This crazy week...........

OK........I want to start off by saying I really am glad to have our school routine back. However, I don't feel like I get to "visit" with the kids as much! Jill and Thomas get off the bus around 4 and Grant gets home around 5.......then I am trying to help with homework, get dinner ready, eat dinner, have everyone bathe and set out their clothes for the next day, read bedtime stories, brush teeth and THATS IT! They are in bed and we do it all over again. We do get to visit for a little while when the kids get home and, of course, during dinner......but it just isn't the same as in the summer where we let the kids stay up late, sleep late, and then took them to Cooky's late. Jonathan and I both office out of our home, so on the days that Cooky came here, we could see the kids some at least! I guess I could quit my job and home school........but I dont think that is my calling (I am borrowing your phrase, Lorie!).
The kids started school on Monday. That morning my sweet husband reminded me that in 10 years, Jill will be at ACU. Where has the time gone? Jill also got her ears pierced the day before school started---she looks so cute. I am still shocked that she actually wanted to do it......she is starting to like SOME girly things again, and that has been fun for me!
Yesterday she got bit by something that made her arm swell up pretty bad. I took her to the Dr today and he said that it was a spider or a Mexican beetle. A WHAT??????? I know........I know........it sounds crazy. Personally, I think it was probably a spider or something. She now has an antibiotic to get rid of the fever from the bite, an excuse for PE (she was not thrilled about that one), and more Benadryl. He did say that she could still wash dishes, clean her room, participate in the Westfest parade on Sat morning (has to be there ready to go at 7:30!!), and go to Westfest. She was glad about that one.
Thomas is off to a good start in First Grade. He has not gotten in trouble and is doing his homework. The funny thing about Thomas is that he think he has to look "just so" every morning. He gets that from his mean ol' Daddy! He has also started spiking his hair in the front just a little.....it is cute. I know that Amy and Shelley would post cute pics here, but I just am not patient enough to wait while they attach.
West has a youth football program and Jonathan is going to sponsor a team and BE THE COACH. hilarious. He coached Varsity sports for 10 years and now has begun to be the little league coach. I never ever thought he would do it, but I think it has been good for him and for the boys. They can both be on his team because 4-7 yr olds are in the same league. Jill also wants to play.......I had to explain that it is for boys only. She can be a cheerleader for the team......they do have those.......Shelley, we will need lessons.......quick! : )
Grant has had a good week being back in the Cooky School routine. However, Ms. Cooky did fall on Tuesday morning during her normal 3 mile walk in the dark like at six am. She ended up fracturing one of her ankle bones and has to have an air cast for a while. She still thought that she would be able to keep up with G though......He even gave her some tips like "Take a flashlight and shine it right in front of you where you walk". Thanks, Grant.
On Wednesday morning of this week we went to a service for a baby (Peyton Brooke Huffhines) of some friends of ours that was stillborn. I have not been to a service for a child since our sweet niece Maddie died in 1999. HEARTBREAKING. I feel very blessed to have had 3 healthy pregnancies and 3 healthy babies.
Please pray for our friends, David and Misty Huffhines, and their other daughters Makenzie, Ashton, and Kyndall. They need it desperately.
One day this week J and I applied for passports. : ) He is on track to earn a cruise for his job. It will be next summer and will go to Western Europe. Everyone keep your fingers crossed.
Jonathan played in a softball game tonight in Waco and the kids and I went to cheer him on. I don't think I have EVER watched him play a sport.....when we met he wasnt playing football at ACU or Angelo State anymore......He did a good job........despite that fact that he was 10 yrs older than most of the other players!
Cooky and her husband are on their way to the coast tonight, so G and I are going to hang out tomorrow. I am looking forward to it. I still have to do some work tomorrow, but I am going to set myself a time limit!
All the kids and I are going to Westfest tomorrow night for armband night while J goes to the football game in Salado. He does not miss a game.....and he ordered College Game Day on the Dish.....can anyone say football widow??????? That's me.........and I thought that was all over when he stopped coaching! ha
Saturday we have the parade in the morning and a birthday party and Hannah marching in Waco that night. There will be another party on Sunday night after church........on Monday we hope to rest! Labor Day is great, isnt it? I guess those who are not off dont think so.......
Its 11 pm now........I am turning into a pumpkin......goodnight all!

AUGUST 24??????????

Where did August go? We have been BUSY! I have done 6 "Back to School" meetings at various schools in Region 12 plus one at Grandview today. I have seen lots of teachers these last 2 weeks and I can honestly say that I do not miss teaching at this point. I still have my little K-3 Bible Class on Sunday mornings.......that is enough for me!

Grant Alton Davis did turn 5 on August 8. Lets see......5 things I love about Grant..........his smile, his love for Thomas and Jill, his personality, how excited he gets when he wins a Playstation football game, and his white blond hair...........I will post some pics of his Dallas Cowboy party when I have more time to wait for the pics to attach. Y'all know it really drives me crazy waiting on it.

