Happy 5th Birthday Luke and Carter!!

What a blast we had celebrating Luke and Carter's 5th birthday ... it was basically a 4 day celebration with 3 fun-filled days in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge and then celebrating at school as well.  These two ... where do I even start?!?!  With the amount of time I've spent with them over the past 5 years, you'd think I would've stopped being in awe of their bond by now, but I'm not even close.  The fun they have together makes me so jealous that I'm not a twin!!  I am forever grateful that they have each other to journey along with in life ... I pray so fervently that they will rejoice in each others' successes and be a source of comfort to one another when needed, and to definitely never stop laughing together :)  My love for these two only continues to grow in leaps and bounds!!

 Opening presents

 "We're 5!!!!!"

 Lunch at school

 Their names were on the birthday wall

Gatlinburg

We took the boys to Gatlinburg for Labor Day weekend to celebrate Luke and Carter's 5th birthday (another post on that to come...).  We all had a blast and enjoyed being together after everyone getting back to school.  Here are LOTS of pics:

 At Dollywood

 On the Shooting Star

 River Rampage

 A little break for Dippin Dots

 Lumberjack Lifts

 Checking out the Demolition Derby

 Cartoon time

 We took a little hike in the Smoky Mountains

 Practicing up on their American Ninja Warrior skills

 We hit up the streets of Gatlinburg

 A little circus golf

The Mirror Maze

 We stopped at the Nascar Speedway in Pigeon Forge on our way home

 Carter LOVED the Majestic 300 :)

 Of course, they hit the jackpot and won 1000 tickets AGAIN!!

Luke "bought" these teeth with his tickets ... very fitting :)

1st Days of School

The boys started school this week ... all 3 are at St. Paul this year :)  Praying for a great new school year for all!!

 Graham was ready to go Monday a.m!!

 My big 1st grader :)

 Luke and Carter were excited to wear their uniform!!

 L&C are in the same JK classroom ... here is Luke with Mrs. Herb

 Carter doesn't look so sure ;)

It was just a half day, so Kevin and I picked them up and took them to lunch and then to Sugar Dive ... can't believe all my boys are now in full-time school!!!!!!

Pickwick

Margie and I took the kiddos to Pickwick for a quick last-minute trip to the lake before school started.  We got there on Thursday - it was so nice and quiet that we felt like we owned the whole lake.  My parents came in on Friday, and then we got to hang out with Wilson's family for a bit on Saturday a.m. before we left.  It was short and sweet, but we definitely had a BLAST!!!

 Jumping from the dock

 Tubing behind the wave runner

 The crew

 Big kids watching the little kids

Big kids turn

And they're off

 Jake skiing

 Bet Bet taking the little ones for a ride

War!!!