Merry Christmas

We have had one of the best Christmas' during this wonderful year of 2009. We were off to a fast start the last week of school. Trever had a field trip to the zoo and Christmas Party. Tyler participated in a school performance of The Friendly Beast (lyrics found here http://www.kididdles.com/lyrics/f050.html). He did a good job keeping his volume the same as the other children in the class this time. I think it was because he didn't know all the words to the song ;) Here he is singing away.

Friday the 18th, Troy and I celebrated Christmas with our co-workers from Mankus Properties. We had dinner at Ruth Chris! The food was very yummy and I was able to score a seat overlooking the St. Johns River. My view looked directly at the Main St. Bridge and the Modis Building. They were both lit up and shone off the river making a beautiful picture. We had a wonderful time.

The next morning we packed up the van and drove to Pensacola. I must say the the new van provided a wonderful expirence for this 6 hour drive. The boys were watching thier tv with head phones while Troy and I were able to listen to the radio, use the GPS and more. It was great, definately worth purchasing the Limited version...glad we did! Saturday evening, my brother and his family joined us for dinner at our Grandparents house. Grandma Amy always does such a wonderful job preparing meals and being a hostess. We exchanged gifts and the boys got to spend time with thier cousins. I think they enjoyed being with their cousins so much that receiving presents was just an added bonus. Sunday we drove to Alabama to check out the Christmas lights at Bellingrath Gardens. It was breath taking and definately worth the expirence. If your schedule allows some Christmas in the future I would definately recommend checking it out. http://www.bellingrath.org/magic-christmas-in-lights.html. On the way home we at dinner at a BBQ restraunt called Dreamland. Good food. (One of my favorite things about Christmas is all the food, which is probably why I have told you 2 times now about the food we ate. ) Monday we celebrated the passing of my dear Grandmother Frances Crowell. It was a good service that honored a strong woman. As soon as the small talk was finished and our good byes were said we headed back to Jacksonville for the final days of Christmas. Unfortunately my camera battery died as soon as we got to Pensacola, so I do not have pictures to share with you here of these events. However, Sarah took pictures and some day in the future I will acquire them too..

My father, Roy, joined us on the ride back to celebrate Christmas with my family at our house. He spent Tuesday and Wednesday being a sitter to the boys with my sister, Sarah, while Troy and I did our best to get a 5 day work week into 2 days. It was a challenge to accomplish work deadlines, finish Christmas shopping and complete the Christmas presents I had decided to make. But thankfully I have a wonderful husband and my dad and sister helped out alot!

Before I knew it Christmas Eve was here and it was time to celebrate Christmas with Troys Family. We had a wonderful time! There were lots of laughs exchanged and great food. The presents were plentiful and company was fun. Tyler had moments of too much excitement and needed some serious discipline that evening but its hard on a 3 year old who can't really believe that this is all happening!!! Tyler tends to act out when he is super excited. Trever however is a constant, always polite and kind. Thank you to everyone who we celebrate Christmas with on the 24th. We enjoy being with you all and celebrating so much!

Christmas Eve when the boys are tucked into bed we begin the process of unpacking gifts and getting prepared for Santa. This is my favorite time! This year I had procrastinated on cleaning out the boys toys to make room for new toys. So this was the first thing to be knocked off the list before we start playing Santa. 2 bags of garbage and 3 bags for Goodwill later we begin the process of putting together Trever's Electric Razor Scooter and Tylers Cars Big Wheel. My dad was here along with our good friends JB and Trish Zimmer. A great time was had by all organizing and preparing for Christmas Day. The boys were super excited to wake up and enjoy their presents from Santa. Around 10 am my mom, my sister and her husband, my brother Isaac and JB and Trish all arrived to eat and open presents. We played the Wii game Family Game night for hours! Tyler received a Police Costume from his Aunt Sarah and was uninterested in opening any other presents once he received that from her! They received Snuggies, Tools and Clothes from Troy and I! Troy gave me beautiful diamond earrings and I gave him tickets to the Daytona 500. We gave out mom's necklaces from http://thevintagepearl.com/

Here are the pictures taken on Christmas Day.

