Merry Christmas from The Pridgen's!

Merry Christmas from our Family to yours!! Remember JESUS is the reason for the season!

First Cheer Camp

This was the first year that Kaylea went to the cheer camp that the TCHS cheerleaders put together as a fundraiser. As I knew she would, she loved it! Especially being held up as if she's at the top of the pyramid!

Doing what they Love!

I was in the living room watching tv when i heard Drew singing and playing on the keyboard. Little did I know that he had changed out of his school clothes, put on jeans, a tshirt with a white button up shirt over it and a hat turned around as if he's in the making of a new album. *swoon*

Kaylea has become quite the little helper in the kitchen. When ordering some aprons for embroidering gifts, I ordered extras and let her pick the one that was her favorite. Of course, once she put it on, she had to help in the kitchen. Here she is helping make spaghetti. :)

Go Big Blue!

First Day of School Pictures

Today embarks on the first of 12 years of public school for Drew and Kaylea. This was really a surreal day for me as their mom!! The first day of school I walked the twins to their class. Drew was a great, strong big brother. He watched as his sister looked into the classroom full of kids and she had a meltdown. My first thought was that he was next. I just knew that him seeing her get nervous would cause anxiety for him but I couldn't have been more wrong. Kaylea looked into the classroom and then looked at me with the biggest crocodile tears. I walked her down a little bit so that the other kids in her class wouldn't see that she was upset. Drew watched as I wiped away her tears and told her what a great day she was going to have meeting new friends. She quickly pulled it together and they both headed to class. Of course, once I got in the van I had a meltdown myself. As I drove off I remember thinking "what is wrong with me?? I know my mother never did this!" Thanks to facebook, i saw from my friend's status' that i was not alone. Here are Drew and Kaylea on their first day of school.

By this time, Drew and Kaylea have been in school for almost 2 weeks and Will was eager to be like his older brother and sister. He was ready to go to the "big boy" class where his teachers are Mrs. Cathy and Mrs. Tammy. Both of whom he knows Drew and Kaylea had when they were his age!

Beach Vacation!

After much anxiety of whether or not the oil spill in the gulf would affect our vacation, we decided not to cancel our reservations and stick it out. Boy, are we glad that we did!! We could not have asked for more beautiful weather!

The first 2 days there were double red flags which means you are not supposed to be in the water. The rule breaker that I am, we got in the water, but not too deep. The waves were really big and loud and a bit scarey when we got to looking at how harsh they were. But after the first two days, we had yellow flags the rest of the days. By the end of our vacation, the ocean was almost as calm as a lake and as blue/green as the Caribbean. I've gone to Panama City Beach since I was a child and never remember the water being more beautiful than it was when we were there last week!

Two other couples were there as well so we had a lot of entertaining! We were able to do a lot of fun things with the kids as well. Two of the first time things were Putt Putt and for Will, riding Go Carts! That has always been one of the favorite things that the twins always enjoys doing and this year Will was tall enough to go on the "big" track!! Just like Drew and Kaylea, he LOVED it!! Too bad all I had was my camera phone to take pictures. :(

Another first, was the men decided to ride the Coyote Ugly bull!!! Yes, I said Coyote Ugly! Definitely not a "kid friendly" place, but the bull was in the parking lot and every night we would ride by it and say that the men needed to ride it. One night at dinner, the men brought it up, and within about 10 seconds had all decided that they wanted to ride it! Brian went first, Wingate went second, and Shane went last. We piled all 7 kids in the back of the "Hoopty" (Shane's suburban) for the kids to watch! Yes, we parked the van in the Coyote Ugly parking lot and the kids got to enjoy watching their dad's ride a mechanical bull!! Oh what fun! Luckily we were there just after dark and there wasn't a crowd there yet.

Here are a few pictures of our vacation!

Drew

The boys (they used the floaty as their football)

Will

Kaylea

Never have I seen the water so beautiful and the sand so white!

The kids enjoying the pool!

The men I love most!
Typical Pridgen Family picture :)

All 3, looking and smiling

I take this same picture every year.

