A cute note

You may have to click on this image to fully read it. A couple of days ago Tristan asked me to take a small tackle box to school (but he wanted to fill it with toys). I told him I didn't think he was allowed to take toys to school and until Mrs. Johnson wrote me a note and told me otherwise, I would not let him take it. So, the note posted here was his solution. If he got Mrs. Johnson to agree, maybe mom would let him bring it :) Notice how the tackle box has now become a crayon box? I thought this was way too cute not to share. I didn't send the note to Mrs. Johnson, but I did let him take the box with some crayons in to school as my compromise. This just reminded me of one of those notes you pass in school "Do you like me, check yes or no." :)

Memorial Day weekend at Cousins

We went to the mountains for the weekend to be with cousins. We had a great trip. The weather was great, the kids got along fine, you could not ask for more. Here are some funny shots of the weekend:

I'm riding in your car....



You turn on the radio....Anyone remember this catchy little Olivia Newton John tune (at least I think it was her)? If not, you are way too young to be reading this blog (HEE HEE). The rest of that song does not apply, something about kissing and ooooh Fire...not with your cousins anyhow.. But seriously, how cute are these guys in the little Barbie jeep? Do you think their manhood will be threatened when they are teenagers and I pull out this photo of them in the Barbie Jeep? NOT, but wait there are more pictures to come...

Tristan's first Trout

Jim took the kids fishing a few times and they all had a blast. Tristan caught his first trout and was very proud. Daddy let him bring it home and cook it up which they thought was way cool, the boys especially liked preparing him for dinner (I will skip the details, but let's suffice it to say it was like Biology class all over again). Don't you just love how they are all holding up their hands to show their pride in the catch? :) Jim claims this is bigger than my previous trout, but I do not believe so. Of course it has been soooo many years since Mommy went Trout fishing (BK-before Kids), perhaps I will have to find some old fishing shots of myself and post here as proof, HMMM?

Don't hate us because we are beautiful

So, what was I doing when the big ones were off fishing? Having fun with the wee little ones of course. Nathan and Dalton decided baby Abby's hair bows were very fascinating and that it was not fair that she got to wear them:

Doesn't she look so cute? I called her Pebbles.

But then little Bam Bams said, let us join the fun. Of course I had to pull out the camera, what good mom let's a photo op like this pass by? Plus I had to make Jim cringe just a little :)

Happy Birthday Mrs. Johnson

Today was Tristan's teacher's birthday. Mrs. Johnson is an incredible teacher. She was meant to teach. Her patience, love, and ability to reach the children amaze me. I wish we could bring her along to every future grade. I am sad to see this year end as Tristan and I just love her and will miss her. I wanted to do something special for her, so I baked her this cake for her birthday. She loves gardening and this was my attempt at creating a "cake garden" for her. She cried when she saw it which of course made me cry. We both stood in front of the class crying when she read the card we gave her too. A student brought us a kleenex and I laughed. I told Tristan "Isn't it funny that some girls cry when they are so happy?" He laughed and agreed.

Here is a poem that I found that is very sweet about the bond that teachers and parents share:

Whose Child is This? Author unknown

"Whose child is this?" I asked one day

Seeing a little one out at play

"Mine", said the parent with a tender smile

"Mine to keep a little while

To bathe his hands and comb his hair

To tell him what he is to wear

To prepare him that he may always be good

And each day do the things he should"

"Whose child is this?" I asked again

As the door opened and someone came in

"Mine", said the teacher with the same tender smile

"Mine, to keep just for a little while

To teach him how to be gentle and kind

To train and direct his dear little mind

To help him live by every rule

And get the best he can from school"

"Whose child is this?" I asked once more

Just as the little one entered the door

"Ours" said the parent and the teacher as they smiled

And each took the hand of the little child

"Ours to love and train together

Ours this blessed task forever."

The Baseball Shuffle

Ignore the spot in the middle when you see the ground, Collin was shaking the fence that I had the camera resting on to be funny!

Take time to smell the roses (and the honeysuckle and hay)!

Yesterday morning was cold and damp and when it was time to go to the bus, I just wanted to hop in the van and drive Tristan to the end of the driveway as we often do on cold or rainy mornings. However, Tristan insisted on walking. I grumbled as I was tired and it would have been so much easier to drive. In this walk, I learned an important lesson. Our children often make us take time to "smell the roses." Had I not taken this walk, I would not have noticed the beauty that God had set before us that morning. The hay bales in the field in the morning sun and the smell of honeysuckle (one of my favorites). I grabbed the camera and took a picture of each to remind me of what we might miss each day if we are not careful.

