Spring Break - Part 1

I won't deny it, one of the big perks of being a teacher is Spring Break, and every year, it comes just in time.  Just when I think I can't go back another day, sweet freedom for an entire week.  So, what are we up to this Spring Break 2012?  Well...

Weekend trip to Nani's

As soon as school was out on Friday, we packed up to head to Nani's for the weekend in Burtram/Mersing combined excursion style!  By the time we got to Nani's house, Amanda and I both were thanking Nani for all her trips TO our house.  Traveling with little ones is beyond hard!  Someone was either, biting, kicking, crying, whining, shushing (my son, Amanda says he gets it from his mom), or snoring loudly the entire drive.  But I guess the important thing is that we arrived safely.

Saturday: Picnic and play date with Kendall and Harper.  

It was nice to get to see our friends outside of a birthday party setting and just hang out and play.  I think the kiddos had a great time playing together at the park.  They seemed to really love sliding this time. 

Sam is really into "driving" right now, and this toy looked just like Pawpaw's Gator.  Perfect.

Harper brought her ball to play with, and as you can see Sam wasn't a very good sharer.  

We're working on it.  This "lonely only" (most of the time) can have trouble with sharing...

 Harper was sooo sweet, and growing into such a pretty girl.  

 Something tells me these two are going to be great friends...;)

Thanks for playing with us!  We had a  great time!

Second park trip of the day

My boy will stay outside from daylight to dark if you will let him.  Later in the afternoon, we loaded all the boys up for a trip to the Leeds park right by Nani's house.  You would think two trips to the park in one day equals a tired boy and an early bedtime...not at Nani's house.

 We got to meet Bentley for the first time, and he was really patient with three little boys in the house.  Sam wanted to put some more food in his bowl, and yes, that's Cameron pulling his tail.  God bless any animal that finds himself roomates with three boys under 6.  

Monday:  Trip to the Zoo

Spring Break is all the more fun when you have friends to share it with!  Suszane and Kelton have season passes to the zoo and invited us to joined them for a day of fun as their guests!  Sam's favorite pastime right now is bird watching.  So, I thought it was perfect that the first animals we saw were these...they would squawk, and Sam would answer them back with his version.  Pretty cute.

They had a new "Dino Trek" exhibit that Kelton was really excited about!  We went on a special trail with life-like, moving dinosaurs that made sounds and even their eyeballs moved as we passed.  The boys were really into it as we began down the trail...

 ...but it was all down hill when the dilophosaurus actually spit (water) at us.  

Both boys were unimpressed and wanted out of there!

Triceratops was nice, and they were okay with him.

 We got to see these little baby dinos hatching right out of their eggs.

And, what's a dino exhibit without a SHARP TOOTH!?!

Sam wasn't too sure about all those teeth.

Our favorite thing, by far, was the bird sanctuary.  

These birds would come and land right on our arms and hands 

and drink nectar from these little cups.  

My little bird-watcher was in bird heaven!

 This bird even smiled for a picture with Kelton!

 I'm not sure who that fence is containing?  

Sam, or the elephants?

The giraffes and their new baby

Another favorite:  the meerkats

This was the only decent picture I got from the amphibians and water creatures section.  

Sadly, no pics of all the snakes, and spiders and scaly things, but the boys loved them.

Thank you Freeze family for a wonderful day at the zoo!

Today: Craft Day

I whipped up this yarn ball wreath today while catching up on some laundry.  Okay, I won't lie.  Some of it was already done because I tried to make this wreath last year, and then realized how time consuming it was, so I quit and shoved it all under the guest bedroom bed.  But today, it became a handmade Easter decoration to enjoy for years to come.  Thanks Trisha for the tutorial!

And, of course I wrote this seriously long blog post.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of Spring Break 2012...

SRO Rodeo

Tonight was a special night.  The Rutherford County SROs (school resource officers) put together a rodeo every year to raise money for the special needs kids in our county, and it was our first time to attend.  We had been talking it up all week, so all the boys were beside themselves with excitment by the time Saturday night rolled around.  The three cowboys and I sang songs all the way there!  This will be the only time they can say, "This IS our first RODEO!"

My cowboys getting ready to go...

(Sam probably looks more like a farmer than a cowboy, 

but where else was he gonna wear those overalls I bought?)

 Cowboy Cameron

Sam is sworn-in as sheriff in these parts.

Waiting for the show to start...

Sam spotted some "little bulls" 

Cameron wanted to ride one of these "little bulls" because, according to him, 

the big ones were mean and might step on him. Smart cowboy.

Our friend Jack won the "Cutest Cowboy" contest!  

He was one good-lookin cowboy!  Go Jack!

The show's gettin' started...

 All the riders took a run around the ring.

My pictures aren't that great, but our seats were!  We were right by the shoots and 

could see all the horses and bulls getting ready to go out into the ring.