Did you notice my no braces pic? (It looks a little distorted once I put it on the blog......????? any helpful hints for that out there?) I found a photographer I love......www.brighammayfield.com......he is in Waco and his business is called Artistic Images by Brigham Mayfield. He did a family shoot for us at Tonkawa Falls in Crawford last week. The pics from that are amazing!

Is anyone visiting this year for Westfest? It is coming up......Jill's softball team is in the parade this year for winning state. She is SO excited.

We also found out who the kids' teachers will be....Jill got Mrs. Janek; Thomas got Mrs. Huse; and Grant will still have Ms. Cooky for one more year! (We opted for no K this year for him.......we don't want him going to ACU just barely turning 18 before his freshman year.) Thinking of ACU.......is anyone going to Homecoming? I think we are going this year.
I have not been to KJK breakfast in a few years........actually I do not think I have been since Grant was born! I'm a terrible Kojie! Jill did ask to see my drop the other day so we got it out.......Lets just hope that they all want to go there. Jonathan and I loved it!

School starts next week! WOW! Time flies.........wish I was on the beach.

A day at the beach is worth a month in town..........

The saying above is on a sign that I bought while we were in Galveston last week. I love the beach..........walking in the sand, the waves, the sound of the water, reading under an umbrella.........I miss it already.

We left last Monday and met Jonathan's brother Tim and his family in Cameron and drove the rest of the way following one another. All the girls in one suburban....boys in the other.........there were 5 of each so it worked out perfectly! Some of Tim and Jennifer's friends from church were also in Galveston and invited us (all 10 of us!) over for dinner. It was very sweet of them and the food was great. The kids were so excited to be there.....after dinner I took all the kids to the beach a little ways down from where we ate dinner. They still had their clothes on---no swimsuits underneath. I told them they could put their feet in----what was I thinking? Thomas, Jill, and Grant were soaked within 5 minutes!

I was mad at the time because they did not mind me, but now I am over it. They had been in the car all day waiting for the beach and then we take them to a stranger's house for dinner and expect them to wait some more?!! Of course they all said....."It was an accident. The waves came up on me!" or Grant's excuse was that he just fell in. WHATEVER!

So they had to sit on the porch of the Rasco's house until they dried off.....their ice cream and brownie were delivered to the back porch and they were to stay there until their clothes had dried. NO FUN for anyone...including me.

We got to the beach house we rented and it was great. I highly recommend it to any of you that need lots of room on vacation. You can look at the house on http://www.sandnsea.com/ it is called "waves" on Pirates Beach. It was the 6th house away from the beach---totally within walking distance for frequent bathroom trips, snacks, forgotten towels, sunscreen, another Diet Coke, etc.

We played on the beach......the kids built castles for the hermit crabs they found, a pond for the minnows they caught, they tried to bury each other in the sand, played with the dogs belonging to other beachgoers, looked for shells, boogie boarded, floated, and jet skiied. The jet skis were probably the most fun thing......if we dont remember that the suburban got stuck in the mud (TWICE) while trying to get the trailer out of the water (the wrecker was only called once {$180} and the fact that Luke crashed, Jonathan/Thomas wiped out while trying to run into the pelicans going 40 mph, and Jonathan/Grant wiped out (well really Jonathan fell off because Grant pushed the gas while Jonathan was trying to fix his hat while they were stopped). All were OK and I am glad that I only heard about, and did not witness, all of the above mentioned activities. Notice that none of the girls crashed or wiped out! We went fast, but were careful!!! All of us were sore the next day from having to hold on so tightly----it was worth it though!

We also spent a day at the Space Center in Houston. It was interesting---I was amazed at how big the Space Shuttles are---I guess when you watch it on TV you don't get the whole magnitude of it all. The kids enjoyed it, too.

Jonathan and the kids also went to the Flight Museum, the Submarine exhibit, and the Railroad Museum. I went to the Strand for a little shopping! I did find a fun store called the Funky Monkey....check it out at http://www.funkymonkeygalveston.com/ That is where I bought the wall hanging in the title and one that says "I Love You to the Moon and Back" to hang in the hall by the kids' bathroom. I love that book, too, and have read it to the kids often.

Tim, Jennifer, Jonathan and I played Cards and Marbles. Its a game that Jennifers parents got them started on and we always play it at their house and they brought it for all of us to play. Hannah and Luke played some, too. Grant wanted to challenge everyone to a game of Yahtzee or Connect Four. He is pretty good at both of them---loving that he beat Uncle Tim, Luke, and Hannah!

There were also 5 TVs in the house......it was great at nighttime.........no fighting over Hannah Montana or ESPN!!!!!

Hannah and Luke kept the kids one night and the adults went to see "Bourne Ultimatum". It was good.....

I guess it's back to reality now......I leave on Wednesday (Grants 5th bday) to go to a Horace Mann meeting in Lubbock.....at least I get to fly!

I will be back Friday night and Jennifer is having a garage sale on Sat in Temple, so I will probably take some stuff over for that!