School's Out!!!!

School's out and I can't decide who's more excited, me or the boys!! I'm so excited about not having to get up at 5:45am for a while I don't know what to do! We had a very busy last week of school. Both boys had field day, an end of year party and Walker had his Kindergarten graduation!




Walker's graduation was very nice. The theme was "Go Light Your World". The kids learned several songs and Walker had one speaking part. They were all so cute in their caps and gowns. I can't believe Walker will be in the first grade next year!!! I feel that little bit of sadness about him growing so fast but I know it's going to be nothing compared to when Michael graduates from Kindergarten!

Junior Joker Walker!

This is something that I should have put on here a few weeks ago but I didn't because I kept trying to upload the video on the blog but I never could get it right....I finally got smart enough to just link it. Our local Christian radio station, 104.7 the Fish, has a Junior Joker on the air every weekday morning. They let a child tell a joke to the morning DJ's on the air. From the first time that the boys heard it on the radio they said that they wanted to do it so I signed them up for it! The radio station contacted me first to do Walker so way back on April 3rd he had to get up and be ready for the station to call at 6:10am to record his joke! He had to pick out his own joke and we had fun looking through a lot of jokes in some of his magazines to find one he wanted to use. He was a little sleepy sounding but he thought it was really neat to do. They didn't put his joke on the air until May 12th and it only plays once (as far as I know) at 6:50am. We weren't sure at first how we were going to record it when it aired and John came up with the idea to record it with the camera on video. We all went into the guest room with Walker radio and sat there and listened to it together. It was really cool to hear him on the radio! Michael recorded a joke on May 6th and it will be aired on July 1st!

End of Season

Well, Walker had his last baseball games this weekend. We had one Sat. morning and then they added a "tournament" game on Sat. evening. They normally don't have t-ball in the tournament but decided this year to just have each team play one game for the fun of it. We had a great time this season. Walker really improved over last year and he got to play with one of his good friends, Cole, which made it even more fun! I am really enjoying baseball too....it is very hard though not to yell too much...I have to keep telling myself that it's t-ball and they are only 5 and 6 years old! I get a little nervous as to how I'll behave once they are really competitive!! John would like for Walker to play baseball again in the fall but Walker seems pretty intent on trying flag football. I think it is good for him to try lots of different things. We are going to see about getting Michael to play baseball in the fall...technically he will be a couple of months off the age limit but we might be able to slide by that if John signs on as a coach. John helped out a lot with Walker's team, he was always either the catcher or the first base coach, and really enjoyed it. The original plan was for John and our friend Jeff to both be the assistant coaches but only Jeff made it on the "official" list and when someone had the team banner made they added about 5 of the Dads names to it as assistants but John didn't make the cut so the running joke has been whether or not John was a coach! On our second game on Sat. the head coach couldn't be there so John stepped in to be the pitcher. He did a great job but said he couldn't believe the amount of pressure he felt! Uncle Chad came to watch that game and since we were short several players that meant we were short on coaches so Chad had to jump in and be the catcher! He actually had fun and said that made the game a lot more exciting.....I can't imagine that much could be more exciting than a t-ball game! Walker and Michael loved having Chad come to the game (see picture of them tackling him)!



After the game we went to grab a bite to eat and when we got to the restaurant there was a firetruck outside. We walked the boys over and the fireman was so nice, he showed them all around the truck and let us all get in and even honk the big, loud horn!! They thought it was super cool!

Mother's Day!

My Mother's Day celebration started on Wednesday this year when I was invited to "Muffins with Mom" in Michael's class! They had the table all set with all the goodies they made for us like hats, necklaces, cards and even a plant! It was very sweet, I got to sit next to Michael then he served me my food, which was actually donuts instead of muffins, and fruit. Michael had so much fun showing me all the things that he made! It was really cute, Michael kept saying that this was his Mother's Day since it was his party for me.I love getting all the great things the boys make in school, there is nothing more special than something homemade with love (I know that sounds corny)!!

On Thursday Walker invited me to a "Mom & Me Tea" (Michael said this was Walker's Mother's Day since it was his party). We were told to wait in the lobby of the school and wait for our child to come and escort us to the room. It was so sweet, Walker came in with a rose for me and then he took me to his room. All the tables were very pretty. The kids were our waiters and Walker came to take my order then went and got my food. While we were enjoying our treats the class entertained us with several songs! I love hearing a class full of kids sing! Walker's teacher had all the kids draw a portrait of their Mom's and had them hanging on the wall for us to guess and see which one was ours. Walker was so funny, on my picture he wrote "this is a hint, you look just like me" (the picture of the portrait is above in the picture with all the crafts). He is always hearing people say that he looks like me and Michael looks like John.

