Pretty is as Pretty Does ~

Our school's annual beauty pageant (PTO fundraiser) is next week. Mary Dalton pretty much begged me to participate in it, but something inside me just can't say "yes" to her yet. I am not opposed to pageants at all ~ I competed in several in high school (key words there ~ high school), but something about children walking on a stage to be judged on their appearance just doesn't set right with me. I know all the pros of pageants ~ self confidence, stage prescence, answering questions on the spot, etc. However, the cons to me are the 6 years olds in make up and teased hair...I am still fond of the BIG hairbow and smocked dress. There are SO many pressures on girls on how society *thinks* they should look and I just don't want 3 random people (trained or not) telling my big bow bishop wearing doll that she IS or IS NOT the prettiest.

Mary Dalton LOVES to watch Toddlers and Tiaras and often comments on how crazy so many mothers act, as well as how horrible the children behave! I must say, that about 99% of those of the shows wear things that I just can't put my 6 year old in. She will ALWAYS add, "Mama, they look pretty, but they sure don't act pretty do they?" No hon ~ they don't....

The school pageant is in NO WAY like T&T, but I just can't say yes to her ~ and she was not really happy about not participating until I had a heart and heart with her. I prayed that God would give me the exact words for her 6 yr old brain to understand why I was not letting her participate, but that she should be excited for all her friends that were going to participate. I really tried to emphasize to her that TRUE beauty, really pretty girls are girls who are pretty EVERYDAY (not just on a stage) in their actions. My mother in law (as well as myself) have said to Mary Dalton LOTS of times, "Pretty is as pretty does" ~ My MIL recently bought Mary Dalton a necklace with that exact quote on it! LOVE it! :)

All that to say ~ I guess this was the first of MANY "but all my friends are doing/going" ~ Thankfully, Mary Dalton truly has a sweet, respectful attitude and was VERY understanding and has not mentioned the pageant again. I told her when she was a little older that she might could participate and that seemed to suit her fine! Whew....got that one handled ~ maybe we won't have any more big decisions for awhile.....

Friday Again!!!

I can remember thinking the weekend would NEVER get here ~ now it seems it is

ALWAYS the weekend! Time is just flying by! I guess that means that I am getting old!

A couple of weeks ago, Haley Lamb, a photographer from Augusta came to Jefferson County for some mini photo sessions. I helped her work everything out and she was so kind to give me a great deal on the session! How sweet are these babies????

We still have not seen Sunny's kittens, but she comes home everyday to eat!

Yesterday, the kids dressed the poor cat up! No wonder she doesn't want to bring her babies here! ha! You can ONLY imagine how pleased Priss was! :)
I love how little girls (well, most of them) just have maternal instincts. I can remember when I was little packing diaper bags, packing a doll on my hip EVERYWHERE we went, rocking my dolls, etc. Mary Dalton is the same way!
Yesterday, she came downstairs to feed her baby and had her bow in her doll's hair!
As you know, I LOVED that! :)

This week was calm compared to what we have coming! Starting on Tuesday, we will be going in 500 directions! I am hoping to enjoy this weekend and relax before we are bombarded with so many things to do!

We've Been to the Zoo ~

My K5 girlie has been PUMPED about the annual K5 zoo trip since August!

She was sweet enough to let her little brother tag along!

The zoo was pretty crowded, we tried to go opposite of the "flow" ~ I don't

do well with crowds, not to mention HUNDREDS of children on field trips with a couple of teachers left to watch them.

I cannot IMAGINE EVER sending my children on a field trip to a "big" place without me or Dalton! There were children EVERYWHERE and they were not very well behaved, I promise I corrected no less than 50 children who weren't my own today....the teacher in me could not resist....

Jackson and Whitney Sue walked like this a good part of the day ~ how sweet is that???

See those boys walking toward us...notice no chaperone! uhhh!!
The kids LOVED the reptile exhibits ~ alligators and snakes were their favorite!
I was so worried Jackson was going to go over one of these fences!
Good thing Clair had a good hold on him! :)

Sallie Ann went with us too! She took her state nursing boards on Monday and found out today that she passed! :) We are SO proud of her!