20091225

Merry Christmas to you all and a Happy New Year. I pray that your Christmas was as blessed and fulling as ours.

Some Giggles To Share

Tyler is 3 1/2 now and talking talking talking. But the funniest part is that he thinks on his own now. And the stuff the boys comes up with makes you giggle giggle giggle. There are times when he says this silly things when I am disciplining him and it makes it sooo hard not to laugh. I will set the scence dictate some converstations for you. All four of us are riding in the van headed to Thanksgiving Dinner at Mimi & Papa's. Tyler and Trever were watching Bedtime Stories on the DVD player. Tyler peels off his headphones and calls my name.
Tyler: Mommy Mommy the boy in this movie is STUPID
Me: Tyler we do not say that word!
Tyler: Mommy Mommy the boy in this movie is an IDIOT
Me: Tyler you have to choose another word he can be silly or crazy but you can't name call. Silly boy replacing stupid for idiot doesn't get you very far!

About two weeks ago Tyler was playing with my cell phone. All of the sudden I hear my mothers voice on the other end of the line. I said loudly so she could hear me with out me putting the phone to my ear.
Me: Tyler did you call Grandma? Grandma on the phone with
Tyler: Did you call me Tyler?
Tyler speaking to Grandma: No I don't call you Tyler I call you Grandma!!
You can't out smart him! He knows who she is! :-)

Wednesday November 25, 2009 Tyler had a Thanksgiving Feast in his Pre-K3 classroom. The children sang 2 songs before they shared in the food prepared for them. Now let me tell you that Tyler is by far not a shy and quiet child. He has lots of his my qualities...they good and the bad. This video of him singing with his classmates is priceless. The loud child that you can hear is non other than Tyler. Then the little boy standing next he realizes he isn't singing the appropriate words and shoots Tyler the nastiest look. Eventually Tyler becomes bored with the song and starts playing with his necklace!




So funny! I am very excited we were able to document these precious moments in his life.

Here are the pictures that I took during the month of October. We celebrated 4 birthdays this past month, Troy, my nephews,Colson & Braydon, & my brother Eric! Happy Birthday Boys! Enjoy the pictures!!!

October 2009

One final note.... as the race for the Sprint NASCAR cup comes to the end my man Jimmy Johnson is running up front! I have changed my header picture to a picture of the boys and #48's footprint at the Daytona 500 expirence. Lets go Jimmy - 4 cups in a row will set world history!

October has been busy!

The last month has been busy!! Trever has gymnastics on Mondays and tennis on Tuesdays and Thursdays. These activities combined with special events and work and school, keep us on the go!

Trever had red ribbon week at school. Each day was a different theme relating to Just say no to drugs. He really enjoyed wearing his clothes inside out, wearing a tie, wearing a hat, and wearing sunglasses. Here is is looking smooth in his shades!


We also enjoyed the Ft. Caroline Elementary school carnival. This year they had pony rides, Trever rode them two times. Tyler refused to ride them. He was more content playing games in the school. He enjoyed the bean bag toss and played it a couples times.


Troy celebrated his 31st birthday on the 23rd of October. We took the weekend off and went to Tybee Island, GA for a get away. We rented a fabulous room at the Atlantis Inn. http://www.atlantisinntybee.com/poseidons-palace-suite.php The room was themed the "Posideons Palace." It was decorated beautifully and was a very enjoyable time. I usually have my camera with me every where I go, but not this weekend. I really took the weekend off. We relaxed in the room ate well and spent time enjoying one anothers company. I had a wonderful time enjoying my husband! Happy Birthday Troy! I love you!!!!!


Halloween night we had a pre trick or treating party at my sister in law's house. The kids bobbed for apples and played outside in their costumes. Here is Trever and Colson playing light sabers...


Here is Tyler trick or treating...


It has been a great month! I look forward to November! It should be a wonderful month!!

Lots to Post About.

Well wasn't able to stick to the rigorous work outs with P90X. (I am sure you can tell by my lack of posting!) ;) I still look good by the way. The before & after pictures will have to wait until I see results from working out when I get the chance. HAHA!

