mohawk time!

Kaleb wants a mohawk so bad. He loves them. I finally told him one day I'd let him wear a mohawk. I did it once before when he was in 2nd grade. So after I get it all done and he's feeling fine Benjamin reminds him that he will be sent home because mohawks can be distracting and that his teacher will not like it and that it's in the rules - no mohawks! I told Kaleb Benjamin was probably right. But I told him we'd take pictures before I changed his hair. Here's proof of the mohawk he loved so much!

Roses

When my Nanny died over 2 years ago my sweet friends came to my house while I was gone and planted three rose bushes in her memory. They actually planted a rose garden - new surround bricks, beautiful mulch, and three gorgeous bushes. Propped up on a nearby window was a card that said they bought one bush for each boy that Nanny loved so much. I can't tell you how much that meant to me. They said to remember how much Nanny loved the boys every time the roses bloom. When Spring comes and my roses start to bloom I think of my Nanny and her boys. And I think of Benjamin and what a connection he and Nanny had. Benjamin was not very found of many people but even when he was tiny he was drawn to her. When she was so sick we took him to see her, fearful of what he'd think with all the wires and her in a hospital bed. It didn't even phase him. He crawled right over those wires into his Nanny's bed. I will never forget that. Matthew and Kaleb were scared and sad but not Benjamin. It was still his Nanny. I always told Nanny that the reason the two of them had such a special bond was because they were both so rotten! And the other thing I think of when I see these roses is friendship. How very good is was of God to surround me by such incredible friends who know just what to do and when to do it. Who know when I'm hurt and who don't even need to say a word to show me how much they love me. I am a blessed woman indeed.

Easter Morning

This Easter was a little different. Matthew is getting older and the "Easter Bunny" decided that it's better to spend a little more money on something the boys could use as opposed to spending money on junk stuff to fill a basket. Every year the boys get this cool basket with candy they never eat and toys that eventually end up in a garage sale. Matthew moved up to 11-12s in baseball and they can use big barrel bats. So the Easter Bunny decided to buy him a bat. Well, that put the Bunny in a dilemma because you can't have one guy with a bat and the other with junk. Benjamin was ready for a bike and was going to get one anyway so Bunny decided to get the bike for Easter. That left ole Tub without a nice prize. His arm is broke so baseball or outside stuff is out (which is all he likes) so the Bunny got him an Ipod Shuffle. They're like $45.00 and he was so excited. The Bunny hopes this doesn't set the pace for Easters to come. Matthew was such a good sport about hunting for eggs and being all excited about it. He's a good big brother. Kaleb was funny because as he's hunting for eggs he notices our dog, Belle, chained up (so she wouldn't eat the eggs). He stops hunting for eggs to love on her. That is so his personality. The Bunny put money in some eggs to make it more fun for the big boys. Here are some pics of the morning and of them in their Easter best.

Community Wide Egg Hunt

About 5 years ago Lori and I decided to put together a HUGE egg hunt for our community as a way to share the gospel. It was a great success and has continued each year. We hide over 3,000 eggs, have booths, a huge inflatable obstacle course, and have 6 different age group hunts. We have music and a gospel presentation before the hunt (so everyone will hear) and we give away door prizes and lots of prize eggs. This year the grand prize was an Apple Ipod Touch. The prizes range from a free pizza at Wright Bros. to a Slip n Slide to gift cards. Its a big deal and we have several 100 people come each year. This was my first year not to head it up. Kandis took over but I bought all the prizes and was still very involved. It is so neat to see people hear the gospel that don't go to church. I love it. Benjamin found 3 prize eggs! I could not believe it. Kaleb found one prize egg and Matthew searched and searched but came up empty handed. No one claimed the baseball cards (which is what Matthew soooo wanted) and since we bought them as a donation I let him have them. So everyone was happy. Benjamin was so sweet because as soon as he realized that Matthew didn't have a prize egg he gave him one of his.

3rd grade egg hunt

I decided (at the last minute of course) that it would be fun to have an egg hunt for Kaleb's class. I sent a note home asking parents to send filled eggs and prizes for prize eggs. The first day I got like 2 dozen eggs. I was thinking this was going to be a flop. Then the last day I got a load of eggs and prizes. It was great. My parents and a few others went across the street from the school to the old Knox land and hid all the eggs. The kids had so much fun. I'm so thankful that Kaleb is in a sweet class. I like being around those kids.

Dying Easter Eggs

Of course we had to dye Easter eggs! My poor boys will have to dye eggs when they are in college because I love it and don't do anything alone. Rusty was happy to pass the egg dying - Christmas cookie baking torch to the boys once they were old enough to have fun with me. I always save undecorated Christmas cookies and undyed eggs for Rusty to decorate but he never does them. Every once in a while he'll do a Texas longhorn one so we'll leave him alone. This year we decided not to add water to the dye and it was so much better! I had no idea that just vinegar and the dye tablets were all you needed. It never seemed deep enough to cover the egg so I always added water. This time Kaleb suggested that we try it without the water. Eventhough it was too shallow to cover the egg all we had to do was use the wire holder to move the egg around until it had color all on it. It took much much less time to get the right color - they were so nice and bright. It did, however, turn Benjamin's hands green...for days! I love dying eggs. I boiled 4 dozen just for us. Love it!

