Valentine’s and More

We are fixing up our kitchenette in the Airbnb and so I got to hold a Galentine’s party in the Airbnb and it was so much fun! We had Italian soda’s and treats and watched Ever After.

Valentine’s Day was a blast! Jane and Julie had a play date at our house and played dress up and we took our annual Valentine photo with Jane and Kennoway. Had heart shaped pizza for dinner and at the end of the night found Bella sleeping on the car mat haha.

The kids wore matching dog outfits thanks to Grandma Cheatham. Jane wanted to show off her hand stand. Kennoway wanted to wear big gloves. Jane made herself a crown from magnet tiles at church.

Week 6 prompt Get Close. Kennoway sleeping.

Playing with light with the kids.

January Ends, February Begins

Kennoway brushing Jane’s hair, an absolutely crazy day of going to the zoo, the thrift store, and seeing for the first time Memphis Bauhaus a very cool abandoned building here.

Jane’s teacher Ms. Breanne sent me these of Jane at school and then afterwards we went to Jane’s first gymnastics practice at Wimbleton Gymnastics.

A beautiful day at Crosstown Concourse! Some silly Shenanigans.

I told Kennoway to say cheese and here he is saying it for the first time!

Kennoway likes to put and carry things in his shirt lately!!

Big sis helping little bro eat breakfast while mom feels like crap. We were all sick this week but somehow I for sure got the brunt of it.

This week

From my weekly challenge, 1/19/2025 Rule of Thirds. First image is the one I used, others are just extras.

1/22/2025 Jane wore some hand me downs with a cute photographer shirt. Kennoway came into the bathroom with daddy’s hat on. Finally got my paintings hung up together of my babies. Grandma C got Kennoway a new hoodie. Kennoway tries on the owl hat and looks in the mirror with Jane.

1/24/2025 Kennoway wears a cape and plays on the obstacle course Jane made. He climbed on Jane’s bed and started reading books to himself. Kennoway and I in front of the Memphis temple. Sparkly kids. Week 4 Prism/Mirror.

1/25/2025 Mimi and Kennoway reading a story. Jane’s water color painting, she’s such a natural!

1/26/2025 my thrifted all linen church fit. A cute accident photo of Kennoway at church. My little Clarkey boy wearing plaid. Jane took photos of me, Shaun, and the missionaries (Elder Bartlett and Elder Bates) during dinner. Kennoway playing “stuck” on the floor.

January Fun

1/15/2025 Kennoway loves his Bella and also Bellevue Creation Station indoor playground.

1/16/2025 Jane at school and the kids at the park after school.

1/17/2025 Zoo day with our friends Ivy and Alexis

1/18/2025 Kennoway being all cute and stuff

1/19/2025 Kennoway and I had fun with selfies. And of course my Jane girl taking a pic of us and then I took a pic of her.

1/20/2025 kids wanted to do chores so I had to document it!

Jane’s Ballet Performance

Jane and her friend LilyAnna had their ballet performance today. It was the cutest thing ever!

Hi do you see me?

Snow Days

1/10-1/11/2025 We had so much snow fall this weekend and it was so much fun! On Friday we woke up to all the snow and the kids were so excited. We ate some breakfast and went straight outside to build a snowman and play with the best snow ball fight snow ever. It was actively snowing almost the whole day. We went on a walk at night and then tried snow cream after dinner. The next day Shaun took the kids out again and put them on the shovel and pulled them around like they were on a sled. They didn’t want to come back in. We usually get 1-2 snow days a year and it’s always exciting. (As long as our power stays on of course.)

Mid-week fun

Jane had ballet on Tuesday and wanted to sit on the throne. Next week is her last week! Kennoway loves to figure things out so he sat himself on the couch to see if he could open this package.

While Jane was at school Kennoway decided to try on her hat and then of course try to put this ball in the hoop. We tried on a snowsuit too to prepare for Friday Snow Day!

Monday January 6, 2025

What a fun day! It snowed for the first time this season and the kids loved to watch it! It was really just a few flurries so nothing to play in but I love watching them get excited.

We went and got donuts in the afternoon at Gibson’s and Jane requested we take the Instant camera. When we got there, there was a boy her age and she took a picture for him and then had him take a picture of her on my phone. Hahaha it was so cute!

The picture the boy took of Jane!

First Weekend of 2025

What a fantastic weekend full of Birthday Celebrations! On Saturday the 4th we went to our friend Raechel’s birthday celebration at an ice skating rink in Mississippi. It was Jane’s first time and she did so good! Shaun’s a good teacher. Kennoway and I were their cheerleaders on the sideline. Then we went back to the Batemans house for pizza, cake, and ice cream and had probably the best homemade Oreo ice cream I’ve ever had in my life.

