A Rose By Any Other Name

Reagan's latest school project was to create a diagram of the life cycle of a plant or insect. After much deliberation, she chose the rose. She did her research on the Internet, then I sketched the pictures for her and she colored and labeled them. We went down the street to my friend Karen's house (who has a beautifully landscaped yard) and she snipped a rose and rosebud that we attached to her paper. Thanks Karen!

Welcome Home Daddy!

Adrian is coming home today! He has been in California for Recruiters School for the past 2 months and the kids and I have missed him so much! His flight lands at 2:49 p.m. and we cannot wait see him!! The kids made a cute sign to welcome him home, I know he will love it. Good news? He's coming home. Bad news? We're going on Recruiting Duty. More good news? We'll be back in Texas. More bad news? It's Lubbock, TX!!

Opening Day

Baseball and softball season is FINALLY here! I LOVE this time of year.....even with the Eastern NC heat! Mason plays for the Rockies (competitive) and Reagan plays for the Marlins (non-competitive). They both played so great today and they can't wait for Daddy to get home to see them in action!

Goodbye Granny

Helen Elizabeth Jones

December 1, 1917 - April 18, 2009

On April 18, my heart was broken in a million tiny pieces when my Granny quietly left this life. Although I'm sad, I feel so grateful to have had so many wonderful years with a woman who meant more to me that I could ever express in words. She taught me to be patient and kind and to always be respectful. She spoiled me not with material things, but with the kind of love that only a grandmother can give. She was my biggest cheerleader and supported me in everything I did. There are so many special memories that just the two of us shared; playing Annie Over, the endless games of Monopoly with the big red dice, our love of Braum's Butter Brickle ice cream and the memory most special to me, sleeping back to back.

She raised an awesome woman in my mother, who did an amazing job raising me, and now it's my turn to pass on the wisdom and values instilled in me onto my children. I wish my kids had more time with her; they loved her so much. When she was still living at her house, she had a little red mailbox that she would fill with trinkets or toys, or maybe just a quarter, just for them. They would get so excited that sometimes, I swore they were going to jump out of the car before it stopped moving! And when she could no longer live by herself and moved in with my mom and dad, the mailbox followed. My kids are young, and I know their memories of Granny will fade over time, but I am sure that the legacy of the little red mailbox will live on forever in their hearts.

I know that she is in a far better place now. She's with her parents, brothers, son Gary and the love of her life, my Papaw. And there's no doubt in my mind that he's already driving her crazy, talking her ear off.

I'll see her again someday, and she'll be waiting on me with a big bowl of Butter Brickle and a hug. I love you Granny.

Do the Bunny Hop, Hop, Hop

Today, Reagan's class had a super fun party to celebrate Easter. They did the Bunny Hop all around the classroom, dyed eggs, played Easter Bingo, got their faces painted (by yours truly), made candy & peanut butter sandwiches and turned themselves into Easter Bunnies using toilet paper!

Bunny Hoppin'

Reagan, Kristian, Lauren & Grace

Reagan & Grace

Lauren & Reagan transforming themselves into bunnies.


The cutest toilet paper Easter Bunny you've ever seen!

Author's Tea

My daughter, at the ripe old age of 7, is a 3-time published author! She even won a North Carolina Young Authors state writing award last year, complete with a trip to Raleigh and a fancy gold medal! Today, JPS held an Author's Tea to celebrate the school's young authors. Each child is presented with a copy of their book, a certificate and a coupon for a free meal at Golden Coral. Reagan's book is titled 'My Sleepover' and it's all about her sleepover at her friend Grace's house. I'm so proud of her!!

Reagan with Mrs. Steimel, Vice Principal

I Scream, You Scream

Mason's class had their Spring Celebration today. They had a make-your-own sundae bar, complete with syrups, fresh fruit, M&M's, jelly beans, cherries, nuts and sprinkles. While they ate their sundaes, they played Spring Bingo and then told a few jokes!

mEGGaHUNT

mEGGaHUNT is HUGE Easter egg hunt that MCCS sponsors every year. It's held at the baseball fields and in addition to the egg hunt, they have bounce houses and other fun games for the kids to play. It's kinda a warm-up for next week. A pre-Easter Easter egg hunt you could say! I wasn't able to get any pics of Mason and Reagan actually getting any eggs, because when they said "Go" it was an absolute free-for-all! Between the 4 fields, there were 10,000 eggs, but because there were so many kids there, mine only got around 10 each. Oh well, I'm sure they'll fare better on Easter Sunday!

A Day with my Favorite Boy

While Reagan was away on a field trip today with the Girl Scouts, Mason and I went on a date. We ate lunch at Red Robin, browsed the bookstore and then grabbed a chocolate chip cookie at the mall. We then headed out to the Jacksonville Commons park, which is a GREAT park, but it's all the way on the other side of town, so we don't frequent it very often. It was a beautiful Spring day, perfect for being outside!! Mason is a really awesome-amazing-funny-smart-sweet kid, who's growing up way too fast, and I treasured the time we spent together today!

The Newest Addition to our Family

Meet Max

One of the other moms found this little guy at Mason's baseball practice today and as soon as she put him down, Reagan swooped in like a hawk and snatched him up. It was love at first sight! She has been on the Turtle Team at school for the past 2 years, so turtles have a special place in her heart. While I had NO intentions of bringing him home, the kids were beyond crushed when I said we had to leave him behind. So, now we have a pet turtle. It's just a temporary living arrangement though. I told the kids we would have to find him a new home before we move in May. Maybe Reagan's teacher would like to have him as a classroom pet!

I guess this could have been worse. After all, there was also a HUGE snake at practice too!