Happy Father's Day

This year we celebrated Father's Day all weekend. Yesterday my parents came over for dinner and cake so we could celebrate Father's Day with my daddy. The boys told me earlier in the week that they wanted to get their daddy an ice cream cake for Father's day. So, that's what I did. I decided to pick it up yesterday so we could share it with my parents.

the cake

my daddy with his grandsons

Today we went to Clarence's Nanny and Papaw's to eat grilled hamburgers and hotdogs. Man, was it hot! The boys rode their bicycles while I tried not to melt in the shade. We also picked up the newest member of our family...his name is Willy, and he is one of Ginger and Goliath's puppies. We gave Willy to Nanny and Papaw when he was a puppy, and now he's joining our family again. I will post pictures of Ginger, Goliath and their son, Willy, after we have them all groomed. They don't have their summer haircuts yet!

After we got home I decided that I needed to get a picture of Clarence and his boys on Father's Day. So, here are a couple...

I love this picture!

...and this one. This shows the true nature of the relationship between these boys and their daddy. Always being silly and loving being with their daddy. I am so thankful for their relationship, and I hope it never changes!

Oh I miss the beach already!

We've been home from the beach for a few days now, and while I was glad to be home on Friday, I am now ready to go back! :) I miss sleeping late, getting up and putting on a swim suit, grabbing a towel (and a child), and heading to the beach. Oh, if I could live that life for a little while... Bliss! But, for now, I have to be content with working and being a mother here in sunny, stormy Nashville.

I have some good news to share... Clarence got a job this Monday! YEY! The money is not great, but in this economy...We can't complain; he has a job when many others do not. Also, he is enrolled in an online program to get his associates degree over the next eight months, so there is another accomplishment to look forward to!

As I mentioned previously, we took LOTS of pictures when we were in Florida, and here are some more of them!

This is one of the first pictures I took when we got to the hotel last Monday

On Wednesday we took the boys to Gulf World. After the Dolphin show, Isaac had his picture made with one.

Before the Dolphin show we walked around the marine park and found these fun places to take pictures.

Alex in a shark

Isaac in an alligator

Alex in the Alligator

Alex with whatever you call this...

Then on last Wednesday night I decided to go down to the beach to take some pictures of the sunset before taking Isaac down to the pool to swim.

Isaac on the beach at sunset

The pier with the sunset in the background...ahhh....

Beautiful.

Our resort at sunset

Isaac swimming at night

Alex thought he wanted to go swimming too, but then he changed his mind and decided to go with Daddy to get pizza from Hungry Howies.

Clarence and I have decided that we are going to try very hard to take the boys back each year. They had SO MUCH fun, and it was nice to get away from all the business of every day normal life.

I don't want to go home!

So... the countdown is over and we have been in sunny, hot, Panama City Beach, Florida since Monday morning. The weather has been beautiful the whole week! The boys are really enjoying themselves. Isaac loves the 'big pool', the splash area, and the ocean, but the 'big pool' is his favorite by far. Alex doesn't care too much for the ocean, but he will play in the sand if we make him go down there. Alex doesn't quite understand where the waves are coming from, so he's not comfortable with getting too far in. He won't get in the 'big pool' either, so the 'little pool' and the splash area are his favorites. We've spent most of our time at the beach or one of the pool areas for most of the week so far. Last night we went to Margaritaville for dinner and the boys both had a great time. It is such an entertaining place! This morning we took the boys to Gulf World. They saw the California Sea Lion show and the Dolphin Show. They had a great time with that as well. Isaac was brave enough to have his picture taken with a sea lion and a dolphin. Alex was content with just watching Isaac have his picture made. He has been pretty timid around all the new things he has encountered this week which is pretty surprising to me considering what a dare devil he is most of the time! We have taken LOTS of pictures, but here are just a few. I'll post more when we get home.

Isaac swimming in the ocean with Daddy

Alex on the beach

Isaac floating in the splash area

Alex playing in the splash area

Counting down the days...

In our household, we are currently counting down the days... Counting down the days to the end of Isaac's 1st grade school year, to Alex's last day of school before our vacation, and I'm most definitely counting down my work days before we leave for vacation!

Isaac's first grade year began on a nervous note for me. He was starting a new school with all new people and teachers. I wasn't sure how he would react since his first two years of school were at a different school. But, he adjusted well and has had a great year! I am so proud of him and how well he has done. He has learned a lot and made many new friends. I am impressed with the quality of Isaac's teachers and the level of interaction I have been able to have with his home room teacher. She has been very reassuring and encouraging in light of all the things we went through with Isaac's teachers last year. I look forward to seeing how much he matures over the summer and seeing what next year has in store for Isaac.

Alex's first year of preschool is also coming to an end. He started preschool in January and is also doing a great job. We recently received his 'evaluation' from his teachers. I want to share a couple of the teachers' comments with you as they are definitely ones that make a Momma proud!

'Alex likes to interact with other children. He enjoys going to all of the centers in the classroom. He is very creative while playing in centers for example using blocks to make a guitar and leading his friends in a song.'

'Alex is well liked by his friends and teachers. He has a good imagination and likes to role play with his friends. He is a joy to have in class!'

