Some Major Catch Up!!

So here is a big ole combined blog to get caught up since I have not blogged in over 2 MONTHS...yikes!

So here's whats been happening. 

Someone lost her very first tooth...and at school of all places. I didn't even know she had one loose. Katie didn't loose her first tooth until 1st grade so I didn't even think that Bree would start this soon. BUT she was so excited. Could not wait to show daddy and for the tooth fairy to come.

 Katie had a sleepover with her BFF Kelsey. They are too cute together and are such good friends. Kelsey is a sweetheart and thankful she has been such a good friend to Katie.

 Bree had to get in the mix as well.

On Halloween...both the girls wore the shirts from last year. Surprised they still fit them.

 Time around here as been crazy for us. Chris has been traveling more and so it has made it a little harder to do all the things we normally do this time of year with the girls. So I have been feeling a little bad about the girls missing out on somethings, so I decided for Halloween dinner I would make a quick Halloween themed dinner. I made Pizza Puff Mummy's...not really sure they look like mummies, but the girls loved them and ate them up.

 We did trick or treating around the hood....Katie when as a vampire and Bree went as Daphne from Scooby Doo. Essentially they both wanted costumes with wigs and this is what they found. :) Bree said Samson could be her Scooby Doo.

 They picked out a Hot Dog costume for Samson. Doesn't he just look THRILLED to be wearing this. :) Poor guy...he did good though and wore it all night.

 I am still running (my only sanity check some days). My friend\neighbor Christina has been a really great running buddy. We run at least 3 times a week together and even though she wasn't sure if she would be able to run the half I was training for she stuck with me during the entire training and ran all the short and long runs with me. This was just after we finished a 9 miler with hills.

 The half I was running was the Battleship Half and it was dedicated to all the men and women who have and are serving in the armed forces. I thought it would be a great way to show honor to my brother by running in his memory. I had a running shirt made with this on the back. I also had this scripture noted on the shirts: 2 Timothy 4:7-8  "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing"

Day of the race. Christina didn't get to run, she still has a little one that is on a feeding schedule. So it didn't work out for her to be there, but I got to run with my other friend Maria (in the middle) and her friend Cait. I had good company along the way.

 The course for this half was scenic, which was nice, but it was also very hilly. We crossed over 3 very high bridges as well as some steep downtown hills. I have to say I was not quite as prepared for the hills as I thought I was.  Chris and the girls staked out several place to see me, it's hard to tell but I am in the mix here, over to the right in red.  This was at about mile 3 or 4.

My little cheerleaders and their sign for me

Yeah, this was around mile 7 or 8 I think...this was the flat part of the course before you hit hills again and one last monster bridge around mile 11.

Me and the ladies...still smiling after it was all said and done!

Since Christina could not run, I am actually running another half tomorrow morning with her on Camp Lejune base. I know I am crazy....but we both trained hard together and I really want to run one with her.

Now...what's in the future for the Reneau's....we are moving again. :) Chris was taken a job in Lexington SC, where we used to live 7 years ago and this is where Katie was born. We love the area and it offers a lot so we are looking forward to the move, just not the moving part. So stay tuned for more on what's happening with that. 

First Days of School

School started back up for us last week. We are getting back into our schedule of getting up, homework and other activities.

Katie started 2nd grade this year. It is still hard for me to think of her already in 2nd grade. It really is going by fast. She was so ready to go and couldn't wait. She told Chris and I that we could walk her in but no photos of her with her teach like I have done the past two years. *sigh*...guess she is getting to old for that.

 Bree(my baby) started Kindergarten this year. She had to wait until Wednesday to go as that was her phase in day and then all the K kids started on Thursday. This was a big milestone for her, she has been counting down the days that she got to start school ever since she turned 5 in February. Her grin was permanent on her face all day and pretty much has been every day since then. She loves school! 

 I pic of both my beauties before they went to school together.

 We walked Bree in and I had tears in my eyes but she was just so darn excited to be there it made it much easier on Momma. She has Mrs. Law for her teacher. She is the same K teacher Katie had when we moved here. Mrs. Law was really excited to have Bree in her class, plus I think she is an AMAZING K teacher so I was thrilled she got her as well.

 Once last hug of encouragement from her sister before Katie went to class. Love those girls!

