for this day

i've got a platypus controlling me...

2012-02-12T21:17:00.005-06:00

(Otherwise titled: Project Life 2012, Week 2 written by guest blogger, Brad!!)

Take it away, Brad...

Whaat???

Well, I'll be honest, I don't really understand
How fast time's flying...my boy's becoming a man

Yet, in small moments, his boyness shines through
A pure sentiment, so transparent and true
An extra look up, a spontaneous kiss
A snuggle before bed, not a night to miss;
A grip, tight on my arm, as I leave for the day
A squeezing hug upon my return, as if to say
"Daddy, I love you."

I love you too, my little man
I love you so much, the best that I can
Whether playing games at the table
or teaching about bones
Throwing balls in the park
or sharing ice cream cones
It matters not, really, what we actually do
Just spending time together, spending it with you
Is all I could hope for...
Is all I can do

So I savor each moment
Like a blog in my mind
Snippets of memories transcending time,
Dreams to awake to and this I find:
That my son still loves me,
And waltzes me through
This dance...
This journey...
This day...
for which I'm thankful

So yes, my little platypus is controlling me
I live to share my life with him, my special Mini-Me
To make the moments count, and count the quantity
Not just seven minutes a day, but all eternity
For us to share, to live, to be
In God's forever family.

Project Life 2012 Week 1

2012-02-03T21:44:00.002-06:00

Welcome to Project Life 2012, the '52' version! I've decided to change things up a little bit and focus on telling one or 2 stories a week, rather than capturing an image every day of the year. I really enjoyed 2011's picture-a-day, but to be honest, by the end of the year, my main model (who happens to be an 8 year old boy) was totally dodging the camera each time I brought it out. A little bit of burn-out along with the LOVE of documenting what's going on in our lives has led me to this new plan... let's see how it goes!!

January 1, 2012

We spent New Year's with the Wargo's in SC. On New Year's day we headed to the park to shoot of some really cool rockets that the girls and RT have. So much fun!

Bennett and Sydney got along so well this time (although Bennett would probably be quick to tell you that he doesn't enjoy being around girls. Of any kind. Except for me :) It's fun to see them growing up together.

Blast off!!

RT and Bennett getting the next rocket ready for the skies.

Happy 2012!!

Jungle gym fun :)

January 6, 7, & 8, 2012

On Friday, Brad's parents took us out to eat to celebrate my birthday (which is the 8th). We met them at Shayne's for a delicious dinner and some shopping at the Dollar Store afterwards. Bennett surprised us all at the check out when he told the clerk that she could keep all of his change. Sweet boy.

On Saturday we had a basketball game and Bennett was on fire! He got a basket!!

Whoo hoo!!

Sorry for the blur, but they are moving SO fast! :)

After each game, each player gets a star for their performance. It is a favorite time for each of the boys. I think Bennett got best Defense this game.

Saturday night we had dinner at mom's (ham and her famous mac and cheese!) And cookies cake of course! Yum!

January 8, 2012. Good-bye 36, hello 37! What better way to start the day than with breakfast (and presents!) in bed?

After church we all met at Mt. Fuji for lunch. Evie didn't know quite what to think about the flaming hibachi :)

Volcano!

My boy. He loves me no matter how old I get. By the way, he doesn't appreciate someone saying that they are old. Or that someone else is old. Don't try it. It will really get him going :)

Bennett surprised me with a crystal tree kit from the $ store. One of my favorite little treats :)

Project LIfe - December 16-31, 2011

2012-01-10T13:36:00.002-06:00

I did it! 52 FULL weeks of Project Life!! Wow! I have to admit - this feels like quite an accomplishment! Yippee!!

So, without further delay... here are the last pictures from 2011.

December 16 - We received a traveling journal from my cousin Debbie and filled it out with a bunch of information about Alabama. Bennett, of course, only thought we should focus on Auburn football... there is a little more to AL than just football, right? :)

December 17 - Date night! One of Brad's colleagues had a Christmas party, so we dressed up and went for a little bit. It was a nice party, but the best part was grabbing a quick bite to eat at Maki Fresh on the way home. We were a little over-dressed, but who cares, right?

December 18 - Bennett loves being acolyte - and he does a really great job! Today he also drew a great picture of Pastor Kip entitled 'The Sermonator' and gave it to him after the service. Pastor Kip asked if he could use it in the Christmas Eve sermon!! Bennett's response: "I thought he might like to use it in his sermon" Ha!

December 18 - pic#2 - We put together all of the goodies that we baked over the past few days for Bennett's teachers. The tins included chocolate covered pretzels, fudge, chocolate drop cookies, peanut butter toffee bars, and pretzels with rolos and kisses. So fun!

December 18 - pic#3 - Sunday was a busy day! Bennett designed and put together his 'Who' shirt for Tuesday.

December 19 - Bright and early (see, it's still dark outside... he's probably been up for an hour by the time this picture was taken!) Bennett created an ice scene with this Star Wars figures the night before and placed it in the freezer. The excitement comes in defrosting them, apparently. He froze and thawed these guys many times in the coming days.

December 20 -(3 pics!) My orange and blue Who. The Third graders dressed up as 'Who's' for their Christmas performance today. I love Bennett's creativity!

The third graders did a FABULOUS musical performance of the Grinch story and Bennett had a speaking part. He did a great job! I was a proud mama!

December 21 - Movies with friends! The first day of Christmas break called for a movie break, so we went to see 'Arthur Christmas' and it was so good! One of the best movies we've seen in a loooonnnggg time! We'll definitely be getting this one on DVD when it comes out! So funny!

December 22 - Whew! Christmas is coming fast! We decorated a gingerbread house today and it turned out so good! I pretty much squeezed the icing and Bennett did all the rest! I don't think you can see it, but he even made a snowman and snowdog!

December 23 - Today we helped Nana make the dinner rolls and cinnamon rolls for Christmas Eve, but I can't seem to find those pictures - they must be on Nana's camera? Anyway, here is a picture of our tree. Half of the lights don't work and the ornaments are all gobbed in the front, but I love it!

December 24 - Getting these 2 to both look at the camera and smile is just about impossible! Boy, they sure are cute... and Bennett really wanted his picture taken with Evie. So sweet!

December 24 pic #2 - Our family.

December 24 -pic#3 - Nana and her kiddos.

December 24 - pic #4 - Bennett with Mooma and Poopa

December 25 - Bennett and Sadie both check out the loot that Santa brought!

December 25 - pic#2 - Isn't it great to give a gift that gets this reaction? :) Mom loved the water color of her house done by Lynn. Yea!

December 26 - Shopping the after Christmas sales is so much fun! I didn't have much to buy this year, but I managed to get some fun goodies!

December 27 - The living room is still in post-Christmas-morning disarray. It remained this way until early 2012 :)

December 28 - Chad and his boys came for a visit. They had a great time shooting arrows in the back yard. Bennett loves his cousins!

December 29 - Pa got a new puppy! Her name is Abby and she is adorable!

December 29 - pic#2 - See, I told you! She's so cute!

December 30 - On our way up to SC to visit the Wargos. Bennett noticed the 'crack' in this peach. Ha! Boys.

December 31 - A friendly game of 'Guess Who' with Sydney.

December 31 - pic#2 - We rang in the New Year mystery-style with the Wargo's a local wine shop. Thankfully, neither Brad nor I was the murderer. And we both survived the evening without getting knocked off :)

I'm so glad that I documented 2011 like this. I think that it will always be something that we can look back on and remember the big and the little things. I'm struck with the amount of really important things happen in the little moments - it's amazing how God works, isn't it?

Happy 2012!

Project Life Dec 1-15

2011-12-29T22:12:00.002-06:00

It's the MOST wonderful time of the year!! It's true! Sure, it is busy, but it is so fun! We (at least Bennett and I) look forward to December and all of the excitement that it brings. Here's a look into what we've been up to this month...

December 1 - Well, December didn't start off quite as exciting as we had hoped... Bennett woke up Thursday morning with a sore throat, but was still heading out the door to school before I felt his forehead. Fever. Yikes! So, I called the doctor to get an appointment, cancelled all of my plans for the day, and we snuggled in. The verdict: strep :( The good news is that within 24 hours, he'll be better - and the doctor ordered no school until Monday! :)

When Brad got home, Bennett couldn't wait for him to open his gift from the Holiday Shop. Giving gifts is so much fun! (Everyone else had to wait until Christmas morning!)

Holding hands. My boys.

December 2 - A day at home getting better... This is one of our nativities. :)

December 3 - Bennett got to be Joseph in a skit at church. I'm not sure who was more excited - me or him :) He did a great job!

December 3 pic 2 - After the skit at church, we met Evie to see Santa. Evie wasn't happy sitting in Santa's lap, but Bennett was ready to see him again! He was thrilled because Santa said that he was getting getting so grown up - Santa remembered him! :)

December 4 - We made snow flakes! The favorite? The Auburn one, of course! We also made some really cool Star Wars ones too! This was our first year to make snow flakes and I think that both had a fun time.

December 5 - Chilling out at the kitchen table doing homework. I love that kid.

December 6 - Our tree has been up for weeks, but the angel has been missing! The tree just isn't complete without the angel, is it?

December 6 pic 2 - Bookclub at my house! The book this time was Fortune's Rocks by Anita Shreve. Definitely a good discussion! We had chili, salad, and cobbler for dinner. I love these girls!

December 6 pic 3 - It's all in the details :)

Getting our cards ready... and loving that handsome boy on the stamp!

December 7 - Our gift from Aunt Cork from the Cherry Republic arrived today! We always look forward to that box's arrival :)

December 7 pic 2 - The wall is coming down! We've known that our retaining wall was going to have to be redone for years - so why not do it in December? Right in between my 2 parties at the house? Sure...

December 8 - Look at those blocks! We've been parking on the street because our driveway is occupied by big machines and piles of dirt. But at least that hill should stay where they put it this time!

December 9 - Bennett is OBSESSED with playing football. Look at that joy on his face :)

December 9 pic 2 - Bennett has been getting coupons from me each day of December in his lunchbox for fun things to do. Today's coupon was for a fort building session. Brad promptly climbed in there and fell right asleep :)

December 9 pic 3 - Date night for our Sunday School party! Thanks to Mooma and Poopa for watching Bennett :)

December 10 - Bennett's first basketball game... He is a totally different player this year! I think this will be a fun season!

