Duncans lake trip & My sister is engaged!!

Several weeks ago Trey's best friend from high school and college (he was also best man in the wedding) Chad Duncan and his wife Jana and 3 children (Miles, Jack & Ava) came over from west Texas to stay with us at the lake house! It was such a treat because their kids have never really been on a boat before and they all had a ball. Camden and Brooks loved having someone close to their age there to play with as well. We enjoyed several cruises around the lake, tubed some and the kids fished and played on the water slide and at the pool as well. It was such a fun weekend and we loved having our good friends the Duncans there. It was a special treat because we usually only see them at Christmas when we make our annual trek to Texas. It is such a long drive (around 12 hours!) any time we have a long trip to go on, Camden always asks "is it as far as Texas??!".

Only one missing is Camden, but Jack, Ava, Brooks and Miles are represented!

Chad and his cute kids!

The boat is so relaxing!

The kids riding on the ranger around the neighborhood. They loved it!!

So fun! It was like a roller coaster!

Waterslide fun at the lakehouse.

 

Jack getting some baseball instruction from Trey. He was grinning from ear to ear the entire time! These boys are so into sports and they knew Trey used to play professionally, so it was a really cool treat!

 

 

Jana and I decided to take the little ones into Savannah to check out some of the little downtown shops and then let the kids get some frozen yogurt, I made the mistake of allowing Brooks to eat his on the road and when I looked back this is what I saw!! Brooks covered in chocolate ice cream and his own hair gel! Haha! The messes this kid gets in never ceases to amaze me!

Messy Brooksie :)

In other news, my little sister Tracy just got engaged!! We all knew Kyle was planning something and the ring had been purchased, but didn't know exactly when it might happen. He asked all of us for our blessing, which we of course gave him and he took her to dinner and then to a rooftop at the Madison in downtown Memphis where he and she had their first official date. They were just sitting there talking and they looked so in love that a bystander snapped their picture with her phone to send to her friends with the tag line "this is what true love looks like!" Little did she know that moments later, she would witness Kyle crouch down on bended knee to propose!! He even went as far as to have a friend of his from the news station capture the event on film! It was so special to look at the photos especially because we were not there. It made us feel apart of the experience! They are super happy and the wedding is set for January 18, 2014. We are so excited and busy planning the special occasion! Can't wait for more wedding fun!! I was graciously asked to be the Matron of Honor so I'm pretty pumped about this honor and have already been busy planning all the fun activities!

This is the photo the lady snapped to send to her girlfriend (prior to proposal!)

We went several weekends later and picked out her stunning gown!! I cannot wait for Kyle to see her in it is going to DIE! It's incredible and just what I always pictured her in!!

Dave Matthews, Weddings, engagements and lake trips with friends!

My favorite band of all time Dave Matthews made the rare appearance at our little amphiteatre in Southaven at the end of April! We were SO pumped. A huge group of our friends had been obsessing about this for several months. We are die hards and I've probably seen them about 8 times live since high school. It was a great time with our friends and the band we love!!

Then Memorial Day weekend, our good friends Julie and Adam got married at the Cadre building downtown. It was so fun because all of our close Southaven friends were there. We all got dressed up and even hired a taxi to chauffeur us to and from downtown. The kids stayed with mom and dad so Trey and I had a ball hanging with our friends it was much needed.

The girls at the wedding

after party at the Peabody with my good friend Laura

James and Joan were there as well!

Leigh Anne was a bridesmaid and Trey looking dapper!

With the bride (not the best pic!)

This was all three boys with my mom down at the farm having a ball in the bath!

This is my dad whom the boys refer to as "Gallegah" at the farm telling some of his crazy stories!

We then went to pick the boys up Saturday AM from Mom's at the farm in Hickory Flat and then made the trek about an hour to the Lunsfords' lakehouse at Pickwick. Leigh Anne & TJ joined us and we had a great time Sat-Monday on the lake and the boys went for Cam's first fishing trip with the guys Sunday morning. He loved it. I laughed so hard Monday because he had placed it ever so neatly a minnow in his little art binder....I have no idea what his plans were for this, but we quickly removed it and disposed of it properly! I'm sure I would have discovered it in a few weeks if I hadn't seen it when I had!! I plan on keeping a bag of all the things I find in Camden's pockets and giving it to him when he graduates or when he gets married. So far, I have some very interesting items in there...

Soccer and more spring events

In other news, we have been a more healthy family this year. We are definitely eating better and mixing in more fresh fruits and veggies, counting calories and Trey lost an amazing 50 pounds! He is been doing Insanity and now moved on to P90X. He looks great! I have lost too, but not nearly as much. I'm not as disciplined. I still enjoy my sweets and carbs :). Although I did accomplish something this year that I never thought I would I ran a 5K! It actually ended up being much longer than a 5K, bc the volunteers directing us messed up the route and by the end we measured that it was 4.59 miles! I was determined to run the whole thing which I did, but it was a struggle at the end. I just really paced myself and ran it slow, but who cares I did it!! It was a glow in the dark run so we had bright clothes and paint that glowed under the black light at the end. My sister and a few of my girlfriends did it together which made it really fun.

 

 

 

 

 

Then a few weeks later I ran in another 5K, this one was the color run which consisted of us with white shirts and dry paint powder being thrown at us along the way. We got filthy, but it was so fun. I was able to run the whole thing again (waaaay behind my team of girls, but ran it all nonetheless).

