Memoral Day in Branson!

 We took our annual Bartlett Family trip to Branson over Memorial Day weekend.  We had a GREAT time!  We stayed in a cabin out near Silver Dollar City, and it was SO convenient.  It was a beautiful 4 bedroom cabin, and I can't believe I didn't take any pics!  Our bedroom had a king size bed and a set of bunk beds.  Perfect for us!!  Beau slept on his cot and we were all snug in the room together!

We went to SDC every single day!!  The kids had a blast!!!

 Malory, Beau and I rode the carousel....a lot!!

 We finally convinced Malory to ride Wildfire!!!  I was SO proud of her.  She tried hard to back out, but I managed to convince her to try it 1 time!  She held my hand SO tight the whole time and kept her eyes closed for the whole ride.  But, she popped out of her seat begging to do it again!  We created a monster!!  We rode it MANY more times over the weekend.

My Wildfire crew!!

 LOVED having all these kiddos piled in our car!  I think this was on our way to Lamberts!

 Beau and I at SDC one day!

 Silly boy loves to ride the ladybugs.  They just go around in a circle on the ground, but he can ride them himself and he thinks he is SO big!

 Nana, Beau, and I riding the tea cups.  Another of Beau's faves!

 While we were waiting to eat at Lamberts we walked over to a strip mall next door and they were giving pony rides in the parking lot.  Of course Beau wanted to ride "Blinkamana", so we did.  He and Malory rode and loved it!

 He looks so big!  How convenient that he wore his "mowing" boots to Lamberts:))))

 Travis and I waiting.....

 After we ate at Lamberts Nana said the kids could go ride go-carts.  She is a push over:)  I hate the go-carts and always say no!

Beau got to ride some rides, also.  We couldn't believe he wanted to ride this ferris wheel, since he refuses to ride anything that leaves the ground at SDC.  But he did and he loved it!

 He and Malory rode this spinning ride, too.

 The big boys rode go-carts several times.  Here are Evan, Austin,and Blake ready to go!  Malory wasn't tall enough to ride these go-carts:(.

 Afterwards we had to walk next door to Andy's for some ice cream!!

 Beau Bea couldn't keep his eyes open on they way back to the cabin;)

 The next day the boys went to play golf, and the girls + Beau went shopping!  We bribed Beau with the silly quarter "ride-ons" all day!  It worked pretty good until we ran out of quarters!

He loved the "cow".

 Next, the horse!

 Another day at SDC.  Ready for Wildfire again!

 Another of Beau's favorites...the Flooded Mine!  There they are, ready to go!

We had a great weekend!!  Lots of fun family time.  This weekend has become a family tradition that we all look forward to every year.  Can't wait until next time!!

Randomness....

We had really bad storms one night and at one point were under a tornado warning.  We never go to the tornado shelter, just opt to stay home in the laundry room.  This time Evan totally flipped out.  He had packed a bag and was camping out in the laundry room WAY before the storm was even close.  Thanks to Instagram he was seeing pics of his friends at the shelter and got totally freaked out.  When the storm starting getting to Greenwood we all piled in.  In this pic you can see Ev "hiding" behind the washer.  He was sobbing.  Bless his heart:(

Travis and I just chilling out.

Blake was totally unaffected.  He just sat on the dryer and kept reading.  I don't think he really even knew it was storming;)

Evan had to get new glasses recently.  LOVE the ones he picked out!!

Blake got accepted to take Algebra 1 next year!!  Woo Hoo!  Not that I had any doubts...boy loves math!!

We went over to the Daniel's one afternoon.  These 2 boys are so stinkin' cute!!  I mean

 T-R-O-U-B-L-E!!!!

 

Beau loved Hayden's  "playground"!

That's our randomness right now!!

Harrison Baseball Tournament

 The weekend of May 18 Evan's team played in Harrison.  We headed there early Saturday morning.  It was at a pretty small field.  Because it was close to Springdale, all of Evan's Bartlett fan club came to watch!!

It was super hot Saturday, but the boys played hard!  My Evan looks so serious....probably because when he is playing ball he is ALL business!

 Between games Evan chilled out with us!  Pretty funny comparison....both boys in the same chair;)

 Evan's team being silly in the dugout!

 "Our section"!  There were a lot of us there to watch Ev play!

 Sunday was a SUPER early day!  We went back to Springdale for the night and Evan had to be back at the ball field at 8:30 Sunday morning.  They were ready to play!

 Unfortunately, they lost their first game on Sunday, and were finished early.  So, we all headed to have some Mexican food together;)

Evan's fan club all decked out in their Bulldog gear!!!  Austin, Alan, Evan, Nana, Trisha, and Malory.

