First Day of 2018-2019 School Year

    Well the years keep coming. Cooper is 10 and in 4th grade; Lauren is 7 and in 2nd grade. I am going back to work at  Superior for the 2nd year(I will not be saying my age). Cooper had Mrs. Kirby and should have an amazing year. 4th grade has tons of special projects and things to keep him occupied.  Lauren is super lucky to have Mrs Lehman (Just like Cooper). I know all the fun this coming in the spring will be amazing and challenging. We were blessed to have Grammie and Grandpa here for the first day.  So it is a great start to a great year. The pics were a little rushed, and not great, but we will post anyway, because hey life is certainly not perfect :)! Here's to a great school year.

Momma and Daughter

Cooper too cool for the sign :)

Daddy and Daughter

Another one to add to Cooper's graduation  pics - nice Eye roll

At least Cooper is smiling

The walking to school selfie :)

Oh my Goodness.... we are in Double Digits!

     
  My favorite boy in the world turned 10 years old this year........And I am not sure I have accepted it yet. He has been asking for a party and I have been putting it off, saying we could have one when he turned 10. So it was now time for Mom to pony up. He decided after much back and forth to have a sleepover. We finally agreed on a number and emails were sent out, and he waiting not to patiently for the day to arrive.
    On Friday night, we had 6 boys show up, and start running amok!! So it was quickly decided to head down to the park for the frenzy to have a little more room. All the boys were great and I hope that they had fun, I know Cooper did.  Once we wore a little energy off, we headed back home for pizza and a movie. A few of the kiddos had things in the morning and were unable to stay the night,  but we were able to make lights out around 10:30..... so really late for mom and dad!
   Kids woke up pretty early, and wanted to play some video games.... so I think we included most things that 10 years olds like, Parks, Superheros(Movie), Pizza, and video games. I think the only thing missing was a nerf gun fight. Maybe next time. Well with all the chaos I was only able to take a few pics. But I hope the memories will stay for Cooper.

  The tradition of streamers still lives.... I am thinking it will  be something I do until they leave the house (and I am okay with that - thought I might have to do while they are still awake when they get older)

A group of crazy... but really great kids

 Opening Presents - I warned you I did not get great pics

 The Zombie look of 10 year olds playing video games

      I hope Cooper had the best of days. He is really a great kid, and I am proud to be his Mom. Now I know if I do not pay close attention he will be 20......

We love Swimming

      Lauren has tried of soccer(which I am not at all upset about), so we have been looking for a new sport. She has always been my little water baby, sometimes concerning her mother with how long she would hold her breath in the tub, so we thought we would try swimming.  We joined the local club team, called Rock Creek Flyers, starting with pre-team. We did not have any actually meets, but a few mock meets that were very fun.

Very Serious about the backstroke

 

Ready on the blocks

Top Lane - working hard

Lower Lane -the race is on

Big improvements off the blocks- with amazing help from Coach Lisa

Look at her go! She had a lot of improvement with her form 

   We had practices three times a week for about 6 weeks and she had an immense amount of improvement over those few weeks. I am not completely sure that she knew she was racing that first meet, so that might make up some of the longer times. She certainly did get better as the summer went on. Best thing is she had fun!

   
  Here are some stats from the season... I am sure she will be so ready to compete on the team next summer.

       25M          First Meet                                         Last Meet                                 Improvement
Breaststroke      1:08.38                                               48.12                                           20.26
Backstroke        52.37                                                  46.06                                            6.37
Butterfly            1:21.32 *                                            40.88                                           40.44
Freestyle            54.15                                                  45.93                                            8.22

* She might have not really realized at the first meet it was a race and stopped to adjust the her googles for a few seconds..... so

Last Day in Atlanta

   Well, the weather that held off for a nice day on Saturday, we found Sunday morning. So poncho purchased, we walked over the National College Football Hall of Fame.  We had originally planned to try and do some outside activities, but it did not work with the rain, but the Football museum was a good back up. 

Touchdown - and yes it is shaped like a football

The Fam ready to learn!

   It was a very interactive place, which the kids really loved. If ever you get to push buttons, play with tablets they are in. When you arrived they asked you what your school choice was and you could scan that pass throughout the museum, and it would include things about your school. You could plan routes, answer trivia questions, even ask questions to famous players.  The best part was the bottom floor that they had a skills course, were you could kick, throw,  and catch some throws. It was really fun, and Joel did hit both of his field goals. The rest of us never got close :). 

Cooper seeing how much more he needs to grow to be average college player size.

   Since we were a limited on weather, we walked over to the Children's Museum that was downtown.   The kids loved it, but mom and dad were looking for comfy chairs to spend a few hours in.   Thankfully the rain stopped Sunday night and we were able to go to the Fernbank Natural History Museum Monday morning before our flight out.  It was a gorgeous building surrounded by trees  that had a hiking trail out the back for us to explore.  The traveling exhibit they had at the time was about microbes, and was really interesting and disgusting at the same time. Learning about all the tiny things going on constantly inside and outside our bodies. After checking out the great exhibits. We went outside. It included raised walkways, homemade bird houses, a fort for the kids to climb in, and a hiking trail surrounded by flowers. 

Stegosaurus

One of the outdoor play areas, had water ways you could watch your tiny boat float down

Pretty raise walk way 

Cooper and Lauren were able to explore several large forts that were built in honor of all of our stick forts we build as children

Now the fort ever kid wished they had in there back yard

    We had a great time in Atlanta, and the kids were able to tick off another state that they have visited. So grateful for the things we have in our lives. Now, where to go next.

