Happy Birthday, Lillie!

Lilly, Lillie, and James

Lilly's friend, Lillie, had her 3rd birthday party today. After the boys left for Fayetteville, James, Lilly, and I headed to Lillie's for some birthday party fun! While we were there, the kids played with the watertable, played in the sandbox, helped Lillie open her gifts, and of course, ate cake and ice cream!

Roadtrip for the Boys

Today after Trevor's game, Todd took him and Josh for a roadtrip to Fayetteville, NC. There is a skatepark there, Mega Skate Plaza, that the boys have been wanting to skate. This skatepark has been featured in all of the skate magazines and television shows. Josh is moving next weekend and their time together is growing shorter and shorter. As a treat, Todd had promised to take them there one weekend. This seemed like a perfect weekend.

They packed up and headed out around 2. The drive is about 2 and a half hours from our house. I can't wait to hear how the trip goes. I know that this is a trip that they won't forget any time soon. I am glad that Todd is such a great father. He enjoys spending time with Trevor and hanging out.

Playoff Time

I always love this time of the year! Trevor has been playing baseball for the past 8 weeks and now the time has come for the playoffs! His team has not done so well this year, however, the playoffs are a tournament based on where your team finished. As long as you win, you keep going. We had the first playoff game this morning and we won! Our next game is Monday night. It's all or nothing from this point on............Go Team!

Memorial Day

I just wanted to take a minute today to say "Thank You" to all of the men and women who have served and are serving our country. I am proud to be an American and we would not be where we are today without all of the hard work that our service men do for us. I know that we are in a difficult time today and it breaks my heart each and every time that I see another fallen solider. I am praying that this time will come to an end sooner rather than later. One life lost is too many. However, these tough times are a reality. I salute all the men and women who serve in our armed forces. Thank You.

Grandma and Papa

Grandma and Papa came for a visit with us this weekend. They are headed to Missouri for a week to see Grandma Betty after they leave our house. Papa and Todd are going to the New River in Virginia tomorrow for some small-mouth bass fishing. Todd has been so excited all week. He's been getting his boat ready, his stuff together, and making flies. He is like a little kid. I am glad that he and his Dad can spend some quality time together. They don't often get to spend time alone. I know that Todd enjoys his Dad's company and cherishes every moment that he has together with him.

As for the kids, they love when Grandma and Papa visit. I couldn't hardly get them in the bed tonight. Lilly was worried that they weren't going to be here tomorrow. After assuring her that Grandma would be here in the morning when she woke up, she finally passed out. I am hoping that everyone will sleep a little late in the morning!

Happy Birthday, Owen

This afternoon, we went to Owen's birthday party. Owen is one of James' friends from school. His party was at Holbrooks Park. The children played on the playground, ate cupcakes, and hit the pinata. James has never seen a pinata before and had no idea what it was. He was so excited once he realized that he could hit it as hard as he could and candy came out of it. He was hilarious when he was hitting it. He had a serious look on his face and he was smacking it as hard as he could. He got in 3 huge hits and finally Diego's legs fell off. James looked as if he was suprised that he had knocked his legs off.When the pinata finally broke, you should have seen the look on his face......... you would have thought that it was a million dollars!

Luau at school

James and his buddy, Nicholas

Lilly in the tunnel

Today was James' last day of school. We had a luau party complete with leis and tons of food. They opened the outdoor pools and fountains and the children were able to play and swim all afternoon.

It was a happy but dreaded for me. I am so proud of James for adjusting so well this year. This was his first time being away from me for any amount of time. At the beginning of the year, it was a little difficult for him. It was probably harder for me than for him, if the truth be known. Over the past year, I have seen him grow and become more confident. He enjoys going to school and being with all of the other children. He has made some good play mates and definately has his favorite buddies. There are several of his classmates that live in our neighborhood. We will be seeing them throughout the summer at the pool and having them over for playdates.

I look upon today as one of many milestones for James. My baby is becoming a little boy more and more each day. However, no matter how big he gets....he will always be a mama's boy!

Baking Cookies

James' last day of school is tomorrow. We signed up to bring cookies to the party. We spent several hours baking cookies this afternoon. Once it was all said and done, we baked 9 dozen cookies! Of course, we tasted a few along the way!

School Pictures

James had his school pictures made on April 30th. They were taken outside on their playground. I absolutely love the one of him in the tunnel.

Bathing Beauty

Lilly loves to be the beauty queen that she is! Tonight after her bath, this is how she came walking in the family room!

Family Fun Day

We had Family Fun Day at the montessori school today. I picked Trevor up from school so that he could go with us. My friend (Shelly) and her daughters (Grace and Addison) went with us also. There were several inflatable bouncy things, tunnels, a basketball game, pony rides, spin art, ice cream, cotton candy, pizza, chick-fil-a, snocones, popcorn..........I could go on and on! The kids had a blast running around and playing for a few hours. At the end of the day, they were worn out!

Happy Birthday, Zachary!

Zachary, the birthday boy!

