Totally Summer

All things taylor... swiftly.

I'm so good at taking pictures and so horrible at blogging!! I always say I will do better but my intentions are stifled by things that always seem more important at the time... And so time swiftly passes. Such is my life with a sassy 7 year old and a busy almost 9 year old. Where does the time go? Why does it pass so swiftly? The older I get the more I want to turn back the clock or at least ask it to slow down! My precious babies, who are babies no more, have gotten to the age of complete and utter FUN! We had so much fun this summer! We started our summer with a trip to KY for a meet halfway family get together with marks family! Those Yanks are a hoot! Fun day on the lake on a pontoon boat with slide attached... Let's just say there were some pasty folks on the water that day! Those northerners need some sun once and a while! I looked native American next to those white bellies! Lol Great memories! Next was a well earned mommy and daddy trip! We've never left the kids for any length of time so we were nervous but after ten years of marriage we felt it was time! So mark and I jetted off to Vegas for a weekend to celebrate our 10 year anniversary! We had so much fun! I felt like we were dating again and we enjoyed our alone time! Of course at our nice anniversary dinner we talked of our beautiful babies and how we cant imagine life any other way. We enjoyed an awesome comedy show, ate, hung out at the pool, ate, shopped, ate, and saw the cirque du soliel LOVE show, and ate some more! We gained at least 5 lbs and won nothing at the tables. It was so nice to enjoy each other even after ten years married and 12 years together! I have the best husband in the world! And so time swiftly passes. On our last summer adventure we flew to visit family in Florida in july and decided to take a side trip to universal studios and islands of adventure. While some may say Florida theme park in july? We say,"No biggie!! " I might add we had our reservations but those were quickly put aside when we saw the faces of our sweet kids! 8 hours at islands of adventure and not one melt down, fight, or even whining! It was a day to remember! Harry potter being our hero... Islands of adventure was everything Harry! All the way down to the butter beer! We had every ride but Harry potter was done twice even with the hour wait... No express passes on Harry! But totally worth the wait both times! A fun trip with great memories! Our kids are such great travelers and I foresee many new adventures ahead! And time swiftly passes. And so the summer closed and a new school year started. Jake is in 3rd grade and Emma is in second and all that those grades in compass! Along with that comes baseball for jake, who got his first degree black belt in taekwondo this july. With basketball and scouts to follow. Emma is back hard at ballet, jazz and tumbling. Shes working hard to do her back handspring and becoming such a graceful dancer. Marks product was FDA approved early this year and he's working like a dog to get it in every hospital as a standard of care. I'm so proud of him and his determination! There have been many days I wanted him to throw in the towel and move on but he's rock solid as usual and keeps on rockin! And so time swiftly passes! I'm PTO secretary at school and boy is that a time consuming job! Yes I said job! Of course I don't get paid in money but I do get to see my babies at school a lot...Payment enough! I get to eat lunch with them every week! Payment enough! I get to go on all field trips, stay home when they are sick, and run their lunch to school when they leave it in the car. Payment enough! I feel so blessed to have had all these moments with them! Thanks mark! And time swiftly passes! So for Emma's 7th birthday my friend Emily and I devised a plan to surprise our girls. Natalie, Emma's friend and Emily's little girl, are the same age. And Girly girls to boot! Although, having their brothers has made them quite tough...don't let the sequence fool ya! We got tickets to the taylor swift concert in Nashville for last weekend(sept 17), only hitch was we didn't tell them all summer and finally told them the day of at lunch! Needless to say it was the best surprise to date for them! They know all the words to every song so of course so do we! We had the best time ever! Best thing about Nashville concerts is you just don't know who might stop by... Kenny chesney sang, Tim MaGraw sang, and even Andy grammar sang. That was along with two openers and of course taylor! Great fun and clean show! And time swiftly passes! So many momentous occasions, so many memories! So I'll say it again that I'm going to be better and just write/blog as I can and hopefully this time I'll do it before more time swiftly passes....more pics to follow of universal trip! That's Emma with her lamb from lamb camp 2011... Post to follow!

SPRING FORWARD...

