Preschool Picnic and Career Changes

On the last day of preschool, all the parents and the kids meet at lunch time for a picnic at the park.
It is a great time for everyone to chat and the kids to play and have fun.

 

This was the entire 2012-2013 preschool class, see if you can find Bradley's blond little head.

 

This was Mrs.Diane's last year as the preschool teacher at ABC preschool, Bradley had her for two years and Bradley really enjoyed her as a teacher.

 

Next year, I will be the teacher for Bradley's Preschool. I am very excited and so is Bradley. I am looking forward to taking a new path with my career. I keep telling Dan, this might be my niche...

 



Learning to Swim

We have decided that once the boys learn to swim we will further investigate the possibility of getting a pool here at our house.

We enrolled them in the closest swim lessons we could find to enroll them in, about 45 minutes from our house.

Bradley loved his swim lessons, he was able to be 1:1 or 2:1 with a teacher for three nights a week for two weeks. The first night he was very scared to be in the pool where he could not really touch the bottom. By the end of the two weeks he was swimming across the pool on his own with a noodle.

Jaxson did not love his mommy and me swim lessons so much. He clung to me with a death grip, it did not help that the water was a bit chilly. By the end of the two weeks he had loosened up a bit and would kick his feet in the water as long as his arms were wrapped around me and would jump into my arms in the pool.

 

 

 



Staying Chicks Forever

While visiting my Grandfather in Tennessee, the boys fell in love with his chickens or "cockels" as Jaxson calls them.

My brother had chickens when I was younger, we had a chicken house and the whole bit, I myself was not a fan of them! I really wanted nothing to do with them. The only real memories I have about our chickens was Anthony winning many trophies when showing them and one time when some type of a wild animal got into the chicken coop and mom picking up chicken parts up from the yard while my brother sobbed.
So, my Dad is now working at the fairgrounds and they had baby chicks leftover from the Ag Days Experience and they were in desperate need of a home.

So the boys got baby chicks...

 

 

 

Bradley was super excited and Jaxson just wanted to love on them and hug and kiss them.

Bradley did tell me, "Mom I wish they could stay baby chicks forever." To him I said, "You know that is how I feel about you, I wish you would just stay little forever."

 

 

 

Easter in the Mountains

This year we decided for Spring Break we wanted to include a visit with my Grandpa Peck in Tennessee.

So we rented a cabin in Gatlinburg, TN and met my Mom and Clayton.
It was great time together as family, we were able to dye Easter Eggs, go on a hike and see a waterfall, rode a sky lift up the side of a mountain, and did A LOT of shopping.

 

This was our fantastic cabin, it was called, "On Solid Ground." Not sure about the name but it was very  nice, it had four bedrooms, four and a half bathrooms, a hot tub, game area, theater room, and a lot more.

 

There is so much for families to do in Gatlinburg, we stopped at a place with a go-kart track and I am not sure who was having more fun, Daddy or Bradley...

 

 

We were also able to dye Easter Eggs and then the Easter Bunny stopped by to hide them for Easter.

 

 

Bradley really wanted to see a waterfall so we went on a two and a half mile round trip hike to see Laurel Falls.

 

We also stopped at my Grandpa's house in Tennessee for a visit. It was windy and the boys were not cooperating for a picture...

 

We had a nice trip and did so much more, but that is why I made a photo book about it.

 

Picture Post

Haven't done this in a while...

Be very afraid, Jaxson is not driving the Gator...

Had to document this, I saw my Great Aunt Lucille last weekend and she gave me this quilt. She said my Grandma Peck had given her the material already cut in bags before she passed away. Then she laid it all out and put it together, then hand quilted the entire thing. I am so grateful to have this quilt.

Jaxson got a Mater for his birthday and he loves it!

More baking fun...

Blue playdough road...

Jaxson has figured out how to take his clothes off and every time I turn around he is only half dressed!

Kids + Pets + Carpet = 2 1/2 Years

We moved into our newly built home two and a half years ago and I was already disgusted by the carpet, so it HAD TO GO!
We were just going to replace the carpet with more carpet, but we found a good deal on some nice hard wood  flooring and Dan and My Dad could install it so hard wood it was. The boys were so excited for another house project.

Work in progress... Jaxson and Bradley had fun coloring with chalk on the black paper that went underneath the flooring.

The final products, now to compromise on the rug that we want for the living room...



Happy 2nd Durthday to Jaxson!

Jaxson recently turned two and his new favorite song is Happy Birthday.

He can be heard laying in bed at night singing, "Hoppy Durtday to me, Happy Durtday to me...." it is so cute and brings a smile to my face. It's one of those things that I hope I remember years from now.

 

We had a little birthday party for him here at the house on his real birthday and invited Grandma Hayworth and Gary over to for dinner, cake, and ice cream. I made a cake for him, my cake decorating skills were very rusty and need some serious work.

 

 

Then we had a birthday party for him at Rush Pavilion at Columbian Park. I was really hoping the weather would have been nicer and we could have played at the park, but we have had a very late arriving spring and it was very cold on that day.

Jaxson had a "Choo Choo" party. We played the Bozo Bucket Game and pin the funnel on the Choo Choo.

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday to Jaxy and thank to all that came to help and celebrate with us!