Parker is 8!!

My sweet Parker is 8!!  It's hard to believe that my baby is 8.  He is a combination of sweet and fiery; he's very athletic and loves playing basketball; he enjoys playing Roblox and NBA 2K21; he has a lot of friends; he's doing really well in school; he loves reading his Diary of a Wimpy Kid books (I think he has read each one about 10 times); he loves collecting cards (lately, basketball and Pokemon) and studying them; he still loves to cuddle and give hugs.  

His birthday fell on the Sunday at the end of fall break.  We let him plan his day- he wanted to go to Your Pie for dinner (we actually did this Saturday night), and on Sunday, he opened his presents and wanted to go to Main Event.  He's having his birthday party with friends this coming weekend.

Here are some pics of his big day!

$8 from his Uncle Bill!

Playing his PS4...

Sydney is 12!!

 I can't believe I have a 12 year old! 

Though I will say that Sydney has matured a lot in the last few months, so 12 seems very fitting.  I'm not sure if it's her injury/surgery, her granddad passing away, her gluten intolerance, her starting middle school... or probably a combination of it all.  She has really matured and learned new things and all of a sudden just seems like a little grown up!

We did a little celebration the Saturday before her birthday while eating Mexican with friends.  We got the waiters to sing to her. :)

Her actual birthday fell over fall break, so we got to celebrate her in Florida!  She got to pick out what all we did that day.  First, she opened presents and then we went to the beach for a couple of hours.  Then, we went to eat lunch and then went to a cool outdoor mall area to do some shopping.  Oh, and she also got her ears pierced! That night, we were all pretty tired and she wanted Jersey Mike's for dinner (it's hard to find good GF bread, but Jersey Mike's has it!), so Stephen went to pick it up and we ate at the condo.  We just hung out the rest of the night.  She said it was the "best birthday ever". :) 

Over the Hill

 Yep, it happened.  I hit the big 4-0!  I'm officially OLD! 

I had some really nice, low key celebrations.  I went to lunches with a couple of friends; Stephen planned a hike and picnic and surprised me with my bestie; we went to the beach on my actual birthday; and we did a family weekend in Chattanooga to celebrate (more on that later)!  

My sweet friend Amy took me to lunch, got me this necklace bling (Parker said- whoa!! How much did that cost??), and this cute t-shirt.

Pics from the hike.  I was TOTALLY surprised!  We started on the trail and out jumps Ashley, Mike, Landon and Thea.  They planned a picnic, cake, cupcakes, and a got a cool t-shirt!

Enjoying my cute cup my friend Rose got me while at the beach:

Stephen and my niece put together the sweetest birthday video!!  It is too large to upload, so I screenshotted the different faces in it. :)

To be honest, 39 was a really crappy year.  Even though my birthday is just another day, I'm looking forward to having a bit of a fresh start in my 40s.  I feel like being in my 40s suits me... I know more of what I want/like in life; I love investing in the family and friends whom I consider to be close to me; I recognize how very blessed I am with having people who care about me, and vice versa; I crave calm, peace, and family time; I don't care about keeping up with the Jones'.  I feel very at peace being this age... even though I have invested in some strong wrinkle cream. ;)