Happy Birthday Jake

Jacob Owen Gurley was officially 10 years old this weekend.  I can't believe he is already this old.  I asked him this weekend if I could press the pause button (wherever that might be) and he gave me quick "NO!".  He will understand one day! :)  So, if I HAVE to let him grow up, here is a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you Jake! I love you to the moon and back 19,000,000,000,000,000 times!

Here are a few pictures of Jake's "Friend" Birthday party from last weekend that I meant to upload. 

And here a few pictures of his Birthday party this weekend at Nana's house. 

Happy Birthday Jake! We all Love You!!!

Birthday Party!!!

I still can't believe that Jake will be 10 years old in just a few days!!! Where does the time go? So this weekend we had his "Friend" Birthday party.  He had two friends over to spend the night.  We took them to The PlayStation in Trussville and out to eat for pizza.  They had a blast.  After a few rounds of laser tag and a competitive round of putt putt we went home for night swimming!  Michael and I made it till about 12:30 and we assumed the boys would pass out soon as well.  To our surprise we were woken up at 8 a.m. by 3 little boys would had not gone to sleep yet!!! They had stayed up ALL night long playing!  I couldn't believe it.  So, I got up, made breakfast and went down to tell them that it was ready and I found 3 little boys who were sound asleep!  Luke & Levi's parents got them at 10:00, but Jake slept until 4:30 p.m. that day.  He was exhausted! But, from his words...it was worth it.  Here are some pictures of them finally passed out at 8:30 a.m. and a picture of his Birthday cake!

How Time Flies

Today is Michael & I's 3 year Anniversary! It really doens't seem like it has been that long.  We have done so much in so little time.  We made a wonderful family together, built a beautiful home, and have made some amazing memories!  I will never forget the first night we met.  I just knew.  Something just clicked.  And I knew then that it didn't matter what I had been through in the past, it had all led me to that moment.  And I couldn't have been happier.  Michael is a caring and thoughtful husband and the most amazing father.  I always thought I knew what I wanted, but he far exceeded my expectations!  So, here is to 3 years of wonderful memories and many more to come!

Four!!!

Jake has started to play golf competitively.  He has been playing for a few years now here and there.  But this summer he has played in 3 tournaments around Birmingham and will be in a 4th tournament in August.  He is doing great too! Golf isn't as easy as Tiger and Ernie make it look! Trust me! I have tried and just making contact with that little rock is hard enough.  Getting it to go where you want it is a whole other monster.  Jake is very good though.  He is such a natural athlete.  His golf coach says he has one of the best swings he has seen on a child his age.  Tiger Woods...watch out! :) 

Movie Night

Weekend before last we took the kids to see Despicable Me!  We all laughed until we thought we were going to cry.  It was one of the best kids movies that we have seen in a long time.  I usually tend to doze off towards the end of movies, but I was wide awake the entire time for this one.  The little Minions were too cute and absolutely just made the movie!

The kids also had a great time that weekend with their spend the night company.  They were in the pool swimming until 3:30 in the morning!!! I couldnt take it.  I crashed around 1 a.m., but Michael was a trooper.  He swam, played flashlight tag, rode scooters, and played the Wii until the Wee hours of the morning!  Needless to say they were all like zombies the next day!

F-U-N

Yep, that is what the kids are going to have this weekend...Fun! But really, is it any different from any other weekend?  Tonight they are having spend the night guests.  Luke, Levi, & Gracie are coming over to spend the night with Jake & Mary.  I am sure there will be some night swimming, Wii playing, scooter/bike riding, and movie watching fun going on tonight and all day tomorrow.  They always have a blast when those 3 come over! 

Saturday night Michael and I are taking them to see Despicable Me! I am looking forward to seeing that one.  The previews crack me up!!! Sunday will be a day to rest.  And trust me, we will need it. 

I am going at lunch today to pick up our pottery from this past Friday night.  I hope it turned out good.  If you don't see pictures up of it, then you will know it didn't go so well! :) 

Hope you all have a great weekend!!!

