Ian's Graduation

My baby is graduating.....

pre-K.

When we were going through school, we only had high school graduation. So, I'm not sure I understand what the big deal is when I hear of pre-K or Kindergarten graduations. Really? Is it really a big milestone?

Oh, well. We were invited. We went. And it was SOOOO sweet. It really should be called an End-of-the-Year Program because that's mainly what it was. 

The kids sang some cute songs for us. We watched a slide show with adorable pictures. And then the kids all received a rolled up piece of paper with a ribbon around it.

Ian and Ms. Kelly

Ms. Kelly and Ms. Rita

Ian's Class

The Garden

The garden can bring so much joy. It's a lot of work, and can be hot and frustrating. But, when you see the plants grow into something beautiful and fruitful, its very rewarding.

 

I planted onions from seed for the first time this fall. A couple of weeks ago, it was time for harvest. There were so many of them, I decided to braid them together. This made it easier to hang them up to dry. My only problem with braiding the onions came with those that had flowered. The stems aren't bendable like the others. Those I had to just set aside and let dry individually.

 

I've also harvested my contender bush beans already. I've picked 4 times so far, and I think they're about done. It may be getting too hot for more blooms. But, I am pretty pleased with the crop this year. Out of one picking, I harvested 6 pounds of beans from my single 10 foot row :) I used to always complain about picking beans growing up. I still complain (a little) about it now, but I enjoy the fresh beans so much, it's worth the pain in my lower back.

 

I'm growing English cucumbers for the first time this year too. I coaxed Scott into building a trellis for me. It turned out great.

 

I have tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash all starting to produce, too......

 

It makes me happy :)

Look who we found...

at the garden!

 

Our friend, Fuzzy, the worm.

 

Ian took aN instant liking to him and whisked him away to the large pile of mulch before Mommy could squish him.

 

After a while, Ian exclaims, 'Mommy, the worm left some green stuff behind, really, he did!' I had to explain that this was the worm's poop. So, of course, the first thing he tells Daddy when he sees him, 'We found a worm in the garden and he pooped green stuff! Really! He did!' :)

 

When Mommy's Away....

I left last Thursday afternoon for Phoenix and Daddy was left in charge till I came home Monday afternoon.

I went to Arizona to visit my friend Melissa for a girls' weekend, and had a wonderful time! We went up to Sedona on Friday to hike and bum around. We went on Sterling Pass trail to Vultee Arch. It was a beautiful hike. We ate lunch at Oak Creek Brewry - yum - and then shopped around a bit.

 

The rest of my trip was spent in Phoenix hiking, visiting, eating at great restaurants, and doing a little shopping. It was relaxing and just what I needed :)

 

The kids said that Daddy did a good job. They had a great weekend!

Thursday night they went to Main Event for bowling.

Friday night they had supper with some friends.

Saturday, Ian had his last soccer game and scored a goal! :) And they got their trophies for the season.

 

In the afternoon, Payton went to see the Cinderella Ballet with a friend. Then Daddy grilled hotdogs and steak for them.

Sunday, Scott broke out the slip-n-slides :) They had a blast. Unfortunately, they got a little sunburn :( but it could have been worse. Then Payton had a birthday party to go to while Ian did choir.

Whew! I think Daddy was glad to have me back :) He sent me texts with pictures, so I wouldn't miss anything which I really appreciated. I enjoyed being away, but I love coming home.

Happy Birthday Payton!

Payton turned 7 today!!!!!

From the time she woke up, she exclaimed, 'This is the BEST....DAY....EVER!' (Like Rapunzel says passionately in the Tangled movie)

We had a party for her at ASI gymnastics. She invited her friends and cousins. They seemed to have so much fun. Jumping on trampolines...

 

Noodle wars....

 

Toilet tag....

And jumping and swinging into foam pits....

 

Then we had cake. Payton wanted a princess themed party, so of course, she wanted a castle cake.

 

 

This is the third castle cake I've made for Payton and the fourth castle cake I've made in my life.

(I'm starting to think I should go into some type of castle-cake business.)

 

 

Payton had an 'awesome' party and really enjoyed playing with all her friends.

 

Happy Easter!

Our morning started with chocolate bunnies.

Then we went to church. Payton wasn't much in the mood for pictures :(

This afternoon we went over to some friends' house. It rained all afternoon, so the kids played in the hot tub :) (of course, the hot tub!) while the dad's hid the eggs inside.

I hope everyone had a blessed Easter.

Severe weather

I knew there was a chance of thunderstorms, but I didn't realize there was going to be such a severe weather threat. I'm learning that when it comes to North Texas weather, expect the unexpected.

I took Payton out of school early because the two storm cells that were moving in our direction were going to hit us about the time school was going to let out. As I walked out of the school, the first siren went off. Payton and I ran to the car and drove the 30 seconds home. The kids and I sheltered in our downstairs half bathroom. I put pillows in there, made the kids keep their shoes on (only because I heard a weather man say to do so right before I got Payton), and we had our iPad and my phone. I monitored the weather while the kids played games. Scott was at the hospital working.

The kids were pretty scared. Payton kept saying, 'I can't calm down, Mommy.' Ian was actually more calm than Payton this time around in the bathroom. I tried to reassure the kids that there wasn't anything more that we could do. We were in the safest part of the house. I told them that the most we could do is pray. So the kids wanted to pray. We prayed for our safety and the safety of everyone affected by the storm. After about an hour in the bathroom, our warnings expired, and we got out.

We are very lucky that we didn't the worst of it. We had two tornado warnings and a severe thunderstorm warning. We just had the electricity flicker, high wind, and some pea size hail.

When you look at the map of where the tornadoes hit and damage occurred, we were in the middle of the two paths.

Before we went to bed, we thanked God for everyone being safe. So far there haven't been any fatalities reported and we pray that it remains so.