First day of School

Olivia starts Second Grade and Tyler Starts Kindergarten! The school parking lot was packed, of course, for the first day, but luckily, I pulled into the last spot on the left... Score (or so I thought - I'll revisit that thought in a minute).

So we head into school, hand in hand (except I scooted ahead to get a pic)

The kids knew right where to go to get to their classes, and had a great time jumping in to their new groove. Olivia was slightly reluctant, but I think it was just for the attention.  She (they both) ended up having a wonderful day.

So on my way out, to rush to school in order to make it in time for MY first day, I find that some JERK has parked her jeep suv right behind my car! I was IRATE! I'll spare you the details, and my ugly thoughts, but about 10 minutes later, she came out and left.  I was a little late, but didn't miss my morning duty or anything like that, so in the end, it turned out okay. I also had a good first day of school :)

Four Wheeling Fun and growing up TOO fast!

We wanted to get the kids good and tired today so they'd fall asleep at a decent time to be ready for their first day of school tomorrow. We had a great time at church, Olivia and I got hair cuts, yummy pizza for lunch, had a family date to the movies to see the Smurfs (which was awesome), swung by Old Navy for a couple more shirts (polos for 5 bucks), picked a watermelon out of our back yard, and headed down to Lindsey and Matt's for some four wheeling fun :). Both kids are doing great with the four wheeler, so much so that Junior agreed to let Tyler drive their fourwheeler through the neighborhood. Olivia was content just to ride with her daddy :).

Did I mention that it was also RAINING but they wanted to keep riding :)? They had a blast! They came in, ate dinner, bathed, brushed their teeth, and they were fast asleep withing 20 minutes of hitting the pillow :)

Day before school starts success!! Tomorrow morning, we will have a kindergartener and a second grader!!!!!! I couldn't be more proud ;)

Fun at Pawpaw's Auction

Olivia and Tyler love to go to their Pawpaw's auction.  Its every Friday and Saturday night at 7 at the Highway 11 Auction across the street from Jackson County High School. They have so many interesting things that come through there, and so many different and interesting people.  I usually buy a thing or two, but even if you don't find that one thing that you're just dying to have, its still worth going!

They also have DELICIOUS MILKSHAKES!!

Just another day in Paradise :)

Last night when we got home from dinner with the McCoys, the kids decided to go to bed with their bathing suits on so they'd be ready for the lake this morning.  Tyler comes in my room at 7:30 AM...... Ready to go! So we packed up while we waited for Olivia to wake up and got our party started.  I knew I wanted to take the kids to get a couple of outfits for school some time today, and when I read on my coupon (imagine that, me with a coupon) that Kohl's opened at 7, I decided that shopping before the lake would be the best way to go.
We got SO MUCH STUFF and saved SO MUCH MONEY!! I got some new Nikes for teaching PE this year, and some Nike Gym Shorts for me, 2 shirts and 2 pairs of shorts, a ten pack of panties, and some sandals for Olivia, 2 tee shirts that came with toys (guess who those were for), some plaid shorts, a 4 pack of boxers, a 6 pack of underwear, and some Levi's for Tyler. Are you ready for the total?...?...?... Do you have a tally in your head yet???..... $114. I saved almost 300 bucks, and spent a little over a hundred.  That's a successful shopping trip if you ask me!
We made it to the lake and there were actually people in the little guard shack thing, and they wanted me to pay them 4 dollars to play in the lake.... which is down like 9 feet from the beginning of the summer.  I didn't stay.  I told the kids we could play in the mud at home for free and I wasn't paying 4 bucks to do something I've been doing for free for 2 years!  So we went down the street to a different beach.  I don't like it as much, but for free, it will do just fine! And, since the water was down so low, we could wade out to a little island which was pretty cool until we got out there and saw that the entire island was covered with goose poop.  It was pretty gross, so we didn't stay long, but it was a new experience all the same. We went back over to the beach, settled into our spot, did a little swimming and a little snacking, and played until lunch time.

I LOVE this expression! This is MY MAN and I'm HIS GIRL!

Later, he was looking for a place to sit, and got a little creative :-)

You can tell from the picture that the beach is not what it used to be... but hopefully it will be better next year.

When we got home, we opened the door to the most delicious smell of garlic and pork roast. I put it in the crock pot before we left, so when we got home, lunch was served :). The whole thing fell apart while I was trying to slice it! It was SO good.  Olivia had a sandwich, Tyler dipped his in bbq sauce, and I dipped out some of the drippings and made gravy for junior and I to have with our pork and rice.  It was phenominal!! Can't wait to have the leftovers :).

After lunch, the kids and I snuggled up in my bed (we all took showers before that) and had a delightful afternoon nap in the comfort of our air conditioned home with the cool breeze of the ceiling fan overhead.

I don't think it gets much better than this, and I couldn't help but to take a few minutes to give thanks for these wonderful blessings and to say a prayer for those less fortunate.  It could easily be me in a homeless shelter, or not having money to pay for our home and the modern comforts, but its not.... which led me to giving MORE thanks for hard working parents who taught me right from wrong, and have always supported me.  They taught me to work hard and keep my priorities in order. I am heartbroken over people who don't have loving Christian homes to prepare them for good lives.  I don't know how I got so lucky, but I sure am glad I did :).

Times change, but love remains the same!

Friday night, my family got together for dinner with a family we've known and loved forever but haven't seen in a while.  Actuallly, I don't think we've ever just hung out like we did Friday night.  When we first met, they were a family of 4, Lynn, Greg, Seth, and Saul, and we were a family of 4, Kent, Janice, Jessica, and Lindsey.... over the years, they added Maggie to their family, then with the addition of a few others, we are now Kent, Janice, Lindsey and Matt, Jessica, Junior, Olivia, and Tyler, and they are now Greg, Lynn, Maggie, Saul and Catherine, Seth, Ashley, and Silas.  Things sure have changed in our families, but man oh man did we enjoy hanging out and fellowshiping with one another.

And since I'm talking about love throughout the years, my children sure do LOVE their Daddy's Old Chevy!

Its Official

My school year has officially begun.  I have a sign over my door and everything.  The week of pre-planning was great.  As with anything, there were some setbacks, and somethings that weren't as wonderful as I was thinking they would be, but all in all, I'm set up for a great year!!! Great facility, Great equipment, Great Colleagues, and some Great leaders in place.  I'm excited to get this party started Monday :).

Vocabulary Confusion....

A little background info:

Olivia and I were talking about boobies today, and I introduced her to the word "Nipple"
Olivia had a bump on the end of her nose, and Lindsey introduced her to the word "Pimple"

The story:

I was tucking Olivia into bed, by the flickering light of the television, and noticed something on the end of her nose that looked like dry skin in the poor lighting.  I went to pull the dry skin off, and Olivia hollers, "Ow! Quit picking at that.  That's my nipple!"

HA! Learning is SO fun!