I also took Kennoway’s photo for his first passport ever! These are outtakes. I’m excited for him to get a stamp in his book this summer.

Today is my brother Michael’s birthday and also our good friend Jess Evan’s birthday (J and K’s Memphis Popsi). Jane and Kennoway wore the outfits I made them today to church!

Busy busy busy

We have had so much fun the past few days. A few little notes.

Right when I decide to get rid of some beloved old stuffies, Kennoway comes in and grabs my duck and hugs and loves on it. So I’ll be keeping that one a little longer.

Kennoway grabbed this swan with a little people in it and said “baaa baaa baaa” as he moved it on the floor. Haha

Jane got a new dolly from Grandma Cheatham in the mail. She loved on it all day.

We went to the zoo (with the Driscoll’s, Seth and Ingrid pictured) and to Audubon park with Jane’s friend Goldie today. It was crazy. It was fun!

Happy New Year 2025!

We are reviving the blog! I have major goals to stay off of social media this year because of its effect on my mental health. So this year we will be trying to post at least once a week to stay caught up with all of our fun adventures. I’m so excited to have a way to record our family and share it with only the most important people!

New Year’s Day I took the kids to “Noon Years Eve” at the library. They had fun music, dancing, and crafts and then did a countdown to noon so all the kids could welcome in the New Year. Jane and Kennoway loved it. I took them to Avon park later to play with Ivy and so I could have some mommy time with my friend Alexis Clarke.

Shaun and I celebrated after the kids went to bed with our friends Joey and Raechel Bateman. They came over and we devoured Raechel’s homemade egg rolls and a cheese ball I made. We played a few games and then watched the ball drop. It was so fun!

I have so many hopes for this New Year! Last year was a doozy for several reasons so I’m excited for new beginnings and fun plans. Happy New Year 2025!

Hello August!

The two loves of my life! How could I be any luckier? Shaun is an amazing branch president and we had a great day at church with a good youth turnout. We are trying to stay positive and hope that with school starting we can get our youth coming!

End of July Goodies

When we got back we were all hit with the craziest allergies or cold ever. We are still not sure which but it was just tons of congestion! We still were able to have lots of fun though!

Jane has been learning how to balance! I can’t believe how fast she’s growing!

Back to Memphis

We flew to Denver airport first where there was apparently a huge storm and our connecting flight got cancelled. Luckily Sean, my moms boyfriend, lived in Denver and when he flew in drove us to his house where we stayed the night. We got a connecting flight the next day.

Finally back to Memphis!

Oregon Day 5

Today was beach day! We went and hiked down a bit to Hobbit Beach and played in the sand. The water was freezing so we didn’t swim but it was so pretty. Later that day we had family pictures at Hacita Beach and I am so excited to see them. Even though Jane was cold she was smiling every time someone came to take her picture. It was so cute!

Oregon Day 4

Today we went to the sea lion caves and it was really cool. We rode down a long elevator to this cave where there were hundreds of sea Lions! It was fun to watch but not fun to smell. Then we went to devils churn for a tiny bit. Jane was tired and wanted to go home after that. Then we met up with all of our extended family from my grandma Wainwright’s side and had dinner and caught up and walked on the beach! I love cold weather beaches!

Oregon Day 3

Today we travelled from Portland to Yachats. On our way there we stopped at the Tillamook factory and had the best ever grilled cheese, fried cheese curds, and ice cream. Then we drove down the beautiful coast lined with pine trees and made it to Yachats later that day. Jane did so well in the car. We made it to our beautiful cabin and just look at those views. It was awesome.

Oregon Day 2

We explored Portland today! Went downtown and crossed this beautiful bridge! We took the train to the city center and it was so sad. A lot of businesses were boarded up and what was once thriving looked worn and smelled like pee. We did get to go to Voodoo Donuts and see the Keep Portland Weird sign though so that was fun! Oh and we got to go to Muji which is one of my favorite stores. Overall it was a fantastic day spent with Tyler and his family!

Oregon Day 1

We flew into Portland during golden hour and it was so beautiful! It was fun to catch up a little with Tyler and Jen when we got to our shared Airbnb in Vancouver Washington.

July Fun with Holland

We had so much fun with Holland while she was with us for 3 weeks this summer. She worked tirelessly at PhotoBerry and then we played hard. We went downtown and had dinner on Shaun’s balcony again. It was great!