Eagle Scout Work: Digging Holes

After waiting nearly two months for the playground equipment to arrive all the parts are now in place, we are finally making progress on the Eagle Scout project.  Of course, before you can install big pieces of metal and steal, you need a base of cement to put them in. At least that's what my husband and son have explained to me.  I, of course, thought it would be like Lego's and you'd just set them on the sand and snap together.

The thought of digging almost 15 holes of various sizes in clay type material was enough to put fear in our eyes, but thankfully through the generous help of a fantastic landscaping company, they are done!  On Thursday evening, a nice guy came with a Bobcat with an auger attachment and, under Mr. C and my husband's gentle guidance and careful measuring, he dug all the holes for us in under 2 hours time. 

I think that the small amount of money it cost to pay for the holes to be professionally dug saved us hundreds of dollars at the chiropractor. 

I told Mr C that this construction job has been a chance to live out his little boy dreams of being up close to trucks, tools, and machinery!  As a toddler, he would point out all the dump trucks, sideloaders, and cranes as we drove around town.  He loved to come across a construction site and quiz his mother with the names of the various trucks and he normally stumped me!

Mr C has gained a lot of knowledge working on this Eagle project that is invaluable; patience, persistance, strong work ethic and how to interact with Adults. Watching him with the landscaper, I was so proud of how confident he is and how mature he's becoming.  He's a long way from the little boy in the back seat of the car yelling out " dump truck", "semi truck", "combine."

Happy 50th Anniversary

My parents celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary on Friday.  It was truly a golden celebration. What a blessing to have such a wonderful example of love, marriage and commitment to watch all these years.  P and I consider it a honor that both sets of parents have been happily married for five decades.  It is a great accomplishment and testament to God's blessings.

It's amazing to think that just the "other day" my parents renewed their vows for their 25th anniversary and I walked down the aisle as my mother's attendant.  I was in college at the time and thought that 25 years was "forever."  At that time, I could hardly imagine being married and not to mention for that long,

In fact, I would walk down that same church aisle on the arm of my father for my own wedding just a few short years later and am now only seven years away from celebrating my own 25th Anniversary. (See honey I do now how long we've been married)

I understand why my Dad said he can hardly believe it's been 50 years and that in his mind he's only in his 60's thus meaning he would have married Mom in his teens!  Time really does fly by too quickly.

Friday night, we celebrated this wonderful milestone with a Family Dinner.  Miss M said it was the nicest restaurant she'd ever been to and probably her best meal ever.  Mr C enjoyed his filet and entertained his cousins with conversations about 401k's and Yacht prices.  Guess you've got to play the part.  Miss A of course was just thrilled to be surrounded by her favorite people, sitting by both cousins L and N, and chatting away.

After dinner and family pictures, we hung out at Nana and Papas and had Wedding Cake.  Sadly, it did not have buttercream frosting on top, but it looked beautiful.  Then of course, there was entertainment which mostly involved the kids doing crazy stunts and making us all smile.  Mr. C unknowingly has mastered the look of a blind man.  Wearing Nana's sunglasses, he strikingly looked the part, and of course being the comedian he is, he quickly grabbed a cup and asked for spare change.

Poor Miss A tried to duplicate the look with some crazy shades, but of course she's too cute and adorable to really pull it off.  Thankfully, cousin A who turned 17 this week, which is even more evidence that time flies, looked fresh in his new Oakley's and showed Mr C how to really look cool!

All in all it was a perfect evening. One of the benefits of surviving 50 years of marriage is getting to have these crazy moments with your children and grandchildren. At least that's what I hope to be reaping when Mr. P and I reach that milestone!

Congrats Mom and Dad on your Golden Anniversary. We love you A & F.

Funny Things I've Hears Lately

The new school year, start of fall activities, and the lack of television watching has added to the crazy thing my children have been saying of late. While I try to encourage my kids to support, build up and encourage one another, they've gotten a few jabs at each other.  Often, they jab without even trying.

Mr C was talking about his freshman football team and how practice was going in the heat.  He mentioned that one player got hurt and is out for the season with a knee injury.  As a result, he's become the team manager.  Miss A in all sincerity spurted out the following: "too bad that wasn't you Mr. C, you'd love to be the team manager."  Ouch!

After a long day of practice (six hours-two a days they call, he calls it torture), Mr C said; "you know this is a lot of work for someone who just wanted to ride the bench, I'm actually getting pretty good at football."

Miss M was a little worried about the summer musical and if she'd remember to speak loud enough, hit her lines exactly, and tell her jokes without stumbling over the punch line.  Mr C with a straight face told her," I've never known you to have trouble talking and talking and talking..."  Gotta love brotherly love.