The funny of the day:

What I never heard before becoming a mom:

"Come and look at my green stinky!"

From who, you guessed it, Collin last night!

A Safari Adventure

On Saturday, we had the van all loaded and Annette called to say that they heard on the news that the zoo was closed. Closed? It is usually only closed 1 day a year, this could not be! Yup, as they say "the best laid plans..." So, we quickly had to come up with Option B. Annette then suggested the Safari Park . I would definitely recommend this place to anyone. We had an absolute blast. First, we rode the horse drawn wagon, then later in the day, went through in our cars. I laughed so hard I cried and my stomach literally hurt at the end of the day. It is so amazing to see the animals up so close and personal. Collin's favorites were the pot bellied pigs. On our drive, Auntie had to stop at every pig so that Collin could feed them. Of course the funniest part to me was two very large, very hairy animals who stuck their heads in Carolyn's window and didn't want to leave! I'll post their pictures here as well. I was a little freaked out by the ostrichs and Carolyn took full advantage by shaking her bucket in front of me so they'd come up close and personal to me. Take a look at these funny shots of Collin feeding an Ostrich from the back seat. Doesn't his face just say "Don't eat me?"!

The babies had a great time as well. Every animal is a cat or "at" as Dalton calls them. He became very excited by the clydesdale type horses who drew the wagons. He kept yelling "At, At." When we finally got up close, he decided that cat was a bit larger than he imagined and drew back.

There were way too many funny moments to write about---Katie's hand being swallowed and then spit out by a cow, majorly bad breath and spit up from the hairy cow beasts, the zebras who tried to rob the feed buckets...these and so many more....We all left the place saying "this was way better than the zoo."

Another year....

My "baby" turns 7 years old today. I cannot believe it. I will blink my eyes and he will be a teenager. Where does the time go? My children's birthdays make me happy and sad all at the same time. Happy because I love birthdays and making them feel special, but sad because I know we are one step closer to them being grown. Having to let go is one of the hardest parts of parenting. To love someone so completely, so strongly, to worry so much and then to know you have to "set them free" to live their life. I cannot imagine the day.

Oh, OK, enough of the melancholy...Here's the funny exchange I had with Collin last evening:

Collin: "Why does the kitty have scratchers?"

Me: "He has claws because he needs them to help him catch birds and mice"

Collin: "Why?"

Me: "Because they like to eat birds and mice."

Collin: "Why? Because they are hungry?"

I laughed out loud. How could you not? How their minds think and process things is amazing to me.

Ok, Here's another one. See if you can figure out what he is referring to...

"Mommy, where's your job?"

No, not to the physical place where I work, Collin calls a wrist watch a job. I guess because he sees me put it on the mornings to go to work, not sure, but I find that adorable as well!

I'm posting pictures of my first ever cupcake cake. I'm taking it to Tristan's school today to celebrate his birthday with his classmates.

A Beautiful Day

The boys and I had a great day today. We started our day by going to Caylee's birthday party. It was at a gymnastics center and the boys had a ball running, jumping and just acting like boys. I couldn't believe that Collin was brave enough to jump off a rope into the "pit". The pit is a big hole which has a trampoline at the bottom and is filled with foam blocks. Of course it looked like so much fun that I had to try it. They made it look so easy. Not so much so when you are 40 something and carrying a few pounds :) I could not get out of the pit. I had to have Annette and another Mom pull me out. To top it off, I lost my cell phone during the adventure and we had to have a "search crew" find it in all those foam blocks! Never a dull moment!

After the party, we headed to the park for Family Affair. This is an event sponsored by Parks and Rec where they have fire trucks, animals, a train, inflatables, and various activities for the kids. Collin and I rode the train (i.e. Lawnmower in disguise pulling a few "cars"). However, the train broke down half way around the track. I laughed and told Collin mommy must have been too big. Once we had to get out and walk, he looked at me and said "Mommy, you were too big for that train!" After much fun at the park, we headed home and got into our strawberry picking clothes. We went to Fifth Row Farms. They have some amazing strawberries! They were so big and sweet, Caylee, Tristan & Collin had a great time picking them. Collin had to go to the bathroom and we ended up riding a gator down to one of their barns to use the bathroom. He loved that more than picking berries, he grinned from ear to ear.

Just watching the kids laugh and have such a good time made my day. Children keep you young and remembering how fun life can be. I feel so blessed to have such healthy, beautiful children. Thank you God for these four beautiful boys to love!