Camp Abby

Welcome to Camp Abby...an evening filled with giggles and fun by some pretty cute little girls!  

Friday evening (March 17), 12 little girls gathered at Camp Abby for an evening of fun.  They had a movie, crafts, food, cake, and presents.  Not to mention a whole lot of room to just run around and be crazy girls!

Making a door hanger and a necklace.

The birthday girl and her daddy.  Love my brother!

Sweet girl with her bottlecap necklace.

Hallie & Pop

Cute Little Campers!

Abby--The Birthday Girl!

Hallie in her chair with her cute nametag. :o)

Cute Campers

More Cute Campers

The "Behind the Scenes" Gals

Mrs. Edie and Nonna

Pop and Kelly cutting sticks for roasting marshmallows. :o)

After I took this picture, my brother said, "Really?"

The cake.

Making a wish!

 Ready to roast marshmallows!

HG, Kelly, & Abby

Hallie and Mrs. Edie

The next day...pinata time!

Hattie Grace giving it a shot

Hallie whacking the pinata...I told Jonathan she might need to play t-ball.  lol.

And the good-bye...Nonna, Hallie, and I headed to Birmingham and Pop stayed behind.

I realized that I didn't take very many pictures over Spring Break.  Honestly, we didn't do that much.  I got some sweet time with my momma and daddy.  Hallie got to play a lot with her cousins.  And I got to have lunch with my sweet cousin, Rachael, and hear all about her fiance and her wedding plans.  I am so happy for her that she has found an amazing guy!  I ate lunch with my sweet BFF, Mandi, at a new place (can't remember the place) that had the most delicious calzones and FRIED PEPPERONI CHIPS!  Oh my!  And to top it off, I got to meet my lovely cousins/BFF, Stephanie, at Zaxby's (my third time that week--ha!).  At all, there was lots of good conversation and laughter!  Overall, it was a good Spring Break.  Wish it had been longer...wish Abby had been out of school so we could have done more.  But again, it was a good, restful week that even allowed me to sit by my parents' covered pool and get a little sunshine on my pasty white skin. :o)

Alabama Bound

We headed to Alabama in the yucky rain early Saturday morning (March 11).  I don't know why I always forget that half the battle of getting to Alabama is actually getting OUT of Texas.  We trudged on...and a little after lunch time, we hit Louisiana.  We took a little break at the rest stop and let Hallie get some wiggles out (and let's be honest...Nonna and I needed a stretch break, too!).

After getting through Louisiana (which didn't take nearly as long as getting to LA), we trucked it on through to Mississippi.  We got there just at sunset, and it was beautiful!  Hallie wanted to stop at the river, and so we obliged--plus we needed another stretch/potty break.  By this time, Hallie was absolutely wild.  I mean WILD!  She hadn't napped at this point at all.  

Hallie and I walked up to the little walk-across bridge to look out on the Mississippi.  This picture was taken just before I nearly had a heart attack.  Hallie said, "I'm going to slide down this hill."  Remember how I said she was wild?  Yeah...I all but had to grab her arm b/c well, if you've been here, you know that this spot isn't actually a hill...it's more like a drop off to a little concrete driveway.  Good grief, that child! :o)

I do love this sweet face. :o)

Running across the walk-across bridge...probably hoping to not get back into the car!

We carried on with minimal stops all the way to Heflin, Alabama.  We stopped at the Alabama rest area to change drivers, but since Hallie was asleep and it was dark/late, we didn't snap a picture.  We thankfully pulled into my parents' driveway at 11:30 pm.  Whew.  What a long ride.

Party, Party, Party

Hallie is FIVE!  And she partied all weekend long.  She started her birthday off with a few presents and then moved onto a school-day celebration.

Thanks to my principal and wonderful first grade team, I was able to take cupcakes to Hallie's school for a little while and celebrate with her.  Honestly, it was the longest hour and a half of my life and I couldn't wait to get back to my first graders.  I loved having lunch with Hallie...and I loved sharing that time with her.  But bless her sweet teacher's heart.  It takes a VERY special person to be a Pre-K teacher...and I'm just not that special. :o)

Friday afternoon, Hallie came home to a HUGE surprise from gramps!

On Friday evening, she chose her birthday supper location--Olive Garden.  She ate her weight in salad and ate a little bit of her spaghetti.  When we got home, she had no problem blowing out her candles and chowing down on *another* chocolate cupcake (her third of the day).  After coming down from her sugar high, she crashed...eventually.

