Headed to town

Ben said he was making a soldier face

yes, that is a moonshine still

The kids and I went "to town" today.  That is what country folks say when they head to the big city.  We had lunch at the Delta Bistro and then we went by Boots and NelNoo's to view the skull of the alligator Boots killed (the boys loved it).  I decided to take the kids to the Delta museum too.  Then we went to the book store, went to Sonic for a milkshake, then headed back to the hills before dark!

Memorial Day in the Country

The kids and I spent the holiday in the country.  We had fun staying outside all day playing!

Pap Turns 60

My Daddy turned 60 on Friday.  We had a whole weekend of celebrations planned.  The grown ups had a nice dinner Friday night at Giardina's then we had a fish fry in the country Saturday. The day was so nice. The biggest surprise was not a present for Pap, but a present for the grandkids.....a go cart! I knew something was up when my Mom called me Tuesday and asked me what size crash helmets my kids wore! The kids had so much fun - Will is a natural at driving and Rhyne is already believing he has a future in NASCAR.  Of course the grown kids had fun riding too! 

Pure Gold

I made this the title of my post because when Ben received his t-ball trophy tonight he asked me if I thought it was real gold??  We had a fun pizza party to celebrate a terrific t-ball season and most importantly....get our REAL trophy! 

Schools Out For Summer

My K5 graduate

The shallow endless pool!

He even went to the lounge chair to take the pool toys?

When I taught school, I would listen to that rock song all the way home on the last day of school!!!! This is probably the first year I haven't panicked that summer is here and I have all three kids here with me ALL DAY EVERY DAY! I think the 2 hour round trip commute through stressful traffic has made me long for lazy stay-in-your-pj's mornings! I know my suburban is sitting in the garage with its tongue hanging out thankful we are done for a while! I am sad that Will is moving up to first grade, which means next year I will have a full-time student..yikes! To celebrate the beginning of summer, I surprised the kiddos with a trip to the Jellystone Park in Pelahatchie (which is 10 minutes from our house).  We have tried to go 2 times before but if the campground is full they don't hand out day passes.  Thankfully the campground was not full on this third try and we got in!!  They have a great splash/water slide play area and then a shallow pool area.  The kids had so much fun and I actually was able to enjoy it also! I could sit in one area and keep my eye on everyone! Next time I will know to bring Ben plenty of pool toys - every time I looked up he was "playing" with some kids goggles, pool ring, pool toy, etc...!  He wouldn't even ask, he would just start playing with it! Thankfully, the kids at the pool were nice enough to share with him! We will be going back soon! We have the whole summer!!!!!!

A Girly Day

One of the blessings of having a little girl is being able to have girly days.  Today, MarMoo (my sister) came to Jackson to register for her little boy due in October and she let me, Ann Phelps, and DeeDee tag along. Ann Phelps shocked me because she actually enjoyed picking out items for the baby - I don't think she feels threatened because 1. the new baby is a boy and 2. he isn't here YET! But it is hard not to be pleasant when you get a prize from DeeDee in every store! And at the end of the day you get to experience your first pedicure at age 3!!! We are creating a monster for sure!  I do have to admit, it is hard when you have a daughter like Ann Phelps who at age 3, acts like a 20 year old and loves to shop - loves trying on clothes, shoes, picking out accessories, you name it- to not treat her like your girlfriend. She is a fun shopping buddy. I know this will all backfire on me one day when she is demanding a credit card at age 11 or expecting the latest $500 pair of jeans at age 15, but I am having fun now. And for the one hundred millionth time.......I know, I know, I always said I wanted ALL boys - this  is more proof it is a blessing God is the planner of my life!

Happy Mother's Day

This is what the kids picked for my Mother's Day breakfast - I will
not admit if they got this cookies-for-breakfast example from me!

if you look closely, you will see that some of the cookies are written backwards -
Rhyne didn't realize the writing went to the other side

This day was once dreaded by me because it was another reminder that I wasn't a mom.  I am so very thankful God chose to make me a mom and answered my prayers - I will never be able to forget those years nor the sweet souls who are still longing to be called "mom"!! 

When Dad is in charge.....

Ann Phelps worked so hard on a Mother's Day card for me - she got most of the ink on her body!! And she had fun at Target with Daddy!