December 11 - Making Cookies at Nana's house is one of our favorite traditions and this year we got to teach Evie how to do it :)

Bennett and Gigi

December 11 - Bennett made Santa cookies for him and for Evie to leave. He is so artistic and has so many wonderful ideas! Much better than the big cookies with 'To Santa' scratched on it like I used to do :)

Works of art!

Me and my favorite boy. Love.

December 12 - Bennett's letter to Santa this year. He asked Poodle to bring it to the North Pole again this year. Seems like he waited until the last minute this year - do you think Santa will be able to make everything in time?

December 13 - I hosted our neighborhood Bunco this month. Such a fun group of ladies! Brad was on call, so Bennett hung out until the gift swap and then he got to come and join the fun :)

December 14 - I've been having terrible headaches, so I left my shift at the Foundry Dental clinic early to go get a CAT scan. Not the most pleasant experience, but the good news came quickly - no abnormalities in my brain! (now all of my craziness can't be blamed on anything! :) The diagnosis... TMJ. hmmmm.

December 14 picture 2 - Look at this pile of Christmas cards that we received in the mail today!!! The cards that we receive from friends and family are one of the things I look most forward to each day!

December 15 - Angie and I hosted our annual Christmas party at her house. It is the best party (in my opinion :) We have so much fun planning it together!

Stay tuned for the last half of December... next week! Can you beleive 2012 is almost here?? Wow!

Project Life November 16-30

2011-12-01T20:48:00.001-06:00

November is over. Wow. Here's the last half of our Project Life for November... then on to December! :)

November 17 - Bennett's first basketball practice. He had a blast!

Today I am thankful for medical advancements - like flu shots! :) I checked Bennett out of school early and we went to get flu shots. No, he didn't like it. (as a matter of fact, if you ask him about it today, you'll probably get a big bad story about the whole ordeal!) But, I am thankful that we have access to such wonderful medical care!

November 16 - Bennett got to read to his former 2nd grade teacher's class. He picked out several books and was SO excited to be their mystery reader!

Today I am thankful for Bennett's teachers. Each year, his teacher has been EXACTLY what he has needed. I praise God for that! They have each nurtured him and cared for him during the school hours - which, let's face it, are a big chunk of his day! - and have helped mold him into the creative, inquisitive little man that he is.

November 18 - We put up our Christmas tree!! Brad was post-call today, so we decided to go ahead and put it up. Brad does all of the heavy lifting work (thank you!!) and then we all work together to decorate it. Bennett helped again this year... and when you look at the tree, you will probably notice some interesting placements. But I'm not moving a thing! I love it just the way it is (all clumped together :)

Today I'm thankful that I enjoy being around my husband and son! We are all very compatible and get along well at this stage in our lives. It hasn't always been easy, but right now we are at a very great place together.

November 19 - Bubba took Bennett to his first Auburn game!! Talk about a GREAT time! Wow.

November 19 (pic2) - Brad and I went to see Chris Tomlin in concert! I bought Brad tickets a long time ago (for his birthday) and we had a great time! Such a blessing to lift praises to God with a whole arena full of people!

Today I'm thankful for Jesus and all of the grace that He shows me every day. There's nothing I could ever do to deserve such favor.

November 20 - This afternoon we went to the park for a little while. Bennett is so big now - climbing on the outside of these tunnels used to be something he wished he could do... now it is so easy for him!

Today I'm thankful for my mom. She is always excited to keep Bennett and they have a really good time together. Sometimes I ruin their fun by showing up too early to pick him up :)

November 21 - Bennett had a baseball lesson after school. He's really gaining a lot of skill with his hitting!

Today I'm thankful for our house. It is so cozy and comfortable. Yes, it is messy sometimes, but it is our mess, so that makes it ok :)

November 22 - We celebrated Brad's birthday tonight with his parents (the real day is the 23rd). He asked for a homemade cake, so that's what he got :) We had a good time celebrating him.

Today I'm so thankful for Brad. He is a wonderful husband and puts up with all of my quirks without too much fuss. He kills all the bugs without question. He does laundry sometimes (and even folds it!). He's almost figured out the laundry sorting system (after 12 years :). He hauls the garbage cans up and down the hill. He is a great cook. He's not afraid to dream a little... and he includes me in those dreams. I'm very thankful for him!

November 23 - We made rice crispy turkeys this year! I have to say, they turned out great! (even though they didn't stay together all that great).

November 23 (pic#2) While Brad was working late, Bennett and I went out to eat at Shane's. He wanted to sit where he could see the sports on TV, so we ate at the bar. I was struck by how much he is changing! He loves sports - any kind! Never in a million years did I think I would be sitting at a bar with my 8 year old son watching sports on TV. But you know what? It was a wonderful evening.

Today I am thankful for each moment that I get to spend with Bennett. Sometimes I get caught up in the 'normalness' of it all. But I have to remind myself that the gems are found in the normal times. In the mom-can-we-sit-at-the-bar moments. Those are the times that we connect... and the times that I learn a little something in the process :)

November 24 - Happy Thanksgiving! We had a wonderful day at Gigi and Bubba's house! All of the family - all sides - came together for a really great meal and a relaxed day. It was one of the nicest Thanksgiving days I can remember in a long time!

Today I'm thankful that my family lives close to me. Yes, we are a small family, but we have a good time when we are together. It would be hard if we were spread apart from each other.

November 25 - Brad's birthday present from Bennett was a gift certificate to go the movies. We had a great time together!

Today I'm thankful for the weather we've been having lately. I love the coolness in the air - and the fact that we can be comfortable in shorts or jeans! This is my favorite time of the year!

November 26 - Bennett had a friend spend the night! They had SO much fun together - and I had fun listening to them... Boys can be so funny!

Today I'm thankful for the modern conveniences that we have - things like air conditioning (and heat!), washing machines, and dish washers. Even vacuum cleaners and magic erasers - they all make life so much easier!

November 27 - My car is trying to tell me something :) But look... 22,222 miles! I am always drawn to these numbers milestones!

Today I'm thankful for my dad - I called him about my 'low pressure' warning light and he told me just what I should do. (let's not mention the fact that I didn't really do what he told me to do - that's beside the point! :) My dad knows just about everything - and he's definitely where I got my tech-savvy side...

November 28 - Bennett's book order came in at school today! It's always such an exciting time - I love how absorbed he got into each book (especially the Guinness Book of Animal Records!)

Today I'm thankful that my headaches have gone away! I've been struggling with headaches for weeks now, and I've been headache-free since Thanksgiving! Yea!

(and when I have a headache, I'm thankful for medicine that helps!)

November 29 - Bennett couldn't wait to help put up Santa's village this year! I love it that he wants to help me - it makes it all so much more special.

Today I'm thankful for my car (with the newly inflated tires!) It is so comfortable and gets us everywhere we need to go. My favorite feature? Hands-free calling :)

November 30 - Bennett got to shop at the Holiday Shop at school! It is always such a fun time - volunteering is always a blast!

Today I'm thankful for the Foundry Dental Clinic. I get to volunteer at the front desk a few times a month and it is always so much fun! I leave there feeling so fulfilled! Such a blessing to me!

Project Life - November 1-15

2011-11-20T20:10:00.001-06:00

Welcome to November's edition of Project Life! I am so happy that I have done this project for 2011 - and honestly, I'm impressed that I've kept up with it this long :) Yea!

This month I'm adding in a little 'I'm thankful for' for each day... I started doing it with Bennett, but we only lasted a few days before our schedule got in the way. Maybe I'll get his done before the end of the month. Or maybe not :)

November 1 - New haircuts! It is fun to go and get haircuts together. Bennett gets cuts every 4 weeks and I get them every 6, so every few times, we coordinate :) I think that my favorite thing is hearing Bennett's conversations with Mr. Rony while we are there. Priceless!

Today I'm thankful for Bennett - God really knew what he was doing when He sent Bennett to us. Such a privilege to be trusted to help raise this little man. He truly is amazing!

November 2 - Oh my. The laundry!! At least I know that when it makes it to the dining room table, it is clean :) Have I mentioned that my least favorite part is putting it all away? In a perfect house, our closet would be big tables right next to the laundry room. Hmmm. I might have to think about that for our next house...

Today I'm thankful for the busy life that we have. We get to do so many exciting things! Some people (ehem...) sometimes give me a hard time about how busy we are - but we love it! Yes, there are times when we have to just stop and be still. But for the most part, we are busy doing things that we love doing! I'm thankful that God has given us such fullness.

November 3 - The boys at the table doing homework. (see how much Bennett loves getting his picture taken most of the time? :)

Today I'm thankful for Brad and how he always puts spending time with Bennett (and with me!) as a top priority. It makes Bennett and I feel important and loved. Brad is such a blessing to both of us!

November 4 - The Candy Witch came! And she brought 2 brand-new action figures! Wow. She is awesome!

Today I am thankful for Angie! Today is her birthday and I could never dream of a better sister! I'm so thankful to have her not only as my sister, but as my very best friend!

November 5 - Bennett spent the day at the Wes Helms baseball camp and he had a blast. He brought a baseball for all the professional players to sign at the end of the camp.

Today I'm thankful that Bennett loves baseball - and all things sporty! It is so different than anything I'm used to and I have really enjoyed learning about the sport and cheering him on. Most of all, though, I'm thankful for his enthusiasm and his positive attitude on and off the field. He's almost always smiling - which isn't something all that common these days.

November 6 - Picture #1 - Lovies. Oh. So. Sweet. Bennett loves Evie so much. I think she likes him too ;)

November 6 - Picture #2 - Happy Birthday Angie! We celebrated Angie's birthday today after church. I'm glad that we got to celebrate together!

Today I'm thankful for my family. They are crazy sometimes, but they are mine. We have so many shared experiences that have made me who I am today. I'm thankful for each of you! :)

November 7 - Caramel apples! (truth be told, I really think he just wanted the caramel ;)

Today I'm thankful for my friends at Bennett's school. I truly look forward to my volunteer days in the library!

November 8 - Bennett and Poopa planted the most beautiful pansies in the yard after school! I love pansies and haven't had them in the yard for a few years. I love seeing the color!