My maternal Grandmother, Frances Alfreda James Crowell, died on October 8th at the stroke of noon. She has had Alzheimers for 8 years and lived in memory care for 7 of those years. She had a very strong body that kept her living comfortably for quite a long time, despite the fact that she couldn't remember much of any one at all. Mid September her body began the process of shutting down and being coming subseptable to illness, etc. She battled with MRSA, had a heart attack and a stroke that left her unable to speak. She was admitted to hospice on Friday October 2nd and went to see her family and Jesus on October 8th. She was taken care of so well by Hospice. They are wonderful care givers and I couldn't say enough about the level of care the entire family received from them.

She will be missed dearly, she was a wonderful Grandmother who blessed me in so many ways. However, she now is reunited with her husband. This is what I truly believe she wanted since he passed. There is a Rascal Flatts song titled "Elsworth" which describes a grandmother with Alzheimers --one line that plays over in my head is "We started losing her when she lost him." This is very true in my case. She loved her husband so much and missed him immensely when he was gone.

Here they are in the 70's

Here is a picture I took of them in 1999.
They are both missed but must be enjoying their time with the Lord.

On another note Fall is here! It is in the 60's and Beautiful! I love it! We had our fall festival at the elemtary school yesterday. We have bought pumpkins and painted them. Next weekend we will get some more to carve. Trever has decided to be Darth Vader.

Tyler is a garden gnome... Now tell me this isn't cute...



I will post the trick or treat pictures once Halloween has come. Troy's birthday is next weekend and we will be traveling to Tybee Island, GA to celebrate just the two of us!! I NEED IT SO MUCH! It will be a great time and I can't wait to have his undivided attention.

Finally I will wrap this up with a picture of my handsome nephew, Braydon Charles McGehee. He turned one on October 13th. He is an independant and happy boy! Happy Birthday Little MaN!

P90X Day Three

Day three (yesterday) I was sore. I wasn't sure how I was going to do another work out. Yet I knew I had committed myself to the program and I want to complete it. I am VERY curious as to what results will be. Before I got started I ventured to Wal-Mart and was surprised to find that the exercise mats there were $19.99 and up. I had seen them at TJ Maxx weeks prior and don't remember them costing THAT! I left Wal-Mart and went to TJ Maxx. Sure enough they had 72' Yoga/Pilates mats for $12.99! They even have their own device that keeps them rolled up when not in use.

VIDEO OF THE DAY: Shoulders & Arms & Ab Ripper X

I understand the creator’s method when he says "muscle confusion" and "working all different groups." The choice of working Shoulders, Arms & Abs on a day when I am so sore is PERFECT. The Shoulders & Arms video was 54 minutes long. It consisted of 8 minutes of warm up and cool down. The exercises focus specifically on (surprise, surprise) Shoulders & Arms. There were very challenging movements, but you set your goal on what you can accomplish and don't push yourself too hard. Then there was the Ab Ripper X. This was a 14 minute video. OH MY GAWD! It is a crazy hard video. I set my reps to be 15 of each movement, instead of the 25 shown on the video. This too is recommended in the guide. Next time I believe I will set them to 10. I also need to check my body placement. I wasn't too sure about some of those movements! Whew! Thankfully it was a short video!

Good news though, as I write this it is morning of day four, and I woke up to being minimally sore. Today's video is yoga and the stretching sounds enticing! Looking forward to popping in the DVD in the next couple hours!

P90X DayTwo

Sore Sore and more Sore. Troy says I have been getting off the couch and out of the bed like I am pregnant. It is difficult to bend over and sit down. I am so sore. I am sore in parts of my body that I didn't even know I could be sore! I exercise don't get me wrong, I do! I never imagined this work out video would work muscles I didn't know I had. But thats good right? That means its working!

Video for the day: CARDIO X

It was a combination between yoga, kempo and lots and lots of movements. We did complete the whole 48 minute video today!! WHOO HOO! Small accomplishments matter.


On a total side note yesterday evening was a great day! We went to Longhorn Steak house for dinner and the boys were PERFECT! We have really accomplished alot if we are able to go the restaurant with out having to remove someone from dinner with a "chat." The boys are growing so big and all of hard work is beginning to pay off.