           How in the world can it be spring already? We've jumped into our spring with both feet ahead. We are now in full swing and some of us more than others. Firstly, we had a wonderful Easter! The kids enjoyed a new tradition in our house, the Easter basket scavenger hunt. Since they are both reading well now, the Easter Bunny decided to leave them clues in Easter eggs placed ever so strategically so that each clue led to another and the last clue leading them to their baskets. They were really into it and loved trying to figure out where the clue was taking them. Loads of fun!! Here are the pictures of them after they found their baskets in the shower. (Notice: Emma's big girl, oh I'm so cute short haircut. She begged for many weeks for this until she wore us down and we gave in. The only part that bothered me is after the haircut she asked when she could get a pink stripe of color in her hair... once they picked me up off the floor I breathed and calmly said," When you are 18!" My mothers voice ringing in my ears all the while. I'm in so much trouble with that girl:-) The next pictures are of our dogs who were our Easter bunnies... Can you tell how much they hate me for making them wear those cute bunny ears? Kind of has a Christmas Story, the movie, vibe huh? The next picture is at school at Jake's Easter Party.

     This is the sweetest picture ever of the kids... Emma was scared in her bed and she asked Jake if he would sleep with her and he said," yes" and explained to her that when he was 5 he used to be scared too. So they got into bed and I came back to check on them this is how they were laying. The bond between siblings really is evident! This picture alone makes all the rough days worth it!

Well Spring has sprung and we are in full baseball mode now. Jake is loving it and getting better every day. Here are a few pictures of him practicing with his Dad and Uncle Mark.  His Dad and Uncle Mark are awesome at making it fun and just allowing him to enjoy it to the fullest! He plays for a church league this year again and will probably move up to a little more competitive league next year. Holding out on that for as long as possible!

  We've had beautiful weather this spring and are enjoying all the warm days and longer hours of light that come with it. The flowers are blooming, the wasps and bees are flying, so all that is left are the pesky mosquitoes and summer will be here. We have a lot going on with many end of the year programs to attend. Emma will be graduating from kindergarten into first grade, her first piano recital is coming up and her dance recital is fast approaching. Jake is keeping us just as busy with taekwondo, baseball and his move to second grade. Less than a month of school left to go and we are already counting the days. Waiting patiently for the pool and sleeping in some days. But for now we'll be satisfied that Spring is here!

All Things Considered...

All things considered we've had an easy March. Knock on wood! My kids are growing like weeds and we're all doing well. We were on spring break last week(March 15-19) hence my lack of a recent post, and we did not go anywhere out of town but we still managed to have fun. It's amazing how the little things still mean so much to Jake and Emma. Actually that is something I am really proud of, in these times. We have fun as long as we do it together and the proper amount of sleep has been rendered. Ha,Ha. We went to a place called Incredible Pizza Co., which is like a casino for kids, if you want to be honest. Pizza buffet, loud music, games of all kind, bumper cars, indoor go carts and lots more. Think of it as chuck e cheese on steroids. You got it, a parents nightmare... but I did have fun because my kids had a blast. Crazy how seeing things through their eyes can give even the worst places a better touch. Jake finally was able to drive his OWN go cart, wait I'm flashing forward ten years in my head and I just had a heart attack! It was a moment that made me tear up, as I saw his little face light up with joy. He thought he was hot stuff. I just sat and thought where did my baby boy go? So many new adventures ahead. Too bad he was going too fast for me to get a great picture of that, but I did manage to get okay pics of them driving the bumper cars. Once again by himself and this time Emma was tall enough to drive all by herself. Check out the outfit she dressed herself in for the day, oh my! She really likes clothes now, but we don't always agree(and it begins) and just got her hair cut in a short angled bob(pre photo here, I'll send out new photos of haircut soon). We had to let her cut it because she was driving us crazy wanting to cut her hair. But I was in a panic. It looks really cute to say the least and she says she looks fabulous. Her next question in the salon was when can she get a strip of color (pink) in her hair like the big girls? I calmly blinked my eyes and uttered those words all our mother's told us, "When you are 18!" And I turned and walked away. I'm in so much trouble! Anyway, she loved it and rammed her brother so many times. They both giggled and went right back at it! Would be great to have those at home, and be able to get out any frustrations without hurting each other!
We also had some great spring weather, so of course we went fishing! Mark took a couple of days off and so we went to our local Glennsprings Lake. It's a nice Tennessee state lake not too far from home. We all were skunked except for Emma. She got her first Crappie with her real deal fishing pole and reeled it in all by herself. "I'm sure it was the pink bait that made the fish bite it," she said. Crappie fish like pink, like me. Her daddy was so proud!! Can you tell from the picture? The second picture is Jake driving the boat.(cheese ball smile working) I'm starting to see a common theme here...Lord help me. He has also learned to drive the John Deere lawn tractor. Guess I'm going to lose my yard cutting job soon... I love to cut the grass, he'll have to flip me for it!
We also went to see Diary of a Wimpy Kid, the new movie from the very successful books. It was super cute with a lot of good advice and lots of gross stuff(think boogers, moldy cheese, and moles with hair) that my kids loved. But watch out for the cheese touch cause you never know where it will be next, see the movie and you'll get it.
So a week off of school flew by and now we are back to the grind. However many days we get off from school there never seems to be enough time to spend together. But, all things considered we had a blast and made some more great memories.

