Rite of Passage

IT FINALLY HAPPENED!!!!

My little queenie has been wiggling that tooth for 3 weeks today! She told me she felt like such a big girl tonight. We were brushing her teeth before bed and she just held her hand up to her mouth and there it was! She wrote the tooth fairy a note that says, "Tooth Fairy, Please do not take it. Love, Riley" She told me she wanted to keep that first tooth in her treasure box (along with the carpet fiber she added this morning from our house) so that she could always remember this special time. Not a bit nostalgic, not my girl!

Shots and Salsarita's

Tuesday was Riley's 5 year well visit ... and yes, I do know that her birthday was over 2 months ago! She was such a big girl and talked to Miss Molly about moving to Mississippi, kindergarten, riding her bike w/o training wheels, her loose tooth, and whatever else would keep her mind off of the shots she knew were hiding somewhere in that visit. She did her vision screening and hearing test and abruptly corrected her nurse when her height was measured at 41 1/2 inches. She told her she had been riding 42" Dollywood rides since last fall and that their numbers must be wrong. She got over it when I told her that she was barefoot and we are never barefoot at Dollywood. She was so proud of herself (after screaming 4 separate times for the 4 separate shots she received) and proudly selected a unicorn finger puppet from the treasure chest as a reward for her bravery. We went to Salsarita's for lunch (her day, her choice) and then to Basket Robbins (it's always been Basket, never Baskin like you're thinking) for dessert! She's soooo rotten!

Quack Quack!

Riley and I spent the weekend in NC at Nannie and Grandaddy's house. What a nice getaway, following a nasty little virus that visited her in the early part of the week, and a break from the reality that is our HOUSE OF BOXES! Good grief, you just don't realize how all those "things that make a home" matter until they are all boxed up and not collecting dust everyday! I told Mike I felt like an airplane in a holding pattern because I'm unable to really "do" much of anything. Our little world is on pause right now and I'm such a routine kind of person (I get that from Daddy). YIKES! So, we ate well (as always) in NC and relaxed, played in the yard and managed to feed the ducks at Lake Tomahawk, which Riley refers to as "Nannie's Duck Pond". She had a blast and it was so nice to spend a little time there before our relocation. Their house will always feel like home!

Soccer Stars

Well, the pink cheetahs just wrapped up an impressive (subjective opinion) season of AYSO soccer complete with matching pink soccer socks, and yes they were an ALL GIRLS team. Talk about fierce, don't let the cute faces fool you. There were lots of games where they took on completely different personalities, like horses, birds, and unicorns to name just a few! What we lacked in skill and ability, we sure made up for with cuteness and imagination! I know Coach Todd is the most patient soccer coach EVER! They celebrated with a pizza party at Mr. Gatti's and received their trophies for a job well done!

Where the Heart Is!

Here's home. It's "where we'll hang our hats" and there's "no place like it". I'm super nervous about the relocation, but really excited about our new house. Mike is going by after work every evening and checking on the progress of things. He's like a kid in a candy store when it comes to things like that. He tells me that today the cedar posts on the porch were installed so I'll have to update the picture when I have one. This is what it looked like when I left 2 weeks ago. There is sod now too (never thought that would register on my enthusiasm scale, but WOO HOO!)

Moooooving...

Besides chronicling Riley's every move (those that know me can attest to my "control freak factor" I thought a blog regarding our little corner of the world would keep those that care in touch with us after our move. my loving, providing, fabulous husband of almost 10 YEARS landed a great job in Memphis TN about a month ago. So...we're off to see the wizard...the wonderful wizard of Oz (in this case Oz is in Olive Branch, MS not too close to Kansas, but anyway...back on task. After a weekend of parading through EVERY home in our price range in the Arlington, Collierville, Germantown, Bartlett, and Lakeland TN areas...we found nothing... Within that same weekend we visited EVERY home in our price range in the Olive Branch, MS area and B I N G O, there it was! On June 16th (fingers crossed) we will be the proud owners of a new home in Creekside Estates subdivision on Turkey Creek Drive located in the metropolis (that's a stretch) of Olive Branch. We were a little disappointed that there were no other farm animal names for streets, but we think our "little turkey" will love it there! A big yard with a great tree line in the back and a creek that runs along the backside of the property. I'm already thinking about how to landscape..ahem...have Mike landscape a path down to the creek for our girl! Pictures to come soon! I promise!

The reason behind the blog...

Riley's "goons" as we lovingly refer to her grandparents will have to be kept up to speed on her every move once she moves to northern Mississippi. Mike has accepted a wonderful opportunity at a company in Memphis so we're westward bound later this summer.