55

Yep, Mom hit the Big 55 on Monday. As I mentioned in an earlier post, we threw a Surprise party for Mom. It was Aunt Polly's idea, and she put so much into it to make it great. Mom was definitely surprised (as you can see below). Mom had a blast.I was at an inservice Monday when Jody sent me a text saying that we were going on the General Jackson that night.......okay, if you know my brother at all, you know how odd this sounded coming from him. The guy rarely eats out, much less takes a dinner cruise on the General Jackson. It was true though. Mom decided she wanted to do something special for her birthday, so off we went. I wasn't crazy about going simply because I have TONS to do and was about to leave for Holiday World early the next morning. I have to admit, however, that it was really fun. We had a great time. This was the NashVegas Cruise, so we enjoyed the entertainment of Tina Turner, Elton John, and of course Elvis. So what if they weren't the real thing? You can try to make them out in the picture below. My photos have all been taken with my blackberry lately, so please excuse the quality.

Consignment time again

Since Kaitlin was first born, I've been shopping twice a year at Encores and More North Children's Consignment sale. This is the most awesome sale I've found. It is run by Brea, the sister of my terrific friend Alison. There is so much wonderful stuff at this sale. The used items are carefully inspected so that only the best items are found there. My favorite part though, is all of the new with tags items you can always find there. Brea specializes in buying out children's specialty shops, so there are always PLENTY of boutique finds at GREAT prices. The Gymbo Lady always has lots of new Gymboree clothing at unbelievable prices. Anyone who knows me very well at all knows how I SOOO look forward to this sale for MONTHS! Amber and I always make sure we have a babysitter when it's time to shop so we can take all the time we want. We literally spend HOURS sitting in the floor at the sale trying to "weed out" what we don't just have to have. We always walk away with a ton of clothing at a very small price. This is going to be my first year to put items into the sale. I have already tagged over 150 items and I'm not done yet. Whether you want to make some money selling clothing, toys, gear, etc., or you just want to get some awesome deals on some great items, you HAVE to check out the website. http://encoresandmorenorth.com/ See you there!!!

Greetings from Holiday World

It's really sad that I had to go out of town to get time to update my blog! I've been extremely busy lately. School starts next week, so I've been working on my room several days each week. I've painted the walls (with much help from my family), painted my file cabinets (with much help from dear dad), and I've rearranged my classroom (much help from mom). All this is in addition to the regular back to school organizational things to be done. I'm not ready yet, but I'll get there soon.
A few other things I've been busy with lately include inservices, taking family members for doctor appointments, attending showers/parties (3 just on Saturday alone), throwing a surprise party for my mom, getting ready for a big consignment sale (more info to come), trying to keep housework done, and of course, planning fun things for kaitlin.
When I sat down, I didn't plan to explain what life has been like lately, it just all came out. I'm not griping or complaining at all, because God has given me a wonderful life. I think I'm trying to explain why I haven't posted much on here lately.
Thanks for taking the time to read. By the way, Holiday World is great but very crowded. We're spending one more day here tomorrow, then we will head home tomorrow night.
Busy, busy.

Are you enjoying your summer?

Being a teacher, that is probably the question I hear more than any other at this time of year. The answer is always yes. Kaitlin and I are having a blast. I could really get used to staying home all the time, but we need both of our incomes.

There are quite a few fun pictures I have been wanting to share from this summer. These first few were taken at different times when we have gone swimming. Kaitlin loves the water, so we try to go to the pool (or the backyard) as often as our schedule and the weather will allow.

These next few pictures were taken on a fun zoo trip we took with our friends Alison and Baby Maggie. It was such a great day. Kaitlin loved all the animals, and we were so glad to spend the day with our great friends.

Mommy and Kaitlin with the elephants:

Maggie is such a sweet baby! Isn't she just beautiful! Kaitlin and Maggie:

Kaitlin loved these giraffes so much that she asked her daddy to put her on one and let her ride. Alison, I believe this one was CoCo.

Kaitlin and Daddy are looking at alligators in this one:

We took this picture just as we were about to leave. Can you tell from Baby Maggie's feet in the stroller that she was konked out? What a fun day! Alie, Kaitlin is still wanting to see the zoo's Christmas lights.

Finally, here are some pictures we took on a trip to Holiday World with Scott's family. We spent two days there, and we all had a blast. There is definitely something for everyone. Kaitlin stayed on some rides for 30 minutes at a time just because she loved them so much. I didn't get any pictures of her at the water park, but we'll be going back in two weeks so I'll be sure to take some then.

She loved the airplane and fish rides that rotate her around in circles. I couldn't believe they didn't make her dizzy. She even stayed on the fish so long that she nearly fell asleep.

She rode the big carousel with Granny's help, but this little one had straps to hold her up. What a big girl!

This bumper boat had one of the few lines Kaitlin had to actually wait in. It was hard for her to understand why she couldn't just go ahead and get on one. The whole time we waited, I really thought she would never get on the bumper boat. All the other kids her age seemed to back out once they got on. Kaitlin is a brave little thing! She loved riding the boat. There wasn't even a strap to keep her in!

Scott enjoyed this launch ride with his dad and brother:

Holiday World is in Santa Claus, Indiana. The park's theme includes various holidays we celebrate. Kaitlin was all about taking her picture with the statue of Santa. On the second day, the real Santa was there. She didn't want anything to do with him. This is the closest she would get to Santa for a picture.

This is how Kaitlin spent her afternoons at Holiday World:

That's what our summer has looked like so far. Thanks for reading such a long post!

4th of July

I just wanted to share a few pictures of Kaitlin taken around the 4th. She attended Greenbrier's annual Turning of the Pig with all of her Grandparents on the 3rd. I think they all had a great time. Kaitlin managed to find something she wanted to do. She took her first pony ride. On the fourth, we visited with my parents a bit. Kaitlin and her Granddaddy had a great time playing together all afternoon. He took this picture of her. Swinging is one of her favorite things to do at their house (along with looking at the cows).
Our church has a 4th of July Celebration every year. This picture is of Kaitlin and Ella Kate at the church. It was hard for them to keep their eyes open because of the bright flash of the camera.

I hope all of you had a wonderful 4th of July. I am thankful to live here in the United States. Even though we seem to have plenty to worry about in our country, I still believe we are extremely blessed.

I couldn't leave out these last two sweet pictures.