Crazy Days of Summer!

Since school let out for summer, family members seemed to hit the ground running! The kids got out of school on June 3rd and both Hailey and Hayden were enrolled in Summer Camps that began on the 8Th!
The 5Th and 6Th, Hailey and Hayden spent those days with their Dad at a job he was working at Star Mule Days. Hayden left for Grandma's on the 7Th and it was off to the races!

Both the kids had a very long week but when Grandma brought Hayden back we got to spend a little time at a local park.
This park is pretty unique - it is built with the handicapped in mind so they can play along with kids that don't have handicaps. They have a big play set area that is wheelchair accessible, a music area, water fountain play area and a rock climbing area. There are covered picnic areas, a football field, baseball diamonds, (I think soccer areas), large wide open spaces and even a fishing pond! The park is not even close to being finished but it is so big they are doing it in stages.

ANYWAY, Grandma brought us over there one afternoon to hang out for awhile and I didn't quite get a lot of pictures of the kids running around but I did get a few! Hailey missed out because she was in the last day of her camp but I am sure we will get her over there sometime this summer!

We also brought with us a football, some camp chairs (not enough) and a baseball and some gloves.

Here the boys are tossing a football - they had a lot of fun even though Tyler almost hit a family having a picnic at a bench close by ( we moved after that)!

Is that Joe Theismann or Hayden?

Grandma kicking back in the shade!

I really want to get some of these rocks in my back yard - they were cool and actually fairly high up! King of the Hill!

This kind of activity is perfect for Tyler! Keeps him busy!

You can't tell in the shade but his feet weren't quite touching the ground. I wanted it to have a dramatic effect.

Tyler conquering one of the smaller hills!

Hayden pretending to come close to falling off a tall rock.

Hayden encouraging Tyler to climb the tallest rock there - he made it up with a little bit of a struggle.

Tyler was thrilled he made it to the top until he looked down! He immediately squatted down as close to the rock as possible and got a very concerned look on his face. He wanted down . . . NOW!

We had to really coax him to get him down. He started to get a touch teary but I stood at the bottom to let him know I would catch him if anything happened.

Even though he was a little frightened I believe he had a good time - I think we all did. I didn't want to leave but there was dinner cooking and things to do. I made a mental note to myself that I definitely wanted to get to the park with the kids more this summer. It's simple, free and lots of fun.

Quilting - Progress!

Well, here we are! In the final stages of the top of the quilt! I am pretty excited about this.
These are the rows of blocks, sewn together in rows of three. The pieces off to the left are what are going to be put around the outside of these blocks and then there are some green strips to follow those and the top will be done.

I am really looking forward to seeing this done. I almost can't wait to get started on another one!

As of right now I am finishing up on sewing all of the block rows together! I think I might make the last installment of this with the finished product.

Schools Out For Summer!

After Hailey's entrance into the house this afternoon screaming "I am a Freshman", I knew summer had officially started!

CONGRATULATIONS KIDS!

The kids are all excited for summer but I can see the exhaustion on their faces! This was a busy year and I know they are looking forward to some down-time (which also may include a lot of traipsing around our part of the state with their Dad with work) but they love it!
They have all worked very hard, have gotten fantastic grades and have really grown academically. I am hoping that we will get a lot of time at the park, the library and good time with family and friends during the summer!

I am sure there will be a lot of events and situations that will make for great posts during their summer break and I am looking forward to getting to share them with all of you (all five of you)!

BRING ON THE FUN!

Woo Hoo!

Just a SHOUT OUT for how happy we are for Hailey! She also has received the:

Presidential Academic Excellence Award!

Kurt and I keep looking at one another and wondering where

all our kids have gotten their great brains!

Congratulations to Hailey, Hayden and Tyler for all of their hard work in school this year!

Time With Dad!

When I realized that Kurt actually had the day off I wanted to make it something special for all of us. Kurt has been VERY busy lately and we really haven't seen a whole lot of him the last couple of weeks and I know that things are going to pick up even more with all the summer shows and such coming up. So, I thought it would be fun to have a barbecue with him and maybe play some catch or something.

We ended up not getting to barbecue because the propane tank was out of gas so we ended up cooking them inside (sad, they taste so much better cooked outside)! But, I wasn't going to let that dampen the fun until someone suggested that they watch " a little " of a movie while eating. Well, no one can just watch a little of a movie so they ended up watching the whole Star Trek movie. This was the older one about the Genesis program.

We finally got outside around 9 p.m. and it was really nice out! Played some basketball and catch. It was fun. I think we need to do that more often!
Here are a few pics - I didn't get to play much B-ball due to the "boot of hindrance" but, I did what I could. It is really hard to do a lay-up when you can't bend your foot!

They are trying to give Tyler plenty of chances to make a basket - this was funny.

Hayden wanted a turn!

Hailey got a little close to the camera -

Kurt trying for a half court dunk! He did this forward and backwards - not too successful but we were there for him.

Who is bouncing more, Ty and the ball or me and the camera?

It is hard with this camera to get a good moving shot. After you press the button it takes a few seconds to actually take the picture and then the person is done what they were doing and walking away, hence this picture.