It was a fun weekend!  I never thought I would enjoy traveling as much as I am.  Good times!!

Evan's Music Program

Evan's PTO Music Program was Thursday evening.  They did a 50's show and it was SO cute!!  I've been to A LOT of music programs:), and this was BY FAR my most favorite!!! 

Evan loved it too and totally got into it.  It helped that his good friend Grant is quite a performer and he was standing next to Evan!

My handsome "50's" guy!!

 Evan with Grant and Caleb!  Grant was Elvis and was too cute!!

Evan had quite a fan club there to see him!  Nana, Nonnie, Poppy, Blake, Beau and I were all there.  We were very proud and thoroughly entertained!!

Duke Tip Awards Cermony

 We are SO incredibly proud of Blake!!  He took the ACT in December and did so well that he got to go to Little Rock to receive an award on May 16.  In Arkansas, 1196 7th graders took the ACT and Blake was in the top 30%!!  That's pretty awesome!!

Nonnie and I took him to Little Rock for the ceremony.  He got to attend a workshop before the ceremony.  He chose "nanotechnology".  I didn't even know what that meant:).  But, Blake loved it and I was so glad he got to go to it.

 Here is my handsome boy/man before the ceremony started.

 Proud momma!

 Receiving his award...

 And after! 

I really enjoyed getting to spend the day with Blake & Nonnie.  We had a good trip and were SO proud of Blake!!

7th Grade Dance!!

Ok, so let me start this by saying I think this was my VERY favorite PTO project to date!!  And, I've been a part of a LOT of PTO projects over the last 8 years.  PTO helped to put on a 7th grade dance at East Hills.  It was SO.MUCH.FUN.

Sherry and I got really involved with this one.  The East Lab at the high school designed a t-shirt and we sold t-shirts to students.  We did a little decorating (went with a 70's disco theme), and created a picture backdrop.  I volunteered to stock and run the concession stand.  

Sherry and I ran a super duper efficient stand:))  Everything was $1.00.  Made it super easy!!

Blake and a friend before the dance started!

Sherry and I with our "picture backdrop"!

7th Grade moms are SO cool!!!  HA!

Blake Bartlett shocked the heck out of me!!  Kid can dance!!  Apparently Cotillion has paid off!!  He wasn't shy at all about breaking it down!!  He didn't do any dancing with girls, but he certainly danced!!

This dance wasn't perfectly 7th grade.  The boys and girls stood around and talked and even "group" danced together, but there was very little "couple" dancing.  Granted, they probably only played 3 slow songs all night, but I was so happy to see the kids hanging out together enjoying themselves and not "coupling" up.  I had blast and so did Blake.  I was SO glad I got to be there.  Seriously, SO SO fun!!!

Brown-Black Belt

 Blake made it through his first real Kuk Sool Won "right of passage"...the Meat Grinder.  It is a brutal 5 hour work-out/class/torture session that anyone aspiring to test for their Black Belt has to pass first.  It is crazy hot and hard and exhausting.  But, Blake did it and he rocked it!!  

So, Monday night at class he received his Brown Black Belt.  I am SO proud of him!!

 He has worked SO hard at Kuk Sool won and achieved SO much in a short amount of time. 

He can now test for his Black Belt in June.  He has a lot to learn between now and then, but he says he is up for the challenge.  GO BLAKE!!

Mother's Day

I had a great Mother's Day!!  I was SO glad to be in town and be able to go to church together.  

My sweet boys and I!!

 After church we went to Ft. Smith to eat lunch at Rolandos with mom and dad.  It was delicious!!  The boys were great and we had a really nice lunch!  Afterwards we had to do a little posing;)

My momma and me!!

 My precious family!!

 While we were eating Beau kept seeing the trolley go by and he really wanted to "ride something".  After we ate the trolley was no where in sight, so we convinced him to just take his picture with this motorcycle instead.  Whatever it takes:)

 After lunch I told Travis and the boys that the best Mother's Day gift they could give me would be to stop and buy flowers and mulch and go home and work in the flower beds.  So, we did!!  We worked really hard and it felt SO good to get it done!!

 My beautiful pot of geraniums the big boys picked out and helped Nonnie pot for me!

 Beau was worn smooth out!!  He crawled up in our bed and was out before we knew what he was doing!!

 My other Mother's Day gift was that I got to get several bags for myself after I had a Thirty-One book party a couple of weeks ago.  I love how they all turned out!!

It was a great day and I am SO thankful that I am a mom to 3 such amazing boys and that I have such an awesome mom and mother-in-law that I adore!!  Happy, happy day!!