camp sumatanga

The third, fourth and fifth graders from our church went on a little retreat to Camp Sumatanga the second weekend in March.



Sending my two big boys off to camp!  Banks has been so excited about going to Sumatanga.  As they drove off...all the fond memories of going there in the summers as a child came flooding back.  I think I went for about 5 summers straight.  I remember staying in the lodge camp as a younger child.  Then finally getting to stay in the cabins at the big camp.  I remember our parents dropping us off for a week of fun.  I remember getting letters from home [I think I still have a few squirrelled away somewhere].  I remember looking forward to the hike up the mountain to the chapel.  I remember our daily bible lessons, making new friends, trips to the canteen, seeing who had the most chigger bites, visiting the nurses hut for a special medicine-soaked cotton ball to put on all those chigger bites, singing all the silly camp songs, having a camp out with a bonfire and ghost stories one night and the our daily hike to the swimming pool.  I still remember cracking up with Sasha Love Landreth as she rubbed base on her lilly white legs to try to knock off the paleness.  Wonder whatever happened to her?  And we always hit the outlets at Boaz on our way home.

Jody and some of the other parents went along to help Ms. Debbie chaperone the 60 + kids who filled up the 2 church buses + a rented one.  The high schoolers at our church lead the retreat which I think was brillant.  I think they all had a fabulous time!  Banks has talked non-stop about all they did in his 24 Camp Sumatanga experience.

The crew...



...taken with Jody's iPhone.  Banks is on the bottom, far right, in the red shorts.

I did notice when I was unpacking their bag that Banks still had a clean pair of underwear and socks [and I didn't pack any extra]!  Glad it was just an overnight retreat.  Maybe that is why our mother's always hit up the Vanity Fair Outlet on the way home?

growing lettuce

On the Sunday after our Grease-filled weekend, Popsy came by to help the children plant our lettuce garden.  Our lettuce garden was one of my favorite parts of last spring.  We had some of the most delightful salads straight out of our yard.



Owen getting the spinach ready to plant.



Mary Reese planting in cowboy boots.  I think we are getting our money out of that purchase.



Even Banks helps out.



Teamwork!



Carefully planting the crops.



Owie's turn.



Owen fertilizes the crop.



Romaine, Buttercrisp, Red Cell & Spinach...hurry up and grow so we can dig in!

Grease is the Word

The 3rd - 5th Graders at Leon Sheffield always put on a huge production.  Banks originally was not going to try out but I talked him into it.  I thought he might regret it later if he never tried it.  This year was...



GREASE!  I was pumped!  He stayed after school about one afternoon a month until January.  In January and February they practiced a few more times.  The week of the play they practiced after school on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  Thursday and Friday they went to the Princess Theater for dress rehearsals instead of school.  I think he was more pumped about eating Domino's Pizza and Chick-fil-a nuggets for lunch more than anything!

On Friday the students who were not in the play and the students from Ben Davis [Mary Reese's school] were suppose to go watch a dress rehearsal.  They got over to the Princess and watched a few scenes before school dismissed early for the threat of tornados.

The third-graders were just the extras.  He ended up being in 3 scenes...the Prom/Hand Jive scene...



Banks is in the back on the far right side of the stage.  [This picture was stolen off Facebook.  We had instructions not to take pictures because there was a professional photogragher hired to do that job.  One momma was much braver than me!]

He was also in the opening Reunion/Rydell Alma Mater scene and Those Magic Changes with Doody and the other T-Birds.

He performed Friday night, a Saturday matinee and Saturday night.  Not to mention the spend the night birthday party Friday night and a baseball practice Saturday morning.  Needless to say...we spent our Sunday resting!

It was a fabulous production as always.  Can't wait to see what they have up their sleeves for next year.

bubba the cowboy prince

Wow.  It is mid March and I haven't posted all month.  I guess life just got in the way.  It is not like we haven't had any "blog worthy" moments.  Hopefully I can get caught back up this week.  Since the time has sprung back forward [which is what I prefer] I can actually stay awake past 9:00.

Mary Reese has been looking forward her class play since school started.  Her school always puts on the cutest productions and this one did not disappoint.  It was called...



Bubba The Cowboy Prince - a cowboy version of Cinderella.  Bubba was like Cinderella and Miz Lurlene like Prince Charming.  Even the glass slippers were replaced with fancy gold cowboy boots!  Everyone in Ms. Ducker and Mrs. Propst's classes came to school decked in their finest western wear...



We made a special trip to Preston's Western Wear for a pair of pink cowgirl boots and to Tarjay for a blue jean skirt.  That paired it with a white t, pink bandana, pigtails and cowgirl hat and we were set for the big day!

Meet Miz Lurene with her cowgirl friends...



Anna, Miz Lurene [aka Abby], Mia Kate & Mary Reese.  Isn't Miz Lurene's wig fabulous!  It was the talk of the class at the after party.

