Celebrating 7 Years...and a 5 Year Old!

Last weekend we celebrated two very important things...my nephew's 5th birthday and our 7th wedding anniversary! We spent a long weekend in Tyler with my family and had the most wonderful time. We drove in on Friday afternoon and woke up on Saturday morning to head to Jackson's big pool party. Mert hosted the party at our old neighborhood pool, which was almost too much for me and my sappy self to handle. I can't believe that we were all there with our children in the very spot where I played when I was a little girl. Crazy! Meredith's best friend Wendi and her husband Jesse were there with their daughter and ended up making the party even more amazing...Jesse is a fireman! He called his friends on duty and had them swing by the party in the fire truck!! Let me tell you, Colin was literally beside himself. I thought he was going to pass out when it started pulling into the long drive. The firemen were so sweet and let the kids climb all over the truck. It was pretty much Colin's best case scenario. :-) Here are some assorted pics from the party:


hugging my precious nephew! I can't believe he is 5!!

the sisters!


Cory and sweet Pryce!

Mert and Cory

Aunt Alieson and all her babies!

Cousins in a firetruck! :-)

My Daddy!

Jackson!

My dad feeding Pryce her first taste of ice cream...she LOVED it!

Once we made it back to my parents house, the second big surprise of the day happened for Colin. One of my oldest friends is a police officer in Tyler and he agreed to swing by the house on duty to say hello. Colin ran out the front door to greet him and climbed right into the car! Chad let him turn on the lights and even honk the SUPER LOUD airhorn thing...I have no doubt that my parents neighbors thought all hell was breaking loose. Chad ended up getting called away for what Colin cheerfully called a "real emergency", which is just about all he talks about now. Seeing Chad drive away with his lights on was the ultimate to this almost 3 year old! It was the best day ever for Colin...firetrucks and police cars on the same day!

Sunday was a very special day...it was my 7th anniversary!!! My parents kept Colin for most of the day while Jer and I had lunch, did a little shopping and saw a movie. It was the perfect day!! Colin went out to lunch with the whole family while we had our date. We ate at Fish City Grill first and then went over to Barnes and Noble while we waited for the movie to start. We found some cute books for Colin's birthday and then saw "Knight and Day" at the theater. I can't believe that it has been 7 years...it really seems like yesterday that we got married. There were many overwhelming moments during the day when I realized how lucky I am and how far we have come as a little family. I have been so blessed!! My mom took a few pictures of us before we left on our date. I am so proud to be married to such a wonderful man and the fact that he gifted me with our precious son is just icing on the cake! It is hard to put into words how thankful I am for my husband.

One night after everyone went to sleep, I went outside and sat Indian style at the end of my parents driveway, much the way I used to do as a teenager. I sat for a long time enjoying the sounds of the crickets and the warm night air. I sat there often when I was young and thought about what my life would be like and what my future would hold. As I sat there on Sunday night, I thought about how many of my dreams have already come true. I said a little prayer thanking God for everything he has given me. I also thanked Him for that sweet house on that perfect block that I will always think of as home. I love it there.