Paint Party!!!

Well, OK, not a paint party as in Tarps, Rollers, & Paint Samples. But a paint party none the less. Michael and Jake are going to a "Boys Only" Birthday party tonight for one of Jake's best friends and it is a Paintball Party! Jake & Michael are both going to get to do paintball for the very first time together. It guarantees to be interesting. I just wish I could go to see the action! Fingers crossed that no one shoots their eye out!!! :)

So, while the boys are getting beaten and bruised with paint, the Girls are going out to paint some pottery! There is a cute little place not too far from us where you get to pick your own piece of pottery and paint it however you like. Gracie, and Mandi (Gracie's Mom) are going with Mary and I. It should be a lot of fun.

The rest of the weekend will consist in being super lazy around the pool, grilling out some really good food, shooting/watching fireworks, and we may squeeze in some putt putt and go karts at some point! Bring on the 3 day weekend! I am so ready!!!

Have a Great 4th of July Everyone!!!

The Happiest Place on Earth

Apologies for the oh so long hiatus! But, I think I am ready to get into the blogging world now. And what better way to start than to share with all of you our First trip to Disney World. We went at the first of June and had a BLAST!!! Weather was perfect, kids were perfect, it wasn't crowded. We couldn't have asked for anything better. The kids got autographs and pictures with every character imaginable...some even twice. We rode everything that we wanted to...some even two and three times. And there were 2 amazing water parks with everything from lazy rivers to 5 story plunges! It was definitely a trip to remember forever!!! Here are just a few (of the 891) photos that we got.

This is only the beginning of the fun to be had this summer. We have a few more surprises up our sleeves for the kids this summer. Plus not to mention their Birthdays that are coming up the end of July and first of August. And Michael and I are taking our own private little getaway this month for our 3rd Anniversary!!! Summers are always sooo busy, but well worth it!

Hope you all are having a wonderful summer so far!!!

Addyson Grace Edwards

Here are a few pictures of my best friend Erica's baby girl! Isn't she just adorable!!! I can't wait to spoil her rotten!

Auburn Pictures

Michael and I had a GREAT time at the Auburn game! It was sooo hot when we first got there, but thank goodness it cooled down quick. We had amazing seats. 20 yard line, 6th row!!! I have never been that close to it all before. It was interesting! Definitely didn't need binoculars this game. We were mixed in with a few LA Tech fans that sat in front of us, but luckily everyone beside and behind were AU fans! I think otherwise Michael would have strangled me, after all I did buy the tickets (like I really know where Section 32 is!!!) But, it all worked out and we had the best time! Here are some (well, okay, A LOT) of pictures...

A Child's View

Tonight as Jake and I were all ready to cuddle up and watch Wipeout, we discover that it has been delayed due to the Presidential speech. So my Son turns to me and delivers his own speech! He says "Mom, I dont EVER want to be President!" As I curiously ask Why!?!?!, he replies with, "He has to give all these speeches and miss all of his favorite TV Shows!"

Plus, if Jake were President, the flag would be made out of Legos and all formal dinners with World Leaders would consist of Chicken Fingers, French Fries, Pizza & Ice Cream Sandwiches for dessert! ;)

War Eagle!!!

It's that time! Auburns first football game is this weekend!!! And Michael and I will be there with bells on! While I am not the "biggest football fan" out there, I still love the season. Michael lives and dies Auburn football. I swear if you cut him open, he would bleed orange and blue! I bought him tickets to the first game for our anniversary! I got some really good seats too!! I do think I got "The Best Wife In The World" award for that one! :) We are going to have a great weekend. That is, if Auburn wins!!! If not, then it will be a loooonnnnggg ride home! Hahaha...

