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.

Non Traditional Christmas

Since the boys are older and don't believe in Santa Claus anymore, we decided to take a nontraditional approach to gift giving this year. Instead of opening presents from "Santa" Christmas morning under the tree, we decided to have them find their presents by following clues that led them from place to place within the house. Since they are out of school and received electronics, we did this a few days early so they would get in more play time before going back to school in January.

Todd and I sat down one afternoon and came up with all the clues for the game. We decided to make the first clue in code, so that they would have to put a little bit of brain power into it. It was really just the clue written backwards, so they both got it pretty quickly.

A couple of weeks ago I had them fill out Elf applications that I found on the internet. They asked me now and again since then what those applications were for. I just told them they had to wait and see, so that added a little to the fun. Their applications ended up being "Approved" and that qualified them to receive their first clue. Evan was a little more happy to go along with the story, but we all had fun doing it in the end.

The first video is of them figuring out the first clue and Chad finding his presents. The second video is of Evan following his clues. He didn't want to be taped through the house, so Todd agreed to only tape him actually finding the clues and opening his presents. Thus, it is a bit choppy.

Merry Christmas!

Basketball update

Evan's team has been practicing a lot. Their team has come together and they have won a couple of games. They have played some really experienced teams, though, and had their share of losses. Nevertheless, I still think Evan is the cutest basketball player on the court!




For family members and those really into youth basketball, you can check out a couple of video clips of his last game on my YouTube Channel.

Evan's Basketball Season Start

Evan is playing basketball on a parish team again this year. He is on the Celtics and they have been practicing for the past few weeks. They won their first game, but then lost two in a row, so the team is stepping up their drills and practicing almost every night. I got one photo and a short video of him shooting a free throw during the last game. Sorry for the quality, but the lighting was horrible.

I have learned to not sit to close to Todd during the games for fear of having my eardrum burst. He loves to coach from the bleachers and I'm sure he's thinking that all of his yelling is helping his boy and the team. I say that if it helps, keep it up! Go Celtics!

Giving me a smile during warmups.

Thanksgiving

We decided to hit the road for Thanksgiving and went to the beach in Alabama. The temps were mild and where we stayed had a heated pool, so we got to spend a lot of time outdoors. Evan was wet 90% of the time and couldn't get enough of the water. We also had a lot of fun shopping, eating out and riding go carts. Going back to school was hard this morning, but knowing that Christmas is less than a month away eased the pain a little. Here are a few of my iPhone photos:

Evan hanging out in the pool. There were about five other boys his age at the hotel, so he always had someone to play with.

Evan eventually dug this hole deep enough that he hit water!

Evan and Chad on the Beach

Sharing some of our food with the seagulls.

Ready to Ride!

Ready to Ride x 2!