cub scout cuboree

we are in full swing of our second year of cub scouts. well, jonah is {and i am} in his second year and jett is in his first year.

this year we made it to the cuboree. we missed it last year cause...well, i don't remember why. but, i was determined to not miss it this year.

this is the only event our boys can earn their bb gun and archery belt loops. i just didn't want to miss it for a second year.


he hit the target two out of five shots. i may have a sharp-shooter on my hands!


jonah {far right} with all of his webelo buddies! these boys are all so good with one another. i pray they grow up in scouts together!


jett and his new bud. {i love how these boys all become like third, fourth and fifth sons. the boys in my boys pack are all like my kids, too!}


dinner. you guys, i just love the cub master's wife/my friend, coleen! she prepares all this yummy food for every campout. and, yum! that's all i can say. thank you, coleen for dinner!

cub scouts, y'all. i love it. i love that my boys love it. i love going and having adult conversation with my girls {the other moms} on thursday nights. i love camping with my boys. i love, love, love it all.

do your boys participate in scouts? what's your favorite part? got any tips? special camping recipes? i need deets. tell me. :o)


{there aren't too many pics cause i had mabry as a tagalong. when the boys were doing their activities i was either helping cook lunch and dinner or i was nursing. a momma's duty is never done.}

You're Gonna Miss This. {An original post on "letting them be little."}

Ever need reminding that your kids are only going to be kids for a short time, that all they do now to irritate the snot out of you will soon be a memory, and that one day your home will be so quiet you'll hear a pin drop? I do. I believe we all do, if we're honest with ourselves.

Today I was feeling a little, okay a lot, overwhelmed. I had a horrible dream last night so I didn't sleep well, I hit snooze one too many times on my alarm, the kids were going to be late for school if we didn't get a move on NOW. Of course, the baby is crying, McKinley can't tie her shoes, Jett needs his agenda signed, Jonah, well, Jonah didn't need anything, thank goodness. I also needed to make sure Jake was up and getting ready for school so he didn't miss the bus. We are out of soda so my normal caffeine fix is in order and I'm beginning to feel a bit frazzled. I tell the kids to get in the truck and we're off.

It wasn't until I got McKinley dropped off at her school that I realize that I'm going to miss this. I am going to miss these days of hustle and bustle and getting everyone here, there and every where. I am.

The other night Hubs gently reminded me of this. Here's why:

Jett and McKinley were outside jumping on the trampoline. Every so often a bug or worm or something that slithers or crawls would catch Jett's eye. He has a keen sense for these things. As soon as he'd see something he'd jump down off of the trampoline, in his white socks and go investigate. The ground is still wet from the bunches of rain we've been getting so he's jumping down in to mud. Or, at least in my eyes it was mud. His socks were black before it was all over. It may as well have been mud.

After a while, I called them in for dinner. Jett came running inside- through the living room, down the hallway, through the dining room and then SKATED through my kitchen. You've totally got a mental picture of this, right? He used his little, six-year-old feet covered in wet, muddy socks to SKATE through the kitchen. Behind him he left nice long, black skid marks on the floor.

My eyes may have gotten as big as golf balls and there may have been steam coming out of my ears. I was so mad!

Without skipping a beat or saying a word to me, Hubs calmly told Jett to go get in the bath. He then grabbed the mop and bucket and mopped that kitchen floor stained with muddy marks. While he did that I sat to feed Mabry and proceeded to cry. I couldn't do anything else. I was mad at Jett for making such a mess. I was mad at myself for getting so mad. I was staring at my husband in amazement that he kept his cool and acted much like I should've acted in that moment.

After he finished mopping the floor Hubs went to get ready for work. As I walked him to the truck a little later that evening he stopped me and asked me to remember that it won't be long before those muddy feet are all grown up and no longer enjoy skating across our kitchen floor. He reminded me to take a step back and let the kids be kids. I should be enjoying the never-ending loads of laundry and the sink over flowing with dirty dishes. The constant yelling of "MOM!" I should be enjoying EVERY MINUTE. Before I know it they'll be grown men and women and living on their own in this great big, scary world.

Today I'm letting them be kids. I'll let them get muddy, it all washes off. I'll let the sound of their tiny voices saying "mom" fifteen thousand times {in a row} be a song in my ear. I don't want to miss a minute. One day they'll be all grown up.

You're turn. What will you let your little ones do that you would normally stop them of? Will you take a step back and watch them be kids? Tell me what you'll do today to "let them be little."

time sure flies when you're having fun!

today our youngest son, the little stinker of the bunch, turns six. SIX.

time is a jerk, really.
how in the world has it been six years???

oh well, i'm looking forward to sixty more years with this little guy!



jett loves...

animals. all animals. doesn't matter if they have fur or scales. he loves them.
candy. i don't think he'll turn down a single kind of candy.
dry cereal in a bag.
playing minecraft or having an air soft "war" with his big brothers.
loving on his little cousins.
going to school. he especially loves his teacher.
his friends. he's a good friend to everyone.



jett, you're a sweet, sweet boy. momma and daddy love you! happy birthday!

