Presley got her ears pierced! I know.  Doesn't every little girl eventually get this barbaric ritual done at some point?  I had 5 holes in each ear at some point.  But after all this is Presley we are talking about.  Lucas and I decided a long time ago we would let her decide on her own when and if she wanted to get it done.  Mostly because once we witnessed a little girl getting it done in the mall and Lucas almost threw up.  He hated the thought of making Presley cry and hurt for such a ridiculous cause.  But as she got older he actually wanted her to do it. We offered on her 5th birthday to take her and she said "absolutely not" and despite Blakelee, Rosey and Juilette having theirs done a long time ago, still she wouldn't succumb to the peer pressure.  Then suddenly sitting on the couch a few days ago she said "i want my ears pierced"  so Lucas said "pack up and get in the car".  She was brave.  She didn't cry until after the first one, then her lips began to quiver.  Pitiful but worth it a few minutes later.

in other news...

Nana had a birthday!

Presley had a playdate with Davis
(and Miley with Noah, he is so sweet to her)




and Presley asked the doctor if she could "bideo" the babies heartbeat...
very unflattering video but Presley is so proud

instagrams

so.  i have been on a hiatus.  pregnancy induced fatigue is what i choose to blame it on.  most nights by the time i get the kids settled i can hardly keep my eyes open myself.  i feel like i have lost track but here are a few highlights of the past few weeks.  first Minnde and i ventured to Great Wolf Lodge a few weeks ago for Blakelees birthday.  she is 10...how is that possible? but its true.  we took Presley and one of Blakelees friends Siera.  Lucas and I gave each other lectures before we left that went something along the lines of "im trusting you to take care of Miley, if something happens to her i will kill you" and "im trusting you to take care of Presley and not let her drown or i will kill you".  luckily we all survived. 

GWL was great.  i was mostly impressed by the lifeguards.  they were like Nazi's.  they were never still.  they constantly paced the sides of the pools and swiveled their heads all over the water and looked at every single kid, every second.  at some point they had a surprise drill and i saw hands flapping in the water and hear an obnoxious whistle blow and in goes the lifeguard to save the guy.  i thought it a little strange that he was a teenager and a few minutes later saw them discussing the drill and how well the lifeguard did.  Presley didn't see that part and i allowed her to believe that even this "big" guy could have bumped his head on something and been disoriented for a minute and could have drowned, and of course this is why we have to be super careful in water and so on.  so she regarded them as superheros for the rest of the trip. 

when we first arrived and got to the waterpark she was obliviously standing under this HUGE bucket that dumps out an avalanche of water every 5 minutes or so.  it poured down and literally could have knocked her down had she not been such a fast runner. so that started of the first night in terror.  she spent most of her time for the remainder of the night "directing" the water spouts that came out of the ground in the baby pool.  (being the stellar mom that i am i forgot the camera, so you will have to suffer through with instagrams)

Elvis, you cant escape him

i talked Presley into riding 2 slides. she was brave.  but that was enough for her.  Minnde and I rode all of them, many times.  so much fun.  luckily i was only pregnant enough to look like i have waaay too much for lunch and not like a full blown pregnant lady so i escaped the daggering stares.  its ok, go ahead and judge me, my husband did. i rode a ridiculous roller coaster when i was 8 months pregnant with Miley and she turned out ok...then again maybe that explains a few things.

we have also been doing soccer.  presley loves it.  and is quite good too.

side note.  just to give you a glimpse of this daddy's girl.  last Saturday at her game she walked up to me and stomped on my foot with her cletes and smiled.  so i sarcastically said "thank you Presley that was so sweet"  to which Lucas replies with tilting his head and saying "Caseyyyyy"  really??? she just stomped on my foot on purpose and im the bad guy??  she does NO wrong in his eyes. good thing i love her so.

Saturday after her game Nana (Marquita), Sah Sah (Lisa), Lucas, the girls and i went to lunch at Reno's and then walked over to the new antique store in Gibsonville.  very neat place.  they have a huge wall you can sign, which we did.  Miley even scribbled on it. Miley walked around with her little purse and found the "general store" and she shopped for candy of course.  Presley scored a really cool old desk from Sah Sah.  i love it.

reminded at church this weekend that even though in our plans for life we have a goal.  to get from point A to point B the quickest, easiest way possible, a straight line.  God often allows us to take the zip zag trip. not the fastest or easiest.  but since we have little control over that we have a choice to make during the zag zags.  endure them with bitterness and frustration or embrace them and find the blessings, lessons, wisdom and joy in them.  Life is hard sometimes, but what a shame to focus on that instead of the endless blessings we have in front of us!  Thankful for the cross, my family, my friends, my husband and little girls!

Happy Birthday Goose

today is Lucy's birthday.  she is the best dog. i know everyone says that about their pet but she really is.  she is a big shaggy mess.  she has been compared to a muppet, a homeless dog, a fraggle rock, a mop.  whatever, that's the way i like her.  she puts up with so much.  these girls dress her up, tie her up, tackle her, nap on her, ride on her, pull her hair...it just doesn't matter.  she just looks up at them with the same "i don't understand this but i love you anyway" face.  she ignores the wrestling matches in this house unless mommy gets involved, then she takes Lucas down.  she doesn't shed.  her only annoying quality is when you fix yourself a plate and turn your head, its gone.  she is a huge food thief.  and is not afraid to stand up on her hind legs and get anything she wants on the counter.  she doesn't care if you threaten her or pop her, she will not let up.  it doesn't make it easier that Presley and Miley love to feed her...she sits beside the highchair and knows Miley will take a bite, then give her a bite, Miley a bite, Lucy a bite. But aside from her food ravaging disorder, she is perfect.

we made her sugar cookies

and i let her finish my spaghetti and salad from the table without kicking her

Lucy's birthday last year, she looks so small

2 days before Presleys 3rd birthday we told her we would get her a dog if she would start using the potty.  she was one of those kids that would walk around with a full diaper dragging the ground and couldn't care less.  she was more than capable of using the potty, just not interested. so 2 days later she was potty trained.  so Lucy came to live with us.  Lucy was much easier to potty train. 

this clown...a whole different story

and i should add.  there are only a hand full of pins on pintrest that i pinned myself.  one is a cover of a Time magazine issue that featured a goldendoodle, the other is a picture i took in the mall of the entrance to Hollister where they had a giant picture of a goldendoodle with a surf board.  I am not exaggerating when i say i get a minimum of 10 emails a day saying someone has repinned them.  they even have battles in the comment section about what a perfect dog it is or what a waste of money they are.  so far i have refrained from responding though it is tempting.

she is a good good girl

guess who stopped by the ER last week? Lazarus, i mean CAROLYN!! there is an automatic stream of tears when you see her.  happy tears.  she says she is doing great, doesn't remember a thing about the whole ordeal, and is enjoying her possibly permanent vacation.

we went to the circus.  i seriously don't remember it being so good when i was little.

i found it entertaining to watch Lucas, Bobby and Terrence peeling crayons with Presley to make giant heart crayons for Valentines Day. pretty sure she could talk the three of them into anything.

cute idea from Pinterest

side note they would probably be brighter if those 4 didn't keep picking out black, blue

and green crayons

Presley got a Valentine in the mail from "handsome Davis" which inspired a trip to Krispy Kreme

                                             perfect way to spend a rainy afternoon

sorry about the next 2, i couldn't help myself...