John Lawrence turns 6

John Lawrence turned 6 on March 27th. He woke up to waffles with candles on top. Of course little brother had to have candles too. Afterwards we played and opened up gifts. He asked for a Nintendo DS and he got one and was so happy! We went to our cousins Sam and Hudson's  house to play then came back to GranJan and Pop's house to get ready for the party. He had his party on his actual birthday. It was an awesome day and he had a wonderful  party ~ will be a separate blog post.

Happy Birthday John Lawrence!

Statue Of Liberty

All the kindergarten classes(nine total) at JL's school particpated in America the Great Day. They learned 4 new songs and many facts and geography about the USA. They also learned how to be a good citizen. JL's class was the Statue of Liberty. The kids loved their outfit. This came at a good time because John Lawrence's birthday party was a Firework/Red White and Blue theme.

**** JL has a crush on the girl in the front row farthest to the left in the second picture. Her name is Mallory. She is so sweet and cute. He loves her, but would never admit to anyone other than Mason or I.

A Wedding

My mom and step dad got married for the second time on March 20th. It was beautiful and simple ~just like them. I was so glad I was there for it! My mom is Catholic and she needed to get married in the church, so Ron was happy to grant her that wish. They have been married for 19 years. It was a beautiful day!

Pure Bliss

The title says it all ~ The boys had a wonderful day at the park about two weeks ago. Not a care in the world. Mac loves his cousin Henry. They are best friends!

JL lost his first tooth

John Lawrence lost his first tooth on March 10, 2010. He lost it at school and his teacher was so sweet to send it home in a little bag with the information on it. He was so proud of himself and said it did not hurt at all. He was wiggling the tooth at his desk and it just fell out. He is now waiting for the rest of them to start falling out.

Mac is obsessed with his teeth now and tells everyone "he has a loose tooth and JL lost a tooth". The tooth fairy came to our house and left 5 one dollar bills ~John Lawrence was so excited! I made the tooth fairy box out of an Altoids can, (Ellen gave me the idea) so easy to make.

First game of the season

John Lawrence had his first baseball game of the season a couple of weeks ago. He is on the LA Dodgers this year. The coach and assistants are teaching JL so much! We are so happy to be involved in such a great group of people, that are so passionate about kids. The season started out cold, but I can finally see the warmer weather coming and I am looking forward to the many practices and games these next few months. Mac is a trooper and goes to most of the practices and all the games. He is happy with a bag of toys and some skittles always help :)

Just like Daddy

Mac dresses himself every morning and every night~It is his job. I lay JL's clothes out for him every night and used to with Mac until he let me know that it is not my job, but his. We disagree on most mornings about putting on a long sleeve shirt instead of his favorite short sleeve tees. Where is Spring/Summer when you need it? Last week, I cleaned out his clothes drawer to get out all the clothes that I did not want to see him in ever again, because remember I have no choice in the matter. It has definitely eliminated some fights this week. 

On this particular morning he woke up and went to get dressed (he always locks his door)  and came out saying he wanted to look like Daddy. If you know Mason ~this is weekend attire in the summer. A tie dye t-shirt, shorts, hat and teva sandals. It was very cute! Mac is smart because he knew that it was too cold for a t-shirt and sandals, so he thought if he said he wanted to look like daddy I would let him wear it! Did I let him wear it? We compromised with a white long sleeve shirt under his t-shirt and white socks under his  sandals (like Pop) around the house, then he had to change into his tennis shoes to leave the house. 

**Mason bought Mac a new pair of tennis shoes last week, but they were too big, so yesterday I exchanged them for a smaller size. I asked Mac to wear them last night and this morning and he said no "I don't like them, I want some blue, white and black sneakers". Guess what we are doing this afternoon~ going back to Stride Rite and letting Mac pick out a new pair of shoes. The only rule is no characters.  I can't stomach that!!** He is a handful, but I love his BIG personality and I try to remember to embrace it  and remember he really is a lot like myself! We know what we want!

Happy in the 1st picture because his hat is on backwards~ not so happy in the 2nd picture

Yelllow River Game Ranch

About 3 weeks ago, we went to Yellow River Game Ranch in Stone Mountain and had a wonderful time.

This is what they say on their website and we totally agree: Stroll along a mile-long trail on 24 wooded acres and encounter over six hundred highly sociable birds and animals indigenous to the state of Georgia. White-tailed deer, bunnies, buffalo, sheep, kid goats, black bears and a bevy of new-born animals are waiting to be fed, admired and petted on a "nose-to-nose" basis. We specialize in "people-friendly" wildlife.

The boys had a blast and it was Mason's first time there. He was surprised at all the animals and he loved the squirrel. It followed us around for a long time. We love it and will go back again in the spring to hopefully see some new babies.  

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!