Cherries

This girl has found a new favorite fruit thanks to Bountiful Baskets.  She ate an entire 2 lb bag all by herself.  She LOVED that there were tons of mutant cherries like this one.

Universal Studios

So these aren't the clearest of pictures.  But you get what you get with a camera phone I guess.  We had a GREAT day at Universal Studio's Florida.  We love that uncle Jared has connections and can get us in for free.  It was blazing hot.  But very worth it!  It was awesome as we walked into Harry Potter world and Princess E exclaimed "This is my dream come true!"  (even though she has only read part of the 1st book and listened to a few on tape)  It was a very memorable trip.

Florida

 

We picked the kids up from school on the last day and headed straight to Florida to visit our cousins and have some fun in the sun.  We spent some time at Universal Studios (another post) hanging out in their back yard pool (and all getting burnt to a crisp) and spending a day at clear water beach.  Complete with dolphins swimming by.  We are SO excited that they are moving back to Tennessee so we can see them more often.

Last Day of School 2013

 We had an excellent school year!  Both girls really excelled, especially this cute girl.  It's pretty awesome when something just clicks in her brain and she starts to get it!  Mrs Gardiner really helped her to reach deep inside of her and unlock some of that potential.  It also was the 5th year she has been voted the most loving or friendly by her classmates.  I love that, that is the quality that they always see in her.

 End of year class teacher gifts.  The third one was for the parapro who helped out in Princess E's class every day.

Princess M started off the year a little rocky.  She was used to a first grade teacher who was very warm and personable with the kids.  Where Mrs Switzer wasn't as warm.  An excellent teacher, but way more stern.  We were concerned for a while that it wasn't going to work out.  But like always, know that it's good for our kids to have different teaching styles, and to learn to blossom with each one.  And boy did she.  She gained a little more independence and was always the model student.  And I love how their character awards included each of the things they were voted for by their classmates, not just the one with the most votes.

I wonder what 2013-2014 will bring.....

Hunting

I hate that I have become a very skilled mouse hunter.  I think my count is up to 12 for this year.  We need a mouser.  I'm sick of it. 

Kindness

My sister Marta was married today and became Mrs Casey Linford.  She made a beautiful bride.  Too bad she continued to be a bridezilla.  A little bit of kindness goes a long way. 

Too bad it wasn't reciprocated. 

 

Sometimes it's so hard being the bigger person/people when someone you love treats you and your family so horribly. Someday it will come back to you. You reap what you sow, do unto others as you would have done unto you. But for now all I have to say to you is Bless your heart!!!

 

 

Marta has been in my prayers for years, and will continue to be. I just pray that someday she be even the tiniest bit kind and even civil to those of us who are her family as well. We all love her and would love to be a part of their lives as well. I know it may not happen in this life, but I pray will.

Fortress

 

This is how princess M sleeps every night.  She is still afraid of monsters so she goes to sleep with the light on and we turn it off when we go to bed.  A while ago I also learned, after repeatedly telling her to clean up her stuffed animals, that she makes a fortress out of them each night.  She puts them in a circle around her, without any space for monsters to get in.  That way she feels safe.  It has to be the bigger stuffed animals though, the little ones aren't tough enough.

A Mothers Day Resolution.....

So I'm making a resolve today on Mothers Day to let go. Let go of expecting my kids to keep their rooms clean and clothes picked up.

It is going to be soooo hard for me. But I feel like that's all they will remember me for is harping on them to pick up and clean their rooms. If they want to live in filth and wear dirty smelly wrinkly clothes because they can't figure out after 8-10 years of training where they go when you take them off, then so be it. If they don't want to be able to find anything oh well. I have taught them correctly and I am tired of just talking to myself and being a broken record. Thats why they make doors right?

I think it will make me a happier mom to be around and maybe, just maybe they will realize all on their own that I was right.

I can do this right????



Update.... Well I just had one slip up... They were complaining that they were bored so I suggested that since it was Mothers day that they pretend they were moms and do what moms do... They asked what and I said well moms have to clean the house and since your rooms are your house....They both replied NO! That wouldn't be fun at all! LOL, it was worth a try. I have closed the doors 4 times today as I walk by.