Today I'm thankful for Brad's parents. They truly enjoy spending time with Bennett and think of fun things to do with him.

November 9 - Dinner with friends at Wings before church. The clown stopped by the table to make balloons - and guess what the kids asked for... a hotdog and a football!! The options were endless, and that is what they came up with! Oh, 8 year-old boys crack me up!

Today I'm so thankful for my friends. I love getting to spend time with them whenever we can - even over loud dinners with chatty kids.

November 10 - The view from the back yard. We've got more oranges sneaking in, but we've also got more bare trees. I love this time of year!

Today I'm thankful for the changing seasons. God's handiwork never ceases to amaze me!

November 11 - 11-11-11 at 11:11am. We were in the drive through line at Zaxby's on our way to Nana's house. We had spent the morning at a wonderful Veteran's Day program. Fun times with my boy.

Today I'm thankful for our veterans and those who have (and still are!) fighting to protect our freedoms. As we sat through the Veteran's Day program I couldn't help but remember how my grandparents served. I'm thankful to be from such a patriotic family :)

November 12 - We had a busy day today, but I loved looking outside seeing the boys resting and chatting at the bottom of the driveway. They had been at the park playing football and paused on the way back. I'm not sure what they were talking about, but I'm sure it was important!

Today I'm thankful for opportunities to be creative. I spent the morning taking pictures for friends and I loved it! Since I decided last year to not pursue a photography business, I've found that my love of the hobby has grown. I'm thankful for creative outlets.

November 13 - I talked Bennett into a photo shoot in the backyard! All it took was mentioning that he jump into the leaves :) I know that this is crazy, but we've never done that before! He loved raking them up and running all-out into the piles. I do have to laugh, though, because he really didn't like the SMELL of the leaves! Ha! Like mother, like son, right? :) For the record - I didn't think that the leaves smelled yucky. And, he did give in and let me get the pics I wanted.

Today I'm thankful for our church and our church family. Spending the morning there, with Bennett as the acolyte, Brad directing traffic, and getting our angels off the the angel tree all made me so happy :)

November 14 - Bennett's homework tonight was 'Pick out a tree that you want to do a report on'. Of course, Bennett took it about 100 steps beyond in true Bennett-style. He chose the Bradford Pear tree that we have on the side of the house. This tree is special to us because it has our first dog, Casey's, ashes under it. The funniest thing - can you read it? - He made a 'Family Related Facts' section and it says '1. My dad's first name is Brad'. Of course, this is very important information to be included in any report, right? I love his attention to detail!!

Today I'm thankful for the wonderful educational opportunities that we have! Bennett often complains about school and Brad and I always remind him that we are so very blessed to have the opportunities we do. One day he'll agree. Right?

November 15 - Bennett called Bubba to discuss their weekend plans for Bennett's first Auburn game. To say that he is excited is just too much of an understatement. I don't think that he talked about Disney World as much as he's talked about the game! Fun!

Today I'm thankful for all of the people that love Bennett and make it a point to include him in their lives. Bubba taking Bennett to the game is just one example of how our family loves him and take such good care of him.

We've only got 2 days of school before the Thanksgiving Holiday... and 3 days until Brad's birthday! Let the celebrations begin!

Project Life October 15-31

2011-11-11T19:10:00.001-06:00

The last half of October was so fun! Soccer, baseball, church, more baseball, Halloween. FUN!

Here are the pictures from the last half of October - enjoy :)

October 15 - Bennett made a goal at the soccer game! He insisted that he didn't really make the goal all by himself, but he sure did celebrate at the time :) Way to go!

October 16 - Third Grade Bible day at church was so special! As Children's Team Leader, I was privileged to be able to read all of the names of the boys and girls receiving Bibles. Not only was Bennett in the group, but so were all of the boys that we teach each Sunday. Such a special time! (and can I mention that our boys really knew their Bible skills already ;)

October 17 - Nighttime practice game. It was late, the boys were tired, but they played a great game (and even though we weren't really keeping score... we won!!)

October 18 - The fall colors are just starting to turn... the first color in our backyard?? Yellow!

October 19 - We HAVE to be the #1 fan parents (along with Heather) as we braved the cold at our practice. And, yes, we cheer at practices too :)

October 20 - One of my favorite times of each day - picking Bennett up from carpool! Love.

October 21 - Even Brad helped me make these braids for the Fall Fun Fest at school.

Oct 22 - We celebrated Mooma's birthday with a friendly game of Chinese Checkers. Board games are the best!

October 23 - After Bennett's baseball game, we went to the Foundry Dental Center for their open house. Bennett really enjoyed trying out my chair ;)

October 24 - Just a little TV watching in the football helmet. Why not?

October 25 - We have been saving our boxtops and labels for the Auburn/Alabama contest at school... I mean, we've been saving them since this time last year :) War Eagle!! Oh, and we got a little ladybug for Evie (it matches her halloween costume!)

October 26 - I love this! Bennett wrote himself a note in his folder to remind himself to ask Mrs. Hardy a special favor ;)

October 27 - We visited the county jail with our cub scouts. It was interesting in more ways than one... We were SUPER proud of Bennett's behavior. He's pretty sure that he never wants to end up in jail ;)

October 28 - We made special treats for Bennett's class for Monday. I love having him help me with goodies like these!

October 29 - Fall Fun Fest at school!! Not only did we have a super fun time, but we also got to see Bennett's first Bluebird Choir performance. They sang so beautifully!

October 30 - picture #1 - The Sluggers' last game of the season and Bennett got to bunt for the first time! We didn't win, but we sure were proud of all of the boys for a wonderful season! Thanks Coach Kevin!

October 30 - picture #2 - Trunk or Treat at church!! We left the baseball game and went straight to set up our trunk... as a Star Wars trunk, of course!! I love that Bennett plans the whole thing - and takes so much care in placing all of the vehicles and characters in their places. While I might not understand the process, each little boy that stopped by said "Bennett is REALLY good at that!" :)

October 31 - HaLLoWEen!! Yea! We were so happy to go and trick or treat with our friends again this year. We are very blessed. And the candy was good too...

How much scrapbooking can be done

2011-10-21T15:22:00.001-05:00

in a 60 hour girls' weekend?

This many!! (please pardon the photography... I was just making do :)

38 pages!! That's more than I got done in all of 2010 :)

Thanks for looking...

Project Life Oct 1-15

2011-10-21T12:13:00.001-05:00

Oct 1 - While I was away on my girl's weekend, Brad and Bennett had a total boys' weekend, complete with an impromptu hunting trip. I received this picture while I was scrapbooking our Disney Star Wars weekend. I have to say that this picture really is worth a thousand words. I am 100% against guns and hunting (maybe that's why they went when I was gone??) But then, look at his face... he doesn't like the fact that he's holding this dead bird (he didn't shoot it!) Brad later reported that Bennett freaked out a little bit when he saw that he had blood on his hands... which makes me thankful that they won't be taking up hunting (and proves to me that sometimes I just have to let things play out and they will take care of themselves ;)

Oct 2 - My scrappy friends :)

Oct 2 - I missed Bennett's ballgame on Sunday afternoon, but they won! Way to go!

Oct 3 - It's autumn! I got this cute little metal decoration today!

Oct 4 - These mums were only $10 from a church that was selling them in the carpool line at school... sometimes getting there early has benefits...

Oct 5 - When we got our zoo magazine we read about the baby lions that were born in May - we didn't know that they were out and about! Nana and I surprised Bennett with a little early check-out and spent the afternoon at the zoo. Fun!

Oct 6 - Bennett helped me decorate this year and he spent extra time making sure all of the spiders were just right... I love that he created such symmetry (just like his mama likes it :)

Oct 7 - Fall Break at Sandestin!! We arrived in time for dinner, playing on the playground, and ice cream. Love these boys.

Oct 8 - Bennett humored me with a photo shoot on the beach and we almost missed the sunset... I'll post more of these pics soon (I promise!)

Oct 9 - Playing Words with Friends on the balcony...

Oct 9 - pic#2 There's the smile that I love :)

Oct 10 - We had to go home today, but the boys made sure to get their nerf time in early!

Oct 11 - The camera comes out and Sadie WILL NOT look at me. ha!

Look how grey she is getting... poor girl.

Oct 12 - This is my favorite house on the way to the Foundry Dental Center! There are so many statues in the yard... and can you imagine my delight when I found them decked out for Halloween!!!

Oct 13 - Oh! The acorns that have fallen at our house this year!!! Funny: When we were sitting on the couch tonight watching TV the acorns kept hitting the house, the chimney, the steps... making such noise! I made a comment about it and Bennett said 'Welcome to my life! That's what I hear all the time in my room!!!' Welcome to my life... that kid cracks me up!

Oct 14 - Look what we got in the mail today! Courtesy of our Discover cash back program! And yes, most of them are already spent ;)

Oct 15 - Bennett made a goal in the soccer game!! Yippee!!

The weather here is fabulous! Fall is my favorite time of year... Hope your October is fabulous too!

Project Life Sept 16-30

2011-10-13T16:45:00.001-05:00

It's hard to beleive, but I've made it through 9 months of photos every day (give or take a couple days :) I love this project! I've already thought of a couple of tweeks for this project for next year... I think we'll love looking back on this for years to come :)

Without further ado... here's the rest of September!

Sept 16 - I had a great date at Menchies. They were donating a portion of their sales to our school, so we HAD to go :)

Sept 17 - 2 pictures! Gigi got a new camera and we got to visit with Evie for a while!

I took some pictures of Evie for her 6 month birthday. Time is flying by!!

My guy :)

Sept 18 - Guess who got the game ball?? Yea Bennett!! He hit the ball so hard and ran so fast! Way to go!

Sept 19 - At pratice Bennett got to pitch - the moment he'd been waiting for! It was so heartwarming to see him working so hard. Proud mommy moment :)

Sept 20 - Never ending laundry... The dining room table looks like this at least once to week - it's just a question of how long it stays there sometimes!

Sept 21 - 19,000 miles in 20 months.

Sept 22 - no picture. Not sure why :)

Sept 23 - a little shopping with mom at the outlets. It's Christmas shopping time!!

Sept 24 - We won our soccer game! Way to go!

Sept 25 - After the baseball game at the Intermediate school, Bennett couldn't wait to play on their playground!

Sept 26 - My guys snuggling. or, Brad squashing Bennett!