Saturday was spent with RahRah and Gramps (Hallie continued to celebrate and Mommy & Daddy needed to clean house in prep for Nonna and Pop's arrival).  She started her day off with pancakes and bacon.  Then she spent her day going to the post office, making a rain maker, snacking, watching a movie, "helping RahRah make Olivia cookies", and spending time with her new (almost 8 months old) cousin, Esther Margaret.  Sadly, I have no pictures to document this day of her weekend celebration.

Sunday morning we slept in, exhausted from a day of cleaning, and welcomed Nonna and Pop around 9:30 am.  We hit the ground running with last minute preparations for Hallie's biggest big day party!

We arrived to Texas Cheer and Dynasty a little early--but not early enough.  They had just finished setting up for the party, but we had even more to set up...the snack table and the sweets buffet (which I didn't even get a picture of--SIGH!).  Kids started pouring in and they instantly started having a blast.  Honestly, the party was a little rushed...it was only an hour and a half long which just isn't long enough for the kids to play, eat, and then open presents.  I was feeling a little frazzled toward the end of the party, but that didn't stop everyone from having a good time (at least I think they were having a good time!).

I didn't get that many pictures, but I did get a few.  Hopefully I can hold onto the memories sweet smiles in my ever-forgetful brain (here's hoping!).  So...our big girl is now the big five.  Here's to partying...until next year!

Flashback

2008--Hallie is ONE

2009--Hallie is TWO

2010--Hallie is THREE

2011--Hallie is FOUR

I Love Ya, Tomorrow!

Sweet Hallie Shea--

Today you are still four.  You are my big four year old.  Tomorrow you'll be FIVE!  It'll be "your biggest big day"!  We are so proud of the little girl you have become.  You are tender-hearted, sweet, compassionate, and can memorize anything in a split second.  You amaze us.  You are also such a creative little thing!  You love to "write and illustrate" stories...and frankly, I think you do a really good job.  You are very detailed...you don't miss a thing!  You are our sweet, sweet girl and we love you tremendously!  Now, you also have a fiesty side...a "I want it right now" side...and a a scream-out-low-throw-a-fit side.  But that's what makes you our Hallie-girl.  We wouldn't trade your personality for anything!

We pray that you continue to grow in your love for God and see early on that He sent Jesus for YOU! We love you so much!

Tomorrow is your BIG day...you will be FIVE YEARS OLD!  You are beside yourself with excitement.  It's really fun to watch you because you really "get it" that it's your birthday and that it means something special.  And boy does it.  Your birthday is so incredibly special to us!  We are thankful for you...you are a blessing to Daddy and me!

I will love you forever!

Mommy

Last day to be FOUR!

Hallie's usual, silly side :o)

Picking flowers...

"These are for you, Mommy!"

Where, where, where does the time go?

Bop it! Twist it! Pin it!

I have *finally* DONE something that I pinned to Pinterest.  Don't get me wrong.  I think Pinterest is pretty neat.  I really like the idea of being able to keep up with things all in one place by using the pictures.  But there are all kinds of things wrong with the presentation of Pinterest.  That's not what this post is really about, though. :o)  It's about actually DOING something.  And this morning I did.  I made these lovely little mini cinnamon rolls.  They were delightfully yummy.  I'll let you guess which pictures is of the ones I made.  I'm sure you think it's the first one.  Hahaha.  I kid, I kid.  The one thing I dislike about online recipes is that mine *never* look like the original picture. Who can make something so neatly in a mini muffin pan?!  I obviously didn't worry about where the icing went.  I wanted to make sure it was SLATHERED onto the lovely little buns.  The pan will wash.  My first attempt was a little overcooked, so I'll know to lessen the time next time.  And I'll also use mini muffin cups because even though my pan is a non-stick pan and I greased it, too, they did not come out easily.

Now that I've made the first attempt, maybe I'll try some more recipes that I have pinned to my pinterest page. :o)  Eh...maybe.  Who am I kidding, I definitely won't.  And if I do, it'll be a surprise (for both of us!). 

Give me a J!

On Thursday night, Hallie got to perform a little cheer with her Pre-K class at her school's fundraiser banquet.  It was the cutest thing!  My favorite, though, is Hallie practicing her cheer for her daddy and me the night before. :o)  She was serious about her cheering!