How 'Bout Them DAWGS??! New Orleans Bowl 2015

I just love New Orleans...in small doses yes....but I do love it!  We had a blast with our Resa in tow at the New Orleans Bowl this weekend.  My boys are SPOILED to Windsor Court suites.  We got some yummy eating in as well.  Of course we hit up the Insectarium...a favorite for my boys.  Until next time New Orleans....

****Parenting note*****
we were stopped in bumper to  bumper traffic when sleeping pic taken.

Christmas happenings...

Oh how I love the Christmas season with my boys!  I think we had a GREAT balance this year...lots of parties and fun but plenty of downtime and snuggles with hot chocolate.  (Well not today...cause it's HOT!)  

Mommy hosted a girls group Christmas party on the 1st so with Nana's help we got our house decorated very early so we've had all month to ENJOY it.  I just love how everything looks so full and lush at Christmas...almost sad to see it go....but it's not time YET!

These pictures are just highlights.  My favorite might be Preston's 2015 Christmas list.  I think it is one for the record books.  LOVE BOTH OF THESE SWEET AGES.  Both still have complete belief in ALL of the magic of Christmas.

But first and foremost us Parkers are doing our best to celebrate the birth of our Savior.  Our boys get it...and of that I am MOST proud....

Merry Christmas everyone!

Disney 2015

For the life of me I don't know why I can't seem to sit down and blog anymore.  Really, it doesn't take THAT long I just don't think about it then when I do I feel overwhelmed by how behind I am then I just don't do it.  HA!  But I  HAD to do a post from our most AWESOME-EST FAMILY VACATION YET! I've been telling people I don't know what Disney puts in their Kool-Aid but it just makes you want more....when you leave you are just ITCHING to go back...and we are!  We will probably wait though until our cousin Patrick is around John Cole's age...because...let me tell you...

JOHN COLE WAS A TROOPER ON THIS TRIP!  He was a few days shy of his 4th birthday while we were there and he was SO EASY.  He didn't even need a stroller.  Yes, you read that right.  My BIG boy walked miles and miles every day never once complaining about being tired.  In fact, it was the GROWN UPS at night that were tired the kids wanted to keep on going.  Now, were they sugared up?  Well, of course they were.  That's what vacation is about.  But I was super impressed at how well they both hung in and we did SO MUCH in 4 days.

Some highlights:  (mainly so I can remember this info in the future #mommybrain)

-The Wilderness Lodge was GREAT!  It was "off the beaten path" enough not to have through traffic from other resorts but yet close enough to everything.  And the boys LOVED the bunk beds.  So did we.  NO FIGHTING IN THE BED IN THE HOTEL!  SCORE 100000 points DADDY for suggesting this.  Extra, extra bonus points for the cool slides and water features at this resort.  Super fun.

-Preston's favorite thing this trip was Space Mountain.  He rode it as many times as he could.  He and Daddy would rush there first thing in the morning and ride it back to back before the park got crowded.  When did my baby get big enough for Space Mountain???

-John Cole took a few days to warm up to some of the things at Disney.  It was all SO REAL to him and even rides like Pirates of the Carribean kind of spoofed him right at first.  After about a day and a half though he was able to get a grasp on the fiction of it all and he really started enjoying it.  If I EVER get around to downloading my photopass pics I will post his smiling face with arms held high on the Seven Dwarf Mine Train...sheer JOY!

-Since Preston didn't have a formal birthday party this year we decided that we wouldn't do one for JC either ( I TRY SO HARD TO BE FAIR!) but we had  a special lunch with Mickey Mouse and the Disney characters sand him Happy Birthday and he has told everyone he has seen about it since we have gotten home.  I think that's a pretty cool bday party :)

-Jeff and I REALLY tried to not run ourselves ragged on this trip and try to relax and enjoy it.  (TYPE A here wants to see as much as possible every second and I have a hard time relaxing when I know there is FUN we are not doing!!!!!!)  I think we did just that.  We had a quiet evening by the pool and really didn't have to get up that early in the morning to get to the parks when they opened because boys take ZERO time to groom and I just had dirty hair for 5 days.  We cancelled our Food and Wine date night to go ride late at the Magic Kingdom and that is something I don't think I'll ever regret.

We had such a great time as a family.  That's what family vacation is all about.  Until next time, Disney....

Family Pics 2015

Dear Kasey Stringer :   You are the BEST!  I kinda wish I had a belt on in these pictures but other than that they are PERFECTION.  And I would hate to brag...but I do have the MOST photogenic boys (including Jeff!) on the planet.  Yep, I do.  Grateful for Kasey's big talent and even bigger heart for her work.  Grateful for a husband who will do this year after year.  And MOST grateful for this family.....Thank you Lord for richly blessing me beyond what I could have even imagined with these men.

Love,
me

Ballgames, Cross Country meets and Fall Ball...OH MY!