The highlight of the day was dip-n-dots!

I could eat my weight in these things!

For FOUR dollars the children each got a wad of cabbage to feed the giraffes ~ this is when I was about to use my best teacher voice and get all those hoodlums in a line! ha!

How NASTY is his tongue??? I was really surprised that Mary Dalton wanted to feed him!

Gross!

Clairissa's sweet parents met us there and were so kind to buy all the kids a jumbo pencil ~ the things that make them happy! My 2 have played with theirs all afternoon!

It was a very long day, but a fun day!

We have got a pretty busy schedule from here on until May 27th (graduation)! My calendar is booked and somedays double booked!

May is one busy month ~ but what it brings is WELL worth it ~

JUNE!!! :)

Easter 2011 ~ and LOTS of it! :)

We started our Easter fun by packing up and heading to the cabin on Thursday! The kids had school on Friday ~ here in GA we don't get Good Friday off??

Here they are all ready for their PARTIES and EGG HUNTS!

Mary Dalton was soooo excited that her Daddy was taking the day off to take her to her egg hunt and then to spend the afternoon with us!
We have a great PTO at our school and they sponsored a breakfast with the Easter bunny!

MDD got a crybaby gumball from the bunny ~ yuck-o!

She had a great time at her party and WON the hoola hoop competition for the girls! She was super excited about that!

I went with Jackson's class to his party! He was ON those eggs ~ he was not so excited when the parents divided the eggs up so everyone had an equal number...his quote, "Then why in the world did I even run? I could have just sat there and still got the same number." Yes, he is a thinker!

Jax with his loot BEFORE the great divide! ;)

The party was so much fun! They played games, made a craft and had lunch ~ but his favorite part was the zip line! He is dying for one now!

Back at the farm, there was LOTS of outside time! Digging, running, fishing, gator riding, playdough, egg dying ~ Their bath water was SOOOO GROSS each night, but they had a BLAST!

MDD "digging to China!"

This was our favorite time ~ we all loaded up and went fishing!

I am so blessed to have these 3!

And I had the biggest fish for awhile! :) Jackson caught his very first fish fishing all by himself off the bank ~ I will post LOTS of pics of that later! ;)

On Saturday a.m. ~ we headed to the egg hunt at the Methodist church ~ JDD was not amused...he was over hunting eggs and the whole bunny at this point!

The group ~

JDD was excited about the monkey bars ~ he can cross these like a champ!

We headed back to the cabin for some more fun ~ dying eggs!

Later that night, we did the Resurrection eggs ~ Mary Dalton could read the story, but they both knew the story well. It was so sweet to hear them telling each other about the death, burial and resurrection.

Then we cooked our fish ~ along with homefries and onion rings ~ can you say small heart attack on a plate but was it EVER good! :)

This morning, the kids were super excited to see what the Easter bunny left in the loft of the cabin for them!

They both got books and that was their favorite thing! ;) No candy at all ~ the bunny got a memo that they had PLENTY already! Check out that hair ~ I need a medal for fixing that everyday! ha!

We headed to SS and church ~ and were EARLY I might add! :) We had a great service and then Dalton grilled salmon for lunch. We enjoyed the pretty afternoon outside, then headed back home to get ready for the week!

I love Easter! It is my VERY favorite holiday ~ but you know what I love even more?? The fact that Jesus IS ALIVE and He is coming back for me ~ hopefully sooner than later! I am so thankful to serve a RISEN Savior and have eternal life through Him!

Happy Easter!

Amber

Jackson's Book ~

Jackson wrote a book in his K4 class about our cat ~ sunny

his teacher went back and wrote in what he was attempting to spell ~ he did pretty good! I have said before I LOVE inventive spelling ~ you can just SEE a child's progress with reading/writing!
Above: don't know if you can tell ~ but Sunny went from a boy to a girl ~ notice he added some boobies to the girl~ ha!!

The page on the right is where she is having the kittens ~ LOVE how they are just "crawling out" bc we ALL know that's exactly how childbirth occurs! ha!

My favorite ~ "they crawled away" ~ and must have done so in a straight line! ;)

He was EVER so proud of his book ~ and I was too! :) this little man MELTS my heart!

