Jane Gray's art class

Jane Gray and Mommy went to an art class tonight at Easely Amused.  We had a great time, and Jane Gray painted a beautiful painting!

Dinosaur exhibit

The Mississippi Museum of Natural Science has a new dinosaur exhibit.  Our sweet neighbor, Mrs. Wall, gave Charlie tickets for his birthday, and we went to see it with the Waddells today.  It was fantastic!  Charlie sat in front of the T Rex for such a long time.  He loved it!  He also loved the robotic dinosaur.  The girls loved the exhibit, too, especially the mommy and baby dinosaurs.

Saying good-bye to the Browns

We are so sad that our precious friends are moving back to Memphis.  Sweet Griffin has become one of Charlie's best friends, and we are so thankful for him.  We had a final spend-the-night party and dinner with the Browns before they left for Memphis on Saturday.  We will miss them, but we have many plans to see them soon.

Our favorite cook

Jane Gray has been cooking our lunch this summer, and she is a wonderful cook.  Her specialty is grilled cheese sandwiches.

Braves game with Grandpa and Reece

Grandpa, Reece, and Charlie went to the Braves game tonight.  The Braves won, and Charlie got a game ball.  It was a foul ball.  Charlie and another man raced for it.  The man got to it first, but when he saw Charlie's sad, downtrodden face, he gave it to Charlie.  Charlie was so excited!

True South Classic

Daddy took Charlie to the True South Classic golf tournament this afternoon.  We were able to watch some golf and learn about the game.  When leaving, Charlie stated he was spending too much time on baseball and swimming and needed more time on golf to learn more about it - that is fine with his momma.  We had a great time, saw some golf, played on the hill in the shade, and enjoyed some great lemonade.  Our favorite part, once again, was on the walk back.  We found a few golf balls and tees, rolled the balls on the green, and learned to tee a ball up.  It was a great way to spend the afternoon.

Farewell party for the Browns

The Sheppards, Smiths, Browns, and we spent the day in Yazoo City celebrating the Browns before they move back to Memphis.  We have been so, so blessed to have them this year, and it is going to be hard to say good-bye.  BUT we are going to have an annual party in Yazoo City which we hope will rival the one we had today.  That is going to be hard because we had so much fun!  We went fishing, hiked in the creek, slid down a slip and slide and then washed off in the pond.

Jane Gray's 9th birthday

Jane Gray had a wonderful 9th birthday!  We had lunch at Chick-fil-a (her choice) and then went to see Brave.  Sayley went with us.  After the movie, we picked up two more friends, Sara Foster Dryden and Aubrey Scott Moak, and ate dinner at Mazzio's.  The girls spent the night and stayed up late eating birthday cake and watching movies.

Meg the ballerina

Meg's ballet teacher, Mrs. Pam, asked Meg and some of the other Ballet Magnificat ballerinas to help her teach a class at Belhaven on ballet instruction.  Meg was so happy to help Mrs. Pam and loved dancing in front of the other teachers and ballerinas.

Swim team banquet

We ended the summer swim team season with the swim team banquet.  Charlie and Meg loved playing M&M bingo and running around with their friends.  Charlie and Jane Gray (via Meg) also received their medals and ribbons from the city meet.  Charlie placed second in the backstroke and fourth in freestyle.  His relay team finished fifth, which was amazing since they were swimming in the 8 and under division.  Jane Gray's relay teams won second, and she placed third in breaststroke and fifth in freestyle and butterfly.  They did so well!  The most amazing award they received was given by the coaches - they named Jane Gray and Charlie "Most Improved" in their age groups.  Jane Gray and Charlie were shocked and thrilled, and they loved their trophies!  Jane Gray was also excited about the fish that came home with Charlie from the banquet.  Charlie later told us that Jane Gray had told Charlie that he HAD to get her a fish!

IBC Reunion Gala

Nana took Jane Gray to dinner at Sal and Mooki's and then to the IBC Reunion Gala.  They sat in the balcony, which Jane Gray loved, and enjoyed the ballet, particularly the contemporary performances.

City swim meet finals

The finals of the city swim meet were today.  Charlie's relay team included his cousin Will Upton and his buddies Ivey Yelverton and Owen McCraney.  Jane Gray's relay team included Mayrant and Wilkie Gonwa and Alden McNamara.  The kids had so much fun swimming with each other!