{photos taken by jake austin, biggest brother.}

an outing.

tuesday was the day ganny flew in from florida.
for the final time.

this will be her final trip to visit us in fort campbell.
we won't be picking her up from the nashville airport ever again.

it is beginning to sink in.

we are moving back to florida.

WE ARE MOVING BACK TO FLORIDA!

so many emotions tied to that statement.

instead of crying through the rest of this post i'll share with you some photos of where we veered off to before coming home.
{it seems, with ganny, there WILL BE a detour either in nashville or on the way back to fort campbell.
i've come to enjoy them.}






jett is always on the hunt for bugs.
or minnows.
or worms.




and he's almost always successful.
he found this little wormy hanging by a thread...or a silk.












my favorite shot of the day.
it took lots of convincing jett to leave this ladybug be while i took this picture.
it was SO hard for him not to take this bug from my shot.


the third chair from the left was calling my name.
like, screaming for me.
but, i didn't bring her home.



the countdown begins...sixteen days until we turn over our keys to this house.

handmade photo cards for valentine's day.

i've seen this idea floating around the internet for the last few years.
every year i say i'm going to do it and every year i don't.

this year i was determined.

and i made them!

here's jett holding his finished valentine...

cute, right?!?!

and, here's how you can make your own.

first, grab your camera and your kiddo.
do whatever it takes to get him to understand that he just needs to hold his hand out like that, no matter how silly it seems.
you'll get something like this. {after a kajillion outtakes}


next, go to picnik and add some words.
i chose happy {heart} day! primarily because "valentine's" was too long and running into his head.


have them printed at your local photo shop.

mine look great here on my computer screen yet, they printed really dark.
oh well, too late to worry with it now.
there's only FIVE days until {heart} day!

now, bring them home and grab your x-acto knife, self healing mat, a bag of lollipops, and your photos you just had printed.

in case you're wondering what an x-acto knife is...


cut a little slit above his hand and one below.


gently poke the lollipop through those holes and...

voila!
it appears as if he's handing his friend a lolli!

so, you CAN do this!
easy-peasy, right?!
and cute, taboot!

ok, GO!
you'll get ooh's and aah's from the teachers...of course, you aren't making handmade for that reason, though. :0)

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did you make handmade valentine's??
i'd love to see them.
will you link them in the comments???

halloween 2011.

halloween was so fun this year!
hubs was home.
{in our almost ten years of marriage he's only been home for like three halloweens...}
mckinley totally understood the whole trick-or-treating idea.
and she was lovin' that those three little words prompted candy in her bag!







these pictures of jake crack me up.
he only wanted this crazy old man mask for his costume.




jonah was a mad hatter.
creepy.


jett was captain hook.


he was perfecting his hook.


argh, matey!


mckinley was a gnome.
so cute!


jake and jonah's bud, simon, came along with us.


and nani and grandpa came up for a short visit.


it was a good halloween weekend!
this will be our last halloween in ft. campbell...sad day.
but, next year we'll be back in florida and enjoying a warmer halloween.

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did you have a fabulous halloween???

pumpkin patch, part two.

so, yesterday i left you with the beginning of our fun day at the pumpkin patch.
it was a beautiful, sunny day.
fall was evident in only the trees...it felt more like a cooler summer day.

we were all hot and sweaty after playing on the slides, hamster wheels, and 4x4's.


it was off to the snack bar for us.
everyone, except for jake austin, got an apple cider slush.
YUM!



mckinley made it her job to pull this wagon around. everywhere.


then, we were off to play again...

can i just say it was me, ME, who jumped up on these big 'ol tires and schooled all the kids on how to leap from tire to tire.
{what happened to the playground equipment we had as kids?
merry-go-rounds that you ran around to start and then jumped on, swings that went so high you thought you might go all the way over, tire courses that you leaped across....my kids would have LOVED the playgrounds i grew up playing on!}

jonah was so proud that he made it all the way around, without falling even once.



at this point we had been at the orchard for three or so hours.
hubs was past his "i'm so excited to be here" point.
it was time to go find the perfect pumpkins, sorghum, pumpkin roll, apples, and gallon of apple cider.



i told jake austin he should find him a good lookin' knucklehead pumpkin.
cause he's a knucklehead!
he didn't think it was a funny joke.





see you next time, jackson's apple orhcard!

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ready to see a picture that is nothing short of a miracle???