I didn't get any catching/baseball pictures because I actually got to do that because we were just standing apart and doing that plus it was getting dark and hard to see.

I hope we will get to do this again soon. I had a good time and I know the kids did too. We all love spending time with Dad!

Quilting - pieces parts!

Well, have had some opportunities lately to get started back up working on our quilt!
I have to admit it is getting pretty exciting since you can now see it start to come together. We are finally completed with all of the individual blocks! I think they look great!


No one could have prepared me for how time consuming it is to cut out pieces. Since this was a "Quilt Block of the Month" quilt - all of the blocks pieces were already cut out - you just had to sew them together. But, to start piecing your quilt together you have to cut out all that yourself. All I can say is that if I didn't have a rotary cutter and cutting board I wouldn't be here typing this post, I would be in a funny farm somewhere. . . bald!!!
Unbelievable - it took me almost two separate days to cut out the pieces needed to just piece together the front of the quilt. I had to take a picture of them but I want to say another shocking thing . . . this isn't ALL of the pieces I had to cut. I wouldn't be able to fit them in the picture!

So, now I am slowly joining all of these pieces with the blocks and creating rows. Will get some more pictures when I progress.

I can't wait to finish this. I think it is going to look great!

BUSY - BUSY - BUSY!

Just a fair warning to all those that enter this post . . . it is a mess! The last couple of weeks have been super busy and on top of all of it we lost our Internet for a week! Some things have pictures, some don't and since I don't yet know how to upload videos - this is what you get!


First, Grandma came down on the 19Th of May for three separate occasions. (Why the schools pack everything in at the last moment before school is out is beyond me). On Wednesday the 20Th she went with Tyler on a field trip to the Botanical Gardens. I don't have any pics on that but I believe you saw some on a earlier blog of Earth Day. Then, on the morning of the 21st Kurt and Grandma got to go see Hayden perform at school. He had a small speaking part, they sung a few songs and he also got to play an instrument (it's like a Xylophone but I can't remember it's name now). Then that evening we all got to go and see Hailey's final Orchestra Concert!

We took video of the whole thing. They did really well. They played the Phantom of the Opera and a series of songs from the Lord of the Rings but I have to admit my favorite was their final piece - Pirates of the Caribbean! They actually brought in the band and they played together for the first time in public (they practiced only twice before) and it was incredible! Needless to say, they got a standing ovation!
This picture has from left to right, back row: Alayna (friend of Hailey's, Hailey, Casey (friend and also in the orchestra. Front, Hayden and Emmett (Hailey and Hayden's friend, Alayna's brother)!

Alayna and Hailey - BFF's!

Can't have a concert without Tyler finding his friend Erica! She is a sweetheart and lives in our neighborhood. Believe it or not they are in the same grade! (I hope Tyler doesn't take after his mother in height)!

This is one of my BFF.s Holly with Alayna, Ingrid (her daughters) and their cousin Ryder who is in town with his mom from Sneed's Ferry, North Carolina!

We were so glad they could come and watch. Grandma was with us too but it was extremely hot in there and I think she was feeling a little woosie and she made a beeline for the out-of-doors!

Grandma left to head home after the concert. We were sad to see her go but she was back down within a week!

Okay - the next item up for a looksie . . . Hailey's Piano Recital at her piano teacher's house, which happens to be around the block! Her teacher is Andrea Thurman and is doing a great job with Hailey!

Hayden in the background - waiting for Hailey to start her first piece!

Oh, here is Tyler patiently waiting too!

Hailey's first piece is the theme song to "Titanic". It is a beautiful song. But I have to admit her second piece is my favorite, "Conquistador". I make her play it all the time. As a matter of fact she tried out for the school Talent Show and made the cut and is going to play it in front of the 8Th graders!

Sorry, made her pose!

This is Olivia - she is very sweet. She is the little sister of a friend of Hayden's who also was in the Recital.

Okay - on to other things. Grandma is back down and this is the 29Th. This was a pretty neat day too because Tyler's 1st grade class sung a song at an assembly earlier (on video, sorry) and it was so fun to see him perform. This is the first time in a school setting that I have gotten to see him and I wish I had a camera that took better indoor pictures because it was so cute . . . anyway .. . . Then Grandma and I returned later for another special event.

Hayden was the recipient of the

Presidential Academic Excellence Award!

I didn't realize how much you had to do to get this. You have to keep your grades to a 90 or above for 4Th and 5Th grade and also have to get high marks on all your state exams!

We are so happy for Hayden. There is a picture of the award at the end.

Here Hayden in looking at a Caricature he had made of himself for the teacher. She likes her students to do that so she can keep them as reminders. I thought it was a cute idea!

Which one is the real Hayden?

This is Hayden's teacher, Ms. Schmidt! She is fantastic! She has been so encouraging to Hayden, especially with his writing. He has really enjoyed this year!

Here is Grandma with the kids!

Here is Hayden's award! Right now it is in a pretty important place in the home - on the refrigerator door!

Heading home! What a happy kid! So handsome in his shirt and tie!

Well, I hope that has caught you up a little bit on what is going on around here. Believe it or not it isn't everything but I tried to sum it up the best I could!