Taking a 'forced' break from homework...

He leaned back to stretch, and Rusty immediately took advantage of the opportunity to land on his chest for some snuggle-time.

Another sneak peek...

We visited the screen-printer to check out the t-shirts that will be handed out at Saturday's race.  The red shirts are for the Paris Cardinals and the orange shirts are for the Rowe Tigers.  Which school will have the most participants in the race?  I can't wait to find out where the trophy will be residing for the next year!

Sneak Peek

Heading Home

Amber spent the week with my aunt and I know that she enjoyed her time there.  However, when I went there to pick her up this evening and it was time to leave, she jumped up into the Suburban so fast that it was quite obvious that she didn't want to get left behind again!  We missed her too.

We have to drive Gypsy over that?!

Make a wish!

We've waited 2 years for this happy day!

Squishing window-washers?

Sharing a laugh with Pickles, the pony!

A New Friend

This morning I was running with my son when he hollered back at me, "Look Mom.  It's an ass!" I couldn't discipline him for bad language because he was right...

Go fly a kite!

We're sure enjoying this beautiful Southern weather!

We've arrived!

We made it to my sister's family farm and we are already settled in.  The kiddos are trying their luck in the farm pond.  They've caught a couple of fish already and are having a great time!

Banana Bikes

The campground we stopped at tonight might be lacking in location, (it's right beside the highway) but the kiddos are having a blast on their banana bikes!  And, how great is it that they have a chance to blow off some steam after a long, long day riding in the rv?  Fresh air + fun exercise = happy kiddos & parents.

0...it's finally time to go!

Look who turned 13 today!

She's growing up so fast.  I can't believe all the changes in the 4 years that I have known her!
Wishing her a happy, happy birthday!!

The countdown begins...

All she wanted for her birthday party...

...was this kitty cake.  But, whenever she asked about it, I told her she wasn't even having a cake, and for some really strange reason, she actually believed me!  (When have we ever NOT had a cake at a birthday party?!)  Boy, wasn't she surprised when I came out of the pantry with it.  It was so funny!  It even had a delicious tie-dyed interior, just as she requested.  Thankfully, I know a really great cake decorator, Sally Smith of Greenwood, and she was more than happy to make it for us.  She does an amazing job!  

He missed me!

Good Food

Handy Li'l Tool

I still surprise my husband sometimes.  He brought this cute little gadget home to show me a few weeks ago, and I immediately asked him if I could have it.  He thought I was kidding, but I told him I wasn't, and zipped it into a pocket in my purse.  I have used it countless times since then, and tonight, I changed out the brake light in my Suburban.  Despite a few offers of help, which we refused, my daughter and I got 'er done!

Good idea!

Yup. That's just great.

I drove for over 20 years without getting a flat tire, but have had 3 flat tires on my Suburban.  This particular wheel has gone flat twice in the last 6 months.  What's up with that?!

Running to the Beach for Riding to the Top

You may recall these posts from 2012 & 2013 about the kiddos adventures running in the hugely popular TD Beach to Beacon 10k road race?   Well, we were going to register them again this year, but 4000 registrations sold out in 4 1/2 minutes!  So, the kiddos were disappointed that they weren't going to race it this year, but, a friend told us about a great opportunity.  If we could raise at least $500 for a therapeutic riding stable, they would give us an entry as a reward!  Considering how much our daughter loves running and horses, she was thrilled to raise as much money as possible!

The stable is called Riding to the Top and they served disabled persons from age 3 to 93 and everyone in between.  We visited them yesterday.  We met all their wonderful horses, both large and small, the executive director, and saw the incredible facilities and equipment that is used to improve the lives of so many people.  It is a truly exceptional place and she is even more committed to raising way more money than the required $500! 

These are the mechanical therapy horses that are used to test a new students' reaction to the motion of a horse, without the potential dangerous situation that could occur if an actual horse were involved.  The girls thought they were super fun to ride, but we also were impressed that this was something that we had never considered, but is certainly useful(and expensive!)

But first...

Lemme take a selfie!

11 weeks later...

It's really starting to smell like vanilla extract now...mmmm...

Longest ride yet...

He rode it for more than 2 miles!

It's been almost 6 months...

But, on this beautiful spring day we were able to run together again!  This makes me very happy, although starting over is hard work.

Band Concert

This evening we thoroughly enjoyed a special band jamboree.   Our oldest daughter played clarinet, and it was so nice to see her up there on stage!