Austen @ 6 Years

Austen Lee, you are 6 years old!

 

 



Just a few days old, you were such a laid back baby.

Our baby boy turning 1, you loved your cake and still have a thing for sweets!

At 2, we celebrated on the back porch and you shared a party with Aiden.

At 3, we took you out to Dorey's (your choice).

Four years old and another hot July party on the back porch.

For your 5th party we went to the community center. You requested a tractor cake and were very disappointed when it showed up and didn't have a trailer with it! You also requested strawberries, watermelon, and apple pie. You love to eat fruit!

 

We can't believe you are six years old! It seems like just yesterday we were waiting to meet you! You bring so much joy to our lives. You keep us smiling with your funny expressions and your sense of humor. You love to ride bikes with your brother although you are not a fan of the heat and sneak inside sometimes when Aiden is not looking. ;-) Your favorite inside toys to play with are cars or animals. You will be starting first grade this year. You actually enjoy school and do not give up easily. If something is difficult, you keep a positive attitude and keep on going (just like your Daddy)! Your brother is your best friend and you always think of him first. You are a busy boy! It is very hard to take your picture because you are always on the move. You are mechanically minded like Daddy and want to know how everything works. You amaze me with your ability to fix things and problem solving skills. You love your baby sisters and are their protector. You recently told me you were so glad we have Arynn. You still love to cuddle and even though we don't hear it as often, we still get requests to sit in the recliner and rock you. We love you baby boy! Happy Birthday!

Fun with Bubbles

The next day after Ava's party, she was nice enough to share her gifts with her brothers and sisters. We went out to play with her bubbles, jump rope and hula hoop. Here are some pics from our fun morning.

Party Time

Our family was invited to a birthday party for a special little boy whose family attends church with us. Daddy had to work, but Momma and the kids went to celebrate Jacob's first birthday.

There were lots of outside toys which kept the kiddos very busy, my kids didn't even want to stop to eat cake!

The Barbie jeep was a big hit, even for Aus!

Aiden enjoyed riding the scooter.

Looks like trouble!

The puppet show was also a big hit!

Patiently waiting for his cake.

Baby Jacob is so cute and we feel blessed to know him and his sweet family! Happy Birthday Jacob!

The Zoo

Back in April, (I know this is June!) we went with our friends to the Memphis Zoo. We spent the day seeing some animals, did lots of visiting and then met up for dinner after leaving the zoo. It turned our to be another late night getting home, but we had a lot of good fellowship with our friends. Here are some pics from our zoo trip.

Most of the kids checking out the meerkats.

Austen

Ava was very hungry at this point and not very cooperative.

Aiden

Addy and her Daddy

Ava's holding on tight!

 

Everytime we go to the zoo, we have to get a picture of the kids on the cow.

2010

 

2012

2013

 

And of course, who wouldn't want to attempt a group shot with 17 kids?

 

 

Arynn says, "Enough with the pictures, Let's go home!"



Dixie Cafe

Before we went to Garvan Gardens, we met our friends for what was supposed to be a lunch date. Somehow we ended up crashing their party and tagging along with them to Hot Springs.

Daddy and his "Baby Dog"

Ava is proud of her ice cream and the fact she is sitting at the "big kid" table.

Aus always has smile!

These two boys get mistaken for brothers we when go out, I have even overheard someone ask if they were twins. I agree they may look alike, but their personalities are even more alike!

 

We love Dixie Cafe and eat there way too much! On Saturdays from 11-4 they have Family Day. You can order an adult entree for $6.99 and add a kids meal for $1.99, this includes a drink and free dessert for the kids. Since the girls don't eat a lot, we just order two kids meals and they share with the boys. We can eat at a sit down restuarant for the same if not cheaper than what we pay for fast food. Not a bad deal for a family of seven. We even have our favorite waitress who knows our drink orders if that tells you how often we visit! 

Wordless Wednesday

Easter

Easter Sunday was very wet at our house this year. Usually we dye and hunt eggs with the grandparents on Sunday afternoon, but because of the weather, we just stayed home and did nothing! I have to admit that I am getting slightly spoiled to a Sunday afternoon nap.

