Jen
 
Brandi, Me & Jen

I had so much fun tonight seeing my freshman roommate and her sweet family! They were in town from West Virginia for the Florida game, so that gave us a good excuse to get together. The Millers were so sweet to have us all for dinner & to give Jen & I some visiting time! Baby AJ is precious (he went to bed before I got out my camera, so I missed getting a pic of him)and Daniel and Laura Ann had a great time playing with he and Hannah Claire. We all enjoyed Dreamland ribs and white chocolate bread pudding by Brandi for dinner- YUM!!! Jennifer & I shared some great times in Tuscaloosa and it was great catching up with her! Looking forward to our next visit! :)

Family Night at the WEE Center

 

We all accompanied Laura Ann to the WEE Center tonight for family night. Mrs. Laura had read the book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie to the class at school today. Tonight, we rotated through centers to go along with the book. It was lots of fun. Laura Ann enjoyed sharing some of her daily activities with us and introducing us to her new friends. She absolutely LOVES Ms. Laura and is such a big girl! Daniel LOVED seeing Ms. Cynthia and Ms. Laura, and of course, he stopped by the Rocket class to say hello to Ms. Misty. I recorded every minute of our night with my camera, only to accidently delete them all later.:( So, I am left with a photo of the book we brought home, All About Laura Ann......

A Day of Parties

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World Vision Party at the Bozemans
We went to a World Vision party at the Bozemans today and learned about children around the world who are hungry and are lacking clean water to drink. Our family chose two children to sponsor through World Vision. We chose Banabas in Uganda, who has the same birthday as Daniel and Rosmery in El Salvador, who has the same birthday as Laura Ann. Dan and I sponsored a little boy, Archie from the Phillipines, for a few years who aged out of the program. It was really neat corresponding with him and getting his pictures- he was always so grateful. We are so excited about the opportunity and blessing of sponsoring two more children and watching them grow up, along with Daniel and Laura Ann. This is a great learning opportunity for Daniel and Laura Ann as well. We live such indulged lives in this country and it is so easy to loose sight of the millions of people around the world who are hungry, thirsty, and even dying everyday. Banabas and Rosmery are posted on our refrigerator now & serve as daily reminders for us to be thankful for all that we have. Their sweet pictures also remind us to pray for them everyday. For more information, go to www.worldvision.org or pick up a copy of The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns, ceo of World Vision. If you choose to read the book, be prepared for your life to change......I'm just sayin......prepare yourself!

Sarah's Party
Laura Ann enjoyed her friend, Sarah's Dora Party today too. This was the CUTEST birthday party I've ever been too! Swiper 'stole' the cupcakes and each child was given a backpack complete with a map, binoculars, and magnifying glass to help them on their 'adventure' to find the cupcakes. Then, they rotated through stations before finally finding the cupcakes to 'save' the birthday party. So, so cute & fun!

Brianna's Party
Daniel enjoyed his classmate, Brianna's party at A Play Place today as well. Because of his broken collar bone, his activities were very limited. He lived it up playing air hockey with Sara Kate and eating birthday cake.

Happy Birthday Gran & Papa!!!

 
 
 
 

Heather & Kate came over yesterday afternoon for Gran & Papa's birthday party. It was loads of fun & as always, the cake, candles & singing were a hit. And Sam & Heather, Kate asked me, to ask you, PUHLEASE let her eat birthday cake more often!! Ha! Ha! Happy Birthday Gran & Papa! We love you!