Field Day

When I was in elementary school, there were certain days that were highly anticipated. Just like today. I loved the last day of school before holidays and the parties we had, field trips, the very last day of school and Field Day! Preparing for Field Day, the hall would be lined with papers on the wall where you would choose the events you wanted to sign up for. And there seemed to be a wide variety.

Field Day at my sons' school is just not what it used to be. It is class against class. Their entire class participates in every event, relay style. At the end of the event, the coach announces which teacher's class won that event. The kids spend a lot of time sitting around in the heat waiting for another grade to compete in an event, then it's their turn, then sit in the heat and wait again. The whole thing takes about three hours.

But the kids (most of them) make the best of it and have a lot of fun. My first grader refused to participate in the water events and was the only child in his grade to sit on the hot concrete sweating it out while the rest of the kids got soaking wet with cool water and loved it. I even brought him a changed of clothes and a towel, but he was determined.

Andrew's field day was Monday. Bobby took Spencer with him, who of course entertained the girls in the class. We missed Shawn's on Tuesday, because Spencer got sick. Then on Wednesday it was Brian's turn. So, Kaylie and I went. She was miserable. Hot, hungry, thirsty, tired. She was very grateful when we left and headed for the air conditioning. I was too, I love a/c!

I remember being little and loving the last week of school. As a mother, I still love it. The school is so open and welcoming to parents this week!

Hooray Yankees!

Matthew had his last Wee-ball game on Saturday! He has so much fun playing ball. Which is totally opposite of me, I always saw playing sports as a chore. But he loves it.

They hit the ball off the tee and run to first base. Everyone stops at first base, runs one base at a time and no one gets out. They don't even keep score. The kids are learning the fundamentals of the game without worrying about who wins or loses. That comes soon enough with T-Ball.

When they are on the field, no one sits the bench. They have a catcher and a kid on each base, then the rest of the kids are scattered throughout the infield. There really is no need to have them in the outfield. When the ball is hit, three or four kids will run toward it and pile up fighting for the ball, as the coach is trying to yell out who "should" have the ball so the others will back off.

We started with four of our kids playing baseball. One down and three to go! We should be done next week! Yippee!

Wolf!

Last Friday, we had our end of the year Cub Scout Pack Meeting.



Nick Pietz received his Bear. To the sound of the drum beat, Nick's face was painted with the symbols of the bear and the journey he's been on.



Shawn was awarded the Wolf badge and was painted with the corresponding paw print.

As Dave Anderson was presenting Andrew with his awards he asked for the paint. I thought, "Hmmm, I wonder what he's going to paint." Well, Andrew and Ty both received the "traveler" activity pin, so they got tire tracks on their foreheads! So funny!




Then Tristan received his "Arrow of Light" (again). It was better this time! He then "crossed over" to boy scouts. It was a fun evening!

Incredible Edibles

Yummy! Yummy! Our first trip to the sno-cone stand this year. Don't you just love it when you promise the kids a special treat after dinner, but don't tell them exactly what it is because you would like it to be a surprise. Some have trouble swallowing their green beans but are semi-willing to do so because they're gonna get something good! So all the kids start coming up with their own ideas of what it could be. "Are we going for ice cream? I know, we are going to Sonic. Hey guys, we're going to Chuck E Cheese."
As we pull out of the driveway, they have convinced themselves that we are going to Chuck E Cheese. So when we pull up at the sno-cone stand we hear cheers, "WaHoo!"
Except for one little boy. One little boy who bursts out crying, "Why aren't we going to Chuck E Cheese???" Oh well, he soon got over it and we had a pretty good time. Even with a rough start.

I forgot how much I like sno-cones! I even got cream on mine, which I haven't done in several years. Yummy! Of course, we had to show off our brightly colored tongues!

Happy Birthday Matthew!

Today is Matthew's 4th birthday! In a lot of ways it seems like it's been a lot longer than that. We were still living in Kansas then and that seems like a world away now. Matthew was so sick when he was born, but you would never know it. He is a very energetic and happy boy!
He is at Disney World right now, having an awesome time with his cousin, Christopher, and his Grandma and Grandpa. I wanted to make sure that he knew he would be gone for his birthday so that he wouldn't get upset. He said, "Okay. Can you save me the last piece of cake?"
ha ha ha He thought we were actually going to have his party WITHOUT him.

Hot Shot

My two-year old "baby" got his first haircut this week. Bobby has wanted to get it cut for a year now, but I was finally ready.