Tyler has been plagued with back to school illnesses since starting school. It began with a runny nose that became strep throat. He then tested positive for FLU (I didn't want to know wheither it was H1N1 or the "regular" flu) The cold was continuing to linger and settled into his chest as bronchitis. He is nursed back to health ast this point, but still has a cough. He is finished with all prescription medications today. He will continue on the mucinex and sudafed until all traces of a cold are gone. He will return to school on Monday. At this point he missed 2 full weeks of school! Whew it has been tiring. I am hoping we get some reprive from all of it! Thankfully Trever has not gotten sick at all. But his immune system is much different now as he has been in school for several years and had his run of these sickness's. Sick Kids are no fun!!

P90X- Day One

Troy and I started the P90X work out yesterday. It is a 90 day work out program and nutrition guide to help you get your body toned! You use their DVD system for one hour per day to garner results. There are 3 exercise plans and Troy and I have chosen "lean." We do not want to compete as body builders but to look our personal best. You are to work out 6 days a week and on the 7th day you are to rest or use the one hour stretching video. I will post as I can to let you know how things are going.

DAY ONE!
Before pictures were taken, and will not be revealed until the 90 days are complete!

Video of the day was Core Synergistic. Whew! A 54 minute video and truly there was nothing left in me by minute 46. I had to sit and watch. I simply could go on no more. Their goal is to do short repetitions on multiple muscles for "muscle confusion." We did push ups, leg raises, and all sorts of other stuff! Note to self buy a work out mat. The wood floor was no fun to work out on! We also did not use resistance bands or weights yet. We have chosen to focus on getting our body positioned correctly before we incorporate those elements. This idea was suggested in the manual. I must say today, today is day two as I write this and my body is SORE! I am find it humorous that I can barely complete 20 push ups, yet Troy whips through them no problem. However when we are doing intense leg work outs he is the one that struggles and I don't even break a sweat!

Hello Again!

I have not forgotten about my blog. I think of what I would like to do with it often. I have lots and lots of intentions of getting to it more. I tell myself "do it the next time you get a free moment." And recently my "free" moments seem fleeting. But I am back today! I found a free moment and excited to share my adventures. My free moment was given to me while Troy delivers the boys to his mom's house. I am sooo looking forward to our date night. We are going to watch Final Destination and get some dinner. It will be a much needed pause to the busy pace we have been doing lately!

Its been a good busy but boy have we been busy! We left for Polson, Montana on July 28th. The boys were so brave as the three of us set out on our adventure to God's country. The behaved so well on each of the flights and car rides as we made our way to the cabin nestled against Flathead lake and the Mission Mountain range. We spent our week at the cabin with friends that we consider family. The Wallace/Purdy family has been so instrumental in my young adult life. Daryl is ever offering up advice and suggestions that I need to hear. And Leah is a constant and loyal friend that has never passed judgement and always made me feel respected and loved. I am so blessed to share my children and life with them. While at the cabin we took full advantage of the fun that Flathead Lake had to offer. We rode the jet ski and the boat. We saw cliff jumpers and rope swingers. Trever even did some rope swinging himself. He also tried waterskiing for the first time and did wonderful! He didn't fully understand the concept of standing up once the boat pulled you out of the water. I would say he mastered the art of butt skiing!! He is 6 years old and does so well at choosing to take on new skills. With lots of encouragement he sees that he can do anything he wants to accomplish. Tyler was not a fan of the temperature of the water. He would go in for only a short period of time to promptly exit the water and wrap up in towels. He relished in all of the attention received while there. He absolutely adored Nanny and would have spent all of his time with her if allowed. One evening he announced he was sleeping in her room! I would have allowed it if I could have known he would have slept! He probably would have kept her up all night asking "why?" This is his favorite question to date and we spend lots of time explaning the world to him. He has so much thirst for knowledge it is uncanny. We flew home on August 3rd. It was not a goodbye but a see ya later. I look foward to seeing them all again later.