Sept 27- Bennett is brushing up on his pranks with his top secret prank book.

Sept 28 - We love Coach Nick! He taught the kids agility for 3 months and we are so sad to see him move :( We can thank him for Bennett's increased speed!

Sept 29 - Girls' weekend at the beach!

Sept 30 - Scrapbooking the day (and night) away. So much fun!

Project Life Sept 1-15

2011-09-27T16:20:00.000-05:00

With a little camera drama behind me, I'm finally posting the first half of September. Let's just say that when I thought the pictures were lost, I was devastated. When I found them... well, I was elated!! Yea for helpful tech support people!

September 1 - I mentioned our frog in the last post. Here he is again :)

September 2 - One of the oddities of living in the woods are the acorns that pelt our house during the fall. They aren't quite as noisy without the wooden deck for them to bounce off of, but we do still hear them. I'll have to take a picture again in a few weeks so you can see the gazillions that we have... These little guys were just the beginning!

September 3 - Do you doodle? This was a family doodle.

September 4 - The good ole firehouse hat. I have a picture of Bennett in this same hat when he was a baby. I need to do a side by side comparison :)

September 5 - Uncles teach nephews how to play pool. And apparently, Bubba has a few trick shots to teach!

September 6 - The car was filled to the brim with our Giggles and Grace consignment items. Bennett was a huge help this year getting the toys ready. He hopes to bring in the big bucks!

September 7 - Bennett got a haircut last night. Doesn't it look nice? He always looks so handsome on the way to school :)

September 8 - I worked at the consignment sale while Nana kept Bennett (Brad was on his scuba diving trip!) To say that Bennett enjoys sliding would be a gross understatement. After my long night of work at the sale, this was waiting for me...These pants were so muddy that I actually chipped the dirt off! I'm so glad that he loves to play ball!

September 9 - One of the bonuses of having a Friday evening soccer practice is going out to eat with our friends afterwards. Here Bennett and his friend are playing one of his G&G treasures (that we bought!)

September 10 - Bennett's first soccer game - and he got to be goalie! He loved it! His coach told him not to worry about getting dirty - and it took it to heart! He dove for the ball like a pro... and we won!

September 11 - Our first baseball game! Bennett played outfield and didn't get too much action. But we won - and we were playing the team we were afraid we would lose to :) Fall ball has been TOTALLY different this time around since the boys are doing the pitching. Still so much fun, though!

September 12 - Bennett came home from school telling me about an experiment that they did at school while talking about states of matter. I knew right away what they did - something that we used to do at home when we were little! You can imagine how surprised he was when I pulled out the corn starch and let him do it by himself! (At school they only got to do it in a plastic bag...) Fun!

September 13 - Bennett's very own creations...

September 14 - I love my Wednesday job at the Dental Clinic. Such a blessing.

September 15 - I'm doing a new Bible Study this year and I think I'm really going to love it! We are studying Hebrews and going really in depth. I'm looking forward to really getting into the Word.

I hope the first half of September was great for you! As I've said before, time seems to be speeding by...

Project Life August 16-31

2011-09-13T16:17:00.000-05:00

What's that saying? Better late than never, right? :)

School started and things got crazy around here. Good crazy, but crazy all the same. To top it off, my camera lost a good number of pictures, so I had to scramble to find some pictures for a few days. Here's the last part of August!!

August 16 - Nana came over to watch Bennett while Brad and I went to a church meeting. He couldn't wait for us to leave :)

August 17 - The cub scouts had a campfire and Bennett got promoted to Bear Scout!

August 18 - We've been waiting for 3rd grade homework to start... and tonight was the first night! After an icee stop, he knocked that homework out in no time flat! We had a 'discussion' before school started about how homework would be handled (i.e. I said if he complained or pouted, no TV for the rest of the day or the next day) and things have been going smoothly so far (as of September 13)!

August 19 - The Back to School Bash at church allowed Bennett to have a fun time at church and Brad and I to go to get pizza. The kids apparently had a good time wrapping each other in toilet paper :) Our Children's Team rocks!

August 20 - Bennett was wandering around the house looking for something 'fun' to do and Brad told him to clean the windows. After a little rolling of the eyes, he got to work :)

August 21 - Swimming at Gigi and Bubba's pool is the perfect way to finish a weekend!

August 22 - Perry. Perry the Platypus.

August 23 - I know that this is a crazy picture, but we think it is so crazy the way that our noodles stand up straight in the bowl after cooking in the microwave. It happens every time.

August 24 - Agility training with Coach Nick. High knees and feet Bennett!!

August 25 - Bennett captured a HUGE grasshopper on the back porch before school. He wanted to save it for Bubba. Luckily, I talked him in to letting it go after school :)

Gigi, you can thank me later...

August 26 - This little frog has been hanging out in the backyard between the living room and our bathroom windows. We love watching him!

August 27 - We went to a wonderful fundraising dinner for SOZO tonight and I had a new dress and some killer shoes!!

August 28 - We have really loved having this wild butterfly bush in our backyard! We get these black/blue ones, yellow, and orange ones. We also get some hummingbirds (which I'm not afraid of, oddly :)

August 29 - I can't post it here, but today I went to Bennett's school and took a picture of the class for the roster. I'll put it in my photobook, though!

August 30 - I did it! I completed my photo wall in my foyer! It only took me 3 months to plan, but I love it!! What do you think?

August 31 - Baseball has started. Let the red dirt begin...

I hope your August was as great as ours!

Our New England Advenure - Part 3

2011-08-16T16:45:00.000-05:00

Here it is... the last leg of our New England Adventure!!

We left Martha's Vineyard on Sunday to head north. I have to note that both times we arrived at the ferry well ahead of our scheduled departure (Brad is nothing if he's not prompt!) and both times we were able to get on an earlier ferry. We were SO happy! Thank you ferry personnel! (see top left pic below - Bennett loves the ferry!)

Anyway, we got back to the mainland and headed north through Boston. We were so excited to drive down through the 'big dig' (top row, right pic)- we had heard so much about it on our trolley tours in Boston. Brad was an excellent chauffeur!

Our final destination on Sunday was Wentworth by the Sea in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. This hotel was gorgeous (bottom 2 pictures)! We swam for the rest of the afternoon and enjoyed a nice dinner at Latitudes.

On Monday morning we headed for our final destination - Bar Harbor, Maine! We stayed at the Atlantic Eyrie, which had the most beautiful view (above, middle picture). That night, we enjoyed a little dinner down by the pier and got settled into the room (I like to clean everything at each hotel :)

On Tuesday we went whale watching on the Atlanticat catamaran. This was such an adventure!! I was worried about Brad getting sick (he has a tendency for sea-sickness), but he did great! We saw 3 whales - one mom (Fundi) and baby- and one by himself named Breakers. We also saw tons of birds, including Puffins (but you couldn't see them really wel without binoculars...) It was so amazing! It was also cold out there on the water - about 40 to 50 degrees on the water, 90 on the land!!

That afternoon we walked around town and learned quickly that Bar Harbor's many souvenir shops were not 8-year-old friendly. Many of the store were like the old 'Spencer's' store, and I found myself ushering Bennett out quickly, telling him to quit reading... Brad commented that Bar Harbour was much like Key West - a little rough around the edges :)

On Wednesday, Brad and Bennett went on a sea kayaking adventure in the Gulf of Maine! You could only go in pairs, so I walked down the way to the sand bar that they would be exploring. The sand bar becomes totally crossable during low tide! I was able to capture a lot of their journey from afar. They had a great time!

After a less than exciting lunch at a restaurant whose name I can't even remember, we headed out to Acadia National Park. I don't know that I've ever seen such breath taking landscape in my life! The whole park is totally driveable and laid out so beautifully! We stopped at Cadillac Mountain, Thunder Hole, and the Wild Gardens nature center. Bennett also took part in their Junior Ranger Program and was given a patch after he took the oath... it was a big deal! Below are our pictures from the park.

That night, Bennett and Brad took one final dip in the pool (above, bottom row, right picture) and we got packed up. On the way to the aiport the next morning, we were running early (remember Brad's internal early clock??) and we were lucky to stumble upon the Children's Museum of MN. We really enjoyed it.

Bennett's Favorite Maine happenings: the pool where we stayed, drinking Shirley Temples, and sea kayaking.

Brad's favorites: Whale watching, Acadia, and sea kayaking

Amy's favorites: Whale watching and Acadia

There are a few 'themes' to this trip that I don't want to forget:

Bennett found Shirley Temples and once he did, he always wanted to go to a restaurant with a bar. You can imagine that we tried to keep his request on the DL :)

Bennett searched for key chains at every stop.

We played the 'jeepers' game throughout our trip. Martha's Vineyard was certainly the Jeep haven.

Bennett was a wonderful traveler. He was up for anything that we wanted to do. We did a good job, I think, of balancing what he wanted to do and what we wanted to do.

It was HOT on this trip, but we all (even me for the most part!) made the best of it.

If you get the chance to go to New England, do it! It was a trip that we will never forget!

Project Life August 1-15

2011-08-16T10:10:00.000-05:00

Welcome back to Project Life! This is the August 15th edition :)

August 1st - Nana needed a haircut, so Bennett and I got to keep Evie for a little while. I'm not sure who had more fun :) These cousins sure do love each other, and I couldn't be happier about it!

August 2nd - Bennett started agility training at a local sports complex. He LOVES it! It is a lot of hard work, but they have a lot of fun with Coach Nick. Reminds me a lot of those hard workouts that I used to be able to do...

August 3rd - Bennett still loves legos... now we've gotten excited about the Cars Ultimate Build version (thanks Pa!)

August 4th - At registration I got Bennett's school supply pack. I LOVE school supplies.

Don't you?

August 5th - Bennett and I got back-so-school haircuts. I talked him into letting me take a picture in the mirror. Didn't work out so well...

August 5th - pic #2 We tried and tried, and it was either blurry or silly :) Eventually he took off upstairs, so the photo session was over.

By the way, Brad didn't notice either haircut... I guess my hair always looks this nice, right?

August 6th - I worked on the school's '10-'11 scrapbook today. It was a great year!

August 7th - This picture totally cracks me up - look at Brad in the background. Ha! Sorry honey :)

August 7th - the real picture :) Bennett was thrilled to have Sara down for a visit. Nothing like family for some fun for the week before school starts!

