It's been a long time

I had meant to keep this blog updated as often as possible. Life happens. It happened and I haven't been able to update like I've wanted to. I have a ton of new pictures to share, not sure if I can upload all of the great ones at once. We'll have to see how the computer does.

Alex had a birthday! He turned 8 on February 14th. His birthday was on a Saturday so we had his party on the big day itself. We decided on doing a tae kwon do party at his martial arts school. I was a bit worried about it even up to the day before the party but I am SO glad we decided to have it there. Master Choi did a fabulous job and the kiddos had a great time. His Mimi MaryAnn gave him a Wii Fit and the whole family has really been enjoying it. Mary especially loves the yoga part of the game. She looks so cute doing some of the moves. The entire day went very well. Alex invited some friends over after the party to come and play for a bit. Alex Noblett spent the night which just made my Alex's day perfect.

His birthday cake - and yes, I made it myself! I think Delia would be sooooo proud, don't you? I took the picture from an actual photograph of him and did the buttercream frosting transfer. I think it looked fabulous.

Master Choi had a ninja sword for Alex to cut his cake. How cool was that?

Look at that kick! Mary doing her yoga.

The next weekend, we had belt testing. Alex's school has belt testing just about every two months. This time he was testing for a green belt. He knew his form, he had earned five tapes (very good), and he nailed his board breaking technique. It was all good! The following Wednesday was the belt ceremony -it felt like it lasted forever but we were very proud of him.

I like wearing my tutu to belt testing too. It must makes me feel right.

Mary's best friend invited her to attend her sister's bowling party. She was so excited! We have been trying to set up a playdate w/ Emily forever and this was perfect. I met her mom and dad, and the rest of her family. I bowled, we had cake and pizza, and we all had a great time. The two of them are so cute together.

Mary and Emily...BFFs!

Mary, Emily, and Selena - Selena was the birthday girl!

Today was the first day of March. It "roared in like a lion..."! 3 inches of snow - and it snowed all day long. It was absolutely beautiful. The kids had a blast playing outside, there was hot chocolate and chili for dinner. Good times. The only one who wasn't happy was Otis. Poor Otis, didn't want to go outside and was dying to go out and do his thing. He doesn't do well in storms in general...he didn't know what to think of the white stuff.

Stay tuned for more exciting developments!

Mama's Birthday

Well, it's been another year since we all got together and celebrated Mama's birthday. Is it just me or is time really flying by? I wish we could have done it up bigger but I guess the important thing is that we did it. We met my brother and his family at Red Lobster and had a family dinner in Mama's honor. She loved to order the Ultimate Feast - she wouldn't eat half of it but she'd order it every time. Mama loved her seafood! It was bittersweet to not have her there but like I always tell my kids...absent from the body means she is present with the Lord. And what could be better?

Olivia enjoyed her crab legs. My girl likes her crab legs! And she cracked them all by herself this time. I was impressed!

Guess what Alex had?

Chicken fingers and french fries. What else?

And Mary enjoyed a fabulous dish of Macaroni and Cheese - the same kind we have at home that is made from a box. But this plate cost $5. I hope it tasted good!

Here are the Wrights.

Fred and Alex. And NO! They don't look a bit alike!!!!!

Happy Birthday Mama. We love you and miss you more than ever. We never thought we'd be okay without you but somehow, we are good. We are living and we are thriving. One look at those little faces proves that "One smile shatters a thousand griefs". And we are smiling!

Happy Birthday Mary!

Today my baby turned 5 years old. Oh. My. Goodness. When did that happen? She really was just born. We had a fabulous day. It started with a special breakfast for our princess. Then lunch at the pool with her friends around her - we spent the entire day there. And I feel really bad that I didn't even think to reapply our sunscreen because we are all pink tonight. We came home to shower and dress for her bday dinner - it seems like the whole day revolved around our meals, right? We went to a Japanese steakhouse for dinner - the little kids' first time seeing a hibachi grill. They enjoyed it - even though Alex only ate steamed rice and crackers. My dad joined us for dinner and it turned out really nice. Baby was tired and cranky by the time she went to bed but I think she did a great job turning 5 today!

I'm having a hard time watching my baby grow up. She just got her first real haircut last week. She went from hair that she could sit on to a cute little bob just to her shoulders. It completely changed her little look but it is absolutely adorable. And she loves it. Maybe all that hair was weighing her down! She certainly is a little spitfire - at all times. She is the first one to get in trouble, the first one to get spanked, the first one to give hugs and kisses. She is most definitely a Mommy's Girl (I thought all girls were Daddy's girls?) and she won't hesitate to let her preferences known. She fills our home with laughter, giggles, screams and lots of love. Her brother would rather play with her than anyone else. Her sister won't admit it but she really loves her. Her Papi is absolutely lost when it comes to MayMay. She has definitely filled a place in our hearts we never knew was empty. We thought we had the perfect family - a boy, a girl. We thought that was enough. Who would want more? Well, lo and behold, we ended up with a little surprise that turned out to be the missing piece to our family puzzle. Now we are complete. Now we are a perfect family. Thank you Lord for Mary!

Birthday party

Well, the birthday festivities are finally over. And I have to say this was the easiest party I have given yet.

Olivia loves to have sleepovers. She has celebrated her birthday with a sleepover since she turned 7. I convinced her that we should do something different this year. We searched and searched and finally chose a party at Pottery By You. It's a paint-your-own pottery place here in town. They had several different packages available and we chose the "Making Mosaics" party. Liv invited 8 girls and 8 girls showed up! I love 100% participation. The girls got there and our hostess told them how to choose and make their mosaics. All I had to do was sit there and chat with Tara and Dana! Love it! I made a cake - a special request from Liv. I usually buy the cakes from a bakery but for some reason, she wanted a homemade cake this time. Somehow, I pulled one together. AND I made some chocolate flower lollipops too! The colors were perfect - everything was green, brown and white. It totally looked like I planned it but I didn't - I bought the plates right before the party.



So the girls worked hard, had cake, opened presents...and went home!!! Easy peasy.

Mary was invited to spend the night with her cousin Hannah tonight. What a nice surprise! She was so excited. They were kind enough to pick her up this afternoon.

Tara and I went to the gym today. I've never gone on a Saturday before. We went upstairs to work on the treadmill - I had my best treadmill workout yet. I walked for 65 minutes (including the cooldown) which was a little over 3 miles (at a speed of 3.0 but I did jack it up to 3.5 at one point). I listened to my iPod instead of watching tv which I think made the time go much faster.

Liv and I have a SOAR meeting tomorrow. I hope it goes well and that they don't make me write any checks!