Easter Egg Hunt 2011

Another busy, fun weekend! After thunderstorms and tornado sirens all Friday night, we woke up to a fun, but busy day! I headed out the door to host a wedding shower for a good friend from high school (Lindsey), while Ryan and the girls headed to the Atlanta History Center for a fun morning with grandmommy and granddaddy! After our first stops, we all headed to The Commons neighborhood for the third annual Easter egg hunt. We helped host this year with the Lowery/Morris family and it was so much fun! We had 150 Marietta children there - fun, organized chaos pretty much sums it up!

My little egg hunters...

And they're off!





Ali found a silver egg - she was SO excited! (it may have helped that she had helped set up/throw the eggs out that morning!) :)
Rhodes wanted it for herself!
Ali and two of her sweet friends from school - Lucas and Caroline...
Pinata time!
Water break!
Ali and her prize!

After all the eggs were hunted, the goody bags were given out, pictures were taken and pinata was knocked down - all of the kids LOVED playing with the start line ribbon that was cut down to start the race!

Sweet Lily Boon
My little Easter angels with Doe Doe bunny!
Thank you to all of our friends for coming out - I love this sweet Marietta tradition and am so excited to be apart of it! I'm not sure my girls know how good they have it and what a fun neighborhood/community we live in! :)

Spring Break 2011

This was definitely my favorite beach trip yet! I was thinking about it and the last 5 years I have either been pregnant at the beach or at the beach with a less than one year old or one year old and packing up and I was exhausted just thinking about going to the beach and packing everything up! This year, the girls are at such a fun age and LOVED the beach!

This little one was in pure Heaven - she could have played in the waves for hours! (there were a lot less jelly fish on day two thanks to wind and waves!)

Ali loved the ocean too but preferred to be in the sand relaxing, playing in the sand and playing paddle ball!

Poor thing could not keep her bathing suit bottoms up!

It was the perfect, relaxing trip! (well, as relaxing as it can be with two children ages 2 & 4!) The both really were great and played hard, slept great - and we loved getting to have daddy off work for a few days to help and play with!

We had fun eating at some of our favorite restaurants! (the girls love to check out this mermaid outside of Gnat's Landing - one of our favorites!)

Ali and I got mani/pedis while Rhodes napped one day! I think I have created a monster - she was in Heaven! It may have to become a ritual of ours and we can't wait for Rhodes to be old enough to be able to sit still and join us!

We did lots of walking in our stroller...

And of course hit up every playground on the island where lots of swinging was of course involved....

But, with a background like this, I didn't mind pushing them all day! :)

As soon as we got in the car to head home, I got out my calendar to start figuring out when we can come back. We have a week long trip planned for July but I can't wait that long!!

Our spring break continued with more fun! We stopped by Macon on the way home to meet the newest member of the McNeel family, Lynde! She was precious and the girls, of course, loved playing with Harry!

On Friday, we headed to the zoo and this was unfortunately the only picture I made it home with - eating cotton candy on our way out! The zoo was a zoo as it was the Friday of Spring break, but the girls were great, we saw lots of animals and had fun with fun friends!!

We definitely have spring fever around here and can't wait for a spring and summer outside with fun things to do!!

Beach bums in action!

I got a couple short videos of the girls in action (thanks to Ryan's iphone!) on the beach! They were in Heaven! :)

2.5 years of Rhodes!

Can't believe my baby girl is already 2 and a half years old! I don't remember what life was like before Rhodeso entered our lives - she has filled this household full of laughter (LOTS of it!), joy, energy (and exhaustion!), and so much more! She amazes us every day with the things she says! She is a child who dives into life head first - not afraid of much, a smile constantly on her face and a tear rarely in her eye! I must say - she is also not afraid of throwing a fit or trying to get her way - even when her Mama tells her no ma'am! She is our family's comedian - even her teachers tell me how she is one of the funniest kids they have ever met. She does funny things at school like eat her friend's (especially her bffs in class - Lee and Webb) lunches when no one is looking! :) She loves to sing songs like the Veggietales theme song, her ABCs, Old McDonald, B-I-N-G-O and everything in between. When she sings, she sings loud and clear for all to hear! ;) It is my goal to get a video on here asap of her blurting out her favorite show, Veggietales, theme song. Hilarious! She loves to run around and play outside (and of course swing!), play in the ocean/pool, do gymnastics and jump on the trampoline and the girl just really loves life! She has the type of personality where she will just go, go, go until she crashes...and crashes hard! She adores her big sister and thinks all of Ali's little friends are her best buddies too. Whenever we have playdates, they are always three little amigos. Both Ali and Rhodes' teachers tell me that Rhodes is like a local celebrity when both of their classes happen to pass in the hall or end up in the playroom at the same time on a rainy day. There was one day, Rhodes' teacher told me that it was like the paparazzi and when all of the little girls in Ali's class spotted Rhodes (including Ali) they swarmed around her and at one point had a circle around her and when Rhodes made her way out from all of her "fans" :) her hair was all messed up, bow had fallen out, etc. She is the perfect mix of loveable/huggable/hilarious/stinker and we love her to the moon and back! One of our favorite things she does right now is when we tell her she can't do something, she will turn away, shake her head and quietly say "oh maaaan"...it is hilarious. She also calls for me when she wakes up "Ooooh Moooomm, where are you???" - (she sounds like a teenager when she talks to me and always calls me Mom - I can just see the eye rolling I have to look forward to in about 11 years that will go with it!) We love our sweet Rhodesy more everyday and are so grateful God brought her into our lives 2.5 years ago! She has taught me so much as a mother and gives me a run for my money daily and I adore her more than she will ever know!

