Day 134

LilCrockett was at it again today.  I wore my house slippers around the house for a bit this morning and then took them off once my feet warmed up.  Came by a little later and this is what I saw:

Mother Nature did not cooperate and it rained all day.  LilCrockett was scheduled to have his first baseball game ever and it got cancelled.  Talk about a disappointed little boy.  He had been so excited.  How do I know?  Well, he woke me up at 5:00am this morning to remind me.  Hard to see his excitement crushed.  At least he doesn’t have to wait long….his next game is Monday night.

Because it was so rainy and overcast today, we were stuck inside.  Evening came and I knew it would be a good time to have a family movie.  We ended up renting Tangled and it was awesome.  I wasn’t sure how well we would like it as I thought it would be more girly.  But, the whole family really enjoyed it….even Crockett!  Check out my movie-watching, popcorn-eating, couch potatoes!

After the movie, it was bath time for LilCrockett.  Crockett added a bunch of bubbles to the tub and I came in to get some photos.  Won’t be long before he’ll be too big for bubble beards.

Day 133

I came into the living room this morning and had to chuckle.  LilCrockett had been playing with his GI Joes and this is what I saw (remember this is the work of a 6 year old, so try to keep your mind out of the gutter since some of these guys are sans clothes):

This guy was hanging on by the strap of his weapon….

This guy was quite the contortionist, hanging on by his toes…

And these guys were showing off as well…

Question: Why do kids like to undress their action figures?  GothGirl used to do the same thing with her Barbies.  I’m guessing it’s because the clothes are hard to get off and on and are easily misplaced.  Too bad they don’t all have painted on undergarments like some of the GI Joes!

Day 132

Last night we learned about the death of a friend’s 18 year old daughter.  Katie died in a car accident not far from the elementary school.  Her passing means that our community has experienced the death of 3 young girls, aged 14-18.  Two of them died in car accidents and the third died of leukemia.  Needless to say, there has been so much sadness, especially since I knew the girls who died via accidents.  Emilee worked at the cleaning service which was contracted at my office but I only knew her in passing. Katie was the daughter of my friend Kim, who was also a teacher at my kids’ old beloved daycare.

Katie’s death has affected me more than I expected.  Probably because Kim was like a mom to my kids during their daycare days.  The entire daycare staff is a very close-knit pseudo family, so I know how much they are grieving as well.  I can’t imagine how they are coping considering how down I feel.  Kim has been posting on Facebook and admits that she doesn’t know how she will get through this.  That this was never something she expected to have to do.  It brings me to tears and there are really no words to adequately express my feelings.  As a fellow mom, I am simply heartbroken.

If there is any good to be found in this week, it’s that I’ve been hugging my kids even tighter and have been spending as much time with them as possible.  Of course I love them every day, but it’s easy to get wrapped up in business and stress of life.  This week I’ve been trying to slow down and cherish each and every moment, both with my kids and with my husband.  GothGirl and I have been bonding over shopping, dining out, stamping, & Girls on the Run.  Crockett and LilCrockett have been bonding over fishing and baseball.  Life is too short and you never know how much time you’ll have with someone.  So, I’m reminding you to cherish those moments with your loved ones and give them to the gift of your time.

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At Girls on the Run today, the girls filled the treat sacks with candy, office supplies (markers, pens, post it note pads, clips, etc.), and granola bars.  They also made a flower pen to put in each bag.  After the bags were filled, we delivered them throughout the school.  All of the teachers were gone for the day, so they would see their surprises first thing in the morning.  Photos taken with my phone.

After our lesson, GothGirl and I took her godmother out to dinner for a belated Mother’s Day celebration.  I had been thinking about getting flowers for her, but decided that spending time together would be much more meaningful as we don’t get together with her that often.  We ended up at Olive Garden and had a delicious meal.  Sadly, I neglected to get a picture of the 2 of them.  By the time we got home, it was too late to take any additional photos with my good camera.  I was OK with that though as time with my daughter and a friend was much more important.

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While we were out doing our thing, Crockett and LilCrockett went fishing again and they took our friend Jack along.  They caught lots of fish and came across a momma duck and her ducklings.  Here are some photos that Crockett took on his point and shoot.

