Summer Re-cap #2

I posted back in June about Wes' Spring baseball season and mentioned he was selected to play All Stars. Kris and I have talked for years about the pros and cons of continuing the season at this age.  We have been pretty set with our convictions, but decided to let him play this summer.  He had a great time and learned a lot by being on a team with lots of good players.  Being on an All Start team brought a few decisions to my attention that I had not foreseen me making! 

First up was whether or not to follow the team and sport a mohawk.  As the collage proves, I said yes, and Wes couldn't have been more proud!

Second up was wether or not to paint the van in support of our team.  Once again, as the collage proves, I said yes, and Wes was very pleased!

Seeing him sport his All Star uniform definitely brought it's excitement!  This was also our first team to play with that had t-shirts made for the families.  Not only was it fun for us to support Wes in this way, but it kept the game night wardrobe simple for this mama!  (When we were unloading at the first tournament, I got so tickled at Bankston Hays - he had tucked his batting glove in his pants...just like the big boys!)

The season ended sooner than we had hoped, but not short on memories.  Wes made new friends, learned a new position and several dugout cheers, and how much fun it is to WIN!  (And I learned that when I let go of what I want, it can MAKE a little boy's day!)

Summer Re-cap #1

Before we get too far in the school year and I look up and it's Christmas holidays, I wanted to re-cap some of our fun memories from the summer.

One morning we got up and at 'em EARLY!  We planned to spend some time at a local park and knew we had to get there first thing or we wouldn't be able to bear the heat.  We like this park a lot because it is rarely crowded and has something for all age

Favorites at the park:  Wes - rock wall, Ann Elise - swings and zip line, and Bankston Hays - tall slides

For several years I have wanted to take the kids to a water park.  I figured they would have a good time, but I wanted to make sure I could handle all three on my own.  This summer proved to be the one when all three were swimming proficiently and Wes could manage the slides without me.  We went to celebrate the first day of summer and were having a good time when it thundered.  We were disappointed we had to get out, but when they made the decision to close for the day they gave everyone free passes to return!  YAHOO!  We used our free passes to celebrate the end of summer - going a few days before school started back :)

Favorites at the water park:  Me - lazy river, Wes - potato sack slide (don't know what else to call it but it is like the sack slide at a fair - you just ride down head first on a mat), Ann Elise - tunnel slide, and Bankston Hays - slide under the dumping bucket

My sister and her family live in my hometown (about 3 1/2 hours north of us).  We get together every chance we get and our kids L.O.V.E. being together!  When we found out my brother-in-law had a conference on the coast we started making plans!  The one hour drive was worth it!  The kids had a blast at the hotel pool and us sisters enjoyed our catch up time :)

Every summer we participate in our public library's summer reading program.  It keeps the kids reading and provides us with an air conditioned activity!   This year we settled into the routine of "stories and snow cones".  After we finished perusing the shelves and filling our bag with new books for the week, we'd head down the street to our friends' snow cone stand.

Favorite flavors:  Wes-rainbow, Ann Elise - wedding cake, and Bankston Hays-rainbow

Back to the grind

The big kids have started school (3rd and 1st grades) and Bankston Hays (3 yr old Preschool) starts tomorrow. We are excited about the new year - new teachers, new friends, new things to learn! To celebrate the first day of school we had a special treat as an afternoon snack.

I am kinda on a recipe kick, so I'll share one that caught my attention :) I first saw this recipe on a blog I can no longer find, but great old Google read between my search words and lead me right to an almost identical dessert (if not the same recipe)!

Frozen Caramel Toffee Ice Cream Dessert

1 box Ice Cream Sandwiches

1 jar Hot Fudge

1 jar Caramel

12 oz. Cool Whip

Toffee Bits

Unwrap ice cream sandwiches and layer bottom of casserole dish (1 sandwich thick). Top ice cream sandwiches with Cool Whip. Heat hot fudge in microwave until runny and drizzle on top of Cool Whip. Drizzle caramel on top of Cool Whip. Sprinkle Cool Whip with toffee bits. Then layer with ice cream sandwiches, Cool Whip, hot fudge and caramel. Top with toffee bits. Freeze until ready to serve.

This dessert was super easy and super yummy! Throwing in different nuts - peanuts, pecans, almonds - would be good, too :)

Celebrating Kris!