Miss A needed to change quickly into her soccer uniform after her musical performance on Saturday.  The locations were about as far apart as possible in our small town and we were rushing.  Miss M tells Miss A to strip in the car, just pull your pants down in the car seat, move your little tush around, and I'll get you going into your soccer clothes." No problem she says; I do this all the time." 

I'm hoping she was talking about getting out of dance clothes and not stripping in the car!

Miss A is loving first grade and leaves each day with a smile on her face, but she's missing home a little too.  Monday morning she told me, "I miss spending time with you when I'm at school all day; we had some great times together you and me.  I miss my Barbies too, but I miss you more."

Glad to know I rank above the Barbies.  I'm thinking its a close second however.

Finally, the best line of the week belongs to my husband.  On Sunday when our family was doing Step Out (a day of service to the community that a bunch of churches do), we were weeding a garden when Mr. C found a garter snake.  I screamed.  He then proceeded to chase me around the garden with the snake in his hand.  I ran faster thankfully.

I told my husband that I couldn't believe Mr. C would be so mean to his mother. P in all seriousness said, "Oh Jill it was just a snake!"  He had a big grin on his face. 

Really honey!

The Ultimate Superstar : Girls Shine in Summer Musical

As a capstone to a fabulous summer, the girls had their Summer Musical performance this weekend.  Both Miss M and Miss A had a part in our dance studio's Christian Musical; the Ultimate Superstar where M served as the Talent Show Host and one of it's acts, the Country Girl Comedian, while Miss A was a Ribbon Dancer.

Saturday morning, the show went to the local homeless shelter to perform for the moms and kids. Sadly, there wasn't a great number in the audience, but like Miss A said, "they were performing for an audience in heaven and He showed up."  Plus, it was a great way to get the kinks worked out of the performance before the family and friends version. 

Sunday evening was the main performance for the parents and both girls were super excited. The show included dinner (which of course means that Mr C came along).  I think that Mr C went back for thirds.  I assume that was from all the hard work he'd put in that afternoon at our church service project day! Trimming trees and pulling weeds makes for a hungry boy!

The performance was perfect. Miss M really does a great job acting in front of a crowd and her Texas accent wasn't too bad either. Of course, her jokes were a little "cheeky," but I think that was the idea.  Miss A loved their ribbon dance and she just looked so happy twirling around on stage.  Really, is there anything better than seeing your kids shine in their element and glorify God with all their hearts?

The Dance teachers have been doing the summer musical for four years.  Each year, I am amazed at how professional and entertaining the show is, but even more so how it always draws you back to God and using your talents to bring Him glory.  What a gift and blessing this musical is to our girls and our community.

Miss A, of course, thinks now maybe she should add Dance back into her schedule (she says it every year after the performance), but we're concentrating on soccer and basketball this year.  Who knows maybe Miss M will get her sister to join her at the Studio soon.

Friday Night Lights:Mr C's Debut

It's a whole new world. Last Friday night was the first of our adventure into Friday Night Lights, the high school version of football.  Mr C took his first ever steps onto the field to play Wide Receiver in the Black vs Red Scrimmage. I think #8 looks pretty snazzy in his uniform.  I mean tough, rough, and ready for the gridiron of course.

At the Football Parent Meeting and Team Introduction, I started to feel a little more comfortable with the whole football experience. The Head Coach shared his vision for the team, philosophy on how football should be played, and told us his goals.  He also explained that, while the Knight have not exactly had a winning season in a while (3-15 the last two years), he loves the spirit of the team. He loves that the boys are spending so much time in the weight room. That's where the winning begins.

We didn't send Mr C to this school to make him into a football star; but to turn out a well rounded young man. The coach praised the freshman boys on their strong start.  He said they show great promise to build this team going forward.  Watching each player introduce themselves and give their positions and church affiliation, I got a little lump in my throat.  It's going to be exciting to watch Mr C progress into a football player.

My husband commented that he never dreamt that we'd be spending our Friday night (OK really Thursday afternoons-since he's on the freshman and JV reserve teams) watching our son take the football field in a high school uniform.  I didn't either, but I think if I can pray enough, trust enough, and believe in my son and his coach enough, I might just enjoy it.

In all honesty, I wasn't too disappointed that the scrimmage got called early due to lightning.  Of course, according to Mr. C, it not only meant he didn't have to play on the defensive side of the ball, but it also meant that the freshman beat the sophomores 7 to 0.  Go Knights!

We Survived the First Week of School

We made it through the first week of school and, all in all, we did pretty well.  Of course, the full impact of our fall activity schedule hasn't started yet so I'm sure there are some rough days ahead trying to figure out how to get people to the right place.  But we'll make it.