Friday night we will be hanging out with great friends and playing cards and grilling out. Saturday we are leaving to go to the game and I absolutely can't wait!!! I love road trips and he and I have not been to a game by ourselves yet. We always have the kids with us. And while I will miss them, it will be nice to be able to get there early and walk around for a while. Sunday we will be in church. We started last week, and we LOVE it! This is a great church for us and the kids. It was a perfect fit! And thank goodness we are both off work on Monday! Not real sure what we are going to do...but I guarantee it will be better than being at work! :)

I hope you all have a great weekend!!! I know we will! :)

Long time, no post!

Hey Guys! Sorry I went on a break. We have been sooo busy at the Shuta household! Birthday Parties (4 total), starting school, starting soccer, and every day normal life thrown in there....hectic to say the least. I think we have finally gotten back into our "routine" though!

Jake and Mary (pictures from her party coming up) both had great birthday parties!! And I turned the big 3-0!!! Oh no! I hear 30 is the new 20 though, so maybe it will be great. Soccer has begun and I couldn't be more excited about it. This is my favorite time of the year. Fall is on the way, football season is about to start, and I love the weather and the trees. There is nothing I love better than being on a soccer field every Saturday morning and then planning for football parties later in the day! :) Fun Stuff!!!

This weekend is a busy one too. We all need a break! :) We are all going to the local High School's first football game this Friday night. Saturday we are going to the mall and to run a few errands. The new Lego Store has opened at the Galleria and Jake is about to die. He has already been with Nana (I think they were the first in the door), but this weekend is the "Grand Opening" and they are having a guy out in the food court building a 6 ft tall R2-D2 that the kids to get help with! Jake is going to need Ritalin that morning. His two favorite things....Legos and Star Wars! Should be a great day. The kids both have tons of birthday money to spend as well.

Sunday is the best day though! We are starting to a new church on Sunday! Let me tell you how excited I am about this. The kids are super excited and so are we. We have visited this church several times and after "shopping around" we have decided this is the best fit for our family. There are tons and tons of kids there age that go to this church and they are always having special functions for the kids. All of our friends are members of this church. This is going to be a great thing for the kids and for Michael and I. I cant wait!!!! Sunday afternoon we have a Birthday party to go to on the lake. It will be nice to finally be at a party that I am not stressing over and I can just sit back and relax! :)

And I don't know if I have mentioned this before but, Gatlinburg is my absolute favorite vacation spot EVER! I just love it!!! We have never been able to go with the kids b/c going to Gatlinburg during the summer is just foolish (no snow, no Fall leaves, etc.) but we have figured out a time this Fall/Winter that we are able to go with the kids for 4 days!!! We have already booked our cabin and planned the trip. Jake is so excited. I showed him the cabin with the pool table, hot tub, etc. and he can't wait. He has been before, but he was so little I doubt he remembers any of it. The only bad part is that it is soooo far away. Gives me something to look forward to, but I am not very patient! :)

I hope I got you all up to date on our busy lives. I am sure there is MUCH more that I am not recalling at the moment. I will try to get better at posting, but this is the first time I have been able to breathe in about a month!

H0pe you all have a great day!

Happy Birthday Jake!!!

My baby is growing up too fast! Jake turned 9 today. I can't believe that he is getting so big!!! A few more years and he is not going to want to hear "the story" anymore! Every year on his Birthday I tell him the story about how I went to the hospital early in the morning and who all was there waiting and how the doctor came in and brought Jake out of my tummy. His favorite part (and mine as well) is when I tell him about how the doctor laid him on my chest and with every ounce of energy he had, he tilted his little head up and looked at me. That was the sweetest moment I have ever had. He had to see just who had been talking to him for the past 9 months! I have been head over heels in love with that boy ever since! I always tell him that story (with a little more detail) every year on his birthday at exactly 2:02 p.m. because that is when he was born. That was the best day of my life. Those are the memories that are worth a million dollars and I would not trade them for anything!

Happy Birthday Jacob Owen Gurley!!! We love you more than anything!!!

Jake's Birthday Party