8 Years and Counting....

Matt and I celebrated our 8th anniversary today. Actually, we kicked off the anniversary festivites on Saturday at one of our very favorite places.... This seafood restaurant is right on the river in Paducah, and not only is the food excellent, but the atmosphere is romantic and warm. We love, love, love going there. Every time we go, I have hopes of sitting outside to enjoy the scenery while we have dinner. It hasn't happened yet. It is cool and rainy every time we go to eat there, so it has gotten to be a joke to us.

Before dinner, we like to walk down by the river and watch the boats. It was a pretty busy day, and Lee loved it. If it wasn't so cool that day, we would have stayed a lot longer.

He's showing Daddy his favorite tug.

This train is downtown too, and Lee remembered it from our last visit and could hardly wait to see it again. Last time, I let Lee sit on it, even though there was a sign saying not to climb on the train. This time, Matt "warned" me not to even mention it to Lee. The pictures were still pretty cute.

But Lee really wanted to stand on the caboose! I wanted him to too!

Since today was insanely busy, we just planned to go to a late dinner at the Olive Pit. Our waitress was new and frazzled, so we didn't get her to take our picture. These are the best I got from today.

I have been needing and wanting a better camera for some time now, and Matt got it for me. I haven't had much time to read the 3 manuals that came with it, but I can't wait to get started!

I got Matt (and me) tickets to see James Taylor next month! I have kept it a secret since February, so I was about to burst tonight to tell him. He was pretty excited, even though the concert is on a Wednesday night at 8:00. He is usually headed to bed around that time, but hopefully he can stay awake for some JT! We love going to concerts, but it has been 3 years since we have been to one. Hopefully, this one will be worth the wait!

Enough about the newlyweds (ha), and on to the cuteness! Lee's dessert was this yummy cookie drizzled with hot fudge. Normally, he inhales a cookie and asks for another. Tonight, he was savoring every bite.

I couldn't leave the Olive Pit without my favorite treat....Tennessee Cheesecake!

As exhausting as it has been, today has been a wonderful day that I hate to see come to an end. On one hand, it seems like yesterday that we were married, and on the other, it seems like Matt has always been in my life. Every day is a new adventure, and after all this time, no one makes me laugh like he does. I am so happy with my little family and can't wait to see what our future holds.

Monday funnies

To kick off the Fish Fry Festivities, the ladies at Story Hour provided the kids with a fish-themed day. They sang fish songs, did a fish craft, read 2 fish books, went fishing and got a fishy surprise! Lee is decorating his fish bowl here.

Next he got to go fishing in Mrs. Donna's closet. He liked reeling.

He caught some goldfish!

The best part of Lee's day was when Mrs. Mary Lynn asked the kids if they would like to take a fish home with them. Lee requested 2. When Mrs. Mary Lynn asked me if that was okay, I told her I wasn't prepared to make such a big decision on short notice. I had no idea we were going home with a pet! I was being funny, of course, and told her that Lee could have 2 "fish."

He was beyond thrilled!

He sang to them, talked to them and told them all the things he was going to teach them....like play tag. He named them Thomas and Percy. We had a couple of errands to run after Story Hour, and he toted them into each place. After our first stop, he was shaking the bag and said, "Oh my! Look how much you have grown." It was so funny. Melody convinced her boys to take theirs to a pond and release them. When she invited Lee to join them, he said, "No! These fish are going home with me!" There was no hesitation. So we went to Walmart to get some food for them. When we got back in the car, I noticed one was not looking so great. He was not playing tag with his friend, as Lee had demanded. I knew we were in trouble. By the time we got home, both fish were doing the backstroke. We had some excitement with a snake in the garage(another post for another time) so Lee forgot about them. Hopefully, we can get him a goldfish at the carnival this week. He'll be so excited.

Here is a frog that he colored last week. It was hanging in the hall at school, and he was tickled to see his art displayed.

Lee LOVES the musical cards these days. I usually have more fun choosing a card than a gift, because I get to watch him dance. Sweet Brylie broke her leg this weekend, so we were choosing a get-well card for her at the store. Lee found a card that played Shout! He loved it. He was dancing so much that he drew an audience. Normally he gets really shy in these situations, but not today. He kept on shaking it until the music stopped.

This was the grand finale when I thought he was going to do the splits. The people watching him clapped when he was done. Then he got shy and clung to my leg. It was great while it lasted.

Singing in the rain

Sunday's rain provided lots of water holes that Lee just couldn't resist. After taking off the prized McQueen crocs, he splashed and stomped in the water until he crashed.

Sunny Fun

3 posts in one day?? Yep, you can tell that Lee and I got some much needed sunshine today. We have been couped up all week with the chilly weather and sickness. We headed outside for a couple of hours today, and I was armed with my camera. Wonder why my memory stick is always full?? He has just recently been able to reach this on his own.

Have I mentioned how much he loves to swing?

He was thrilled with his "find" while digging today. I came inside to change the clothes out, and when we came back, he said, "Where's my worm? I left him right here on the table?" I panicked thinking he meant the kitchen table, but he meant the outside table. Of course, he had wriggled away in the time that we were gone. I guess this means I'm going to have to start really checking his pockets for these treasures.

Here he is filling up Buzz's pool.

Aaaahhhhh!!!!

Animated Storyteller

I snapped this series of pictures today as Lee was telling me what he and Paul are going to do at the carnival together next week. It ends with how high they're going to be on the ferris wheel. He can't wait!

Guess who had a birthday this week!

THIS GUY!! Our sweet Buzz turned 5 on Easter. We postponed the birthday celebration due to the holiday. He was a good sport about it.

He was not such a good sport about the birthday hat.

Here he is trying to get it off. He got a new bone and a new collar, but his favorite part was all the extra love.

Random Funnies

Today, we were sitting at a red light in town, and Lee pointed at the building out his window. He said, "Mommy, that rock building over there is where I take Shelby to get her teeth cleaned. It's called an orthodontist." He has been with Nam once to take Shelby, but the way he said it today was like he takes her every week.

He has been drinking Fresca at Nam's on Sundays, but he calls it "Capresca." I'm not sure how to even spell it, but that's the way it sounds.

Here are some other funny things he says:
Flo (from Cars) is "Fwo"
without is "withabout"
Crocs are "Gators"
sleeves are "sweebes"
maps are "naps"
crayons are "crayouns"


Tonight, the movie "My Best Friend's Wedding" was coming on, and the music caught his attention. He asked me what was coming on, and I told him. He asked what a wedding was, and I told him it's where 2 people get married. He asked if there was a "bwide and gwoom," and I said yes. I asked him he thought he'd be a groom one day, and I thought he was going to cry. He said, "I don't want to be a gwoom, Mommy!"