May days

May was a good month for us. Mother's Day was super sweet. My kids made a sweet card for me, with Daddy's help, and gave me a volcanic stone pedicure at the Woodhouse Day Spa. My friend Christy received the same gift, and we got to enjoy them together. Nice work, hubbies! I was also honored with a tea at G's preschool, which was really tender. He served me my food and drink, gave me a precious card, and then participated in an interview, during which he gave answers to questions about me. They were all pretty cute. Some of my favorites were that he thinks I'm a dentist who works in a nursing home (half-right), that he thinks I'm 7 feet tall and 6 years old, and that one thing I always do for him while I'm not with him is pray for him. From responses he gave on other projects from school and church, I've also gathered that he loves my cooking and my hugs. I also received a potted plant in a wooden wheelbarrow with stickers on it, that G and Ryan made together, as did any of you moms whose kids do the Home Depot projects once a month. On one card, G wrote my name for the first time, and I got lots of pages of beautiful scribbles from Scout. Oh, how I love those kiddos!

G serving me at my Mother's Day Tea

Ryan took G to his company picnic, which is always during naptime. I've been once, and I decided to stay home to let Scout sleep, while the boys had fun together. Garrett mostly enjoyed a very elaborate face painting design and a bunch of balloons he insisted upon bringing home for Scout. She loved them, of course, and played with them the rest of the evening.

Ryan and I celebrated 12 years of marriage on the 16th. I wish I weren't catching up and had an entire post to devote to my amazing and wonderful partner in this life that God has granted me. Ryan is an incredible husband and a fabulous father. He is a perfect compliment to my slightly compulsive, if not completely neurotic personality. He loves me for who I am, yet holds my hand and supports me as I try to grow into the person I want to become. He's hard-working and selfless, easy-going and fun. When I knew I was hooked more than 12 years ago, before I was consciously aware that I wanted to be his wife, I simply knew that everyday was going to be fun if he was with me and that I couldn't imagine a day that I wouldn't want him by my side. So far, so good! Not every day has been perfect, but I thank God that He's allowed me to spend them with my true love.




The kids also spent a lot of time playing with the water hose in the backyard. Because we were trying to sell our house, I didn't let them inflate the pool in the yard, so they settled for running from Ryan, while he tried to soak them. They got in a pattern of running from corner to corner for refuge, getting sprayed along the way. Garrett even became the protector, holding and shielding his sister in the corners of the yard.

Summer feet

Taking a break

Garrett finished his first year of preschool. I can't believe it. I was so proud of all that he'd learned and all the ways he'd grown. He had some special teachers to guide him along the way, and for that, we are thankful. The year ended with a Splash Day, that was a lot of fun for him, and he brought home those sweet school projects and poems that choke you up. Scout didn't know school was over, but she's certainly been happy to have him home. How that girl misses her big brother when he's gone. It makes a huge difference in her day.

Garrett also got third place in his first fishing tournament. It was a catfish that he caught in a tank outside of Academy. It was really cute, and he was so proud!






The finale of the month was my sister Andrea's birthday celebration. We rented kayaks and a paddleboat on the river, which was fun. Garrett definitely enjoyed it more that Scout, although I think the lifejacket was bringing her down. We then went to The Oasis for dinner, which was beautiful and fun. I wish we didn't have to abide by bedtimes, because it was a perfect day to watch the sun set over the lake. The kids took to the dance floor after dinner, and we had to carry Scout out of there kicking and screaming. That girl likes to groove! We finished with a strawberry cake, which G decided to cut for us. It was a fun weekend. Happy Birthday, Sis!

Catching up...in a new place

I've been away from blogging for too long, and I know my mother-in-law is anxious for me to get back to it, even if she's the only one. So, I'm going to spend some time trying to catch up on the last couple of months. The reason I've neglected my blog, is that I was spending time packing up my house, taking a break for a short vacation, and then moving into a new house while trying to start renovating it. Oh yeah, and I'm still raising the two short people who live in our house. Yeah, we decided to keep them in the move. It was up in the air for awhile, but in the end we decided they were too old to leave on Heath's firehouse steps.

They were actually my biggest concern in all of this mess. I had my own emotions over leaving our other house, even though I was really excited about the new one, but I was mostly concerned about how my kiddos would take it. Scout is generally easy-going, and is really too young to get it, anyway, but my sweet, sentimental Garrett was worrying me. He didn't quite understand what we were taking with us, and would often ask at a random time during the day if we were taking something, like his bed, our closets, or the air vents. We talked up the new house as much as we could, though, in the end, I had to come to peace with the fact that he would miss the old house to some degree no matter what. I felt sad about leaving the place where Garrett learned to walk, where all of my kids' birthday parties have been so far, and Scout's first home. G was just going to miss it because it was all he'd ever known, even though it wasn't his first home.

