Pool Day

We spent the day at the pool with the Voss crew a couple weeks ago.  We went to the pool by Mary's house and Elle hadn't been there since last summer so she didn't remember much about it.

The car ride to the pool may have been the highlight of the day for both of my children.  The pool is super close to Mary's house (like one street over from her subdivision) and we learned our lesson last year when we walked (caught in the rain with 4 babies, no thank you) so we drove and just all got in Mary's car.  The 3 big kids sat in the back - and kept commenting that it was like a school bus...Elle's never been in a bus so this just must be what she imagines one to be like. :) And Oliver loved being in a forward facing car seat.  Mary and I could hear him squealing and giggling from the front. 

At this pool on Tuesday's they open an hour early for kids 6 and under which was so nice! 

The kiddos played and rode down the slides and splashed until their little bodies were wore out.

One amusing part was all 6 of us on rafts in the lazy river.  Mary and I each had a 2 person raft, so Elle had a seat in my raft and Oliver sat in my lap.  Getting in the raft and on the lazy river was laughable and then getting our 2 rafts connected (and keeping them that way) was hilarious. :) Oliver somehow managed to fall asleep during the chaos, probably one of the oddest places my children have fallen asleep. We were constantly being splashed in the face and I know I tied my hardest to shield him but he even slept through that. 

Exhausted and ready to head back to Mimi's for a late lunch.

I could just eat this girl up. I see so much baby in her in this picture. 

Henry was not exhausted. :) He was already asking Mary if they could come back after lunch. 

We ordered Imo's, headed back to Mary's to eat and then we rolled out for nap time. 

Perfect pool day. :)

Helicopter Candy Drop

In May we took the kids to the Rascals game.  It's always fun going to the games but our main reason for going was the helicopter candy drop that was happening after the game.  Elle was so excited she was counting down the days all week.

We got there and Unc bought the kids red clown noses. :)

Elle loves seeing Ruffy Rascal. Things have changed drastically since this visit to the stadium!  

All of the kids were pretty into Ruffy, except Beary...he wasn't a big fan. :)

Mary and I took the kids to run around the playground for a little while...

then stopped at the concession stand.  Best part of baseball games is the food, at least according to me, Elle and Ollie.

Smile if your excited for the candy drop!

Elle picked out her own accessories before the game.  She was also wearing a Frozen bracelet.  I love to see her come out of her room with her jewelry on.  So cute to see what she puts together!

Waiting in line for the candy drop. My mom and dad ended up walking up to the game to watch the kids participate in the candy drop so they helped occupy the kids while we waited in line. 

Once we got on the field and heard the helicopter flying over Bear held his little bag out like they were going to start dropping it right then and there. :)

My girl!

The candy being dropped ended up being a lot Easter Peeps but Elle didn't care! She did such a great job running around grabbing as much as she could! We still have a ton of pink peeps at our house!

Fun night with my babes!

Easter Bunny

We headed to Bass Pro to see the Easter Bunny the Monday before Easter. Mary's family was getting ready to head to Disney World for vacation so wanted to see the Easter Bunny together before the were off on vacation. When we pulled into the parking lot Elle said "the Easter Bunny comes to the fishing place?"...she seemed so surprised and a tad disappointed.

We got there about 30 minutes before the bunny came out so the kids had time to wait patiently run back and forth from the fish tank 500 times and grab everything off the shelves.  Henry and Elle still see each other quite often but not nearly as much as they used to.  With Hens in school and Elle only going to my moms a couple days a week they normally only see each other on weekends, except for some random Thursdays when my mom has all 4 kids. #blessher  So when they get together they get so excited. Sometimes a little too excited. :)

The bunny finally came and Elle was so excited to see him!  She kept waving and telling him hi.

When it was Elle and Ollie's turn Elle went right up to him to tell him hi and sit on his lap.  As I handed Ollie over he had a tight grip on my shirt and seemed nervous but he did great! I think his courage came from having Sissy at his side.

Elle wanted a picture with this big bear before we left. That is Henry next to her with the hat over his head. :)

Mary and I took the kids to Panteras for pizza where the craziness ensued. We let Elle and Henry sit together at a table (which is where I think we went wrong). Oliver and Bear were little angel babies and their older siblings were wild animals. At one point Mary said "let's pretend like we're not with them." haha! Our exit was quick due to the two older crazies and Ollie wasn't quite full as I was loading pizza in a to-go box. This sweet babe grabbed a piece out of the box and kept eating.  I could just eat this little boy up!!!   His cuteness just kills me. 

Just another perfect seester/cousin date. :)

Quantock Court

A couple weeks ago Mary and I took the kids to church and then we stopped by the house we grew up in.  The day before I saw online that they were having an open house and we decided to go walk through it.  As we were pulling up Mary made the comment that she was already sad. It is so crazy walking through a house that holds so many memories, that house holds our childhood.

The house was completely empty, no one was currently living there.  As we walked through each room we would make comments about how our furniture was set up or a memory of that room.  

The door in the living room that opened to the garage is where we would take pictures before our first day of school....and where a baby Will would do headstands.

