Going Back To Work

I know this comes a shocker to a lot/most of you. I just felt this is what I needed to do. Plus, Nathan agreed that if I wanted to get a job that he would find a job Monday through Friday. Yeah!! That's our goal. So, about my new job. I will be back at BMS (where I taught before). I am so excited!! I will not be teaching English. I will be the Science TAKS pull out. What this means is that 8th graders take TAKS in Science. A lot of the time they don't understand the terminology/vocabulary/comprehension/etc. So, I am going to get with the science teachers to find out what their lessons will be about and then pull 3-4 8th graders out per group/per class period and go over it with them. It will help them to know what is coming when the lesson does come up and they won't be clueless. They did say that they just hired two new 7th grade English teachers (which includes writing TAKS), so they will probably use me to help those teachers out. I won't have a grade book, I'll make my own schedule throughout the day. I am so pumped!!! And the best part...it's TEACHER pay!! Yeah!!! So, thank you to everyone for helping me last minute find a job. I'm back to being an Owlet.

Sweet Baby Boy

It's not so fishy around here...

Tonight was quite an eventful night. It all started when we went to get Regan's friend Hannah. She came to play and then Lauren came over. A house full of girls! Whew!! :) While they were playing Kennedy dumped the whole bag of fish food into the bowl (not so good if you want your fish to live). So, Nathan suggested we go put the fish in the pond behind our house. Good idea, Dad!! (No more cleaning the bowl or feeding the fish!) Regan agreed that would be a good idea, so we ALL made the trip...bicycles and all. Once we got down to the pond Regan wanted to pour her fish in......that's when it happened...SHE FELL IN...just the mud!! She is such a girly girl. She hated every minute of it. She kept saying, "I look disgusting with this mud all over me!" Once she dumped the fish out it got stuck in the mud, so Aunt Lindsay had to get in the mud to save poor fishy. Once the fish was safe in it's new home, and we got back up to the house Nathan had to spray Regan off with a hose. So, then all the girls wanted bathing suits to play in the water. So instead of a slip 'n slide, we had a jump 'n slide. :) Good times!!

***Note to family and friends: PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE do not buy us a fish or invite us anywhere where we could win one. (We've had THREE!)***

The Boat At Poppy's House

The girls were dying to go to Nana and Poppy's yesterday, so Poppy came and picked them up. Regan went first because she was going to sew...hmm. (I don't think any of that transpired one she got there.) Then, Kennedy was so heartbroken that Regan got to go that she "called" Nana and Nana had Poppy come pick her up too. :) (Note to Poppy: If you take one, you've got to take the other.) When I went to pick them up to leave I saw the cutest thing. They were sitting there, very intent, and "driving the boat". So fun to be a kid!

Jack Carter Pool

My friend Mitzi and I try to meet up at least once a week. These days it's been one every other month. :( So, we were trying to decide of a good, cheap place to take the kids. She suggested a place in Plano called Jack Carter pool. I am so glad to know about it, because we will be there quite a bit next summer. It's so cool. Rockwall has a spray park, but we NEED this spray park. It has slide, and things that shoot water. The water is only calf/knee deep so the kids could swim or walk. We just brought a picnic lunch. Kids 6 and under are FREE and kids 7 and older was only $2!!!! (I think I should get paid for writing this blog!) :) It was so fun! Thanks, Mitzi for the suggestion and great time!!

Regan with Reese's goggles. She's so cute!

Kennedy coming out of the big slide.

Oh, the trouble those two can create. :)

Reese styling her sunglasses.

Happy Birthday, Mims!!

Saturday was my mom's birthday. She is 29 and still holding. :) (She just now got me picturs from her birthday lunch, so that is why I'm late on posting.) Enjoy!

All the girls! SHARING a drink! Yeah! :)

We love you, Mims!!!!

Regan's first sleepover

***Update***Regan did make it through the entire night. I was the lonely one. :(

Regan is spending the night with a friend tonight. This is the first time....second attempt....first time to stay. :) (Hopefully I didn't ginx that.) They have had all kinds of fun swimming and making brownies. I am sure they will sleep well tonight. Here are some pics.:

Mmm! Mmm! Good!

1122 Nancy Lane

After I met my friend Brea yesterday I drove around town to show the girls where I grew up. It was neat to show them where I went to school, our old house, and show them places we used to go, and talk about things we used to do. Oh to be a kid again!

That window that you see on the far left of the house was my bedroom. One time a teenage boy across the street was shooting his bb gun at his mailbox and missed and he broke my window. Scared me to death!!! The big tree in the front left (by my window) was a great climbing tree. In fact, we made many clubs in that tree.

Good times!

Playdate

Yesterday the girls and I had a play date with a sorority sister of mine. Since Brea was doing her student teaching while I was there, we were not really close. Through the years and over email, iming, blogging, etc. we have gotten so close. It was nice to see her and catch up and let the kids play. We did pack a picnic lunch, but with the HOT weather we didn't make it until picnic time. Thanks Brea for a great time!!! We'll have to do it again before another 10 years pass! :)

Kendall, Kennedy, and Regan driving the pink convertible.

