Who's Ready for Some Gymnastics?

Every gymnast needs some pixie dust to keep her "flying" and sticking to the beam.

These are the leos from our gymnastics meet we host. The team wore these since it was a pre-season meet.

Cheering for her fellow teammates on floor.

Handstand into front forward roll during her floor routine.

Look at that leap!

A pep talk from Coach Matt before the bar routine.

This girl has some serious upper body strength.

Even while working hard she finds a little time for some fun with her buddies. Gretchen has made some great friends on the team.

We are excited for meet season to begin to watch Gretchen show off those gymnastics skills she works so diligently on each week. She never complains about those long hours of practice, rips on her hands or tired muscles. I am proud of her dedication and true love of the sport and her teammates.

Friday Night Lights in TN

Dallin was invited to join the HS marching band this year, as an 8th grader. He will be marching at the football games and band competitions. So, we decided to head out for some good old American Friday night fun. We even had some burgers & fries to kick off the evening.

We loaded up the gang and our best buds to head over to the 'Boro. We watched some exciting football....

heard the "PERFECT" cheer..........

got some great shots................

had some good laughs thanks to the fans and tons of inappropriate teens..................

had some great girl talk.................

saw one of the cutest trumpet players..................

watched the back of the band perform.....................

(they were being polite to their hosts :) I guess)

remembered the good old days of being in the band...............

had our hair get a little crazy from the humidity...............

danced so much to the band's pep music that we got thirsty..................

All for our favorite trumpet player! I am so grateful that he is increasing his music skills, making new friends, and having an awesome time! So, come out & join the fun!

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!