Miller's Half Birthday

Miller turned 3 and half on Friday which is so hard to believe! He is such a personality, has a quick smile, great sense of humor and is pretty easy going. Now that Tate has started school it has made me realize how quickly the years go by when they are little and at home so much. On Friday after lunch we were outside playing and I didn't want to miss the opportunity to take a few pictures of him since it was such a beautiful day. He is such a blessing to us!

Putt Putt

On Saturday night, we decided to have some family fun playing a round of putt putt golf with the boys. We teamed up with Travis and Miller against Tate and me. Travis and Miller beat us by each making some holes in one, Travis had two and Miller had one (which was quite impressive:). Next time we play we will have to switch up teams, I have a feeling that whoever is paired with me is doomed for defeat.



Notice the look of determination...


On Sunday afternoon, the boys had more golf fun when Travis took them to the driving range, which has become a new weekend ritual. Tate and Miller both love to go and really enjoy their Daddy time.

More Firsts

Miller also had his first day of preschool on Tuesday. He begrudgingly let me take his picture on the front porch before we left. And, I am happy to report that this was his first year to NOT cry on the first day. Everyone seems to be all grown-up these days:)

Two other neighborhood Moms and I have decided to carpool to kindergarten. So after each of us walking our child in on the first day, we decided they could go through the carpool line and walk in by themselves on the second day. So big!!
Tate, Kate, and Sam

Tate's First Day!

Tate had his first day of kindergarten today and had a wonderful time at school. I have been praying this summer that he would have a friend in his class and that he would want to go to school. So far so good...our next door neighbor, Kate, is in his class and he is excited about going back tomorrow.

He was dressed and ready to go early at 7:15 this morning. Once we got to school, as I was trying to take a couple of pictures outside of the classroom door Tate said, "Mommy, I just want to go in!" Miller, on the other hand, cried as we made our way to the kindergarten classrooms. I think he was overwhelmed with the size of the school and all the commotion. Afterwards as I was putting him back in the car, Miller said, "I don't want to be big." And, I have to say that I don't want him to be big yet either.


Tate and his teacher, Mrs. Crawford

Cookie the Cat

We have a new addition to our family as of last week, Cookie the cat. We named him Cookie because he is black and white like an Oreo. The boys have been loving on him like crazy and amazingly he doesn't seem to mind. We are hoping for him to be an inside/outside cat, but since he is so little we are keeping him inside all of the time these days. We have a resident hawk in the backyard that I am sure would love to have Cookie for breakfast. Not surprisingly, Cookie is a boy, so I remain the queen of this castle:)

Celebrating the 4th in Highlands

We had a very exciting 4th of July celebrating the Alstons' 40th wedding anniversary with a family trip to Highlands, NC. Marcus, Mary Grace, Neely and Sadie met us there also so we had all the cousins together. The weather was so wonderful, much cooler than it has been here. We took a long walk into downtown from the house we rented, took the boys to check out the "bust your butt" sliding rock, went to the nature center, grilled out and enjoyed the fireworks. We also celebrated Neely's 3rd birthday. It was a great way to reflect on the Alstons great marriage and the fruit of an ever-growing family.



This is Tate's attempt at acting scared...








Waiting for the fireworks to start

McCoys at the Lake

We had a great long weekend at the lake with all of my family including my brother and sister-in-law who were visiting from Denver. The weather was beautiful so we spent as much time as possible out on the water. Katherine, Alex and I stayed up late each night laughing until we had tears rolling down our cheeks. There is nothing better than retelling old funny stories with the people who lived them with you. Hopefully it will become an annual event and it won't be so long until Alex and Ashley come back to our neck of the woods again:)





My niece Allison talked the three younger ones into putting on a show...these were some of their best moves.