Montana July 28-Aug 3

The weekend after our arrival home we traveled about an hour south of Jacksonville to spend the weekend with my father at "Georgia Boys Fish Camp" in Satsuma, FL. It was great seeing my father and enjoying his company. We swam in Dunn's Creek and most of the guys jumped off the pilings from the bridge into the water. I was quite uncertain of the water and spent most of my time on the waters edge. While fishing one evening off of the floating dock we were graced by the presence of Manatees. It took a bit for me to notice it was a manatee. I was so concerned about gators it didn't cross my mind that the large thing with nostrils sticking out of the water could be anything else. There were lots of them floating along the creek feeding. What a beautiful sight! It did make me stop to realize how fast the boats were coming down the creek and how a manatee could really be injured. We also ate one night the restaurant San Mateo Seafood. WOW WOW WOW! The food was amazing and unbelievable under priced. I hope that Troy and I will take a motorcyle ride down there before the summer ends to enjoy their food again. It was soooo good!

After two vacations back to back it was time to get back to routine! We swiftly got into gear to get ready for back to school. There was lots of back to school shopping done in Montana but more to be completed here at home. We had a list a mile long for the school and I still needed to figure out where Tyler was going to go for the school year. Last year he spent 3 days a week at Kids By the Hour. While they are a great facility and I would recommend it to anyone needing part time care, I really saw the need for Tyler to be in a classroom setting. He is 3 and curious about everything. He must be directed in a good way with his curiousity or it would be quick to label him bad. I wanted to place him in a program that would teach him and keep him busy. After some searching we decided to place him at Grace Lutheran. He absolutely adores his teachers and friends. Trever started 1st grade at Ft. Caroline Elementary. He got Mr. Gurd & Mrs. Weertz as a teachers and this was very exciting for him. Last year when he would see Mr. Gurd in the hall way with his stylish clothes and spikey hair he would always say "I want him to be my teacher!" This wish was granted and they are in a HUGE classroom with lots of structure, effective discipline and interactive learning. I will have to say that Ft Caroline has surpased my expections of public school. Each year we continue to re-enroll Trever because they prove to do a fabulous job at teaching him and making him feel loved and accepted.

Georgia Boys Fish Camp

The boys also started Gymnastics and have completed 2 lessons. Trever is a natural gymnast and really enjoys the pit and the rings. Tyler enjoys all of it! I have uploaded album of the fish camp, back to school and gym all together. I hope you enjoy them. I promise I will work harder at posting more often. Until then.....

Happy Belated Fourth of July!!

I am behind in posting about our weekend! I have had most of this blog completed for a while, just didn't get to adding the pictures until now.

My sister Sarah, my boys and I traveled to Gulf Breeze, FL (my hometown) to spend the weekend with my dad and his parents. They live on the Pensacola bay and I enjoy our frequent trips made to visit with them. This weekend our intentions were to spend the weekend enjoying the summer on the bay!

First things in order, we decided to fish!

After unsucessfully hooking the nibbling fish with squid as our bait, my dad threw out the cast net and snagged a small fish to use. This definately did the trick!

Soon enough we were hooking them one after the other!

Some of the fish we were catching were far too large for the children's polls and they began snagging our lines! The children were growing weary and impatient waiting for thier polls to be fixed. We moved on to a boat ride. My father put his fishing boat in the water and took the boys for a short ride on the bay. His hat flew off and had to be fished out of the water. Tyler talked about it for hours after it happened. After the excitement for the boat ride we had lunch and then visited with some old friends, the Long's, at their pool a few miles from where my family lives. It was a wonderful time reconnecting with old friends. We then returned to my grandparents got cleaned up at dinner and relaxed on the deck over looking the bay. It was beautiful to be there and to see the sunset taste the salty air. It brought me back to the many years I spent as a child in that house and on the bay each summer. I love sharing that with my children. These are memories I will always hold dear. We watched beautiful fireworks on the peir and had wonderful laughs as the children reminded us to take time to focus on now. It was wonderful to be able to take the time and reflect upon all the many blessings I have in my life. The boys said so many silly and profound statements as they basked in the the love they were receiving from the family. Tyler really really showed his silly side the more comfortable he felt around everyone. It was a fun time. On Sunday we swam in the bay some more and had lunch with Aunt Carrie, Uncle Eric (my brother), & Cousins, Cole & Lucy. Cole & Lucy had never swam in the bay before that day. Trever & Lucy scuffed up thier feet pretty good on some barnicales so I will need to remember water shoes next time. We had a great time! Thank you to my grandparents for hosting us at thier home.

