Princess Melissa

She did it! The wedding was in beautiful St. Simons, Ga and the weather was perfect. Britt had kid duty most of the time and he handled it wonderfully. Collin and Brooklyn were both mesmerized by the "princess." Brooklyn wanted Melissa to hold her the whole time - the slide show shows tells all. We had a great time and look forward to seeing the newlyweds very soon in Atlanta!

Since the wedding we have kept very busy with the restaurant, school, and extracurricular activities. Baylen just finished up soccer and Collin just started swimming lessons. Collin is not well receptive of this idea but I have promised him he can return to gymnastics just as soon as he learns to swim on his own. We are 4 lessons into it and he still wont let go of his instructor. Oh well! Baylen had an Indian POW WOW last Friday at school and here is a pic of him and his two closest friends, Lauren and Logan:

Lastly, are big news of the week is closing on our construction loan! The trees are already being cleared (Uncle Richard will be happy to know that not one Pine was left standing.) We should be in our new home by next summer - so go ahead and make plans to come visit. We can't wait!! We took a pic of the lot and will keep you updated on the building process:

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving - we are going to Tallahassee for the feast and back to Moultrie that night for the annual lighting of downtown Moultrie. Apparently its a big event and something our little town is known for doing - so we can't miss it!

Dreams do come true...

For the past six months Collin has been talking about going to Disney World for his birthday. I can honestly say I believe it was everything he believed it to be. This trip was certainly all about "Collin" as he proudly wore his "It's my birthday" button each day we were there. We spent two days in the parks - Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom and one morning eating breakfast with the characters at the Contemporary resort. For some reason, Disney brings the best out of our kids and we all really enjoyed every minute we were there. It didn't hurt that we scored three free tickets the first day and one the second day. The pictures kind of speak for themselves so I will let them. There are several videos included in the Disney slide show so you may want to click this one to view it.

There is also a short slide show on the side of our Halloween costumes. We did not get a chance to trick or treat but we did dress up for a costume party at the Emma's house. For any of you who know TJ, you are going to want to click on the Halloween slide show to see a video of him with the kids. Somehow, we did not get a pic a Baylen, but he was a red power ranger.

I also included a couple pics from Stetson where we caught up with some of our professors - Dr. Mieras, Dr. Croce, Dr. Musser, Dr. Reddish, Dr. Fant, & Dr. Lucas. The boys particularly enjoyed playing football with Dr. Musser in the hallway in Allen Hall. We met up with one of Britt's students from Pensacola, Claire Stubblefield, who lives in Britt old dorm - Stetson Hall. It was a lot of fun to go down memory lane with the kids.

Lastly, Britt was in David McKinney's wedding last weekend in Orlando and we had a blast. We got to see the Coffey family, which is always a treat for the entire family. David and Lindsay (his new bride) looked picture perfect and we loved being a part of the festivities. Next weekend is another greatly anticipated wedding. I am really looking forward to meeting the lucky man who got Melissa Gainey to say "Yes!"

New Camera!

I hate to give such a lame excuse for not updating this blog but our camera broke in June. We just replaced it last week and so I have no more excuses. I have managed to pull some pics together from our time apart.

Since June our crew has gone back to school and things are going well. Baylen loves kindergarten and is making great strides in learning to read. It is a struggle to keep up with his "homework," but we do our best. Collin is having a great new year in school (yeah!!) and his teacher is great. Brooklyn goes to a babysitter twice a week so I can help at the store. This has been a real lifesaver because there is not a preschool class in town for Brooklyn's age.

Baylen is on a new soccer team and Britt is coaching. The team is called the Fire Ants and they are really fun to watch. Collin is starting to get into it and has started to practice with the team - this has become a great outing that the boys really look forward to each week.

We just got back from a long weekend in Pensacola. Allison and Lauren, our potential new next door neighbors, went with us and we had a blast. We played on the beach, went to the navy museum, visited with friends, and dined at our favorite restaurants. It was a nice retreat but we went without Collin. He went on a trip with Mumsy to New York and Atlanta. He was a little homesick but seemed to enjoy himself. We all missed him terribly and were happy to have him home. Mumsy spend a few days with us but has now departed on her next excursion - Turkey.

Next week we take off for Disney World where we will celebrate Collin's 4th birthday. We are ALL very excited. We plan on taking the kids around Stetson on our way down to show the kids where their parents fell in love (he he!) After a couple of days at Disney, David McKinney, a good friend of ours from Pensacola, is getting married in Orlando. Britt is in the wedding and we expect to see a lot of people we have not seen in a while. We are really looking forward to it!

So that brings us up to date. Sorry that this has been a rather boring post - just catching you up with our lives. I really hope to be better at updating the blog and keeping in touch with our good friends and family.

Baylen is 5!

Wow! The summer has caused me to really neglect my blog. Since my last blog, the most important event (especially if you ask Baylen) is that Baylen is now an incredible five years old. Baylen is very proud of this new status and tells EVERYONE that he meets - that is if he's not telling you that his party was at the beach. We thought this was appropriate for his last party in Pensacola. We traveled to Pensacola for VBS, which almost always falls on his birthday. We invited all his close friends and just "chilled" at the beach. We had a blast seeing all our good friends but it makes us miss them more!

While we were in Pensacola, the kids and I surprised Britt with a "surprise" deep sea fishing trip for Father's Day. A bunch of guys from our Pensacola church were able to go and gave Britt some much deserved "guy" time. The top pic is of the group in front of their catches.

Collin is currently finishing up a week of gymnastics of camp and Baylen is taking tennis lessons this week and next. I am trying to keep us busy so we don't go stir crazy couped up in the house. The kids are making new friends (as are Britt and I) and really starting to feel more "at home" here in Moultrie. This weekend we go to Auburn for Britt's cousin's wedding and we are excited about getting together with family - and Dee Dee is coming, too!