Yesterday was Kris' birthday! The kids and I were excited to celebrate such a great husband/daddy. Kris and I went to see Harry Potter the night before (for our anniversary), so his big day did not entail too many great or exciting plans. However, we kept with our tradition and celebrated lunch with a few friends at our our house. The tradition includes Kris choosing the lunch menu - I'll make whatever he wants ;) The kids love this - always putting in their suggestions.

Birthday Lunch Menu

Shrimp Lasagna (A dish my mom makes that we LOVE - rumors hace it that my brother requested the same meal for his birthday a few weeks ago! The link takes you to a similar recipe I found online.)

Spinach Salad

Sister Schubert Rolls

Not Yo Mama's Banana Pudding

I did not take any pictures of his special day, but I thought I'd share two of the recipes with you. Both are DEE-LISH!

(photo credits)

Shrimp Lasagna

12 oz. Angel Hair Pasta

15 oz. jar Chunky Salsa

1 lb. bag Shrimp (frozen, tiny)

8 oz. Mozzarella

Mix:

2 large Eggs

1 cup Evaporated Milk

1 cup Yogurt (plain)

8 oz. Feta Cheese (crumbled)

8 oz. Swiss Cheese

1 tsp. Parsley

1 tsp. Basil

1 tsp. Oregano

2 tsp. Garlic (minced)

Spray 9x13 pan with Pam.

Layer from bottom to top:

1/2 of Pasta

Salsa

1/2 of Shrimp

Remaining Pasta

Yogurt Mixture

Remaining Shrimp

Mozzarella

(photo from Flickr)

Not Yo Mama's Banana Pudding

2 bags Pepperidge Farms Chessman Cookies

6 to 8 Bananas (sliced)

2 cups Milk

5 oz. box Instant French Vanilla Pudding

8 oz. Cream Cheese (softened)

14 oz. Sweetened Condensed Milk

12 oz. Cool Whip

Line the bottom of a 9x13 dish with Chessman Cookies. Layer bananas on top. In a bowl, combine the milk and pudding mix and blend well. Using another bowl, combine the cream cheese and condensed milk together and mix until smooth. Fold the cool whip into the cream cheese mixture. Add the cream cheese mixture to the pudding mixture and stir until well blended. Pour the mixture over the cookies and bananas and cover with the remaining cookies. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

13 Years

(these young faces were headed out to begin the journey of life together)

HAPPY 13th ANNIVERSARY, Kris!

So glad to be doing life with my best friend! It's been wonderful - marriage is a JOY :)

S-L-O-W-L-Y

We are s-l-o-w-l-y getting things back in order after returning from nearly two weeks in China. Kris and I are both dealing with jetlag, but our family routine still calls :) The big kids register/meet their teacher for 3rd and 1st grades tomorrow morning. All the school supplies are purchased and labeled. Their uniforms are washed, ironed, and hanging in the closet. I have been making notes on afternoon snack ideas. And I have a new routine/chore chart brewing in my head. Guess those last four sentences mean a new school year is upon us!

Once this week gets going I'll blog about our amazing trip and the experiences God granted. But before I get busy with that I'll be blogging about TWO very important days!

Wordless Wednesday

Wes (10 months) and Kris, Southern Miss Coliseum - September 2003

FLASHBACK: NECA era ends

The way our baseball league is designed you play in the same division for two years. It works out well. The players spend the first year learning from the older teammates and then in turn showing what they've learned before moving up to the next level. The teams are given names of businesses/organizations that support the program and our team was NECA/IBEW. He played on this team for his first two years of coach pitch. Then he moved on to play for Central Sunbelt for the first year of the next division. At the beginning of this season we learned that this sponsor was not returning and our team would be ...you guessed it - NECA/IBEW! So, Wes has had the unique opportunity to have the same team name for three seasons :)





As his second year in this division - his fourth and final season of coach pitch - came to an end, we have lots of memories and friendships to hold on to and look forward to making more!

Wes was fortunate to be selected to play All -Stars at the end of the season and we are in the throws of practice and a series of three tournaments. He is enjoying being able to play baseball for a little longer! I'll post more about this experience once the season ends.

FLASHBACK: Ann Elise's Kindergarten Graduation

The end of Ann Elise's Kindergarten year was celebrated with a graduation ceremony - cap and gown and all. The ceremony included Pomp & Circumstance, the students singing a number of songs they'd prepared for the night, and most children speaking a part. Ann Elise's part was "Please sing this wonderful song with us on the second time through." We were very happy she said her part well!