On Saturday Walker had a baseball game and Grandma came up to watch which worked out perfectly so that we could spend some Mother's Day time with her. After the game Walker, Michael and I took Grandma to lunch. We always have lots of fun with Grandma!

After church today all my favorite men took me out to lunch. We went to an Italian place called Ippolitos and had lots of yummy food! We had to wait about 30 minutes for a table so we decided to open presents in the car while we were waiting (I think the boys called it a car present picnic). One of the things they gave me was a picture frame that has them recorded on it...I love it and will never erase it!! After lunch we went home and I just hung out and relaxed guilt-free! John is so great about making this day special and really getting the boys into it too! I can't tell you how many "I love you's" and hugs I have gotten over the past couple of days....nothing could be better! God has given me a wonderful family! Staying at home with our children has always been where I want to be and although it can be exhausting and definitely challenging the joys and benefits far outweigh everything else! I hope all the other Mom's out there had as great a day as I did because every Mom is special and is doing the most important job in the world!

Cousin Paige!

Of course I'm a week late with this but last Saturday my cousin Paige and her friend Lindy stopped in to see us! Paige goes to school in West Palm and was driving back home to PA for the summer. They drove about 10 hours to get here and were pretty tired....Lindy read the boys a story at bedtime and Paige just tried her best to stay awake!

On Sunday we went to church and then drove out to my Mom's for lunch. It was nice for her to get to see Mom, John and Chad. It has been a long time (probably about 3 years) since we've seen Paige. Sunday night the boys asked John to bring the projector home from his office so that they could watch a movie on the "big screen" with Paige and Lindy. We put a sheet up on the wall in John's office and then have to try to make comfortable seating on the floor with cushions from the couch. The kids think it is so cool. They got to stay up super late and watch Sky High!








I let Walker skip school on Monday so that we could all go to Stone Mountain for the day. We hiked up to the top and the boys did awesome, they didn't complain about being tired or anything! The view from the top is really great. After our hike we had lunch, played on the big lawn in front of the Confederate Memorial Carving and Paige, Walker & Michael played miniature golf. The golf must have pushed those three over the edge because they were all out like lights on the drive home.















Paige and Lindy left early Tues. as we left for school. They went to Washington DC and had dinner and spent the night with our cousin Fred. It was really great to be able to spend a little time with Paige. I still can't believe she is so grown up! She has turned into such a great young lady and I know that she is such a positive and joyful influence to everyone around her (did I mention that we are related)! The boys were really sad to see them go and are trying to talk Paige into stopping again on her way back to school in the fall, we hope she will!

Catching Up!

I'm still catching up from last week! On Wed. Michael's class was in charge of doing chapel at school. He was so cute up there on stage singing the songs. One of the songs they did was Zacchaeus which he did all the motions to great at home (he's very cute doing it!) but he didn't want to do them at school. The verse he had to memorize was Luke 11:28. He is still pretty shy when up in front of a crowd but he says he enjoys it. John was able to make it to watch, which I know makes Michael feel really special!



I was also able to go on a nice trail ride Wed. morning. I rode Chief for the first time. He is a very good horse and the day couldn't have been more perfect for riding! God has really blessed me with the opportunity to be able to ride at least once a week. Most of you know that I have a huge passion for horses and pray that I might one day be able to have one of my own!




On Friday afternoon I took the boys to swim at the gym with some friends (it's good to get some use out of the membership)! They actually really like going and hanging out there so hopefully over the summer I will get better about working out!









Oh, I also get the "Healthiest Lunch" award for letting them make their own creations! You can't beat candy bars and skittles on top of a sandwich! If you look closely you'll see that Michael's is a man with crabby patty eyes, a skittle mouth and cheez-it body! Yummy!

Grandpa's Visit!

I am really late in getting this out but last weekend we enjoyed a nice visit from Grandpa Jim. He was doing one of his marathon driving tours and we were lucky enough to have him for a couple of days! We had a fun visit - he was able to go see Walker play baseball and also see his baptism. Walker and Michael love having him here. Everyone always teases us about putting Jim to work when he comes but John really does enjoy doing projects with his Dad and Jim is definitely not the type to sit around too long! With that being said....the project this trip was adding a shelf and some bead board to a unit that we have in the boys playroom...thanks Jim! :)