Alpha Phi

Steph joined a sorority this year, "Alpha Phi". She had been kind of unsure at first if she really wanted to stick with it, but eventually decided she was going to commit, and in the process has started to make some new friends and have some fun experiences. Last night she was initiated and is now officially an Alpha Phi sister. For the initiation they all had to be dressed in white. Steph looked really cute. Here she is throwing up a gang sign... just kidding, it's supposed to be the signs for the greek letters, alpha and phi.

Today we went to a nice banquet for the girls and their parents.

Steph and a few of her sisters.

I'm really glad that Steph is getting involved and trying to make the most of her college experience. Hopefully these are times that she will always cherish.

Recycle Robot

Alex's class made robots out of recyclable objects the kids brought from home. Alex is still loving preschool and doing well. Our favorite quote from Alex, shared with us by his teacher is that sometimes he doesn't finish his work because, as he says, "my hand is getting tired". We try to be careful with what we say around him as he picks up on everything, and looooves to tattle on "Sis" if she has just said a word which he claims is "in-a-pro-pree-eight" (inappropriate). He was excited to go to kindergarten registration the other day. His mother, on the other hand is a tad bit in denial. Guess I'd better come to grips with the reality that this kid is growing up, like it or not!

Meet Flippy Thomas Jerry

I'd like to introduce you to the newest member of the Lilly family, and Alex's first ever pet. His full name is Flippy Thomas Jerry Thomas Jerry Flippy, a name chosen by Alex, but we usually just call him Flippy for short. Getting a little fish may not seem like a big deal, but coming from someone who has had an aversion to fish (dead or alive) her entire life, this is quite monumental. I even help Alex feed Flippy, although you'd better believe I only slide the lid open by about 2 centimeters to ensure that Flippy does not jump out. When I was Alex's age, my sister Lesley was babysitting her friend's two goldfish, and she accidentally dropped the glass bowl on our bedroom floor. The bowl shattered and those 2 fish flipped and flopped all over the hardwood floor. I've been traumatized ever since. However, being the good mother that I try to be, I put my fears aside and agreed to let Alex get this fish... with the understanding that any cleaning or flushing of dead fish down the toilet fall under Steve's jurisdiction. I'm not that good of a mother!

V Chocolates Field Trip

Alex's preschool went on a field trip to "V Chocolates" where they learned how chocolate is made and got to see some "behind the scenes" action in the kitchen. I think the funnest part for Alex was getting to have his "bess fwend Anfony" aka Anthony, ride in our car with us. It's really cute to watch these two at school, they always make sure they are by each other.

I unfortunately could not figure out until it was too late that I had my camera on the wrong setting, so this picture turned out blurry, but it's of the whole class plus Miss Tami.

Rockin' the hair net look. The best part of the field trip (especially for the moms) was at the end when we got to fill our goody bags with some yummy treats!

Happy Mardi Gras

My sister in law lives in the Gulf Coast area of Mississippi, very close to New Orleans, so Mardi Gras is a big deal there. We experienced a little taste of Southern culture this year when she sent us a "King Cake", apparently something very big for Mardi Gras. It was pretty tasty, it had cream cheese in the middle, and also had a scary looking little plastic baby hidden in the cake. Whomever gets the slice that has the baby in it will have good luck all year. The cake arrived all baked with ingredients and directions for how to decorate it. Alex and I had fun decking it out. Notice Alex's Mardi Gras beads around his neck? I promise he didn't do anything naughty to earn his beads! :)

Baby Koala

Alex has an alter ego. His name is "Baby Koala". When Alex becomes Baby Koala, I automatically am referred to as "Mama Koala". Baby Koala has a dual personality. He can be very sweet and cuddly, but at times turns into Angry Koala, like in this picture... Angry Koala is slightly frightening, but oh how I love my sweet Koala...

Sweet Koala rubs his paw on his cheek and says, "Errrrrrr". Sweet Koala likes to nuzzle and nip at my neck, which is very cute but also slightly awkward when you're in public, and people are probably wondering why a 4 year old boy has an opened mouth on his mother's neck. We try to encourage Baby Koala to stay home and let Alex take his place when we go out!

20 Years and Counting

Steve and I celebrated our 20th Anniversary last week. Twenty years sounds like a long time, in fact it means I've now been married for half my lifetime, but it sure doesn't feel like it's been that long.

Here is a picture of us when we were dating. The early 90's just weren't all that cute. We sure thought we were pretty cute at the time though. Yikes!

It's definately been quite a ride of ups and downs through the years, but Steve has always been there for me and I'm so proud of the man that he has become. Can't wait to see what we look like in another 20 years... ok, that was a blatant lie, I'm desperately trying to grasp on to my "youth". Perhaps I should just say that I'm looking forward to what lies ahead. Here's to twenty more!