Mesmorized. Both of them.

They looked like this all night.  Seriously.

 Two of our three cowboys hung in there the WHOLE time.

One couldn't make it.  Care to guess which one?

Library Day

It has long since been tradition for Kimmie to take the grandsons to the library.  She started taking Kayden around age two, and Cameron joined the trips sometime this past fall.  Every other week, just like clockwork, she loads up the kiddos and their books and heads for the public library for an afternoon of reading. 

Kayden and Cameron are on a first name basis with the librarians.  They exchanged gifts this past Christmas.  This past summer, both boys won awards for reading over 100 books in the summer reading program.  Two years ago, Kayden even talked Ms. Linda into coming to watch one of his baseball games! To say these boys are "big shots" at the library is a very true statement.  

Today, on Dr. Seuss' birthday, Sam joined their ranks and went with 

Kimmie and Pawpaw for his first library day experience.  

 He played with puzzles at the activity table. (Since the TV stations were all forecasting severe storms, they literally had the library all to themselves.  Kimmie's not afraid of a little rain:)

He wandered the shelves filled with new books...

He picked out a book, and read it with Kimmie...

 ...and then Pawpaw.  He never reads a book just once.

 Then he checked out a few books for the road, and headed back home.  

Just like his cousins, I think he's already hooked on library day!  My thanks to Kimmie 

and Pawpaw for continuing the tradition and including Sam.  He's a very blessed little boy.

Bargain Shopper

Yep, you guessed it!  It's consignment sale time again in these parts.  And, this girl scored a great new wardrobe for my growing boy.  I didn't sign up to help in this sale, so I had to shop with the other 350 consigners at the pre-sale which leads to some tight spaces and sharp elbows but, here's the final result...

16 shirts, 16 pairs of shorts, 1 swim shirt, 4 pairs of jeans and 5 pairs of shoes 

(including a like new pair of cowboy boots for the Special Kids Rodeo:)

Grand total:  $92.00

Seriously, children's consignment sales are the only way to clothe little ones, especially when the one cardinal sin in my family is paying full price.  A whole season's worth of name-brand clothes for a really great price makes for one happy momma!

Puppy Love

Daycare has it's perks...like Valentine's Day card exchange.  Sam has a bit of a crush on this girl in his class, Emily.  (Although lately it's been hard to convince her mother of this since he keeps biting her, but that's another story.)  Anyway, this was our first year to do something special for his classmates to celebrate Valentine's Day.  So, here are Sam's Valentine's this year...

Valentine's bugs with goldfish and fruit loop wings!

So much fun, and way better than chocolate!

 That pretty pink one...that's Emily's.

Tonight's bath time was also a special one.  We pulled out the 

"big boy" bathrobe and tried it out.  I think he likes it!

...followed by some before bed fun in V-Day pj's!

(In the laundry basket bed, his favorite new hang out spot)

Does it get any cuter than this?

Even Captain Destructo...

...has to sleep sometimes.  

Please notice the path of destruction constructive play 

that leads to a "bed" just his size.

He makes my life so fun...

Your Daddy's Boy

Sam,

Last night you had a bad dream, probably more of a nightmare by the looks of your face.  I had never seen you more worked up and fearful.  When I heard you cry out, your dad and I were on the sofa watching Courageous, which turned out to be a great movie.  It'll be a oldie by the time you read this, but you should rent it.  Anyway, I jumped up and came to you immediately to find you in tears and desperately reaching out of your little crib.  I picked you up and began trying to calm you.

Your dad came in the room just behind me, and as soon as you saw him, you reached for him.  You wanted him.  The tips of your fingers were white with the pressure of your grip on him. You laid your head down on his chest and immediately began to calm down.  It took you a long while to be ready to get back in your bed, but Daddy sat with you, and rocked you and comforted you.  With him, you knew you were safe.  You are your daddy's boy... and I can't blame you.

Your daddy is one of a kind.  He's outrageous, over the top at times.  To say he marches to the beat of his own drum is an understatement.  He's the life of a party.  He's a modern day MacGyver and can fix anything with gorilla glue.  He isn't concerned with approval from others; he does what's right.  He's chivalrous and teaches you and your brothers to be gentlemen. He takes responsibility for this house and leads by example.  He seeks the Lord on his knees and worships Him with lifted hands.  He's Courageous.  He isn't perfect, but his source is...

It is my prayer that you find your source one day and become a strong man who loves the Lord above all.  Your life may bring you more bad dreams, hard times, struggles of all sorts, but your God is faithful to carry you through.  He will never leave you alone.  He is your source for unexplainable courage and peace.  He loves you.  He's your Father.  I want nothing more than for you to be your Daddy's boy.

And what does the LORD require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. -Micah 6:8