Another One Bites the Dust ~

Mary Dalton left the tooth fairy a note along with her tooth! She has lost 6 and has 2 more loose! She is gonna be one rich little girl!

Just Another Manic Monday ~

And was it ever! I can NOT get out of bed these past few weeks ~ longer daylight hours, mean a later bedtime and it is really catching up with me! We are worn out and so are the kids! I put them to bed at 7:30 tonight ~ they did not even need a nightlight it was so bright out! I am trying to prevent meltdown mode which follows after a week or so of staying up late!

Mary Dalton lost ANOTHER tooth today! She "saved" this one for her teacher to pull so she could get one of the cool certificates from school! ;) smart girl! This makes #6 for her! I videoed her reading her a letter she wrote to the fairy and will try to get it uploaded tomorrow.

Jackson wrote a book at school today and he was SOOO proud! It was about our transgender cat ~ Sunny. The book is too funny and I will try to post pics of his creations tomorrow as well!

**Sidenote: i assumed sunny was a boy ~ he, or she, is now pregnant! kids are super pumped, me...yeah, not so much!

We don't have tons going on this week, but I am SUPER excited about spending Easter at the cabin ~ dying eggs, eating, fishing, reading, and RELAXING!

Our Annuak Easter Egg Hunt

Today was my FAVORITE day of the year! Our annual Easter egg hunt! I LOVE LOVE LOVE everything about Easter and we have hosted an egg hunt at our farm for 5 years now!

We were supposed to have it on Saturday, but it was moved to Sunday because of the weather.

Jackson and his handsome Daddy! :) My sweet, sweet girl! We had a full crew and the kids had SO much fun! Our children are blessed beyond measure in the friend department!

Jackson and his future wife ~ Livi ~ who agreed to move to the north pole and be an elf with him when they grow up ~I love 5 year olds! ;)

we always take a family picture by the pond every year ~ DDD always hold MD and I hold JD ~ wonder how many more years this will happen? :(

These kids out to sleep GOOD tonight! They jumped and jumped and jumped some more ~ then slid, and slid, and slid some more!

The Easter bunny even made an appearance!

And who can resist the cute rabbit???

After the hunt ~ Jackson and Livi were counting their eggs and eating LOTS of candy!

We had SUCH A good time! It's funny how "a good time" changes ~ we used to enjoy going out to dinner, sleeping until 9 or 10, deciding at 8 p.m. to go to a movie, packing up and going on a last minute weekend get away ~ now we love watching our children play, laughing with other parents who are as exhausted as we are, listening to laughter, wiping mouths after eating lots of candy and way too many cupcakes, and watching our children grow up right before our eyes!

We are so blessed to have so many wonderful friends that joined us today and we look forward to MANY more Easter egg hunts with them! :)

Prom 2011

Last night was Prom at our school ~ TJA goes ALL OUT for a Prom! These kids (and parents!) have been re-designing the gym for 10 days and it was one the prettiest proms I have seen! Usually, the kids are really excited about going to the "grand march" but JDD was NOT looking forward to this one little bit! MDD was excited until she found out that she would have to come to prom with a boy ~ then, she decided she was no longer a fan of prom! ;)

Let me say ~ TJA has some of the PRETTIES girls! I swear, I do not teach an ugly one! :) They are so pretty and they all looked beautiful last night!

The kids with Carlie (car-key as JDD used to call her!) ~ Don't you think she would be a good Cinderella??? She has got that pose DOWN! Love this sweet girl!

Mary Dalton and sweet Anna ~

Jackson getting loved on by chelsey ~ LOVED her hair ~ how cute is that??

Pretty Katy ~ she went with us to see Taylor Swift when Mary Dalton was 4. She has grown up so much and looks like a lady now! She was stunning in this white dress!!

Mary Dalton was LOVING "alli cobb's" shoes ~ I was too ~ wish I could find me a pair! ;)

We also ran into Mary Dalton's FAVORITE girl ~ Madison!

It was a fun night with pretty girls and handsome boys ~ I know much too soon it will be MY babies going to Prom! Not too sure how I feel about that!