Just what the doctor ordered...

Ahh...just in time, spring break is here! The four of us packed up our bags yesterday (Baxter had a spend the night party with my parents!) and headed to the beach. The weather has been perfect and it has been the most perfect vacation - day 1! On the way down, during moments of silence, Rhodes would blurt out with enthusiasm "We goin to da beach!!!!" - We have a beach bum on our hands! We went for a walk this morning and they were both excited about getting out of the stroller to go walk on the beach, especially Rhodes. She was squealing with giddiness when she saw it and started jumping up and down when we let her out. She also ran headfirst towards the ocean (in her smocked dress :)), whereas Ali stayed back for fear of all of the dead jellyfish on the beach (there were a ton of them!) - she was cautious and excited!

We made it to the beach and Rhodes was obsessed and excited about putting on sunscreen. She kept asking for more and giggled the entire time I put it on her! ;)
Ali loved the beach too - we left our pails and shovels at home so she loved playing golf in the sand and playing at the shore! She loved writing her letters in the sand - especially Ali, Rhodes, Dada, Mama and all of her ABCs - she loves writing these days and we are so proud of her! :)

I love the differences between my two sweet girls - they couldn't be more perfect & different (or more beautiful in their mother's humble opinion). Like I said before, there were big jellyfish all over the ocean...I was sure that Rhodes would get stung as she wanted to run out into the middle of the ocean. (Luckily - you could see them and avoid them!) She LOVED it - would have stayed in it for 24 hours and would run in, get on all fours and shout "I swimming!"...we warned her over and over about the jellyfish and Ryan kept a close eye on her (pulling her out over and over again) and luckily she made it out sting-free!! :) Ali was loving it too but we were cracking up at her... we would warn Rhodes about a jellyfish nearby and Rhodes would jump in anyway and Ali would back up,cover her eyes and say "I can't even watch her!" - and then say "Rhodes - Be careful!! There are jellyfish! You are going to get stung!" - she was worried sick Rhodes would get stung - such a mother hen! :)

There were men fishing in the ocean so Rhodes would run around with her pole (stick) and poke her stick down with a serious face and say "I'm going to catch a fish!"....she cried begging Ryan to take her fishing! Can two girls be more polar opposites? :)

Both the girls loved playing paddle ball though! They were so much fun - I can not wait to go back to the ocean tomorrow! Just wish I had remembered our camera (thank God for iphones!) and video camera to catch these two in action!

I hope the rest of our trip is as much fun as today was! :) More to come...

Whirlwind of a week!

It has been a crazy week around here! I keep wanting to sit down and catch up on the blog and don't even know where to begin (Plus, unfortunately, I have no pictures to show for it!) I am in the midst of tax season and really looking forward to 4/15 and between playing tennis (I am the co-captain this season and trying to play as much as I can!), play dates, activities, schools, planning a community Easter egg hunt, etc...it's just been a busy week! :) In addition, Ryan had a big tax appeal deadline for work this week and worked most nights this week until 12:00 or later! I am so proud of him for his hard work and was so excited to see this little mention the the Marietta Daily Journal's "Around Town" section today....


ONE OF MARIETTA'S OLDEST LAW FIRMS has a new name.

Created more than 30 years ago by Don Smith, Gary Eubanks and Hap Smith as "Smith, Eubanks & Smith, P.C.", the firm changed its name this month to Smith, Tumlin, McCurley & Patrick, P.C.

"We wanted to recognize the contributions of Wayne McCurley and Ryan Patrick," said Hap Smith. "Gary Eubanks retired six years ago and Don Smith and I are happy to share the Smith name."

Marietta Mayor Steve Tumlin joined the firm in 1996 and the name was changed to Smith, Eubanks, Smith & Tumlin.

Don Smith remains the anchor of the firm that officially began in 1980 after he, Eubanks and Hap Smith began practicing together in 1976 with the firm of Custer, Smith & Eubanks, headed by the late Larry Custer.

"It's a good change for us," Smith said. "Wayne has been a great member of the firm and Ryan is our future. He will be running the firm before you know it."

Patrick graduated from Mercer Law School in 2005 and came to Marietta from a Gwinnett County firm. His practice is concentrated in business and real estate transactions, corporate work and estate planning. He is married to the former Jamie Tumlin and is the father of Ali and Rhodes.

