Saturday, May 31, 2008

Super Jam Packed Saturday

We started out the day here:
This was mine and Jody's first trip to the new and improved club pool (the kids came on Thursday and Friday with babysitters)! All the improvements made a HUGE difference to the overall feel of the pool and we look forward to many hot days here! After swimming all morning in some super chilly waters, Banks and Mary Reese enjoyed this with friends:
After lunch and drinking ketchup, Mary Reese and Gray decided they needed this:

We left the pool just in time to make it to Closing Ceremony's for Dixie Youth Baseball to to receive this:

1st Place Trophy for Black Division TBall - Go Texas Tech Red Raiders!

Then back to the Country Club for this:

A little Parent/Child 5-Hole Scramble in which we got to play with good friends Mary Bradford and Brad and where we acted like this:

I think we have been hanging out with Kirk Sanders a little too much!

Friday, May 30, 2008

TBall Triple Play

Last night in our game against the Kansas Jayhawks, one of the players on our team executed a triple play that had the whole park talking…can you guess who it was??? No, it wasn’t Banks. I was Katie Jones!!! It was the top of the 4th Inning (4 is all they play in TBall), the Jayhawks were up 11 to 9 and had a runner on second and first and no outs. Katie was in the outfield when their batter hit a pop fly. She caught the ball, then tagged second and then ran onto first base to complete the TRIPLE PLAY! It was so exciting! The entire field and stands were going NUTS!!!! We had last bat and ended up scoring the winning run when Blaze knocked the ball almost to the fence which allowed for Adam to score the winning run! Needless to say, Katie ended up with the game ball!

Banks and Katie after their opening day game

Tonight is our last regular season game. Then onto the city tournament next week! Thanks to all our friends and family who have come out to support the Banks and the rest of the Texas Tech Red Raiders!

Gray, Mary Reese had so much fun playing in the mud with you at the park last night!

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

The rest of the weekend...

After the balloons were out of site and we snacked on even more food, we headed to the lake for the rest of the weekend. The kids took a little nap on the way, which helped out immensely since they had an extra-early wake up call this morning! We spent the weekend out on the dock soaking up the beautiful weather, cruising around the lake, eating all kinds of yummy food and enjoying the relaxing feeling the lake gives you!
Stacey and David arrived at the lake Friday afternoon, so they got the task of “dewinterizing” the boat. After we arrived and unloaded all our stuff, we took the boat down to the marina to gassed it up and then cleaned it up for the summer! Banks kept saying “Do you think Popsy is going to be so proud because I am getting the boat so clean?”
Banks swam all over the lake, slid down the inflatable slide and attempted to kayak in the yellow beauties Popsy scored at a yard sale. We drove the boat down to “Banks’ Cliff” on Saturday to see if he would jump off like he did last year but he chickened out. Once his friend Dawson arrived on Sunday, he found his courage and was all about showing him how it was done! The only thing he would not do that he did last year was tube! Dawson tried to get him to go with him but he wasn’t quite ready for that this summer. Mary Reese was content all weekend playing on the dock or riding FAST in the boat! All Camp wanted to do was swim. Any time anyone jumped in, he was right behind them. We had to lock him on the porch a couple of times just so he could rest.?”
Sunday, Popsy and Gigi road down for the afternoon. Popsy installed the zip line Banks gave him for Christmas. Banks and Dawson had a ball zipping into the lake! Heck it looked so fun, I even tried it out that night after dinner!?”
We had a nice and relaxing weekend on the water and can’t wait for more this summer!

Monday, May 26, 2008

Breakfast with the Balloons

Saturday morning we were up with the birds to eat breakfast with the hot air balloons. Decatur has hosted the Alabama Jubilee for as many years as I can remember (since 1973). Growing up, we use to always pile in the family van and chase a balloon as a part of a “chase crew”. One year I even got to ride in one from the fields to Eastwood School – and if you are from Decatur you know that is not very far. But I can say that I have experienced it!
Jody and I never got up for the balloons until we had kids. For the past four years, we have gotten together with friends and had a picnic breakfast while we watched the balloons take off for the Hare and Hound Race. My kids look forward to it every year! It is always breathtaking to see all those colorful balloons fly up in the air and makes getting the family up at 5:45am very worth it!!! Of course all the delicious and delightful food helps too!

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Pre-K Graduation

Tonight Banks had his Pre-K Graduation Program at school. His class along with all four Kindergarten classes marched in and opened the program with a "Watch Me As I Graduate" song. Then each class tooks turns singing a song...it was really cute! After everyone finished singing, diplomas were handed out and the children offically became graduates (even though they have 2 more days of school)! Seriously, I can't believe this school year is over and your next step is Kindergarten! Banks, you accomplished so much this year! You are going to breeze through Kindergarten thanks to Ms. Davis and Ms. Byrd! Keep aiming for the stars (so you can own that construction company one day)!!!

