May- A Review in Pictures

Brewers Baseball- Avery's game face.

Fun with the Smith girls

Fun with the Traywick boys

More fun with the Traywick boys

My sweet boys on Mothers Day

Geocaching

Geocaching in the woods

Using Jim's Iphone as a compass

The big mitten for Avery's school play

Field Day at Avery's school- Javelin Throw

Good Friends

Happy 40th Saundra!

Soccer Season coming to a close

Coach Mickey and the Little Owls

Avery's 2nd grade Author's Tea. He read two selections from his portfolio. His teacher Ms Huey(sitting beside him) is the best!

Waiting for the bus on the last day of 2nd grade

Class picnic with Mrs. Harris and Aidan's Pre-K class

Love, Love, Love Mrs Harris!

Kickin' off the first day of summer with some sno cones!

And we are off to DISNEYWORLD!!! See you soon.

Neglect

I have so neglected my poor little blog. I hope to update it more regularly in June.

To Mom... From Avery on Mothers Day

Avery made a sweet book for me for Mothers Day. He brought it home yesterday and was so excited that he couldn't wait to give it to me. And it truly is so sweet. He drew a picture of me and him. It has fill in the blank questions where he answered different things about me.
Here's a little excerpt...
My mom is as pretty as... a butterfly.

I'd like to tell my mom... that I love her more than the whole uneverse (love the phonetics!)

If my mom were a flower, she'd be a ... rose.

If my mom were candy, she'd be... chocolate

And my favorite- makes a momma feel good

If my mom were an animal she would be a ... HIPPO. :)

Out of the mouths of babes. Your hippo momma loves you my sweet boy!

Banana Split Pie- Light and Easy

Banana Split Pie

1 reduced fat graham cracker crust
1 sliced banana
18 oz. drained, unsweetened, crushed pinapple
1 small pack of sugar free, fat free vanilla pudding (mixed with 1and 1/2 cups of skim milk)
1 cup strawberries, sliced
1/2 tub fat free cool whip (small size)

Layer ingredients as written above and refrigerate overnight. Serve cold. Healthy, low fat yummy Weight Watchers dessert.

Very Little Time to Blog

It has been a crazy but fun few months. Lots of fun with friends, neighbors, school field trips, baseball, soccer, and on and on. We had lots of spring break fun with friends and family. I think I posted about those a few posts back. On Easter, my brother, his family, and Vicki came over to grill out and fellowship. Vicki brought my nephew, Will's new pet Honey Bun. Aidan took an instant interest in him.

We had an egg hunt with our neighbors.

Cousin Will, Aidan and Avery

Ryan and Avery playing football. I couldn't get Robert, Ramona, and Katelyn's picture. Maybe next time.

Aidan and Honey Bun

Vicki and Honey Bun

The boys are in to baseball and soccer full swing. Its the first time we have had both boys in something at the same time and its a little crazy. I honestly don't know how parents of more than two do it. This may be the last season that we have both boys in something at the same time. We enjoy our family time and just have not had enough of it lately. We still want our boys to be able to pursue extracurricular activities. The challenge for us is allowing them to do that without sacrificing our family time. Its something we will have to work on.

Avery hitting for the Brewers

Aidan kicking for the Little Owls (sound ferocious don't they). Owls can be mean. ;)

In the midst of the sports craze, I was able to take a much needed break for some girl time with an old friend in Pigeon Forge. Donna and I were such good friends through out high school and for whatever reason ( I like to call it life), we just lost each other after that. She went off to UT Martin and I went to WKU and other than seeing her brother once in the mall right after college, we never saw, heard from, or spoke to each other again... until... Facebook. If you don't have a Facebook account, I would so encourage you to get one. Had it not been for Facebook, Donna and I may never have found each other. Its been almost 20 years since we last spoke or saw each other and we were able to re-establish contact through Facebook several months ago.
You know old friends are good friends when you can pick right back up where you left off. And we did just that. It was a nice relaxing weekend where we reminisced about our high school days and caught each other up on our families and lives in the present. Made me wish we didn't live in different states. Oh well, we'll just have to plan another trip and soon!

Donna and me at high school graduation
Yes- it was the eighties. :)

We registered Aidan for Kindergarten on Friday. I think I'm sadder about Aidan starting school than I was with Avery. Don't get me wrong, I shed a few tears when Avery put on his backpack and headed out the door for the first time too. But, this is my baby. My last little one at home. Its what I've done for the past eight years of my life. I think I'm sad that he's growing up but I'm also a little sad that this era in my life has ended and well, I'm a little uncertain as to what is in store for me next. I'm praying about that and seeing where the Lord will lead me. I still want to be able to be a big part of my children's classroom experiences and be able to be involved in their school. We'll just have to see where He takes me in this new stage in my life. Be praying for me!

Aidan's Children 1st Pre-K class touring Kindergarten classes at Indian Lake Elementary

In between all of this, we have had time to have a little family fun. I LOVE my boys so much- including my biggest boy. God has blessed me with a wonderful family that I take for granted so often. My church is doing a series related to the book "One Month to Live- Thirty Days to a No Regrets Life" I have only just begun to read it but am already looking to see how I can put these concepts to work in my life. More on that to come. :)

All three of my precious boys

My sweet babies!

Yes, that is a sprinkler you see under the trampoline. ;)

Our makeshift water slide. :)


I love the things they come up with to play. Avery and Aidan were pretending the wagon was a roller coaster. It did get a little hairy rounding corners and Aidan almost came out.

Seriously...

... if you're going to drive like a maniac, weave in and out of traffic with reckless abandon, shout curses out your window, and flip people off- I want you to know that my wish is you wouldn't do any of the above but if you are regardless- please don't put a Jesus fish on the back of your car!

What's The Scoop

My boys were on Spring Break last week and as I was preparing for the week, I decided to pick up some craft stuff. Most of it was Easter related- just some things to do and have fun with while they were home. I was at Target looking on the craft aisle and came across the Crayola Window Markers. I suspect that dry erase markers serve the same purpose but these really are like crayons and wipe off glass surfaces remarkably well. I opened them up and Avery and Aidan had a blast drawing on our kitchen windows that look into the back yard. Seriously, they were entertained for well over an hour. I used glass cleaner to wipe it off- it even came off the white weather stripping around the window when Aidan accidentally marked on there. It was fun, they were entertained and when they were finished, I had clean windows. :) We also used them to write the boys' Bible verses on their mirror in the bathroom. I purchased these at Target for $3.99.



My new favorite teeth whitener product is Crest Vivid White. I have used the Crest White strips as well as the "paint on kind" of teeth whitener. The thing that I like about Vivid White is that it doesn't add an extra step. This is a toothpaste and whitener all in one. It gradually whitens as you brush and protects your teeth against new stains. There is a "day" and "night" version. I've only tried the day product. I also purchased this at Target for $3.39.