Scout Camp

Jonathan and Fred spent all last week at Scout Camp.  I understand that they had a wonderful time.  There were lots of great pictures, but I don't know much about them.

Jonathan took Riflery (or some such merit badge) and fishing - along with some others that soundes less fun.

I am so thankful that Jonathan had the opportunity to hang out with such wonderful young men and leaders.  I love that his Dad has been to camp with him every year.  I'm a little nervous for him to go on High Adventure and to EFY next year.  It will be his first adventures without Fred!

I Am Blessed

I am so blessed to have this special guy in my life.  He keeps me on my toes and makes me smile every day. He and Fred came home from Scout camp on Saturday.  He helped unload the Durango, had lunch and rested for about 5 minutes... and then asked if I would take him to the swimming pool.  How could I say no?  We stayed out there for about 2 hours.  He had the best time just enjoying the sun and the water.  It takes very little to make him happy!  I wish I could have his spirit.

Be Kind

"Be kind.  Everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."

-Marjorie Pay Hinckley

I love my girl.  She is the most compassionate person I know.  She is kind and sweet to all the kids at her school and recognizes their battles.  I love to hear the stories that she tells about the little ones that she works with.  I am especially happy that her compassion and kindness now extends to her brother - most of the time. (Kind of scared to type that for fear that I might jinx myself.)

Welcome Home

I am so excited!  Jonathan and Fred are due home today.  They have been at Scout Camp for a week.  They are going to stink.  Their gear is going to stink.  I will have tons of laundry to wash.  They are going to have hours worth of stories to tell.  But, they are coming home!  Whoo-hoo!

Graduation Like No Other

A couple of weeks ago, we had the honor of attending our sweet nephew's graduation.  It was the most ginormous graduation ever.  There were like 1300 graduates and it was held at the the new Allen Stadium.  We were so far away that I had a hard time getting a picture of Chris.  Years from now, I probably won't even know what this picture represents.  It was a little toasty, but they held it in the evening at 8:00 p.m.  So, it wasn't so bad once the sun went down.  I think it finally ended around 11:30.  I brought my kindle and read.  I know that was rude of me to ignore the other 1299 graduates, but seriously that was one crazy graduation!

We are excited to add another graduate to the family.  Jess will graduate next year.  There are 6 graduates in her class.  It will be a much different affair.  I can't wait!

Congratulations, Chris!  We are proud of you!

Best Kids Ever

"Children and parents grow up together, and it's hard sometimes.  We affect each other's lives more than anyone else.  We're struggling to sort out life in each other's presence."

- Janene Wolsey Baddsgaard

That statement is so true, but being a parent is also the most fun you will ever have.  I get to watch hours of boring Dr. Who episodes, because it makes my kids happy or enough You Tube videos that could drive a person up a wall.  Not only are there the tedious parts of parenting and the hard parts of parenting, but you haven't lived until you've had Jonathan tell you goodnight.  Every night he tells me that I'm the best.  And, everyday Jess tells me about the sweet kids at her school and how much she loves working with them.

I am so lucky to have these kids!

Stay Tuned

Dance Like No One's Watching

Stay tuned... I'll be back.  I just don't know when.

My dear sweet husband took the only working laptop to Scout Camp with him.  Bless his little heart!

All About Jess

Towards the end of the school year, Jess had to put together an "All About Me" project for one of her classes.  She worked very hard and came up with this awesome poster and wrote a wonderful paper/talk about herself.

We love Jessie and think she is a pretty great girl!

Enchanted Rock

We took a little trip to Llano see Auntie Jan and Uncle Joe over Memorial Day weekend for some gold ole fun. Almost all of us decided that hiking Enchanted Rock near Fredericksburg would be a grand adventure.  (Fred didn't want to based on the principle - he didn't want to pay $7 per person.)

Once we talked Fred into turning the car back around and head towards the gates of Enchanted Rock, I wasn't quite sure what we were getting ourselves into.  However, it was too late to turn back. 

We all headed up this rock that seemed to go straight up and I'm happy to report that there were no casualties.  

I thought we would never get to the top.  When we finally got there the scenery was beautiful, but it was extremely windy.  I felt like my cap was going to blow off at any moment.

Jonathan is usually a slow hiker when he is on flat land, but he did great.  I guess the key is having him hike straight up or down.  Who knew?

Uncle Joe was the fastest hiker.  He left us in a cloud of dust.  I wasn't sure if he even waited at the top.  I thought maybe he kept going down the other side.  Not sure how he climbed that fast.

It was a beautiful hike and I think that everyone should visit Enchanted Rock.  Definitely visit it in the spring before it gets too hot.  I can't imagine doing that hike in the dead of summer.  If we had tried that in July, I'm pretty sure I would have turned around gone back to the car.  Just sayin'!

Jess (who isn't an outdoor kind of girl) was with MaMaw and Grady celebrating Jeff and Lainey's birthdays. 