Pre-K Awards Day

Banks had his very first Awards Day today! All the parents were invited to come to the room and watch Ms. Davis and Ms. Byrd present each student with their awards for the year. Each child got at least 2 awards…one being a “candy” award! Banks was presented with Perfect Attendance for the 4th Nine Weeks, Perfect Attendance for the School Year, The Good Attitude Award and the “Payday” Award. The Payday award was “for always being so concerned about paying attention to details and construction in the community.” Ms. Davis said that Banks never let her forget anything she said they were going to do! She also figured out his fascination with construction at the beginning of the school year when they were installing the playground right outside the classroom! She thinks we have a future Engineer on our hands…I think more like Construction Equipment Salesman. Congratulations Banks on all of your achievements this year! We are all proud of you!

Monday, May 19, 2008

Cleaning, Fishing and Golf

Jody played in the Member-Member Golf Tournament at the Country Club this weekend with his dad, so the kids, Camp and I headed to Smith Lake! We met my sister and David for a weekend of knocking down the cobwebs, relaxing in the sun and eating!!! On Friday night, we dined on Chicken Fingers and Potato Wedges from Hyatt’s Supermarket in Addison. (You must try them if you are in ever in the area, we always stop for them!) We also got most of the cleaning done on Friday night. I tackled the refrigerator while Stacey did the “canned goods” cabinet, then we got everything else wiped down and ready for a fun Memorial Day Weekend!
Saturday morning after a pancake breakfast, David, Stacey and the kids headed out to the “Minnow and Ice” shop for some fishing supplies while I enjoyed a few minutes of peace and quiet!!! Banks had been talking about going fishing all the way down there and all Friday night. Well, he lasted about 5 minutes the first day before he was bored and ready to move onto something else. We spent the afternoon in the sun on the dock. The kids did jump in the water and I wish I had my video camera to capture their faces because the water is still pretty chilly and neither one of them tested it out before they jumped it! Camp, on the other hand, stayed in the water! He had the best time swimming around and fetching his “duck”. Saturday night we grilled out hamburgers and hot dogs, and then celebrated David’s birthday with brownies and homemade Rocky Road Ice Cream!
Sunday morning, Banks and David got some more fishing in. Banks finally got the hang of the fishing pole and did a few impressive casts! They actually caught a pretty good sized fish. Once Camp sited the fish, he jumped in after it and they had to reel it in really fast before he could catch it!!! The sky was overcast and it looked like rain, so we all headed home around lunchtime! The kids and Camp all fell asleep on the way home! When everyone got up from their naps, we headed to the golf course to watch the shoot out. The kids had a ball playing with all their friends and were very excited to see their Daddy!
We had a wonderful first lake trip of the summer and look forward to many more! Everyone was still tired this morning (even Camp didn’t stir when I first got up this morning)!

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Be our Guest, Be our Guest…

We are about to put the service of Disney World to the test! We have been promising the kids a trip to Disney for about six months now! Originally we were going to attempt to go in February 2008 but when we bought a new house and weren’t for sure ours would sell before we closed on the new one, so we put our trip off for another year! Popsy called me this week and wanted to give that to the kids for their Birthdays/Christmas…so we are back planning mode. It looks like their dreams will be coming true in October during our Fall Break. Does anyone have any recommendations, favorite attractions, shows or restaurants, tips, pointers, etc. we should know about??? It has been 15 years since I have been there and I was in college at the time, so my agenda was quite different than it will be this time. Keep in mind we will be traveling with an almost 6 year old boy and almost 4 year old girl. I can’t wait to see what everyone has to say!!!

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Spring Park Field Trip

Yesterday I accompanied Banks and the rest of his class on their last field trip (I just can’t get over there are only 6 more days of school left). The Pre-K class along with the Kindergarten classes got a day at Spring Park in Tuscumbia. The weather could not have been more perfect for riding the train, carousel, and roller coaster! They also go to feed the ducks and play! Banks was so excited getting on the roller coaster but after the first round, he was BEGGING to get off!!!
I had a fun day with all the children in his class…they called me Ms. Banks all day! I was very thankful to get to spend a memorable day with my son because one day he will be begging me not to go on his field trips!!!

