Grocery Store

While Rachel's cousins were in town, I asked Wes and Rachel to go to the grocery store to get 3 things: hot dog buns, hamburger buns, and milk. When Rachel got to the grocery store she grabbed the mini shopping cart and off her and daddy went. However, they came back with a lot more stuff. Stuff that was not on our list (bat and ball, coke, cheese puffs, and flowers). I asked Wes why they got some extra things and he said, "because she was so darn cute shopping."

Cousins Everywhere

All of Rachel's cousins were in town this weekend. Including her, there are 5 grand kids from ages 7 to 2. They had a great time playing, eating, and even bathing together.

Caroline and Rachel playing in the tent before Church on Sunday.

Rub-a-dub-dub, thanks for my Cuz! (All the girls.)

(back to front) Caroline, Catherine, Ryan, Sophia, Rachel

Summer Updates

Rachel

Rachel is doing great. She's getting so big and Independent, with a capital "I." We've been to the pool a lot this summer and had several picnics. She has started her summer weekday school program at our new church, Calvary. She cried on the way home yesterday and said, "I don't want to go home, I want to go back to Cal-va-ry." I think she loves it! They have a great program and we're really pleased with it.

Happy Anniversary

Wes and I went to the mountains for our anniversary. We've been married six years. We decided while in Boone, we would try to do some things we didn't always do. We went to Grandfather mountain, played golf, and saw the outdoor drama Horn in the West. We had a great time and the weather was so nice and cool. Thanks Grammy for keeping Rachel!!

Happy Father's Day

There is no doubt that Wes is the greatest father around. He loves his little girl very much. They have so much fun together, playing and laughing. We wish him a Happy Father's Day!

FYI: Wes did Rachel's hair. He was very proud of it!

The Parsons'

Wes' family came to town to visit last weekend. We had a great time celebrating Nana's birthday and Father's Day. The girls went shopping while the boys (with Rachel and Alyssa) went to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. I think they had a good time!

VBS

This was our first year helping with VBS at Calvary. What a week! Calvary had 550 kids participate in this years VBS Faith Safari. I was a small group leader and had 8 in my group. Through out the week the children rotated between Bible class, recreation, crafts, and music. The staff did a great job preparing for the week and it was well organized and planned. Can't wait for next year.

The pictures and video is from the morning worship service where we would sing, dance, and see a Bible story acted out. The Children also gave an offering every day for Samaritan's Feet, they raised over $3,000.00 in five days. This will go to help children in Kenya.

Time Out!

Rachel was playing this morning with her stuffed animals. They were having a terrible time with biting, grabbing, and pinching. She was putting them in time out and giving them a strong talking too. By the time she was finished, four were sitting in time out. Poor Curious George was the victim every time. Pretty funny.

Southern Bell/Chatty Cathy

I'm raising a very, very, southern girl. She really has no hope of being anything else since we are so deeply rooted in the south (and proud of it). She told me she wanted melk (milk) the other day. Wes and I chuckled at her and now that's how the word is pronounced Melk, with quite a drawl. Listen to her, sorry she's on the potty but she was real chatty and you gota catch 'em when they're in the mood, amen! :)

"What's your favorite drink?" "MELK"

Well, I think I mentioned in a previous post that Rachel talks ALL day long and if she's not talking she's singing/humming. Don't get me wrong I love to hear her talk but at the end of the day, around 8:00 the sound of silence is nice. This was Rachel last night before bed, a little wound up!

Last Day of Pre-School

Today was Rachel's last day of pre-school, what a great year we've had! Rachel's teachers have been outstanding and have given her a great start to school!! We're so pleased with all Rachel has learned this year. She has gained such Independence and has come so far. WOW!

We had a little program today where the children sang several songs then the four year olds graduated. Afterwards we had lunch and said good-bye to all our friends. It was a bitter-sweet day as this will be one of our last activities at FBC. We will miss our friends and teachers so much but we know that our circle of friends is only growing larger.

Wes got to come and see the program today which was a real treat. He worked so hard to get off for a few hours. Watching him, watch his daughter, stole my heart. He had the biggest smile on his face, he is so proud of his little girl and loves her very much! He's a really GREAT dad!

I took a few pictures of Rachel this morning before school (while she was fresh). These turned out so cute!
THE PROGRAM

"Rachel, Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you! You sang beautifully and did such a great job! We love you very much!"

Rachel's teacher, Mrs. Linda and the girls.

Good friends, Rachel and Julia, hug and play.

What better way to end the year than playing on the play ground!

See how much Rachel has grown in one year! This was the last day of school last year (May 2009). WOW! What a difference!

Rachel Update

Rachel is doing great these days! Growing and talking so much. In fact she rarely stops talking. She ask lots of questions during the day and she will ask it over and over until you answer her. She definitely has her own opinion and knows what she wants and how she wants it. She still loves playing with her baby dolls, books, and puzzles. She likes to run around outside and could do it for hours. She's getting into movies so we've joined the Disney Movie Club to start our collection of Disney films. Lately her favorite movie to watch is Alison which translates Alice in Wonderland. We also discovered a DVD by Leap Frog named Letter Factory that I HIGHLY recommend to any child learning letters and letter sounds. Great video! Rachel has learned almost all of her letters and letter sounds by watching this video.

Rachel (sad to say) LOVES McDonald's. In fact, M for McDonald was the first letter/sound she learned (I know, I know report me to SS). The other day she ran an errand with her Grammy and Grammy treated her to a milkshake from her favorite place....McDonald's. Don't worry she didn't drink the whole thing.

We read books with Rachel before bed, this night Rachel decided she would read to us. We've also decided that Rachel will either be a teacher or a lawyer because she's either mimicking her teachers or negotiating for something of importance.