Taekwondo and Craislist

Why ask why? This is my new motto for this week! We have had an interesting week. Jake started our Monday in the wee hours with a stomach virus, that never fails to happen after he has made it to our bed. Not that he can help it, the sweet thing. Of course I had to work at school Monday, so Mark being the best dad ever, stayed at home with our puny little man. Thankfully it was a short and relatively uneventful episode and so far no one else has gotten it(knock on wood)!
Last weekend, Jake tested for his blue belt in taekwondo. He is so talented, and is really good at kicking his opponents in the head. That is his secret weapon. The one picture is of him breaking a board at graduation and the other is at a tournament here in town. He won two medals, one for sparring and one for weapons. Of course, those are his two favorite parts of martial arts. Only 5 belts left to go to black belt. We are so proud of him!! As Emma watches me post this she is immediately wanting to know where the pictures of her dancing are going to be. So here is Emma at her Christmas recital standing with one of her gal pals Kaitlyn. She really lights up a room and is so animated and comical. Dance suits her personality well, and the sparkly costumes don't hurt either, in her mind anyway.
Jake's fall basketball is finished and Emma's cheer is done as well. Jake is gearing up for spring baseball and Dance doesn't end til May. Emma is also learning the piano, which has turned her daddy into Beethoven, or so we let him believe. So with all our extra curricular activities and crazy schedules Mark, husband extraordinaire, decides it's time to sell my Honda CRV. There's never a good time to sell a car, but he felt we could put the car on Craigslist and by the time we sell it, in a month or so, we'll know what new/used car we should get. Three days later the car sold. Go figure...I feel like I'm back in high school bumming rides from all my friends. I didn't realize how dependent I was on my car til I didn't have one, and how many friends I was blessed to have help me out. We think we've reached a compromise on the car/truck we should get. Of course he wants a truck and I prefer an SUV, so the wage is on. I do believe we've found one that suits us both. A FORD, yes I did say FORD! Me miss foreign car lover has broken down for a FORD Explorer Sport Trac. A compromise from the F-150. A little bit of truck and SUV at the same time! Hopefully I'll have something by Monday. I have learned a lot this week about timing, compromise, blessings, and of course why ask why. Things all happen for a reason, and most are blessings in disguise.

Makeup Days?

Hello to all! I am starting this blog to keep in touch with my friends and family that are far away and some that we just don't see very often! I was inspired by my best gal pal Becky and I hope it turns out well.
We have had a busy month to speak of so far. We have had 8 school snow days so far and March is our craziest weather month. That's not to say we didn't enjoy sleeping in and sledding everyone of those days, but the 4 make up days we have will not be fun. The cold and snow just proved to me that I'm a southern girl through and through. After two days I was ready to just be on a beach somewhere sunning it up and WARM! The kids however LOVED it as evident from these pictures. The snow days did however put a damper on our after school activities, dance being one of them. Emma's Dance instructor told her they would have makeup days. So Saturday we went for her makeup day, and I went to pick her up and she said" We did not do anything fun", so I paused and said "What do you mean?" This not being normal response from her because she loves dance. She said, " Our teacher said it was a makeup day and we didn't even get to put on makeup... she was lying when she said we were having a makeup day!" After I quit laughing hysterically, I said" Not put on makeup day but make up classes you missed because of snow days." She looked at me perplexed and said, " OH well someone should have made me know that before I went, but I still had a good time anyways!" Oh the world a 5 year old lives in must be grand!! We should all live so freely!