Although we hated to come home, we were definitely ready to come home!!! There's definitely nothing like Home Sweet Home!

Graduation Day!

Here are pictures of Will's graduation from the 2 year old class. He had such a GREAT class this year. The group of kids that were in his class were so pleasant to be around!

Then we got to celebrate the Kindergarten graduation of Drew and Kaylea. Drew and Kaylea had a combo song together then Kaylea had a speaking part immediately after "their" song. They both did such a great job. To watch how far they have come, I just can't put into words. They are such miracles. Little miracles to begin with and now they have grown into such big miracles. Here are a few pictures from graduation:

Happy Birthday Will!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday Will!!!

I can't believe my baby is 3. Unfortunately, my baby has never really been a baby! He walked at 10 months old and hasn't stopped!! This last year there have been MAJOR milestones met! Talking Non-Stop- Check! Learning his ABC's- Check! Counting to 25 (well, he can count to 100 but he skips a few numbers between 30 and 100! LOL)- Check! Writing his name- Check! Potty training-Check! You see, he really isn't a baby anymore. His latest answer for when I ask him "Are you still my baby boy?" His answer is "I'm not a baby, I wear big boy underwear!" Well, there ya go. :) To him, his greatest accomplishment in the last couple of weeks is getting his very own T-Ball uniform! He's so excited about it! So, I thought it would be fitting to post a picture of him in it. Also, is a picture of him with his birthday hat that he made at school. :)

2nd Annual Bunco Bash!!

This was my second year putting together a Bunco fundraiser for the Ronald McDonald House! Last year we raised $5000.00 which included a Bridge and Bunco event. This year I decided to only do the Bunco event and we raised around $5300.00!!! Wooohooo!! What a humbling experience it is to see my friends support a cause that is so dear to my heart. And for that, I am truly thankful! Here's a group shot (which doesn't have the Perry or Waycross group as they left before the group picture was taken. Also, is a picture of the coolest Bunco cake ever! Thanks to G's Creations (can be found on Facebook) for your creativity and your generosity!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!!

This week is Dr. Seuss' birthday! Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss! I only know of one person (one of my best friends) that does not like Dr. Seuss. For some reason he freaks her out. Yes, she's crazy! Her name is Rhonda and if you see her, you can tell her that I "outted" her. HA! Otherwise, I think every other living being on planet earth loves Dr. Seuss and all of the great books that go with him: Green Eggs & Ham, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, The Cat in the Hat, Horton Hears a Who..Can You?, There's a Wocket in my Pocket, and the list could go on and on. Today the kids had to dress up as one of the characters from Dr. Seuss. Drew and Kaylea went as Thing 1 (Drew...for the obvious reason that he was born First) and Thing 2 (Kaylea). Will wore a shirt with the Cat in the Hat. My embroidery machine has really come in handy for making the kids their crafty little shirts. :)

This is Drew, Kaylea and Will with Mrs. Tammy Hancock. She has always dressed as the Cat in the Hat.

What Does the Future Hold?

What does the future hold for this little guy? Last Saturday, Drew got up and put on his black pants, button up shirt, and tie (as usual.) Most kids put on jeans and a tshirt, but this seems to be what he is most comfortable in. It was the most beautiful day outside that we've had in a very long time and so went outside to have some fun in the sun. Before we knew it Drew was riding his bike with his black pants, button up shirt and tie. Of course, the helmet and bike made for a great picture. Shane and I couldn't help but laugh. He reminded us of a religious solicitor riding a bicycle! And we got to thinking...what does the future hold for this little guy? Will he be Baptist or continue to break the mold?? :)

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!!!!

That's right!!! It snowed in South Georgia!! Not only snowed, but it snowed and STUCK!! Oh what fun! Here are a few pictures from all of the fun. :)

Kaylea wanted to see what the snow tasted like! :)

Sibling Love
Will wore his coveralls like Dad!

Kaylea with her South Georgia Snowman...Chocolate Chip eyes

and the nose is the top from the hot sauce bottle.

Me and Kaylea

Drew knew nothing but throwing HARD!

Our House