Maddie and Annas Farm Party

Last weekend we celebrated Maddie's 7th and Anna's 5th birthdays at Ashton Farms. The girls were so excited and could not wait to get on their cowgirl duds and hit the farm. The kids got to feed sheep, pigs and goats, hold and pet bunnies, chase chickens and ride horses. I think everyone had a great time and the ladies of Ashton Farms were awesome hostesses.

Jack's messy face a road race and the Bama game...

Jack's messy face toothy grin. He looks like he is having so much fun you would think he actually liked to eat. For some reason he enjoys spitting it back at us more than eating.
Game day with big sis.

This past Saturday was a full day. It started early in Boiling Springs at the Jump in the Lake 5K. I ran the race along with Uncle Jer and Aunt Cami. We had a lot of fun and finished strong. According to the official time Cam and Jer tied with a time of 22:21 but Jer swears that he won. I came along eventually with a time of 25:04. After the race we loaded up in the van and went to Julian's first Pop Warner game. Jules did great, apparently I missed a heroic shoe string tackle to save a touchdown.

Then it was home for some rest before the Bama game. Roll Tide!!

Late Summer Fun

A few weeks ago Briar and I surprised the girls with a day at Freestyle Music Park. Jack stayed with Siggie so we could play at the girls pace. We planned on doing this for about a month but didn't tell the girls where we were going until we pulled up in the parking lot and they could see all of the rides. They were very surprised and very excited.

Sunny and very, very hot!!

As soon as we got there we all got on a ride, a spinning ride and for any of you that know Briar you know what that meant. Here are the girls hanging out while mommy regains her sea legs and eats some ice cubes.

Hang 10 girls!

Mads and Anna entertained the croud before a show. Check out Anna's moves. You go girl!

First day of school!

Well summer vacation is over and it's back to school for the girls. Maddie is starting second grade and Anna started kindergarten today! They are both so excited to be together in the same school again.
Our two sweet little Catholic school girls looking like little angels in front of St. Mary School.
This is our third year at St. Mary School and we all just love it!

Baby brother was bummed he didn't get to go into school with his big sisters. He really got used to having them around for entertainment all day long this summer.

Anna said as she was walking in, " Don't be sad when I leave mommy, because you know I always come back to you." So precious!

She was one of the smaller kindergarteners. Her backpack was almost as big as her. Well, the first day was a success! Anna decided she wanted to live at kindergarten. So much for always coming back to mommy!

Anna turns five!!!

Here is a picture of me holding my sweet baby girl on her 5th birthday! It seems like just yesterday I was holding this tiny little person that was just born. Time has gone way too fast, but what a wonderful little person she has become! Happy Birthday Anna Banana, we love you!!!

Taking a spin on her shiny new Barbie bike.




Our little poser!

Anna loves chocolate just like her grandpa. So, of course, she had a chocolate-chocolate fudge cake for her family party.

No More Training Wheels

We tried this a few times this past year but Maddie was not really in to it. This past weekend we tried again and this time she really put her mind to it. She tired over and over as you will see in the video. We all cheered her on even Anna was trying to help. Once she gained a little confidence in herself she picked it up pretty quick. She was so determined to do it on her own. Check out how she prepares herself for another try by spitting on her hands and rubbing them together.

More Topsail Beach fun!!!

Baby Jack having a blast on the beach!
Anna decided she wanted to surf like daddy. She was a natural!

Maddie caught some waves too on her new board!

Summer Fun!

Its been a while since I posted. Here are a few pics from our annual trip to Topsail Beach. Since then we have been wrapped up in work and getting the girls ready for school. Jack is almost 6 months and he is getting cuter by the day. He is really developing his own personality. He has already cut two teeth!

This is a good picture except Jack and Mom were back at the house napping.

Hang 10 Anna Banana!

Mads loves her little brother and Jack loves his Maddie.

I call this one Kids on the Beach

Sweet boy

4th of July Cookout

We all got together at Cami and Jeremy's for a low key cookout last night. There were burgers, dog, my famous cowboy baked beans, watermelon and of course fireworks. We decided to fore go the big display that uncle Jeremy and I are known for until we go to the Topsail in a couple of weeks. Something about burning the neighbors house down??

Mad's and Lil's with sparklers.

Everyone loves watermelon.

Happy birthday USA!!

Julian was decked out in his 4th of July outfit and Jack was very impressed.

4th of July at the beach

We battled the crowds and traffic to hit the beach yesterday. It was a nice morning. Jack made good use of our new beach tent after playing in the surf.

The girls had a blast as usual. They are defiantly beach baby's. They had fun boogie boarding and snorkeling.

And sunbathing of course.

Jack relaxing!

Jack's New Trick

Jack is learning new tricks every day. Everything he gets in his hands goes straight in his mouth. He found his feet the other day and I think that if he could he put those in his mouth too. Something his dad is very good at.

Siggie's Birthday Fiesta!

We all gathered at a local watering hole last night to celebrate Siggie's birthday. I'm not going to say how old she is because I want Christmas presents next year, but lets just shy she getting up there. It was a lot of fun. We asked our waiter if they could sing her happy birthday and they rolled out of the kitchen with a flaming apple pie shot! Check it out.

After that she was out of control.

All right I may not get Christmas presents next year. It was a lot of fun anyway.

Happy Birthday Mom!

The Simpson Girls Big Day

Here are the aforementioned pictures from Maddie's violin recital and Anna's preschool graduation. It was a big day for our whole family.

Maddie is a natural. She had the twinkly rhythms down.

Grandpa and little brother showing support on Anna's big morning.

Anna and her teacher Ms. Lyles. We really enjoyed having both girls at Wesley for pre-school. It is a great school and the teachers love the kids. We will miss everyone.

The proud graduate!

Mommy's Birthday Weekend

Briar's birthday was Saturday so we made a weekend out of it. Friday was Anna's pre school graduation and Maddie's violin recital (that's a whole different post... stay tuned). After the days events we went to dinner at mommy's favorite restaurant Hiro for some Hibachi. Actually Briar and I are kind of over that but the kids seemed to enjoy watching the guy cook on the table. Briar got a new camera for her birthday and we had a lot of fun taking hundreds of photos of just about everything this weekend. Here are a few of my favorites, of course they are of our beautiful children. What else!

Say "cheese" Banana

Jack dreaming of the day when he can chase down and tackle one of the girls.

Maddie is growing up so fast.


Life guard on duty.

On Saturday night (Briars Birthday) we cooked some crabs and had a great time pickin and eatin. I was surprised that Maddie and Anna really enjoyed them. We did most of the pickin for her but she tried. Anna just had fun playing girlfriend and boyfriend with two crabs. Jack couldn't hang. Maybe next year buddy.

Chip off the old block

Roll Tide Roll!!