 

Mimi has been working on lots of sewing projects for her 3 girls. She made the older girls' gowns for Christmas and Arynn is now getting to wear hers. Mimi is so talented and the girls love to see what she has made for them.

The girls wearing their gowns made by Mimi.

We have "Cinnamon Roll Sundays" at our house and Aiden likes to fix breakfast. Obviously I cheat and buy the cans, but the kids like them just the same. After he got breakfast in the oven, he wanted to hold his baby sister.

Aiden getting some cuddle time with Arynn.

Arynn has been trying out the bumbo and seems to like it. I guess her cheeks just got too heavy and she had to rest them for a minute. :-)

Arynn needed a power nap before church.

Mimi also made the girls' easter dresses. I will have to get a better close up picture, this was taken as we were leaving for church and we were already pretty late if that's believable!

Our little chicks.

Easter fell on 5th Sunday and at our church we have specials during the evening services. Aiden started taking guitar lessons last fall but only got to take them for a few months. He is still practicing and knows 3 chords. At Christmas, he played Silent Night and I sang with him. He wanted to play for 5th Sunday and Ava said she wanted to sing with him this time. Aiden worked on writing down his chords for "Jesus Loves Me" and they practiced together. Austen decided to join in last minute and Addy was not going to be left out. Ava had a bit of stage fright, but Austen was able to carry them through. Addy had a wardrobe malfunction and was without shoes when they started singing. After Nana buckled her shoe, she showed up for her part. This was the video Nana took with her phone. Enjoy!

17 Kids and Lots of Fun!

The Friday before Easter, we had plans to go to the Memphis Zoo with our friends the Tims and Witchers. We woke up to lots of rain at our house and were unsure if we should make the drive just to be rained out. Thankfully our friends suggested the Children's Museum and the drive to Memphis was worth the sweet time of fellowship we had with our friends.

Who knew checkers could be so much fun?
Austen is making big plans.

The first stop was at the checkerboard. The kids were excited to see each other and get some energy out, so no one actually played a game of checkers. It didn't take long for them to make up their own game of making a tower with the checkers.

Austen and his hula hoop.

Madisyn finally got to hold Arynn, I know she was wondering if she would ever get a chance! When they came to visit, I sat and rocked her all day. It wasn't until they left, that I realized I hadn't offered to let Madisyn hold her! You can tell just how much Madisyn loves babies! 

Madisyn holding Arynn for the first time.

I didn't get near as many pictures as I would have liked, but it was pretty hectic that day at the museum. So to see more pictures of our fun day visit the Tims' and  Witcher's blogs. *Disclaimer- My goal is to become as efficient as these Mommas, so one day they can link to my post!!!*

Aiden, Griffin, Ben, Grady, Lee and Austen

Altogether we had 17 kids, ages 1 month to 11 years, and 5 adults. (Mr. Kent met up with us a dinner time.) It is funny to see other people's reactions to our group as we walk by. Lots of people count, some shake their heads in disbelief, but it is such a joy to receive compliments. At dinner that night, multiple people (including the manager) commented on how well-behaved our kiddos had been. We had a wonderful visit with our friends and a great start to our 3 day weekend!

Happy Birthday Poppa Kenneth!

Poppa's birthday was at the end of March. He usually heads to the lake around his b-day time, so I made sure we got to celebrate before he left. We like to take the grandparents out to eat for their birthdays, just because we are quickly running out of room to entertain at our house. One of our favorite restuarants we like to go to for big events closed this year. So we decided to cook and we took dinner to Nana and Poppa so he could stay in his comfy chair.

These kids were waiting as patiently as possible.

Jake grilled steaks, which were wonderful, the girls and I fixed a salad and copied a cake from our Fort Rock trip. It was so yummy, I had to try it! It was a pretty big hit, you can't go wrong with chocolate cake, condensed milk, cool whip and heath bar!

Daddy held Arynn while I was serving cake.
I caught him tasting it before he had a free hand to eat with!

Arynn was being sweet and cuddly.

Poppa doesn't like to hold "new" babies.
I think this is only the 2nd time he held her.

Nana, on the other hand, can't get enough of her grandbabies!

We ate too much and stayed too late as always. We hope Poppa knows how much we love him. Happy Birthday Poppa!