 

Camden played his first organized sport this year! We liked this league because it was a small church league that played a few times a week (no weekends) and they were close to home. His team name was the scorpions. They were undefeated and we were very happy to watch all the games. Camden was not 100% committed, he was a little more worried about the snacks and water breaks they took. But he loved the goalie position and it was an introduction to a little bit more discipline than he is apparently used to.. Brooks wanted to play more than anyone out there. His Jo Jo and Grandad got him a red jersey as well with the number "00" and the letters PMIC which stood for "Put Me In Coach"! I laughed hysterically when I saw that! Brooks enjoyed running onto the field throughout the game and also playing with some of the other smaller children who were watching their older brothers and sisters. He even would line up with the rest of the team at the conclusion of each game and stick his hand out to tell everyone "good game, good game....". It was so cute to watch. We waited until Cam was 4 to play but we may have to let Brooksie play on the 3 year old league next Spring!

 

 

Camden's class had a field trip to Cedar Hill Farms in Hernando, MS several weeks ago. It was a great time for the kids. This place has it all, petting zoo, hay ride, train ride, restaurant, and fields of whatever season it is growing for you to pick (berries, watermelons, pumpkins, etc). And at the end they have an awesome playground with a HUGE slide that the kids (and some adults) had a ball playing on! I was so glad I could go!

Camden with his best friend Makayla

The whole class with Ms. Mary Beth and Ms Katrina (they have known Cam since he was 2!)

Another big event this summer was Camden graduated preschool!! He is growing up too fast! He will beginning kindergarten this fall and could not be more excited!

Before the graduation ceremony, we went to eat at Cracker Barrel with Ce Ce, Walker, and Tracy and Kyle.

Cam with Makayla and Brooks before the ceremony

Our little graduate

Cam's speaking part was "When I grow up I want to be an ARTIST!" He was told to make sure to speak up and say his part loud so he yelled the Artist part! It was very funny:)

~Two little scoundrels~

 

We've had a few functions with our friends lately. We had a BBQ at our house a few weekends ago and it was crazy we counted 12 children between us all! We took a pic of all the kids together on our couch! I never realized that between all of us every couple has 2 children! Everyone except Trey and I have a boy and a girl, we are the only ones with two boys :) Guess we will have to do something about that! ha!

The kids in our (fertile) group of friends! Almost in chronological order!

Lake fun with the boys

Another cute pic from Grandad's boat

 

Cam's first official fishing trip with his dad and granddad and (soon to be) Uncle TJ!

Leigh Anne's bridal bouquet & Easter, egg hunts Resurection day!

 I finally get to share what most of you already know about Leigh Anne's surprise brooch bridal bouquet from almost all of her grandmothers, aunts, bridesmaids and future in laws! I have been organizing this since December when all of the planning hit full gear and I got all the Texas grandmothers and family members to bring their brooches to Christmas, I've been collecting the pieces all winter and even had the bridal party contribute toward the fabric and paper flowers and supplies.

We had originally wanted to give it to her in June at her shower, but she started shopping for her own brooches for a bouquet so we figured we better get on it! Once she picked the bridesmaid dresses (which by the way have a brooch closure in the back!) I contacted the Mississippi designer and she was kind and excited enough to send us a yard of the fabric from our dresses. Mom and I used it to wrap the stems and made a large chiffon bow that drapes down the front of the bouquet. There are so many meaningful pieces and stories behind the pieces that make it extra special and one of a kind! The in town bridesmaids, Whitney, Brittany, Julie and myself took Leigh Anne to a lovely brunch at the fine Paulette's restaurant in Memphis. I had arrived a little early and had the bouquet hidden out of view of the bride. She only knew we were going in her honor and that there was a special surprise in store, but no clue what it could be! After we ordered mimosas and our brunch items, the hostess brought over the wrapped bouquet and LA opened it and was totally shocked! I could tell immediately that she loved it and as we explained the pieces she began to tear up and it warmed our hearts that she loved it so much. I told her that she could choose to use it only in her bridal shoot and not feel like she needed to use it in the wedding if she would rather have real flowers, bt she cut me off and said "NO! I want to use it in the wedding! I just love it!" I'm so happy that God gave me the ability to do this for her and I better keep my fingers limber for my sister should be engagedany day now and I already have orders to make one for her, which I would gladly do!! Love you Leigh Anne, cannot wait for the beautiful wedding day!!

On that same day, our lovely Sunday School leaders hosted an easter egg hunt at their home for all the members in our class. It was a ball, we had a 4 & up age group and a 4 & under egg hunt for the little kids. We all brought food and had a great time of fellowship! Easter bunny went ahead and made an early stop at the Lunsford house that day because we wanted to go to the 9:30 service the next day and I knew that the boys wouldn't get out the door if there were a bunch of new goodies and toys to play with! We had a wonderful service and TJ and Leigh Anne even joined us! The music was spectacular and parts of the sermon gave me chills!

 Easter egg winners!

All the kids pre hunt! Biting at the bit!!

The boys easter baskets

A spinach dip I made (Pinterest inspired of course!) kind of turned out like a mouse instead of a bunny:)

Brooks' new bike Jo Jo gave him for Easter! He was so excited!

The boys and I before Church

My two handsome men

Our best attempt at a family picture:)

Close up of Brooks's easter shirt and tie! It had mustaches on it!

 It is such a comforting thought to know that our price is already paid and that Jesus is coming back one day to save us from this filthy world! Speaking of filthy...Brooks decided to play outside after church, I looked out the window and he was waist deep in a mud puddle....HAHA! all boy, what can you say??!

Mud? What mud??

Here is another pic of something our little guys did one day when he was left alone a little too long in the bathroom....if you know its quiet, then you KNOW he is into something!! This time it was a large tub of vaseline!!