August 8th - We took Sara and Debbie to McWane. Fun!

August 8th - pic #2 Bennett overcame his fear and rode the high cycle at McWane! He was so serious. Precious.

August 9th - We took Sara and Debbie to Treetop and Bennett discovered the Klondike machine (it's not called that anymore, but that's what it was called when Angie, Dad and I used to play each week). Nothing like a huge pile of tickets!! Bennett shared his tickets with Sara and also got some army men and a nice sword :)

August 10th - VULCAN!! Nothing like having family visit to get us out to see a Birmingham landmark. Bennett had never been and really enjoyed it.

August 10th - pic #2 After Vulcan and lunch we headed to Meet the Teacher. It was a quick stop, really. Bennett put his stuff in his desk and was ready to go - so different from kindergarten when I had to pry him out of the classroom! I guess it's different when you already know the ropes :)

August 11th - I already shared the first day of school pics in the post below (the real and the re-do's!). Here's one of him walking into school. Sigh.

August 12th -Smurfs toys are at McDonald's!!

August 13th - Brad has a new baby!! He spent the day flying to and driving back from Atlanta. He loves his new car!

August 14th - This shoe pile cracks me up! We have a 'no shoe' policy in the house, so they naturally congregate by the door. Yes, most of them are mine :) Not the guitar, though!

August 15th - after taking Bennett to school, the car got dirty. It is a whole 3/4 mile, afterall! Brad had to clean the car a little. He also re-washed it this afternoon after school with Bennett's help :)

August 15th - She doesn't make the blog nearly enough, but Sadie is a sweet girl. She's hard to photograph, but she's sweet!

Hope the rest of August is as fun as the first half! Sports start next week...

Back to School... and why a camera makes a difference!

2011-08-14T21:39:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure how it happened, but school started on Thursday. No, we weren't ready for summer to be over, but it happened anyway. Isn't that the way life is, really? I'm either anxiously anticipating something that is going to happen or hanging on by the tips of my toes to one last moment. I'm trying hard to enjoy the middle ground, which is where God seems to be placing me more and more often...

Anyway, here is Bennett, my 3rd grader.

Just yesterday it seems, we had a baby gate on these stairs. And just a few hours ago I was a basket case because he was starting kindergarten. You can read about my his first day of big school here :)

I can't believe that he's in 3rd grade!! He's so grown up now - we wear the same shoe size. He's quickly gaining height on me too. He loves to hang out with Brad doing boy things, but I'm still cool enough to snag some snuggles every once in a while. He's 100% obsessed with baseball, cars (jeeps and fast cars in particular), and Phineus and Ferb. His handwriting can be very neat, and his math skills are out of this world. He reads fast and comprehends almost everything that goes into his brain. Oh, and he STILL asks questions all the time. All the time. ALL. THE. TIME. :)

He's so independent now, too. He can fix his own food (not that he does it all that often), shower and do all his hygiene duties all by himself, and can even stay home by himself for 5 minutes when Brad gives me a ride in his new car...

I love this boy so much. I am thankful for him. So very thankful to be his mom. Even if he is growing up in the blink of an eye.

------------------------------------

Ok... on to the next topic. I have a little confession... those pictures up there. Yeah, those first day of school pictures. Those are re-dos. Yup. I was dumb and tried to take the real pictures with my old camera and this is what I got...

And you might or might not be able to tell, but this picture is HIGHLY editted. Yikes. So, for those of you who wonder what difference a camera can make - let me be the example :) Not only the camera, but also the user... on the 'bad' picture I just turned the camera on and let it think for me. The flash popped up and I just went with it. The cost: $1. That's what I had to pay Bennett to let me re-take pictures this afternoon ;)

Oh, and also the location makes a big difference too. Of course, when Bennett was 2 and going to preschool, these steps were precious. The backpack was bigger than he was. Now, he's 8 and I have to open the door and stand outside to fit his whole body into the frame :)

Anyway, I hope that I remember this photographic lesson next year. Don't be lazy. Set the camera up the way I want it - and then enjoy the results. Sure, they don't all come out perfect, but that's ok. At least they make me smile...

Our New England Adventure - Part 2

2011-08-04T21:39:00.008-05:00

Ready for the 2nd installment of our New England Adventure?

Read on...

On Thursday morning Brad set out to get the rental car while Bennett and I got our suitcases packed and grabbed some breakfast. Our SUV arrived and we headed out of Boston to Woods Hole to catch the ferry to Martha's Vineyard. We ended up being early for our reservation and we were lucky enough to get on an earlier ferry! Perfect!

The ferry was so fun - just a short 30 to 45 minute jaunt across the ocean. It was beautiful and WINDY! You can see in the top right picture below how windy it was (and it remained that windy the whole day...)

Our first stop was Nancy's (just for Nana) for some lunch. The service wasn't so hot, but it was the birth of Bennett's tour of Shirley Temple drinks, so it will always be remembered :)

After lunch we headed to Edgartown, then on to our hotel, the Winnetu. We LOVED the Winnetu! Perfect for families. That night we explored the grounds, grabbed some dinner at Among the Flowers, and then went to the Grab 'n Go for some groceries.

Day 2 on the Island (that's what they call it up there :) started with the beach. To get to the beach we just had a short walk over the lawn and through the dunes. We were usually the only ones on the beach other than those walking each morning. The water was cold, but that didn't stop the boys from jumping in. I enjoyed the umbrella that we found in the community beach gear bin.

After lunch we spent the afternoon at the pool. At 3 every afternoon the resort serves cookies and lemonade and gives firetruck rides. So fun! We spent the evening in Edgartown. After dinner at the Seafood Shanty (good food/shouldn't have sat so close to the bar) we explored a little. We found the tree in the middle right photo to be so fascinating - it was brought over as a potted tree from China in the early 1900s. Look how big it got!!

Our last stop that evening was E's Cupcakes. Oh. My. Goodness. Wow. So good. I wish I had some more right now... (I had lemon, Bennett had Smores, and Brad had Salted Caramel). I'd go back to MV just for another one!

Day 3... After another morning on the beach and some pool time, we headed out to explore the rest of the island. We drove to the Gay Head Cliffs. It was so crowded there that Brad just circled in the car while Bennett and I explored a bit. It was absolutely breathtaking! Bennett thought it was nice, but was more taken with the lobster pot tshirt. He thought it was SO hilarious. And no, we didn't buy it!

The middle pic above is the main building at the Winnetu... then Bennett at the Cliffs and Brad and Bennett on the big chess board at the resort.

After the cliffs we went back into Edgartown and explored the Cook House. They had a wonderful house to tour as well as a museum. Bennett enjoyed dressing as a soldier (and even got Brad to try it :) We also tried a few old-timey games like sack races and sticks and hoops. Bennett asked me if those were the types of games I played when I was little. Nice.

That night we ate at Lure at the Winnetu. We weren't that impressed with our meal there and wished we would have tried something else in town. Oh well... if that's the worst thing about this leg of our adventure, we're not going to complain :)

We really loved Martha's Vineyard. The weather was perfect, the resort was super family friendly, and we loved the pace of the island. Oh, and we loved counting all the jeeps that were driven on the Island - at one point we had to call off our 'jeepers' game because we couldn't keep track!
We'd love to go back again one day!

Bennett's Favorite things about MV: swimming in the pool at the Winnetu, 'the 3 o'clock thing' (which is the cookies and lemonade!), s'mores, Mad Martha's ice cream, and E's cupcakes.
Brad's favorites: running on the beach, driving around the island, enjoying Edgartown and Winnetu
Amy's Favorites: The Winnetu, exploring Edgartown, the jeeps, and E's cupcakes.

Thanks for reading... look for the final Big Adventure installment soon :)

Our New England Adventure - Part I

2011-08-03T21:05:00.003-05:00

We decided to take a little bit different vacation this year. Not our normal beach trip... and it was deemed 'our greatest adventure yet' by Bennett as we were taking off on our first leg of our flight :) If you'd like some details, I'm going to give 'em to ya! I'm going to break it up into 3 post - one for each of our major stops.

We began our New England Adventure in Boston. We flew in on July 11 and went straight to our hotel (which was the Hampton Inn Crosstown near Boston Medical Center). This hotel was not the ideal hotel for sight-seeing in Boston (live and learn, right?) When we booked this hotel, they touted their shuttle service. When we arrived, they had discontinued their shuttle service. SO.... we took lots of cabs!

Here is Bennett in his first ever cab ride. He was most impressed with the tv in the back of the seats. Oh, and he wore his seat belt every time :)

We had a quick dinner at Abe & Louie's and then took out for a little sight-seeing of the things that were nearby. We came upon the Old South Church (we were knew we wanted to see the Old North Church, but the Old South Church was a little bit of a surprise.)

I will ever forget it - Bennett got his notebook out and wanted to write down every word that was engraved on the building. So cute.

Note: He didn't do this ever again :)

Day 2 - July 12

We hopped onto the Old Towne Trolley at our hotel and rode all the way to Fenway Park. Bennett was on the Red Sox team this Spring, which was the inspiration for our trip. Here are a few pictures...

The best thing about our tour was going on top of the 'Green Monster' and getting to go out in front of it on the field. AWESOME! Oh, and it was hot. Really hot.

After a quick lunch (and cool down/rehydration) we jumped back on the Trolley and headed to Faneuil Hall, Paul Revere's house, and Old North Church. Bennett really enjoyed each stop - not that we really stopped and read many of the plaques along the way, but he still was interested. There was a great little talk at Faneuil Hall, detailing the important meetings that have taken place there throughout history. Paul Revere's house was so fascinating - so tiny! Old North Church was beautiful - and we loved seeing the box pews that were rented.

Day 3 -July 13.

The pictures above and below are from Day 3 (I can't get this paragraph to move up...)

We jumped on the Trolley again from our hotel (did you know that you get the 2nd day free??) and headed straight for the USS Constitution (photos above). We were the first group tour of the day and had a super tour guide named Kiki. We loved exploring the ship and we got a bonus 'behind the scenes' tour when everyone else left. Bennett hung back to ask Kiki about the lower deck and Kiki took us down there! We also got to tour the officers' and Captain's quarters. Did you know that the Captain got his own toilet? You can guess how cool Bennett thought that was :)

After the Constitution we went to Cheers (and tried to explain what it was all about to Bennett, but I think we failed). The food was great! We then headed to the Public Gardens to find the ducks and the Swan Boats (from Make Way for Ducklings, one of our favorite books). Did you know that those big swan boats are peddle powered? They are!

