Disney Hogs

We decided to represent the Hogs at Mickey's house one night.  Love it!

 

Mamaw's 80th Birthday

Mamaw's 80th birthday was on July 3, but we weren't able to have her party until last Saturday.  We all went to Jodie's for a day of food, fun, and fellowship at the pool.  

The kids were excited to help Mamaw blow the candles out on the cake so they could dig in!  This pool was pretty crowded when we all got in.  Mark threw the kiddos up in the air about a hundred times and I just knew he wouldn't be able to get out of bed in the morning.  Braxton won the prize for best aerial flip, by the way!  It's a good thing JJ didn't see it!

It's not the greatest pic, but I had to put a picture of Papaw on here.  He and Mamaw sat under the tent with the misting fans all day.  I think they were very cool!

We had barbecue, beans, and the best baked potato salad ever!  Yummy!  I think I gained 5 pounds that day because I ate so much!

The men hanging out...

The littlest of the Efird clan - Campbell, Kason, and Grace.... I heard someone say it's time for someone to have another one soon! 

It began lightning and we had to make the kids get out of the pool.  We kept telling them it would blow over, but it didn't... they still had a great time although I'm not sure if Jodie's house and kitty will ever be the same!

I say it all the time, but my family is so blessed!!!  I never want to take that for granted!  Now we're looking forward to Timber Lodge in two weeks! Can't wait!!!

Mi Padres

I really hope I got that right!  My parents went to Puerto Vallerta a few weeks ago and Mom shared some pics with me.  I really liked this one!

Really glad they had a good time with DK and Vern!  They deserve it!!

They're Young, They're Fun, They're the Class of '91

We went to Heber Springs this weekend for Mark's 20th class reunion.  AHG!!!! Twenty sounds so old!  So glad that it wasn't me celebrating!!  I didn't go to Mark's ten year reunion because it was during the "break up" period of our relationship.  Having said that, I was a little nervous about going to hang out with a bunch of people that I didn't know for the weekend but we had a really good time!

We went to tour the high school which the kids said "was taking way too long!"  I don't think they were that impressed.  They did get a kick out of seeing Uncle Steve's senior picture.  Kam said, "ooh, he was cute!"  I snapped this obviously blurry picture with Mark's phone. I took my good camera and never got it out so all these pics were taken with a phone.  I'm hoping we can get some better shots from someone who had a real camera.

We then went out on Greers Ferry with some great old friends of Mark's and their families.  The kids were able to go down the slide on their houseboat and then tube a little before we docked for the rest of the day to float and swim.  Of course, Kamdyn doesn't meet a stranger and she made fast friends with everyone on the boat.  I joked that she would be calling Matt "Uncle Matt" before the day was over.  Thanks to Matt and Nicki for a great day on the lake!

I love to tube and had no hesitation in hopping on with Mark for a ride.  I knew that Matt would try to really "rough us up" and let me tell you that I was having a blast until Mark's knee flew up and hit me in the head.  The boat stopped immediately and everyone on board said they couldn't see my head for Mark's knee.... I've been known to be dramatic so it should come as no surprise that I thought that I had a concussion or whiplash. I kept that to myself since I was with virtual strangers though.   I did have a knot on my head by the time I made it back into the boat and Mark will tell you that he felt the impact of my head on his knee.  

We had dinner at Lindsey's Rainbow Resort and had a nice time.  The kids wanted to rent a paddle boat here (which weren't even available).... I think that's why Cooper turned his back on me and refused to look at my phone for a picture. 

I must have bribed them with something because they are both in full cooperation mode in this picture. 

Did you notice Cooper's Batman eyes?  Before anyone thinks I'm awful,  I put sunscreen on his face but apparently not close enough to his eyes.  We have sunscreen issues with his face anyway....

Mark, Cooper, and two of his old friends walking to the convention center to visit.  It was really nice to meet some of Mark's friends that I've heard so much about.

The kids enjoyed looking at the old pictures and yearbooks and even picked Mark out in a few.  

I saw this on the table and thought it was cool because I've always loved Mark's eyes. Apparently, I'm not alone.   I had so hoped for at least one child with his crystal blue eyes.  Alas, it didn't happen.


All in all, it was a great weekend.  The kids loved meeting everyone and really didn't meet any strangers.  They were playing with all the kids by the time the night was over.  We heard more than one comment on Cooper's southern drawl, which I need to blog about sometime.


My reunion is next year and I told Mark that I didn't think it would be this much fun! 

Two More Sweet Girls

I couldn't resist that title!  Girls may be stretching it, but I do believe we are sweet!

Deana had a friend make us Minnie shirts to match the girls.  I cannot tell you how many people stopped us to ask us where we got them.  They were super cute and the four of us together really stood out.  We also decided that we would buy Minnie ears to match the girls as well, but decided to save our $24.95 and just take our picture in them instead.

Deana planned our entire trip from start to finish and I can't thank her enough for all her work.  We had a great time and made many memories!

I'm pretty sure this is the only picture of me with my hair down that I had made all week long.  Wouldn't you know it would look awful?  I'm not sure why I fixed it before we went to the beach!  I'm also fairly certain that Deana and I haven't had our picture taken together in about 16 years!  Maybe there's a wedding picture of us together somewhere.... oh how we have changed! 

Two Sweet Girls

I love this picture of Kamdyn and Katelyn together in their matching Minnie shirts and ears!

Anytime we wanted Kamdyn to do something, we would just tell her that Katelyn was doing it too and she would do it with no problem.  At one point, I wanted her to do something and Katelyn said, "this is too easy!"  

We have always laughed and said that Katelyn looked like me with her red hair and fair skin.   I actually think the girls sort of favor in this picture.  I know their Mimi and Nana will love this picture when they see it!

Coop's End of Year Book

Another reason I love Mrs. Mae's is because at the end of the year we are given a book (or two) of the kids special drawings, paintings, poems, and a synopsis of each week written by their teacher.  

I cannot tell you how much I look forward to and enjoy sitting down to read these books.  Cooper's cracked me up this year....

I'm not sure where Cooper learned about "buffalo beer" but I was quite embarrassed after reading that entry.  I promise he didn't learn that at home!

I also enjoyed reading about he and Alexis arguing over whose daddy was older.  Cooper said Mark was 17...uh, yeah, about 20 years ago!!!  

These books always bring a tear to my eye (and Mark's too!) and this year was no different.  I lost it when I saw his little hand print and read the poem about remembering him when he was 4!!  As I read the entries about Cooper loving pancakes and his teacher loving his laugh, I was so grateful for Mrs. Kristi and how much she knows and loves Cooper.  I couldn't ask for better!