Go Tigers!

Wednesday was the first day of school for Capitan High students, so we had an end-of-the-day pep assembly which was great. At the end the football coach had each player take off his jersey and give it to a teacher to wear the next day. They were told to find a teacher reasonably the same size as they were. Well, all of a sudden this cute little skinny freshman that I've known from church since he was 5 appeared grinning before me with his jersey. I was flattered that he considered me his size, but actually, it wasn't too bad except that it went below my knees and had to be bunched up around my hips. On Thursday, you should have seen all the jersey-clad high school teachers trying to suck in the old gut!

The Upside of Living on a Mountainside...

I went back to school today (no students, just in-service), and Ed worked at the golf course. At the end of our day we were having a glass of wine on the deck, enjoying the 70 degree weather and good conversation when I noticed these visitors just beyond our cars....an 8-point buck and a doe. Living in the mountains is absolutely wonderful, and we thank God constantly for putting us here.

When you live on the side of a mountain...

...you expect to have rocks. However, today when Ed was tilling the side flowerbed and hit a rock, he was shocked that he couldn't dig it up easily. He finally got enough of it uncovered to attach a rope to it and pull it out using his SUV. Look how big that thing was!

The World As Seen by a 3-Year-Old

One day last week I let Jackson have my camera. He took pictures of everything, most of which was undistinguishable so I deleted them. Then a couple of days later I let him have it again, and he did much better. He took pictures of things that were important to him and things that were just in his range of vision (which is totally different when seen from a 3-year-old's perspective). Here's what Jackson saw: His toys (bouncy ball, truck, "friends," golf ball)

He also included himself and his surroundings: (his reflection in the door, his feet with his Mador shoes, Mickey Mouse on the TV, flowers on Nana Jo & Grampa's deck, the wheel of his daddy's car, the mailboxes at Mamaw's house, and a fence [when he took this one he said, "Say cheese, Fence" like any good photographer would do!])Jackson also took pictures of the people he is close to. Remember that you are seeing these "tall" people from the eyes of a 3-year-old, so be impressed with how well he did and remember to squat down occasionally from now on!

Then There's Grayson

Grayson also does things well. He eats, naps, and looks adorable. Here's proof:

Why Mommies Need Vacations

If Mommy is on vacation in the mountains, why does she need another vacation after her vacation?

Cooking with Nana Jo

What happens when you tell a 3 year old to turn the mixer to low after he has added the last 2 cups of flour when you're making pizza dough? FLOUR BOY! Then you both giggle a lot!

Life with a 3 year old and 6 month old!

Meaghan, Jackson, and Grayson have been here for 1 1/2 days, and we've played a lot. In addition to regular playing with puzzles, Legos, Pla-Doh, we did the following as well: played on the deck, played "patio table golf" (i.e., get the ball into the hole that is for the umbrella), went for loooong hikes uphill and downhill looking for Swiper the Fox (from Dora the Explorer), bounced in the new bouncy seat, painted ourselves in the bathtub with Sesame Street bath paints, crashed on Nana Jo and Grampa's bed, and took pictures all by ourself (can you tell?)