Soft-Shelled Turtle

Capps' Reptile Project was due today.  Unusual to our family standard, we waited until the last night to work on the project.

But we got it done!!!

Racoon Proofing

We've had a racoon getting in our garbage every night.  So, I put a big block on the lid, hoping he can't get it open. 

Quoteable Quotes?

I just found this in my drafts folder from 2010 - it is old, but it made me smile, so I'm gonna post it!

Daegan: "You aren't going to make me wear matching clothes, are you?"

Mac wanting to run around with no shirt: "I need to let my muscles breathe"

Tavis: "Have I always been this weird?"

Capps after going a few nights without sucking his thumb: "How many more do I have to go?"

Mac's response to new cereal: "Tastes like chicken!"

Daegan: "Let's pretend we are old, like 19, and we can carry a pistol around all the time"

Capps, after meeting a new friend Erin: "Mom, your name should be Erin because you run errands all the time"

After I sarcastically said, "Don't worry, the maid will get that" to one of the children when they threw their laundry on the floor, Capps said, "We have a maid, I've never seen her, does she come when we are asleep?"

Get Well Cards for Mac!

We've had the flu.  So far, all the men in the house have been hit.  Mac was the first to fall and ended up being sick for 8 days.  Capps was next, then Tavis and now Daegan.  Jason has also been sick.  He tested positive for the flu on Saturday.  I posted on Facebook that he has slept 117 hours in the last six days and that is absolutely true.  I don't know how he does it.  He has had no fever today, so hopefully, he'll be feeling better soon.

 

 Mac's class made him cards while he was out.  They were so sweet, I scanned some in to share. 

 

Clark - his best buddy - short and sweet!

Ethan - this one cracked me up - "I hope you don't throw up when you come back to school.  Want you better soon"

Hannah - "I like to play with you.  I am sure that you are awesome".

Ella - "I hope you feel much better and I hope you are back Monday". 

Allie - "I hope you feel better" - Allie is a good friend too - I love her picture!

Lauren - "I hope you will feel better ...??...."

Makayla - "I hope you feel better" (I think this is a picture of her crying?)

These are great!  So sweet!  You can tell he was deeply missed!

Baby Libby coming soon!

My sister-in-law, Heather, married to my brother-in-law, Daniel, will be having a baby soon.  We are sooooo excited for them, as we know they have been waiting on this for a long time. 

 

Today, Mollee and I went to a baby shower for Baby Libby's arrival.  If you knew Heather, you'd understand how appropriate it is that the theme of the shower was books - everything was adorably decorated!

 With a Chica-Chica Boom Boom cake!

 We played a cute game...

 And on to the gifts.  Doesn't Heather look like a beautiful Momma?!!

 "The clothes are so tiny!"

 She was pleased that she knew what each gift was. 

I knew the shower was going to be book themed, so I had all seven of us pick out a favorite book and then we each wrote a note it in for Libby.  Thought I'd document here what we each picked.

Jason - Where the Wild Things Are.  Gretchen - If you give a pig a pancake.  Mollee - Pink Tutus.  Tavis - Barnyard Dance.  Daegan - But Not the Hippopotamus.  Capps - Curious George.  Mac - Llama, Llama Red Pajama. 

Sick Personalities

A couple of months ago, I posted about how the kids look through Christmas catalogs differently.  I think it is appropriate to document how they handle illness differently.

Mollee - She hasn't been sick alot in the past few years, getting the perfect attendance award, but when she is she usually just sleeps.  She is a lot like her Dad - just leave her alone and let her sleep, wake for meals. 

Tavis - He is rarely sick, so when he is, he is miserable.  He doesn't like to be alone either, so he follows me around - lays on the couch when I'm downstairs, lays on my bed when I'm in my room, lays on the floor in my office when I'm working, etc.  And, of course, he always has his blanket in hand.  And he does a lot of moaning.