In August, Alex will transition from the 'Owls' class to the 'Eagles' class. This will be the last step before he starts Kindergarten. I am looking forward to seeing how much Alex grows next year and how much he learns. But, over the summer he will be enjoying a 'summer camp' environment at school with camps focused on science, math, etc., and he will get to take field trips.

As I mentioned in a previous post, we are all really excited about going to the beach next week! Alex is so excited about it that he asks me every day when I pick him up from school if 'we going to the beach tomorrow'. I sadly have to tell him, 'No, not tomorrow. Just a few more days.' I also have to remind Isaac every morning that there a just a few more days of school and before we leave for the beach, and he gets a big smile on his face every time!

Until next time... Here is a picture of some of Isaac's work hanging in the hallway at school.

This week in review...

So, my week started out a little on the stressful side. Monday was a little rough because on the way to taking Alex to school he informed me that we forgot his blanket for naptime. He was very upset! I just assumed that he was correct and that we needed to figure something out. So, being a good Mommy, I frantically and immediately started thinking of a way to remedy the situation. So, I decided since we got his other 'school blanket' at Walmart that I would try to stop there on the way to school. I figured that would be faster than going back home to get the other one. So, I stopped at the 'closest' Walmart (there aren't really any close). We ran in the store as quickly as possible and thankfully he found one that he would be happy with and it was only $4. So, at this point, everyone was happy. Momma had saved the day, and we were on our way! THEN, when we got back to the car and I was putting my purse down in the passenger seat... I noticed something BLUE underneath the bag that I carry to work everyday. HMMM... ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! It was Alex's blanket that I didn't think we had! I was so mad! I was now going to be a few minutes late for work FOR NO GOOD REASON!

Thankfully the rest of my week went uphill not downhill. Clarence finished school on Tuesday and finished the work on his truck on Wednesday and is now sort of hanging out while he waits to start working when we get back from Florida. He doesn't actually have a job yet, but he will when we get back, right?! I have been trying not to stress too much about it because I know he is very talented and a hard worker. Any company would be glad to have him! He does have some good prospects, so I hope one of them works out. We have posted his resume on Monster.com, and his resume has been sent from the school to potential employers as well. I think he is planning to go around to the different shops to talk to them in person next week as well to get his name and face out there. Hopefully he can get something lined up before we go on vacation.

Speaking of vacation... I am really starting to look forward to our trip! We haven't been to the beach in 4 years! We used to go every year, but we just haven't been able to lately. Thanks to my wonderful parents, the boys will get the trip to the beach that they have been asking for since last summer. Alex has only been once when he was a baby and doesn't remember it. So, I am looking forward to his reaction. I am also looking forward to spending time with my little family and my parents for a few days. Things seem so busy all the time; it is going to be nice to take a break!

So as to not post without any pictures, here are pictures of Clarence's final project from school. (It wasn't required, just something he has been wanting to do) His newly painted truck... Didn't he do a GREAT job!? He is still waiting for someone to pinstripe it for him, but I think it looks great!

the whole truck used to be silver, but he repainted the silver and added the blue to the top

I used to have a Sequoia this same color blue... I miss it sometimes ;(

My Mother's Day

I told Clarence all I wanted for this Mother's Day was a good breakfast, so we went to the Cracker Barrel Sunday morning. It took us a while to find one that had a line short enough for me to be willing to wait. The first one we went to had an extremely long line, so I told Clarence that we could go check out IHOP and see how long the line was there. It was even worse. So, then we tried one more Cracker Barrel and the wait there was only 30 minutes. I could handle that! While we were waiting Clarence took this picture of my boys and me. Of course they were being silly; they're always silly! That's why I love them so much! (They get it from their Daddy; he can always make me laugh!)

After a late breakfast we went to visit my mother. While we were at my parents' house, I took some pictures of her flowers. My mother enjoys growing flowers and has some really beautiful ones!

While we were waiting for our table at Cracker Barrel we got the boys wooden airplanes to play with later. Clarence put them together for the boys and helped them fly them at my parents' house.

Clarence helping Isaac wind his up for takeoff

Alex having fun with his... He was so excited when it would just a little distance! It didn't have to go far.

My silly boys again, sitting on Granny and Grandaddy's front steps

I hope all the mommies I know had a great Mother's Day!

Congratulations Graduate!

Today was Clarence's graduation from Nashville Auto-Diesel College. He started the program 13 months ago after he was laid off from the job he held at Ingram Book for 10 years. I am so glad this day has finally come, but it does seem like he started just yesterday. Clarence worked very hard and earned the honor of valedictorian. Today we were able to share in this special day with family and friends. I was so glad to see all of his family as I'm sure he was. My parents and our friends Kelli and Steve joined us as well. Clarence was presented with the valedictorian medal and delivered a great speech. He was nervous of course; there were over 300 graduates and their families and friends there... What would you expect?! So, here are some pictures from our afternoon.

giving his valedictorian speech



the grad with his valedictorian medal and cords for honors and perfect attendance

trying to get a picture with our boys, but as usual, they wouldn't cooperate...

Clarence and Me

Clarence and his mother

Jaylen (our nephew), Nana and Camden (another nephew), Clarence and his dad, Pops

Clarence with his sister Kim

Clarence with Ricky and Sharon, his aunt and uncle

Clarence with my parents

Clarence with Steve and Kelli

Me and Kelli