End of the 1st Day of School

Well, it was chaos picking up Jesse today with hundreds of parents doing the same, but I eventually found him and he was happy as a lark. He loved his 1st day & immediately met a new friend who sits next to him in class and they sat next to each other in lunch. He said he was funny and nice. He had lots to talk about and was as happy as I've seen him in a long time!

After school, we all went to get ice cream to celebrate the beginning of another great school year. Nana was able to come along, and Wednesday, Grandma will bring Jesse a special Beginning of the Year treat!

Nana loves her chocolate.....

I promise to post very soon!
Love,Gretchen

2nd Grade Here We Come!!!

Well, Jesse started 2nd grade at a new school this year. Though very excited, he seemed to be a tad apprehensive. He was up and ready to go this morning, especially after eating his favorite breakfast!

This year, Jesse will be riding to school with Lance, which will be a change and special treat for Jesse. Sure hope Lance was not driving while taking this picture.......
Jesse found his name on this desk and was ready to go. He was sick of having his picture taken and said, "Mom.....you can go now...." My baby is growing up!

A Very Special Day......

Well, this weekend we celebrated Jesse & Claire's Baptism surrounded by our very special family & friends. The ceremony went smoothly and both of the kids did great. Jesse got a lot out of the ceremony. We are very proud of him! Here we are with Father Martell, and Chris and Ann, the Godparents.
The kids after the ceremony. Claire wasn't too sure in this photo!
The kids with Ann & Chris. Thanks for coming all the way from Washington State to be with us!!!
Mommy & Daddy with the kids.
Claire & Jesse and Grandma & Grandpa's house afterwards at the celebration. Lots of yummy food & treats were had by all!!
Jesse starts school this week, so I promise to post very, very soon!!

Love,Gretchen

Weekend Fun in Jackson, MS

We drove down to Jackson, MS to see Lance's Grandparents, Cousins, & Aunts and Uncles last weekend and the kids had a blast. It's only 2 weeks until school begins, so we jumped at the free weekend and drove down. We had great fun, food, & company!
Claire was instantly taken with her cousin Micheal, who was taken with her as well.....
Jesse's Pappaw found this Mastedon tooth in the Natchez Trace area a few years ago. Jesse was fascinated with the tooth and it's size! We then went to the Museum of Natural Science, where they had a new dinosuar exhibit...full of Mastedon teeth. Jesse was thrilled!!
Jesse & Claire with Mammw during our trip. Thanks for all the great food, Mammaw!!

Trying to stay cool!

Mary Sofia came over for her 1st play date a t Claire's house. They played outside for as long as the mommies could stand the heat! They did splendidly at taking turns going down the water slide! Fun was had by all and yummy snacks followed inside...where it was a bit cooler!!
Mary Sofia became a pro at the slide....
You can tell she's used to hamming it up for the camera!
Hollywood Claire ready for a splash.
Thanks for coming Mary Sofia and Carrie! Sure we'll do it again real soon!!!

Sorry it's been so long......

Well ,today we visited the Mud Island Riverwalk for the 1st time. We went with friends Lily Grace & Elliot from gymnastics class, and their mommies. The kids had a blast! They splashed til they could no longer and then after getting sprinkled in the "Gulf of Mexico", we had lunch in the shade. The kids were exhausted. Yay! All the kids enjoyed the water and were on their best behavior.

Ms. Barb, Claire, & Lily Grace having some fun.
Can't tell Claire liked it at all......
Elliot & Claire having some sort of discussion.
Jesse was a great help with the little kids on the Riverwalk!

I promise to post again real soon!
Love,Gretchen

Sorry it's been so long (continued)........

Well, we've been having a very fun and busy summer. But I finally have a free t moment to post a few new pictures. We're trying to fit lots of fun stuff in before school starts in 3 weeks! Hard to believe!


Claire playing dress up. Actually, she walks around in these shoes most of the day....
Jesse at a Redbirds game with PawPaw, cousin Dylan, and his friend Ryan. Jesse thoroughly enjoyed seeing his cousins this summer!!
Handsome Jesse before going out to eat.
More pictures from today's visit to Mud Island Riverwalk. The kids had a blast and were exhausted at the end of the day....just the way we like them!
Jesse with little Elliot staying cool at the Riverwalk.

A few more beach pics.....

In my hurry to blog last night, I failed to include some pictures of Mary Grace, who came down to our condo Friday for a day at the beach with us, along with her mom and dad, Leigh Ann and John. I told John I would have many incriminating photos of him on the blog, but he was well behaved so I have no incrimenating photos to offer!!