 On the second day of Bree going, she came downstairs and asked if she could walk in all by herself. I told her I would really love to walk her in again (mainly because I was afraid she wouldn't find her class...she is a little directionally challenged just like her daddy). :)  But she was very persistent that she wanted to do it herself and she finally agreed to let Katie walk her to her class. I have to say that when I pulled up in the car drop off line my heart sank a little and I made more tears in my eyes I as I watched her climb out of the car(again with an ear to ear grin) and walk away with her sister. She is just so ready to be big and I am so not ready for her to big, but I guess these days are coming. :(

I tried to snag a photo of them walking in. Katie is a great big sis...she make sure Bree is going in the right direction each morning and on the bus ride home each day she has her sit with her on the bus. Even though they may fight like cats and dogs it is sweet to know that deep down she is very protective of her.



Last But Not Least

At the end of July first of August we had our last round of visitors for the summer. The Morgans came for a visit. We have know then since our South Carolina days back in 2003 and we have been great friends with them every since. We love spending time with them...it is always SO MUCH fun. The only down side was that Chris had to travel the week they were hear so poor James had to put up with 7 ladies all week. He was a trooper. :)

Best Buds hanging in the pool

 We got to go to the beach one day that they were here. We had lots of rain, but the day we did go it was absolutely perfect weather.  Silly girls striking a pose

 Snorkel time

 This picture cracks me up...it is too much :)  Katie is a super model in the making. LOL

All the pretty girls with their bun heads

So sweet. 

 One of the rainy days we went to Monkey Joes and let the girls run and bounce out some energy.

 BRAIN FREEZE!!!

 Hum...Mom...I am bored can be go yet??  Someone thought she was too big for bouncing anymore. :)

 Me and my girl. :)

 The evening we pretty much just hung out at the house. Entertaining themselves, they were all watching you tube videos. This one was "Charlie Bit Me".

 We did nails one night as well. We found these press on sticker nails at Claires so Cara and I sat for what felt like hours putting them on all the girls nails. Only for them to wash off the next day in the pool.

 The last day that they were here we took the girls to Sweet and Sassy and let them get all dolled up. Don't they look gorgeous?  Five sweet, sweet girls and a few have a little more sassy in them though. :)

After Sweet and Sassy, we dropped the girls off at a place called Giggles so the grown ups could have a few hours to ourselves. YAY!! Chris was back in town so we thought we would have a double date just like we used to do all the time in SC. We had dinner at a really great Italian place and then we took James and Cara over to one of our fav spots in Wilmington. We brought Chris up to speed on all the happenings of the week. We laughed alot, talked about old times and started planning our next vacation. :)

One more of me and my bestie or aka sister wife. :) Since Chris was gone all week whenever we went out we took Cara and James' car since all the girls could fit and I would ride upfront with Jame and Cara. James would drive, Cara was in the middle and I was on the end. We got some strange looks from people and we started joking that we were sister wives and all these kids were James'.

It was a great week with them. I miss them already and can't wait until our next vacation. They have the best girls and I love when we see them it has if no time has passed at all and we just pick up where we left off. Friends like these are hard to find and so thankful for them!

Short-n-Sweet Visit

The month of July was a busy month, but I am very grateful that I got to see not just one but three of my best friends in July. Heck, I am think I pretty blessed just to be able to say I have three best friends. :) But this trip was one I was really looking forward too. I haven't seen my girl Joy in almost 2 YEARS! The distance between us always makes it a challenge but I love that when we have the opportunity we both make it a priority to see each other. Joy and her family were headed over to NC for a week to spend some time with her husbands family. They were about 6 hours away, so since we were going to be in the same time zone we decided to meet up for a day. A big thank you to her family for sharing her with me while they were all on vacation. :)

We met up in a small town about half way between us both. We decided to spend the night so we would have a little longer to see each other. We both got to our hotel around 7pm and we decided to have a late dinner. Shortly after we arrived we freshened up and then headed out to dinner. We got to chat, have a drink and just talk about all the changes going on in life. 

After dinner we headed back to the hotel to relax in the hot tub....we changed and headed down to only find out the hot tub...was not so hot, it was cold and very disappointing. So back to the room to relax, talk and laugh. We both were just laying in our beds talking about stuff and laughing. It reminded me of back in the day(before kids) I used to travel to Nashville to see her when we lived in Knoxville. I'd spend the weekend up there hanging out and we would always stay up late just talking and laughing. :) 

The next day we decided to go and do a little shopping at the outlet mall and we grabbed some lunch. We tried to take a photo of just the two of us. 

Love this girl and would do anything for her! 