For more pictures from the weekend click here

Gulf Breeze 4th July Weekend

Climb My Walls

I love music. When I find a song I love I listen to it over and over again. Ask my girlfriends Trin and Leah about it. They will attest to the fact that I can over kill a song. I used to tell Trin "One day when I am not around you will hear this song and always think of me." Currently my CD in the car is Lady Antebellum. It is a county trio for those of you have not heard of them. I purchased the CD because I have enjoyed their popular hits on the radio "I run to you" and "Love don't live here anymore." But in typical Joy fashion I like to listen to the whole CD and find my favorite song that I don't want them to release on the radio. I know it sounds silly but I have always been like this with albums. I enjoy music that isn't over played by the mainstream stations. The song that I have granted to be my favorite song on this CD is "Can't take my eyes off you." It is a ballad in 3/4 time and really lends itself to a beautiful waltz. If Troy and I were to have another wedding I would definitely dance to this song. We have been married 8 years this past May. Honestly, he is just as wonderful today as he was 9 years ago when we got engaged. 9 years later there is still that feeling I felt when we feel in love. I still love to watch him from across the room. There is a line in the song that says "you climb my walls." At first when I heard it I thought, what??? you climb my walls??? But after further analyzing of it, it's a cute interpretation for that blanketing feeling of love. The love that covers you and makes you feel warm inside. So with out further ado, here are the lyrics to the song that is on repeat in my car at the moment.

Can't Take My Eyes Off You :
Dave Haywood / Charles Kelley / Hillary Scott

I know that the bridges that I’ve burned
Along the way
Have left me with these walls and these scars
That won’t go away
And opening up has always been the hardest thing
Until you came

Chorus
So lay here beside me just hold me and don’t let go
This feelin’ I’m feelin’ is somethin’ I’ve never known
And I just can’t take my eyes off you
And I just can’t take my eyes off you

I love when you tell me that I’m pretty
When I just wake up
And I love how you tease me when I’m moody
But it’s never too much
I’m falling fast but the truth is I’m not scared at all
You climbed my walls

Repeat Chorus

Off you
Off you

Repeat Chorus

Summer and Camping

Its that time of year that I LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! I love Summer! I enjoy the heat, the time spent with friends and family gathering around some type water (or watering hole if you must) and relaxing. We have enjoyed many days at Mimi's pool and have even had the chance to venture out to the beach multiple times. I really helps me unwind from the busy schedule the school year always comes with. I also love how it gets dark LATE! Its a bummer with boys trying to get them to go to sleep before the sun goes down, but you learn to work around it.

This past weekend we went with some friends of ours camping at Little Talbot Island State Park. We have camped here previously, but not with the Garibaldi family. Our site was located close to the boat ramp leading into Myrtle Creek. The boys were so excited to get there! Here they are getting ready to unload from the van!

Tyler was so excited to go camping! We had told him we were going to go camping as soon as he woke from his afternoon nap. He had only been asleep about 40 minutes when he shot out of the bed and ran across the house. He found me and said "Did I miss camping?" I had to assure him that he did not sleep through camping! He really enjoys being outside and getting to explore.

Trever was really looking forward to sharing his camping experience with Kanon. Kanon is Trever's new friend. He has really enjoyed spending time with him on Monday's this summer. (Kanon's mother and I work together on Mondays and have brought along our children while they are out of school.) Kanon is 8, he is a well behaved boy who has really been a good influence for Trever. It is really nice to see him watching older children and taking cues on modeling good behavior. We speak with him often about making good choices and having manners, however there is so much power in seeing first hand in children that you enjoy being with. Kanon can be around anytime he would like! Here is a picture of the boys together.