Llano Lookalike

Look what we found on Memorial Day in Llano?  We found MaMaw's doppelganger (I always wanted to use that word)!

We spotted her and then got the biggest kick when she put that cigarette up to her lips.  MaMaw would never do that!

I guess everyone has a lookalike.

STAAR Student

Jonathan brought home his STAAR test results ages ago, but forgot to give them to me.  Finally, he dug them out of his notebook.  I figured that he must have done OK or they would have been contacting me to discuss his future.

Turns out, he did well in reading and writing (he was targeted as possibly not passing writing, because he has a hard time getting his thoughts down on paper).  He acted like it was no big deal, but he received a near perfect score in Math.

Way to go, Jonathan!  We are so proud of you.

Spring Concert

Jonathan had his last concert of the year last week.  He forgot to tell us!  Imagine my surprise when I was sitting a school function for Jess on a Wednesday night.  The email came in around 8:30 "reminding" us about a band concert the following night.  Jonathan and his tuba would need to be at the school at 6:00 p.m.  It takes quite a bit of planning to get Jonathan (and his tuba) dropped off in time - especially on short notice.  We somehow managed it - along with getting my car picked up at 6:00 p.m.  It was in the shop.  This all happened on a Thursday... the day that we were trying to get packed, so that we could leave for a fun Memorial Day weekend.

It all came together and Jonathan's concert was great!  We are excited that he is playing tuba again next year and hope he continues into high school.

Random Thoughts On A Sunday

Sidewalk Chalk and Bubbles
This is what happens when Jonathan and I dig around in the shed.  We found brand new packages of sidewalk chalk and bubbles.  Who says you have to be young to enjoy those things.  Jonathan and I had lots of fun this evening being silly. 

Twelve Cents
Our church service doesn't start until 1:00 p.m. I was completely ready and decided to go sit outside and enjoy the beautiful weather.  As I was gathering my stuff, I overhead a most interesting conversation between Fred and Jonathan.  Yesterday, we were out shopping and Jonathan wanted to make a purchase, but didn't have his wallet.  Fred spotted him the money.  This morning Fred was reminding Jonathan that he needed to pay up.  Jonathan delivered the cash that was owed.  Fred looked it over and informed Jonathan that he was 12 cents short.  I was surprised that he was going to fuss over 12 cents.  Jonathan has tons of money hoarded in his room, but must not have had exact change.  I heard him tell Fred that he would be right back.  He knew exactly where he could get 12 cents.  He saw some change in the "washin' room!" (Not sure when we started calling the laundry room the washin' room.)  He ran off to confiscate all the change I had claimed from this week's laundry.

Lip Syncing in Church
I am the world's worst singer.  I lip sync in church.  Fred must not have figured that out, because he is always trying to point to the words in the hymn book like I'm a little kid.  I can read music.  I know where we are.  I just choose to be kind to those around me.  Today, we sat in front of this little girl that was singing like crazy.  She wasn't worried about those around her.  She wasn't worried whether or not she hit a note correctly and whether or not those around her were bothered.  She was just worried about singing for her Heavenly Father.  It was awesome.  She belted out "I Stand All Amazed" like it was her favorite song in the whole world.  Her mom apologized afterwards.  No way.  She should be proud.  We should all belt it out like that.  I would like to be just like her, but I know that next Sunday I'm going to come in and lip sync again.  But, its a nice thought.

Pre-Summer Fun

Summer vacation hasn't quite gotten here yet, but we couldn't wait to get started on our Summer Bucket List.

We thought Memorial Day weekend would be a good time to officially start marking items off of our bucket list.

What have we done, you ask? Hold on to your hats!  (Just joking!)

We went hiking.  We hiked Enchanted Rock which is in the Fredericksburg area.  The Summit Trail climbs 425 feet in .6 miles.  Holy Moly!  It was a short hike, but it went straight up into the air.

We made popsicles.  Jessica voted for tropical punch and Jonathan voted for grape flavor. This meant that I ended up with two jugs of koolade in my refrigerator... yuck!  I never fixed my kids koolade when they were growing up.  Jessica hasn't touched the leftover koolade.  Jonathan guzzled that stuff down and asked if we could make more.  Disgusting.

We watched After Earth as a family.  This was Jonathan's request.  Usually I leave movie nights up to Fred.  I think spending money at a movie theater is ridiculous and Fred loves to go once or even twice a weekend with his friend, Abie.  Sometimes they will take one or both kids.  I let that be Fred's special time with the kids.  Jonathan was really excited about this movie and wanted the entire family to see it.  So, we met our friend, Abie and Jessie's friend, Glenn at the theater.  Jonathan really liked the movie and hoped for a sequel.

These were just little things that we did.  Last night Fred and the kids watched movies together.  I went to check off Family Movie Night, but it wasn't on the list.  Give me a list and I get busy trying to check everything off.

Right now, Fred is introducing the kids to the greatness of Ferris Bueller's Day Off.  I hope they aren't getting any ideas.

I love this time of the year!