Then we took the subway (a little scary, but just because we had NO idea what we were doing :) up to Harvard. What a beautiful campus! Bennett and I are sitting on the steps of the library in the next to the last pic below. I think that it will be cool to show people that picture in 10 years when he starts his freshman year there ;) He says he's not going that far away from me. I tell him I'll follow him...

After Harvard (and a stop at Baskin Robbins for ice cream) we went to the Boston Aquarium. Bennett LOVED it. He stood and watched the penguins for at least 15 minutes. I just stood back and watched him (last picture). He also really enjoyed the touch tank where you could touch real sharks and rays. Super cool.

It started to rain while we were in the Aquarium, which really cooled things down. It was really hot in Boston while we were there (like, hotter than at home!) The main difference was that when you could find some shade, it was tolerable. Anyway, after the rain let up a little we ran to Legal's for some great seafood. We made Bennett skip the chicken fingers this time :) Delish!

Our Favorites:

Brad: Seeing all of the historical sites

Amy: The behind-the-scenes tour on the USS Constitution

Bennett: Fenway Park (all of it), the Constitution (all of it), and the Aquarium (the touch tank and the Penguins - watch them poop!)

Coming soon... Part 2 :)

Project Life July 16-31

2011-07-31T21:42:00.000-05:00

Welcome back to our Project Life!! The end of July... we are closer to Christmas than we are far away :)

School is starting in less than 2 weeks! I'm not ready to have a 3rd grader. Whew.

Here's the rest of July!!

July 16 - Martha's Vineyard... no matter where in New England we were, Bennett was trying to get a baseball game going. The boys loved playing a little 1 on 1 game each day. The wiffle bat and ball were perfect. I think that Brad even won once :)

July 17 - Back to the main land via ferry. We drove up to New Hampshire today.

July 18 - We drove up to Bar Harbour, Maine today. This is the view of the hotel and the Gulf of Maine from our hotel room. Ahhh.

July 19 - Whale watching. We found 4 humpback whales - this pair was a mom and her baby :)

July 19 - picture #2 Here are my boys on the way back to the shore. Can you believe that it dropped from 90 degrees to 40 degrees? Loved it!

July 20 - Brad and Bennett went kayaking in the Gulf of Maine during low tide. I walked out on the sand bar and got a good view of their adventure. (and for the record, I couldn't go - only pairs could go :)

July 20 - picture #2 After the boys kayaking adventure we went into Acadia National Park. Bennett LOVED climbing. It was truly amazing up there... look at that view!

July 21 - Time to go home! We got to Bangor a couple of hours before our flight and we saw a sign for the Children's Museum. It was great! Here are the boys on a scooter. We had a hard time getting Brad off of this one :)

July 22 - I can't believe that Brad kept his hair growing this long! As soon as we got home, he was determined to get it shaved off. He's bald again! He hasn't gotten any 'where-has-your-hair-gone??' comments. He got 'I-didn't-know-you-could-grow-hair' comments for months and months! I think he's the handsomest no matter what :)

July 23 - Working on laundry! Being gone for 10 days and having a live-in house sitter lead to ALOT of laundry! I have to admit, I got a huge satisfaction out of getting this big chore done! (And for the record, it is all put away!)

July 24 - Bennett had his friend over and they made some wonderful lego creations. They want to send these in to the lego magazine :)

July 25 - Bennett's trip to the dentist! No cavities and 'the teeth of a 9 or 10 year old' :) The hygienist could not believe how good Bennett's manner were.

July 26 - Seeing this picture right after the dentist report is funny :) We ended our day with a shaved ice. Yum.

July 27 - Rain! Lots of it.

July 28 - Bennett really enjoyed having Parker over. They played a little of everything. Here they are light-saber-dueling. I still don't like that mask that Parker has on. It really freaks me out!

July 29 - Bennett's last day of swim camp. He LOVES swim camp at Mrs. Gina's. He learned all the stokes as well as diving and safety. During the performance, he showcased the back stroke, diving ring retrieval, and belly flop :) He slept GREAT every night!

July 30 - We celebrated Gavin's birthday at his party! So fun!

July 31 - We really love playing tiny zoo. Right now, in fact, our zoo is under construction and we are breeding some penguins :)

Our July was great - hope yours was too!

Project Life July 1-15

2011-07-24T21:34:00.000-05:00

July 1 - We spent the morning bowling with our friends the Burnetts. We had a great time and even had a few strikes and spares (thanks to the bumpers :)

July 2 - We had our friends the McCrackens over for family game night!! Pizza, homemade ice cream and peach cobbler, and wonderful friends... what more could we ask for??

I'm pretty sure the girls won, by the way!

July 3 - Lunch at Shane's after church. YUM!

July 4 - We started our celebration with a little swim at Gigi and Bubba's. It started raining at lunch time, so we were glad that we got there early!

Pic #2 - Bennett and I made this special flag cake... It tasted SO good!

July 5- The boys playing CARS.

July 6 -Bennett was my special helper when I took pictures this morning... and he even let me take a few of him (and it only cost me a snack at the local store :)

Isn't he handsome???

July 8 - Dinner at Pablo's. This picture cracks me up - the flash is so bright on my camera! It makes Brad sleeping and Bennett wide-eyed :)

July 7 - Bennett created this wonderful lego creation. We photographed it and sent it in to the Lego magazine. Fingers crossed that they'll publish it!

July 8 - no picture. You know that bothers me.

July 9 - Cousins. love.

July 10 - no picture. Double bother. I was packing for our trip. That's my excuse...

July 11 - First cab ride! Boston.

July 12 - Fenway park!! The green monster. Man, it was hot. But it was fabulous!

July 13- We had a wonderful tour on the USS Constitution.

July 14 - First ferry ride. On our way to Martha's Vineyard. It was so windy! Also, so fun!

July 15 - On the yard at the Winnetu. Our photographer did a great job, don't you think?

I promise to have more in depth details about our trip! We had a great time touring New England... Stay tuned!!

2010 review

2011-07-01T15:06:00.002-05:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

One of my favorite projects to make at Shutterfly is a Year-in-Review book... because I use Shutterfly for all of my photo printing, it is always super simple to make a year-end book (even if I don't get around to making it until the next year is half way over!! :) What do you think??

Project Life June 22- 30

2011-06-30T21:47:00.000-05:00

2011 is half way over... that means I've successfully (for the most part!) taken pictures for 6 months! I've been working on my Project Life book - getting the pictures into place, as well as the little goodies that I've kept along the way. I'm going to LOVE having this!! I'll post pictures as soon as I get it a little more put together :)

Summertime is in full swing here... we're filling our days with time together. Some days are filled with camp activities while others find us lounging in our pajamas until Brad calls and says he's on his way home (for some reason, at that point, we get busy and get dressed :) Bennett is reading a bunch (in an effort to earn more television time); we've cleaning the playroom (which reminds me that I meant to have a picture of that for last week!) and the garage; the laundry is caught up; the house is generally clean. What more can we hope for? :)

Here are the pictures for the last 2 weeks...

Wednesday, June 22 - Nothing like a nice bath after a busy day at baseball camp!

Thursday, June 23 - Bennett had a blast at baseball camp. He's TOTALLY into baseball and I'm loving it too :) You might even catch us watching a little MLB on TV sometimes :)

Brad and I also enjoyed our morning together getting haircuts (no pics, though).

Friday, June 24 - We spent the morning cleaning out the playroom and we did GREAT! Bennett even chose a few Star Wars ships to sell at the consignment sale! Wow!

We took this picture of a rainbow on the way home from small group on Friday night - it's always a treat to see a rainbow.

Saturday, June 24 - CARS 2!! We had a great time at the movies with Nana!

Sunday, June 26 - Another rainy day. We've had a lot of rain recently and some of the storms have been really strong. I love a good thunderstorm :)

Monday, June 27 -Bennett has been loving his baseball lessons with Coach Robby.

Tuesday, June 28 - Bennett learned how to blow a bubble!! And he did it while waiting to see the pediatrician for a check-up :) His check-up was great too! He is 57 inches tall and 89 pounds. Tall and perfect! He wasn't happy about having to have his finger pricked, but he held it together and didn't cry. So brave...

Wednesday, June 29 - After a nice water gun fight, the boys did a few push ups :)

Thursday, June 30 - Bennett had been asking to go to McWane for a couple of weeks, and today was the day! We explored every inch, including the new zip line.

June 30 - picture #2 - He's in a bubble!!

I hope you've had a great June! I can't believe that July is here! This week I'm feeling very thankful for the time we get to spend together as a family... thankful that we like to be together :)

Project Life June 1-21

2011-06-21T21:55:00.000-05:00

Well, June is here! Today is the first day of summer, although it has been feeling like summer here for 2 months :) We are making the most of our time out of school... movies, friends, camps, VBS, family. You name it, we are enjoying it!

June 1- I know, we are a little behind the times, but we have officially discovered redbox DVD rentals. Love it! $1 per night!! Anyway, I thought it was so funny the way that Bennett was letting the curtain rest on his head! He cracks me up :)

June 2 - Mooma and Poopa came over for dinner and a friendly game of Life. Bennett and I made 'dirt cake'. YUM! Oh, and who says you can't sue your mother-in-law in Life? ;)

June 3 - Bennett's people that he created for Bible School. I am always amazed at his creativity and attention to detail. He's created 4 of these little guys - 2 baseball and 2 basketball players (Florida and Boston teams). He really doesn't want any help when he's creating, except if he needs a little help cutting something out or coloring big sections. Sometimes I'd like to help more than he lets me ;)

June 3 - Picture #2...Bennett's last day of soccer camp. He has loved it! I can't imagine loving anything that makes me sweat that much, but he doesn't mind one bit! His cool spray bottle fan helped cool him off.

June 3 - Picture #3... Bennett in the line to apply for his passport. Can you tell how excited he is??

June 4 - Water gun fight!!

June 5 - Our first swim in Gigi and Bubba's pool for 2011. Fun!