McCurley is a long time and highly respected real estate lawyer who graduated from Mercer Law in 1986 who joined the firm in 1993. He and his wife Anita have three grown children.

*You can also find it here...there is a picture in the actual paper too!

We are all looking forward to a relaxing few days at the beach to catch up and slow down for a little bit...and hopefully lots of pictures to come! Happy spring break!

Spring, spring, spring!

I forget every year about the feeling I get inside the second I smell spring in the air and feel the first breeze......maybe I have a case of seasonal affective disorder? If so, thank goodness it's spring....

And, man, it feels sooo good....makes me just want to spend 24/7 (or more likely 9/7) outside and feel the feeling of spring outside....

I am excited of what's to come this spring! We have been busy with birthday parties, get togethers with friends, soccer, work, life and we feel blessed!

I thank God every night for this beautiful weather and, most especially, for my little blessings...

(Love these little dirty faced monster/princesses) :)

**Thanks to the Teddy and Boon photographers for capturing a few pictures - I have been such a bad photographer lately - a/k/a - bad blogger.

Friday Funday!

Just realized that I started this post a few days ago and my little "helper" published it before I even had a chance to type! :) Just a few pictures from my iphone from this past week. We continue to stay busy and sometimes we have to cool off with some DQ.... *Ali was so excited that Dairy Queen was not just a "swim house" treat - but there is also one in Marietta! (Even though we have been to this one before - she had it in her mind as a St. Simons signature restaurant!)
On Friday night, the whole Patrick clan split up to go on our own different excursions...

Ali got to go on a special date night with her Papa to the Huddle House and to go see Ruth Mitchell's production of Peter Pan....she was SO excited....

This Mama got to go out with fun friends to go see Bethenny Frankel at the Cobb Energy Center...a big thank you to Laura for the box seats! It was so much fun!
Bethenny's husband, Jason, (if you even know who she is!) was sitting right below us - unfortunately, my iphone did not have zoom - but he is sitting in this row right by the microphone)

And, last but not least, Ryan and Rhodes had so much fun on a daddy/daughter night playing and eating with friends! (cute picture here...http://littlehappything.blogspot.com/) I have to admit - we have a lot of nights out - but I have major mother's guilt leaving my entire family - including Ryan - on a Friday night! I was thrilled to be able to go out guilt free knowing Ali was excited to have some special one on one time with her papa and Rhodes was having some with her daddy (and with her friends - she never gets a playdate where she isn't the "little sister!").

Catching up!

I hate that I always start my blogs with "we've been busy!" - hasn't everyone?? Between tax season for me, Ryan having some big projects at work, putting our house on the market, winter break, and just daily life - I feel like there is never a minute to sit down and catch up! So is life - and I do enjoy staying busy! (just get a little overwhelmed at times...and I know I'm not the only one! :))

First, putting our house on the market...I have been wanting to move forever, LOVE our house, LOVE our neighborhood, LOVE our commute to the square/work/school/church - all in 2-3 minutes/1 mile! We plan to stay very close - somewhere in this general area - just need some more space! Who knows how it all will go - I keep reminding myself that it may take two years to sell our house in this market - trying not to keep my hopes up too much...but looking forward to a fun change!

Last week - the girls and I decided at the last minute to join Mimi on a trip to St. Simons. We hadn't been to our beach house since August! It was fun to get away, but still a little cool for swimming (which was disappointing for the girls!)! We are hoping to get back there again for spring break...this time with Ryan! (so maybe then it will be a little more of a "vacation" for this mama! :))

In other big family news, this week, Ryan's law firm is officially changing names - it will now be Smith, Tumlin, McCurley and Patrick. Moving on up and now Ryan is big time! :) We are so proud of him and his hard work!

All in all, we have been enjoying this gorgeous weather and are ready for Spring! Lots of fun events coming up with us (I am counting down the days until my trip to the Hamptons in May!) to look forward to and hopefully lots of blogging for me to keep up with our fun adventures!

Sweet Valentines

It's March, but I am finally catching up from Valentine's Day! The girls both came down with pink eye the Friday before Valentine's - poor things! We were housebound for 24 hours with lots of hand washing!

The doc told me that it was a 24 hour incubation period, so we were excited that Ali and Ryan did not have to miss their Daddy/Daughter dance 48 hours later. :) Her poor eyes in these pictures of Ali (and Rhodes) with their valentine...

We had fun making Valentine's cookies (and eating a few!)

And the girls and I had a fun Valentine's Day lunch at Chick-fil-A - as you can see, they were very cooperative taking pictures! :)

Valentine's was a fun treat for our whole family! Ryan and I had a fun date to celebrate on actual Valentine's Day to go see Romeo and Juliet in Atlanta! (He planned way ahead - I was so impressed!) The girls and I loved getting cards, flower deliveries and special Valentine's surprises from Ryan, Mimi and Papa, Grandmommy and Granddaddy and Aunt Ashley! Ali even got a rose from a precious little boy in her class and she couldn't stop smiling! :)