James and Jackson

(Another) One of James' friends from school, Zachary, had his birthday party today at Monkey Joe's. The kids ran around and played on all of the inflatables. After a hour and a half or so, we ate some pizza, cake and ice cream. There were lots of children from James' class there.

Monkey Joe's is always a hit with the kids!

Latta Plantation

This morning we woke up and decided to visit Latta Plantation Nature Preserve. There is an equestrian center where you can ride, feed, and visit the horses. James and Lilly have been wanting to ride the ponies. Once we got there, James wasn't much on riding. He was ready to go to the lake and play. Lilly loved riding the ponies. She didn't want to get off. We bought a couple of bags of treats and fed the horses that were in the stables.

After visiting for the horses for a while, we headed over to the lake. We had a picnic lunch and they kids played in the water. We saw lots of wildlife while we were there including squirrels, frogs, fish, and even a snake! It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed every minute of it!

Sad Moments

Trevor had a hard day today. He came home from school quite upset and told me that one of his friend's father had been killed in a car accident this morning on his way to work. Trevor was in class with him when they came and pulled him out to deliver the news. Trevor said that he sits by the door and that he couldn't hear what they were telling him, but that he could see the look on his face when he heard the news. Trevor said that he keeps remembering that look over and over in his head. He thought long and hard about his friend all day and night. He and Todd are very close and I think that he kept thinking about that over and over. I am certain that he can not even comprehend the extent of what has just happened to his friend. He had a hard time going to sleep tonight. Trevor wears his heart on his sleeve. He is so tender hearted and sensitive.

I explained to him why it is so important to tell the people that you love, you love them. Show the people that you love, you love them. I explained the importance of sharing your feelings, thoughts, and moments with each other. But above all, I explained how life is so precious that we can never take for granted one second that we have with each other and the ones we love.

Lilly and Lillie

Lilly has a friend in her class at school. Her name is Lillie. Lillie is Lilly's best little buddy at school. They do everything together. This morning when we showed up for class, they were wearing the same outfit. One of the teachers took a picture of them reading together! She said that they were too cute and just couldn't pass it up!

Happy Mother's Day

We had a Happy Mother's Day here in the Gann house. We stayed at home most of the day (the weather was terrible!) We enjoyed spending time together and each other's company.

I am so fortunate and lucky to have my Mother here with me. A mother's love is something that nothing else can compare to. I am thankful for the bond that my Mom and I share. As I get older, the bond grows stronger and I understand some of the "whys" of things that have happened in the past. I know that my Mom loves me and my children more than anything else in the world. I hope that she knows we feel the same!

Happy Birthday, Lance and Myles!

We went to Lance and Myles birthday party this afternoon. They are two of James' friends from school. Yes, they are twins. The party was at "Fun 2 B Fit". It is a gym where they have programs for children such as gymnastics, rock climbing, cheerleading, tumbling, etc. It was a great party and James had a really good time. They got to jump on the trampoline, climb the wall, swing from ropes, and eat pizza and cake (of course!).

Muffins for Mom

This morning at James' school was muffins for Moms. The Moms were to come to class with our children and they had a special breakfast for us of muffins, fruit, juice and coffee. James was so excited. The children had been working on a gift for us all week. We ate muffins and had some juice and James couldn't wait to give me my present. He had made me a set of 6 notecards that he had hand painted on the cover of each one. Everyone knows that I love to write notes and send cards, but these are some notecards that I will NEVER use! They are so precious and special to me. I will treasure them forever!! James was so proud of his work and had the biggest smile on his face. This is what being a mother is all about!

Swim Suit

Lilly has been on a swim suit kick now for about a month. All she wants to wear is her swim suits. Every morning when she wakes up, she immediately puts her swim suit on. It's a fight to get her out of it and put actual clothes on. I had gone shopping a few days ago and found her a new swim suit. Today, I showed it to her. It was about 10 seconds flat that she had her clothes off and trying to put her "kini" (bikini is what she means) on. She looked so cute that I just had to take a picture of her!

At the lake

Today was another beautiful day so we decided to take advantage of it and head to the lake. We left around lunchtime and didn't get back home until about 6:30. We were at the lake all day. We had a great time. The lake wasn't crowded so we were able to ride for a while. We rode up to Mooresville (on the north end of the lake) and docked our boat at Vinnies. Vinnies is a bar/restaurant on the water. They have lots of seafood stuff and a great atmosphere. We ate some lunch and messed around. After we ate, Todd and Trevor made a few runs on the wakeboard. The water is still a bit cool, but not as cold as you would think. James actually was swimming for a while. After swimming for 30 mins or so, he still wasn't ready to get out! We ended the afternoon with a long ride back to Blythe Landing, where we put the boat in. It was nice to be out on the water for the day!

Baseball Time

Trevor playing 3rd base

Batter Up!

Trevor is playing baseball again this year. The season is already in full swing. His team is not the best......so he gets a little disappointed sometimes. He has been playing 2nd and 3rd base most of the time. Overall, he is doing an excellent job at hitting the ball and fielding. The Championship is not based on your season record. It is based on the end of the season tournament.........so maybe his team will still have a chance to win it all!!!!