Everyone in both classes took turns telling the love story of poor Bubba and Miz Lurlene.  Mary Reese's lines were at the beginning of the play.  She told about Bubba's wicked step-brothers [Dewayne and Milton] getting "gussied up" for the ball...



All good elementary school plays have fabulous singing and dancing.  This one was not short on the country music and line dancing.  Mary Reese and several other cowgirls did a little jig to Rhinestone Cowboy...



...where at the end Bubba appears in his finest duds on his way to the ball [Mary Reese ends up on the left hand side of the stage...second from the end].

There was also a high energy square dance inspired number to the tune of Cotton Eyed Joe...



How could you not include this number...



Bubba and Miz Lurlene fall madly in love during this dance.  Billy Ray would be proud.

Like Cinderella, Bubba turned back into a stinky old cowboy at the strike of midnight.  He bolts from the ball so Miz Lurlene can't see the real Bubba.  Luckily he left one of his golden cowboy boots behind.  Miz Lurlene searched the entire kingdom for it's owner...



Thankfully she found Bubba and the couple rode off into the sunset and lived happily ever after.

The play ended with these two classic cowboy numbers...



[Mary Reese is on the far left of the stage]



I don't know how these teachers get forty six/seven year olds to do such an amazing job...but they do every time.  It is truly a highlight to their school year.

After the curtains closed, the cast hung around for a few autographs pictures...



Mary Reese, Abby, Mary Bibb, Emily, Sydney, Bella & Leland



Marlie [the fairy god cow], Mary Reese, Mia Kate and Bella



One of the directors [Mrs. Propst] with Mary Reese and Bella.

No production would be complete without a cast party afterwards.



Mia Kate and Mary Reese [those 2 have really enjoyed sitting beside each other keeping Bryant and Caine straight] snacking on Cowboy/Cowgirl hat rice krispie treats, cookies, chips and drinks.



Mia Kate, Ms. Earwood and Mary Reese.  Ms Earwood was crazy lucky enough to be doing some classroom field observations during play practice.  Mary Reese talked about her non stop the 10 days she was with her class.  I know Ms. Earwood is going to make a fabulous teacher based on the rave reviews she got at our house!

I thought the Ducker/Propst class play put on when Banks was in first grade was the best I had ever seen.  Now I think it is a toss up!

american girl :: atlanta

Mary Reese got her first American Girl doll for her birthday from Nanny Nan and John B.  Debbie gave her a trip to the store in Atlanta.  Popsy and Gigi gave her a gift certificate to use at the store.  Needless to say, she had an American Girl Birthday!

Since her birthday is in November and so much goes on in the November/December months, we decided to wait until February to cash in on the Atlanta trip.  Since we were out of school on Monday, we decided Saturday would be the perfect day to go.

I made us reservations at the Marriott in Alpharetta.  They do up the American Girl theme right!  We left early Saturday morning and arrived around lunch...



Our room was almost ready when we arrived.  After we got checked in, Mary Reese and Kate had their own special check in...



See that doll behind Mary Reese?  She got to register to win it.  They are drawing in March and we have our fingers and toes crossed!

She had to wait for her and Kate's names to be called before going up to the desk...



She was presented a VIG [Very Important Girl] card to use in the gift shop for a snack or in the restaurant for a dessert.  She was handed a special welcome message from the manager of the hotel...



She was invited to a special showing of the Felicity movie...



The hotel even has special tickets to their movie showings.

Finally she got a star sucker...



Actually we all got one!


Finally it was time to check out our Everything PINK American Girl room...



Everything was definitely PINK....



The bed linens were pink, the towels in the bathroom were pink, the alarm clock was pink, the trash cans were pink, the paper and pencils were pink and the bean bag chair in the room was pink!  Mary Reese was in HEAVEN!

Her and Kate relaxing...



The doll bed came with the room.  She got to take it home as a momento of her trip.  There was a doll robe and matching girl robe for them to use during their stay.  [You can purchase the robes to take home but I didn't opt for that $99.00 price tag.  They were short on robes for the dolls, so when we checked in the lady said she would be getting a gown, bunny slippers and book to take home instead of the robe to use during our stay.  Mary Reese was thrilled.]

After we got settled, we headed to the American Girl store at North Point Mall...



Even Molly [Aunt Stacey's AG doll] came along for the ride...





She shopped around spending her gift certificate from her birthday.  She bought her and Kate a new purse, a matching American Girl Atlanta t-shirt, and Kate some new shoes.



We didn't have an appointment at the salon for Kate a new do.  There were no open appointments for that day, but they were still piercing ears...



So Kate got her ears pierced and 4 new pairs of earrings.

We had a dinner reservation at the Bistro...



I found out when we got to the store that there was a huge cheerleading competition in town.  The store was a madhouse.  [After seeing all the merchandise flying out of the store while we were there...it made me wish I owned American Girl stock.]  The cheerleaders had snatched up all the salon hair appointments and bistro reservations.  We were lucky to get in at the Bistro.