Troy always says I over pack and bring way too much stuff when we camp, or travel anywhere for that matter. But inevitably I always forget something. Typically that something forgotten was an important item, one that seems necessary to getting the job done. One time I left the first aid kit and then the boys desperately needed itch relief cream. Another time I brought the broom but not the dust pan. After each camping trip there is always an item that gets added to the list of things not to forget! This camping trip was no exception. We forgot the spatula and of course we brought burgers! So how do you suppose we flipped those burgers?

Your daggum right! That is what you think it is...a puddy knife! We are some smart thinking rednecks aren't we!! All it took was a man's work truck and ingenuitive thinking and we were saved from having to leave the state park and drive somewhere between 10-20 miles to finding the local Walmart!

I am looking forward to the summers when we can camp for extended lengths of time. Tyler is not old enough to have more than one night away from the house when sleeping outside. Eventually I would like to invest in a pop up and explore all the state parks in Florida and explore the coast in the Carolina's. It should prove to be a great time. However, I don't look to fast forward to those days. I am so thrilled with where we are today. I love watching my boys grow each day. I truly savor watching their eyes as they connect the dots in their brain. I enjoy those moments of pure innocent laughter. I am happy here in today.

Thank you to the Garibaldi family for coming along with us on our camping adventure this weekend! We had a fabulous time!

Trever's First Blog; (Dictated by Mommy) DAYTONA 500 EXPERIENCE

We went in the car to the Daytona Speedway. Then we went in the speedway tunnel. Then we were able to walk on the race track. We rode in the bus along the race track. Then we came back to the museum and rode on the simulator. We went to the 3-D IMAX race movie, which was REALLY cool! My favorite part was the arcade and riding on the simulator. I liked it when Uncle Eric and I hit daddy's car in the simulator. I like the speedway! We had lots of fun.

Mommy looks silly in the 3D glasses we wore!

We are in the winners circle.

Tyler has a while before he will fit in this seat!

Pictures from the 60th Bash

As I mentioned in a previous post that we celebrated my mom's 60th birthday in late May. She requested that I post a link to her album. So please enjoy.

Mom's 60th Birthday

If you have any additional pictures for the party, please email them to JoyEWilliams717.cellphone@picasaweb.com and I will add them to the album!

Bye Bye Kindergarten!!!

First Day of Kindergarten Last Day of Kindergarten

Trever's last day of Kindergarten was Friday June 5th. The class had an end of the year party on Thursday. It was an ocean themed party with 5 different centers. The children were broken down into small groups and given 20 minutes at each center. They had a food center called "Bears on the Beach." They had a sea life center where they made puppets, IE. whale, octopus, etc. For their science center they experimented whether items sank or floated. They played games on the playground relating to the ocean. And finally they came to my center where they placed their feet in buckets with soapy water and had to pick up marbles with their toes. They kids had a great time celebrating the end of the school year! Here is Tyler Braydon and I at my center! (I know they aren't kindergartners but Trever's school is really open to us bringing our younger children when we are volunteering at the school.)

After the party they handed out awards to the children for their accomplishments through out the year. Trever received a Reading Excellence and Good Citizenship Awards.

(L to R) Mrs. Shannonhouse, Trever, Madyson, & Ms. Risboskin

We were blessed to have wonderful teachers this year. It was our first year in public school and were hesitant to say the least, especially with Duval County's track record. However these two teachers were WONDERFUL!!! I am so appreciative for them and how they taught and cared for all of the children this year.

CONGRATULATIONS on completing Kindergarten Trever! You did a wonderful job and worked really hard! Keep the good work up!

Party! Party!

We had Tyler's 3rd Birthday party yesterday at his Mimi & Papa's house! Thank you Connie and Kelly for allowing us to use your house to have our party.

It rained most of the day Friday so I was quite concerned how the party would turn out. The weather cleared just in time for the party and the sun peaked out from behind the cloud for us. The weather was perfect, however the mosquitos graced us with thier presence. OUCH!!

Here is a trip down memory lane to see Tyler's real "birth"day!





Here is Tyler at his party yesterday sporting his new glasses and rain boots!