A big smile before we left the house:


The Kindergarten Class of 2010-2011:


Receiving her diploma from Mr. Griffith, the Principal:


Showing her excitement over her diploma:


And a final picture with her Kindergarten teacher - who retired at the end of the year.


Ann Elise loved this school year. She made some good friends and learned some valuable academic skills. We feel she is well prepared to tackle first grade :) We couldn't be more proud to stand next to this sweet graduate!


We were more prepared with this graduation ceremony - it can definitely signify an end in many ways. Looking back at Wes' Kindergarten graduation serves as a reminder - now the little boy look, the "fun" of learning the basics, the innocence of just being 6 does comes to an end :(

We now know first grade brings desks, homework, projects, and life lessons...growing up is hard to do (especially for the parents)!

Wordless Wednesday

Bankston Hays (8 months) - VBS Family Night, June 2008

FLASHBACK: Feathered!

You may have seen the recent hype in the news regarding fly fisherman and their frustration over one of the newest fashion trends - their bait is being found in girls' hair!

I am not exactly sure how this trend got started - maybe Steven Tyler donning them on American Idol? But nonetheless, girls everywhere are picking out feathers of all colors and clipping them in their hair.

Ann Elise first brought this fashion trend to my attention when a few friends at school started wearing them. I started paying attention and one day found myself at the school early for pick-up. The third graders were at recess and a group of girls were sitting nearby and I noticed just about all of them had feathers! I knew a few of them and decided to find our what I could. They told me everything! HA! I found out where to get them, how they get put in, all the styles, etc.

Ann Elise continued to bring up the idea of getting feathered and after talking it over we decided it would make a good "recital gift". So, the feathers were purchased, wrapped, and attached to some balloons. She was very excited when she opened them and couldn't stop asking when could she get "feathered"!

I took her to the boutique the next day and a sweet college girl put them in. Ann Elise was very proud and has enjoyed everyday with her little extra bling :)

FLASHBACK: Ballet Recital 2011

Ann Elise had another great year of ballet and tap. Her teacher is very sweet and really loves the girls. They worked hard all year practicing positions and getting better. We love the simplicity and modesty of this studio. Her teacher picks out the class costume and makes it work for both the ballet and tap number. She just changes out a few pieces to change it up. This makes intermission much less stressful and more enjoyable :)

For the first act Ann Elise's class performed the cutest tap dance to Joshua Fought The Battle of Jericho. Lots of fun!

During the second act her class performed a sweet ballet routine to Heavenly Sunlight. So, so precious!

Getting a hug from Mrs. Lynn, her teacher, for a job well done!

Posing with her biggest fans - big brother Wes and little brother Bankston Hays :)

Her grandparents were equally excited to watch such a great performance!

Ann Elise really did a great job. She knew every step to both routines and performed them just when she was supposed to - all with a big smile spread across her beautiful face.

Butterflies Update

Earlier I posted about the Easter Bunny bringing Ann Elise a Butterfly Kit. In order to get a better understanding of what was about to happen - and because we knew there would be no way we would be able to witness every moment of our butterflies' metamorphosis - we watched this YouTube video. How incredibly cool to watch nature perform!

For the first week we got to watch the caterpillars grow, climb to the top of their jar, get in their "J" formation, and form their chrysalises. The kids would come home from school excited to see if there were any changes. To find one making it's "J" was like watching a baby takes it's first steps :)

The kit was very easy to manage. Once the caterpillars formed their chrysalises, we removed the pad (shown above) from the jar's lid and hung it to the side of the butterfly tent. We would mist the chrysalises once a day and about a week later painted lady butterflies began to emerge.

The kit came with a sugar water feeder and we added some branches and flowers for them to enjoy. We held onto the butterflies for about two weeks. They seemed very content in their tent and the kids absolutely loved watching them flit around!

I asked Kris to take them to work and have one of his students (with a fancy camera) take some good pictures. I simply wanted some good shots of the butterflies doing their thing in their tent! But the guys had a better idea - they closed off the main office and let a butterfly free.

You would not believe how tame it was! This butterfly landed on the student's glasses AND hung out on Kris' finger :)

Kris was able to round them up and bring them back home safe in their tent. After the kids saw the pictures of the butterfly and it's freedom, we held onto them a few more days and occasionally let them fly around the house.

As you can imagine, our critter lover was beside herself admiring God's intricate creation!