All the girls are given a high chair for their doll to use during the meal...



If you don't have your own doll, no worries.  They have extra ones you can borrow while you are there.  The food was delicious!  They have a set price and you get a starter and an entree.  Mary Reese had cheese fondue and chicken fingers with mac & cheese and a fruit skewer.  Debbie had the cheese fondue and I had the pretzel bites for our starters.  We both had the chicken spinach salad with the warm bacon dressing.  Yum!

There were birthday celebrations right and left.  I felt we were about the only table in there not celebrating a birthday.  The cakes looked delicious...white 2 layer with pink pokkadots...super cute.

We skipped out on dessert.  Mary Reese had a movie to get to [and she also had her Hershey with Almonds bar she bought with her VIG card].

Mary Reese and I went down for the movie.  They had sleeping bags set up on the floor for all the girls and their dolls.  They were popping popcorn and had cokes for all the girls and their parents.  After the movie, we stopped by the front desk to let them know we were ready for our milk and cookies...



Cookies for Mary Reese and Kate!



[The nightgown and slippers Kate has on were the ones the hotel offered us since they were out of robes.]

They ate their cookies and drank their milk...



...before hitting the hay!

We got up the next morning and enjoyed a huge breakfast buffet in the hotel's restaurant before heading home [the breakfast was apart of the room].  Even the hotel restaurant had special tables for the American Girl visitors!

While we were girling it up in Atlanta, the boys were trying out for baseball and partying at the first ever Mardi Gras celebration in our town...



They sampled red beans and rice at the cook-off.  Later that night they caught beads and moonpies at the adult parade...



I kept seeing friends posing on facebook.  It was Owen catching beads...



...apparently he was real into it!

It was a fun weekend.  Mary Reese kept saying the entire time were were there "This is the best day ever.  I am having so much fun!"  The experience was PRICELESS!  I was glad to have Monday to recover from all the festivities!

:: heart day ::

Another Valentine's Day has come and gone.  It is not my favorite holiday but I have come to enjoy it more.  I love that my children get so excited exchanging silly cards with their classmates and friends.  I will have to admit that I was not on top of my game this Valentine's Day.  We didn't get our cards bought until two days before the big day.  They did not get addressed until the night before!

This is what my counter looked like at some point after dinner before bedtime...



For Owen's class I made iced heart sugar cookies.  Banks and I got back from the McWane Center about a hour before Owen had to be picked up, so I whipped out his cookies.

Jody picked Mary Reese up from school that day.  On their way home, they picked us up some steaks for our special Valentine's Day dinner.  I threw together some mashed potatoes and steamed green beans to go along with our steak.  Owen helped me with dessert...



I love that little smile on his face.



He took his sprinkle job very seriously.



I got dinner cleaned up.  Jody got all the children bathed.  I made a quick recipe of Caramels for the teachers and got Owen's cookies iced and sprinkled...



Banks had to take icing for his class to decorate some heart brownies so I just doubled up my icing recipe for Owen's cookies.

I thought I was home free!  All I had left to do was to wrap and bag the caramels.  Or so I thought.  Then Mary Reese announced about 7 o'clock that night that she had to decorate a Valentine's box.  GREAT!  How did I miss that note???  Obviously I did.  Mother of the Year here.  Thankfully she is my creative, artistic child.  We had a shoe box, some Christmas wrapping paper that I turned inside out, some Valentine ribbon and some markers.  Here is the finished product...



Not half bad for what we had to work with.  It was 100% all her.  I did make and hot glue the bow on the front but it was all her idea.  I was glad I didn't spend any extra time or money on it because as soon as she got home that day, she unwrapped it so she could get to all her loot.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day with the ones they love!

mcwane center field trip

Monday Banks had a field trip.  [Field trips are always good because usually that night we have a little break from homework :)]  They had to be at the school extra early so they could be at the McWane Center when the doors opened.  I will have to say of all the field trips I have been on with my children, this was by far the best.

[Again I forgot my camera.  I not sure where my brain has been lately.  So all I have are iPhone photos.]

The kids had some time to explore all the exhibits.  The did fun things like play with bubbles...



They tried out a bed of nails...





I think that was their favorite by far.

They pretended they were weather men/women...



They made impressions of their faces...





We saw the iMax movie called Tornado Alley.  Wow!  It was a first for Banks.

Our group took a class about the earth and it's weather...



A huge ball was suspended from the ceiling.  Four projectors [one in each corner] projected images of the earth.  The teacher used a Wii remote to rotate it.  We even got to see satellite images of Hurricane Katrina.

After lunch, we saw a Lightening Show...



Banks even got to be apart of a demonstration on how electricity can travel through the air.

A great field trip.  If you are ever in the Birmingham area, it is definitely worth dropping in on!