Daegan - He is sick often (but not too much since he got his adenoids and tonsils out).  He is fine with sick.  He is a straight A student, but doesn't care about being AT school.  He can read 50 hours a week, or just watch TV and play Xbox all. day. long.  He doesn't complain much and I never have to worry about him drinking - as long as there is sweet tea available.

Capps - He does whatever is required of him.  When he had the flu I asked him to pick a spot (one of the couches or the recliner) and stick with that spot.  He stays there, he washes his hands, he drinks a lot of water, he'll read or watch tv.  He usually knows exactly when his fever is going back up.  Very easy going, but he hates missing school.

Mac - he just wants to snuggle.  And drink.  And eat.  And to be waited on hand-and-foot. 

Center Piece Happiness

Backyard made Better

I had big hopes for our backyard when we moved in almost 10 years ago.  It has a privacy fence that needs some work, but I had planned for a swing set, a patio set up.  Heck, my husband builds incredible decks and I am afraid to walk out on ours (but we can never afford to buy materials when Jason's work is slow).  But here it is - a little junky.

Overgrown bushes - I have to admit, during the Summer, sometimes the grass gets as high as the fence until Jason gets out the weedeater. 

 But the kids play in it and have constant "make believe" going on.  Tonight I went out to grill (yes, I've been doing a lot of grilling lately - even though it is February) and found this adorable set up:

 Along with a broken trellis and some decor made from the previously shown weeds. 

 And baskets of pretty things.

It is a good back yard.  And the kids love it! 

But I'd really like to have a new deck.....

Winter Break at the Playground

The kids Winter Break started today.  I don't recall ever having a Winter Break in my day, but basically it is a long weekend for President's Day.

 

I had a lot of work to complete, but the kids needed an "errand".  I decided to take the the McDonalds to play on the playground for lunch.  At some point in the past year or so, the McDonalds near our house got rid of their playground?  So we got our food and headed to a local park. 

 The day was beautiful, but it was a lot colder than it looked and we were not prepared for outside play.

 Regardless, they burned some energy and had fun!

 And Mollee found the mud - big shock!

 Remember me saying how goofy Mac is?  Yep, here it is again!

 I really love this playground, not sure why we don't go here more often since it is about 5 miles from our house?  It was a good decision to get out of the house.

Valentines Day Party Chaos

Nothing says 5th grade Valentines Party like being at the skating rink.  Tavis actually asked me to come, so I made it happen!!

I spent my 5th grade Valentine's Day at this exact rink - Oh, Yeah!!

 This picture cracks me up because it is Tavis zipping by and his teacher, Mrs. Gordon making a cringe face while Noah (far left) was falling. 

 Tavis and Ryan!

 A lot of the boys hung out at the arcade - here is Noah, Tavis, Banks and Ryan sure they are going to get some treat from "The Claw".

 Mollee doesn't have organized parties anymore, but she was eating lunch with her GAP group and she asked if I could 'stop by'.  I was honored that she asked, so I made that one too. 

 Mollee and MacKenzie - you know, they are BFFs

Then on to 3rd grade.  Apparently, they kids were supposed to make aValentine box - Daegan had to use this white bag that we found at school. 

 Daegan and Hayden

 A crazy crew!

 Valentine Party Chaos!

 2nd grade party crafts.

 Chocolate Fountain with Mrs. Blevins.

 Whit was really excited about this!

 And Kindergarten - so fun!!!

 Clark and Mac being goofy (see, all those that think he is quiet and subdued)

 One of the amazing moms made these individual cookies that were beautiful and very yummy!!

 Mac's scavenger hunt group (again, goofy)

 And delivering Valentine's!!

I took this picture too because these were hanging on the wall outside Mac's classroom.  See all the beautiful colors and patterns.  Mac's is the solid red one - Red outlines, red centers.  How exciting, son!

Jason and I don't really celebrate Valentine's.  We get each other cards and he always gets me a bag of candy (this year, peanut M&Ms).  I got him the Clint Eastwood "Where Eagles Dare" movie that he thought was no longer available on DVD.