Transitions

My blog posts have been few and far between this past year. My boys are getting older and like having more say over how much I "share" on the internet. Nonetheless, we can be found all over the place. So, if you want to catch up on what we are doing, you can use the following links:

Facebook pages:
Joan
Todd
Chad
Evan

If you want to see my photo albums, head over to Picasa.

If you want to see articles that I find interesting and want to share, follow me on Twitter.

We can talk books on GoodReads.

And if that isn't enough, I post more photos, quotes, drawings, etc on Tumblr.

Merry Christmas and Happy 2013 New Year!

How Time Flies!

It is amazing how children seem to grow up overnight! Just a few years ago, Chad looked like this:

Tonight his his high school's home coming dance and he looked like this:

What a grown up young man you have become...wow! We are so proud of you and hope you have fun at the dance.

Here are a few more photos from the night:

Joan and Chad

Joan, Chad and Todd

And of course we had to get one with Gwen!

Happy Birthday, Chad

Wow, I can't believe that you are sixteen years old today. How awesome is that! They say that the teenage years are the roughest and that may be true, but I do love watching you grow and change from the little boy that you into the man that you are becoming. Hope you have a super, wonderful, awesome birthday!

Since today is a school day, we had some pre-birthday cookie cake last night. Here are some pics of that:

 My two loves!

 Here is a photo of you from xmas 2007. Look how much you have changed since then!

Visit to the Farm

We recently spent a few days at my parent's house in Texas when we took the boys there for their annual summer visit. While we were there we made a trip to their farm and had a nice afternoon cookout. It was hot, but we all enjoyed being outdoors and poking around to see what was new since our last visit.

I have many fond memories of the farm as that is where my paternal grandparents lived when I was growing up. I used to stay with them for a week in the summer and as a "city kid," had a blast being outside in the country, exploring and spending time with my cousins. There is a wonderful sense of freedom being away from the hustle and bustle of the city. The pace is slow and there is time to enjoy the sweetness of just being.

Chillin' Chad

Some juicy grapes. My parents don't eat these, but use them to make wine.

Todd putting a new picnic table together.

One of the great things about being in the country is the freedom to have target practice without the fear of hitting your neighbor's house. Evan couldn't wait to shoot his guns!

Todd taking his turn. Is it cheating to use a stepladder to steady the gun?

My dad trying out his aim.

Evan helping season the burgers on the pit.

"This one needs a bit more pepper."

Spring Garden Update

Here is an update on Todd and Evan's spring garden, which I would call a success. Here was the blooming garden in it's Hey Day (It has really dried up now in the heat!).

 

Remember how it looked when we started?

We harvested a lot of tomatoes, green beans, jalapenos and corn. Here is a sampling of the green beans. Evan was so excited at how big they were he had to measure them!

 Evan's Sunflowers grew to over six feet tall. Here I am standing in front of them and they are way over my head!

 

Todd took some of the tomatoes and jalapenos and canned some homemade salsa. Yum!

Can't wait until Fall!

Happy Birthday, Evan!

I can't believe that my "baby" is eleven year old today. How time flies! It seems like yesterday you were that tiny baby that I brought home from the hospital. I have enjoyed watching you grow and become your own independent person. I love hearing your thoughts and about the many things that interest you. You have a great sense of humor and I treasure all of laughs we have shared.

Instead of going with a traditional birthday cake, the birthday boy picked out a patriotic flag cake to celebrate the occasion. He has been blog-shy, so thank you, Evan, for giving me permission to post a couple of pics on your special day. Hope you enjoy it!

 Evan with his flag birthday cake!

Hanging with his friends and playing lazer tag.

Here are a couple of other photos from when my brother and his family visited us a few weeks ago. The boys have a blast spending time with their cousins!

 

 Chad, Evan and their cutie cousin, Clark.

Evan and Darby Gene

Mother's Day Weekend

On Friday, we kicked off Mother's Day weekend with Todd bringing home an ice chest with 50 pounds of shrimp. They were big and gorgeous! Luckily, Evan doesn't mind getting his hand dirty and jumped in and helped Todd peel them and get them ready for the freezer. Todd cooked his first batch of them on Sunday and they were awesome.

My boys working hard on the shrimp.

Todd loves his shrimp!

Evan displaying the biggest shrimp he could find.

On Saturday we went to a HUGE sporting goods store called Cabela's. When I walked in, all I could say was "WOW!" It is incredibly big and has everything for the outdoor person. In addition to the merchandise, there is also an aquarium with fish and turtles, a wildlife museum, tons of displays and a restaurant! How did I live so long and not even know a place like this existed?

Evan took my picture in front of one of the wildlife displays.

Evan was thrilled that they had an escalator and I couldn't resist filming him and his big smile (though Todd was a little impatient with Evan's fun):

 Todd enjoying the store.

On Sunday we went to Todd's sister's house and had a wonderful bar-b-que lunch. She made five desserts and I had to taste them all1 Needless to say, a nap was in order when we got home. It was a fun, relaxing day!

Two more photos to complete this post. First, a shot of me and Gwen from last week:

 

Did I say how much I love this dog?

A Mother's Day photo of my gorgeous nieces:

Honor Roll Breakfast

Evan made the honor roll this past reporting period, so we got an invite to a breakfast for the honorees. Todd had to work, so Wanda went with me to cheer Evan on. After munching down on doughnuts and milk, Evan was presented with a certificate and some coupons for free meals and discounts at local businesses. I'm sure that the one for Baskin-Robbins will be one of the first ones he uses. Way to go Evan!

 Evan and MeeMaw (who made his day and surprised him with her own little gift!)

Evan and his classmate, Sage. Two smart (and handsome) boys right there!

Spring Garden

Every Spring and Fall Todd likes to plant a small garden. I love homegrown tomatoes and green beans and this year Todd is also growing some pepper plants, eggplant and probably a few other surprises.

Evan has been very interested in the garden and even informed me a few weeks ago that in addition to helping with the family garden, he was going to have his own "private garden." A couple of weeks ago we had a beautiful Saturday so Todd got the tiller out and prepared the garden for planting. He made some nice rows and he and Evan planted and watered the plants and seeds that they had gotten from the nursery.

Evan found some leftover boards and made a rectangle frame. He filled it with dirt and planted his own garden of sunflowers, corn and green beans. He also planted a grapevine near the fence. You can see from the photos below that he has his daddy's green thumb!

 Todd and Evan working in the garden.

Evan helping with the planting.

 Evan's private garden 3-15-12.

Evan's garden 3-27-12. 

 Evan's grapevine 3-15-12.

Evan's grapevine 3-27-12

Green With Envy

Todd had a couple of vacation days that he had to burn from last year, so he took off on Thursday and Friday. One thing that he decided to do was adjust the scope on Evan's .22 caliber rifle that he bought with his Christmas money. I had never been to the rifle range, so I decided to tag along. 

 Todd getting ready to shoot.

Since Evan is getting into shooting as a hobby, I registered at the shooting range just in case I need to bring him. What won't a parent do for their child? After Todd set up a target and worked on the scope, he asked me if I wanted to shoot. I am not that experienced with guns, but thought that now is as good of a time to learn as ever, so he showed me the basics and put up a new target.

Ear protection, check; Eye protection, check!

I do have to say that shooting is pretty fun. After I got done, Todd took a few more shots and I have to say that for beginners with a new gun, we did pretty well. 

Needless to say, Evan was very jealous when he got home. We have promised to take him this weekend, though, so he will get his turn on his new gun.