Brea, Harrison, and I. Don't you love the picture. :) Regan and Kendall were our photographers!

Longtime Friends

Ame and I have been friends since our freshman year of high school. She was the first person to talk to me, invite me to meet some of her friends, hang out with etc. I love Ame just like a sister. We met up last night at the good ole' Cheesecake Factory. (For you AR folks, you don't know what you're missing.) It was so nice to sit and talk . I think the waiter was a little annoyed with us because we waited so long to order and then sat there after dinner and talked more and more. It was so good just catching up. We asked the waiter to take a picture of us and he suggested in front of the trees, like he was a professional. So, we just pretended it wasn't really the Cheesecake Factory, it was in front of a palm tree in Hawaii. :) Ha! Don't mind the bug eyed look I have. It took a little longer than I expected for him to get the shot. :)

Thanks, Ame for a great time!

Quote of the Day

I was blog hopping, which I do OFTEN, and I found a quote that totally sums up my life right now. (Thanks Lauren for the quote.)

We're not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us;

We are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.

-C.S. Lewis

Swimming American Idol

I took the girls over to Shannon's on Tuesday to swim. While we were there Hannah, who is almost 7 and doesn't have a shy bone in her body, decided it would be a great idea to have a singing contest. It was hilarious!! Hannah would get on the edge of the pool and say, "Excuse me, we are going to be having a singing contest. If anyone wants to sing come see me." Of course Regan wanted to and then they suckered the rest of the kids at the pool in doing it. It was so fun to watch!!

Regan was so game on the whole idea, but she didn't want to sing in front of people. She hid behind the chair every time Hannah made her singing contest announcement...and that was several times. :)

This is a picture of the other two girls from the contest.

Regan only sang if Allison sang with her. They were both great!!

Tents

Remember when you were a kid and you used to use whatever to put blankets on top of to make a "tent" or a "house". My sister and I did it all the time. Not that the "tent" would stay, because the blankets always fell and we would put them up and they'd fall and we'd put it up again and again. Such good times! My mom watched the girls yesterday so I could run to the grocery store. When I got back this is what I found:
Aww! To be a kid again!

Goodbye Little Rock! :(

This past weekend Nathan and I headed to LR to get the rest of our things. It was a very hard time for myself and for Nathan. It just kind of hit us again to walk into Carter's room and pack up all of his clothes. Just another day of emotions. We got to LR about 2am Sunday morning and left at 6:30pm Sunday night. What a day!! Monday we had some helpers helping me unpack...ha! Thanks for your help girls!! It was quite the scene to see them help each other carry things up the stairs. Luckily no one was hurt. :)

Picnic at the Pool

Every Tuesday and Thursday we go to my friend Shannon's house to swim. Well, her kids had been begging her to have a picnic. So, on Thursday of last week we packed up a picnic and headed to the pool. The kids swam for a little a little bit, and all the while wondering when the picnic would be.

Spitting Contest

Nice title, huh? My SIL and BIL and I took our kiddos to the spray park a couple of Sundays ago. (I am very behind on the blogging.) The girls decided to put water in their mouths and shoot it into the air as high as they could. It was the highlight of the spray park.

Regan's was by far the highest. Kennedy would get water in her mouth and be laughing so hard she would either spit it out or swallow it. I never could get all of the girls to spit at the same time. Good times!

SURPRISE!!!

Nathan, his sister, and mom threw me a surprise party for my birthday! Yes, I was surprised! :) Here are some pictures from there! Thanks for a great time!

Dr. Wyatt & Jessica

I just wanted to post a picture on here of my doctor in LR. He is such an amazing man. I definitely needed him and Jessica during that time. They are both extraordinary people. Jessica and I have a great friendship! They are both blessings in mine and Nathan's life.

4th of July

After we had a HUGE lunch in Tyler we were on our way back home. I took the girls to the pool for a little while before we went to some friends house to eat some more!! Then, we headed over to our house to watch the fireworks show. (The park is not far from our house, so we had a great view.) The kiddos did sparklers and the "big" kiddos did fireworks. (Yes, it is illegal in the city limits, and yes, we are in the city limits.) :) And we had a grass fire!!! Good times, good times!!

Kennedy and Lauren with the sparklers.

Kennedy watching the fireworks...ours and the ones from the park.

(Notice that Regan is not in the pictures. She was taking part in the festivities from inside the house. Since she doesn't like thunder at all, you can only imagine what she thinks about fireworks.)

Tyler

We went Thursday to see my grandparents in Tyler. It was a nice and relaxing time. The girls got to help Mee-Maw cook, which they were so thrilled about. I took their bikes. Regan was being a show off riding with one hand. :) Kennedy was copying sister by standing up and riding her bike. It was a great time with great food and great company. We love y'all!!

Kennedy helping Papa cut the watermelon.

The girls helping Mee-Maw cook breakfast.

Kennedy and her new stunt.

Regan the one-handed rider.