More letterboxing

The boys and I took my Mom letterboxing with us. We went to the Henderson area and had a great time. We were worn out by the time we finished. We stopped at a museum "on the way home" and ended up staying for like 2 hours hearing stories from days past. It was interesting to Matthew, Mom, and me but not so much for Kaleb and Benjamin. We also found a geocache while looking for a letterbox...that was fun.

I cannot remember how to make my pictures straight! I'll work on that. :)

Princess Trip!!!

I got my post out of order because I'm so far behind. Here are pictures from the annual "Princess Trip". I have this group of friends and we go on a trip every year. The first year we went on a cruise, last year we went to an all inclusive resort in Cancun, and this year we went to Utah to go snow mobiling. We got a great deal on air fare to Las Vegas so we stayed a night there first. That was an eye opener to say the least - won't be going back there. I so enjoyed seeing the shows and of course, being with my friends, but Las Vegas is not the place for me. Now, Brian Head, Utah was incredible! I can't wait to take my family back! I love to snow mobile - who knew?! The resort was breath taking and we had so much fun in the snow. We went on a sleigh ride and they other girls went snow tubing (I was sick in bed) and we made snow angels (very large one). We had a fabulous massage and even had fun on the plane there and back. It was a wonderful trip.

Dallas Spring Break Trip

We had an eventful Spring Break. We had a trip planned to Houston to see the Astros play and to visit Houston friends. Then our sweet Kaleb broke his arm!!! We could not believe it! He was jumping on the trampoline and did a flip he's done a hundred times but this time landed funny. He broke both bones and it was such a bad break that he had to be put to sleep to reset it then wear a cast for 4 weeks then a splint for 4 weeks and who knows what else. The surgeon said this type of brake is susceptible to break again. I feel so bad for Kaleb because it happened 1 week before baseball games started. He had practiced and practiced with his team and was so pumped with the chance to pitch this season. We started to cancel our trip because his arm didn't even have the cast on it yet (the swelling hadn't gone down yet) but we decided to just go to Dallas instead so the boys could see the King Tut exhibit. We had such a good time. The museum was open late for family night so we got to spend as much time as we wanted looking around. They had a scavenger hunt and free Starbucks too! While in Dallas we also went to the zoo and had so much fun feeding the birds. The last thing we did was go to Ripley's Museum and the Palace of Wax. I was so impressed with the way they portrayed Jesus. The scriptures and the way they told the story is spot on. It was great.

Awana Reward Night

I have these challenges about 3 or 4 times a year in Awanas. They are called Commander's Challenges. I challenge them to do something and reward those that do. So one of the challenges was to complete as many sections in their books as possible in a 6 week period. The winners would get picked up from school in a stretch Hummer limo and taken to a park to play. We would then go to Sho Guns (a super cool restaurant where they cook in front of you). It was the best challenge ever. We ended up having 16 winners! We had a blast! Here are the photos of our fun night. All three of my boys won (fair and square I might add). It always worries me that people will wonder if my guys win so I don't pick the winners. The secretaries hand me the paper with all the winners on them.

My not so brilliant Art lesson

I read this great lesson online for teaching primary and secondary colors to the primary grades. It said to put three squirts of shaving cream in a paper plate then add tempera paint to it. You have the children mix the paint with the cream to create three primary colors. They then mix the primary colors to make the secondary colors. Well, I said to myself "plates smates - who needs plates when you've got these great washable tables"....BAD MOVE. You see, I see over 300 kids every day. In the lower grades (k-2) half of the kids go to PE for 25 minutes and half to me then we switch. There is no transition time in between switching. And there is no transition time between classes - while 2nd grade is leaving, first grade is coming in. Now, translated this means if your tables are COVERED IN SHAVING CREAM you have NO TIME to clean them before the next crowd of little ones comes in. I am telling you I wanted to cry by the time the last group of kids came through. And by then I had started using paper plates. I did not think I would EVER get that mess of my tables. In the future I will follow lessons as they are written, knowing there is a reason for every step!!

Awana Layer Night

So, I'm behind again...surprise - surprise!! I'll go back and fill you in...

Awana Dress in Layers Night - too darn funny!!

The kids had to put as many clothes as possible on to win a prize. I wish I could remember how many layers I had on - it was like 39! I look like I'm pregnant - it's hilarious! I'll post a picture so you can laugh at how ridiculously homeless I look. I seriously look like one of those bag ladies that pushes a cart with all her belongings in it, except that my cart would be empty b/c I'm wearing all my stuff!!

Matthew won for the boys, Presley won for the girls, and I Claire won for the Sparks. Of course, Suggy looked great. He's the best leader b/c he always goes all out. It makes me feel better to not be the only goofball in the group!!

The kids had so much fun and looked great!