Cardinal Class Act

John Lawrence was voted Cardinal Class Act by his classmates and teachers for the month of January. He was so proud of himself and very excited to tell Mason and I.
A Cardinal Class Act is a student who gets his work done, uses manners, listens to the teacher, is nice to his classmates and is a good example to the rest of the students.

This bulletin board is in the main hallway at the elementary school. Today I brought my camera so I could take some pictures. I volunteer in JL's classroom 1 day a week for about 1 1/2 hours and I love it as much as he does!

2 Things

2 Things that make John Lawrence happy at the moment are:

~Finally getting his first loose tooth. It will not be falling out anytime soon, but just the thought of it totally excites him!

~He and Daddy completed his first big book that had 169 pages in it! The book was A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein. He loved it and they are on to the next one~Where the Sidewalk Ends.

JL's desk ~Before and After

JL has been asking for a desk for the last month or so for his bedroom. He had plans of working on his homework, paperwork and crafts at his own desk. I have been looking on the CraigsList for the perfect desk and I finally found one. It had to have lots of drawers for JL to use and it needed to be black or brown (per JL). Last Saturday I found one close by and for $15. It was perfect except it was white. I normally get Mason to work on my paint projects, but I decided this was small enough that I could do it. I primed, painted it 2 times and put a polyurethane coat on it and changed out the hardware.

John Lawerence loves it and could not be any happier!

Best Snow Ever

This was truly the best snow ever! It started snowing 2 hours before John Lawrence got off the bus and I can't tell you how excited the kids were when they got off that school bus. JL played for 4 hours straight! Mac played for about 1 1/2 hours (that is a lot for him-he is like me and does not like to be cold). It lasted the entire next day as well and Mason and JL played another 3 1/2 hours in it. They had a wonderful time! Check out the snowman this time. So much better than that pitiful snowman they built in Spartanburg. The neighborhood kids all played together and they spent a good amount of time in our yard, which we loved!

I loved seeing the snow, but now it is time for winter to be gone! We are so ready for spring!

This was taken when Daddy and Mac were meeting JL at the bus stop. It had snowed this much in 2 hours.

   

 

  

 

  

Valentines's Day

Valentine's Day is a big deal at our house. Mac loves the candy and John Lawrence loves to get cards for his friends. He chooses two kinds-One for the girls and one for the boys. This year, JL chose X-men for the boys and Littlest Pet Shop for the girls. He started this last year and he has  known exactly what he wants and what girls want. I love that he cares so much and is so in tune with girls that I really want to encourage it. His future wife will thank me! Ha Ha . He has also helped Dad pick out my gifts for holidays and I have been told he is really quite good about remembering what I say I need. This Valentines Day I got a blender. Ours died about 1 month ago.

Mac, on the other hand told his teacher and class all week that it was his birthday and the Valentine's day party was for him. So, on Thursday I show up for his party and they got to eat cupcakes and before they ate them a little girl asked her mom if she could sing happy birthday to Mac and her mom asked out loud if it was Mac's birthday and I say no, but he wishes it was. His teacher proceeds to tell the story of Mac telling everyone it is his birthday party, so another girl asks to sing to Mac so they did and Mac loved every minute of it! If you ask him he will tell you he a bee birthday party at school. The cupcakes were bubble bees for (Be Mine). It was really cute!

What I learned about myself

I learned I am more of a girly girl than I thought I was. 
I recently went on a girl's trip a couple of weekends ago. We went to Ashley's Dad's Hunting Lodge~Muller~ (yes, that is what I said-read it again). Ashley asked me if I thought I could handle it and I said yes and never thought another thing about it until I walked into the front door. In my head I was envisioning a mountain house, but that was not what it was. So back to the front door, there was no lock on the door ~there was not even a door knob~ there was a set of antlers. There were many bedrooms, a huge den, huge kitchen and dining room. It is a mans paradise! There was even a huge tv, dvd player and satellite dish. Our husbands were all jealous that we were going and they were not invited. All guys that have been here love the place. Lets just say I was out of my element.

So here is my list of things I have never done until this weekend.

1. Went to a men's hunting lodge.
2. Slept in on a top bunk twin bed with my best friend Mary at the age of 33 because there may or may not have been mice dropping seen in the bedrooms.  (Mice-my biggest fear on earth!!!!!!)
3. Wore a pair of waders- unsure what they are see-the picture below
4. Saw a dead duck thrown on the kitchen counter only 30 minutes before dinner was ready
5. Shot a pistol ( I have shot a gun before but never a pistol)
6. Slept with no heat in the dead of winter (heater went out that 2nd night at 10:00pm)
7. Slept in a recliner in front of the fire.
8. Showered with flip flops on and would not shut the shower curtain for the fear of the unknown (mice and bugs)
9. Realized that out of the group: Me, Ashley, Jenny, Denise, Mary and Hillary ~I was the girly girl that was scared of the mice and bugs the most!
10. Survived the weekend!

Thanks Dan for allowing us to experience Muller! We truly had a great weekend!

Snow in Spartanburg

Mason and the boys went to Spartanburg the last weekend in January, while I was on a girls weekend trip(another blog post on the trip to come). They were calling for snow in Spartanburg, so Mason loaded up the boys and gear and surprised his mom (Larry knew they were coming) and came for a visit. They had a ball! I am unsure who had more fun~ Mason or John Lawrence. I heard that Mac would only go out for 5 minute intervals because he was so cold. The last picture is of a snow man that JL made. He was determined to make one even though the snow was mixed with lots of ice. It was pitiful!

  

  

  

  

  

  

nice weather = park

Every and I mean every time the weather is nice Ellen and I take the kids to the park. January and February are not on my list of favorites, so when the weather is decent we get out and get some fresh air. The boys love it as do the moms. Thanks Ellen for always saying yes to the park even if you might just want to relax on the couch (Ellen is pregnant and in her first trimester)! 

 

  

  

  

 

Basketball Season

John Lawrence played basketball for the first time this winter. He enjoyed it, but I would not say it was his favorite sport. He really improved over the course of the season and made 2 baskets during halftime when all players get to shoot a free throw to score a goal for their team. He has 1 more game left during the tournament then we are on to baseball!