WOOHOO!!!

It is one of my favorite times of the year-- COLLEGE FOOTBALL!!!! What a way to start it off--- The Crimson Tide just beat Clemson!!!!!! ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!!!!!!!!!

The End and The Beginning

Summer is officially coming to an end. Tomorrow, I head back to school. Dylan starts a new school tomorrow. Kadyn has one more week and then she will join me-- her classroom is just down the hall from mine.

This summer has been so very different. I have spent more time in trainings. I faced a fear ( my wisdom teeth) and survived. I always have a time of reflection, but this summer that feels to me like it was intensified. I feel as if I learned so much about myself-- some good-- some I wish I did not have to admit. We have started attending a new church and I am hopeful that this will become our church home. I have had new challenges with my children-- some I feel I have handled with ease-- others I know I have failed miserably.

This school year brings change--- I am making MAJOR changes in my classroom and I am taking on a new leadership role in school. I want this year to be a year where I truly let go and let God. This is hard for me to do in my classroom for some reason.... so that is something I am working on.

As I sit here knowing I should be going to bed, I am thankful for this summer.... I am thankful for the start of a new school year. I am thankful that God is still working on me and allowing me the opportunity to grow.....

Airhogs

Sunday night, we went to a Grand Prairie Airhogs baseball game with the SS class from the church we are attending . They are a semi-pro team. This was Dylan's first baseball game. He was super excited to be going. Kadyn has been to a game before, but was just as excited to be going. Prior to game time, you could go out on the field and throw the ball. Dylan was so excited, but the heat got to him and he wanted water. Eric and Kadyn stayed out there for a bit throwing the ball.


We found our seats-- right above the Airhogs bullpen. Dylan was SUPER excited to see a baseball player. I wish I could have captured the expression on his face as he watched the pitcher and catcher warm up.

One of the players came over and signed the kids gloves. He was super nice-- talked them to a bit as well. Again--extreme delight from both kids!

I love this picture!

Once the game started, Dylan had trouble staying interested. He had trouble finding where the ball was-- since it wasn't right in the bull pen anymore. He wanted them to come back right by him! However, both kids were determined to meet the Airhog. Their dream for the night came true.

Eric and I had a good time as well. It was fun getting to meet couples and get to know them better!

Can Squirrels Swim??

I never have thought about it... but can squirrels swim? I looked out the back door a few days ago and saw a squirrel sitting on the edge of the pool. We have lots of squirrels since we have many trees in the backyard. However, they have not been near the pool-- as far as we know. He walked up and down the side a bit-- and then....

He attempted to walk out on the middle..... I wish I had the video on. I have never seen a squirrel move so quickly. He started back peddling.....

And somehow managed not to end up in the pool...... which leads me to wonder.... Can squirrels swim??

Welcome To The Jungle

For those of you who don't know..... I am not the most artistic person. I can have these marvelous ideas..... but they never come out like I imagine them. So, years ago I pretty much gave up on any type of decorating. I honestly asked my mother to help me "see" things when we would move and need to set up house again. Well, I got the bug. We moved in the house in April. This time it is ours--- I CAN PAINT!!! Then I remember my fear-- what if it doesn't turn out right-- I mean sure I could repaint it-- but who is to say that it would be any better? Well, I hate the white walls in the house. I feel like I am in a sterile environment. When I say white-- I mean the whitest white you can imagine. On top of that, there is texture. Now, I like texture, but this goes beyond what is normal. Seriously, I have cut my hands on the walls if they bump up against them. It is extremely thick and extremely pointy!! Anyway, I want to do something- but I know I need to start small. The smallest room in the house is the kids bathroom. I began looking at different shower curtains. I knew I was going to get a new one anyway. We have had the ducks below since Kadyn was 1. It is time for a change!! I found a cute jungle pattern. Still for kids, but not babyish in my opinion. So, I do call my mom. I tell her I have found what I like but I have NO CLUE what to do now. I want to learn.. I don't want to be afraid anymore haha!

She agrees to come help me learn. So--- goodbye to the ducks. Now, Kadyn cried for quite awhile. We had to cut a few ducks out of the shower curtain to put in her photo album. ( yes, I know we are in trouble if she is having this much trouble over ducks... but that would be an entire post of its own). So here is the last time the ducks hung in the bathroom.....



In order to paint, mom said we would have to sand the walls down. This goes back to the ginormous texture on the walls. It is not a big room, so we decided to do it by hand. Here we are with our masks on.... Dylan had to wear one like us.

This is a picture of the bathroom counter-- it is COVERED in paint particles......

After taping the walls, that was all we did on day one. About 2 hours- maybe 3. We would have started painting then, but I had a reading camp I was doing the next day. So, off to bed we went. When I got home the next day, the painting began. Let me tell you-- I LOVED IT!! Mom did a great job of teaching me. I rolled and cut. I did not get a single drop of paint on the ceiling! I was quite proud of myself. We were doing 2 colors -- a dark brown on top, a border in the middle, and then a light brown on bottom. We promised Kadyn she could help roll a bit. This helped her let go of the ducks and embrace the jungle--haha.

The painting was done in about 2 hours. We had plenty of time to get the border up then. However, we had to let the paint dry for 72 hours before putting up the border.
This was on Monday. Thursday evening, mom returned and helped me learn how to do the border. Not as easy as painting... more tedious. But, I loved seeing how it tied the room together. The border is up.... the curtain is hung.... and adventures in the jungle have now begun!!!


So, as we put the finishing touches on, I looked at mom and said-- this matches the image I had in my head. (ok didn't mean for that to rhyme!) I now have the bug. Eric said I did a great job and I can do more in the house!!! YEAH!! However, the other rooms are too big to sand by hand. So, first I will be buying an electric sander.

Finally- the pictures from Eric's Bday

Eric's bday was on the 30th, however he chose to celebrate on Friday night-since he did not have to work the next day. The fam came over once again for what seemed to be the millioneth bday of the summer!!! We were tired of grilling out, but did not want to go out to eat-- not always a stress free environment with 4 kids! So-- we brought Outback in.....

Here is the cake of fire.....

Eric is good at finding out what his gifts are before he ever gets them. I always thought I was bad about asking questions, bugging people to see if they would break-- no- he outdoes me!! So, this year I wrapped his present in a large box--inside it he had to open 3 more boxes before he finally got his gift-- a GPS!!!

Eric and his mom.

We all had a good time---- the birthdays are over for our crew out here in TX until Sept!!!!