It Was the 1st day of the .....

8th grade!
I can't describe how fast time has flown by for my big guy on campus. His first day of kindergarten he wore an awesome Hawaiian shirt & was sporting a teenage mutant ninja turtle lunchbox and a huge grin. First day this year, he wore his UNC polo and brown bagged it.....still have a grin!

3rd grade!
This gal loves school, loves her teacher, and is super happy to have so many friends in her class this year. A few more months of fun and learning with her BFF's.

5th grade!
P-man is off to a great start this year on his 2 teacher team. His best bud is in his class, he is one of the big, cool 5th graders, and gets be part of the safety patrol this year.

A Little Bluegrass

Rich, Gretchen and I decided to brave the Satanic heat to head to downtown Franklin for the Bluegrass Festival. We found a shady park bench, enjoyed some shaved ice, and heard some amazing musicians. We were lucky enough to be there in time for the junior competition and left amazed at the kiddos and their talent. Several people were warming up the clogging shoes....but we were pretty sure at that point we were minutes from melting into a pool of ooze. Great festival, fun music and a relaxing Sat afternoon.

Loved the old farmhouse front porch for the announcer to sit on!

The only thing better than great banjo pickin' is awesome style to go with it.

We were secretly stalking this cute gal. Gretchen spotted her warming up on the square and we were lucky enough to be there just in time for the junior competition. Once again, very stylish and she amazing musician.

A little shaved ice to keep those pink cheeks cool :)

A Little Bit of TN History

Its not every day you get to see Abe Lincoln! The kids kept asking if he was real. His reply...."touch me and see".

The kids were shown how to make salve in case Sam Davis fell off his horse and scraped his knee. If you want to hear a funny story about this demo, ask me one day. Its hilarious!

This sweet old farmer was very patient with the kiddos as the separated the milk. LOVED the overalls!

Post lunch shot by one of the old cabins.

No southern plantation tour would be complete without a confederate soldier re-enactment of some gunfire, complete with packing bullets, and loading the gun.

Long hunter, also did a great shooting re-enactment. Unfortunately, his thunder was stolen by the preview airshow we received from the F-16's flying overhead.

Sure fire sign of an awesome fieldtrip, having your super cool dad come with you and impress your friends with his mountains of somewhat useless knowledge. Theboys were thrilled to have a dad there and not be stuck with the super cool room mom yet again!

Sunshine, southern plantation field trip, picnic lunch.......fun day in the 2nd grade!

Having A BLAST of a Birthday!

They say as you get older that you get wiser. In my thirty-something years of life, I am either wiser or learning to be less of a control freak-perfectionist when it comes to my kids birthday parties. Sometimes this means I am giving rainbow art sleepovers, or snack filled kayak trips. For my favorite 10 year old's birthday, it means Nerf wars with a firepit hotdog dinner.
Parker invited 8 of his buddies, and some of his favorite adults over on his "actual" birthday for a fun-filled night of hotdog cooking, smore roasting and nerf gun battles.
It was perfect weather, yummy food, great friends and lots of smiles! :)
Parker had a great time and said it was exactly the party he wanted. He is a super kid and I love having him in our family. He is a great kid to spend time with one on one. He is very aware of whats going on around him and makes profound observations about people and situations. He is very quick witted and super smart. Parker is always willing to lend a hand and a loyal friend. Happy, Happy 10th Birthday Parker !!! I love you buddy!

Richard's New Love

While looking through my more recent pics for some great blogging material, I noticed a folder "BGE". I don't recall labelling any of my pics with these wierd initials. Then I had an AHA moment! It wasn't me.....it was my husband and his new love affair with his BIG GREEN EGG. If you see me at the store, and my shopping cart only has meat in it, this is why. After months of strategically leaving brochures around the house, telling me how great my grilled chicken could have been, how all his friends have one, I finally caved. The man works hard....I guess he deserves one toy now and then, right? So here is his pride and joy, in its first moments of grilling glory. Thanks to Neal for the great photography! Makes you want a juicy steak, huh?

Making The Most of a Warm & Windy Day!

We have a great collection of kites in our attic thanks to the Grandparents. The kids are always asking to fly them on windy days, and this spring we have had our share of windy days. In fact. I am pretty sure we've even had some that are TOO windy. Dallin was at a boyscout campout, and just as a disclaimer.....Gretchen just came home from gymnastics practice-hence the wierd short shorts and wild hair! ;) We went over to the elementary school because we could use the field and the playground! It took about 2 seconds to get our goldfish and shark in the air. Just another beautiful, fun day with the family in Middle TN.

I LOVE this Birthday girl!

I LOVE that she gets so excited about birthdays, cake, presents, surprises, and friends to share it with.

I LOVE to get her just the right birthday present and ALL she wanted for her 8th birthday was a "big girl" room makeover. No more fairies, flowers and pastels. The #1 room makeover item: a hot pink moonchair.

I LOVE birthday cake & so does Gretchen. We both know its puts the P in party! She asked for a rainbow cake. I just couldn't bring myself to do all the food coloring in the cake mix, so I did a skittle rainbow and marshmellow clouds.....and she loved it, cause she is easy to please, which I also love.

I LOVE her sweet friends! She had a group of the most adorable friends over for a rainbow art sleepover. A couple of her buddies gave her an awesome decorated art supply box full of goodies, plus little pet shops, glitter makeup, cool stickers, and more.

I LOVE great friends that make her smile.

I LOVE little girl makeovers. There is nothing better than blue eyeshadow,bright pink blush and sparkly lipstick applied by your friends.

Happy 8th Birthday Gretchen!
I LOVE YOU!