Keep us posted with the fun things you all are doing this summer!

School's out for summer...

Baylen had his last day of pre-K last Wednesday (the 21st) and my job just got a bit harder. Collin had his last gymnastics class last week as well and the pic is one of him with his very first trophy - he was pretty excited. Since then the boys (and Brooklyn) are trying to adjust to Baylen being home all the time. It has been crazy! Collin is definitely responding to not having mom all to himself. The first round of VBS starts next week and boy are we looking forward to it. I have tried to be very creative in order to keep Baylen as busy as possible. We have already been to the library twice and we recently joined a pool. Hopefully, things will calm down in the next few days as we get used to our new schedule and the boys will learn to play together once more. Lastly, Britt and I shared our 8th wedding anniversary on Tuesday - we celebrated with a night on the town(Tallahassee, not Moultrie) while Britt's parent's babysat the kids. We hope everyone is having a good start to their summer and hope to see some of you soon!

AAARRRRRRR....We're back from the beach!

Last weekend was a fun one for the Young family as we went to go visit our wonderful friends(& Mumsy) in Pensacola. We left Thursday after Baylen got out of school (it was pirate day and the picture says it all!) and got to Pensacola just in time to see many of his friends play t-ball. We visited our favorite restaurants, our old preschool, and, of course, the beach. This was really Brooklyn's first time to play in the sand and water and I dare say we have another beach bum on our hands. Every time Collin splashed her with the chilly water she shrieked with delight and she really enjoyed playing in the sand. She also took up Collin's habit of eating the whole time we were there. Leah joined us out there with her two and we stayed most of the day. TJ came out towards the end with his fishing poles, which was definitely the highlight for Baylen. They ended up catching a very small fish that Baylen decided to have mercy on and release. On Sunday, our last day, I attended a baby shower which was the real purpose of the trip. We enjoyed seeing everyone so much but we missed Daddy and were happy to get home! We look forward to our next trip there in June (with Daddy!)

In the Deep Blue Sea Sea Sea...

The past week went by in a blur - I can't believe how much we crammed into it. Aunt Jordan came for a visit and we went back to the strawberry patch (Baylen got to come this time!) Brooklyn figured that there really was no reason to put them "in the bucket" this time - it is much easier to just place them directly into her mouth! After we filled our buckets (and a short trip to the dairy ice cream shop,) we took the strawberries home to make smoothies. On Wednesday, Jordan got a grand tour of Moultrie as we dropped the kids off at MMO and walked the Moultrie town square. Mumsy got here late Wednesday so we packed up the car Thursday and headed down to Thomasville to check out the downtown. Thomasville is very nice. The highlight of the day for the boys was eating at a restaurant that was the old train depot and as we ate the train literally rode right next to us - what a thrill.

The biggest event of the week was Baylen's Spring program. What a production! I have attached a slide show on the side of little video tidbits of the show. It was hilarious. The theme was the deep blue sea and the kids did a great job. Perhaps as you listen you might hear my son's new southern twang. He was so proud and you can tell they worked VERY hard. The school he is in is truly amazing and I feel very blessed that he is there.

Saturday was Baylen's last soccer game and he ended it with a bang - 7 goals! He also got his first trophy, which he didn't let out of his sight for the rest of the day. He really loves his soccer but I think we were all ready for a break - it was a long season. However, I get the feeling that this is just the beginning!

Lastly, Mother's Day was really great as we were able to be with both of our mothers and we all went to church and out to lunch for Mother's Day. We hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day as well.

You can stick a tutu on her...

It was a slow week for the Young Family but we did manage to take a few pictures of Brooklyn in her new ballerina outfit we picked up in Atlanta. She looked so cute we thought we would take a couple pics outside of our "princess" (as Collin affectionately calls her.) We took her outside for her big photo shoot and as soon as I put her down she walked right up to this ball and picked it up. She quickly studied it and then looked up with this little grin. At the time I did not think much about it and then as I looked back at the pictures I can't help but wonder if we might have a tomboy on our hands. Anyway, thought it was rather ironic and wanted to share with y'all. We have a big week coming up - Aunt Jordan and Mumsy are coming for a visit and Baylen is having his big spring program (no doubt the focus of next week's blog!)

A fun day in the sun...

Seeing as the closest beach is hours away, I decided this week I would try something new to entice my kids outdoors - strawberry picking. So, after dropping Baylen off at school, I dressed the younger two in the appropriate strawberry pickin' attire and we were on our way. We stopped by the Chick-fil-a (of course!) to fill our bellies for all the hard work and headed out of town and into the country. A new friend of mine had given me verbal directions the day before and surprisingly I began seeing road signs that I was headed in the right direction. We were just about there when the last sign gave the times they were open - not until 12:30. We were dissapointed but determined. We had two hours to kill so we went to the only place I could think of to kill 2 hours - Walmart. After picking up some "essentials" we went home to drop it off and again we were on our way. I must admit that I was worried I had made too much of this to Collin and that he might be a little dissapointed - but I needn't have worried - HE LOVED IT! We were the only ones there and so we had the pick of the field. Brooklyn even got the hang of it - Easter was good practice for putting things "in the bucket." Afterward the man who checked us out recommended we visit the dairy next door for some homemade ice cream. Not wanting my children to miss out on another "learning" experience we checked it out. We ordered our cones and went to sit on their porch overlooking the pastures. A rather mangy golden retriever hobbled over to us and planted himself in front of Collin. At first Collin looked like he was going into panic mode but then he relaxed and enjoyed himself. After all the sacrifices, frustrations, and concerns of the past few months, I couldn't help but think that maybe Britt and I just might have hit the childhood memories jackpot. Moultrie might grow on us yet.