Monday, May 12, 2008

Mother's Day

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother’s Day! We had a special treat because Uncle Christopher planned and cooked a delicious and delightful Mother’s Day lunch for all of our Mothers…all I had to do was set the table (well, Debbie and I were in charge of the salad and dessert)! We started off with a Lobster Bisque with real San Francisco Sourdough Bread for dipping while everything else was cooking. He then served us the main course consisting of a Fresh Berry Salad with Blush Wine Poppy Seed Vinaigrette, Creole Mustard Crusted Roasted Rack with Rosemary-Lamb Au Jus, Grilled Pork Tenderloin, Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Wilted Spinach, Grilled Garlic Cotija Corn and more sourdough bread. We ended the meal with a dessert trio of Strawberry Pie, Strawberry Buttermilk Sherbert and Cream Cheese Stuffed Strawberries. Every bite was delicious and everyone left stuffed!!! Thank you Uncle Christopher for the wonderful Mother’s Day Treat! I didn’t get any pictures of the Mothers but I did get lots of the food!
At school, Banks made me a card and Mary Reese made a tile with her hand print. Mary Reese left her tile on my bedside table (she gave it to me on Thursday) for a few days but last night she moved it to her bedside table! They both (with Jody's help) got me a gift certificate to Young and Healthy Skin…Yea!!!
The Willis children put together a cookbook of our favorite recipes to honor the person who taught us how to cook (our ex-Home Economics Teacher/Mother). I did it through blurb and it didn't arrive (of course) in time for the big day! I can't wait to see it in person on Thursday!

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

You take the good…

you take the bad, you take ‘em both and there you have…The Facts of Life, the Facts of Life! If you grew up in the 80s like Jody and I did, you probably watched the show and remember the character named Tootie who always wore roller skates. You might not have known that the roller skates were to make her appear older and to mask her short stature.
Banks has a new nickname around our house (in addition to Brut, Brut Brut or Brutus)…Tootie! He got this scooter the Christmas before last. He parks it at the back door and rides anytime he needs to go anywhere in the backyard…the recycle bin, the trampoline, the swing set, etc. So Jody started calling him Tootie about a week ago and it has stuck!
I did a Google search on The Facts of Life and found some video clips of the opening theme song. I played it for kids this morning and they thought it was hilarious to watch Tootie skate around (only in Season 1)! Oh yea…how many people are singing the theme song in your head now??? Learning the Facts of Life!

Monday, May 5, 2008

You might be a redneck if...

you give your kids a bath in the backyard with the water hose! Oh yes, I bathed my kids like we were living in a trailer park! I was trying to water my plants and garden while dinner was in the oven and the next thing I know both kids are decked in their latest swimwear playing in the hose. They were having the time of their lives so I grabbed the shampoo and body wash and turned their play time into bath time! The best thing...both kids were bathed and fed by 6:30!!! I wish I had captured the moment on film but I was trying to hurry because poor Mar Mar was shivering!

Friday, May 2, 2008

High School Musical on Ice

Debbie treated the kids and I to High School Musical the Ice Tour last night. When we were talking about buying the tickets back in January, we decided the Saturday afternoon show would be the best. When she pulled out the tickets earlier this week…she had a little panic moment because our tickets were for the Thursday night show and Banks had a TBall game. I looked back at my confirmation email and sure enough I purchased the Thursday night show (Probably because I had 2 kids asking me 5 million questions and a husband calling me every 5 minutes when I was ordering them). We gave Banks the choice of playing in the TBall game or going to High School Muscial – and just guess what he picked?

They had a blast! Mary Reese’s eyes got as big as pancakes when she saw the souvenir stand and even bigger when she saw the hot pink High School Musical “Cheerleader” purse. We had fabulous seats on the second row! The kids could touch the ice and several of the ice skaters came out in the audience right in front of us. I tried to take some pictures by my camera was dead from the 206 field day pictures taken earlier that day! (I forgot to charge the battery for a little bit when I got home I only got a few pictures with the camera on my phone, so they are not very good.) They both loved every minute of the show. Thank you Debbie for such a fun treat and our souvenirs!

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Field Day!!!

I can tell that school is winding down when Field Day comes around! I still can’t believe there are only 3 more weeks left…boy this year has flown by! Banks had done and learned all kinds of things at our FREE neighborhood Pre-K! He is definitely going to be prepared for Kindergarten next year (especially since they said Kindergarten was “the new second grade” at our Transitioning to Kindergarten meeting)! He was so excited about Field Day today because it meant being outside and not having to sit still. Banks Caddell splits their Field Day up…Pre-K through Second Grade was today with the rest of the school having theirs tomorrow. They were very organized…they had 11 stations set up and each class went from station to station when the big bull horn siren was sounded by Coach Rooks. Banks won the 50 yard dash against everyone in his room and his friend Sam Smith (his mommy teaches 2nd Grade). He got to practice Karate kicks, have a water fight in a boy vs. girl fashion, sack races…you name it! I think they were all exhausted after their busy day!