Day 131

No time to take pictures yet again today.  After school, I had to pick GothGirl up and take her to guitar lessons.  Then I came home and walked on the treadmill while she finished up some homework.  We both grabbed a quick dinner in the kitchen and then went down to my craft room to stamp some paper sacks.  My Girls on the Run group has to complete a community service project and they chose to make treat bags for all the teachers and staff at the school.  I volunteered to bring in the decorated sacks, which the girls filled with candy, office supplies (markers, pens, post it note pads, clips, etc.), and granola bars.  They also made a flower pen to put in each bag.  After the bags were filled, we delivered them throughout the school.  All of the teachers were gone for the day, so they would see their surprises first thing in the morning.  Photos taken with my phone.

Due to the lack of photos for today, I’d like to wrap up with the final photos taken on Sunday at the orchard.   The theme for this year’s Team Quest finals was Route 66.  The organizers brought in an old Chevy Impala convertible for the event and housed it in one of the barns.  The kids were told some things about the car and then were later tested on the material that was covered.  At the end of the day when the kids were all occupied with other events, I got the chance to take some photos of the car by itself.  Since classic cars have such neat features, I knew there was the possibility of getting some good photos.  Luckily I shot a few at some great angles and I love how they turned out after final editing. 

Day 130

I didn’t take any photos today with my Canon.  Instead, I spent the evening bonding with my beautiful daughter.  GothGirl needed some clothes so we did a little shopping.  Next, we stopped for dinner…her choice was Noodles & Co.  She got her favorite Buttered Noodles with spices and I got the Chinese Chop Salad.  Both dishes were really yummy and we had a great time together.  I love hanging out with my girl.  Photos courtesy of my iPhone:

While we were doing our thing, the boys were fishing at a local lake.  They had a fabulous time too.  Then again, LilCrockett is happiest anytime he can be outside hangin’ with his dad!  Here’s a photo of him with one of the biggest bluegills of the day.  Note: I was losing light fast by the time they got home, so I had to snap this photo in Auto using flash.

Finally, I wanted to share some photos that I took yesterday at the Guten Tag Orchard (Home of the Team Quest State Finals) near Chester, IL.  It seems an odd location to hold these finals; but then again, it was a wonderful setting.  Groups of teams would rotate through the various outbuildings to perform the different events of the day.  I particularly enjoyed it because there wasn’t a lot to do while the kids were “in session”, so the grounds made for an interesting backdrop.  At one point, I walked down the country lane back towards the pond to take some photos.  I loved the rustic barns and such and was happy to get some great shots.   

Day 129

You may recall from a previous post that GothGirl’s team qualified for the State Finals in the Team Quest Academic Challenge.  Today was the final event and it was held 3 hours south of us in Chester, IL (home of Popeye!).  There were events in Engineering, Creativity, Music, Math, Trivia, Teamwork, etc.  Parents can really only watch from afar, but I snapped a few photos throughout the day.  Keep in mind that the event was held in various outbuildings at a country orchard, so the lighting was not very good.  There were 18 teams at the event and sadly, GothGirls' team did not make the top 5.  I wanted to get a team photo at the end, but she was too sad.  Despite not placing, we are VERY proud of her accomplishments.  We love, Sweetie and you will always be our #1.

Day 128

Today was Mother’s Day, but it felt just like any other day.  I spent the morning with LilCrockett since GothGirl was at a sleepover.  We picked her up mid-morning and when we got home, she wanted to clean.  I had already cleaned the bathrooms, so I suggested that we clean the windows.  Crockett was still down working flood command duty and wasn’t expected home until mid-afternoon, so I figured we might as well get something done while we were waiting for him.  But he surprised us and came home early.  We got about half-way done with the windows (did I mention that we have 12 windows on our house!) and GothGirl defected to the neighbors’ house to help them put together a metal tiki bar that they had given their mom for Mother’s Day.  I was left to finish up myself, but was glad to have them done because my windows were crazy dirty. 

While I was doing windows, Crockett decided to tackle the bushes in our backyard.  They were a little overgrown and needed some shaping.  Seems like all of our flower beds are overgrown and need of some attention this year.   

Meanwhile, this is what the cat was doing….

When dinnertime came, we pooled dishes with the neighbors and had a great impromptu Mother’s Day meal: pork loin, cheesy potato casserole, green bean casserole, applesauce, and layered pudding. 

Due to all the fresh air and outdoor activity, we were tired and so we went inside around 7:00pm.  I got busy on the computer and looked up at about 7:45pm to see this.  If you look closely, you’ll see LilCrockett’s hands area clasped together between his legs.