 After lunch we went to get pedicures....as we were getting our feet rubbed I looked over and Joy just looked so relaxed I had to take a photo. Hehe...don't be mad Joy I didn't post it to FB. :)

 Our pretty toes.

Chickie and Chickola :)

We had less than 24 hours to visit with each other...too short but was very thankful to at least be able to see her and hug her. She is one friend who has always been by my side and I know no matter what I do she always has my back and will be there for me...even if we are 2000 miles apart. :)

A Little R & R (Reneaus and Roberts that is)

A few weeks ago our really good friends from Oklahoma Stefanie and Jeremy and their kiddos Braeden and Lydia, came to visit us for a week. We haven't all been together since we moved from OK over a year ago. We were so excited to have the coming to see us, I have missed my girl Stef. We were always hanging out and spending time together when we lived in OK, so it was nice to have her here for a week and get to catch up. 

They flew into the Raleigh Airport, so after we picked them up we headed to get some dinner. These kids were best of friends and even though they haven't seen each other in a year, they picked up just like they hadn't had anytime apart....just like real friends do.

 So as anyone who comes to visit we always have plenty of time for the pool... Katie and Lydia taking a snack break.

 We headed over to the beach in the evening on the first day they were hear. Braeden and Lydia have never been to a beach that has "warm" ocean water so they were excited to see it and feel it. They all took off running when they hit the sand.

 After the beach we headed over to the pier to check out what everyone was catching. On the way back to the car I caught Braeden and Bree holding hands and walking. My heart melted...nothing like a stroll with a friend. :)

 We had a couple of days at the beach. Lydia digging in the sand.

Stef and Braeden...hanging out

 Jeremy was the skilled sand castle builder so all the kids wanted him to help build a castle...but attention spans shortly kicked in and they were off doing other things. :)

 About mid way through the week we had to throw a little excitement into the week. Stef and I had Bree and Lydia at the pool. They were playing and jumping off the side. Well, Bree decided last minute to turn her forward jump into a backwards cannon ball. Two seconds later there was screaming and lots of blood. She hit her chin on the side of the pool. SO...Chris and I spent over 6 hours at the ER getting her stitched up. 5 stitches in her little chin. She was on tough cookie though. She didn't cry one tear when they numbed her or did the stitches. She laid really still. The ER doctor kept telling her she was better than most adults who get stitches. 

 We headed to Wilmington one day to check out the Children's Museum. B and B were trying to figure out how to get the cannon to work (it shoots out tennis balls)....no luck on this day must have been broken.

 Our little engineer in the making....she kept trying to figure out the best way to stack all the cups as high as she could without them falling over.

 Future Scientist

 Taken a break to do some art

 Cookin' in the kitchen....it's always more fun to cook with your best friend.

After the Children's Museum, Jeremy took Braeden and Katie over to tour the Battleship. Stef and I took Bree and Lydia out for ice cream and then back home. But Jeremy said they had a blast and snapped a few photos.

B and K outside the Battleship

 Taking down the enemies!!!

 Checking out were they would sleep.

 And Jeremy introduced Katie to her first sailor....I told him she was a little young to me talking to sailors. :)

Another day we went out in search of some dolphins. We took a boat tour down the intercoastal .

Relaxing with a friend

Chris and Lydia having some boat conversation.

Two of my favorite people...They are our family. :)

Keeping her eye out for some dolphins

We saw some out infront of us....all the kids were clapping and making noise to hopefully get them to come closer

There were six dolphins swimming all around us. A couple of them were babies.  They never came up to the boat but they got pretty close. It was hard to get a photo as they were up and down in no time. The kids and adults were beyond thrilled to have seen them. Such cool animals.

Me and my bestie.... love her!

After a fun filled week it was time to head back to the airport :( We decided to make a day out of our Raleigh trip, so we stopped off at one of the museums (don't remember the name...something about science and nature). Had to get one more photo op with these two cuties.

My girls....always with the silly poses. :)

The museum was really neat, not only because it was free but it had lots of amazing stuff to look at. Here is a picture of one of the many skeletons they had hanging from the roof. This is a skeleton of a whale...pretty incredible on how BIG it was. I was just hoping it was very secure it what was holding it up.

The big ole dinosaur...Chris and Katie look so small next too it.

We finished killing time at the museum and then had to head back to the airport to drop them off. The week flew by and it was sad to see them go. I had tears in my eyes as we said good by to them. It was just like saying good by over a year ago. BUT I am truly thankful for the we got to spend with them and hopefully soon we can head to OK to see them and all of our wonderful friends we left behind there as well.