He has adjusted surprisingly well. We traded in a three-year old house for a thirty-year old one, which has been pretty neglected most of those years. Before we moved, G kept saying that the new house was "not very nice", and then I'd follow with, "but we're going to make it...", "nice", he'd finish. The first night we spent here, the kids just had beds in their rooms, the only improvements we'd done were pulling out the old flooring and sanding the concrete below it, and most of our things were in complete disarray. Without belittling the exhausting effort it took to get the house to that state, it was a wreck. As Garrett climbed into his bunk, I asked what he thought of his new room and finally staying in our new house. He smiled his sweet, sincere smile, and said, "The house turned out great, Mommy!" Since then, he's expressed a desire to go to our old house only a handful of times, and both kids seem to be happy.

Though we have a long road ahead of us with this renovation, we feel blessed to be here, and Ryan and I wouldn't trade it. I have to give my hubby credit for seeing the gem that this sad, neglected little house can be. I won't pretend that it's anywhere close to even halfway finished - we are, after all, doing most of the work ourselves - but visit us in a few years. I think the gem will be starting to shine!

Scout's first potato person

Scout just discovered Mr. Potato Head, and she loves it. It's one of the few things that keeps her seated in one position for any amount of time. Here are pictures of her first creations. I put the feet on for her to give each potato a base to stand.

Working hard

Proud artist

The glasses help her get into the mind of the potato, so that her creations are more accurate and true to potato life!

Crazy bird

Last month, Garrett and I were playing in the living room, when we heard a loud thumping. It turned out to be a mockingbird flapping its wings and beating against our window, seemingly trying to get in. It kinda freaked G out, and though I went out on the porch to check, I couldn't find any apparent reason that he was behaving that way. The bird kept at it for a good while, and even had a little air battle with a blue jay that flew onto the porch. The only good thing that came out of the situation was that it provoked a conversation of the origin of Scout's name and why we never kill those birds.

Cinco de Mayo

We had two families over for dinner to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. It's really just my excuse to make puerco pibil, which is one of my favorite Mexican dishes, but a little too labor intensive to make all the time. The adults enjoyed good conversation with friends, while the kids had their way with my couch, meaning they threw all of the pillows in the floor and jumped on them. It happens every time we have a group of boys over, and usually only ends when someone gets hurt. There were no major injuries this time, thankfully, and I got a couple of cute pictures. And, by the way, I do at least know the reason we celebrate Cinco de Mayo. It celebrates the defeat of the French at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862 (not Mexican Independence Day, which is Sept. 15th). It's kind of a David and Goliath story, with the French army having so much larger and more powerful than the Mexican army. No charge for the brief history lesson.

Dog pile!

Climbing out

Ryan getting in on the action


Scout trying to give Emery a hug "adios"

Quaker cowboy

Garrett noticed a Quaker Oats commercial today and as they showed the oatmeal box front, he said, "Hey, it's Cowboy John White Hair!"

April's finishing touches

Can I really be this far behind?

I made a few extra pirate cookies for Garrett to share with his classmates at preschool, the Tuesday after his birthday. He was so proud to hand them out.

The following Thursday, he performed in his Spring Program at school, which serves as the end of the year performance. All of the children worked to make the decorations in the room, which, by the way, were really cute. Garrett made a big blue bird, which he brought home that day. Each class performed one song that they had practiced in music class. Garrett's class sang "I'm Not Perfect", which we know from the Laurie Berkner "Victor Vito" cd. The last verse goes, "You're not perfect, no you're not. You're not perfect, but you've got what you've got." The kids pointed out at the audience during that verse, which got a nice laugh. Just to clarify that it's a nice song it ends with, "You do your very best each day. You're not perfect, but you know we love you that way." It's a sweet song. Scout did well during the performance, dancing, clapping, and playing with her favorite friend at Garrett's school. It's Jayce, the maintenance guy at the church, who stands at the front door when we arrive and leave school each day. She runs into his arms each day and then immediately wants down. Some days, she even starts waving to him from the car. It's cute. We got to visit G in his classroom after the show, and he was crazy proud. It was a precious day.

Garrett's class - he's on the far right, and I think his bird is sitting on the tree branch

Jayce and Scout

Garrett after his performance

To finish out April, Scout, in a classic move, climbed up onto the kitchen table to finish off Garrett's dinner leftovers. The classic part was the climbing, not the eating, which, on the contrary, is quite atypical for her. As it usually happens, I turned around, and there she was. I'm sure that, as soon as she figures out how to move the kitchen chairs (and I've seen her try), I'll find her on top of the fridge. She's a monkey!

Eating his food

Giving him a sweet smile