Third Grade Field Day

Parachute Fun

Water Races
Fry the Chicken Relay
Balance Something........can't remember the name of this one
J and two of her friends.........these 3 have been together since Mothers Day Out!!

First Grade FIeld Day

SOOOOOOOO Field Day was on 5/21........we've been a little busy!

T and his friend......silly!

Potato Race
Did you know that noodles double as javelins????
Starburst Racing
Olympic Torch Race......

And the new American Idol is.........

DAVID COOK!

He had me when he sang Billie Jean.

If you haven't heard it, you can find it on youtube.

I tried to put it on here, but am not that technologically inclined.

YAY! I cannot wait for his album! : )

NEW LOOK!

Thank you simplyshelleydesigns.blogspot.com for the new look! I h-e-a-r-t it! The European trip countdown is now on! J and I will actually be looking at the Eiffel Tower this year on our 12th anniversary!
What could be more romantic than that!!??

Lady's Monthly Column.........

Accentuate the positive: beyond the media

If we desire hope, happiness and contentment, weshould consider limiting our media intake.A small dose of the media theatrics convinces us that,at the least, our world is filled with idiots(pictures for proof), and at the most, we are doomed-- as a nation, as a world.It's enough to make us restless night and day.These are trying times. As a nation, we are anxious.We are at war. We have a major election.We ask questions that have bitterly divisive answers.Chaos abounds. Or -- so we're told.In the wings of our enormous world stage, out of thespotlight and in the quietness of personal lives, I'mprivileged to witness laughter, bravery anddetermination.Most folks live their lives with underlying strengths:• The daughter who willingly left her home and abetter-paying job in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex,to move in with her ailing mother, giving comfort andcare -- the strength in commitment.• The church family that gathers round, lovinglyholding the new baby who, unexpectedly, was born withdisabilities; the road the parents expected and theone for which they prepared won't be the one theytravel, but theirs will be a safe arrival. An entirebody of sojourners will travel with them -- thestrength in numbers.• The men and women who visit the nearby prison,bringing friendship, wisdom and encouragement to thosewho are incarcerated -- the strength in hope.• The husband who takes a second job, without whining,to care for the needs of his family -- the strength inresponsibility.• The teacher who imparts information and the studentswho grasp it, making it their own -- the strength inknowledge.• The mommy who snuggles and reads with her littleones at bedtime, despite being bone-tired -- thestrength in routine.• Volunteers who, in countless numbers, providenecessary goods for those in need, as well as improvequality of life for all of us -- the strength inservice.• The woman, unable to get out and about herself, usesher skill of writing, sending letters to those whocherish them -- the strength in encouragement.• The family running with the "cussed" wind of late,as it lifts their brightly colored kite higher andhigher among the whoops of the children far below --the strength in joy.• The retired preacher, whose strong voice once filledone of the largest churches in town, continues to walkhand in hand with his wife of 62 years as togetherthey continue to walk hand in hand with God -- thestrength in faith.The list goes on and on.Let's not believe, not for one moment, the voices thatsay there is no more love or character.Serious issues encompass our world, but let's look andlisten with discernment. We can see and hear forourselves.It's tempting to accept the opinions of those whospeak with authority, easy to doubt our personalinfluence in the whole scheme of things.Author Phillip Brooks believed differently; he wrote,"No man or woman can really be strong, gentle, pureand good without the world being better for it."At the least, and at the most, we can be a solutionfor the world in which we live, individually andcollectively.Perhaps we are stronger, bolder and more resilientthan we are being told we are ... by those who don'tknow us.Betty Davis is a freelance writer in Abilene andregular columnist. She is a former Abilene publicschool board president.

MONKEY BOYS!

Here they are.......our monkey boys. T is at J's softball game, G is on Uncle Tim's back.

(Notice PeiWei in the background.........yum!) We met Tim and family there on Sat night for dinner. Luke was not feeling too great, so after dinner, they went back to Temple and we decided to try to find Jillybean a swimsuit. Shopping with a PICKY 9 yr old is not pleasurable.

We went to every (EVERY) store in Richland Mall that has swimsuits.......none of them were what she wanted, which is a "surfer" shirt and board shorts. OH MY. We left with nothing and with me telling her that she might want to reconsider her pickiness, especially since the water park opens next week and J set up our pool yesterday. We are ready for SUMMER!

********Any recommendations on a self tanner that wont look orange??**********

5 Yr Old Field Trip

Lorie and her 5 yr old..........