As many of you know, Mary Grace and Claire were in the same orphanage together in China. She particularly enjoyed playing in the sand with Jesse, who is smitten with her. The girls were exausted by the end of the of the day and we hope to see them all very soon!
All the other cousins were just as taken with Mary Grace as hey were with Claire!
Mary Grace had a full crowd at her attention, offering snacks and buddies to play in the sand with!

We're Home!

OK, So we're home now and I'm sooooo sorry I'm just now posting. We had a bit of trouble with sleeping arrangements this week, as Claire did not like sleeping in her pack and play AT ALL!! She was unconsolable, so we had to rock her til she fell asleep, whick took about 1 hour.After that we would put her down in the pack and play and she would wake up around 2am screaming because she had no idea where she was. Anyway, I never had a chance to sit down at the computer after she went down to blog. So forgive me, as I have included many pictures tonight! Other than the sleeping thing, we had a great vacation. I should call it a trip, because Lance and I decided a vacation was something you take WITHOUT the kids!..... We stayed on the beach all day every day and were blessed with the most wonderful weather. Lance enjoyed golf one day and took Jesse and Peyton to Waterville one afternoon but Claire and I could be found at the beach at almost any given time!! Enjoy the pictures and will post again real soon. I think I need a vacation from my vacation.....

Love,Gretchen
Claire begged anyone who would be willing to take her into the water. She kept pointing to the water and saying, "I go......"
Sweet siblings

More Beach Pictures as Promised.....

This is a special picture because this is my Grandma with all her Great Grandchildren! There are 9 and 2 more on the way!! All the kids really enjoyed having Great Grandma Hydrick on this vacation with them!


Getting a decent family picture is impossible! Apparantly, just before the pictures were taken, Claire decided to put her hands through my hair and pull away. My family never said, "Hey Gretchen, you have a huge chunk of hair pulled out of place", or "Hey Gretchen, your hair looks a little like you just woke up!" Oh well, the pictures are done and this is as good as it gets! I'll always have the memories of a great trip though!!!
Claire with one of her cousins, Peyton. All the "big kids" were so big to play with Claire and give her attention! Claire thought she was one of the big kids!

Flora/Bama 08'

Claire in the annual "Beach Chair Picture." We have used the same chair every year since Jesse was 12 weeks old and at the beach for the 1st time! Claire loved it!
Beach picture.....we stayed in our swimsuits from early morning til bedtime.....
A sweet moment with the kids taking a break from the ocean.
Claire just played on the last day of the beach til she couldn't go any more. Grandma enjoyed every minute of it!
Uncle Tommy (Gretchen's brother), Gretchen, and Grandma (Gretchen's mom) enjoying the ocean breeze.... Once again, sorry for the delayed post. Hope you all enjoyed the photos! Will post again soon!
Love, Gretchen

Vacation Time....2008!

Well, we began our vacation by stopping off in Prattville, AL at Mary Grace's Home for a lovely cookout lunch! Claire and Mary Grace are from the same orphanage and we traveled to China with Leigh Ann and her good friend Amy! We had a great time and the kids were good and tired when we got back in the car for the rest of the trip! Always great to see Mary Grace and her family!!
Mary Grace immediately took to Jesse, as he did her!
This is what I woke up to this morning! Ready to start their day on the beach!
Claire had a great time on the beach today. She actually prefers the ocean to the sand. She kept wiping the sand off all day and finally gave in and just enjoyed playing in it! She just went from relative to relative for snacks.....

Will post lots more tomorrow!!! We are enjoying lovely weather and company! We have about 50 family down here now and a blast is being had by all!

Love,gretchen

A Homerun for Jesse!

Sadly, yesterday I was so caught up in Jesse's baseball game, that I failed to take a single picture! Jesse stepped up to the plate and cracked his 1st home run last night. I would have damaged the camera if I were holding it anyway, as I was jumping around like a lunatic. The look on his face as he was rounding the bases was priceless. He was chased down from 3rd to homeplate and I swear to you I've never seen my son run so fast! I knew he had it in him! His whole team cheered him on and he was beaming the rest of the game. He also assisted on making an out and that added to his delight! Way to go Jesse!!!! Last regular season game is Friday evening and I promise pictures will be taken.

Will post again soon!
Love,Gretchen

Jesse & The Sea Lion

Jesse and Claire went to the zoo Friday and Jesse found a new friend.......