So we called Mr. Richard, the man who has cut Bobby's hair since he was 5. He has also given three of our other sons their first haircuts. The kids like Mr. Richard because he always has a huge tub of bubblegum and calls the little ones "Hot Shot".

Well, my little "Hot Shot" was a little squirmy but loved "hamming it up" for the camera, until it was time to go and he was cranky for the "after" picture. He is slowly making the transition from baby to little boy. (sniff, sniff)

For Liz and Thomas

My cousin Elizabeth, whom I love, wrote this to bring awareness to congenital heart disease. She has two children, a daughter and a son. She asked that we pass this on to help spread awareness.



As many of you know, Thomas' and I have a son who was born with a heart defect. Our son is beating the statistics that are against him.
Thank you Jesus!

Most kids born with this defect are in heart failure by 4 months old. And many of them die by there 1st birthday. Lil' Thomas is now 7 months old and thriving. There are no signs of heart failure. We couldn't be more blessed. For those that don't know, he was born with three holes in one wall of his heart. Something they call a swiss cheese effect.


I am writing this to help bring awareness to congenital heart disease. 1 in 250 kids are born with it. If you think it can't happen to you it can. It has taken a whole lot for me to get over the bitterness that I have felt that some crackheads have healthier children than I did. I did't drink, I didn't smoke, I took my vitamins. Please be aware that it can happen to you.


Congenital heart defects kill more children than all the childhood cancers combined. And there is little or no awareness about it. We are encouraging you to support the American Heart Association or other related organizations that support heart families. There are orgs that help pay for places to stay and fly to surgeries. Orgs that help pay for treatment. The treatment these kids need is usually financially prohibitive.


My sons cardiologist has a foundation called Louisiana pediatric Cardiology Foundation. And they give grants to help families with he financial need associated with surgery. They are great! They do much more than that also.


My prayer is this. Don't take having a healthy baby for granted. I didn't and this happened. I know that getting pregnant is a blessing in itself. It's hard enough for that to happen. Alot of things have to come together. And having a healty child is even harder.


Please pass this on and spread the awareness.


Thank you and God bless!
Thomas and Liz Walton

Celebrating Shawn

I spent the second half of my day helping Shawn with a social studies project. They are learning about time lines and had two weeks to make a timeline about themselves. Two whole weeks. So when did we start? This afternoon when he got off the bus. Good old procrastination!

We finished about 9 o'clock this evening. Shawn couldn't believe how long it took us. And I really shouldn't have procrastinated, because I spent Bobby's birthday camped out on the floor working with Shawn. In the end, we are very pleased with the result and had fun. Shawn got mad at me when I started cutting the pictures. I assured him that these were copies, the originals were still just fine. No way I was sending the originals to school!

Here is our finished project. It measures 12 inches X 36 inches.

Olympus Stylus 1010

Thanks for the camera suggestions, Susan, they looked great!
The color accent and color swap feature on the Canon S5 almost had me headed back to the store.
I decided to get the Olympus 1010. 7X Optical Zoom and I love the size. Pocket size, very convenient. I have read some negative reviews concerning the video mode, but overall I think I will be happy.
Besides, she said I have a 1 yr. in-store warranty, so if I don't like it just return it. Awesome!

My camera

New Background Again!

I love it when I figure out or learn how to do new things. It's that same feeling of accomplishment I get after I spend an hour cleaning something then can stand back and admire my work. :)
Ivy, Thanks for posting the link for the cute blogs. It made it so easy!

Random Thoughts

*I am just weeks away from Spencer being older than any of my other kids were by the time I was pregnant again. WAHOO!!! The older he gets the more convinced and excited I get that this is really the end!

*We are halfway through baseball season! Another WAHOO! I try really hard to like sports for my kids, but let's face it I'd rather be watching a dance show than a ball game. It is exciting when my kids are up to bat though.

*I cannot live without a DVR anymore. I am completely spoiled by it. The DVR records my favorite shows then as I have time like right now while typing the show plays and I skip past all the commercials. I rarely watch a show while it plays anymore or see the commercials.

*My least favorite thing about summer is the sun. I burn easily and so do my kids.

*I have been craving a banana split for the last few days and then remembered that we are supposed to have them at Enrichment next week. I can't wait!

*My digital camera has died. :( I want a new one. Any suggestions? I want one that is quick between pics. I really like the digital Rebel, but it is quite pricey and looks like a lot to lug around. I want something not too big and good value for the money. What camera do you like?

*I am super, super excited that Leah has a blog now!!! Welcome to the blog world.