S-E-V-E-N

a few weeks ago something totally crazy happened...

my first baby turned S-E-V-E-N.

we celebrated with all kinds of fun,

starting with doughnuts with his class!

 after school we headed straight to the lake!

we took an afternoon boat ride

(pardon this camera phone picture)

 griffin celebrated his seven years of life

by jumping off chimney rock!

in case you want to see him in action...

we came back from the lake and had a "fake campout" blowout!!!!

i got that invitation idea from a blog,

but i can't remember which one.

sorry mystery blog mom!

we set up a few tents in the backyard...

 eating hotdogs and smores...

we had 19 kids (17 of which were boys).

they played flag football, flashlight tag,

and had a wild and crazy time!

(with an emphasis on wild and crazy)

michael told them a story about the "birmingham bobcat"

that fascinated them and actually kept them still for 10 minutes!!

 opening some presents...

 he got an alabama football uniform and decided
to test out the helmet with poppy!

happy seventh birthday to one of the most fun,

happy,

creative,

friendly,

deep-thinking,

kind,

adventurous,

playful,

enthusiastic

people i know! 

i am blessed to be your mommy!

Before Nanette and Scott left for Taiwan

we had a little shower for them...

Courtney, Nanette, Julie, and me!

We had lots and lots of cupcakes--thankfully Courtney and Julie were in charge of those (remember the pencil cake?).  It was a special night to pray for them and anticipate Benjamin's arrival!!

THE TIME HAS COME!!!

How cute is he?

Don't you just want to reach through the screen and squeeze him?

Well, guess what?

WE'RE ABOUT TO!!!!

Aunt Nanette, Uncle Scott, Bryce, and Elise are leaving tomorrow for Taiwan, and they will return to the US on September 30 with their son!  They will be updating their new blog while they're gone if any of you want to hear how everything's going.  You can go there now to read their Adoption Story!  http://bickelfamilyblog.blogspot.com/   

first day times three

we've had a super busy month over here getting back to school!

anderson started k4, which means he gets to go to the same school as griffin now, and he LOVES riding with daddy in the morning and walking in with griffin!

he has a precious teacher and is off to a fantastic start...

i never thought he would love it this much!!

griffin started FIRST grade...it was painful just to type that.

thankfully he has a precious teacher that

has made it somewhat acceptable.

collier and i made the boys a very sloppy

 looking pencil cake to celebrate their start...

thankfully they haven't seen cake boss.

collier started mdo last week...

she got to bring in two little friends for a picnic on the first day...

two mornings each week she will get loved on by these sweet ladies--

the same precious teachers the boys had at this age...

she walked in and saw these baby dolls and never looked back...

she celebrated her fun first day with a

huge cookie that made her a wee bit happy!

i didn't think i was ready for school to start.

but the routine is not so bad after all,

and the troops couldn't be happier!

guess i'll have to force myself to enjoy

a little more alone time :)

random...

Before the boys went back to school I got to have a little mommy date with each of them, and I hope it was as much for them as it was for me!  It was such a joy to just completely focus on them one at a time!  Their personalities are so different and that showed in how they planned their days!

Griffin and I went bowling, and I had forgotten how fun that was!  Part of the fun for me was watching Griffin--after the pins would fall, if he was happy with his performance, he would dance all the way back.  I don't think he ever noticed or cared that no one else in the whole place was doing that.  He was in his own little world of celebration--I would sum Griffin up with the word "FUN!"

Anderson wanted the two of us to play "Go Fish" over and over and over.  He talked the whole time, and I think he just loved hanging out--he is my "chill" child.  He was so precious and just giddy about the whole thing--I would sum Anderson up with the word "SWEET!"

He took some time out to get his groove on too, but in the privacy of his own home :)

Can you read that cake?  Michael had a very important birthday a couple weeks ago!  We just had a quiet celebration at his request...I would sum Michael up with the word "VINTAGE!"  (sorry babe, couldn't resist...seriously though, i dig vintage!)

one more random beach picture i forgot...