If you'd like to view more pictures from the party you can here http://picasaweb.google.com/JoyEWilliams717/Tyler3rdBirthday?feat=directlink.

Happy Birthday Tyler!

HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY TYLER!

My little man is 3 today. I can remember holding him in my arms as new baby. Now he talks proficently, runs as fast as his little legs can let him and laughs more than any child I know. I am so proud of you Tyler! We have his birthday party at 5:30 today to celebrate! He requested that he have a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Party. I made cupcakes for the school party and pool party. I also made him a cake! He will have a wonderful time sharing his birthday with ALL of his friends! I will post pictures soon! XOXOXO Tyler! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Free To Be Me

I hear this song often on the local christian radio station. I really enjoy the beat of the music but particularly the lyrics. They ring so true to how I feel about myself and my relationship with God. I hope you enjoy.

Album: My Paper Heart
Artist & Songwriter: Francesca Battistelli

At twenty years of age I'm still looking for a dream
A war's already waged for my destiny
But You've already won the battle
And You've got great plans for me
Though I can’t always see

(Chorus)
‘Cause I got a couple dents in my fender
Got a couple rips in my jeans
Try to fit the pieces together
But perfection is my enemy
On my own I'm so clumsy
But on Your shoulders I can see
I'm free to be me

When I was just a girl I thought I had it figured out
My life would turn out right, and I'd make it here somehow
But things don't always come that easy
And sometimes I would doubt

(Chorus)

And you’re free to be you
Sometimes I believe that I can do anything
Yet other times I think I've got nothing good to bring
But You look at my heart and You tell me That I've got all You seek
And it’s easy to believe
Even though

(Chorus)

Book Character Day

Today was Book Character Day at Trever's school, Ft. Caroline Elementary. I was able to arrange my schedule to make it for the parade! Each child got to dress as their favorite book character and then they paraded through the school halls to show off their costumes to their schoolmates. The kids really enjoyed getting an opportunity to dress up and go to school. This was a great opportunity to get the students to be excited about finding costumes and bringing their book characters to life.

Here are the characters that you will see in my collage:

Trever was "Lieutenant Luke" from "Lieutenant Luke Goes to Iraq" by Mrs. Kennedy

Madyson (my niece) was "Pinkalicious" from "Pinkalicious" by Victoria Kann

Colson was "Officer Buckle" from "Officer Buckle and Gloria" by Peggy Rathmann

Ashley was "Camilla Cream" from "A Bad Case of the Stripes" by David Shannon

Lauren was "Despereaux" from "Tale of Despereaux" by Candlewick Press

Jaron was "Dash" from "The Incredibles" by RH Disney

Mrs. Shannonhouse was "Wishy Washy Woman" from the children's song "Wishy Washy Woman"

It was a fun time had by all the participants. Trever wrote a brief and drew a picture about his book character today in class. I will take pictures soon and post. I plan to have them laminated so that we can send them to Lucas while he is serving in Iraq. I will post pictures of the final product soon.

First Post

Here is my first post! I have lots of ideas and stories to share. I hope I am able to post often. We'll see!

This past weekend was quite eventful. In fact the next two weeks are full of lots of fun things with the end of the school year in full swing and Tyler celebrating his 3rd birthday!! We celebrated my mother's 60th birthday over the memorial day weekend. She was treated to a spa day on Saturday followed by a suprise birthday party! Here she is walking into the party blindfolded.

We had a great turn out of family and friends! She had most of her children and all of her grandchildren as well as great friends in attendance. We spent Sunday at the beach. The weather had been bad all week but we did have sun at the beach! Sunday evening we went to dinner with only adults. The kids stayed back to enjoy popcorn and movies with the Felty family. You couldn't have asked for a better weekend to celebrate mom.

This is a centerpiece we made for the tables.

Mom opening her presents.

Memorial Day we visited Troy's family and then we set up the Bonanza Skim Board Slide in the yard for the boys to enjoy.

Monday evening we had a sitter and went to dinner to celebrate our 8 year anniversary! yep you read it 8 years! Its been fabulous! Tuesday our actual anniversary we took the boys to dinner at Mt. Fuji for some Japanese. Trever took this picture of us!