Continued Atlanta Trip

    We still had lots to see, including family, so we got up early on Saturday morning and headed over to the Atlanta Zoo.  We had great weather for the day, and it was not a huge zoo, but a very pretty one. With rolling hills, and lots of tree cover. Something I tried to make the kids take note of, but I am not sure it stuck.  They had pandas, a great gorilla and orangutan exhibits, with lots of babies to watch. We had a great morning.

My Baby Roos

Jill, Cooper, and Lauren with one of the five panda's at the zoo

 

Happy kids

This is a great pic of my kids, just because it shows their personalities..... Cooper working on his patience and Lauren so full of joy :) - We are so blessed

     For lunch we headed up north to see my Aunt Lois and Uncle Jack(my mom's sister). It had sadly been a very long time since we had seen them and we were grateful that they had the time. We meet at the Mall of Georgia, and had a good lunch, great conversation and a lovely day.  It was a really nice to see them.

Cooper, Aunt Lois, and Lauren

 

    Atlanta was a really pretty place and we had a great day, the next day was a little more challenging with rain, but find a poncho at Target and keep going :)!

We went on a trip!!

   I really enjoy traveling, but once you have little ones, it can become a bit more challenging. I will say, it is always worth the effort.... get busy livin'!!  So Atlanta here we come.  We flew out Thursday night after school, and was not shocked to see traffic when we landed at 11 PM. 
   We always hit the ground running on trip, and we got up early to hit the Aquarium at 9 AM. The Atlanta Aquarium was amazing, and we ending up spending most of the day there. They had 4 whale sharks that we were lucky to see them get feed,  in the largest aquarium we have seen. It was so cool, to see the huge mouth take all the water in and expel out of its gills.  Then we checked out the dolphin show. Lauren was such a fan, that Joel took her back to see another show later on in the day. We did end up sitting in the splash zone, which adds to the experience:).  It was such a great time to see the beluga whales playing with a blanket, the otters up close were bigger then I  realized, and the sea lions show.  I would recommend this place to anyone in the area.

Cooper, Joel, and Lauren in the tunnel of the large Aquarium

Two of the four whales - Such awesome animals

Cooper and Lauren getting a closer look

   After spending most of the day at the Aquarium, we also had tickets to the Coca Cola Museum.  It was located just across the park, so we walked over and spent about an hour going through and seeing the history of the company. The most fun was the tasting room, where you could  taste the products that they make internationally. I found a few fruity ones that I really liked, and Cooper promised to try every flavor, which I think there were around 150 different kinds.  He did not manage it, and still had a sick stomach. 

Kids with the Coca Cola Polar Bear

  So our sick stomachs headed back to the aquarium and went back to see more animals. 

Lauren super excited about the dolphin show (could not take pics during the show)

Whole fam with the Georgia Aquarium Mascot. (Lauren wore her mermaid pants in honor of the ocean animals)

    We found a good restaurant downtown to eat and then went home to rest up for another exciting day. 

My Baby is 7

  Little Lauren Elizabeth is now 7 years old. She is such a sweet and funny kid, and puts a smile on our faces daily. When we asked her what she wanted to do, the first thing she said was "breakfast in bed". Easy enough. Here are a few pics from the big day. Please note most pics have uncombed hair..... but she does have the best bed head

the Seven year old is ready for waffees and oranges in bed - 

Opening a puzzle from mom and dad

A new jacket from Frumpy, in a great color for Lauren's pretty eyes

Window Cling from Grammie was also a big hit

     

   After breakfast and presents, Lauren decided she wanted to go to the local rec center pool. So we headed over to Apex Rec Center and spent a few hours swimming...... after Joel had to go buy Cooper a new suit at a nearby Target after Cooper failed to get it into our swim bag, despite being told by both parents to do so. (Mean mom was going to make him just watch). We all had a great day.

  Last thing Lauren asked for was dinner at Benihana. So we all loaded up for a great meal out to celebrate Miss Lauren.  She requested that we dress nice, and even Cooper put on a button up shirt.


 Finally cake......


   We had a great day celebrating beautiful Lauren's birthday. She is a great blessing to our lives, and we always want her to know it. Happy birthday Rennie Roo!!

Quick trip to KC

         The older we are all getting, the faster life is going. Sadly it had been over a year since we had seen the northernmost Lovejoy's.... we had not ever met Ben.  Thankfully Justin had to come down the the lower 48 for some training., so we made a point to head to Kansas City to see them, with Mom and Dad headed in from Arkansas.  It was a really great chance, despite some cold, snowy weather to reconnect.   We were able to head to some museums, aquariums, and just hang out.

   For Christmas, since we knew we were going to be together, we purchased some family photos for Mom and Dad. They ended up great, but I do not have the finally proofs. I was able to grab a few cute pics of the kids while they were dressed up.  Ben did not corporate but the others were all smiles

Elise (4), Lauren (6), Katherine (7), and Cooper (9)

    The next day we went to the World War I History Museum, and the Kansas City Aquarium. The museum was really interesting, and I was glad we got a chance to check it out, especially being a history buff.   

Kate dressed as a solider

Lauren's Turn

Dad, Mom, Lauren, Kate, Elise, Cooper and Uncle Justin in front of a trench

    After the museum, we headed across the street to the aquarium. Since we are so blessed , we have been to a lot of aquariums. I think this one was a really great one. We saw an octopus, sea horses and 

very large sting rays.

Ben checking out the Fish

Very large Sting Ray hanging out - Lauren not sure what to think

Elise and Ben

Kate and Lauren's turn

    We spent Monday bowling and playing laser tag, which I am officially not really great at. It was so great to see all the family, and wish we could see each other more often. I will post the family pics once completed.