Messy

Olivia fingerpainted today. She explored how to create different colors, i.e. red+blue=purple. She loved it - Ryder wanted a piece of the action too.

Today's events

Playing with the hair in the tub/sink!

Man boobs.

He is playing w/ a CUP, he hasn't discovered "that" yet

Lane w/ Mrs. Duffy.

Cam & Ms. Ottman. He is SO thrilled to be sitting

in her lap! ...not

Today was the boys last day of school.

Thay are pumped about Summer!

a little gardening

Venus Fly trap - eating a bug




I thought it would be a good idea to let the kids pick out a plant and take care of it through the Summer. Well, guess what type of plant they wanted - a venus fly trap, go figure. Not my idea of a flattering plant to beautify my garden, but I gave in and got them one, as well as a "real" plant. Here are a few pics of the beginning of their plant's life - hope it's a long one. They actually enjoyed this project - yeah, point for me!

Lane graduates!

Lane graduated from third grade today. He got the best artist award as well as the best character award. I am gleaming with pride!

Not so sweet

Olivia driving Ryder CRAZY (she smothers sometimes)

Sweet

Olivia feeding Ryder

Bob

Cam: "Mom, will you tie this water balloon for me?"
Mom: "Sure, but what are you going to do with it?"
Cam: "I don't know.... maybe throw it at something, or maybe just keep it and name him Bob"

Friendly neighbor

My next door neighbors caught this rat snake in their yard. Hate snakes, hate em w/ a passion.

Rarity

Thought I would post this pic of Lane reading, b/c you may never see him in person doing this. ;-) Lane is not a big fan of reading and not a big fan of getting his picture taken. So I was real excited about getting this one.
Haha - after I posted this picture I realized that it's a picture book - he probably isn't even reading, just looking at the pictures!!

hmmmm......

Caught these pictures of Cam while he was resting on the couch. I asked him if he knew he had a crown on his head. Said "yeah..... just felt like wearing a crown"

I wanna food fight w/ Campbell!

Just like his niece, Campbell, Ryder gets a wee bit messy while eating. There are some times I just give up even trying. Usually I am smart enough to strip him first - but apparently not this time.

Cam made it through 2nd grade!

Today was Cam's graduation from second grade. He got the best helper award. I was VERY proud of that, especially since he was the only one in the grade that received that award. I'm surprised he didn't get the best comedian award for the second year in a row (zoom in on the first two pictures).

Lane graduates Wednesday and the last day is Thursday!

New trick

Ryder learned how to clap today. SEVERELY ADVANCED!

A little more serious

Lane

Very upclose & personal

Send apple juice please....fast!

Ryder has had a little bit of any issue with being "stopped up" lately. I very rarely see this cranky side of Ryder, but here lately I have seen enough of it! I'll be stocking up on prunes tomorrow.

Swimming at Lifetime

Cam does a really good job of putting up with Olivia. But, like anyone human, he can only handle so much playing with his little sister.

Mother's Day

It's 2 a.m. on Mother's Day and Olivia comes to my side of the bed whimpering, "mommy, i don't feel....." guess what comes next? yep, vomit, and lots of it.
Welcome to my Mother's Day.
After being up all night with Olivia (and Ryder - b/c he still wakes up to nurse) , I wake up and clean up the vomit - trying not to vomit. My kids are awake, but not one of them remembers it's Mother's Day, just requesting pancakes and french toast. I already am a bit irritated and about to go sit on my pity-pot...... but then I put things into perspective.
Isn't that what being a mom's all about??- having open arms when your child needs comfort from a belly ache, giving your child memories of eating pancackes at the table as a family, or showing them Christ's love even when I feel they may not deserve it b/c they are being the biggest brats ever!
Sacrifice....grace.....unconditional love - that's what I want my children to think about when they think of their mother.
They boys made cards for me at school - this is what they said:
Lane:
"M is for all the memories we had catching crabs at the Gulf of Mexico.
O is for all the memories we have had for 9 1/2 years doing things other moms would not do.
M is for mom because you are the best mom in the world. Because you are always nice to me."
Cam:
Amy is the best mom in the world.
My mom likes to cook a lot.
You are just right mom"
He also wrote this:
"Dear Mom,
I love you mom, you are the best mom in the world!!! You always make me smile! I love when you always play with me. You help me with my home work so I always get an A+! You are the best mom in the world. Happy Mothers Day!!!!"

Isn't that so sweet!
It was cute b/c when the boys brought home these cards- I read them, shed a tear or two and raved about how sweet they were and how much I loved them. Well, a few minutes later Olivia walked up to me holding something behind her back and said she had a surprise for me, she then handed me the card that Lane made and said "I made this for you" with a sheepish grin, looking around the room to make sure Lane was out of sight. I picked her up and squeezed her real tight and told her how much I loved her - she need a little lovin' too.

I LOVE being a mom.

Field Day

Lane and friends eating lunch
Lane (in black and yellow hat)

Here is Ryder trying to eat the banana peel.

The boys had field day at their school last week. It was a beautiful day, perfect weather. The boys rcvd. lots of ribbons from their events. Lane was pumped about his class winning the tug-of-rope contest, but hated the sack race. Cam was pumped about the snack bar - not too thrilled with the games.

R & R

Luke being a dork

Inside the ship

The towel - dog

The kayaks that we went on. They were clear - pretty cool.

This is a picture from the cab - you can see the destruction from the hurricane. All the palm trees were destroyed.

On Thursday Luke and I got back from a 5 day cruise to Cozumel and Progreso. WE WENT ALL BY OURSELVES! It took a lot of faith for me to leave my kiddos!!!! But, I know they were all in great care, thanks to 1/2 of Texas. ;-). Especially a thanks to Doug and Leanne, Andrea and my dad.
I constantly had that "panic feeling" - you moms know what I am talking about - that feeling like you forgot your child somewhere. We had a great time resting and relaxing. Hope it isn't another 10 years before we go away together again.