June 6 - The first day of VBS!! I was lucky to find Bennett when he was down in the craft area :) He told everyone 'Don't worry. That's just my mom. She takes pictures. All. The. Time.' Ha!

June 6 - Pic #2...Bennett tried a beat biscuit that I ordered for bookclub. He had them before when he was a baby, but he didn't remember. He likes them!! Must be that Rader blood running strong! :)

June 6 - Pic #3... this text to Brad (sent by Bennett) cracked me up.

June 7 - Jesus makes a difference everyday!

June 7 pic #2... Opening aseembly at VBS. Organized chaos. Loved by all ;)

June 8 - F-O-R-G-I-V-E-N beads for crafts.

June 8 pic #2 See Bennett's people up on the board? The kids brought in over $1700 for Sozo. Awesome!!

June 9 - The last day of VBS... this box represents all of the crafts from the week. I loved every minute!

June 10 - I love the necklace Bennett made. It is hanging in my car. I'm glad to remember that I'm forgiven...

June 11 - We're babysitting!!! Cousin love...

June 12 - Sadie. She doesn't get much blog time. She's often defiant and really hard to photograph :) She got groomed a couple of weeks ago and looks so pretty.

June 13 - Cousins again. Bennett can't wait until Evie starts playing with him! She sure does like looking at him :)

June 14 - These blocks have seen a lot of play time... They were mine when I was little and now that have transitioned into Star Wars fort makers...

June 15 - Happy Birthday Poopa! After a wonderful dinner, the boys enjoyed a quick frisbee game outside.

June 16 - We went to the $1 movie (How to Train Your Dragon). Bennett said 'Please don't take another picture' so this one will have to do. While snuggling at the movie, I realized why I love seeing movies with my boy so much. It's just me and him. No computers. No phones. Just time side by side. Love it.

June 17 - I can't get the 'June 17' overlay to work on this pic! While Brad was at work, Bennett and I organized his dresser for him. Bennett prepared the 'road signs' for him. Again, his creativity rocks!

June 17- pic #2... Bennett made this great little lego creation to display his new figures. one quadrant for each person.

June 19 - Happy Father's Day!!

June 19 - I got to ride in Dad's new car... niiiccceeee :)

June 20 - Dualing computers. ipad vs. macbook.

June 21 - While Bennett is at camp, I picked up treats for Sunday School Bible verse learners. I hope they all learn their verse: 'Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we can not see.' Hebrews 11:1.

I know it :)

Project Life May 16-31

2011-06-05T12:13:00.000-05:00

The last 2 weeks of May were packed with so many fun activities!! Honestly, it was hard to pick just one picture for some of these days :)

May 16 - Bennett is counting his funds for Disney World :)

May 17 - There is quite a story in getting this wonderfully sweet friend over to our house to play... it involved their teacher and a translator so that the parents could communicate. They had the BEST time. I wonder what they were talking about out there on the wall :)

May 18 - Talking zoo! Bennett was a tazmanian devil - complete with homemade costume designed by Bennett (and sewn by Nana :) His speech was fabulous - wanna hear it?

May 19 - We're in Disney! This trip will merit it's own post, but here's a picture from Thursday at Magic Kingdom. One of my favorite memories of this night is when Bennett gave his Winnie to Pooh trading pin to Pooh. Just because he wanted Pooh to have it. He is seriously a great kid :)

May 20 - The big day. Star Wars Weekend opening day. Here are the boys on our way into the newly redesigned Star Tours ride. It was awesome. As was the whole day.

May 21- Bennett chose to go to EPCOT on Saturday. He loved meeting Chip and Dale.

He really wanted to go back to the hotel and swim :)

May 22 - We headed back home on Sunday afternoon, but we spent the morning at Downtown Disney. Believe it or not, we didn't spend a dime in the lego store... we already have everything :)

May 23 - Bennett completed his own Disney scrapbook for show and tell. His sweet teacher allowed him to share his trip with the class on Wednesday. This was a very proud moment for this memory-keeping mom!

May 24 - I completed the book for Bennett's teacher. Each student filled out a right-hand page with information about 2nd grade and I took a picture of each student for the left hand side. This is Bennett's section... look at that cursive writing :)

May 25 - Class party day!! We celebrated with a Fiesta!! Here is Bennett with his wonderful teacher... we're really going to miss her!

May 26 - The last day of 2nd grade. Does he look a little excited? Also, please note all of those key chains on his backpack. Key chains are his 'thing' I think.

May 27 - On our way to visit the Wargos! Brad was able to get done with work around noon, so we got an earlier start than we thought. Traffic around ATL wasn't kind, but we made it there before our bedtime...

May 28 - S and Bennett. This picture is priceless. Every parent had told the kids 'no' to slushies... the next time we turned around, Brad was handing out money and the kids were thrilled! Look at those colorful tongues :) We had a good time at the music in the park - complete with a gourmet meal prepared by the guys.

May 29 - Another great meal on Sunday night - and a little good wine as well :) This is taken with my phone, so the quality is a little lacking.

May 30 - On the way home we made a detour to the Dwarf House - the original Chick-fil-a restaurant!! Bennett got the royal treatment, complete with a behind-the-scenes tour by Ross. It was a wonderful end to a great weekend. What a way to start our summer!

May 31 - Another cell phone pic :) We spent the afternoon with Nana and Evie and played Clue. Nana won both times... and was the murderer both times! Who me?? :)

Happy Summer!!

Project Life May 1-15

2011-06-01T21:09:00.000-05:00

Well. Hello, June! Where did May go? As I sat down to get my Project Life for the last half of May ready, I realized that the first part of May never got posted!! Yikes! Sorry about that - here you go :)

May 1- I'm knitting! This dish cloth was so exciting! Knitting and purling all in one item! I started this on Friday and finished it on Sunday! Now, can I bring myself to use it on countertops and dishes??

May 2 - Hmmm. No photo.

May 3 - Bennett wrote a letter to Luis, our little boy that we sponsor from South America. In other 'Luis' news, we just received news that they had originally recorded his birthdate wrong. Instead of May, 2002, he was born on April 1, 2003. Just 3 days before Bennett! We loved that news!

May 4 - Bennett wrote all of his spelling in cursive. He LOVES writing in cursive. This time last year, one of our greatest concerns was his neatness. What a difference a year makes! :)

May 5- I went to Bennett's class to help out with the reward shop that they have for good behavior. The kids had a blast spending their money (they earn a nickel a day for good behavior).Their teacher allowed them to play afterward... here Bennett is launching his army parachute guy from the loft.

May 6 - on the way into our neighborhood after school, Bennett said 'Look at the sky, Mommy! It is beautiful!' He was right - and I just happened to have a minute to stop in traffic to snap a picture :)

May 7 - I spent all day scrapbooking at a crop! The last time that I REALLY scrapbooked was last August. I got over 20 pages done! Here is one of our trip to Sonoma last fall.

May 7 - while I was scrapbooking, Bennett got to play pitcher! He was so happy :)

Other escapes that the boys took while I was away included Tree Top and a nice dinner out. I think that they can't wait for me to go again...

May 8 - A super exciting day! Evie was baptized!

May 8 - Mother's Day! I'm one lucky mommy :)

May 9 - Bennett's baseball team had their party after practice on Monday. Here he is with Coach Mel and his trophy. Please notice Bennett's 2 different colored socks. He did that on purpose...

May 9 - We played Kids vs. Parents kickball. The kids won :)

May 10 - The last week of spelling homework for 2nd grade!!

May 11 - Progress report. The last one of the year.

I couldn't be more proud :)

May 12 - Haircut day!

May 13 - After school Benentt and I shopped the Scholastic Book Fair. We even picked a book for Evie :)

May 14- The baseball tournament begins. And ends. (for us, anyway :) Bennett played his best this season. He is truly a good sport when it comes to baseball - and this Spring his love of the game has really exploded!

May 15 - We spent our morning at church, remembering the parable of the lost sheep. We spent the afternoon relaxing. A perfect Sunday!

Project Life April 16-30 plus I found it!!

2011-05-14T21:54:00.000-05:00

Here it is! The rest of April (and it's almost time for the first half of May! Whoa!)

Remember that last post... with the lost pictures?? I found one! It's April 12!!

Bennett wrote his own birthday 'thank you' notes again this year - this time in cursive! He LOVES writing in cursive! We had a few heated discussions about how many sentences make up a 'good' note... I lost. I love how he signed this one. It says 'truly, Bennett' :)

On the 16th we dyed Easter Eggs!

Our favorite eggs were the ones that looked like robins' eggs...

Nana provided all the supplies (including the eggs! :) Our favorite eggs were the ones that looked like robins' eggs...

April 17 - Palm Sunday. I'm surprised those palm branches had any leaves on them by the time they got down the aisle :) The kids did a great job singing.

April 18 - Our weeknight baseball game. Bennett played great :)

We made treats for Bennett's class on the 19th.

He thought of these catchy little sayings for the cards :)

April 20 - Dinner at Moe's before church. Gotta love the cookie!

(Can you tell he's not that into getting his picture taken for this project???)

April 20 - A backpack gem today! It is titled 'Winter's Last Roar'. It says 'I am happy Spring is here because Evie is coming! Oh, so is my birthday. Spring Break is just around the corner! So is the Resurrection of Christ (Easter)! I am sad because STAR WARS THE CLONE WARS season 3 Finale is coming soon on April 1st. I have more ways that I am happy! It is baseball season now. It is finally here. I can play outside too. I love Spring.

Love it!

April 22 - We got 2 new bunnies for our Easter decorations.

April 23 - We attended Church of the Highlands' Riverchase Campus for their evening Easter service.

Happy Easter!!

April 25 - Bennett had THE BEST PRACTICE EVER!!!! tonight. I haven't seen him so happy after a practice for a long time. Maybe ever. I love his enthusiasm :)

April 26 - Evie came over for a visit while Ang got her haircut.

We chatted about girl things.

April 26 (pic 2) - Bennett wanted new shoes.

He wanted them so much that he was willing to get 'tie' shoes AND pay part of the price. We ended up going with the one on the left :)

April 27 - Terrible weather all day long.

April 28 - Look what was in the paper!!

That's our patio there right above the phone number.

April 29 - Bennett's class' Fun Friday activity was creating care packages for people displaced by the terrible tornadoes that hit our state. It was a great way for the kids to help; they made handmade cards too.