I could be all nostalgic on how I can't believe my first born child is a freshman in high school, but attending his first ever high school football scrimmage proves that it's the truth.  Not to mention the fact that in the last few days he's done  more homework than he did in the previous eight years of school combined.  He loves it and in so many ways our expectations have been exceeded with the choice of school.

At the opening Mass/Family Picnic last Sunday, I knew when we sang the Chris Tomlin song "You are the God of this City" that God has placed Mr C at this school for a reason!  I can really see him thriving in this environment academically, spiritually, and socially.  Plus, according to my husband, he's gotten a ton of muscle mass from football conditioning! 

Miss M is now in sixth grade and, while there are still a few kinks in her schedule that we need to fix, she is taking everything in stride.  The academic advisor really complemented her when he said that Miss M has a reputation of staying out of the muck of girl drama.  While she might dump on us at home (which is what she should do), she always has a positive attitude in the classroom.

Miss M is most excited that after a few years off of competitive dance she's joined the team again. She'll be dancing twice a week and is thrilled to get to go on a trip this spring to her favorite town of Chicago.  This girl just loves to dance and act.  We just love to watch her use her God given talents.

Miss A loves the first grade.  According to her, it's a lot like kindergarten. It is just a different teacher and schedule.  The biggest change is how they do lunch.  I'd explain what the change is, but I'm still not sure I understand.  She has some great friends in the class and has made a few new buddies as well.  We are thrilled that she has our favorite first grade teacher ever and the same one as C and M. 
The biggest complaint Miss A has about school thus far is that it interferes with her Barbie playing time.  Every morning, she plays Barbies for a little bit before school and then within minutes of eating her after school snack is back in her room busy with her imagination.  Last Wednesday, I walked into her room and saw a lineup of Barbies (and a few Ken and Skippers) all facing her Barbie Townhouse.  When I asked what was going on with the Barbies she explained it was a Drive In Movie Theater.  A double feature.  The next day, however, they were all gone and in their place was the Barbie Airplane, Convertible and Bicycle.  Guess they were off on a road trip.
First Week over and out.  Let the Fun Begin.
(* You'll notice I have pictures of C and M's first day of kindergarten too, Miss A's extra picture is of her first year in preschool; age 4.  I love how Mr. C looks almost the exact same in Kindergarten and then now freshman year of high school.)

Next Time I'm Wearing a Hard Hat and Other Lessons

It's very quiet in the house today.  School has started for everyone and its seems as if its all going well.  I have pictures to document the new year and funny stories to share, but its just the first day for Mr. C so I'm waiting until I get the scoop first.  Miss A and Miss M have already two days under their belt and according to A the school year is just flying by.  You'll just have to wait.

First, I've learned a few lessons over the summer I thought I would share. List form is always best I've decided for lessons.  It takes me back to my college days and meticulous note taking from lectures.  Don't get me started.

1.  I might want to wear a Hard Hat when I mow the lawn.  Today was a little like Hitchcock's The Birds movie in my backyard.  A barn swallow (think HUGE bird or maybe not) was dive bombing me.  At least that's what is seemed like.  He wanted the fresh "bugs," but he kept coming in so close to my head I had to duck.   Then he decided to bring along four friends. It was a dive bombing party.  I was not a happy guest.

2. A few weeks ago while mowing I almost gave my neighbor a heart attack I screamed so loud!  A huge rabbit ran across my shoes as it escaped from behind the air conditioner.  My neighbor came running to see if I've run over my foot with the mower!  No, I'm just afraid of small little "rodent like animals."

3.  Mr C learned to mow the lawn this summer, but that might be a slight exaggeration.  He mowed at least six rows of the lawn; all flat, in the open areas and only on cool days.  His excuse for not doing more; football conditioning every day, two weeks of camp and of course the need to chill.  Next summer, it's all yours buddy.  There will be no more coddling from your mother.

4.  I've decided that mowing the lawn is really good for your skin.  It's like a little pore cleansing session every time.  You sweat out all the bad stuff, shower off the dead layer of skin, and you even get a great farmers tan.  I'm not sure it's good exercise as I can only run so fast behind the mower and the hills I push it up aren't really that steep, but on really humid days you feel like you've run a marathon.

5.  Finally, I really meant to have my lawn mowed for back to school pictures, but life just got in the way and I didn't want to waste the last precious moments of summer mowing.  I'd rather be running around like crazy to Target, haircuts, football practice and the lake.  I have my priorities in order plus my front porch plants are dead anyway so I'll be photo shopping the pictures to make it look like I'm a good gardener and lawn care person.

Who says you can't learn things over summer vacation.