Go Warriors!

Wes LOVES going to football games with Brandon. I can only take so much, but for the sake of giving the boy a fun family night, I suffer through it. : ) Wes is the youngest enthusiast there, mimicking his Dad in cheering for the team and waving his arms like the cheerleaders. When he's not watching the action on the field, he constantly watches the cheerleaders and copies their arm motions as well as he can. I think a few of them who have Brandon for class know to watch for Wes, and enjoy entertaining him.

Tim had fun, too, for the first quarter. Then he slept throught the 2nd, halftime, and most of the 3rd.

You can't tell he's Brandon's son, for sure. ... ... No, I can't say that with a straight face. He enjoys looking at himself as much as his daddy. : ) (Love you, Brandon!)

Celebrating a trouncing victory...

My three boys... Love 'em.

We were robbed!

Hmm, no, that's not really what happened. Turns out, 2 toddlers can destroy a room in 10 minutes. Sydney and Wesly had fun, though, and Mary and I had a good visit. Then I cleaned it up in about an hour...

Wesley's first day of preschool!

So I apparently forgot to blog a few events! Wes's first "full" day at St. Marks' was Aug 15, a month ago. You can tell he was a little apprehensive that morning, but he got comfy with all the new toys pretty quickly!

His teacher, Mrs. Sherron, is a sweet, sweet lady, and he just adores her. The second day of school, he saw her down the hall and took off, yelling, "Ms. Sherron, Ms. Sherron, I'm here! Here I am!" I adore her for that. It means so much to me that he likes going to school.

Come on, Mommy! Let's go to school!

So excited he doesn't know what to do with himself...

Jack, a good friend, and a familiar face!

Cheesin'! I love that expression on his face. Such a charmer!

His other classmates are Zach, Joseph, Madlee, and Emma. Nate is a new classmate, but he started a couple of weeks after everyone else, so his picture isn't up yet.

First day of school, and he got to dig right into the playdo! Score for Ms. Sherron!

Wooooorrrrn out! But refused to take a nap. He's getting that way lately.

We met Daddy at the park for a picnic celebration. He had a blast there, too, and went straight to bed when we got home. Whew! What a day.

Graduation Party!

I couldn't have pulled off the party (or any other party) without my family's help! Thanks, Mom, Mary, Hannah, and Grandma, for staying behind and finishing the decorating/cleaning for me!

I made the banner with scrapbook paper I downloaded and printed. It was a set of digital designs, all coordinating, from a seller on etsy. I will definitely use her products again!

I made the cupcakes and decorated the stand, but the cupcake toppers were another etsy purchase. I was not so happy with these, since her version of MTSU blue didn't match, and the graduation caps were big black melted blobs that I couldn't even use.

What I had was pretty cute, though, especially the calculators. The kids called them phones, and wanted to know why Brandon had phones all over his cupcakes!

Can you see the relief on his face? Besides the elation, of course. Brandon was ready to celebrate when I met him after the ceremony. He was also ready to eat!

These sugar cookies were super easy to make. I took some of that scrapbook paper that I printed to Publix and had them print the images on edible paper, the kind used on photo cakes, and I bought a box of sugar cookies from the bakery. At home, I spread some buttercreme on each cookie, cut a circle out of the edible paper, and applied it to the cookie. Adding the icing border along the edge finished the look. Yummy!

My battery ran out while Brandon opened his presents, but the small box was from me: a coffee mug with a dalek etched on it, purchased from yet another etsy shop. I LOVE etsy. The bigger box was from the boys and me, an MTSU hoodie. I borrowed the decorations from some friends of ours who are big MTSU fans.

All the kiddos. Some weren't too sure of the others! : ) But you can see in later pics, they got used to each other, and happily chased each other down the hall, screaming like banshees.

"Congratu-wations, Daddy!" (in a growly voice)

See what I mean about the kids getting cozy? Sydney's riding a bucking bronco in the back. I think Aftan, Cillian, and Wes are playing with Brandon's old Batman toys.

Not happy at all, here. : )


Onward and upward!

Brandon's Graduation Ceremony and Celebration!

Saturday, August 13, 2011, we celebrated a milestone in Brandon's journey to earning his doctorate. He graduated with his Master's of Science in Teaching! Christina and Dad helped me with the kids, since we couldn't find Brandon's folks before the ceremony began.

Finding Brandon so far away was like looking through a really difficult "Where's Waldo" book. Wes had fun looking, though.

Before the ceremony began, Dad's job got really easy. Tim slept really hard for about 30-45 minutes, until some I.D.I.O.T. blew his airhorn, just a few rows behind us. Tim came up screaming, and every adult in a 20-foot radius of us gave that kid eye-birds. : ) I know it's graduation, but a) it's inside!, b) they asked the guests not to make too much noise so every graduate's name could be heard; c) (and this one is most important) HAVE A CARE FOR THOSE AROUND YOU! Some have hearing aids, some are children, and NONE should have that noise in their ears at such close range. Rant over.

Where's Wal- I mean, Brandon?

Proud moment, going up to receive his diploma...

Yay! Mission accomplished. Whew!

I didn't start out this high up, but after searching unsuccessfully for a place to feed Tim, I finally climbed up as high as I could, where there were only a few other people. Gave me a good shot of the whole room, though!

Something like 6 tries, and this is as good as it got. Both kids were tired and a little grumpy.

Congratulations, Brandon! We love you!