It's a fun, BUSY, Fall in full swing at the Parker household!  I had time for one stop yesterday--Academy or Hobby Lobby--and I picked Academy because we needed some sporting goods.  Such IS the life of a #boymom and I would not have it ANY OTHER WAY!

Preston has really flourished during this (his first) Cross Country season.  He has shaved over a minute off his mile and has shown some REAL determination and I am so looking forward to watching him grow even more.

Of COURSE we are hitting all the home football games and having a blast cheering for the Bulldogs!  
And last but not least Preston's season of Fall Baseball started last week with  a WIN!  It is the first time he has played a "real" game where a score is kept....Go Ruston White!  ( I will admit to you , bloggers, that I am NOT looking forward to the nights we play TWO games on a SCHOOL NIGHT...but such IS the life of a #boymom...yes it is ;)

SO grateful for my healthy growing boys and the blessing it is to share these memories with them...

Now...off to tailgate!

Mommy and Daddy Fall Trip 2015

I have a confession to make.  I have a new favorite place in the country...really.  Jeff and I just got back from spending a few (kid free--thanks family!!!) days in the Western Kentucky/Nashville area and I have never been to a more fun, beautiful place. Maybe Preston will want to go to Vandy??  Seriously we had the best time and these few pictures do NOT do it justice....

We started out like a normal Thursday with Preston going to school and John Cole going to Pre-K, but the Jeff and I drove to Shreveport to catch a flight to Nashville.  Our flight from DFW to Nashville was delayed and we BARELY made the kickoff but we did!  Unfortunately, the Bulldogs fell to the Hilltoppers but it was a fun game.  Team looks great.  Quaterback looks better.  It's gonna be a great year.

The drive from Bowling Green, KY to Nashville didn't take long at all but it was still close to 1:00 when we checked in our hotel.  And would you BELIEVE we slept til 10:00 the next day??????? I don't.  It was truly fabulous.  We had lunch a "Bricktops" near Vandy campus then headed to Tootsies in Dowtown Nashville.  At this point it was POURING rain and we were so sad because we had awesome tickets to a music festival that was outside.....but then the sun came out and.....

WE SAT FRONT AND CENTER AT LIVE ON THE GREEN!  No one in front of us.  It was AMAZING.  We saw Zella Day (pictured), Big Data and the icing on the cake one of my favs for years Passion Pit.  The show was awesome and I didn't feel 36....until the next day...lol

My first thought Saturday morning was of my Preston as he ran his very first Cross Country meet.  I'm not really sure what place he came in ...he thinks 40th?? of all of the 1st and 2nd grade boys.  I think that is just wonderful.  A mile is a long way for those little legs and I can't WAIT to cheer him on at the next meet.

We had a three hour drive one way to get to the Ocoee River for our rafting adventure Saturday.  I really enjoyed it but don't think I want to do anything more 'hairy' as my dad would day.  Class 4 rapids were no joke.  Our boat had a tiny wipeout where 2 of the 6 passengers fell out and they ALMOST took me with them.  And I got hit on the cheek with a paddle during it and I don't even know whose paddle it was everything happened so fast...but we were all fine.

Saw this gorgeous sunset on the way home and I just had the biggest feeling of peace wash over me.  I've had some nagging pain that just won't go away and have been EXTENSIVELY tested.  But I still hurt.  I can't explain it though when I saw this sunset I heard God tell me that I was going to be just fine.  So grateful for this message and praying I can TRUST him to heal me ...

Saturday pm we had dinner at one of the SL top 25 restaurants of the South--"Rolf and Daughters"--it was just divine and after too much dessert we were done for the night...and our trip.  4:30 came early this morning but it was worth it to get home to get the boys back in their routine.

Thanks again family.  We really had a BLAST!  I will be back to see you NASHVILLE!!

A surgery and a Birthday

It is BECAUSE of my blog book, my friends, that I had a pretty accurate record of how many times Preston has had strep throat in his short life.  A LOT.  Otherwise he is an incredibly healthy kid, and because of that I ALMOST got cold feet about having a tonsillectomy, but on the other side I am SO GLAD we did it.  Now all of you Mamas out there--this is NO JOKE.  Preston--even with strep--is usually only down for about 24 hours tops.  So I was NOT prepared for the long, painful recovery his sweet little heart endured.  It was bad.  I wasn't sure he could go to school last week but he rallied and did it but he is JUST NOW himself really and its been two weeks. His surgeon took pictures of the puss all over his tonsils/adenoids and showed Jeff and I so I am certain we made the right call.  Thanks to all of you who helped his recovery with visits, ice cream and other treats :)

And in the middle of all of this was PRESTON'S 7th BIRTHDAY!  What the waffle?  We celebrated with a trip to Arlington with some friends as his "party" this year.  So glad our bday is not in the school year so we can get away with that.  It was a hard day on him--he was still in A LOT of pain but I know he enjoyed the time with his friends Hudson and Davis.

P has started school but I will do an offical "BTS" post when John Cole starts back next week.  Love to all and happy back to routine :)