April 30 - Star Wars night at the Barons'.

I'm not sure why my face looks so odd on this picture, but the boys look great! We had a fun night, even though the game was a little slow :)

I hope your April was fabulous! I'll have May up in a few days - more or less!

truly,

Amy

Project Life April 1-15

2011-04-24T21:31:00.001-05:00

I know, I know... I'm late with these pictures! The truth is that I have had these done and ready to post, but I was missing 2 days and it was driving me crazy. I'm not sure what happened on those 2 days - why didn't I take a picture? The perfectionist in me just didn't want to have a missing day - or 2!!

Anyway, I found one day (on my phone!)... and the other day, well, that's life, right?? Sometimes you just don't get it done, but life goes on. Thank goodness for second chances, right? :)

So, here's the first half of our April...

April Fools!! No one got fooled today and we celebrated at Chick-fil-@. Bennett had several ELABORATE pranks in mind, but I just wasn't motivated enough to drain the gas from Brad's vehicle, so we just talked about it :) HA!

On the 2nd, the Red Sox played the Yankees. The Yankees won, but Bennett said that it was ok, since we lost to his best friend :)

Birthday party time!! We celebrated Bennett's 8th birthday at the bowling alley. It was great! He had 10 friends and the alley did all the work (except for the cupcakes that I made :) The best part... seeing him so happy!

After the bowling party, we had the family over for dinner and cookie cake. The meal? A Z@xby's nibbler platter!! Since the moment we saw the platter advertised, he's wanted one, so his birthday was the perfect chance. YUM!

The REAL day! April 4 - Bennett's day! This day is filled with '8 years ago...' memories for all of us :) Eight years ago we the best day ever!

We celebrated all day long! I brought bagels for his class' snack... look at his face while they sang to him!

April 5 - bath time!

April 6 - working on legos (the most popular (and appropriate!!) birthday gift!)

(By the way - the last lego was completed on the 19th!)

BOOSTERTHON!! We love Boosterthon's Funrun! I know it's cheesy, but I get a little teary when they start running and having so much fun! Bennett ran all 35 laps this year (plus 5!)

Hanging out. Bennett loves the zoom feature of the camera... we're just lucky that we got most of Brad's head :)

We've had a tough season, but Bennett's had a great time! He's hitting well, and making it around the bases as often as he can! Here he is on 3rd base :)

12 years. He's put up with me for 12 years :) We celebrated with a wonderful dinner at Flemmings.

April 11. A meal at home, which is rare these days... I set the camera up and said 'ok, just ignore the camera and act normal'. Bennett couldn't stand it! This picture makes me laugh :)

April 12 - hmmm. What did we do that day and night? Not sure :) In my book I'll include a note about our lenten promise of no tv after 5 PM.

He's safe!!!

He loves to tell me that I'll need to wash his pants because he had to slide :)

April 14 - Brad and I taught the cub scouts tonight about marbles. Did you know we were marble experts? No? You can learn a lot from the internet... plenty to pass on to 8 year olds :)

April 15 was a CRAZY day! I was the Mystery Reader, but bad weather was approaching, so school got out early. The class had an early lunch, I activated the emergency calling tree for the parents, and we squeezed in a few books at the end. Bennett wanted to read :)

April is an important month for our family! April always brings a smile and many fond memories :)

Project Life March 21- 31

2011-04-02T08:33:00.000-05:00

Wow! How can March be over all ready?? 2011 is flying by!! Here is the rest of our month in pictures :)

We had one extra day for Spring Break, so we headed out to TRU to look for a few new action figures that Bennett has been looking for. They didn't have them. Bennett, while *trying* to find something that he could buy said 'The only problem is that I have all of this already.' That's a problem, all right :)

He made a good choice and decided not to spend his money at TRU, so we went to Build-a-bear and made 'Darth Bear'. Cute :)

Our backyard makeover is complete! They started on the 11th and got finished on the 22nd. We love it!

On the 23rd I finished up my medication for the shingles (which I got over Spring Break :( I'm so glad that we caught it early - I've heard terrible stories about how bad it can be!

On the 24th Bennett got a haircut and we went out to eat. Here he is showing off his cheeto lips :)

March 25- no picture, but I'll include Bennett's report card which was perfect!

Our 2nd baseball game - and we were killed! Yikes. Bennett had fun playing :)

We visited Evie (and Gigi and Bubba!) after church. Bennett gave Evie her birthday party invitation too!

Bennett lost another tooth! (the right incisor!)

On the 29th I got to spend the morning snuggling Evie...

and the afternoon at the Boosterthon pep rally. It was SO much fun - they are really a great team to work with. The kids LOVE it! I love this picture because it says so much about Bennett (he's in the orange shirt, sitting down). You see, the Boosterthon guys asked all of the children to sit on their bottoms. No one could keep it on the floor... except for Bennett. He follows the rules. Even if it means that he can't see what's going on. I love him! (Don't worry - he had plenty of fun! :)

This little gem came home in the red folder on the 30th. Hilarious!

March 31 - the day we won!!! :) Look at the expression on his face after knocking the ball across the field! Love it! The boys were so excited!

See you in April!! No foolin'!

Project Life March 1-20

2011-03-23T14:01:00.000-05:00

Bennett's art show was on March 1. He worried that I might not like it - it was the most beautiful art work I've ever seen!

March 2 was the Living History Museum at school. Bennett was Charles M. Schultz and he did a GREAT job!

I complained (a little bit :) that we didn't have any daffodils in our yard a few days ago. SURPRISE!! We went outside this week and found some that Brad's dad planted for us last year. I love flowers!

Baseball practice... over and over and over again! He loves it - so I do too!

Brad worked all day long on paperwork for his church committee. He got it done!

Serious about the computer (and trying to ignore the camera in his face :)

He's learning cursive!! Please note the middle line - 'i love my parents' :)

The cub scouts too a field trip to the pet store. I think that our tour guide earned double that night!!

The daffodils again - with my NEW LENS! :)

Ash Wednesday. A super crowded service. Remembering the sacrifice make for me.

On the 10th we had a fun field trip to the zoo with Bennett's class. We were lucky that Brad got to spend some time with us too!

Finally - Evie is here! March 11 was a great day for a precious little girl! Bennett got to leave school early to visit her - a great beginning to Spring break :)

Bennett is the BEST at lego games! This is Anakin - great job!

We're getting the backyard worked on (started on the 11th) and had to move the grill out to the side. Brad grilled a delicious dinner for us!

We had a great surprise visit from Pa on Monday - and there was a friendly game of Mario played. I *think* that Pa got his tail beat...

Bennett can't wait to hold his little cousin. She's adorable.

When we got home from practice, Bennett said that he needed to do something. He was gone for a while, and I found him putting our cross in the yard. He was so proud. I'm thankful for his thoughtfulness.

Happy St. Patrick's day!

Our date night tonight was pizza and yogurt. What more could I ask for?? :)

The backyard is not quite done... but it's good enough for a lightsaber duel!!

Brad surprised us this morning with a solo during church. What a wonderful surprise!

Project Life February 10-28

2011-03-01T20:25:00.000-06:00

How can it already be March? Wow! 2011 is already flying by... I always seem to think that the next stage in life will be less busy, but it never seems to work out that way. I am thankful for all of the fun that we can have together - even in the everyday-ness of things.

Below are the pictures for the rest of February. Enjoy!

A day of REAL snow. And they didn't cancel or even delay school! Booo! The boys got out and played for a few minutes, though. Thank goodness the boys are early-risers :)

Today Bennett brought home this great drawing. It sat on the counter for a while until I turned it over and found this:

Priceless.

The Mercedes Marathon! Bennett ran the first 25 miles at school throughout the year and completed the final mile this morning. I'm so proud of him! He jogged the whole way... and no complaints about hurting legs this time :)

I didn't get a picture of it, but he was met at the finish line by Aubie. Woohoo!

On the way back to the car he was fascinated with the signs along the that detailed the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham. He stopped and read each sign with interest. They had been learning about it in school, so this was super cool to see in our own city.

I was reminded of his innocence. He has no idea that anyone would be treated differently for the way that they look. He came home from school a few days ago and asked me if I had known that some people were treated differently because their skin was brown. The thought had never crossed his mind. I am thankful for that.

Finally! A baby shower for Gigi that Bennett can attend! He was so excited to be able to help Gigi open the gifts for Evie (and to have the cake!) We can't wait for Evie to get here!

Happy Valentine's Day! Bennett got a few action figures, a M&M dispenser and an Auburn magazine.

Brad got a homemake chocolate cake.

And I got these beautiful roses... just like the one that Brad brought me on our first date:)

As we walked downstairs this morning to go to carpool, Bennett said 'You know what mom? When I wear jeans I feel confident!' I love that! He looks so handsome in his jeans - and to think, just a year ago he fought me tooth-and-nail when I tried to get him to wear them. He sure is growing up!

First baseball practice! We have a new coach and a new team! Here's hoping for a great season!

Brad and I took a walk this morning together. We dreamed about the house that we'll build someday. Brad is drawing up some plans... we'll work on the plans for the next 20 years or so to get it just right :)

My jedi waits for me at the bottom of the hill. No Sith will be able to get to the house with this guard on watch!

Brad left for Montana this afternoon...

and Bennett got his first 'fat lip' at practice :(

This afternoon Bennett had his friend Hughes over to play. As they were leaving, Hughes mentioned that he was saving his money up for a Ph1ten necklace. Bennett said 'Hold on just a minute!' and ran to get Hughes the necklace that he had bought for himself with his Christmas money. So sweet!

He lost a tooth! (with a little help from that ball that caused the fat lip!)

Cheetos for dinner! He was so excited - we NEVER have cheetos in our house...

This afternoon we had a haircut right after school. We stopped at Edgars to get a snack and do our homework. Then we were off to baseball practice. Busy day!

My daily view from carpool line.

Bennett had to wear 'nice clothes' for the fieldtrip to see a muscial today. He wasn't happy about the 'nice clothes' part, but he sure did look nice :)

Brad came home from Montana! (with a new hat!) We were REALLY glad to have him back home!

Happy Birthday Nana!!

Bennett's children's choir sang at a nursing home. They did a great job!

I love my phone!