Bar Exam and Mexico

After three years of law school and two LONG months of studying for the Bar Exam, Matt is going to Little Rock next week to take the test that decides whether or not he gets to practice law. Talk about pressure!!! While Matt is in Little Rock, Cori has a workshop with several of her coworkers in Searcy, which will be a lot of fun.

On Thursday night, the Fryars will reunite at one of the hotels near the Little Rock airport and, at 6:15 a.m. on Friday, will fly to Houston, where they will get a connecting flight to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. For eight days and seven nights, the lawyer (hopefully) and the teacher will be doing nothing but laying on the beach, reading, and enjoying all the benefits of an all-inclusive resort! Check out where we're staying:

http://palaceresorts.com/Resorts/VallartaPalace/Index.asp

We fully intend to be computer-free for a couple weeks, but you can definitely expect to see picture of our much-needed vacation when we get back! Until then - adios!

A Day at the Park

Last Saturday night, Emma spent the night with us. It was a lot of fun to spend the evening with a rambunctious seven year old! On Sunday morning, after going to Sunday School, we decided to take Emma and Cooper to J.B. Hunt Park. It was an absolutely beautiful day! Matt, Emma, and Cooper played on the playground for a little while, then we went for a walk/bike ride around the park. Emma, who is still learning to balance her big bike, had a great time, but I think Cooper had an even better time! He never stopped sniffing all the crazy smells around the trail, and he even saw and chased a squirrel (he chases birds all the time, but this was his first squirrel).

By the time we got down to Lake Springdale (really just more of a pond, but whatever), Cooper was really, really thirsty from all his running and smelling, so Matt decided to let him take a drink from the lake. Well, as you will see from the pictures below, that one drink quickly turned into a full-blown swim! Once we finally got him out of the water, we came across a small (and much cleaner) creek that we let him and Emma play in for a little while. It was a great day at the park, and we already can't wait to go back!

Matt, Emma, and Cooper rode on the swings - Cooper loved it!

Cooper turning his drink from the lake into a swim!

When we got to the creek, the first thing Cooper did was lay down in the water...
Emma decided to pick him up, but then she just got all wet, too!
It was a great day at the park, and we will definitely be taking Cooper back to play in the creek soon!

I love simple nights...

I truly do. I love getting dressed up for no reason. I put on a dress and straightened my hair to go to Bassett Furniture, OK China Buffet, and Wal-Mart. You know what? It was the perfect night. I love my husband very much. We had great conversations and talked about all the places we want to visit. We also bought a couple of things for our little girl because we, well I, just couldn't resist. The sweet thing is... my money-conscious husband didn't even hesitate! He just let me get what I wanted. You want to know what else? He took a picture of me before we left because he just thought I was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. How lucky am I?

The Newest Photo... Enjoy!

Child Care

Ok... So, I did it... I finally went down to Coleman's Children Academy and got registration papers for little Katie. Matt and I went down there a couple of weeks ago to get the rate sheet (to see just how much we would be spending), but we wanted to wait to fill out the paperwork until we knew the sex of the baby. We do now, so I did it...

I know and love Coleman's very much. I worked there for nearly 4 years and grew to love the owners and the way they run their facilities. It is rather pricey (close to the most expensive in the area), but still a lot less than what it would cost if I just stayed home. The price doesn't matter to us because it is where we want to send our little Katie girl.

I walked in and one of my old bosses was right there and was so excited to see me. She just kept hugging me and rubbing my sweet belly. It made me feel very happy. And it doesn't bother me one bit that my child will get extra attention because of who her mommy is! She can get all the attention that they want to give her. Because you better believe that her mommy won't be very happy if she isn't!

Anyways, I was a little sad as I was filling out the paperwork because I know that I will have to leave this precious little girl in just a few months (well, not a few but it seems like it). I'm sure many of you are saying, "just stay home with her." That, however, is just not who I am as a person. I praise those of you who are stay at home moms, but I want to work. I want to teach and continue to impact the lives of the 84 kids I will be working with on a daily basis. I also want that feeling of hearing the bell ring at 3:00 and knowing that I will get to hold my little girl in my arms in just a few minutes.

So, yes I may be sad, but it is okay...

It's A....

GIRL! We're expecting a daughter - Kathryn Elizabeth ("Katie")!

We went to my brother-in-law's vet clinic in Fort Smith last night to get an ultrasound. With all the flips and somersaults she was doing, it took Nick and Mischelle nearly an hour to nail Peanut down to get a look at the "money shot." But when they finally saw those three little lines, we were all really excited!

We're about 90% sure it's a girl... Certain enough that we went to Wal-Mart on our way home and bought two little pink outfits for her (not certain enough, though, that we're going to paint the nursery just yet...). One of the outfits was a pink onesie for next spring/summer that says, "Daddy is my Hero," and the other was a sleeper with little bunny feet for this winter with a bunny on it that says, "Mommy's Girl."

We have an ultrasound at the OB's office on July 24 that will, hopefully, confirm last night's results. Until then... THINK PINK!