The stairs we walked down on Christmas morning to our mound of presents.

Where mom kept her calendar in the kitchen.

The duck bathroom.

The AC unit outside that we all but ruined by pinching the sides.

Seeing who could jump down the most stairs into the basement. (I'm the champ, only one to jump from the living room down all the basement stairs. :)

Where I broke my arm in the backyard.

Staying up late and playing the Nickelodeon Double Dare game.

Will's room where he cut all the hair off a two of my dolls under his bed. (Elle still cannot get over this story! She brings it up quite often about how Unc was so rude to my babies). 

The list could go on and on and on and on.

Mary and I in the room we shared. Her "MM" initials still have not been painted over in our old closet.

A mini Mary and Katie in our old room.

I loved taking these babies in and showing them around our old house.

Just pretend that Ollie's head is Will. :)

The Mulligan 5 had some pretty great memories here. :)

Life Lately

It's Friday and we have hardly any plans this weekend, lazy weekend...yes please!

A couple Friday's ago I came home from work with surprises for Elle Belle. My friend at work, Sally, brought her a pink jewelry box and necklace and Elle loooved it.  She immediately went to her room looking for the perfect spot for it (aka: somewhere Ollie couldn't reach it).  I had also found her a new comforter from Target. It's Paris themed and she loves it. She has been sleeping in her bed the past few weeks.  I always start in bed with her and we watch a movie on the iPad and I rub her arm. Lately we have been watching the American Girl movie Grace in Paris or the new Frozen short Anna's Birthday.

The weather has been all over the place.  One weekend it's really nice and the next it's freezing and snowing.  Taking advantage of one of the nice days by playing outside. 

One of our Christmas gifts from Mom and Dad was dinner at PF Changs and babysitting.  Here is Elle all ready to head to the popcorn party at MawMaw & PawPaw's house. She had so much fun!!

And how adorable is my girl. I just adore her. 

The six of us out for a fun dinner!  We had the best time!!

The morning after the popcorn party.  I think she was coming down from a sugar high.  This was her smile.

Coloring an Oliver Russell original. 

And an Eleanor Bailey original painting!

After lunch we were waiting for the cable company to come for some upgrades we added to our service.  I was calling out to her from the kitchen and when she didn't respond I realized she had randomly fallen asleep again! 

On this morning Eric and I took Elle for a tour of the preschool she will be attending in August.  She was so excited to go to school, she even wanted to wear her backpack.

She was very quiet during the tour, which didn't surprise me.  As we were walking to the building she told me she was going to tell them her name was Buzz. :)  Once inside she was pretty quiet and didn't answer any of their questions (name, age, etc.).

After our tour we took her out to breakfast where she told us over and over that she was excited. 

I am so nervous for her first day, for both her and me.  Eric has said he's not sure if he wants to be off of work her first day or just work so he can miss the tears...I'm not sure but I think he is referring to my tears.  I told him he has no option, he has to be there to physically remove me from the school.  It's only a couple days a week for a few hours a day so I pray it's a smooth transition for her.  Can't believe my sweet girl is already old enough for school. 

This boy is a big fan of peek-a-boo.  He was lifting this cover over his head and playing with me. 

Chick-Fil-A date with our favorite peeps!

It is so crazy that Mary and I are now to the point where we can just grab a table right next to the play area and the kids are old enough to play by themselves while we sit at the table and talk.  Well, Oliver sits with us at the table but he is pretty content sitting on my lap. :)

I love watching our kids interact with other kids in the play area. Our babes are pretty talkative and crazy but if you are someone new they won't make a peep. They are starting to open up when playing with other kids. Elle told me later that one little boy was saying she was a baby but another kid stuck up for her and said "no, she's a big girl!".  It may have something to do with Elle telling them she was 5. The girl knows she is 3. 

This baby Bear was happy to smile for the camera. How stinkin cute is he?!!?

And my Hensy, the life of every party. 

Sharing their ice cream with Ollie.  Ollie LOVES ice cream!!  He gets so angry if you don't have a bite ready for him. 

Super Bowl party at mom and dad's house!  All the babes making their bets. 

See that glass bowl of chocolates...I'm fairly certain Elle and Henry polished that off before kickoff.

Movies are starting to hold Ollie's attention.  Toy Story, Minions and Elmo are his favorites.  Oliver wanted to lay on Elle's purple couch so badly!! My birthday boy may be getting one of these very soon. ;)

We headed to Jen and Cory's house earlier this week to see Elle and Ollie's new cousin, Conner.

Oliver looked so big sitting at the table!

Elle loved Conner, when he would cry she would say, "I think he wants me."

The oldest Hylton cousin and the youngest.

This silly boy is all over the place. I don't remember Elle being so into everything at this age. Oliver loves to grab anything he can off of shelves, the fireplace, doors, cabinets.  Everything.

He wants to be just like his sissy!

At our house we will be having a lazy weekend with some Valentine's day celebrating on Sunday. It's a family holiday for the Hylton's so we are thinking maybe some takeout and we have some gifts for the kids.   Should be a fun weekend. :)