The 5 yr old field trippers....................
Me and my 5 yr old.........................the 5 yr olds needed sunglasses. The moms needed shoes.
We all needed a field trip!
*I dont know what happened to the pics. The top 3 were supposed to be at the bottom. I dont know how to fix them, so this post is a little out of order!*


What could be better than lunch at............................

and shopping at......................

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

I dont know either! LOL

Homestead Heritage Trip

Here are some pics from T's Field Trip last week to Homestead Heritage. It is a self sustaining farm that has 500+ acres. The people that live here try to do all things on the farm-----the "old fashioned" way. It was an interesting trip........and it was HOT!

Here is my Sweet Babboo showing me that two pieces of gum was not too much for his mouth.

This is a shaving of wood that the woodworker passed around to the kids. He showed them how to make a rough piece of wood smooth with some tool.........sorry I dont remember the name of it.......he told the kids he had been woodworking since he was their age.
This was one of the fields we passed while on the hayride..........the horse drawn hayride.
The people at this farm make ice cream! T was happy about that!
The blacksmith.......he was a high school aged boy........showed the kids how he makes things using heat and tools. This is also the same boy who T asked later if they played football at the farm---he said no---just volleyball---T does not want to live here for sure.
It was a fun trip. After all of this is when we went to Brownwood last week. My posts are kind of out of order!

More Baseball..........

Sometimes I wonder why we do the things we do. Friday, for example, why would we drive to Brownwood to watch a high school playoff baseball game when we have to be at our field at 8 am Saturday morning to watch Jill? The answer is..........family.

Addie's husband, Jeremy, is the baseball coach in Hawley. His team was playing in Brownwood......so after a long HOT day with Thomas at his field trip (more on that later), we packed up and headed out. We met Tim, Hope, and Hannah in Gatesville so we could all ride together. (Jennifer and Luke were at 6 Flags)

Here is Addie with the girls and Moseley. I dont know why H kept on putting the water bottle in front of her face!

Addie and Moseley.......this is the brother to our dog, Love.
Lady and some of the grandkids.
Lady and Tim.........where is my picture of Grandad??
A funny pic of me and Jill.........doesnt really have anything to do with the Brownwood story....just a cute pic.


Of course the top picture of Underwoods had to be included! We ate dinner there........yum.

We even saw some of our friends from Sweetwater that were on their way back home from the state golf tournament. Small world.

Programs, Eggs, and Clouds

The third graders performed at the PTO meeting last night. They sang 5 different songs and even did a line dance! It was pretty cute. Sorry about the unclear pic......it was from my phone from about 4 rows back with me holding it straight up to take the pic. I am certain the other parents thought I was insane!

There are now 5 eggs in the nest on our front porch. The momma of these eggs lets Jonathan pet her. Isn't that weird?? We call him the Bird Whisperer. I am going to try to get a video or a pic of it soon.

This is just a pic of the clouds tonight on our way home from church. Thomas asked what would happen if we dropped a person on the top of the cloud-----he was disappointed with the answer of "SPLAT"! It does look like a good pillow though.........HAPPY REST OF THE WEEK!

Racing........well......kind of!

Here we are.....the racers.....at the Race for the Cure! Lorie and I signed up for the one mile WALK. We dont run.....yet. Neither of us had ever done anything like this before---we had no idea what to expect. We got there early this morning...this cold morning...not knowing where to go or what to do!
One of our new trainers from the workout place said.....Oh dont worry---we will find each other while there. YEAH RIGHT. There were a thousand people there. So Lorie and I walked together......amazed at the whole thing. I walked thinking about my friend Laura from Sweetwater that survived breast cancer and hoping that she was being honored at her local race.



This is one view of the racers in front of us. There were men, women, children walking, children is strollers, and dogs. We even saw one dog with a Hooters shirt on. Too tacky to even take a picture of.

These guys were revving their engines as we all walked by. It was LOUD. We did see one girl biker with GREAT arms. She was muscled up----Lorie and I will look like her someday. It will take a few more Bodypump Classes for that.

This is the view from the other bridge that we crossed. I wish my camera phone had a zoom on it, but I guess you can kinda see the racers. AMAZING.

We had a good time. After it was over----we both had stuff to do. My next stop was STARBUCKS then off to baseball games. *****Jill even hit a legitimate home run today---it wasn't even due to errors on the field! WAY TO GO sister. We are proud of you!******