Mothers Day 2013

Today has been a great day!  I told my family I wanted to adopt what my sister has been doing for years, and everything they gave me had to be home made.  They didn't disappoint.  Thanks to their great teachers at school they both wrote me a beautiful letter and each of them brought a lump to my throat.  I love these girls!

More Bountiful Baskets

 

 Another GREAT basket this week!  This is 2 conventional baskets in one large laundry basket. 

All for $30.

 

Camp Sassafrass

We are doing something we have never done before this summer.  Us girls are going to girl scout day camp.  It turns out if I volunteered to be a leader then one of the girls got to go for free and the other was only $45 for the whole week.  Um yes sign us up! 

The theme for this year is Girl Scouts Go West.  We had a pre camp meeting this last weekend where we met out units and had to come up with a name for our group as well as our personal camp names.  From our family we have Blaze (because I am great at starting fires), Rose Bud (because she loves her nick name from her grandpa) and Night Dragon (because she loves mine craft and we wouldn't let her choose Endermen).

I am excited for my little group.  We got to meet about half of the brownies that will be in our unit and they were quite creative with our banner.

 

Princess E's group is the Rhinestone Cowgirls and Princess M's are Woody's Deputies.

Static Electricity

The girls learned all about static electricity at girl scouts tonight.  They had to predict which surface it would stick to the best and who's hair would stand up the tallest.  The blue plastic table cloth won for surface and Princess E came in second for the biggest hair. :)

4th Grade Field Day

Princess E found a new love of Volleyball this year when she went a sister in our ward started teaching all of the girls at the church each week.  Princess E only made it to a few weeks before they made it only for the 5 grade on up girls.  But I was impressed on Field day when she was showing the other kids the right stance and how to hold your hands because

 "that's how I learned in my volleyball lessons! "

 

 

 Great action shots! 

 3 great friends, Emme, Lily and Princess E.     There has been much drama this year and these 3 trying to find them selves and trying to "fit in".  We have talked extensively about being yourself, and "your own kind of beautiful" and you will find true friends who like you for you.  How it doesn't matter if you are part of the "popular" crowd.  But they will have to figure that our for themselves.  I hope Princess E realizes her true beauty and next year has great girls in her class that help her see that in herself as well. 

Tug O War!  The favorite of the whole day.  This year they did classes of girls or boys against other classes.  Our class won for both the girls and the boys!  They love those bragging rights.

2nd Grade Field Day

She has had some great friends this year! 

 

  Mary, Frances, Jenny

 Trinity

 Kayla and Megan J

 Bean bag toss, she had some mad skills

Scooters, the favorite of all the kids. 

 

It was raining this year so they  had to hold all of the activities in the gym.  (usually only 2 of the 7 stations are)  So it was a little loud in there.  I think my ears were ringing for the rest of the day.

 

Fun was had by all! 

Good Mail Day

I got the best card in the mail today. Made my day. I filled in for the 7yo class at church on Sunday and it is a class full of little boys. Not bad...just 7yo boys playing off of each other. My favorite part is the back.....make good choices....at least he was listening to the lesson. Ha ha ha.

Fun Sunday Morning....

 

Whoever put in our French foundation drains didn't know what they were doing. The slits to let water in are way too big so they let the gravel/dirt/sludge just seep on in too and clog up the tube. So whenever we have consistent rain to where the ground is saturated it seeps in through the cinder block foundation.  King J goes out there and uses the end of a broom (or long mettle stick) and shoves it up there along with the hose to try and flush it out and get the water to drain off like it's supposed to.  The French drains really need to be dug up and replaced, but we just don't have the $. 

 

Todays wasn't as bad as it has been in the past. We caught it early. And I have learned over time, anything touching the ground must be in a Rubbermaid.

The sun's out now so hopefully it will dry out the ground before the next wave of storms hit.

Chattahoochie Nature Center

Today was field trip day for the 4th grade.  I got to tag along as a chaperone.  Fun was had by all as we learned about different food webs.

Tomatoes

I spent the day with these red beauties.  19.5 quarts total.  I love the feeling of accomplishment when you see all the jars all lined up with yummy goodness after a long days hard work.